I almost let the shiso go off in the fridge before tasting a bit and realising it is spectacular stuff. It tastes really fresh and tangy, a little bit like mint if I had to pick something, but its own thing.
This was an accident really. I had some pickling liquid over when I pickled carrots, and remembered having pickled shiso in among the umeboshi plums we used for onigiri, cast around for another vegetable to chuck in with the shiso but (surprisingly) didn't find anything suitable. I had some freshly-cooked chickpeas hanging around though, so bunged some of them in.
Amazingly, it turns out pickled chickpeas are delicious, and since they have a mild taste of their own they really take on the shiso flavour (and colour, a little - it was red shiso, so the chickpeas became soft pink). The pickled shiso leaves are good too - I ate some on toast with a bit of miso.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
Buckwheat breakfast bowl
Our trip to Brattleboro naturally featured a trip to the Coop (best food shop ever)! I tried to be restrained (because of our imminent big move), and just picked up a few favourites (nori cashews, sesame sticks), plus a few random things to make me proud of remembering to bring reusable containers (roasted tahini butter; jasmine kombucha)... and a few things I couldn't resist (raspberry dust chocolate, figs, pecans). It made me realise I still had some stuff left from our last trip there around Easter, and resolve to use that stuff when I got back...
The most notable was raw buckwheat groats. I'd been interested in them but didn't really know what to do with them. I'd sprouted a few, and they were good, with a gentle aroma reminding me of buckwheat honey. But that was about as far as I'd got. I made the amazing seed+nut bread yesterday, and spotted a raw buckwheat porridge recipe on the same blog: tipping point on a recipe I'd seen one too many times - so this time I should make it...
(makes about 3 servings; start the night before)
1 cup raw buckwheat groats
1 tbsp cider vinegar
warm water
1 banana
almond milk
hemp seeds
buckwheat honey
blueberries
toasted flaked almonds
raisins
cinnamon
The night before you want to eat buckwheat for breakfast, put the buckwheat groats in a container with the vinegar and plenty of warm water. Let soak overnight. In the morning, they will be soft enough to nibble. Drain and rinse them. If you want to use them for salad etc just stop here.
To make into a buckwheat bowl (somewhere in between porridge and an acai bowl?), put the rinsed groats into a blender cup and add the banana, about 1/2 cup almond milk and a good sprinkle of hemp seeds, and blend. It should end up about the consistency of yoghurt (except not as smooth, unless the blender is high-speed).
To serve, transfer to bowls and drizzle with buckwheat honey (or other honey, or maple syrup, or no additional sweetener... I had buckwheat honey though and the combination seemed too serendipitous to pass up). Sprinkle with blueberries (mine were frozen), almonds, raisins and cinnamon. Mix up and eat.
I was amazed by how good this was, and by how much of it I managed to eat!
When I asked S if he wanted to try buckwheat breakfast he was not excited, but he's the kind of chap who'll always give something a go. He did, and he liked it enough to request it for breakfast the next day too (this time mixed with cupuaçu, so even more like an açaí bowl hybrid)! Only downside is, we've now worked our way though that stash of buckwheat groats, so unless another trip to Brattleboro ensues, there'll be no more of this for a while.
The most notable was raw buckwheat groats. I'd been interested in them but didn't really know what to do with them. I'd sprouted a few, and they were good, with a gentle aroma reminding me of buckwheat honey. But that was about as far as I'd got. I made the amazing seed+nut bread yesterday, and spotted a raw buckwheat porridge recipe on the same blog: tipping point on a recipe I'd seen one too many times - so this time I should make it...
(makes about 3 servings; start the night before)
1 cup raw buckwheat groats
1 tbsp cider vinegar
warm water
1 banana
almond milk
hemp seeds
buckwheat honey
blueberries
toasted flaked almonds
raisins
cinnamon
The night before you want to eat buckwheat for breakfast, put the buckwheat groats in a container with the vinegar and plenty of warm water. Let soak overnight. In the morning, they will be soft enough to nibble. Drain and rinse them. If you want to use them for salad etc just stop here.
To make into a buckwheat bowl (somewhere in between porridge and an acai bowl?), put the rinsed groats into a blender cup and add the banana, about 1/2 cup almond milk and a good sprinkle of hemp seeds, and blend. It should end up about the consistency of yoghurt (except not as smooth, unless the blender is high-speed).
To serve, transfer to bowls and drizzle with buckwheat honey (or other honey, or maple syrup, or no additional sweetener... I had buckwheat honey though and the combination seemed too serendipitous to pass up). Sprinkle with blueberries (mine were frozen), almonds, raisins and cinnamon. Mix up and eat.
I was amazed by how good this was, and by how much of it I managed to eat!
When I asked S if he wanted to try buckwheat breakfast he was not excited, but he's the kind of chap who'll always give something a go. He did, and he liked it enough to request it for breakfast the next day too (this time mixed with cupuaçu, so even more like an açaí bowl hybrid)! Only downside is, we've now worked our way though that stash of buckwheat groats, so unless another trip to Brattleboro ensues, there'll be no more of this for a while.
Pickled carrots
K and I made an adventure to Brattleboro at the weekend. It was kind of a distraction from S being away; also I thought if I make sure I have plenty of fun on the Saturday I could get on with work on the Sunday? Never mind about Sunday though; Saturday in Bboro was lovely.
We went to the farmers' market, which I had never found before and was positively idyllic. It was in the woods, with most of the stalls in little wooden semi-permanent stands. Lots of prepared foods (two Thai, two Indian, tacos, dim sum, Malian, pizza... surely some more I forgot). Farm stands heaving with beautiful fruit and veg; cheeses, local pottery, maple syrup, flowers: everything looked really high quality.
We carefully budgeted out our cash, and bought: a pint of maple syrup each; a punnet of the most beautiful raspberries, hot chai. And back to the prepared food: as we were going in a man recommended the tacos, and we ended up following his advice - mine was with potatoes, salsa verde, yum... I also had a tasty steamed greens bun from the dim sum stall. Food tour!
The taco came with some simple but really good pickled carrots. Since I had a load of carrots at home D gave me, those pickled carrots got me thinking about making some. I've pickled carrots before but wasn't totally happy with the results. This is another go around.
~ 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into diagonal rounds
~ 1/3 a large red chilli, deseeded and cut into rounds
1 in piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
Layer the carrots in a big lidded jar with the chilli and ginger. Put the salt, sugar, vinegar and water in a pan and heat gently until just about to boil. Pour over the carrots so they are covered. Put the lid on the jar, let cool, and store in the fridge for up to a month. Ready to eat after ~ 24 hours.
We went to the farmers' market, which I had never found before and was positively idyllic. It was in the woods, with most of the stalls in little wooden semi-permanent stands. Lots of prepared foods (two Thai, two Indian, tacos, dim sum, Malian, pizza... surely some more I forgot). Farm stands heaving with beautiful fruit and veg; cheeses, local pottery, maple syrup, flowers: everything looked really high quality.
We carefully budgeted out our cash, and bought: a pint of maple syrup each; a punnet of the most beautiful raspberries, hot chai. And back to the prepared food: as we were going in a man recommended the tacos, and we ended up following his advice - mine was with potatoes, salsa verde, yum... I also had a tasty steamed greens bun from the dim sum stall. Food tour!
The taco came with some simple but really good pickled carrots. Since I had a load of carrots at home D gave me, those pickled carrots got me thinking about making some. I've pickled carrots before but wasn't totally happy with the results. This is another go around.
~ 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into diagonal rounds
~ 1/3 a large red chilli, deseeded and cut into rounds
1 in piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
Layer the carrots in a big lidded jar with the chilli and ginger. Put the salt, sugar, vinegar and water in a pan and heat gently until just about to boil. Pour over the carrots so they are covered. Put the lid on the jar, let cool, and store in the fridge for up to a month. Ready to eat after ~ 24 hours.
Carrot, chickpea and ginger soup (with shiso and sweetcorn)
D gave me a big bag of reject carrots from his farm (perfectly good, just broken or slightly nibbled and therefore unsaleable) after a lovely evening at ECO.
I bunged them in the fridge and forgot about them for a few days, but then peeled one and dipped in it hummus, and it was such a tasty carrot I started to think about what to do with them. Some I pickled, and I also decided to make soup, for an unknown reason totally unlinked to the fact it just got hot again...
We had shiso from the CSA last week, and I didn't know what to do with it... I tasted some and I actually like it - tangy and slightly minty, but different. Sprinkled on soup seemed like it could work?
1-2 tbsp olive oil
~5 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
2 in piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
~4 cups chopped, peeled carrots
~2 cups chickpeas
~5 cups water
~4 tbsp chickpea miso
~1 tsp honey
salt+pepper
~4 leaves shiso, shredded
kernels from 1/2 a sweetcorn cob
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the spring onions and ginger. Cook until softened. Add the carrots and cook for a few more minutes. Add the chickpeas and water, bring to the boil and simmer for ~ 20 min, until the carrots are just tender. Let cool, then blend until smooth. Add the miso, honey and salt and pepper to taste and mix well. To serve, sprinkle generously with shiso and sweetcorn kernels. Think it might also be good cold: will test this later.
I bunged them in the fridge and forgot about them for a few days, but then peeled one and dipped in it hummus, and it was such a tasty carrot I started to think about what to do with them. Some I pickled, and I also decided to make soup, for an unknown reason totally unlinked to the fact it just got hot again...
We had shiso from the CSA last week, and I didn't know what to do with it... I tasted some and I actually like it - tangy and slightly minty, but different. Sprinkled on soup seemed like it could work?
1-2 tbsp olive oil
~5 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
2 in piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
~4 cups chopped, peeled carrots
~2 cups chickpeas
~5 cups water
~4 tbsp chickpea miso
~1 tsp honey
salt+pepper
~4 leaves shiso, shredded
kernels from 1/2 a sweetcorn cob
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the spring onions and ginger. Cook until softened. Add the carrots and cook for a few more minutes. Add the chickpeas and water, bring to the boil and simmer for ~ 20 min, until the carrots are just tender. Let cool, then blend until smooth. Add the miso, honey and salt and pepper to taste and mix well. To serve, sprinkle generously with shiso and sweetcorn kernels. Think it might also be good cold: will test this later.
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