Greens, chickpeas and tamarind

I'd been looking at this recipe for a while - caraway and tamarind are two of the ingredients I am most into at the moment.  But hadn't had that much chard recently.  Used a mixture of chard, beet greens, kale and a little large-leaf spinach, since that was what I had in the fridge / in the plant pot on the balcony, crying out to be used before we leave on Thursday.  Apart from that I mostly stuck to the ingredients, although played pretty loose with the method and quantities.

4 tbsp seedless tamarind
400g swiss chard (stems and leaves), cut into 1cm slices
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp whole caraway seeds
1½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
1 tsp tomato paste (didn't have, so used extra tinned tomatoes and reduced more)
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
350ml water
1½ tbsp caster sugar
400g cooked chickpeas
1½ tsp whole coriander seeds, toasted and ground to a powder
salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1 big handful coriander leaves

Put the onion, caraway and olive oil in a large, heavy-based pan and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and golden.  Add the tomato paste (if using) and cook, stirring, for about a minute.  Add the tomatoes, water, sugar, tamarind and ground coriander, and season.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, adding chickpeas after 10 minutes and greens after 20min.  Adjust consistency and seasoning.  Finally, add the lemon juice, and serve with rice and coriander.


Is good.  The tamarind gives nice depth of flavour, while the caraway is surprisingly subtle... yet exciting!  Chickpeas, tomatoes and greens are otherwise quite a tried-and-tested combination.

Berberé Stew

Liked the simplicity of this recipe, and the sound of the spice mix.

Berberé spice mix:
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika (used red pepper flakes instead)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground sea salt

Stew:
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/4 cup red lentils
2 1/4 cups water
1 garlic clove, crushed
1-2 tbsp berberé spice mixture, above (used entire quantity made above)
1 800g can crushed tomatoes

Mix lentils with water, garlic, onion, and spices.  Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 20 minutes or until the lentils have softened.  Watch carefully and add water if it starts to dry out.  Add the tomatoes and heat at least 15 more minutes.  Eat with rice or bread or on its own as a soup-stew.


Warming, and very rich in flavour.  Spice combo not a million miles from the ras el hanout I made not long ago.  This is a time for comforting, spicy, tomato-y, pulse-y stews.  I am sure whenever I eat fenugreek I can smell it coming out of my pores a day afterwards.  Or does fenugreek just smell like sweat?

Fresh ginger cake

Andrea's birthday today.  Decided to make a cake to bring to lab tomorrow.  Last year she had ginger cake (not made by me), so I decided to make a ginger cake.  Had my eye on this recipe.

115g piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (4oz)
250ml golden syrup (1 cup mild molasses)
200g sugar (1 cup)
250ml vegetable oil (1 cup)
350g plain flour (2 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
250ml water (1 cup)
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 6 tbsp hot water

icing sugar, lemon juice and crystallised ginger to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.  Grease the bottom and sides of a 23cm springform or round cake tin with 5cm sides and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.  Chop the ginger until very fine, and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the golden syrup, sugar, and oil.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and pepper

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, then stir in the bicarbonate of soda.  Whisk the hot water into the golden syrup mixture, then add the chopped ginger.

Gradually sift the flour mixture over the golden syrup mixture, whisking to combine. Add the eggs and whisk until thoroughly blended.

Scrape the batter into the prepared springform or cake tin and bake until a skewer comes out clean, about 1 hour.  Leave to cool completely.

Run a knife around the sides of the cake to help loosen it from the tin. Invert the cake onto a plate, peel off the parchment paper, then re-invert onto a plate


I followed the recipe really carefully (apart from the egg substitution), as since I am going to share it with many people I wanted to try and avoid disaster.  Even down to tracking down golden syrup in Shaw's (no great hardship: now I can have porridge like it should be).  Then, while waiting for the cake to bake, realised that since the recipe author is American the original recipe was also likely to be American and this a British-ised version.  Yep, the original is here.  So I've added the original quantities above.  Crucially, I was wondering about the absence of treacle / molasses (the cake looked rather light with only golden syrup, and ginger cake without treacle seemed weird), and sure enough the original had molasses in it, and not the golden syrup.  So we'll see how this one tastes, but I think if I make this again it will be with some proportion of molasses.

The cake keeps well for a few days to a week.  I decorated it with water icing made with icing sugar and lemon juice (no water) on top.  I also made some crystallised ginger for decoration: boiled thinly sliced ginger (~200g) in water for 10 min, drained, repeated.  Added a cup of water and a cup of sugar and boiled til the consistency of thin honey.  Cooled a touch, then fished out pieces of ginger, spread on paper on a baking sheet and put in warm dry place overnight.  This kind of worked.  The sugar solution went a bit hard when it cooled, but the bits I'd spread out were OK, and looked quite nice when arranged.

Fried lettuce

I've never really experimented with cooked lettuce.  But last night I discovered it is awesome.  You need a Romaine or a Little Gem - something with both bite and tenderness, and sweetness.  I chopped the outer leaves and fried them in olive oil with salt and pepper, and I cut the heart in half and fried on both sides in the same pan.  The cooking brings out the sweetness; crunch is maintained in the stems but the leaves go floppy and absorb the seasoning.  Yum.  An especially good idea if the leaves have been in the fridge a bit long and gone a bit floppy.

Jicama salad

juice of 1 lime
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
1-2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
good pinch salt
good pinch cayenne pepper

1 jicama, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
3 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp chopped coriander

Put the first six ingredients into a bowl and mix.  Prepare the vegetables and coriander and then add them to the dressing and toss.  Best chilled for an hour or so.


Jicama has a wonderful crunchy, juicy, slightly sweet texture.  Goes well with the lime and maple.  It's not really like anything else but reminds me a little of kohlrabi, in that it is a white inside part that is crispy-crunchy and fresh and subtly tasty.  Don't really know what else to do with it, other than make salads or eat it in thin, raw slices.

Caraway and orange bread

I've been wanting to do something with caraway seeds for a while - felt like they were missing from the spice cupboard.  Found some in the Indian store at the weekend, and was inspired by our epic vegan thanksgiving feast to try making bread with them.  This one sounded fancy, so I went with it.  On reflection, the method is weird, another time I will use a method that's worked better for me in the past.

3/4 cup water

2 tbsp brown sugar

Zest of 1 orange, grated

1 tbsp marg

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 1/2 tsp yeast

2 cups bread flour

Heat water, sugar, orange, marg and caraway seeds in a small saucepan for 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Once the warm mixture is lukewarm, mix it with the yeast and 1 cup of flour.  Knead (it will be sticky), and let rise for 1 hour.

Add the rest of the flour (1 more cup) slowly and knead well.  Shape, lay on baking sheet lined with paper, and prove for 1 hour.

 

Bake at 180C / 350F for 50-60 min (until sounds hollow when bottom is knocked).  Let cool before eating (warm is OK).

 

 

The caraway-orange-bread combination was interesting and worked - nice mix of sharp spice and sweet orange.  But the method was odd - the second cup of flour was hard to get in, and the loaf ended up quite small, seemed dry, and didn't rise very well.  Looking at the pics on the original site perhaps a dense crumb was the intention, and it certainly wasn't inedibly dense or un-risen, but think I might prefer to make it lighter next time - perhaps using the method from the olive bread, or trying rolls?

Curried beet greens with chickpeas and raisins

Cooked up some bright pink curry with beets, and decided to do something with their leaves too:

Leaves from 4 beetroot, washed and chopped (stems separate)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
coconut oil
1 tsp brown mustard seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp nigella
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
handful chickpeas
2 tbsp raisins
~1/2 tsp finely grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
fresh coriander, chopped, to garnish

Heat coconut oil, add spices and cook til starting to brown.  Add coconut and garlic and cook til the garlic starts to colour.  Add chopped beet stems and cook for a few minutes.  Add chickpeas, raisins and beet leaves and cook until everything is done and the leaves are wilted.  Add nutmeg and seasoning to taste.  Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and eat.

Seb cake (walnut and coffee cake with salted caramel and banana)

I woke up before S, and decided to make him a cake because I like him.  It should contain many of his favourite things: coffee, walnuts, salt, banana...

Cake mix based on this recipe.

For the cake:
1 cup fake milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
1¼ cups plain flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
⅓ cup veg oil
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp coffee granules dissolved in 2 tsp hot water
¼ tsp vanilla essence
¼ cup walnut pieces

For the caramel:
1 cup white sugar
¼ cup water
2-3 drops lemon juice
¼ cup coconut milk
1 tbsp marg
1 tsp sea salt

For finishing:
1 banana
~2 tbsp chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350F. Line the bases of two cake tins.

Mix the fake milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle.

Beat together the fake milk mixture, oil, sugar, coffee and vanilla in a large bowl. Separately sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Add wet to dry and mix until no large lumps remain, adding the walnut pieces in the final few strokes.

Divide between the cake tins and bake for ~30 min. Allow to cool.

Caramel consistency - thick, sticky, not hard

While the cake is baking, make the caramel.  Clean a saucepan thoroughly and spread evenly across the base of the pan.  Add the water and make sure all the sugar is wet.  Bring the sugar-water mix to a steady boil (be very careful, it will be super hot).  Add a couple of drops of lemon juice to inhibit crystallisation.  Boil until it starts to change colour (to brown).  Do not stir - swirl occasionally to make sure it is cooking evenly, but stirring may set off crystallisation and that would not be good.  When it reaches a rich brown colour and starts to smoke a little, take it off the heat.  Prepare yourself for potential spitting hot sugar danger, then add in the coconut milk, marg and salt.  Stir gently, while avoiding getting hot sugar on you.  Allow to cool.

When cake and caramel are both well-cooled, sandwich the cake with half the caramel (and some sliced banana, if you like), and drizzle the rest of the caramel on top.  Decorate the top with some chopped walnuts.

It's half gone already, so I think it was a success!  He said it might have been his favourite ever cake.  The cake mix was very runny and I thought I might have forgotten something / it might come out all wrong, but it baked up fine.  This was my first real caramel (previous problems with over-stirring, not boiling for long enough...), and it was good.  This tutorial was useful.  I'm thinking about variations on it now - thickness, intensity of colour etc...  The banana and nuts worked really well in combination, and offset the sugary caramel.  Those three together drowned out the coffee a bit though - could perhaps be tweaked somewhat to let the coffee through more.

Thanksgiving - more pumpkin

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Feeling a little detached - everyone is making big food plans and / or heading home across the country - S+I are privately just like: ummmm so you just want to eat lots of turkey?  not really our bag...  Although some friends from the South have invited us to help them drink beer and deep-fry turkey in their front yard.  I assumed this meant deep-frying bits of turkey in the style of KFC, but then today I saw this video and a wave of realisation swept over me - this is serious!  So yeah, right now our plan is to go to the best vegan restaurant in town and eat their 4-course thanksgiving menu, then head over to M+S's place to observe the turkey action...

One thing I love about Thanksgiving is pumpkin pie.  Well, sweet pumpkin anything is pretty much awesome.  I already cooked pumpkin for Halloween, but yeah, what's this season all about but excess?

Pumpkin Cardamom Cake

This year: Pumpkin Cardamom Cake

(from this recipe)

1/4 cup fake milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 tsp ground cardamom

Put the soy milk into a jug and add the vinegar, leave to curdle.  Put dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well with a fork.

To the milk and vinegar mix add the oil, pumpkin puree and the vanilla and mix.  Add wet to dry and mix until just combined.

Spoon into muffin tin or cake tin(s) and cook at 350F until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean (25-30 min).


These are goood - lovely warm orange colour, good texture, bold cardamom taste - perhaps a little too much cardamom, but I love the stuff so that's fine by me.


Last year: Pumpkin Pie

(from this recipe)

For the crust:
1/2 cup unbleached flour
7 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp veg oil
3 tbsp soy milk + 1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 to 4 tbsp water 

For the filling:
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 cup fake milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar cane syrup (just used sugar / maple syrup instead)
1/4 cup cornflour (used regular flour instead - didn't expect it to work but it did!)
1/2 tbsp dark molasses or to taste (didn't have so used maple syrup instead)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice

To make puree:
Heat oven to 400F, cut pumpkin or squash in half and place, cut side down, on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  Bake for 30-40 min until collapsing when poked.  Scoop out the innards and mash them up.  Can freeze if more than needed.  Can use tinned if preferred.


To make crust:
In a mixing bowl, combine both flours, salt, sugar and baking powder.  In small bowl, mix oil and soy milk mixture.
Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and mix with a fork until it holds together in a ball.  If it is too dry, add some water, a little at a time, until dough is moist enough to roll.  (If time allows, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.)
Roll out dough onto clingfilm with a lightly floured rolling pin, forming an 11-inch circle.  Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough.  Flute or crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 425F.

To make filling:
In large bowl, mix all remaining ingredients until smooth and blended. Pour into prepared crust and smooth top.  Bake 10 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350F; bake until filling is set, about 50 minutes.  Set on wire rack to cool, then refrigerate overnight.


I made this twice last year - it wasn't long after I'd gone vegan and this was my first successful vegan baking effort.  Despite not having some of the ingredients and thinking a vegan pumpkin pie wouldn't work, it came out amazingly - all the tastes were there.  I did almost manage to poison a friend with a nut allergy with hidden almond milk in the filling (she was fine, thank goodness).

Baked Apple

One large red apple (the last of my Rome Beauty from our apple picking trip), core removed without cutting any other part of the apple, stuffed with a mixture of vine fruits (raisins/currant/golden raisins), sweet spices (cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg/allspice), chopped toasted pecan pieces and brown sugar, base wrapped in foil and dumped in a baking tin, cooked at 350F for ~ 20-30min.

mochi

I've tried to make mochi a couple of times before: with Anna we heated the mixture in the oven and it came out a good consistency but glued into a baking tin - sprinkled with sesame seeds it tasted good, but...  another time I followed a youtube tutorial and steamed them, but they came out kinda hard and not soft and sticky...  The easiest way seems to be with a microwave and we don't have one.

I met this recipe on the internet the other day, and found that it had wonderfully detailed instructions, so thought I might give them another go at some point.  Then discovered some red bean paste still in the freezer and a packet of glutinous rice flour in the pantry, S was at football and I was making lebkuchen and thought 'why not now?'.


(makes 10)
100g glutinous rice flour
50 grams sugar
100 ml water
plenty of potato starch or corn starch for dusting / making a bed

10 tsp sweetened red bean paste
toasted sesame seeds

Mix the rice flour, sugar and water in a heatproof bowl that fits inside the steamer.  Place the bowl in the steamer and cover the bowl with a heatproof plate.  Close the steamer and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once or twice during that time, until the mixture is thick and slightly translucent.

While the rice flour mixture is cooking, pour a generous layer of potato/corn starch in a good-sized, rimmed container, and keep more starch on hand.  When the rice flour mixture is ready, pour it onto the starch; it will be super sticky.  Pat the dough to flatten it slightly and cut into 10 even pieces.

Take one piece of dough, stretch it out and flatten it gently, and place it on the palm of your hand.  Put ~1tsp red bean paste in the middle (and a sprinkling of sesame seeds as an alternative), and wrap, and pinch the dough around it, trying to be neat and not make any holes or let the bean escape.  If there is any stickiness left on the outside squish into some toasted sesame seeds.  Place on a starch-dusted plate and repeat with the other nine - try and work quickly as the dough is harder to work with when cool.

Let rest for an hour to set and cool to room temperature before serving.  Leftovers should be covered and stored at room temperature, but they don't keep longer than about a day.


These are way better than previous attempts - the trick is to cook the dough well first, and then to use plenty of starch to stop everything getting too stuck together.  In future I'd like to try sesame or dessicated coconut on the outside instead of using so much starch, and to experiment with different fillings (such as the fresh strawberries in the original recipe).  And to try putting coconut milk or powder in the batter, and/or green tea powder in the batter too - green tea mochi are my favourite.  Could try with cocoa powder also.

Lebkuchen, again

I'm trying to hold off on the Christmas baking this year, since we won't be here at Christmas etc etc.  But I bought some lebkuchen the other day, remembered my not very successful attempt at them last year, and thought I might have another go...

I used this recipe this time.

(makes 24 - I halved quantities to make 12 small ones)

285g plain flour
85g ground almonds
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
A pinch each of ground cloves, grated nutmeg and black pepper
200ml honey / agave
85g marg
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp candied peel

Melted chocolate and icing sugar to finish.

Put the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Weigh the honey and marg into a small pan and heat gently until the marg melts.  Add honey mixture, lemon zest and candied peel to the flour mixture.  Mix until combined and fairly stiff.  Leave to cool.

Heat oven to 180C/350F.  Make dough into 12 small, flattened discs.  Space evenly on baking trays lined with paper.  Bake for 15 mins, then cool on a wire rack.

Once cool, finish with melted chocolate and leave to cool.  Dust with icing sugar before serving, if you like.


They aren't really like the Lidl ones, but quite nice nonetheless.  S is watching football with the boys - I don't think dainty, sweet biscuits are the most appropriate post / during football snack, but well, what choice do they have?

White-coloured food (cauliflower curry + rice)

We're quite into cauliflower at the moment (among other brassicas).  After Seb's triumphant cauliflower with breadcrumbs we bought another one.  Last night I got around to cooking it.  Had another bash at a cauliflower curry - the one I tried before wasn't quite what I was looking for, so I did some Googling and adaptation and ended up with this:

Dry cauliflower curry

1 cauliflower, broken into florets
salt

1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut
2 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp cumin seed
(grind the three above ingredients together)

2 tsp veg oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 in piece ginger, finely chopped
1 small mild green chili, finely chopped
2 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tomato, chopped
1/2-1 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp coriander, chopped

Put the cauliflower in a bowl and cover with salted, boiling water.  Leave for ~ 5min.  Drain, then add the ground cumin / fennel / coconut and mix.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a medium frying pan and add the onion, cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, green chili, cinnamon stick and cloves.  Cook gently until the onion is translucent.  Add the tomato and cook until it is collapsing.  Add the cauliflower, chili powder and salt to taste and cook until the cauliflower is as soft as you like (~30 min) - cover if necessary.

Finally, add the coriander, mix up and serve with basmati rice.


This didn't come out quite how I expected (I think I have this vision of slightly crispy, browned and well-cooked cauliflower that is dry and tasty), but it was very good.  The ingredients reduce to give a fairly dry, sweetish, brown mixture surrounding succulent bits of cauliflower - not far off - way better than my last cauliflower curry effort.  Liked the subtle coconut and sweetness.

Orange-coloured food (giant couscous with apricots + rose harissa)

Turns out I am in the mood for orange-coloured food: lunch today is this apricot couscous, plus pumpkin salad, plus a raw carrot (have run out of fruit).  Perhaps I will turn orange.
This recipe is basically Nigel Slater's from here.  Was very keen to use some of the rose harissa I bought the other day.  With apricots sounded good - used dried not fresh - quite fancied the dried fruit : couscous combination.


150g giant couscous
300ml hot water / veg stock
olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
5 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
10-15 dried apricots, roughly chopped
2 tsp rose harissa
1/2 a lemon, juice and zest
~3 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt

Bring water to the boil in a saucepan, then add the couscous and boil for ~10 min.  Drain and refresh, then put in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onions, garlic and cardamom  pods until the onions are soft and pale.  Add the lemon zest and the apricots and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the apricot mixture to the couscous.  Mix the lemon juice in a bowl with the harissa, then add to the couscous.  Finally, add the parsley, mix well and taste for seasoning.


Mmhmm.  That worked.  Not spectacular but pleasant and interesting and subtle.  Not blown away by  my fancy rose harissa - can't really taste the rose.  Perhaps I overpowered it, will have to try again.

Buns for Orwell (and Amy)

Amy and I were discussing our mutual love of George Orwell the other day.  We'd independently both just been reading 'The Road To Wigan Pier'.  His writing is so vital, and still so relevant almost a century later.  Those images of coal miners and that discussion of class will stick with me.  I first fell for Orwell through 'Down and Out in Paris and London' - one of my favourites.  The friendly homeless man who used to sit on the footbridge in Norwich was reading it at some point.  That man was nice, I hope he's moved on to better things.  As well as Orwell's political writings, I've long loved his opinions on food, particularly British food.  The tidbit about Wetherspoons being designed to meet his guidelines for a good boozer; his stickling plan for a nice cup of tea (for the most part I accept his opinions, and revel in its glorious microcosm of Britishness, although I can't agree on the milk - good tea needs no milk).  I just recently (through this article) came across his 'defence of English cooking', which may well be a new favourite - it's making me homesick just skimming it.

In honour of all of these coincidences, and because I had some currants in the cupboard I'd bought ages ago thinking I would need them suddenly one day, here are some saffron buns (recipe from the Guardian article).

Saffron buns

Pinch saffron threads
1 tsp yeast
90g sugar
500g strong white bread flour
Pinch salt
½ tsp nutmeg
120g marg
100g currants
100g sultanas / raisins
1 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 3 tbsp hot water
100ml 'milk'

Place the saffron threads in a small bowl with 4 tablespoons of boiling water and leave to infuse for 10 minutes, before adding the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Mix together the flour, salt and nutmeg with a fork in a mixing bowl, then rub in the marg . Add the currants, sultanas / raisins and remaining sugar. Beat the milk and egg together, then add to the flour and fruit, together with the saffron mixture.

Knead the dough until good and springy (on and off for 10-15min), adding a little more flour or milk to get a good consistency.  Divide into 12 and shape into buns.  Place the buns on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, cover with lightly oiled clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size (about an hour in a warm place).  Bake at 220C / 425F for 15 minutes, until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.


I'd not made saffron buns before.  They're somewhere in between a scone and a hot cross bun (more like the latter, and much better than my attempts at scones).  The spicing was subtle but they are lovely - slightly sweet, with sticky dried fruit bursting out and a pretty yellowish colour.  S liked them lots.  Good with some carrot jam - another (literary) coincidence.

Mung bean and carrot salad

Mung beans are something that usually sits in the cupboard and I only use for sprouting.  I felt this was me being somewhat unimaginative - this recipe suggested a good use.

140g (~1 cup) dried green mung beans
60ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds  (didn't have, so used 1 1/2 tsp of cumin plus 1 1/2 tsp fennel)
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp white wine vinegar (didn't have - used cider vinegar instead)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp salt
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm batons
½ tsp sugar
20g coriander, chopped
Grated zest of 1 lemon

140g feta, broken into chunks

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add the beans and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until they are cooked but still retain a bite. Drain, shake well and transfer to a large bowl.

About three minutes before the beans are done, heat two tablespoons of oil in a small frying pan and add the seeds and chopped garlic. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, until the seeds start to pop – about three minutes – then pour, hot oil and all, over the beans, along with the vinegar, chilli and half a teaspoon of salt.

While the beans are cooking, lay the carrots in a pan large enough for them to form a shallow layer on the bottom.  Pour over about 150ml water – the carrots should be nearly submerged – plus two tablespoons of oil and half a teaspoon each of sugar and salt.  Bring to a boil and keep on a high heat for eight minutes, by which time the water should have evaporated and the carrots become slightly caramelised but still crunchy. Drain some liquid, if needed.  Add the carrots to the bean bowl, along with the coriander and lemon zest, (and feta if using) and stir gently.

Bonfire Night = parkin

It's nearly Bonfire Night.  Growing up in little villages it was always one of the big community events of the year - farmers stacking unwanted burnables in the field next to the primary school; the pile growing and growing as Nov 5th approached; learning firework safety and to check bonfires for hedgehogs; the local firemen setting off the firework display...  Excitement was probably heightened by the occasional near-bad-accidents - the burning tyre that rolled out of the bonfire once, the time Dad's leg took a mis-aimed firework so our faces didn't have to...

In my memories, food is tangled up with the sparklers and the hats+gloves and the cold feet and the thrilling fire - bonfire toffee, toffee apples, baked potatoes, parkin - all warm / gingery / treacly...

My Mum's family come from Yorkshire.  So parkin (a dense, treacly gingerbread made with oatmeal, originating from Yorkshire, and traditionally eaten on Bonfire Night) is something I feel pretty close to (once a year).  I made it once as a teenager, it came out a lot like a brick.  But still tasted decent.  Last year I went to a Boston Brits bonfire night party, this year I think it's time to introduce Americans to the good stuff (no fireworks though, they're illegal in MA - lame).

Key features of parkin, I decided, are inclusion of oatmeal (meaning the rounded, lumpy type of oatmeal, not just rolled oats), golden syrup and treacle, and ginger as the sole spice.  I went with Delia as a basic recipe, adapted to what I had available / my taste.  Then realised it needed time to mature, so I made it last night before heading out to SBTRKT - it has a couple of days to get ready (not 2 weeks, but better than nothing).


Parkin

8 oz (225 g) medium oatmeal (used a fine-ground bulghur wheat I bought by accident a while ago - figured it should be equivalent in texture)
4 oz (110 g) self-raising flour (only had plain, added 1 1/2 tsp baking powder)
a pinch of salt
5 oz (150 g) dark syrup or golden syrup (hard to find golden syrup here outside of the 'British and Irish' section of Shaws, so used a mixture of maple syrup and honey instead)
3 oz (75 g) black treacle (used molasses)
4 oz (110 g) margarine
4 oz (110 g) soft brown sugar
2 level teaspoons ground ginger
1 tbsp ground linseed, mixed with 3 tbsp boiling water
1 tablespoon fake milk

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C).

Weigh a saucepan on the scales, and weigh the syrup and treacle into it.

Then add the margarine and the sugar to the saucepan and place it over a gentle heat until the margarine has melted down – don't go away and leave it unattended, because for this you don't want it to boil.

Meanwhile, measure the oatmeal, flour and ginger into a mixing bowl, add a pinch of salt, then gradually stir in the warmed syrup mixture till the mixture is all thoroughly blended.

Next add the linseed mixture, and lastly the fake milk. Now pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 1¾-2 hours.

Then cool the parkin in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out.  The parkin may sink slightly in the middle (mine did).


It's wrapped in clingfilm now, but the bits I scraped off the lining papers were pretty darn wonderful - sticky, gingery, treacly loveliness.  May have overegged the treacle a bit - but I like it!  And yes, once again it looks just like a brick.

Halloween = pumpkin

Roast pumpkin seeds - season first then roast ~8 min

I rode my bike home last night around 7pm, watching kids and parents in fancy dress pounding the pavements - a tiny girl in a Rubix Cube just outside the Booksmith...  I stopped to buy some groceries, mainly I was thinking about pumpkin and squash as I wanted to carve / cook them to mark the day.  They were out of pumpkins, but I bought a butternut squash and an acorn squash (acorns are my favourite so far I think).  Decided not to carve, just to cook.
My plan for the evening was to cook pumpkin and listen to ghost stories on the radio (S was out).  I'd spotted some MR James on the BBC...


Pumpkin and chickpeas

First for something savoury - I'd seen this recipe a few days ago, and liked its autumnal simplicity / imagined the ingredients working very well together.

1 butternut or other squash (used 3/4 of a large butternut squash)
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled but bashed to break the skin
1-2 small red chillies, deseeded, membrane removed, finely chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme (didn't have, so used ~ 1tbsp dried thyme)
4 bay leaves
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
150g dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large bunch parsley, stalks removed, leaves chopped
1 large bunch coriander, stalks removed, leaves chopped
1 small bunch mint, stalks removed, leaves chopped (didn't have, and didn't 100% fancy anyway, so left out)
20g pumpkin seeds, toasted

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.  Peel the squash (if you like), remove the seeds and cut into 4cm chunks.  Put these in a roasting tin with the garlic, chilli, thyme, bay leaves, some salt and pepper.  Add three tablespoons of oil and mix with your hands until well coated.  Roast for 35-45 minutes, until the squash is softened and beginning to char around the edges.  Add the chickpeas, toss and cook for five minutes to warm through.  Add the lemon juice and toss with the herbs, pumpkin seeds and a bit of sea salt. Serve warm, with a little oil trickled over the top if you like.


Pumpkin, chocolate and spices

Pumpkin bread with TJ's pumpkin butter

Had been thinking about a pumpkin loaf, liked the sound of the spices in this one on ppk.

I baked the remaining 1/4 of the butternut squash (left from the recipe above), which was the tail end - I put it cut side down on a baking tray and put it in the oven at 400F (while the other squash was also cooking).  When it was done (collapsed on poking; ~30min) I removed it, left it to cool a few min, drained off any escaped liquid, then scraped the insides out of the skin and mashed them thoroughly with a fork.  This generated about 1/2 a cup of pumpkin puree, so I halved the quantities in the recipe below.

1/4 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or canola oil)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons boiling water, divided
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350F and lightly grease an 8 inch loaf pan.

Put applesauce, oil and cocoa powder in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

Measure out 1/3 cup boiling water and pour into the bowl with the chocolate mixture, mixing quickly to make a smooth chocolate sauce.  Add pumpkin, sugar and vanilla and mix well.

Put about half of the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture and gently stir just to incorporate, then measure out 1 tablespoon of boiling water and stir again.  Now add the rest of the flour mixture and another tablespoon of boiling water and stir just until smooth (take care not to overmix).  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top.

Bake for 55 minutes to an hour.  Test with a skewer.  Let cool for 10 minutes, then take out loaf and allow to cool.  Eat slightly warm or cool.


The pumpkin and chickpeas was wonderful - a different, more earthy (less sweet) take on the squash and sweetcorn I also like.  The herbs, chickpeas, squash, lemon, pumpkin seeds and seasoning are just meant to be together...  The loaf is pretty good too - I think I undercooked it slightly (am starting to realise there is a huge difference in temperature between parts of the oven), and the chocolate overpowered the spices and pumpkin a bit, but it is still very munchable.  I am also pounding my way through a small jar of TJ's pumpkin butter -mmmmm.  I considered making pumpkin butter but you can't really preserve pumpkin so I decided it wasn't worth bothering.  Pumpkin fest!

Cauliflower with breadcrumbs

S made this - he said it was something his Dad used to make.  And that he thinks it was a classic German post-war dish.  There is something very German about it, I'm not quite sure what - pale, unadorned veggies, with toasty crunch, as a dearth of strong flavours lets subtle tastes shine on.  S loves fried garlic, I suspect that was an inauthentic 21st-century-german-whose-name-begins-with-S addition.

1 cauliflower head
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

Clean the cauliflower, remove the outer leaves and divide into floret chunks about 2 in across.  Put in a steamer and steam for 10-15 min, until tender.

Meanwhile, prepare the garlic.  Heat ~1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and lightly fry the garlic.  Add the breadcrumbs and toast for 2-3 min til browned (but not burnt) and smelling good.

To serve, put some freshly steamed cauliflower in a bowl, add breadcrumbs and eat straight away (it all was gone before I could take a photo).


Simple and tasty - good mixture of subtle flavours and textures.  One of the most exciting things S has cooked for me in a while.

Porridge, two ways

It has started to feel a little chilled some mornings*.  The heat in our apartment came on for the first time this morning (it is somewhat out of our control).  On those cold mornings, the ones where you stand shivering waiting for the shower to run hot, muesli doesn't cut it and it has to be porridge for breakfast.  Porridge is warming, inside and out.  It makes me remember eating it as a child - my sisters didn't like it so I was the baby bear, eating with my parents and golden syrup instead of Goldilocks.  It's best with golden syrup, but I can't find that here so have been making a cinnamon maple syrup version most recently.
There seems to be an incredible diversity of loves and hates when it comes to porridge - something so simple, or perhaps not: milk, water, cream, salt, time, oatmeal, oats...  This is my standard version.

(for one)
1/3 cup porridge oats
3/4 cup water
pinch salt

cinnamon, maple syrup, raisins, banana to add

Put water, oats and salt in a small pan and bubble (watch it doesn't boil over) until it is thickened - usually 10-15 min is enough, I think.

Eat with golden syrup.  Or, if that's not possible, add cinnamon, maple syrup, raisins and banana and mix up to taste.


I just read about baked porridge, and I like the idea of it.  It might be more of a weekend breakfast, so I haven't got around to it yet.  Perhaps it'll be good cold too like rice pudding.  My first iteration will be something like this:

(for 4)
1 cup oats
1 2/3 cups water / fake milk
2 tbsp sugar or maple syrup
cinnamon / nutmeg
raisins / dried apricots

Heat the oven to 350F.  Mix the ingredients and put in a heatproof oven dish.  Bake for 25-30 min.

Edit - I made the baked porridge at the weekend.  It was indeed simple and warming and great for a snowy October weekend.  Texture is slightly different from pan-cooked - more fluffy and less smooth?  Felt like eating oat crumble; everyone knows that crumble for breakfast is the best.

*subsequently shown to be a major understatement - it's snowing and there's an inch of slushy snow, in October.

Mixed grains, cooked together

 A lady comes and sits in the canteen at work about once a month, with little pots of samples of (usually) salads, and recipes to go with them - I think to encourage healthy eating.  Of all the things she has brought, a 'multi-grain pilaf' has been my favourite so far, and I've tweaked around with it at home - it's a good, warm, wintry, texturally interesting pot of food, and the key is the sequential addition of different grains.

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cups water
2 cups veg stock
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup pearl barley
1/2 cup brown rice mix (or just brown rice)
1/4 cup bulghur wheat
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley OR 1 tsp dried thyme and 1 tsp dried basil
olive oil
salt+pepper

Heat 2 tsp oil in a large saucepan.  Add the sunflower seeds and a good pinch of salt and cook until the seeds are golden.  Transfer seeds to a small bowl.

Heat another 2 tsp oil in the pan.  Add the onion and fry until softened (~4 min).  Add the water, stock, soy, balsamic, barley and rice (and dried herbs if using).  Bring to the boil, cover and simmer ~35 min.

Add bulghur, cover and simmer for 10-30 more min until the grains are all cooked and the liquid gone.

Remove from the heat, add sunflower seeds, salt and pepper, and parsley if using.


I like the mixture in this, and it's alright cold the next day too, unlike risotto.

Apple cake

My mother used to make an apple cake that we loved - it was a fairly thin, spiced cake base with a layer of cooked apples arranged prettily on top.  It wasn't a tarte tatin - something much more rustic and less sweet.  I remembered it the other day, and remembered trying to make it as a teenager and making a bit of a hash of it.  I think my baking skills have improved now, but I don't have the recipe any more.  I asked Grandma about it - she didn't know the cake but sent me another recipe (with grated apple, definitely different).  So, I set out to recreate Mum's apple cake (with some of the mass of apples we picked last week).  I made it for a friend's birthday and she keeps bees, so I also felt like the cake needed to have a bit of honey in it somewhere...

10 oz cooking apples (used Rome Beauty - pretty red skin)
juice of half a lemon
8oz plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
4 oz marg
4oz sugar
1 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 3 tbsp boiling water
fake milk (~3 tbsp)
~1 tbsp honey (or 1 tbsp demerara sugar)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350F/180C.  Line the base of a ~7in cake tin with baking paper.

Peel the apples (leaving little bits of peel if it is pretty), and core them. Chop 3/4 of the apple into small chunks.  Slice the remainder into pretty slices about 5mm thick at the peel side.  Mix the apples with lemon juice in a bowl to stop them going brown.

Put the flour and baking powder in a bowl and mix with a fork.  Add the marg and rub into the flour as if making crumble.  Mix in the sugar and cinnamon.  Add the linseed/water mix and the apple chunks and mix.  Add enough milk to make a good, stuck-together cake batter, then dollop it into the cake tin and smooth the top.

Arrange the apple slices on top.  Gently heat the honey and cinnamon in a small saucepan, then drizzle over the top (if using demerara just mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top).

Bake for ~50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean and the cake is nicely browned.  Allow to cool in the tin for 10-30 min before removing and cooling on a rack.


It came out quite nice - smelled wonderful, of cinnamon and apple and autumn, looked very pretty, and didn't last long (snapped one quick picture as we rushed out the door to the party at 2330).  The base was quite stodgy - I think the interspersed apples and honey/cinnamon-iness saved it from being too much stodge, but I might reduce the amount of cake mix and increase the amount of apples on top for the next iteration.

Apple picking

We completely failed to go apple picking last year - I don't know what happened.  I mean, for one thing it is a classic New England Fall activity, and for another I love apples.  Perhaps I was worried about the inferiority of American apples (I do worry about this, quite a lot - if there's one thing Britain does incomparably well it is apples)... who knows.  Anyway, I got really excited about apples this year, partly to do with the discovery of the Roxbury Russet - an old American variety... from Boston (I like russets).

Did a bit of research (thanks Greg) and found that they had russets at a few farms in the neighbourhood.  Rang them up and found none for picking but some for buying.  So on Sunday afternoon we took ourselves off to Dowse orchards in Sherborn (only half an hour out of Boston).  It was a buy a bag ($21 for medium size) and fill it job, we ended up with quite a well-packed bag.

We picked a mixture of Macoun, Idared (from Idaho), McIntosh, Empire (from New York), Cortland, Rome Beauty (a cooker), and a little green one that might have been a Rhode Island Greenling but I forget.  All slight variations on shiny and red except the green ones.  We met the farmer, who was really nice.  S has just got all excited about apples and so was asking about the root stock etc (S: 'are they on the M9 rootstock?', Farmer Dowse: 'No, M5 actually').  He told us how they used to have a whole orchard of the green ones but they were eaten by deer and now they have just one tree.  He also told us where all the apple varieties came from (all American) - the names seemed suddenly obviously connected e.g. Empire from NY, etc.  And he pointed us in the direction of the Rome Beauty, which weren't signposted, but are apparently a cooker.  Looking forward to those.  S was eating an apple while they were talking - he didn't seem to mind.  The McIntosh were a very pretty deep purplish red (and not too big - American apples are usually so massive), and the Idared have some pretty red flesh under the skin.

We bought some russets from the farm stand on the way out.  Now have masses of apples, woop.  On first taste the russets weren't as good as the ones we got in Canada (and seem to be a different variety?).  Think they need to sit for a week or so to ripen up - have laid them out at home, we'll see.

Warm fall food - mashed potato, roast fennel, aubergine with miso+sesame

We watched an episode of 'Celebrity Masterchef' the other night, and the man was doing a demo of making mashed potato without a masher - he mashed it a bit with a fork then beat it over a gentle heat until smooth.  Remembered we had some potatoes (forgot them for a while), decided they were still OK, and then to mash them.


Mashed potato with mustard and spring onions

4 medium potatoes, peeled
2 spring onions, chopped
1 tbsp marg
1/2 tbsp fancy mustard from Australia (+Tanya)
2-3 tbsp fake milk
salt+pepper

Cover potatoes with water and boil until soft when poked - 20-25min.  Drain, return to pan and mash with a fork until all large chunks are gone.  Add the marg, milk, mustard and seasoning and beat over a gentle heat with a wooden spoon until smooth, adding more milk if it is too thick.  Add the spring onions and mix well in.


Roast fennel

Several leaves from a massive fennel bulb, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 375F.  Rub baking tin with olive oil.  Add veg and season.  Put in oven for ~30min, until done, removing and mixing once or twice along the way.


Aubergine with miso and sesame

Chinese aubergines (the long thin ones) - I only had 1 but 3-4 would have been better
sesame oil
sesame seeds (1/4-1/2 tbsp per aubergine)
yellow miso paste (~1/2 tbsp per aubergine)
lime juice

Heat oven to 375F.  Rub baking tin with sesame oil. Slice the aubergines on the diagonal into pieces about 1cm thick.  Arrange them on the baking tin and put in the oven for ~15 min.  Turn them and put back in for another 10 min or so.  For the last 5 min, add sesame seeds to the tin to roast - keep a careful eye they don't burn.  Remove from the oven and transfer aubergine+seeds to a bowl.  Add the miso paste and sufficient lime juice to thin the paste enough to mix it up.  Mix together and eat warm or cold.


I also stewed a little bit of rhubarb with a couple of apples (from apple picking @ Dowse Orchards in Sherborn), and ate it with Bird's custard made with almond milk.  Although the proportion of rhubarb was quite low its taste still came through - the apples weren't cookers so their taste was fairly mild, and they were sweet enough that I hardly needed to add any sugar.  I'm getting used to the taste of fake milk custard.  I do love a bit of custard on a dark evening...

The aubergine was well tasty - I'd read about the aubergine-miso combo a few times but hadn't got around to trying it.  It works well.  The fennel mix was simple but ended up going really well with the mash, which amazingly turned out good and smooth and pretty darn tasty with the fancy mustard etc. mmmmm Autumn.

Tamarind spice biscuits

Felt like making biscuits for some reason.  I love tamarind right now, and stumbled across this recipe - sounded quick enough and I had a couple hours before going apple picking.  Ate a few with some hot cinnamon apple cider - autumnal loveliness.

125g margarine
250g sugar
25g tamarind concentrate
1 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 3 tbsp hot water
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp garam masala or mixed spice (used lebanese 7-spice)
200g chopped glacé ginger (only had a little bit of crystallised, so used that instead)
250g plain flour
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Also added a handful of oats

Beat the marg, sugar, tamarind and linseed mix until smooth, then beat in the spices and glacé ginger. Stir in the flour and bicarb evenly, then scoop small unshelled walnut-sized balls from the mixture, roll each one between your hands to smooth, and place 5cm apart on a tray lined with nonstick baking paper. Bake in batches at 170C (150C fan-assisted)/335F/gas mark 3 for about 15 minutes.


A week later, and these have been in a airtight box and I swear they got better.  The spiciness seems to have matured / intensified and they are a great texture.  Thumbs up from our friend who is visiting from the UK - she's been waking up early with jetlag and eating tea and biscuits for breakfast until S+I get up.

Black bean patties

A quick weekday evening supper - wanted to do something with black beans.  Think their best feature is their colour, so made them into colourful, herby patties.

1 cup cooked black beans, defrosted
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chia seed, ground
2 tsp flour
pinch cayenne
1 tbsp lemon + lime juice
1 very mild red chili, chopped
1/2 a clove garlic, chopped
3 spring onions, finely sliced
handful sweetcorn, defrosted
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt+pepper
water
veg oil for cooking

Pulverise the beans with a handheld blender (try and leave them with a bit of texture).  Add the remaining ingredients, except the sweetcorn, herbs and water, and mix til well combined and a good consistency.  Add the sweetcorn and herbs, mix in, check for seasoning and add water if too dry / falling apart.  Shape into patties (about six), and fry in a tiny bit of oil in a non stick pan til browned on the sides and heated through.  Eat with rice and chutney.

Veg food in Toronto

A quick Google of Toronto revealed plenty of veg food places, which boded well for it being a cool city.  It was, and we visited a good few of the veg places.  We stayed at a vegetarian b+b the first night - arrived late so went to Commensal for a quick dinner as it was 10 min walk away.  It was OK - a fill your plate with anything, cafeteria style place that hit the spot at the time.  Breakfast courtesy of Paul-Antoine the next morning was very nice, although not very vegan (I lapse into vegetarian when vegan is too awkward) - crepes prepared by a real Frenchman, plenty of fruit and bread+jam and cakes.  We also checked out Fressen one evening, which seemed to be the poshest veg*n option in town, and was nice in terms of atmosphere, although most of the food was not super exciting (pleasant enough).  A good find was a veg and non-veg desi soup place (Ravi Soups, on Queen St West), which we stumbled upon during Nuit Blanche and really hit the spot - I had a super tasty butternut squash soup with chopped asian pear and browned onion on top.

The real excitement was Jamaican - One Love Vegetarian.  We were lucky to get there during our stay, as it is closed Sundays and only open 11-6 on Saturdays.  So glad we made it though.  Was close to our second b+b - nr Koreatown (854 Bathurst St).  It seemed to be entirely vegan, even though the sign outside only said it was vegetarian.

We had a pumpkin roti, the soybean curd and lima bean curry (which came with rice+lentils, salad incl avocado and sunflower sprouts, and fried plantains), and a ginger beer each.  The ginger beer arrived first, and was the best I've ever had - soooo good (and pretty fiery).  Fiery hot sauce came on the side too.  It was all incredibly yummy.

And we only got to try a few things on a menu where we could have had anything!  We'd asked for the Callaloo first, they didn't have it that day - am interested in the green bananas.  The staff were really friendly (not OTT, just helpful and nice), and the whole place was just awesome.

ginger beer, pumpkin roti, soybean curd and lima bean curry with trimmings

Caponata

I made this for the first time years ago.  It's really good - kind of like ratatouille, but better.  I'd make it more often if it wasn't that we don't often have aubergines, celery and pine nuts all in the house at once.  I think this is a fairly simple version - stuff like cocoa and artichoke hearts can be added; the key ingredients remain aubergines, celery and capers.

600g aubergines, chopped into ~2cm chunks
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
~5 big stalks of celery, chopped (or substitute ~3/4 tsp crushed celery seed)
1 clove garlic, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp sultanas (or golden raisins)
~3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tin chopped tomatoes
~2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp olives, pitted and chopped
1 tbsp pine nuts (or substitute slivered toasted almonds)
1 tbsp chopped basil (optional)
salt and pepper

Salt aubergine and put under a heavy weight to drain (for approx half an hour).

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, add onion and celery (and garlic if using), and cook for ~5 min until starting to soften. Rinse the aubergine and press it dry. Add the aubergine to the pan with the onion, and cook for ~10 min, until softened and starting to brown.

Add sultanas, vinegar, tomatoes, sugar, capers and olives (and celery seed if subbing for celery). Bring to a gentle boil and simmer until everything is soft and thick (at least 30 min). Finally, stir in pine nuts, and basil if using. Taste, and add more salt, sugar, pepper or vinegar if it needs it. Let cool. Ideally keep it for at least a day before eating - the taste and texture improves.


Check for seasoning, then eat - hot or cold, with pasta or with bread or on its own.

Flower flour - marigold and sunflower rolls

I was daydreaming about underground restaurants and found myself looking at MsMarmiteLover's blog and coveting her cookbook...  I found this page and loved the idea so much - I even have marigolds growing, nearing the end of their season and begging to be used.  My idea with planting them was that they would be pretty and edible - they grew well and were bright and fun all season, and now I've at last got around to eating some.

For eight:
7g dried yeast
160 ml lukewarm water
1/2 tsp honey
250 g strong white flour
10 g (~2 tbsp) semolina
1 tsp salt
25 ml olive oil
45 g sunflower seeds
1/2 handful marigold petals
1/2 tbsp olive oil for brushing

To make the dough; into your mixer add the flour, semolina, olive oil, sunflower seeds, marigold petals, honey and yeast. Then pour in the lukewarm water.

Let this mix on a low setting for at least 10 minutes, adding the salt at this point. If you don't have a mixer you can knead the dough by hand.  When well kneaded, cover the bowl and leave to rise for an hour or so in a warm place where it should double in size.

Tip the dough carefully onto a floured work surface and gently divide into balls of 40 - 50g in weight, using a digital scale to measure this quite accurately (if possible). Roll each ball in the palm of your hand and pull the sides down tucking the seam underneath.

Use a pair of scissors or a credit card to cut the balls of dough across the top. Make three crosses / six segments.  Pull each segment out from the middle to form a rough petal. Once finished, each ball should look like a little flower. Alternatively, you can leave as round rolls.

Put the dough flowers (or rolls) spaced apart on an oiled baking tray. Cover and leave for 30-40 minutes in a warm place. Preheat the oven to 220C (425F).

Bake the marigold bread rolls in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Finish by brushing with olive oil and sprinkling on more marigold petals. The rolls are nice served warm or, once cooled, can be frozen until needed.


These are so much fun!  I wasn't able to weigh the ingredients very accurately (the original was for double), so wasn't sure if they would work.  But they look good to me!  And S said they were exciting....  Brilliant idea with the freezing, why didn't I think of that before?  The remainder are going in right now.  Also the bread machine seemed to work - I haven't used it like that before, but seemed to be a decent labour saver.

Peanut and vegetable stew

We're running low on veggies, which is fine, as we're going to be away this weekend (Nuit Blanche!  Toronto! Niagara Falls!).  I was super tired this afternoon and took myself home around six to make this stew - kind of a mishmash of the veggies we had left / storecupboard stuff, but also kind of exactly what I felt like making and eating.

1 tbsp light olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large, not very hot green chilli, chopped
~1 in piece of ginger, chopped
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 bay leaf
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
1 tiny green pepper that fell off my pepper plant, chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
~5 large kale leaves, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter
1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup chickpeas
~1 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large frying pan and add onion.  Cook until light gold, ~5min.  Add the chilli, ginger and garlic and fry for a minute or so.  Add the spices and toss for a minute or so.  Add carrots and green pepper.  Stir, then add the tinned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, some salt+pepper and half a cup of water.  Put the lid on and cook for about 15 min, until the carrots are just tender.  Meanwhile, take out approx 2 tbsp of liquid from the pan and mix in a small bowl with the peanut butter and sunflower seed butter.  Add in the frozen chickpeas and cook for another 5 min.  Add the frozen peas and cook another minute or so.  Add the kale and cook til wilted.  Add the parsley, turn off the heat, season with soy sauce and taste to check seasoning.  Let sit for five minutes before eating.  It's pretty filling, so fine to eat on its own.


That turned into a long ingredient list... belying its origins.  Was simple, hearty and comforting for an autumn evening.

Apple cinnamon cornmeal pancakes

This recipe is from How It All Vegan! vegan cookbook.

I made them as a Saturday morning breakfast, before we headed out to beach and punkinfiddle.

1/2 cup oats (used wheat flakes as ran out of oats)
3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup apple sauce
2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground linseed plus 6 tbsp hot water, mixed)
2 cups soy milk

Mix dry ingredients.  Mix wet ingredients separately, then add the wet to the dry and mix.  Put about 1 cup into a frying pan and cook til bubbly, solidifying in the middle and golden (~5min).  Turn over and cook on the other side.  Repeat until batter all gone.  Made 4 big pancakes.  Eat with maple syrup.


These were OK.  The cinnamony-ness saved them but they were pretty stodgy.  Won't make the same again.

Rocket and walnut pesto

Had to bring in most of the plants in pots from the balcony as our landlords suddenly proclaimed they were going to repaint the balconies (or something).  Nothing has yet happened on that front (another story), but the weather's getting cooler (though not right now), and I guess it's time to break the pots down in preparation for Winter soon anyway...  One of the things needing used is rocket.  Have been realising that you can make pesto out of just about anything - there are so many different kinds of leaves and veggies, nuts and seeds...

I also made the green sauce from here, as I had come by some green chillies and green tomatoes, and had some lettuce leaves in my pots waiting to be eaten.

1 cup rocket leaves, roughly chopped
small clove garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup shelled edamame, defrosted
1 tsp nutritional yeast
salt and pepper
water to make a good consistency

Put all ingredients in the cup of a wand blender and blend til smooth.  Eat as a dip with bread or crudites, or as a pesto with pasta.

Carrot dips

I have been making lots of things with carrots - they seem like a kind of bridge between summery veggies and autumnal ones - am almost onto squash, but not quite.  Incorporating the kind of warm spices I used in the chickpea-carrot stew thing I made last week.  I made two different pesto-y dip things.

Spiced carrot and chickpea dip

1 cup cooked, defrosted chickpeas
1 cup carrots (approx 2 large carrots, peeled, chopped into big chunks and steamed for approx 15 min until tender)
1 tsp ras el hanout
1 tsp lemon juice
chickpea sized piece of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper
water to make a good consistency

Put all ingredients into wand blender cup and blend until smooth.  Taste to check seasoning.


Spiced carrot and almond pesto

1 cup carrots (approx 2 large carrots, peeled, chopped into big chunks and steamed for approx 15 min until tender)
1/4 cup toasted, flaked almonds
1 x 1 x 2 in piece firm tofu, cut into chunks
1 tsp lemon juice
splash of red wine vinegar
chickpea sized piece of garlic
2 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp cumin seed
3/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
water to make a good consistency

Toast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant and then grind in spice grinder.  Put all ingredients into wand blender cup and blend until smooth.  Taste to check seasoning.


Both were good.  I think I liked the almond one best, but yes, other one good too.  Hard to go wrong with this kind of thing really.  S cooked some spaghetti right after I made them and I realised that the almond one especially might actually work as a pesto - it did - was very tasty and autumnal and orange and interesting.