Caraway Olive Bread (Gluten Free)

I made this loaf of bread somewhat spontaneously this week, and YUM! It's cracker-like because it is quite seedy (it's almost entirely seeds with just half a cup of nuts and some oats), but is chewy like bread. When I make it next I want to try grinding up the flax seeds because I don't like how flax gets stuck in my teeth, but even with that I would make this again. I ate this as is with some butter, and with an egg this morning. I actually ate 4 pieces of just barely warm bread because it was so good. The caraway and olives! I haven't had such tasty, savory bread in a really long time. It got me thinking that it is time for me to make pate or braunshweiger - they would be delicious on this. 

This recipe is from Sarah Britton’s My New Roots, which I stumbled across on a wellness website while searching for a new homeopath. The recipe is odd in that you do not use a bowl - everything is mixed in the loaf pan. Also, you need to let it sit out for many hours before baking so that the liquid absorbs. It's a strange texture, again a bit like seed based crackers - less like batter and more like, well, wet seeds/grains. But it works! 

Ingredients

• 1 c sunflower seeds
• ½ c flax seeds
• ½ c hazelnuts or almonds
• 1½ c glute free rolled oats
• 2 t Chia seeds
• 4 T psyllium seed husks (3 if using powder)
• 1 t fine sea salt
• 1 T caraway seed
• 1 T pure maple syrup
• 3 T coconut oil or ghee melted½
• ½ c kalamata olives pitted and chopped

Instructions

1. In a flexible silicone loaf pan or parchment lined loaf pan, combine sunflower and flax seeds, nuts, oats, chia seeds psyllium husks, sea salt, and caraway seeds, stirring well. 
   

2. Whisk the maple syrup, oil and 1 1/2 cups water together in a measuring cup.  Add this mixture plus the chopped olives to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is completely soaked and the dough becomes very thick ( if the dough is too thick to stir, add 1 or 2 tsp of water until it is manageable).  Smooth out the top with the back of the spoon.  Let sit out on the counter covered for at least 3 hours or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F

4. Bake the loaf on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes (it may take longer till the top is bit dry.  Check it periodically).  Remove the bread from the loaf pan, turn it upside down directly onto the oven rack and bake for another 40 min to an hour.  The bread is done when it sounds hollow when it is tapped.  Let the bread cool completely before slicing; to slice it easily, use a very sharp, smooth knife instead of a serrated bread knife.

5. Store the bread in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  (It also freezes well so slice before freezing for quick and easy toast.)

Wood stove Grilled Shrimp and Cabbage

I am loving cooking on my wood stove lately, especially while I am working and cannot be tending to cooking. Setting pots on top of it is my favorite! Recently I "grilled" (atop the coals in said stove) some shrimp and cabbage, which went quickly, resulting in a very tasty dinner of shrimp, cabbage, and rice. I made this previously with sweet potatoes instead of rice, which was also delicious.

The shrimp can handle a quick marinade, taking on the flavor in minutes. This combo of citrus, ginger, turmeric and garlic is easy and delicious. I used my extra sauce on rice and veggies throughout the week, which felt like a treat. The recipe below is enough for 2, with a little extra sauce. This Bon Appetit recipe (that I've made twice now) is my first time grilling shrimp, which is SO easy: 1 minute per side, and the cabbage was about 4 minutes per side. This is a really quick dinner if the coals are already ready.

Marinade/Sauce

• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 habanero chiles, seeds removed, chopped (I used fermented minced jalapenos)
  
• 1 2" piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 tsp sweetener (opt)
  
• 1 tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for grill
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 lb. large shrimp, peeled, de-veined

Directions:

Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Pulse garlic, chiles, ginger, lime juice, orange juice, sugar, vinegar, and turmeric in a food processor until combined and almost smooth. With the motor running, gradually stream in ⅓ cup oil and process until emulsified.

Pour half of the sauce into a small bowl; season with kosher salt. Set aside for serving. Transfer remaining sauce to a medium bowl and add shrimp. Season with kosher salt and toss to coat.

Clean and oil grate, then immediately arrange shrimp on grill. Grill until bright pink and lightly charred, about 1 minute per side. Divide shrimp among bowls. Spoon reserved sauce over; sprinkle with sea salt. Serve with rice or veggies as desired.

(For grilled cabbage, cut 1" slabs from a full cabbage head and brush each side with olive oil. Grill for 4 minutes/side, flipping carefully. (You may need to insert toothpicks to hold cabbage together, depending on cabbage slab!)

Ethiopian Beef Jerkey (Quanta)

I bought myself a food dehydrator this winter and have used it for a handful of things, one of which was a prime reason for making the purchase: jerky. Which, having previously made jerky only from venison, I have to admit that trimming the fat from beef, even from lean cuts, is so much more tedious! I also have yet to develop a good method for making some longer nice thin cuts of the beef - at least the way my eye of round roast was butchered, which I found less than ideal. But I will withhold final judgement until I've tried other cuts. Also, I realized after dehydrating that I could have cut the beef a bit thicker - good to know!

Quanta firfir is a very popular Ethiopian dish using dried meat (jerky) and dried injera. I've had it before, but have not made it at home. So while my primary interest in making jerky is as canoe trip travel food, a secondary interest is to make quanta firfir. At some future date, when I will have some tutorial. (Which, I just realized would also make a good canoe trip meal because it uses all dried ingredients! Huzzah!) I did embark on making this jerky independent of my Ethiopian friend because I was able to watch a youtube video in Amharic where the ingredients were typed out in English. Friends, this turned out amazing! I love these spices - the spiciness of the mitmita totally kicks this jerky out of the park.

The spices mixed in with the beef made me so hungry for kitfo (I admit I sampled some raw jerky morsels b/c I couldn't resist). You will need Ethiopian spices if you make this - there just will not be a proper substitute. 

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds of lean beef (eye of round, flank, etc), trimmed of all fat, cut thinly
• 2 tsp Berbere
• 5 T Mitmita
  
• 2 T salt 
• 2 1/2 tsp Korerema (false cardamom, ground)
• 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
  

Mix all spices together in a small bowl. 

Add spice mix, a little at a time, to the sliced beef. Mix very thoroughly and well with your (gloved) hands. Your goal is to cover all the meat surface with some spice mix. This will take some time. Once the beef is covered, let it marinate in the fridge for 6-12 hours.

To dry: lay in a single layer on your dehydrator racks, making sure that no meat is overlapping. Dry at 145 degrees for 4-10 hours, depending on the thickness of your jerky. (Because I cut mine so thin, it was done after 6 hours. I could have pulled several pieces after 4, but instead have some very thin extra crispy bits.) 

You know your jerky is done when there is no squish to the meat, and the jerky is pliable and leathery. If they break when you bend them, they are overly dry. You want them to bend and crack, but not break when cool (much like a green stick from the forest).