Mandarin and hazelnut cake

For my birthday, S wanted to make me a cake. He asked for a suggestion. I asked my friend H, who is an excellent baker and shares many food interests with me. Specifically, I asked her for something easy, delicious, and that I had not tried before.

 

She suggested this one, S made it, and it ticked all the boxes. Not only that, it also felt very seasonal, with the oranges and hazelnuts - and was easy to transport, and kept well! And was perfect for a morning cake when I took a bit to work for work birthday celebration on the next workday after my birthday, which was a bit of a ghost ship day and I wanted to leave before lunch - I took some skyr to go with it and it had a lovely Christmas-brunch vibe for the few people I scraped together.

 

I would definitely make this again. I'd be tempted to try some variations as well - H suggested using ground almonds instead of hazelnuts; we have plenty of walnuts; how about swapping out the ginger for cardamom (inspired by this)? Lemons instead of oranges?

Note: S says he used cup measurements for everything except the hazelnuts - but then he would have been using US cups (240 ml = 1 cup) instead of AU cups (250 ml = 1 cup). So his version may have been slightly unique.

For the cake:
3 organic mandarins (about 95 g each), washed, unpeeled
4 eggs
270 g sugar (1 1/4 AU cups)

90 g melted butter
400 g hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts)
75 g plain flour (1/2 AU cup)

2 tsp finely grated ginger
⅓ tsp baking powder

pinch of salt 

For the syrup:
220 g sugar (1 AU cup)

125 ml mandarin juice (1/2 AU cup)

1 tbsp julienne ginger
4 mandarins, peeled and thickly sliced crossways
Juice of ½ lemon

Heat oven to 160C and butter and flour a 12cm x 20cm loaf tin (he used our standard sized loaf tin). Place mandarins in a saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to the boil and cook until soft (20-25 min). 

 

Drain, cool and chop (discard seeds), then purée in a blender or food processor.

 

Whisk eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy (3-4 min in an electric mixer, which would be ideal if we had one). Fold in mandarin purée and butter, then fold in hazelnut meal, flour, ginger, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Spoon into prepared tin, smooth top and bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted withdraws clean (1-1¼ hours). Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

 

For mandarin and ginger syrup, combine sugar, mandarin juice and 125 ml water in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve sugar, then add the ginger and simmer until translucent and a light syrup forms (6-8 min). Stir in mandarin slices and lemon juice, remove from heat and leave to cool.

 

Serve cake with mandarin and ginger syrup spooned on top. We did this per slice, and I think this was good, as the cake could have gone a bit soggy when stored if you did the whole thing at once - also this way you could have as much or as little syrup as you wanted, and try it without the syrup (almost as good!). I also really liked it with some skyr or greek yoghurt.

 

Cake will keep stored in an airtight container for 3 days - or longer in the fridge. Store the syrup separately.

Rhubarb and ginger chutney

Our rhubarb plants are huge this year - it's amazing. Took them a few years to get going but now they have settled in and I'm impressed with them! Enough to make chutney (although this was combined with some from our veg bag). I wanted something savoury and rhubarb-y. Perhaps I should try some kind of sweet pickle as well? Anyway, here is rhubarb chutney - from this recipe, which sounded like exactly what I wanted to try.

 2 lb / 907 g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into chunks

1 lb / 454 g onions, roughly chopped

4 oz / 113 g chopped dates (or raisins or sultanas)

2/5 pint / 227 ml white wine vinegar

2/5 pint / 227 ml water

1 lb / 454 g turbinado sugar

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Combine all ingredients in a big pan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and jammy (wooden spoon should leave a trail). Put into sterile jars and store 6-8 weeks before using.

Kid-friendly coconutty ‘flapjacks’

I stumbled upon this 'flapjack' recipe and it sounded really like something small S and I would both like - not too sweet, lots of tasty stuff. It took me a while to get around to making it but when I did I discovered that I was so right: we both love it! I've been making a half quantity in a loaf tin (I don't have a bigger square or rectangular baking tin) and that lasts us about a week. We have been developing a little tradition of baking snacks together on Sunday mornings that small S can eat after vuggestue through the rest of the week. We've made these a couple of time now. Also, I have discovered that I love pretty much every Anna Jones baking recipe I have tried so far - she uses all my favourite things!

4 tbsp chia seeds
200g rolled oats
150g dried fruit (used a mixture of dried apricots and raisins)
1 medium carrot
1 apple
100g desiccated coconut
100g pumpkin seeds
6 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground ginger
70g coconut oil, melted

Heat the oven to 200C and line a 20cm × 30cm baking tin (or large loaf tin for a half quantity) with greaseproof paper. In a small bowl, soak the chia seeds in four tablespoons of water, then set aside (did 2 tbsp chia in 3 tbsp water for half recipe - the chia mixture felt too thick the first time).

Put the oats in blender and blend until you have a scruffy flour, then tip into a large bowl. Put half the dried fruit into blender and blend until broken down and a little mushy. Scrape into the bowl with the oats.

Grate the carrot and apple (no need to peel them... also ok with double apple no carrot or double carrot no apple, depending on availability) into the bowl, and add the remaining dried fruit, coconut, chia mixture, pumpkin seeds, maple syrup, vanilla, spices and melted coconut oil. Mix well.

Spoon into the tin, smooth the top with the back of a spoon, and bake for 40–45 minutes (c 30 min for half quantity), until golden brown. Leave to cool a little in the tray, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Slice into pieces.

Baking with Honey IV: Ginger, honey and chocolate biscuits

A Delia recipe for ginger-chocolate biscuits caught my eye, but I ended up making the first one that came up on Google instead - this. It's quite similar to National Trust biscuits, but why not try something else instead... Since I haven't managed to find golden syrup or treacle here, I subbed honey, and so this ended up being another honey recipe.

225 g / 8 oz butter
100 g / 3½ oz golden syrup (used honey instead)
200g / 7 oz soft brown sugar
150g / 3½ oz flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt flakes
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
400 g / 14 oz rolled oats
2 eggs, beaten
50 g / 1¾ oz stem ginger, chopped
115 g / 4 oz good quality dark chocolate

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line two baking trays with paper. Melt the butter and the golden syrup / honey in a pan over a low heat. Set aside to cool slightly. Combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and spices and mix well to combine. Stir in the rolled oats and mix well. Pour in the melted butter and syrup/honey and stir until well combined. Then stir in the beaten eggs and the stem ginger.

Spoon in even, heaped teaspoons onto the lined baking trays, leaving room for them to spread. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove the biscuits from the oven and set aside to cool completely.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of barely simmering water. Dip the biscuits in the melted chocolate (or spread a bit on them with a knife/spoon), and place on a cooling rack until the chocolate has set.


These were nice. Not super special, but nice and gingery - anything with ginger, especially stem ginger, usually works for me... They are a soft, cakey kind of a biscuit - rock bun kind of texture. I did some with chocolate and some without - I thought we liked them both equally but the chocolate ones did disappear first...

Rhubarb, strawberry and walnut loaf

We planted our first rhubarb last year (purchased from a big kræmmermarked at Bellahøj). And then tried to ignore it for while, since I read it is better not to pick any the first year.

Having patiently waited for what felt like ages, I picked the first of it in late Spring. It was a bit pathetic: about six sticks as thick as my finger. Perhaps it needs some compost? But anyway, I was determined to celebrate it, and decided on a cake, to try and make it go as far as possible. I didn't originally intend to combine it with strawberry, but felt like the cake could maybe use a bit more fruit and we had some in the house, so strawberries got in there too, and streusel topping seemed like a good idea, so here we go. I used this recipe.

(makes one normal-sized loaf cake)

For the cake:
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup veg oil
1 egg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp honey rum
1 cup flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 cup yoghurt
1/2 cup chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

For the crumble topping:
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 - 3 1/2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped walnut

Heat the oven to 350F / 176C. Grease a loaf tin and line the base.

Beat together the brown sugar, veg oil, egg and rum. Mix the flours, ground ginger, salt and bicarb with a fork in a large bowl. Add wet to dry, and also add in the yoghurt. Mix until just combined, stirring in strawberries, rhubarb and walnuts in the final strokes. Dollop into the loaf tin and smooth out the top.

Combine topping ingredients except the walnuts: it should be thick and clumpy. Mix in the walnuts. Sprinkle topping evenly over the loaf.

Bake for 55 - 65 min, or until a skewer comes out clean.


NB: a second harvest of rhubarb became rhubarb, strawberry, ginger and almond crumble - pretty much like this one, except using real butter and chopped whole almonds instead of flaked (again, included strawberries because didn't have enough rhubarb for crumble).

Mixed spice

Mixed spice, which I always have to remember not to confuse with allspice, is apparently distinctly British. Therefore, if I want to use it here, I have to mix it up myself.

1 tbsp ground allspice
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp mace (or use more nutmeg)
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground ginger

Grind all the spices and mix together.

Yellow cauliflower and chickpeas

Yellow potatoes has been a favourite of ours for some time. It's a most speedy and excellent way to use pre-cooked potatoes - essentially dry-fried; spicy and delicious. For some reason it had never occurred to me to cook anything other than potatoes like that, but S steamed a lot of cauliflower the other day and a lightbulb came on. Wouldn't cauliflower be delicious this way too? While preparing the spice paste chickpeas also came to mind - I usually have a supply of pre-cooked chickpeas in the freezer, so it was easy to throw some in. It made for an excellent combination.

approx. 1 1/4 lb mixed steamed cauliflower and pre-cooked chickpeas
fresh ginger ~2 x 1 x 1in, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp water
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
5 tbsp veg oil
1 tsp whole fennel seed (optional)

Chop cauliflower into approx 1 in chunks. Put ginger, garlic, water, turmeric, salt, cayenne in blender and blend to a paste.

Heat oil.  Add fennel seeds.  Sizzle for a few seconds, then add the paste.  Stir and fry for 2 min.

Add cauliflower and chickpeas (direct from freezer is OK).  Stir and fry for 5-7 min over a medium-high flame til they have a golden-brown crust.

Coconut and pumpkin dal

I went to Paris for five days for a meeting. It was sunny all the time, and I never wore a coat. I came back, and Copenhagen had decided it was Autumn. It was chilly, windy, rainy. Dal season had started. I'd hardly spent time cooking for weeks - I've been really busy with work and house stuff. I don't feel like myself when I don't cook: it takes my mind off things and helps me relax. But I hadn't time.

So in honour of dal season, and in an attempt to use up some stuff from the kitchen cupboards, I made this rich, delicious, warming dal. I cooked red lentils and kabocha squash in coconut milk with turmeric, ginger and other spices to maximise warmth in colour and taste. Finished off with a generous amount of fresh coriander, it is warming and decadent and autumnal. And I feel a bit more like myself.

2 tbsp coconut oil
2 in piece ginger, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1-2 tsp cumin seeds
seeds from 2-3 whole cardamom pods
2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 tin coconut milk
water
1 small kabocha squash
4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
salt+black pepper
juice of 1/3 lime

Heat coconut oil in a large pan. Add ginger and garlic and cook until lightly coloured. Grind the cumin, coriander and cardamom then add to the pan along with the other dry spices. Cook until fragrant. Add the lentils and stir until slightly transparent. Add coconut milk and sufficient water to cook the lentils (you can add more later if it gets too thick). Simmer for about 20 min. Once you have started it simmering, deseed the pumpkin (squash) and chop it into smallish chunks. You can peel it if you like but wouldn't have to. Add it to the pan with about 15 min to go. Once the pumpkin and lentils are tender turn off the heat. Add coriander. Add salt, pepper and lime juice to taste. Eat right away with rice or flatbreads, or reheat (it keeps well).

Ultimate gingery red lentil dal

They've had a red lentil dal on the menu at Grød all the time we've been here, and I keep ordering it even though I know it's really something I can make at home. Because it is pretty much the ultimate comfort food on a chilly day (it's starting to feel like Spring and sunny but it's still a bit chilly if we're honest).

I have been making versions of the Grød dal ever since we first went there. This time I think I nailed it. And I made crispy garlic butter flatbreads to go with it, which really took it over the edge.

(takes about half an hour from beginning to end)

Dal:
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed in a pestle and mortar
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups red lentils
4 cups hot water
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into half moons
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
juice of 1/3 lime
1 tsp honey
1-2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
yoghurt (or skyr, or ricotta)
more chopped fresh coriander
salty almonds (about 5 per bowl)

Cheat's garlic flatbreads:
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 cm slice of butter
flatbread (7 chapati size pieces)

Heat the oil in a large lidded frying pan. Add the fresh ginger and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the dried spices and saute until fragrant. Add red lentils and mix around, then pour in hot water, add tomato puree, stir, cover and simmer for about 20 min. Peel and chop the carrots and add to the pan (they should need 10-15 min to become tender). Add about 1 tbsp of chopped coriander. Simmer until the lentils and carrots are tender.

Meanwhile, make the flatbreads. We had some thin Turkish flatbread that needed eating; I chopped it into 7 chapati size squares. Put the chopped garlic and cold butter into a small bowl and heat in the microwave for 15-20 sec, or however long it takes for the butter to become soft and scoopable but not liquid. Mix garlic and butter together. Heat a large heavy frying pan to a high heat, then put the first flatbread piece in it. Warm for a few min, until hot, then turn over. Put about a teaspoon of garlic-butter mixture on it and spread out. Transfer to a plate to keep warm. Repeat for the remaining flatbreads.

To finish off the dal, add the remaining 1 tbsp of coriander (remember to keep some for serving), lime juice, honey, salt and pepper. Taste and add more if necessary.

To serve, fill a bowl with dal, put some yoghurt on top and scatter with chopped fresh coriander and salty almonds. If necessary reheat the flatbreads in the microwave. Scoop dal up with flatbread or eat with a spoon.


Notes: the flatbreads were quite crispy - to make softer, perhaps it would be good to sprinkle them with water while warming the first side; I microwaved the garlic with the butter in the hope it would take the edge off the raw garlic taste and I don't know if it was that that did it but something worked and they were just garlicky enough.

Carrot and coriander soup

Since we got here we are eating a lot of simple, warming food: rye bread, butter, yoghurt, honey, tahini, muesli, sunflower seeds, carrots, chickpeas/lentils, celeriac (cheap and easy to find), parsley root sometimes; salad, curry, soup.

I made a chunky soup the other day. This time I wanted to make a blended soup. I'd just bought a big bag of carrots so that was part of the motivation. Aside from that, it's a chilly February day so what do you expect?

It's not quite a classic carrot and coriander. It has both fresh coriander leaves and toasty coriander seed. Ginger, garlic, and a little bit of celeriac add some more depth and warmth. A spot of honey magnifies the carrots' sweetness. And I experimented with using tahini to thicken the soup, and was pleased with the results - I just used a little, but it gives a smooth, subtle nuttiness that I like.

(makes approx 5 servings)

~1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 in piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
~6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
~3 in piece of celeriac, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 stock cube made up with ~3 cups of water
1/2 tsp honey
lemon juice
salt+pepper
1 tbsp tahini
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Heat the oil in a large, lidded saucepan. Add the onion and cook for ~10 min, until softened and starting to brown. Add the garlic and ginger about halfway through that. Next add the ground spices and cook until fragrant (~1 min). Add the carrots and celeriac and saute for a few minutes before adding the stock, covering and simmering gently for ~15 min, until the carrots and celeriac are tender. Add honey (be restrained), lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Remove a few tbsp of the liquid into a bowl and mix in the tahini. Return this liquid to the pan along with the fresh coriander. Let cool for 10-20 min, then blend until smooth. Taste again to check acidity and seasoning. I've been eating it with a swirl of natural yoghurt on top and a grinding of salt and pepper.


This is so simple I almost wasn't going to bother writing it out. But it was good, and is improving every time I eat it (over a couple of days of keeping it in the fridge). So here we are.

Lazy vegetable and red lentil curry

Since we're subletting I haven't really felt like I settled in, foodwise, yet. The kitchen has most everything we need but not all, and I'm conscious of trying not to mess things up. And since we move again soon (to a different sublet) it feels like it would be silly to buy up lots of foodstuff. Not to mention that there is a whole lot of exciting food out there to buy / eat - baked goods especially are making us happy. And there's just a lot of adventuring / work etc to be done, so spending time doing anything very involved in the kitchen doesn't feel quite right. But then again, just eating pasta or salad all the time doesn't feel right either.

This has been my solution: simple curried vegetables, with red lentils to thicken and deepen. No weighing or measuring and minimal effort; but feels hearty and hygge (and yes not much different from that soup - just a few more spices, less varied vegetables and less liquidy).

(Note: partly inspired by our favourite food place discovery since getting here: Grød - all kinds of sweet and savoury porridge (including dal, barley-otto); perfect for a Danish winter and quite near work.)

~1 tbsp veg oil (or olive oil)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 in piece ginger, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
few grinds black pepper
1 tsp curry powder
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
chunk of celeriac, peeled and diced
~1 cup red lentils
1 veg stock cube made up with 2 cups boiling water
smallish piece of broccoli, washed and separated into florets
~1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
~1 tsp salt
~2 tbsp chopped coriander
brown rice and skyr / yoghurt* to serve

Heat the oil in a medium lidded saucepan. Add the garlic, ginger and onion. Cover and cook until softened and slightly browned. Add the spices and mix / toast for a minute. Add the carrots and celeriac and mix. Add the lentils and stock and stir. Cover and simmer for ~15 min until the veg and lentils are nearly tender. Add the broccoli and simmer for ~5 more minutes. Check everything is done and add vinegar and salt to taste. To serve, mix through some of the coriander and scatter some more on top. We ate with brown rice and some skyr*.


This keeps well to become work lunches etc as well - perhaps even improves with a day in the fridge. Usually I would have added tinned tomatoes to something like this, but (a) I didn't have any, and (b) I found that red lentils+stock work well in their place to create a sauce as well as adding texture and earthy flavour.

*I have been having a bit of a break from veganism since getting here - it's tricky to figure out what is / isn't vegan when there's a language barrier. So I am making the best of it and eating lots of all my favourite non-vegan foods (mostly yoghurt; occasionally cheese / eggs / non-vegan baked goods) - no meat! Hence the skyr - I always loved how natural yoghurt goes with spicy curry and brown rice. But this is just fine without it too.

Red cabbage, radish, sesame and wasabi

We had a red cabbage in the fridge, and three tubes of wasabi to use up before we leave (not going to happen)... I'd stumbled across these coleslaw recipes a couple of times, and this time thought I'd borrow the wasabi dressing idea for a red cabbage salad.

~1/2 a smallish red cabbage
2 medium-large purple radishes, peeled and grated
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
~ 1 tbsp chopped chives

~1 tbsp peeled, finely chopped ginger
~1 tbsp wasabi paste
~ 2 tsp honey
juice of ~ 1/3 lime
~1 tsp umeboshi plum vinegar (optional)
~1 tbsp cider vinegar
~1 tsp sesame oil
~ 1 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tbsp white sesame seeds and 1 tbsp black sesame seeds, toasted

Finely shred the cabbage and put in a medium bowl with the grated radishes and carrots. Add the chives. In a small bowl, whisk together the ginger, wasabi, honey, lime juice, vinegars and oils. Pour the dressing over the vegetables, add the toasted seeds, toss and serve. Best eaten immediately but keeps OK for a couple of days in the fridge.


Another fresh+tasty Winter salad.

Chocolate, ginger and orange biscuits with golden syrup

S discovered a new word while surfing Urban Dictionary the other day: procrasturbaking (meaning, baking as a form of procrastination). Yesterday I was a little short of sleep / hungover after aerial show and subsequent drinks, and just really didn't feel like working (it was Sunday!). So I read some Guardian online instead, and found this biscuit recipe. And then I procrasturbaked.

The recipe was easily veganisable, which tempted me. And I love golden syrup. Also it's another good opportunity to use stuff up - this time weird hot chocolate in the form of dusty chocolate chunks, and homemade crystallised ginger and candied peel.

(makes approx. 20 biscuits)

50 g golden syrup
150 g light brown soft sugar (I used a mixture of this and raw sugar and it was fine)
90 ml sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
60 ml fake milk
210 g plain flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
100 g candied ginger (used a mixture of candied ginger and candied peel)
100 g dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks
Zest of 1 orange (added candied peel to the ginger instead)

Heat the oven to 180C / 350F and line two baking trays with baking paper.

Measure the golden syrup, sugar, oil, vanilla essence and fake milk into a large bowl and mix. In a separate bowl mix the flour with the bicarb and salt, then add this to the wet ingredients. Stir until the just combined, then add the candied ginger, chocolate and orange zest (or candied peel).

Put teaspoons of the batter on the prepared baking trays, leaving space for spreading. Bake for 15-17 min, until the cookies’ edges are golden brown and the centres are puffy. Leave to cool for ~10 min then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.


I had to put one tray in the bottom of the oven, which it turns out is really hot. So those ones were a little burned. The rest were excellent though - nice texture, and the ginger / orange / chocolate combination is definitely a good one. Clever idea to use syrup to make a chewy texture. I think these would be easily made gluten-free as well (I'd sub plain flour with an almond-rice-cornflour mix similar to this) - the golden syrup may help with binding.

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.

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.

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.

Ginger molasses cookies / biscuits

I had finished making dinner for S+I and he still wasn't home, so I decided to make cookies for journal club tomorrow. I was tired so wanted something quick and easy and foolproof, also in the mood for using things up and had an inverted jar of molasses in front of me waiting for that last tbsp or so to get eaten... So I looked for a molasses cookie recipe, and this was the one I used.

(makes about 25)

2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
2½ tsp ground ginger
½ cup marg
¾ cup sugar, plus extra for rolling
½ cup molasses (used mixture of normal, carob and date molasses)
1 tsp water (reduced from 1 tbsp as date molasses is runnier than normal molasses)

Heat the oven to 350F. Line two baking trays with baking paper. In a medium bowl, mix flour, bicarb, baking powder and ginger together with a fork. In a separate, medium bowl, cream marg, sugar, molasses and water with a wooden spoon. Beat in the flour mixture gradually. Take around one tbsp of dough at a time, roll and flatten between your hands, then invert and dunk the rounded side in sugar. Put on the baking trays, sugar side up. Bake for 10-12 min. Let cool on the baking tray.


Successfully used up two jars of molasses (normal and carob) and a tub of margarine. Cookies not bad either, S had two last night and two for breakfast this morning. Nice chewy texture, look pretty with the sugar on top. Perhaps a bit sweet.

Glass noodle salad (peanuts, sweetcorn and sprouts)

I was making tofu salad from my last batch of homemade tofu, we needed something else, this was quick and complementary. I have made versions of this many times and always get frustrated with how the dressing fails to coat the noodles and the other vegetables etc get all clumped down the bottom of the bowl. I was actually quite pleased with this one, so here it is. Think key things are: slightly undercook the noodles and drain them well; don't skimp on the sauce; make veg / additions small and/or clingy so they stay in among the noodles as much as poss.

4 bundles of glass noodles
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh lemongrass
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp light miso
2 tbsp rice vinegar (or lime juice)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp mirin
2 tbsp peanuts
1/2 cup assorted little beansprouts (used lentils and alfalfa)
3/4 cup frozen sweetcorn, defrosted
1/4 cup coriander, chopped (or a mixture of coriander and mint)

Put the noodles in a pan of boiling water and simmer for about 5 min, until the bundles loosen and the noodles become bendy but not soft - make sure they are al dente. Drain and run under cold water to stop cooking quickly.

While the noodles are cooking you can start preparing the other ingredients: toast and crush the peanuts, defrost sweetcorn, wash and chop coriander, ginger, lemongrass. Put ginger and lemongrass in a small bowl with the peanut butter, miso, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and mirin and whisk together with a fork. Check for consistency (should be runny but thick) and taste for sweet-sour-saltiness and modify.

Put the noodles in a serving bowl, add the peanut butter mixture and toss well with a spoon and fork so the noodles are all coated. Add the toasted crushed peanuts, sweetcorn, beansprouts and coriander (and/or mint), toss again and serve immediately.

Spiced okara and red lentil dip

I made more tofu, partly because I wanted to see if I could do a better job / get a more stand-up texture, partly because I kind of wanted more okara to play with - the cornbread I made with the last lot was so, surprisingly delicious...

I used part of the okara for this dip - it's a variation on the red lentil dip I've made many times.

1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup okara
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 clove garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp sumac
1/2 tsp ground ginger
~ 1 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper

Put lentils, okara and water in a small pan, cover and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for ~ 10 min, then turn off the heat and leave pan covered for ~15 min. Add the remaining ingredients and blend to a paste.

Squash and quinoa salad

We've had a butternut squash in the pantry for months. I love how long those last. S came home last night and I wanted something good to feed him, decided to sacrifice the squash. I made this salad: another variation on a squash salad theme similar to this one and this one.

~1 kg pumpkin / squash (about 2/3 of a large butternut squash)
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 tsp chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp maple syrup
handful of finely chopped coriander roots and stems
salt and pepper
1 cup (185g) quinoa, cooked in 1 1/2 cups (375ml) water
juice of one large lime
a good handful each of fresh mint and coriander leaves
toasted pumpkin seeds

Heat oven to 200C / 400F. Cut squash into chunks ~2-3cm wide. Combine squash with ginger, chilli, garlic, olive oil, maple, coriander roots/stems, salt and pepper. Put into a large oven tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the squash is cooked. Remove and set aside.

When the pumpkin and quinoa are cooked, combine in a large bowl, along with all the bits from the roasting tin. Add the lime and herbs, season to taste, and scatter over the pumpkin seeds just before eating. Eat warm or at room temperature.