COOKSTUFF : Lace Gallery

Santa Cruz artist Joy (just Joy--think of her as the Cher of pottery) hand-rolls lace into clay to create her unusual platters, bowls, plates and candy dishes. It’s a little bit grandma doily with some of the elegance of fine china--the ivory color is an almost perfect match with Belleek and Lenox china. Joy also signs and dates the pieces and changes patterns frequently for collectibility. Despite their delicate looks, the dishes are microwave- and dishwasher-safe.

$38 to $175 at C.J.’s Gourmet Emporium, Pasadena.

Market Basket

Spotted in the aisles of San Gabriel’s 99 Ranch supermarket last week were a few seasonal items of note and a couple of cool Asian summer snacks.

First to grab our attention were the purple-edged fresh lima beans and sugar peas. They’re so beautiful, you almost hate to eat them. But they’re delicious raw as a fresh vegetable snack and work well lightly steamed in many dishes--if you cook them more than a few minutes, they’ll taste fine but lose their color.

Another great seasonal catch: longan and lychee fruits. If you’ve eaten only canned lychees in Chinese restaurants, you owe it to yourself to try them fresh. The nubby reddish peel slips right off; inside the translucent white fruit is tender and sweet. Longans resemble lychees when peeled but are less sweet.

In the freezer case, we found an assortment of ice cream flavors that go far beyond the usual vanilla Swiss almond. We especially liked the mochi ice creams, a neat take on Japan’s traditional glutinous rice cake. Inside the thin mochi crust are different flavors of ice cream, including mango, coffee and green tea. Cool note: The Los Angeles-based Mikawaya brand received a favorable rating in a tasting by the local zine Giant Robot.

And finally, we noticed that Pocky sticks, the cookie sticks that are commonly seen with chocolate tips, are now sold in melon and strawberry flavors.

The above items were found at the San Gabriel branch of 99 Ranch supermarket, but are sold at most 99 Ranch locations. The mochi ice cream and Pocky sticks are also available at Japanese supermarkets and most grocery stores with Asian products. Fresh lychees and longans are sold in season at most Chinese grocery stores.