I am currently addicted to polenta. It's the simplest, quickest starch, and somehow fulfills all my wintry needs (warm, filling, comforting, bland yet tasty) and goes with anything, while still managing to be ready in minutes. It's basically porridge made with cornmeal.
(makes enough for 2 people)
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
3 cups boiling water (less for thicker polenta)
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)
Boil the water in a saucepan. Mix the cornmeal and salt in a small bowl. Add this mixture to the pan gradually, whisking all the time to avoid lumps. Once it is all added, continue to cook with the lid on until the mixture is thick and there are no hard bits in it. For me, with a 'stone ground' cornmeal, this has been taking less than 5 minutes. Add the butter (and / or olive oil), stir and cover until required.
You can also add black pepper, chilli pepper flakes, herbs or whatever else takes your fancy (sweetcorn? halved cherry tomatoes? olives?). If you have extra, you can move it into a greased loaf tin and chill, then cut slices and fry.
Last night we ate polenta with a thick, simple tomato sauce:
(I have been making variations on this sauce since I was about 10: probably one of the first things I learned how to cook by myself = ultimate comfort food)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large tin of tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
~8 black olives, de-stoned and chopped
1 tsp red chilli flakes
salt to taste (if needed - olives may be salty enough)
Heat the oil, add the onion and garlic, cover and fry until softened but not browned. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, chilli flakes and olives and cook until sufficiently reduced and thickened. Taste for seasoning.
You could combine the two to make a polenta 'pizza': splodge the polenta on a greased baking tray in a large circle with a 2-inch dyke around the edge. Put the tomato sauce in the middle, sprinkle with chopped basil leaves (if wanted) and bake in a 400F oven for 20-30 min.
Variants: coconut and plantain polenta, coconut and banana polenta with lemongrass tofu
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
My version of Cranachan for Burns Night
It was Burns Night yesterday. I didn't get my act together to have people round this time, but S and I went out and bought some whisky today and I made haggis (following last year's recipe as I liked it surprisingly much) and this: my version of cranachan. Cranachan has long been a highlight of Scottish cuisine for me - toasted oats, raspberries, honey and whisky are lovely together. I have never really liked cream though. It dawned on me that I really didn't have to use cream - so long as there was something bland and creamy - why not yoghurt? I've always loved yoghurt. With this substitution, I think cranachan becomes truly delicious. Although if you like cream you may as well stick with whipped cream where I've used yoghurt.
(makes two)
~300ml of the best plain non-dairy yoghurt around (coconut is my fave, soy an easier to find substitute... note if you can't find a plain version then vanilla, raspberry or peach would all be OK but reduce the amount of honey you add as they will be sweeter... nb oat yoghurt would be great for this)
3-4 tbsp of rolled oats
1/2 tbsp honey mixed with 1-2 tbsp (to taste) good whisky (not too peaty)
3-4 tbsp fresh or frozen raspberries - if frozen defrost in advance
Spread the oats on a baking sheet and put in a 350F oven to toast until they smell nutty and start to brown (prob 5-10 min) - alternatively you can toast them in a dry frying pan. Take out and allow to cool. Mix the yoghurt with the whisky-honey mixture. Once everything is cooled and ready, take two clear glasses and layer the yoghurt mixture followed by oats followed by raspberries until you've used everything up - finish with a layer of yoghurt and a sprinkling of oats. Eat straight away so the oats don't soften.
Predictably, I love this even more than the real thing. I made one last night before we got the whisky using ginger wine instead of whisky (and no honey since it's already really sweet) and that was good too.
(makes two)
~300ml of the best plain non-dairy yoghurt around (coconut is my fave, soy an easier to find substitute... note if you can't find a plain version then vanilla, raspberry or peach would all be OK but reduce the amount of honey you add as they will be sweeter... nb oat yoghurt would be great for this)
3-4 tbsp of rolled oats
1/2 tbsp honey mixed with 1-2 tbsp (to taste) good whisky (not too peaty)
3-4 tbsp fresh or frozen raspberries - if frozen defrost in advance
Spread the oats on a baking sheet and put in a 350F oven to toast until they smell nutty and start to brown (prob 5-10 min) - alternatively you can toast them in a dry frying pan. Take out and allow to cool. Mix the yoghurt with the whisky-honey mixture. Once everything is cooled and ready, take two clear glasses and layer the yoghurt mixture followed by oats followed by raspberries until you've used everything up - finish with a layer of yoghurt and a sprinkling of oats. Eat straight away so the oats don't soften.
Predictably, I love this even more than the real thing. I made one last night before we got the whisky using ginger wine instead of whisky (and no honey since it's already really sweet) and that was good too.
Avocado cake
I had this avocado cake on my mind for a while, after seeing it here (originated here), but never had the reason and the quantity of ripe avocados to make it. My labmate P is taking a leave of absence to start a business, his favourite food is avocado, so we decided to have an avocado-themed get-together before he leaves.
Reason had arrived! All I needed then was lots of ripe avocados: I put six avocados into intensive ripening school (in a bag with a plantain and a banana, in the warmest place in our apartment) and they qualified, just about, just in time...
(ended up needing 4 small-medium avocados in total, although didn't use all of the fourth)
For the cake:
3 cups plain flour
6 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil (avocado oil or light olive oil perhaps better)
1/2 cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1 medium avocado
2 cups water
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla essence
For the icing:
8 oz avocado meat, about 2 small to medium, very ripe avocados
2 tsp lemon juice (used lime)
1 lb icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (used more lime juice instead)
For decoration:
(a tiny model avocado, made of pseudo marzipan)
approx 4 tbsp ground almonds
approx 4 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp ground linseed mixed with 1/3 tbsp boiling water
few drops rum
few drops green food colouring (or green+yellow mixture)
2-3 tbsp cocoa for rolling
(a little bit of orange-tinged icing):
1 avocado stone, finely chopped and soaked overnight in 2 tbsp water
3 tbsp icing sugar
Heat oven to 350F. Grease and line the bases of two 8 or 9-inch cake tins.
In a large bowl, mix with a fork all of the dry ingredients except the sugar. Mix all the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl, including the mashed avocado. Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.
Add the dry to the wet, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth. Pour batter into a greased cake tins. Bake for 30-40 min, until a skewer comes out clean.
Let cakes cool in the tins for 15 min, then turn out onto cooling racks to cool completely before icing.
While the cakes are baking and / or cooling, make the icing. Peel and pit the soft avocados. It’s important to use the ripest avocados you can get your hands on. If the avocados have brown spots in the meat, avoid those spots when you scoop the meat into the bowl.
Put the avocado in a blender with the lime juice and pulse til completely smooth and lightened in colour (nb a different machine eg food processor with whisk attachment would have been better - it took a long time to get it smooth as it wasn't catching in the blades properly).
Decant the smooth avocado into a bowl and beat in the icing sugar a little at a time with a whisk. Add vanilla essence (if using) and whisk until combined. If not using right away, store in the refrigerator*'.
To make the tiny avocado out of marzipan, mix the sugar and ground almonds, mix the wet ingredients separately, then rub the wet through with your fingers to evenly distribute the colour before bring it all together into a ball. Shape it into an avocado shape and then roll it in cocoa powder. Poke all over the surface with a toothpick or knitting needle or similar point to make it look more like avocado skin. Cut in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Hollow out the middle of each half to make the space for the stone. Shape the stuff you hollowed out into a stone shape and roll in cocoa before replacing in one side. This is your tiny avocado.
To make avocado stone icing, chop an avocado stone finely and soak overnight in just enough water to cover it. Mix a few drops with icing sugar until a good spreading consistency is achieved.
To assemble, layer the cake with half the avocado icing in the middle and half on top. Arrange the orange icing and the tiny avocado halves on top.
It's weird, but good. The icing is interesting: definitely tastes like avocado, also like lime, also really sweet - kind of a sensory double-take, then it's like, OK, this is good. It has a strange, almost slippery texture - some modification (adding firm silken tofu?) might be good. The cake is fine but a little bland - could do with some more intense flavour going on - the chocolate taste is kind of half hearted. It looked great though - the visual impact was wicked.
There are various modifications I might have made if I hadn't been tired / on autopilot / so grateful for having a recipe where everything was spelled out and I didn't have to think about it:
*'the icing did not go brown on storage, but it did turn kind of off-green - ideally it would be made as close to the time of eating as poss
* cake was massive - 2/3 recipe quantity or even half would have been sufficient
* avocado oil or a light olive oil would have been better than the veg oil I used
* like the idea of making it a lime and rum cake as well as / instead of the chocolate
* if sticking with the chocolate, think more would have been better
* if ever making an avocado cake again, I might try this one instead
Reason had arrived! All I needed then was lots of ripe avocados: I put six avocados into intensive ripening school (in a bag with a plantain and a banana, in the warmest place in our apartment) and they qualified, just about, just in time...
(ended up needing 4 small-medium avocados in total, although didn't use all of the fourth)
For the cake:
3 cups plain flour
6 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil (avocado oil or light olive oil perhaps better)
1/2 cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1 medium avocado
2 cups water
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla essence
For the icing:
8 oz avocado meat, about 2 small to medium, very ripe avocados
2 tsp lemon juice (used lime)
1 lb icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (used more lime juice instead)
For decoration:
(a tiny model avocado, made of pseudo marzipan)
approx 4 tbsp ground almonds
approx 4 tbsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp ground linseed mixed with 1/3 tbsp boiling water
few drops rum
few drops green food colouring (or green+yellow mixture)
2-3 tbsp cocoa for rolling
(a little bit of orange-tinged icing):
1 avocado stone, finely chopped and soaked overnight in 2 tbsp water
3 tbsp icing sugar
Heat oven to 350F. Grease and line the bases of two 8 or 9-inch cake tins.
In a large bowl, mix with a fork all of the dry ingredients except the sugar. Mix all the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl, including the mashed avocado. Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.
Add the dry to the wet, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth. Pour batter into a greased cake tins. Bake for 30-40 min, until a skewer comes out clean.
Let cakes cool in the tins for 15 min, then turn out onto cooling racks to cool completely before icing.
While the cakes are baking and / or cooling, make the icing. Peel and pit the soft avocados. It’s important to use the ripest avocados you can get your hands on. If the avocados have brown spots in the meat, avoid those spots when you scoop the meat into the bowl.
Put the avocado in a blender with the lime juice and pulse til completely smooth and lightened in colour (nb a different machine eg food processor with whisk attachment would have been better - it took a long time to get it smooth as it wasn't catching in the blades properly).
Decant the smooth avocado into a bowl and beat in the icing sugar a little at a time with a whisk. Add vanilla essence (if using) and whisk until combined. If not using right away, store in the refrigerator*'.
To make the tiny avocado out of marzipan, mix the sugar and ground almonds, mix the wet ingredients separately, then rub the wet through with your fingers to evenly distribute the colour before bring it all together into a ball. Shape it into an avocado shape and then roll it in cocoa powder. Poke all over the surface with a toothpick or knitting needle or similar point to make it look more like avocado skin. Cut in half lengthwise with a sharp knife. Hollow out the middle of each half to make the space for the stone. Shape the stuff you hollowed out into a stone shape and roll in cocoa before replacing in one side. This is your tiny avocado.
To make avocado stone icing, chop an avocado stone finely and soak overnight in just enough water to cover it. Mix a few drops with icing sugar until a good spreading consistency is achieved.
To assemble, layer the cake with half the avocado icing in the middle and half on top. Arrange the orange icing and the tiny avocado halves on top.
It's weird, but good. The icing is interesting: definitely tastes like avocado, also like lime, also really sweet - kind of a sensory double-take, then it's like, OK, this is good. It has a strange, almost slippery texture - some modification (adding firm silken tofu?) might be good. The cake is fine but a little bland - could do with some more intense flavour going on - the chocolate taste is kind of half hearted. It looked great though - the visual impact was wicked.
There are various modifications I might have made if I hadn't been tired / on autopilot / so grateful for having a recipe where everything was spelled out and I didn't have to think about it:
*'the icing did not go brown on storage, but it did turn kind of off-green - ideally it would be made as close to the time of eating as poss
* cake was massive - 2/3 recipe quantity or even half would have been sufficient
* avocado oil or a light olive oil would have been better than the veg oil I used
* like the idea of making it a lime and rum cake as well as / instead of the chocolate
* if sticking with the chocolate, think more would have been better
* if ever making an avocado cake again, I might try this one instead
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Thai green curry with plantain, chickpeas and cauliflower
I have been ferreting through the freezer, trying to figure out why it is so full and disorganised (probably a clue is its bad design... at least, S pointed out, it being really full means it is more energy efficient!), and what treasures might be lurking at the back...
Among other things, I discovered galangal, lemongrass, and half a bag of frozen peas. And, possibly due to an exciting visit to Jitlada Thai in Hollywood, wondered if maybe I should make a Thai curry?
This recipe looked like the business. Amazingly, I actually had most of the key ingredients for the paste (or reasonable substitutions). I didn't have any of the recommended veg to go in it, but decided to freestyle with what I had - no way was I going out to buy food last night - it hit -12C and my fingers froze on the bike ride home in spite of double, super thick gloves.
Green Curry Paste:
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, sliced finely and minced OR 3 tbsp frozen or bottled lemongrass
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2+1/2 tbsp soy sauce, OR equal parts Thai Golden Mountain Sauce and soy sauce, leave out the dark soy
1-2 tsp brown sugar (to taste)
1-3 green chillies, minced (to taste) (used 1-2 tsp dried red chilli as we didn't have any green)
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, peeled and sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves (fresh or frozen), snipped into thin strips with scissors, OR substitute 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 loose cup chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tsp dark soy sauce, OR substitute 1 more tbsp regular soy sauce
Other:
2 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute 1 bay leaf
1 tin coconut milk
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas OR 1 1/2 cup firm tofu drained and chopped into cubes OR a combination
1 black plantain, peeled and chopped into chunks
~3 medium carrots peeled and sliced
~10 mushrooms, roughly chopped into quarters
~1 cup of cauliflower chunks about an inch diameter
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped (optional)
2-3 tbsp oil for frying
To make the green curry paste, place all paste ingredients in a blender. Add a few tbsp of the coconut milk, enough to blend ingredients. Process well.
Place oil in deep frying pan. Turn heat on medium-high and add paste. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add the coconut milk. Add tofu and / or chickpeas and stir to combine.
Add lime leaves (used bay) and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
Add plantain and carrots. (Note: if more sauce is desired, add up to 1 cup vegetable stock.) Cover and simmer another 5 min, then add the cauliflower. Simmer for 3-5 min more, until carrots are soft enough to pierce with a fork.
Finally, add mushrooms and frozen peas. Stir and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until peas are cooked but still bright green.
Do a taste test for salt and spice, and add more soy sauce, salt, lime juice or coconut milk accordingly.
Vegetables: The recommended combo was 1 cubed sweet potato (added when I did the plantain and carrot), 1 red pepper, chunked and a cup of sugarsnap peas (both added when I did the mushrooms) - alternative recommendations were: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, french beans, aubergine, squash, and courgette.
All in all this was really successful: the curry paste worked out well and tasted good and quite authentic. The colour of the curry paste was a bit off (kind of greenish, but also brownish): wondered if I might have skimped a little on the coriander by measuring it before chopping - another time measure after chopping and will probably end up with more. The basil was the tired stuff off our windowsill - fresh holy basil would probably have been much better (and greener).
The plantain, chickpeas and cauliflower all tasted great in this format - was especially pleased with the plantain and chickpeas together. However, they are all brownish and so are the mushrooms and tofu, so that didn't help with the colour issues! So, another time it would be cool to try and get hold of some kaffir lime leaves and holy basil, and some more colourful veg, but I was really impressed with this recipe as a quick, storecupboard-based weeknight supper.
It probably took about an hour in total - could have sped this up by cutting the carrot thinner, and also by prepping the cauli / mushrooms / peas while the pot is on (I was tired and thought it best to prep everything at the beginning to avoid getting confused / stressed). We ate it with simple coconut basmati rice (toss through a few tsp of coconut oil when the rice is cooked and steaming).
Edit: I made this again (after another freezer-clearance effort): this time used holy basil and lime leaves, and green chillies, and made sure my herbs were well-packed. And the paste came out deep green and wonderfully aromatic - I could eat it on its own. I used only one chilli - perhaps use more next time, it wasn't very spicy. For content, I used chickpeas, carrot, tempeh, baby turnips (roots and greens), courgette, peas, radish greens... turns out this is a good way to use random things up / most of the necessary items can be stored in the freezer or pantry indefinitely - only really need the fresh holy basil and coriander.
Among other things, I discovered galangal, lemongrass, and half a bag of frozen peas. And, possibly due to an exciting visit to Jitlada Thai in Hollywood, wondered if maybe I should make a Thai curry?
This recipe looked like the business. Amazingly, I actually had most of the key ingredients for the paste (or reasonable substitutions). I didn't have any of the recommended veg to go in it, but decided to freestyle with what I had - no way was I going out to buy food last night - it hit -12C and my fingers froze on the bike ride home in spite of double, super thick gloves.
Green Curry Paste:
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, sliced finely and minced OR 3 tbsp frozen or bottled lemongrass
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2+1/2 tbsp soy sauce, OR equal parts Thai Golden Mountain Sauce and soy sauce, leave out the dark soy
1-2 tsp brown sugar (to taste)
1-3 green chillies, minced (to taste) (used 1-2 tsp dried red chilli as we didn't have any green)
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, peeled and sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves (fresh or frozen), snipped into thin strips with scissors, OR substitute 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 loose cup chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tsp dark soy sauce, OR substitute 1 more tbsp regular soy sauce
Other:
2 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute 1 bay leaf
1 tin coconut milk
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas OR 1 1/2 cup firm tofu drained and chopped into cubes OR a combination
1 black plantain, peeled and chopped into chunks
~3 medium carrots peeled and sliced
~10 mushrooms, roughly chopped into quarters
~1 cup of cauliflower chunks about an inch diameter
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped (optional)
2-3 tbsp oil for frying
To make the green curry paste, place all paste ingredients in a blender. Add a few tbsp of the coconut milk, enough to blend ingredients. Process well.
Place oil in deep frying pan. Turn heat on medium-high and add paste. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add the coconut milk. Add tofu and / or chickpeas and stir to combine.
Add lime leaves (used bay) and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
Add plantain and carrots. (Note: if more sauce is desired, add up to 1 cup vegetable stock.) Cover and simmer another 5 min, then add the cauliflower. Simmer for 3-5 min more, until carrots are soft enough to pierce with a fork.
Finally, add mushrooms and frozen peas. Stir and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until peas are cooked but still bright green.
Do a taste test for salt and spice, and add more soy sauce, salt, lime juice or coconut milk accordingly.
Vegetables: The recommended combo was 1 cubed sweet potato (added when I did the plantain and carrot), 1 red pepper, chunked and a cup of sugarsnap peas (both added when I did the mushrooms) - alternative recommendations were: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, french beans, aubergine, squash, and courgette.
All in all this was really successful: the curry paste worked out well and tasted good and quite authentic. The colour of the curry paste was a bit off (kind of greenish, but also brownish): wondered if I might have skimped a little on the coriander by measuring it before chopping - another time measure after chopping and will probably end up with more. The basil was the tired stuff off our windowsill - fresh holy basil would probably have been much better (and greener).
The plantain, chickpeas and cauliflower all tasted great in this format - was especially pleased with the plantain and chickpeas together. However, they are all brownish and so are the mushrooms and tofu, so that didn't help with the colour issues! So, another time it would be cool to try and get hold of some kaffir lime leaves and holy basil, and some more colourful veg, but I was really impressed with this recipe as a quick, storecupboard-based weeknight supper.
It probably took about an hour in total - could have sped this up by cutting the carrot thinner, and also by prepping the cauli / mushrooms / peas while the pot is on (I was tired and thought it best to prep everything at the beginning to avoid getting confused / stressed). We ate it with simple coconut basmati rice (toss through a few tsp of coconut oil when the rice is cooked and steaming).
Edit: I made this again (after another freezer-clearance effort): this time used holy basil and lime leaves, and green chillies, and made sure my herbs were well-packed. And the paste came out deep green and wonderfully aromatic - I could eat it on its own. I used only one chilli - perhaps use more next time, it wasn't very spicy. For content, I used chickpeas, carrot, tempeh, baby turnips (roots and greens), courgette, peas, radish greens... turns out this is a good way to use random things up / most of the necessary items can be stored in the freezer or pantry indefinitely - only really need the fresh holy basil and coriander.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Mashed plantains and parsnips with cumin
I saw this combination somewhere, thought it sounded good.
4 small to medium parsnips, peeled and chopped into even sized pieces
2 mostly-black plantains, peeled and chopped into even-sized pieces
2 tsp ground cumin
olive oil
salt+pepper
1 tsp maple syrup
almond milk
Heat the oven to 400F. Parboil the parsnips and then toss in a baking tin with 1 tsp cumin, 1-2 tbsp olive oil and some salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 min until browned and tender. Meanwhile boil the plantain pieces in a pan until tender (approx 20-30 min).
Take the parsnips out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 min. Drain the plantains. Put the parsnips in the pan and use a wand blender to puree them. Add the plantains and mash with a fork until as smooth as poss, then add remaining cumin and maple syrup; and almond milk, olive oil and salt+pepper until a good taste / texture is achieved.
The cumin / plantain / parsnip went really well together and tasted great, but I didn't get the texture quite right. Perhaps needed to use the blender on the plantains too?
4 small to medium parsnips, peeled and chopped into even sized pieces
2 mostly-black plantains, peeled and chopped into even-sized pieces
2 tsp ground cumin
olive oil
salt+pepper
1 tsp maple syrup
almond milk
Heat the oven to 400F. Parboil the parsnips and then toss in a baking tin with 1 tsp cumin, 1-2 tbsp olive oil and some salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 min until browned and tender. Meanwhile boil the plantain pieces in a pan until tender (approx 20-30 min).
Take the parsnips out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 min. Drain the plantains. Put the parsnips in the pan and use a wand blender to puree them. Add the plantains and mash with a fork until as smooth as poss, then add remaining cumin and maple syrup; and almond milk, olive oil and salt+pepper until a good taste / texture is achieved.
The cumin / plantain / parsnip went really well together and tasted great, but I didn't get the texture quite right. Perhaps needed to use the blender on the plantains too?
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Molasses Flood: Boston Baked Beans and Boston Brown Bread
I thought of making Boston Brown Bread because I'd been keen to try making it for a while and knew it had molasses in it. Then I started suspecting it wasn't the only regional recipe to involve molasses and I was right - Boston Baked Beans also makes heavy use of molasses, as does Indian Pudding. The Boston-molasses connection, it turns out, is through the Triangle Trade and alcohol production. Apparently slaves were shipped from Africa to South American sugar plantations, then sugar and molasses were shipped to New England to be distilled into rum or other alcohol (hence the huge molasses storage tank and the disaster), then the alcohol (and ice, to make up the weight) was shipped to Europe and elsewhere (including back to Africa, completing the triangle).
Quite a series of connections. I made a Brown Bread and a vegetarian Baked Beans (usually it has salted pork or bacon in it).
(based on this recipe, although I used the flour mix recommended here and this recipe also looked good)
(I used the in-oven cooking method written out below, as opposed to the stove-top steamer method, due to the fact my coffee can was too tall for my steaming apparatus)
I first came across Boston Brown Bread at P's house in New Hampshire - my friend G and his uncle P are from a big New England Irish family, and P had half a can of brown bread in the fridge left over from a fry-up. I'd never seen anything like it before: bread in a can?! But, bread packed with molasses and wholewheat and raisins - sounds like something I'd love (and similar to a malted tealoaf)!
Butter for greasing loaf pans or coffee cans
1/2 cup (heaping) wholemeal flour
1/2 cup (heaping) rye flour
1/2 cup (heaping) finely ground corn meal (must be finely ground)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 cup molasses (any kind - I used blackstrap)
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup almond milk with 1 tsp cider vinegar)
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
One metal 6-inch tall by 4-inch diameter coffee can, or a 4x8 loaf pan (used a coffee can)
Heat the oven to 325F and boil a full kettle of water (to do oven steaming method). Or heat oven to 350F (for oven baking method - use loaf tin).
Grease the tin with butter. In a large bowl, mix the wholemeal flour, rye flour, corn meal, baking powder and bicarb, salt and allspice. Add the raisins if using.
In another bowl, mix together the milk and vanilla essence (if using). Whisk in the molasses. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir well with a spoon.
Pour the batter into the tin taking care that the batter not reach higher than 2/3 up the sides of the container.
Oven steaming method:
Cover the tin tightly with foil and tie in place with string. Put the prepared tin into a high-sided oven-proof pan that can hold water up to 1/3 the height of the tin. Pour boiling water into the pan until it reaches 1/3 up the side of the tin. Put the pan into the oven. Steam the bread for at least 2 hours and 15 minutes. Check to see if the bread is done by inserting a skewer (or thin metal knitting needle) into it. If the skewer comes out clean, you're ready. If not, re-cover the tin and cook for up to another 45 minutes (I ended up cooking it for the extra time but I think it would also have been fine earlier).
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before putting on a rack. Let the bread cool for 1 hour before turning out of the tin (it turned out quite easily, although the edges were soft from condensation and I wondered if it wasn't done yet, once turned out and fully cooled it was totally good).
Oven baking method:
Put loaf tin in oven (at 350F) and cover the top with a baking tray. Bake for ~45-50 min, until it is coming away from the sides and a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin.
This also worked well in muffin form (I like this form because they're easy to freeze and defrost in portions): I filled four cups down each side of my muffin tin (8 total), and filled the middle cups with water / put an oven dish of water in the bottom of the oven to stop it drying out - this might have been overkill. Bake for ~25 min at 350F.
Slice and eat plain, or toast in a little butter in a frying pan.
Boston Baked Beans
(based on this recipe, being the tastiest sounding veggie version I came across... there are an awful lot of variants out there)
The molasses contains lots of sugar and calcium (as well as iron, magnesium and potassium) - apparently these are what allow you to cook the beans for so long without them collapsing.
I have never eaten real Boston baked beans, veggie or otherwise, so don't know what this should turn out like. Still, feels right to eat Boston baked beans at least once while living in Beantown.
1 1/2 cups yellow eyed or navy beans, with water to cover (I used ~ 4 1/2 cups pre-cooked kidney and black-eyed beans)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used turbinado)
2 tbsp ground mustard (used ground white mustard seeds)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp paprika
2 large onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp sea salt
16 oz tin chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup molasses (used ~1/3 cup blackstrap - was running out of molasses!)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Heat the oil in a high-sided frying pan and add onion. Cover and fry until softened and starting to brown. Add garlic and salt and cook for a few more minutes. Defrost beans if frozen, then add the beans, tinned tomatoes and tomato puree to the pan and mix. Mix the brown sugar, mustard, nutmeg and paprika in a small bowl, then add to the pan along with the molasses and mix. Add vinegar last and stir. Cover and put in oven for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Check for liquid level, adding a bit of water if mixture is too thick or drying out. Uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes.
Really like the texture of the beans - nice and firm. In general a good balance of spiced, sweet and salty.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Winter Salad II: watermelon radish, edamame, avocado and quinoa
A handed me some CSA veg in a hurry yesterday - I saw these and said 'turnips?' and he replied 'they said watermelon turnips, I don't know what's different about them'. I googled quickly and found they were watermelon radishes, a special variant of daikon. I kind of wished I hadn't peeked, because it would have been a wonderful surprise to cut into one of these unawares... They looked like muddy turnips on the outside, but inside they are a spectacular hot pink with slight rays of white. I can definitely see where the watermelon in the name comes from now!
(nb I think the quinoa, edamame and avocado suggested themselves because of the stories in the news about ingredient origins and S+I having a long ongoing conversation about the ethics of buying things from far-flung places... I guess it made me want to eat them (and we had them all in the house anyway, would be the most unethical thing of all to waste them, right?).)
1 medium watermelon radish
~3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame, defrosted
1/2 an avocado, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 cup quinoa, cooked til tender, drained and cooled
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Peel the radish and shave it into thin slices using a peeler or a mandoline. Put in a serving bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, toss, taste for seasoning and eat.
Also really good, I was on my salad making game last night. I realised when eating it, it's quite reminiscent of this one. Got beetroot to eat up too, perhaps that's on the cards soon... Only problem with this type of salad is that making thin slices of beetroot or radish is somewhat time-consuming / a pain (sometimes literally).
1 medium watermelon radish
~3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame, defrosted
1/2 an avocado, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 cup quinoa, cooked til tender, drained and cooled
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Peel the radish and shave it into thin slices using a peeler or a mandoline. Put in a serving bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, toss, taste for seasoning and eat.
Also really good, I was on my salad making game last night. I realised when eating it, it's quite reminiscent of this one. Got beetroot to eat up too, perhaps that's on the cards soon... Only problem with this type of salad is that making thin slices of beetroot or radish is somewhat time-consuming / a pain (sometimes literally).
Winter salad I: kale, horseradish, miso and sesame
Yet another kale salad, I know. I'd actually been craving a bit of kale: having gotten somewhat overwhelmed by it before Christmas this time I was ready. I had a delicious kale and coconut smoothie from Naturewell in Silverlake while in LA, which perhaps awakened the craving...
I wanted a gentler, more digestible kale texture (than raw), so decided to let the kale steam a bit before turning it into salad. We ate a miso-horseradish sauce out the other day which was a great combination and reminded me about my burgeoning horseradish addiction, so that's where the inspiration for the dressing came from. It all seemed to come together really nicely.
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 bunch of kale, washed and shredded
~10 cherry plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (optional)
1-2 tbsp prepared horseradish
1-2 tbsp white miso
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large lidded frying pan.Add garlic and fry for a minute or two without colouring. Add kale, toss, put the lid on and heat for another minute or two, then switch off the heat and allow to steam with the lid on until tender, then remove the lid.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing in a serving bowl: mix horseradish, miso, vinegar, lime juice and oils until smooth. When it is ready, add the kale, along with both kinds of sesame seeds and the chopped tomatoes (if using).
Oh yeah, thumbs up, think this was my favourite kale salad yet... or maybe it's not really a salad, just dressed kale, whatever, the spicy-salty-nutty-almost creamy dressing is wildly good.
I wanted a gentler, more digestible kale texture (than raw), so decided to let the kale steam a bit before turning it into salad. We ate a miso-horseradish sauce out the other day which was a great combination and reminded me about my burgeoning horseradish addiction, so that's where the inspiration for the dressing came from. It all seemed to come together really nicely.
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 bunch of kale, washed and shredded
~10 cherry plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (optional)
1-2 tbsp prepared horseradish
1-2 tbsp white miso
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large lidded frying pan.Add garlic and fry for a minute or two without colouring. Add kale, toss, put the lid on and heat for another minute or two, then switch off the heat and allow to steam with the lid on until tender, then remove the lid.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing in a serving bowl: mix horseradish, miso, vinegar, lime juice and oils until smooth. When it is ready, add the kale, along with both kinds of sesame seeds and the chopped tomatoes (if using).
Oh yeah, thumbs up, think this was my favourite kale salad yet... or maybe it's not really a salad, just dressed kale, whatever, the spicy-salty-nutty-almost creamy dressing is wildly good.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Cornbread v. 2
I felt like eating cornbread on Friday. Cornbread is great stuff: fills the need for breadlike substance quicker than any other kind of bread. With garlicky spinach and beetroot salad, mmm. I've made cornbread a few times before and was really happy with the results. In my original search I'd found two good-looking recipes, but I'd never got around to trying the second since I liked the first just fine. Thought I'd give the other one a try this time - this one.
Makes 12 to 16 squares
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup veg oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 cups fake milk
2 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Heat oven to 350F and grease the bottom of a metal loaf tin lightly with oil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and the vinegar and set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt). Add the oil and maple syrup to the milk mixture. Whisk with a fork until it is foamy and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Pour the wet ingredient into the dry and mix together. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Slice into squares and serve warm or store in an airtight container (can also freeze slices and toast as required.
This one was fine but I think I liked the other one better - perhaps I prefer sugar over maple syrup (felt like you could taste it a little, wasn't sure about that), perhaps I like having linseed in it, perhaps I like it slightly saltier and sugarier... Not sure, both are fine, but think I'll stick with the other one as default.
Makes 12 to 16 squares
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup veg oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 cups fake milk
2 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Heat oven to 350F and grease the bottom of a metal loaf tin lightly with oil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and the vinegar and set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt). Add the oil and maple syrup to the milk mixture. Whisk with a fork until it is foamy and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Pour the wet ingredient into the dry and mix together. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and bake 30-35 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Slice into squares and serve warm or store in an airtight container (can also freeze slices and toast as required.
This one was fine but I think I liked the other one better - perhaps I prefer sugar over maple syrup (felt like you could taste it a little, wasn't sure about that), perhaps I like having linseed in it, perhaps I like it slightly saltier and sugarier... Not sure, both are fine, but think I'll stick with the other one as default.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Earl Grey Marmalade and Dark Marmalade
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| Left: Dark marmalade; Right: Earl Grey marmalade |
We found them in Arax Market in Watertown today. So then I had to make marmalade. I had nearly 3 lb of oranges, so decided to try two variants. One (the dark marmalade) is direct from my AFRC Institute of Food Research 'Home Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables' book (first published in 1929; basically the preserving Bible; it's out of print but Grandma found me a copy when I first started jamming). The other (the tea marmalade) just occurred to me as I was assembling the ingredients: it seemed like it should work.
Below is the basic marmalade recipe. You can make it pure without additions for the traditional deal, or add either tea or molasses for my two variants.
Note: if you can't get hold of Seville oranges; lemons, limes and grapefruit (or some combination of citrus fruit) all make good marmalade - but don't use sweet oranges alone, they lack the sharpness you need.
(makes 4 jars)
600g Seville oranges (approx. 4 medium ones)
1/2 tsp citric acid (or add one lemon along with the oranges)
~1.3 litres water
1.2 kg sugar
for dark marmalade: 2-3 tsp molasses
for tea marmalade: 1 Earl Grey teabag (if doing again, use 2 or more teabags: the flavour was lost with only one)
Wash the oranges thoroughly. Chop into quarters. Cut out the pulp. Squeeze the juice into the pan. Put the remaining pulp and seeds into a muslin square in a colander over a bowl. Repeat for all the quarters of all the oranges. Then thinly slice the rind pieces (do not remove pith) and add them to the pan. Tie up the muslin with all the pulp and seeds in it into a tight bundle, then add it to the pan. Add the water and citric acid (and teabag if using). Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 2 hours or until the rind pieces are soft.
Remove the muslin bag and squeeze it between two plates to get as much liquid back into the pan as you can, then discard the contents. Also remove the teabag if using. Add the sugar (and molasses if using) and stir while dissolving / coming to the boil. Boil hard (taking care to check it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan) until setting point is reached.
Let stand for ~30 min before putting in sterilised jars. If you jar it too soon the rind pieces will rise towards the tops of the jars and there will be an inch or two of rindless jelly at the bottom - not the end of the world, but not as pretty as if it is evenly dispersed. I am often too impatient so I know exactly what this looks like.
Both set beautifully. The dark one is especially beautiful and delicious. You can't really taste the tea - should have used more teabags (or used strong brewed tea instead of water)... Although it is still lovely as plain Seville marmalade.
Colourful, robust winter salads
We ended up eating at / from Whole Foods quite a lot while we were out West. It was S's idea. We arrived in Vegas and had one very uninspired meal with awful service, and then he had the idea of looking for local Whole Foods (apparently his buddy who runs learning-to-play-poker courses there stocks up at Whole Foods before getting going on the poker). We found a huge one in Henderson, and that was us sorted for the next few days.
A recurring Whole Foods salad theme was mixed grains and pulses. Which put me in the mood for more on our return. Here are a couple of variants:
Giant couscous, lentils, rice, cranberries and pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup giant / Israeli couscous, cooked in 1 cup water with 1/4 tsp turmeric for colour
1/2 cup brown and/or wild rice, cooked in 1 cup water
3/4 cup brown lentils, cooked in 1 1/2 cups veg stock with a bay leaf
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
~8 salty black olives, chopped
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt+pepper
wholegrain mustard
maple syrup
Mix olive oil, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup and seasoning in a medium bowl to make the dressing. Add the cooked, cooled couscous, rice and lentils and toss. Add the cranberries, pumpkin seeds, olives and coriander and mix up again. Taste to check seasoning / that there is enough dressing.
Massive couscous (moghrabieh), chickpeas, beetroot and sesame
3/4 cup moghrabieh, cooked in 1 cup water with 1/2 tsp turmeric for colour
1 cup chickpeas, cooked and defrosted
2-3 medium beetroot, boiled until tender, cooled and diced into ~1 cm dice
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1/2 tsp nigella seeds
juice of 1/2 lime
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt+pepper
Put the pre-cooked and cooled couscous, chickpeas and chopped beetroot in a bowl, add the seeds and coriander and toss. Then add the dressing ingredients: oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt+pepper, quantities to taste (use plenty), toss and eat.
A recurring Whole Foods salad theme was mixed grains and pulses. Which put me in the mood for more on our return. Here are a couple of variants:
Giant couscous, lentils, rice, cranberries and pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup giant / Israeli couscous, cooked in 1 cup water with 1/4 tsp turmeric for colour
1/2 cup brown and/or wild rice, cooked in 1 cup water
3/4 cup brown lentils, cooked in 1 1/2 cups veg stock with a bay leaf
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
~8 salty black olives, chopped
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt+pepper
wholegrain mustard
maple syrup
Mix olive oil, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup and seasoning in a medium bowl to make the dressing. Add the cooked, cooled couscous, rice and lentils and toss. Add the cranberries, pumpkin seeds, olives and coriander and mix up again. Taste to check seasoning / that there is enough dressing.
Massive couscous (moghrabieh), chickpeas, beetroot and sesame
3/4 cup moghrabieh, cooked in 1 cup water with 1/2 tsp turmeric for colour
1 cup chickpeas, cooked and defrosted
2-3 medium beetroot, boiled until tender, cooled and diced into ~1 cm dice
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1/2 tsp nigella seeds
juice of 1/2 lime
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt+pepper
Put the pre-cooked and cooled couscous, chickpeas and chopped beetroot in a bowl, add the seeds and coriander and toss. Then add the dressing ingredients: oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt+pepper, quantities to taste (use plenty), toss and eat.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Simple celeriac
Wanted a straightforward, easy way of doing celeriac. Celeriac goes great with garlic and thyme, so that was that. Would be good on its own, or with other herbs, though.
1 medium celeriac, peeled and chopped into 1cm dice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme (or fresh, if available)
salt+pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Heat oil in a lidded saucepan. Add garlic, thyme and celeriac and toss. Cover and cook for ~25 min, or until celeriac is tender. Season to taste and cook uncovered for ~5 more minutes.
This was quite successful. We both liked it and it was nice and low maintenance.
Note: also works well with a mix of carrot and celeriac, or just carrots, or parsnips (add cumin as well as thyme).
1 medium celeriac, peeled and chopped into 1cm dice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme (or fresh, if available)
salt+pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Heat oil in a lidded saucepan. Add garlic, thyme and celeriac and toss. Cover and cook for ~25 min, or until celeriac is tender. Season to taste and cook uncovered for ~5 more minutes.
This was quite successful. We both liked it and it was nice and low maintenance.
Note: also works well with a mix of carrot and celeriac, or just carrots, or parsnips (add cumin as well as thyme).
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