Oatcakes

Gosh, I can't believe it's taken me this long to discover how easy it is to make oatcakes... They are one of the few British / Scottish foods I love and have missed - so much so I've been known to buy a few packets in Orkney and cart them all the way back to Boston. It honestly never occurred to me that I could make them! Nor that they are pretty much vegan and gluten free, without any adjustments. And super simple: they're basically just oats and a bit of fat! I referred to these two recipes.

(makes about 20 small ones)

200g oats (use gluten-free oats if making gluten free)
1/2 tsp sea salt, crushed in a pestle and mortar
1/2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed in a pestle and mortar
50 ml olive oil*
1-2 tbsp boiling water

Heat the oven to 180C / 350F. Grind about half the oats in a blender or food processor, then put in a bowl with the rest of the oats, salt and pepper. Mix, make a well in the middle and add the oil. Combine until the dough sticks together in a ball, adding boiling water until this happens - don't add so much water to make it sticky, but use enough that it binds together well. Let rest for ~30 min.

Roll out the dough to about 5 mm thick, and cut rounds of the size you desire, using a cutter or the top of a glass (used smaller, transparent water glass). Sprinkle a baking tray with flour (use GF flour if making GF), arrange the oatcakes on it, and bake in the oven for about 20 min. Take out, carefully turn over the oatcakes and bake for another 5-10 min. They should not really colour, and they will harden a bit but will finish hardening out of the oven. When done, transfer to a wire rack to cool.

*another (perhaps more traditional) oil or fat could be used instead


I took some to a picnic at ECO and they were good. I thought they'd be dippable, so took them with hummus, but they weren't really: too crumbly. Think I was a little cautious with the hot water - should have used a little more, think that'd have helped stick them together. They were good though. Was kind of funny: most people brought some version of chips and dips. Mostly tortillas - with salsa, with black bean... Realised oatcakes are pretty much like Scottish tortillas.

Summer

We made an adventure to Roslindale today - first to the farmers' market, reputed to be the best in town. Where I found this awesome local soy and quinoa tempeh. Then we stopped by our friend S's place, where he showed us the tiny house and the tiny library of German books he built. Onwards through the woods of Stony Brook Reservation to Turtle Pond. Seb spotted this little Chicken of the Woods by the path. We lazed on the dock awhile, then rode down the big hill and along the corridor park back to JP, where ice tea was to be found at Ula. From there, we collected our CSA on the way home, including the first (much anticipated, and suitably sweet) corn of the year.

Apart from the above-described chicken of the woods (which was pale in colour when we found it, but took on a much more distinct chicken of the woods vibrant orange when cooked), corn and tempeh, the above also incorporates spring onions, chilli and garlic from previous CSAs, coriander grown on my roof, South River (Western Mass) chickpea tamari, and a squeeze of lime juice. Such delicious ingredients - this is one of my favourites (pretty much this recipe).

Aubergine, peanut and tamarind curry

One of our favourites round here is Yoma - a little Burmese place. I've never eaten Burmese food anywhere else so cannot speak for its authenticity, but we love the tastes - all the best bits of Thai, Vietnamese and Indian food, pretty much. Tea salad is a favourite, and their chickpea tofu, and the coconut-pumpkin-tofu curry. The okra is also good. And aubergine, peanut and tamarind curry.

We had an increasing mass of various aubergines (including cute little green ones called Kermit) from the CSA. I was going to make the classic aubergine curry, but then on the way home went right off the idea of following a recipe and decided instead to make something up involving aubergine, peanut and tamarind. This is that.

~3 medium aubergines (or equivalent amount of small ones), trimmed and cut into ~2 in wedges
olive oil
salt
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 in piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 small onion (or ~5 spring onions), peeled and chopped
~2 tbsp tomato puree
~2 tbsp peanut butter
~1 tbsp tamarind paste
juice of 1/2 lime
salt
water
peanuts (optional)

Heat the oven to 400F. Prepare the aubergines and put into a roasting tin. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil and mix. Put in the oven and roast for ~ 30 min, until tender and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a large saucepan and add the chilli, garlic, ginger and onions. Cover and saute until soft. Mix the tomato puree, peanut butter, tamarind and lime juice in a bowl with ~ 1/2 tsp salt and enough water to make a thick, creamy sauce. Add to the chilli-garlic mixture and saute for a minute.

When the aubergines are ready, take out of the oven and add to the pan. Mix it all together, taste and adjust for salt and acid. If you have peanuts, you could chop and dry-fry some, then sprinkle over.


Different from the Yoma one, but good nonetheless. Even better the next day when everything has mellowed together. Even cold.

Chocolate cherry coconut

My Mum used to make this sometimes - it's from the WI Book of Biscuits. I have that book now, with her annotations in places. I don't make stuff out of it that often, but it's ace - all the recipes are minimal and pictureless and simple and they work. I've made this every once in while since I was about 12 (although this is the first time I attempted a vegan version).

I love glace cherries even though I know they are wrong - I like to think of them as cherries with all the cherry removed and replaced with sugar. Yum. Coconut, cherry and dark chocolate is an amazing combination.

I veganised the recipe slightly by replacing the egg, but otherwise the recipe was vegan (and gluten-free) already.

5 oz / 150 g chocolate
2 oz / 50 g margarine
4 oz / 100 g sugar
1 egg (I replaced with ~2 tbsp soy yoghurt and ~2 tsp cornstarch - other egg replacements should also work)
2 oz / 50 g glace cherries
4 oz / 100 g desiccated coconut

Line a Swiss roll tin (flat-based tin with straight sides) with tinfoil (if you only have large tins you can make a false wall with the foil). Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (small bowl set over almost-boiling water), then spread it out over the foil evenly and leave to cool.

Once the chocolate has set, heat the oven to 170C / 335F. In a medium bowl, cream the margarine and sugar together. Beat in the egg (or soy yoghurt+cornstarch). Chop the cherries and fold them in, along with the coconut. Spread over the chocolate and bake for 15-20 min. Let cool in the tin and when cool cut into slices.


The version with egg is (unsurprisingly) a bit fluffier on top, but either way this is amazing - like a Bounty bar made with good ingredients, and with cherries in it!