Roasted spicy nuts

My lapse in posting is being lifted by my need to save this Ottolenghi recipe!! These are delicious, and seem perfect for holiday gifting or snacking. The honey in there is very subtle, they don't taste sweet. The nigella seeds (aka black cumin seeds) and rosemary combo, with the heat from the cayenne, is delicious. Nigella seeds have lots of medicinal properties, good for treating inflammation and lung stuff, so are an extra bonus. I wonder about even adding a little turmeric too, which I'll try next time. 

*I actually was out of cayenne, so I used Ethiopian mitmita spice, which was great.

Ingredients

• 100g cashew nuts
• 100g macadamia nuts
• 120g pecan nuts
• 60g whole almonds (skin on)
• 80g pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp nigella seeds 
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil (I used avocado oil)
  
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
• 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tsp cayenne

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Scatter all the ingredients except the pepper and cayenne in a roasting tray. Roast for 15-17 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the nuts turn dark brown. Remove, stir in the pepper and cayenne, and taste. Add salt if you like. Leave to cool in the tray, stirring from time to time. Once cool, transfer to an air-tight container.
   

Quick Cucumber Kimchi

I am flush in cucumbers! I planted 5 varieties this year, and even though the 5th, tiny watermelon looking cucumbers, are still just barely starting, the other 4 are prolific. Which means plenty of pickles and cucumber salads, and now, thanks to a lack of any protein other than sardines (which I love with rice and kimchi for easy dinner), cucumber kimchi! I made it once before in 2012 according to this food blog. It was a whole cucumber stuffed with the kimchi paste/fixings. Why have I not made it again?! (I see I made that first version sans korean pepper flakes or fish sauce, so um, no wonder it wasn't as good! These two ingredients are fairly critical.)

 

This time I made a quick version and just tossed cucumber slices with salt, then mixed that with kimchi fixings. YUM! It was so easy, and so delicious. I ate it first with rice and sardines and sesame greens, and then the next day with fried eggs and green beans. The latter was reminiscent of cold cucumber sesame noodles in a bibimbap kind of way. I love this quick kimchi, espcially since I am at the final dregs of last year's fermented napa iteration. I grew my own daikon this year, and my carrots are just starting to get big enough to pick, so this is a nearly entirely home-grown concoction.

I looked up a few recipe inspirations, and mostly followed this one from David Chang of Food and Wine, except for slicing my cukes up, not using sugar or shrimp paste, and only using red onions. It was still good. I wanted more ginger. I was also worried about what was more or less raw garlic, bc usually that means I taste garlic for hours afterwards, but that didn't happen. I assume it was chopped finely enough, and had just enough time in the salty mix. Unlike napa kimchi, this version doesn't release as much liquid due to a shorter ferment time, if you can even call it fermentation. I made a big batch, and left half out 4 hours or so, and the other half for about 20 hours. The latter was softer and a bit more mild and liquidy. I preferred the first version, so next time I'll refrigerate any leftovers. I am sure this would still be good after 30 minutes, so just mix it up and eat if that is all you have time for!

 

My (loose) version of the recipe (see linked recipe for measurements) for my future reference:

• cucumbers, sliced thin
• salt
  
• Korean red pepper flakes
• garlic cloves, minced
• ginger, finely sliced (a lot!)
• red onion, sliced thin
  
• small amount of julienned carrot and daikon
• fish sauce
• tamari

Mix a fair amount of salt with cucumber slices and sit in a colander while you mix up the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. The cucumbers will sweat and start to drain. After 10 minutes, rinse the cuke slices and add them to the bowl. Stir well, and add salt to taste. It should be salty - it's more of a condiment, so a little saltier than you salt your regular food. 

This was delicious with sesame greens (mustard and tatsoi greens sauteed with garlic in sesame oil), sardines and rice, and also with green beans and fried eggs. I love rice with kimchi, you really can't go wrong!

Dried Sour Cherries (and cherry oxymel)

I got A LOT of sour cherries this year thanks to my generous neighbor, and because I had some big plans: cherry mead, cherry oxymel and dried cherries, cherry bounce, and I made one cherry crisp. The mead did not work, or rather, I jettisoned it because it smelled a little off (I was making in conjunction with my first ever mead, so in retrospect I wonder if it would have been better to start with sugar, but alas). After I composted it, I wondered if it was okay and it was just the lack of sugar that tasted bad. I don't know, but it was definitely different than my previous two fruit wines (made with sugar). I ordered a few new wine implements to check the sugar/alcohol and acid levels, so they will offer better guidance as I continue to make fruit wines.

I was most curious about making dried sour cherries to replace store bought craisins. I experimented with soaking the cherries in a few different ratios of honey/apple cider vinegar to infuse some sweetness, and I dried some straight up. I enjoyed the experimentation, and in each case got cherry syrup, oxymel or juice along with the cherries - win/win! My favorite ratio was the middle sweetness one, though all had their merits. I hadn't realized the difference it would make to use more/less vinegar/honey overall, and the one I used the least of that started to ferment like my wine. It was the largest vessel, and now I am left with an effervescent cherry juice that is fizzy to drink. Yum! It's like cherry juice with kombucha - or really, sour cherry shrub. (It is good plain, and I did try some mixed with gin, which was also delicious, see photo at right of what remains in the half gallon jar!)

Here were my trials that I set out for 2 weeks, except the last one which was just 1 week:

1. Half gallon jar filled with cherries plus 1 c honey and 2 c apple cider vinegar (my favorite one that is also an oxymel that I will use for salad dressing, or I could cook it down for a sweet/sour syrup);
2. Quart jar with 2/3 c honey plus 3 T cider vinegar (sweetest version where the cherries tasted distinctly of honey and the resulting juice was more of a cherry syrup, this was my least favorite);
   
3. Gallon jar filled with as many cherries as I could stuff in with 1 1/2 c honey and 3/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (least sweet and least honey/vinegar to stabilize the cherry juice. It was most active/fermenting and I stopped the process after a week because I feared the fermentation could eat up all the sweet. I have the most of these and they are good, but #1 is better, even though this is the batch that resulted in the very delicious shrub).

*Note if you make any of these, you need to release some pressure from tight fitting jar lids, or to have an air release because of the apple cider vinegar. I did use some gadgets to try to keep the cherries submerged, but the cherries kept popping up. No mold emerged, so I think there was enough sweetness to prevent that.

I think the most magic combo might actually be something I did not do: 1 quart of cherries with 1/2 c honey and 1/2 c cider vinegar. That is less vinegar than version #1, which I don't think is needed with all of the cherry juice, so the oxymel might end up a little more shrub-like (sweeter, less vinegary). Next year!

To dehydrate:

• I set the dehydrator for fruit at 135 degrees. All of my cherries were pitted, though varied in size. I didn't have the time/capacity to sort through and sift out cherries as they finished, but most of the cherries seemed done after about 20 hours. 
• Some cherries got very dry and hard, and some stayed plump, but most were in the middle. The straight up cherries (with no honey or vinegar) were the most tart, and edible to my palate, but no sweetness. I have snacked on them with some nuts and a piece of dark chocolate. :) 
• The plump cherries seem less shelf stable to me, so I put them in the freezer, but they are delicious. If I wasn't going for shelf stable things, I would just make a bunch only midway dried because they are amazing: a bit plump and chewy, sweet with a tiny bit of tang.
  

Sour cherry pancakes (Cherry blintz style)

We are in the time of sour cherries! I think I have harvested about 8 gallons worth, and I might have hit my max. Cherries are soaking in various vinegar/honey oxymel ratios on the counter, they are fermenting for wine, and are in bowls waiting to be pitted, with more pits strewn on the floor, and my compost bucket heaped with more (thank you cherry pitter - what an amazing tool). My prime experimentation right now (besides the wine) is to dehydrate the cherries and make a version of craisins, hence the variety of ratios of honey/apple cider vinegar jars on the counter. I will post my favorite results, but it will be a couple of weeks yet.

My current favorite way to eat the cherries is to mash them up with some heavy cream, shredded coconut, and a splash of maple syrup. It's like ice cream that isn't frozen. And because I had an open package of bacon, I thought I might try that topping on pancakes, except I wanted something a little less rich. So I used yogurt and tahini instead of cream, which was stellar. It made me think of cherry blintzes, though I think those usually mean a more crepe-like pancake. Somehow the tahini-yogurt combo creates that cheese-like quality, and flavor-wise, this hits the blintz mark (at least as I seem to have it in my memory!). 

I had lots of whey from my raw milk yogurt exploits, so I tried an oat soaked pancake recipe that I found very tasty. To be fair, all of this extra sweet in the form of maple syrup or honey is not standard operating procedure for me, so it's like party time over here. I mean, OF COURSE stuff with a little maple syrup or honey is delicious. This is why the sugar industry is big business! Still, it's moderate enough for me, and feels like a seasonal treat that I am willing to indulge.

The pancake recipe is courtesy of Nourishing Days, which is a blog by a couple who lives off grid and favor traditional, fermented foods. It's super simple, and hearty. I followed it closely, except I made only 1/3 of it (I did not add any honey). I did use a little extra whey and water, just to make sure the oats were thoroughly covered. Basically, the soaking is just enough liquid to fill the oats up. The version below serves 3.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup whey, yogurt, buttermilk, or water with a splash of vinegar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
• coconut oil or butter for cooking

Directions

1. The day before you wish to serve the pancakes for breakfast combine the oats, warm water, and whey in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well, mashing the oats down into the liquid as much as possible. Leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours. (I used a little extra whey and water here.)
   
2. In the morning preheat your skillet over a medium-low heat.
3. Combine the eggs, baking powder, salt, and other flavorings in a small bowl. Pour the egg mixture into the oat mixture and stir to combine. It will be thick, unlike regular pancake batter.
4. Allow your coconut oil or butter to melt in your warm skillet. For each pancake scoop a heaping tablespoon or two of batter into your skillet. Gently spread the batter until 1/16-1/8 inch thick. (It really is quite spreadable, so even though it looks like a small amount, it stretches.)
   
5. Allow to cook until the bottom has set and the edges and top begin to dry out, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and allow to cook another 3 minutes or so.
6. Serve warm with butter, nut butter, jam, honey, or real maple syrup. *For Cherry Blintz version, see below!
   

Cherry Blintz topping (approximate measurements, this is highly dependent on the thickness of your tahini and yogurt):

• 1/2 c cherries
• 1/2 c thin yogurt  (if thick, use half water half yogurt)
  
• 2-3 T tahini 
• 1-2 T maple syrup

Mix the yogurt and tahini first to get a smoother consistency. My yogurt is quite liquid-y (think thin kefir), so it worked to thin out the tahini, and with the cherries and their juice, hit the perfect consistency. You would need to add water if your yogurt is thick. Add the cherries and use a spoon to press/mash them against the side of the bowl to release more liquid. Add maple syrup to taste.

*I also added some black raspberries and a few milkweed flowers just because I'd picked them this morning and they seemed in the right color pallet!

Pollen Honey Fudge

I was really excited to make this recipe from my new favorite blogger, Forager Chef. I almost missed cattail pollen season, but last week while doing my regular walk around Lake Hiawatha, I spied the cattails and went in for a closer look. Sure enough, the tops were emitting yellow powder. I feel hesitant to collect pollen from plants so near the golf course or roads, cattails being useful for removing toxins in the environment by absorbing them, but I'd been cataloging a few locations on some hikes around the city that felt a bit more remote. So that night I headed out to one spot, and another the following day. That 2nd day was windier, and I only got about a tablespoon of pollen, despite some of the cattail shoots just opening and turning yellow. When people say it is a short harvesting season, they are right! 

I got about a cup of pollen from both trips, a low return on two hours of time, but enough to do something with. I consoled myself that first attempts at anything have lower yields, and now I am more aware of what I am looking for. 

So! This pollen fudge - it totally highlights the pollen. It's so yellow! I had to add a little more pollen than Forager Chef suggested, but that might be because I loosely measured my honey and may have been a little off. In any case, his recipe follows, which he says was inspired by Chinese and Iraqi pollen confections. His recipe links to this YouTube video of Pine Tree Flower Cake made by a woman in China, which is totally stunning. I watched more of her videos - no wonder she has millions of views! I found this fudge tasty, unlike anything else I've eaten, and a nice post dinner bite. I found I wanted a little crunch, so I tried rolling one in shredded coconut (good), and will try another in some crushed roasted nuts.

My one cup of cattail pollen.

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons pine or cattail pollen (previously frozen to sterilize it)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or coconut oil for a vegan version
• 4 teaspoons mild honey
• Pinch kosher salt

Instructions

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, working with a fork until it just comes together, then switch to your hands and knead to a soft mass.
• Gauge the texture of the fudge, if it seems to soft to work with, add some more pollen.
• Chill the “fudge” to make it stiffen if it gets too soft on you. I like to form them, then chill to hold their shape. Just imagine you’re working with PlayDoh
• Shape the fudge into truffles, or another shape, dust with powdered dried pine needles, chopped fresh spruce tips, or more pollen as for truffles, and serve as a small sweet after a meal.

Lamb's Quarter Saag Curry

Had I thought of making this dish when I still had raw milk, I would have made some paneer to go along with it! But, I used up all of my raw milk to make yogurt, so that will have to come another day. Instead, I made a straight up saag curry, as well as a shrimp curry with tamarind and fresh peas, and a couple of baby zucchni from my garden. I almost attempted a daylily version of Nepalese style okra with jerusalem artichokes, but that got a bit too ambitious for my weekday evening. 

Both curries turned out really delicious, very distinct from one another, though I took some liberties with the latter. It was my first time using tamarind paste, which I bought at the Ethiopian market sometime last year. I love the tang! Even without curry leaves, it was still really good. That recipe inspiration is here (I also used coconut cream instead of fresh coconut, which went fine), and the only thing I'd do differently is be more attentive to the shrimp - mine overcooked because I did not turn the heat all the way off for the curry to thicken. Next time I'd let it simmer a little longer before adding the shrimp, then just serve as soon as the shrimp is cooked.

I made my lamb's quarter saag following a combination of this recipe and this one. I promptly harvested more lamb's quarters on my post dinner walk to freeze for more of this exact preparation. Yum. (Though, this morning as I was steaming them, I noticed a distinct pee smell. Some of my greens came from around my boulevard tree, and I think that was not the most judicious choice. I rinsed them again and added some extra ginger - I'm hoping for the best.) 

Lamb's quarters work especially well here because you blend them up, so you can be extra forgiving with leaves and stems (just remove the tough main stem of larger plants), but you could use any green. Note: you blend up the lamb's quarters with ginger and garlic and some jalapeno, and you add a little extra ginger/garlic later to saute. They are listed separately below, but heads up for your "mis-en-place" if you do that kind of thing. Also, the nuts here serve to thicken the saag. I liked that addition, but it would be fine without, or just add extra cream at the end. I had leftover soaked and dehydrated almonds that are soft and blend well, so I used them. If I hadn't, I would skip that.

Lamb's Quarters Saag Curry

• 4-6 cups lamb's quarters (4 if they are pretty tightly packed; this is flexible)
• 1" knob of ginger, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/8 jalapeno pepper, chopped (or more if you want extra spicy)
• 10 soaked cashews or almonds (opt)
  
• 2 T ghee or butter
• Seeds from 2 cardamom pods
• 1" cinnamon stick piece
• 2 cloves
  
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 c red onions, minced (I used part onion part garlic scapes)
• 1/2 tsp ginger, minced
  
• 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tomato chopped (or 1/2 c frozen tomatoes)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 tsp garam masala
• 1-2 T heavy cream to serve 

1. Prepare the lamb;s quarter puree: Steam or blanch your greens. I did this by bringing 1-2" of water to a boil in a pot,  then adding the greens and covering the whole thing. I stirred them a couple of times, so that in 2-3 minutes the greens were all wilted/steamed. You could also do a 1 minute blanch and then rinse in cold water. You don't want to overcook because you will lose the bright green. Once the greens are cool, add them, the ginger, garlic, jalapeno and nuts to a food processor and puree until smooth. 
2. For the Saag sauce: heat ghee or butter in a heavy skillet/pot over med heat. Once hot, add your whole spices: cardamom seeds, cinnnamon, cumin seeds. Saute just for 30 seconds or so, and add your minced onions. Saute until soft, a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute another minute. Add your tomatoes and sea salt, and stir to combine well. The tomatoes will have lots of juice, so let that release. You want a sort of wet paste. Once the tomatoes are soft, add the garam masala. Saute 2-3 minutes. You may need to add a little extra water here to keep the mixture wet.
3. Once the sauce is thickened, lower the heat and add your green puree. Heat just for a couple of minutes, until the curry starts to bubble. Taste for seasoning, add more salt or a little hot water if it is too thick. *If you have paneer, you would also add that in now, also stir in 2-3 T cream if you prefer that to nuts. Serve with some swirled cream on top. 

This would be great with dosa, which is on my list of fermented things to try making, and also of course rice or the Indian spice Kohlrabi or again, the Nepalese style okra and jerusalem artichokes.

Argentinian Style Marinated Lamb Tongue

At the behest of my friend who grew up eating lamb and goat tongue (it is so delicious, she said), I ordered some lamb tongue on my quarterly meat order from Hilltop Family Farms. I've been eyeing tongue for awhile - sort of wanting to try it, but cow tongue is so enormous that it was more of a side-eye look. I hadn't totally thought about smaller animals until she mentioned it. Goat and lamb tongue seem like great entry options, they are small and seem less intimidating. Also, my Odd Bits cookbook describes lamb tongue as mild, which I found reassuring. Jennifer McLagan (of Odd bits) is a fan of tongue brining, which I'll try in the future.

It seems people most often slow braise their tongues, and then peel the outer tongue layer while warm. This family recipe was passed on to MN chef, Alan Bergo, who I stumbled upon while perusing internet tongue recipes. He has a website called Forager Chef, and a book coming out in two weeks called The Forager Chef's book of Flora that looks lovely. I mean, how serendipitous to find him - it's everything I want in a food blog: foraging (thus seasonal and local), creative, and looking at various cultural food traditions for inspiration. I can't wait to dive into his website some more - my jaw dropped when I saw his recipe for pollen honey fudge. What?!! Genius. (Especially b/c he uses a little butter to cut the sweetness, which is thumb's up from me.) He even has a post about roadkill. 💕

So, tongue!! I mostly like it - I am interested to try it some more. (I liked it enough that I am drinking the braising broth, which is good cold and a bit like collards/nettle pot liquor meets a light bone broth.) Tongue is slightly pate-like to me, but more firm. Firm the way smoked oysters out of a tin are. I especially liked this marinated tongue on some seed crackers (perhaps sparking the smoked oyster thought), which was super tasty. My salad was good, and modeled after Alan Bergo's video. He used avocado and cooled potatoes (think salad nicoise) and radish. I used cooled jerusalem artichokes and asparagus (steamed and also cooled), and fresh pea pods. Both of us used lettuce and a hard boiled egg. The marinade was very tasty, though I used a bit too many red pepper flakes so the tongue was spicy. I think it is a really nice appetizer (I ate mine for dinner), and I really like the fresh herbs in there. The marinade (with cilantro and mint) made me think of chimichurri, no surprise, which was really nice in this summer heat. I would make this again, except maybe I'd actually just use a chimichurri sauce and serve it on crackers. 

One note: tongue is both the part visually discernable as tongue, but also with some other meaty part. Both tasted good, but differed texture-wise. Also, thankfully Jennifer McLagan menionted that tongues come in all variety of hues, from pink to gray, and some are mottled. One of mine was, and it was weird looking, causing me to wonder. But it's normal. Also, it is normal that 3 out of 4 tongues will peel really easily, and one will be stubborn and require a paring knife. FYI. That was true for me, too.

This is the tongue without other stuff

Braising the Tongue

• 1-1.25 lbs Lamb or Goat Tongue (about 4-8 tongues, depending on size)
• 5 cups chicken stock or water
• 1 each: small carrot ½ small yellow onion and 1 stalk of celery, roughly chopped
• 1 dried bay leaf
• salt

Final Marinade

• ½ cup blend of fresh herbs: parsley, cilantro, mint, tarragon (I used cilantro and mint)
• ½ cup virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste
• Crushed red pepper about ¼ teaspoon, or more to taste (optional)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove lightly crushed with the back of a knife
• lemon zest (opt)

Instructions

• Combine the tongues and ingredients for braising in a high-sided pan, such as a 3 qt sauce pot. Make sure the tongues are covered with water, if they aren’t add a little more water until they’re covered by approximately ½ inch.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook slowly, covered, about 1.5 hours, or until the tongues are tender when pierced.
• When the tongues are tender, take them off the heat and cool in their liquid until you can handle them. Peel with your hand or a paring knife, it will be easier if they’re still warm.
• Trim any excess connective tissue and bits of skin that may be left on if any were resisting being peeled.
• Refrigerate the tongues for a few hours to firm up and make them easy to slice.
• Slice the tongues into ¼ inch slices, then combine with the marinade ingredients. Double check the seasoning and add more salt, vinegar, or crushed red pepper to taste, keeping in mind the seasonings will get stronger as the tongues sit and the flavors meld.
• Transfer the tongues to a container, pressing them down so the vinaigrette and juices cover the top and refrigerate until needed. They're best after marinating for a few hours/overnight. The tongues will keep refrigerated for 4 days. 
  Serve the tongue on crackers, or add some veggies to the marinade and toss it up for salad. I think a little sweetness is a good gesture here (potatoes or jerusalem artichokes, carrots, avocado, peas, asparagus, maybe beets) along with some lettuce and herbs.
  

Raw, Grain Free Granola

I am riding an inspiration train of making my own food lately. What if I could make/grow/forage most things rather than the grocery store? Sometimes I take this to more extreme imaginings than others, but right now I am experimenting with direct farm purchased raw milk to make yogurt, and raw cream for my morning tea. Next up will be to try making butter, and then cheese from raw goat milk. 

Raw milk has lots of great benefits, and in MN the only legal way to purchase it is direct from the farm, in my case Humble Beginnings Family Farm. They are lovely - I held a baby goat that snuggled into my arms, met the baby turkeys and ducks, and 2 of the 7 human kids, both of whom were so great, and one who is also a redhead. :)

I also got some raw yogurt from the farm so that I have a culture to make more with (it is delicious). All to say, I am about to be flush in some yogurt, so I decided to make some granola (which is um, decidedly not local and requires the import purchasing of nuts, but I'm moving in stages here). Because it is hot, I decided to make it in the dehydrator, which then meant I might as well soak them first and get all the benefits of such a thing. Maybe I will feel totally amazing after some weeks of raw cultured dairy products and nuts free of phytic acid and increased nutrient availability? We will see!

I used these guidelines for nut and seed soaking, basically you soak in water and salt overnight, and then dehydrate at a low temp for 12 hours. 

I then riffed on this recipe for my granola, which turned out great. I used very little sweetener, so it is minimally sweet except for whatever dried fruit you add. Dehydrating the granola means it is less toasted, but still crispy, with all of the enzymes and nutrients intact.

• 1 c sesame seeds
• 1 c pumpkin seeds
• 1 c walnuts
• 1 c almonds
• 1 1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut 
• 2 T maple syrup (or more if you want a sweet taste)
  
• 1/3 c coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• splash of vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 c craisins or other dried fruit (opt)

1. Mix the nuts and seeds together. I opted to chop the walnuts and almonds up a bit (I just did it by hand), you could leave them whole or pulse them and the seeds in a food processor for a more crumbly granola.
2. Stir in the maple syrup, coconut oil, salt, cinnamon and vanilla until everything is coated.
3. Spread on dehydrator sheets (I used those tray sheets so as to not lose any bits through the mesh) and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 10-12 hours, until crunchy.
4. Mix in craisins (or dried fruit) if using. Keeps in the fridge for up to 6 weeks, or you can freeze. (Or keep in a cool dry place, likely for a month? Maybe more?)
   

Sauerkraut slaw

Well, for a little change of pace (not greens!) I made some slaw with last summer's kraut. Why have I not put kraut in slaw before?! For some reason in the heat, I really like eating cold sour things. I finished off my (cold) apple cider vinegar soaked nettles, which was ideal to eat out of a jar from the fridge, and I've been eating up some of last year's experimental ferments: ginger beet (not great, I'll do ginger carrot next time) and a Morrocan spiced beet (still needs some tweaks, but good). 

I've now got 4 days of training in Pacific time, so I made brisket overnight in the crock pot (basically homemade bbq sauce and brisket simmered for 12 hours) and this slaw for some easy dinners. Both things I want to eat when it is hot.

This concoction was inspired by a fermentation book from the library that I photocopied some recipes from, but sadly did not write down the name of the book. (Sorry dear author who I am now not referencing. She also had recipes for fermented ketchup and dosa and all kinds of things that may show up in future posts.) I've made this slaw a couple of times now with what I have on hand, and have felt satisfied each time. I mean, sour + sweet = you can't go wrong (usually).

• 1/4 c raisins
• 1/2 small red or green cabbage, sliced thinly (red is prettiest!)
  
• 1 c kraut
• 2 carrots, julienned/grated/match-sticked
• 1 large apple (I like pink lady), chopped small
• 2 green onions (or equivalent red onions), finely chopped
  
• Fresh parsley if you have it (2 T)
• 1/3-1/2c mayo
• 1 T mustard
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T honey 
• salt to taste

1. Combine the dressing ingredients (mayo, mustard, vinegar, and honey) in a small bowl, mix until homogenous. Add the raisins to it to get them extra juicy!
   
2. Combine the veggies and fruit in a large bowl.
3. Pour the dressing on top, add salt (or kraut juice) to taste. Serve! (This gets better if you let it sit a bit, so make early for extra deliciousness.) 
   
   

   

   This time I added a little kale with the green cabbage
   

Nettle Oxymel Salad

This is not a fancy recipe, but it IS a stellar salad - so simple, and so delicious. I first made this salad to have with soft boiled eggs, cooked over a rocket stove to celebrate a friend's retirement, outdoor picnic style. It might be a combo of the fresh herbs, the sweetness from the nettle oxymel, and the salty gomasio, but really I could eat this salad daily (which I basically am right now). 

An oxymel is apple cider vinegar with honey and additions, in my case nettles. Fire tonic, with ginger and garlic and whatever else, is another oxymel. You basically soak the herbs in the vinegar/honey concoction for some time, infusing extra health benefits, so that you can sip on the health promoting tincture, or in my case use it as salad dressing. 

 

 

 

 

Nettle Oxymel

• 1 lb fresh nettles, chopped
  
• 1 1/2 quarts apple cider vinegar
• 1 pint honey

Combine all ingredients in two quart jars, submerging nettles below the surface. The original recipe recommends chopping your nettles, but I forgot that and used whole ones. I think chopping will impart more flavor, so I'd do that next time. Let sit for 2 weeks, then strain and bottle. Refrigerate. *Since I did not chop my nettles, I steamed them with some red onion and ate them afterwards. They were deliciously vinegar-y, with some sweetness. 

My salad was a combo of some lattuces, arugula, dandelion greens, mint, dill, parsley, and tarragon. I tossed the greens with the nettle oxymel and olive oil, and then doused the whole thing with a hearty shake of nettle gomasio. The salad is GREAT with eggs (with more gomasio) or just as is.

Rhubarb Wine

Let the wine experimentation continue! I won't know how this is for 8 months or so, but this way I'll have a reference point for next year for this rhubarb wine. I may make another batch if I can hustle up enough rhubarb - I tasted the leftovers (having learned from the dandelion wine a few weeks ago to add MORE water so as not to come up short) and they are great. A bit beer like, at this stage. Not sweet at all, which I am quite pleased with. 

This time I followed this recipe, which was easy and had useful tips. I think I've been perusing too many possible wine recipes, and I ordered a couple too many things that I didn't need (like yeast tannin powder, which you don't need if you have a black tea bag). Fruit wine that is not grapes needs tannin, which can come from tea. Camden tablets are also highly recommended post fermentation to stabilize fruit wine, prevent it from turning brown, and to preserve the flavor. So. I racked the wine into the carboy about a week ago, which means I will rack the wine into a new one in three weeks. 6 months later I can rack it into bottles, give it one more month, and it's ready. So, January or February. Sooner than the dandelion wine!

One bonus of this one, you start by creating a rhubarb syrup with just rhubarb and sugar. After three days you strain out the rhubarb, add water and yeast, and let it ferment. Which means you have a sweet rhubarb by-product that I could not resist trying, despite my desire/efforts to not consume sugar. I ate some with some plain goat yogurt to cut the sweetness, and it was quite divine. I composted most of it, but it was a little painful. Next time I'll throw a party for my sugar-eating friends to eat up that goodness!

Photos show the cut up rhubarb in a 5 gallon bucket, first plain, then with sugar. This is the syrup making in action! (Under cover of a towel.) I neglected to take a photo of the syrupy finish.

*And again, add even more water than directed because you also lose some in the racking. I am going to add an extra full quart next time. Hopefully that doesn't sacrifice flavor.

Nettle chips and Nettle Gamasio

It is prime nettle harvesting time, and I've been out several times in the past week to collect, with great reverence, this amazing plant. I think that nettles might be my favorite foraged food - they are perhaps the one I rely on most throughout the year, and feel profound gratitude for. In addition to all the good vitamins, I just learned that they help with allergies and hay fever. 😍

I primarily harvest nettles to eat as food, because that is my favorite, especially after a long winter without fresh greens. To have abundant nettles (along with my green onions) is such bounty! Last weekend I decided to branch out a little: I made some Nettle Chips (think kale chips, or those seaweed chip things), and I also dehydrated a bunch to use for tea and this Nettle Gomasio (which is genius). It turns out I really like nettles with sesame seeds, which both of these recipes feature. The combo sort of ups the seaweed taste of the nettles, in a good way.

Nettle chips are a little fussy - you have to remove the nettle leafs from each stem (using gloves because they are still stingy), but they ARE delicious.

Nettle Chips, inspired from this post:

• A few tong-fulls of fresh nettle leaves (picked off the stem) - think a loose 2 cups
  
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 tsp magic mushroom powder (or use half as much salt)
• 1-2 T sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees while you de-stem your nettles (using gloves). I rinsed mine and spun them in my lettuce spinner to get the water off.*
   
2. Using tongs, toss the nettle leaves in a bowl with the other ingredients. Spread the leaves (using your tongs again) in a single layer on 2 baking sheets. 
3. Bake for about 6-10 minutes until they crisp up. (The original recipe said to flip half way through. I did that with one pan, and not with the other, and couldn't tell a difference. I was using one of those insulated cookie sheets that prevents burning. If you have a regular cookie sheet, keep a close eye on things.)
   
4. Consume! These stay crisp for at least many days in a tupperware sort of container, so no need to eat all at once unless you want to.
   

*Note I did also try making some of these in the dehydrator while I was dehydrating other nettles, and that also worked, though took longer. No risk of over-crisping there!

 

This was my first time drying nettles in a dehydrator, and it goes pretty quickly, not more than a few hours. Once I got the leaves in the jar, I used my rolling pin end to pulverize them. 7 trays of dried nettles resulted in one quart of dried leaves (for tea), and about 1 1/2 cups of dried nettle powder, some of which went into this Gomasio.

Nettle Gomasio, originally posted here: 

• ½ cup raw, unhulled sesame seeds
• 2 Tbsp. sea salt
  
• 1 Tbsp. ground or finely shredded nori, kombu, and/or wakame
• 1 Tbsp. dried nettle powder
• ½ Tbsp. dried thyme
• ½ Tbsp. dried sage
• ½ Tbsp. dried rosemary

1. In a cast iron pan, toast sesame seeds and salt on medium heat until a few seeds start to pop.
2. Turn off the heat and transfer mixture to a mortar, then add seaweed and herbs.
3. Using a pestle or food processor, grind mixture coarsely, leaving about half the sesame seeds intact.
4. Store in a sealed glass jar, ideally on your table or counter where you can use as often as desired.

This goes great on just about anything: salad, veggies, rice, eggs, whatever. Yum. I also think this would make a great foodie gift.

Jerusalem Artichoke Colcannon

I am writing to post tonight's dinner because it was freaking delicious. Often these days I can't get over how good things taste - is it because I was fasting for so long? Is it because I am eating food I picked just hours (or minutes) before? Is it because it is spring and I am having fresh things from the garden, and not last year's frozen harvest, or something from some far flung warm somewhere? I suspect all of these are true. I just know that I am swooning over here in my open-windowed-wonderland. I mean, nettle jerusalem artichoke colcannon with spring onions!? And asparagus!? To be fair, the salmon was also a treat b/c I don't have it often. But still...even the salad of baby kale (half devoured by some bug) and green onions and last year's sun-dried tomatoes tasted amazing.

I am not going to be bothered with amounts here - I'll say what, you decide how much. Though, the more butter the better, in my opinion. I made two servings worth which was a couple larger handfuls of jerusalem artichokes, a small handful of steamed nettles, 1 large green onion, a good 1-2 T of butter and a hearty splash of heavy cream. (I was inspired to make Colcannon from a Nom Nom Paleo post not all that long ago. So if you really want amounts, check out her recipe.)

Jerusalem Artichoke Colcannon

• Jerusalem Artichokes, large dice (and/or potatoes, rutabega, turnips, etc)
• Steamed nettles, chopped
  
• Green onion, finely chopped
  
• Butter
• Cream
• Salt and Pepper

1. Boil water in a pot and add your diced tubers. Boil until soft, 10-20 minutes depending on size.
2. While they are cooking, chop nettles and green onion.
3. When tubers are soft, mash with a fork or potato masher, adding in a good amount of butter and cream, and the nettles and green onion. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Grain free biscuits (with scallion eggs and nettles)

Though Ramadan was over on Wednesday, this biscuit breakfast today felt like my first celebratory brunch of indulgence. (I did have celebratory steak dinner, and daily celebration of drinking things and eating during daylight! What glory. But biscuits feel even more special.) I made a half batch because I wanted only fresh biscuits, and of course I ate all three (though only 2 with greens and eggs)! 😊

I initially wanted a recipe for grain-free spinach/cheese/onion biscuits to make with nettles, but came across none. I do think I could try it with this recipe, so that will be on the agenda, because these biscuits were pretty remarkable. I would venture to say they are the most traditional biscuit I've had yet using grain free flour. The recipe creator names her numerous attempts to create a "southern style" biscuit, and I can tell. They really are quite perfect, even with the fact that I could not quite get my egg whites as stiff as I wanted. (I think I needed to whip my egg whites to more of a peak, but my old school-self generated spinning mixer just can't compete with electricity.)

The recipe requires egg whites, no yolks, so I just used the yolks as my scrambled eggs, and added my green onion and cheese to that. (Because I halved the recipe, I used 3 regularly large eggs.) For the greens, I chopped the steamed nettles up finely and then simmered them with a little coconut milk and salt until they were more creamy. The result was just what I wanted: buttery biscuit with soft eggs and greens. Yum!

Grain Free Biscuits (makes 6)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted grass fed butter
• 3/4 cup blanched almond flour 
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour 
• 2 tablespoons golden flax meal 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• 5 extra large egg whites about 1/2 cup

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Grate/finely chop your butter in pea sized pieces and place in the freezer.
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Once butter is frozen, mix with dry ingredients, place in freezer.

Beat egg whites until fluffy and stiff enough to spoon. Mix into dry ingredients. 

Use an ice cream scoop to scoop batter, scooping out onto an oiled/parchment covered cookie tray.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Use a thin spatula to remove them. 

Dandelion Wine

Dandelion heads were popping all over the place over the last 10 days, and I was able to harvest a bunch of them on a prime sunny morning. Laborious petal plucking ensued shortly after (you need to de-petal within a quick amount of time because the flower heads start to close up); with the company of friends, it was a splendid spring activity, though I neglected to take any photos. *I did have to freeze the first round and go pick the rest on day 2. Next was soaking the petals in water, straining them out, then adding sugar, raisins, fruit and yeast. The concoction bubbled away in my kitchen all last week, sometimes sounding like a gentle rain storm. It was very active.

One week later and upon the quietening of the fermentation, I strained the mixture into a glass 1 gallon carboy with airlock. There it will sit for 2-3 months before I rack it off into some wine bottles for the final 6-9 month stretch. I am looking forward to trying this wine, and am planning to make a rhubarb one in the coming weeks so that I can have a bit of a "local" wine tasting. Local being my yard, plus some extra dandelions from a neighbor in the buy nothing group and some from the Oromo church down the street. I'd like to find some elderberries to try a wine from those too, despite that getting a little farther away!

You do need some wine making supplies for this recipe, namely wine yeast, a 1 gallon carboy and an airlock, and brewing sanitizer. Some people skip the carboy/airlock and sanitizer, and just pour into clean wine bottles with balloons on top, which means really you just need yeast. Ideally I'd love to make wine with natural yeasts, but to start, I'm adding it in.

I mainly followed this primary recipe, and relied on this secondary one as well. I wanted to make just one gallon for my novice try, though it ended up being about 3 quarts only, in the end. We'll see how that fares. 

Dandelion petals!

My main notes to myself:

• It was a pain to strain the wine a 2nd time (also more sediment b/c I could not rack it), so I think next time I will follow the secondary instructions, modifying the amounts to = 1 gallon. (Unless mine turns out totally amazing, in which case I will just stick with it!)
• I will start with more water next time, too much boiled off or got strained out (this may also be a result of double straining and boiling, again I'll go for the secondary instructions next time). When I researched what to do with all the extra space, it seems that it is okay for the early fermentation process as long as there is an airlock. But if it were in a corked bottle, that much surface area would not be good. I am guessing this will get me 3 full bottles, but likely not 4.
  
• I did sanitize my carboy and will sanitize bottles/the tubing for racking the wine. I just don't want to risk it, but people do.
• Other recipes recommend a ratio of 1 gallon dandelion petals for 1 gallon of wine. This is a little less and depending on how it turns out, I want to add more next time.

Fruit peel and dandelion petals simmering in water

Bubbling wine concoction!

Spring Omelette with baby Jerusalem Artichokes

I picked my first 2 spears of asparagus recently, and decided I most wanted some buttery eggs with spring onions to accompany them. I also had a handful of tiny jerusalem artichokes that I pan fried, and topped everything with some fresh tarragon. (Had it occurred to me earlier, I would have incorporated the tarragon into the cooking part, and not just as a garnish. I had to go cut more after I realized how delicious it was with both. Tarragon and jerusalem artichokes = delish!) 

During Ramadan I find I want eggs at least once a week, and the way I want them is with a lot of butter. A LOT. Buttery eggs - how can I eat them any other way? It makes me think of Julia Child. *Though, speaking of buttery eggs - I took myself on a solo date last week to a "show" at the Walker (show is a loose term, because the single other person there, a stranger, and I, made up both the show and the audience, reading our "script" from note cards placed between us under the pane of glass, making it more like an experience) followed by take-out dinner from Rainbow Restaurant. Which included a very fancy egg dish. And those eggs, while I cannot imagine were cooked with butter, must have been cooked in a good quantity of sesame oil in a hot wok - they were so light and airy and somehow both creamy and crispy. With the accompanying tarot rice flour cake, the dish just melted in my mouth and I was in complete awe. So, maybe it is eggs with fat that I love?!

I've made these eggs with just spring onions, or just with butter and herbs. Stellar every time. 

Spring Omelette (serves 1)

• 2 T butter
  
• salt
• 3 spring onions, chopped
  
• 2 spears asparagus (opt), chopped
• opt herbs: tarragon, parsley, chives
• 3 eggs
  

1) Heat a small cast iron on med heat. Melt your butter in the pan, and add your spring veggies. (I add just the white onion part now, adding the green part just before I pour in the eggs.) Saute the veggies for a few minutes until tender.

2) While they saute, crack your eggs into a vessel, and use a fork to lightly whisk them. I hear over-whisking is not beneficial, so whisk just enough to mix them. If you want herbs, add them, and the green onion bits to the buttery pan. Saute 30 seconds or so before adding the eggs.

3) Pour your eggs into your cast iron. Stir them a bit to incorporate the butter into the eggs. As they start to set, gently stir some more so that the runny part has access to the pan. The goal is an omelette, not scrambled eggs, so you want to stir just enough, then let it sit to set. The butter will help you here. I am no good at flipping my omelette, so I stir/let set until the top is cooked, meaning the bottom will brown just slightly. Fold your omelette over on itself, and serve. 

I had mine with some labneh, which was divine, and the baby sunchokes, pan fried in yet more butter.

Also, it is almost Eid!! The last week was particularly challenging on the fasting front, and it was so lovely to not only get this beautiful henna, but also to a) be around some more people who b) are also fasting. What a gift. I love seeing the different designs each henna artist creates - they are all SO different. 💕

Roasted Dandelion Root tea

This post comes from a culmination of two things: 1) I've been drinking roasted dandelion root tea that I got at the co-op daily during Ramadan - I love it, it's like a sweet, darker tea similar to chicory root; and 2) I cleared some beds in my community garden plot the past several days, including many dandelions, some with decent sized roots. I brought them home and did a little internet perusing, and voila! I have my own roots for tea. I also nibbled a few - and omg! The roots are delicious. Plus they have lots of inulin, good for gut health, and are good for your liver.

Some internet research revealed that dandelion roots are best in the fall, and early spring before they flower. I will be curious to try roasting some roots this summer to do a taste comparison, and will definitely dig some up this fall since now they are all flowering. I initially roasted some roots just for 30 minutes or so, which left a chewy, edible and sweet root. I could eat those all day. But, for tea, you do a longer roast until the roots become brittle and quite brown. Some people dehydrate the roots, then roast them in a cast iron skillet until brown (similar to coffee bean roasting). I have not tried that yet, but it seems either method works. I used even quite small roots, because that is what I had, but larger ones obviously will produce more with less labor involved.

My roasted roots resulted in a bit milder flavor than the kind I get at the store, but they smell stronger - like vanilla and chocolate. (It was as if I was baking cookies when I was roasting them!) I wonder if fall roots would result in a stronger flavor? I will update then. 

Also, speaking of dandelions, this weekend also included my picking many, many dandelion heads, and then removing all of the yellow petals from the green part in order to make dandelion wine. It is decidedly labor intensive. But a lovely task with some friends. I'll make a post once I'm into some later stages, but won't know how it will all turn out until winter sometime. People speak of dandelion wine like a taste of sunshine in the winter, which is just what all those bright big fat flowers looked like on Saturday!

Roasted Dandelion Roots

1. Pick the largest dandelions that you can find. Dig them out using a special dandelion tool, or lever them up  (if in the garden) with a spading fork. You want to pull them out with the least amount of breaking of the roots, keeping them as intact as possible. 

2. Rinse the roots as best you can to get off the clinging dirt. I did this by first submerging all of my dandelions in a bucket and swishing them around. I then brought them inside and cut the greens from the roots, and then scrubbed the roots with a vegetable scrub brush. 

3. All the websites instruct you to let the roots dry before you roast them. I left mine out for a couple of hours so they were not wet, though not technically dry either. I then roasted them in a 200 degree oven for a couple of hours, until crispy (the snap) and browned. They will smell like vanilla!

4. Crush or break up the roots. I put mine in a jar and then used the end of my rolling pin to crush them up more finely, a la a mortar and pestle, without needing to transfer the contents! 

Tea

Put a heaping spoonful of roots in a tea strainer and pour hot water (no longer boiling) over the top. Steep for 10 minutes. Serve as is, or with cream.

Falafel (with Kofta, Salad, Labneh, and Rice)

Well, my friend and I continue to up our Iftar game: last weekend I made kofta with tahini sauce and salad while she made falafel and rice. We also had some (store bought) labneh with a Sadaf yogurt dip seasoning that I could eat endlessly. I already realized that I love thick yogurt with mint, but the seasoning with labneh?! Holy smokes. I can't wait to eat it with some buttery eggs.

Our dinner was spectacular, with very low stress and total ease on our parts while cooking. We made enough to last 2 rounds of leftovers, and it feels like such a treat. While I did not make the falafel myself, I am pasting her recipe for my future preparations. She has made this several times and it is one of my fave falafel recipes - particularly because it is not a smooth paste, it is more chunky. The result is a more toothsome falafel that is also heavily herbed with cilantro and parsley, which was just so perfect on the warm weekend. I was swooning all of Iftar!

The main thing to note for this falafel (and really the best falafel, in my opinion), is to use uncooked chickpeas. Which means you need dry ones that you then soak overnight. They will expand to 3 times their size, so you need a big bowl and plenty of water. The chickpeas cook when you fry them. Yum.

 Falafel - makes 32 (or so)

• 2 c dry (uncooked) chickpeas/garbanzo beans
• 1 c chopped parsley
• 3/4 c chopped cilantro
• 1-2 minced serrano peppers (with seeds)
• 1 med onion, chopped small
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T toasted sesame seeds (opt)
• 1 1/2 heaping tsp ground cumin  
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3-4 T chickpea flour (or other GF flour)
• Grapeseed or Avocado oil for frying

1. Soak dry chickpeas in water for at least 8 hours overnight, up to 24 hours.
2. Grind chickpeas in a food processor until it resembles course salt/coarse breadcrumbs (not smooth).
3. Mix in all other ingredients, holding the flour.
   
4. Slowly add in flour until mixture is able to be formed into a ball w/out falling apart.
5. Form balls (or ovals) with hands (wetting hands first helps); let rest 30 minutes.
6. Deep fry or pan fry falafel until golden brown and crispy. Place on paper towel to remove excess oil and serve warm. (We did this in my wok, which worked pretty perfectly.)
   

My salad was tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, cucumber, green onions and some spinach, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and a little red wine vinegar. It was so good with the tahini sauce and seasoned labneh and the falafel. All the herbs! The fresh lemon! The kofta!