For Acorn Jelly: ½ cup acorn starch. 3 cups water. 1 tsp. salt. 1 tsp. sesame oil. For Salad: 1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced. 3 leaves red-leaf lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces.

THE assault began in early September. That’s when my 60-year-old mother, an avid gardener, began laying mulch under the shrubs at her home in Westchester.