Tag Archives: tomato

Chili Tomato Marmalade

17 Nov

With Cheddar SconesI am completely utterly besotted with my Cheddar Cheese Scones. Who knew that something so quick and easy could taste so very very good. I stored them, wrapped in wax paper, in a ziploc plastic bag, and today they were fresh, moist and tender. I toasted one for breakfast, and started dreaming up things that would be delicious with this gorgeous cheesy rich bread…. and suddenly, Im not sure from where, chili tomato marmalade popped into my head.

Now let me be honest here. Ive never made marmalade before. I have made apple butter and simple jams, so I decided to basically apply those principles – fruit (tomato and lemon), a bit of water, sugar and low low steady heat. I also wanted to scent my marmalade – because as much as I love the scones, their richness was calling out for something tart and sweet and hot and wild to augment and accent them. Chili and ginger and all spice seemed like a good mix… and oh they were!

In jam making, youre supposed to add equal amounts of sugar to fruit. So for example, I had six cups worth of chopped tomatoes, which called for six cups of sugar. But I just couldnt do it. Since I was venturing into uncharted territory, I decided to halve the amount of sugar used (plus a bit for the lemon rind). I made up for it by cooking the mixture long and slow and low … and it worked. With patience, and a little stirring (not much, I promise), I created a stunningly pretty and decadent tasting chili tomato marmalade.

You could use this marmalade in so many ways. It would be sublime in a grilled cheese sandwich, as a condiment in a cheese platter, as a replacement for cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. Its spicy notes are very seasonal and fresh – and its jewel like colour is festive and happy.

Easy to make, in one evening, this marmalade is something you must try for yourself. Its wonderful!

Makes approximately 3 cups marmalade

  • 5 lemons
  • 1/2 cup + 3 cups light brown sugar
  • Approximately 1.4 kg / 3 lb / 6 cups chopped tomatoes – I got a good mix – beef, Holland, Roma, etc.
  • 1 tsp all spice
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp crushed red chili
  • 1 tsp mustard seed
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

First, prepare the lemons. Wash them well, and cut off the peel – leaving as much of the pith on the lemon as possible. Chop the peel roughly, and place in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Juice 2 of the lemons, and add the juice (should be about 1/2 cup as well) to the mix. Bring to the boil over high heat, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes to soften the peel up.

Skin the remaining lemons of their pith, and chop the flesh up roughly. Set aside.

Put a kettle onto the boil, and prepare the tomatoes for skinning by marking crosses at stem and bottom with a sharp knife. Place all the prepared tomatoes in a large bowl, and when the kettle comes to the boil, cover the tomatoes with boiling water until they are all completely covered. Count to 30, drain the tomatoes, and refresh them under cold water. You should have encouraged a lot of the tomato skin to start to peel off from the flesh. Use a sharp knife to peel the tomatoes (it should be relatively easy), and chop them roughly.

Do not seed the tomatoes – keep the seeds for the marmalade. Tomato seeds have a lot of pectin in them, and will help the marmalade gel.

You should have about 6 cups of chopped tomatoes. Take the lemon peel off the heat, and add the tomatoes directly to the saucepan, along with the chopped lemon that you set aside. Add the all spice, ginger, red chili, mustard seed, salt and balsamic vinegar and stir well to combine. Add the remaining 3 cups of light brown sugar, and place the saucepan back onto the stovetop at medium heat, and bring the entire mixture to the boil, stirring as you do so.

Once the mixture has come to the boil, turn the heat right down to the lowest you can accommodate, and simmer the marmalade, stirring occasionally until thickened to your liking.

I cannot tell you how long it will take for this mixture to morph into marmalade because different tomatoes will gel at different speeds. What I can tell you is this. It took my marmalade about 2 hours, on very low heat, to set up to my liking. The tomatoes will shed a whole load of water, and the entire mixture will seem very loose and thin – like a very light soup. Keep simmering, and watch as the mixture reduces, thickens and darkens in colour. I started out with pale tomatoes, but the cooking process created a ruby red marmalade.

Err on the side of caution. Burnt marmalade is irretrievable, and it does set up and thicken further once taken off the heat. I took mine off when it was thick enough to stand on a spoon, but not thick enough for marmalade. It set up very well as it cooled, and is now very sticky and scrummy and thick. If your marmalade does not set up as you like, put it back onto the heat for half an hour at a time.

Enjoy this morning noon and night, with those you love. Hopefully on a gorgeous Cheddar Scone!

 

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Roasted Tomato Tart

18 Oct

Tart!Tonight’s dinner was a work in progress during the day. It was one of those meals that you find a bit of time for, leave, and then come back to. Slow roasting the tomatoes for the tart took a while, and they really benefitted from being left in a hot oven (that I turned off) when we went out for the day.

I also roasted butternut for a soup – but that one was so simple, a recipe is kind of silly. I basically peeled and seeded a butternut, chopped it up, added a few tablespoons of olive oil and some spice – paprika, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg – salt and pepper, and roasted it in a hot oven (225 C / 450 F) until it was soft. I mashed it, put it in a pot, poured a cup of water over, and brought to the boil. Blended it to a puree, and added a touch of milk and adjusted spices. Pure butternut heaven!

I must admit, I used Whole Foods bought puff pastry (from Dufour – amazing stuff!) for the tart. You could use best quality puff pastry, or make a cheese pastry as per the spinach pie I did the other day. Either way, you want a flat pie – almost a pizza but better 😉

I roasted these tomatoes in a very hot oven for about 20 – 25 minutes – until they were very soft, slightly burnt and caramelised, but still holding their shape and size. I then flipped them over, turned the oven off, and went out – and when we got back home, the tomatoes were slightly dried – almost like semi-sun-dried tomatoes. They had intensified in colour and flavour, without losing their shape or size. Absolutely gorgeous. I recommend this if you can – roast for half an hour in the morning, and then just leave them there. When you get home, you will have an amazing tomato dinner waiting for you! These are soooo good in pasta, in a grilled cheese, in salad, soup, just about anywhere you need a pure shot of tomato flavour.

Roasted Semi Dried Tomatoes

You will definitely have extra left over. Seems a shame to roast these tomatoes for just the one tart! Anoint your extras with a bit of olive oil and save in the fridge.

  • 10 – 12 juicy red tomatoes
  • 1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Basil (fresh or dried)
  • 1 tsp light brown sugar
  • 8 – 10 garlic cloves, sliced

Preheat oven to 225C (450F). Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash and dry the tomatoes. Slice them thickly (about 3 – 4 slices per fruit), destem if you feel the need, and arrange in a single layer on your baking sheet. Sprinkle olive oil judiciously over all.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, basil and sugar. Add sliced garlic (I usually stick one or two on top of each tomato slice).

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the tomatoes are oozing juice, blistered a bit, but still holding their shape and size.

Take the baking sheet out of the oven, switch off the oven, and flip the tomatoes over. Put back into oven and leave for at least 2 hours if not the whole day.

Roasted Tomato Tart

  • 1 large sheet puff pastry (or cheese crust pastry to line a baking sheet)
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 2 tbsp ricotta or cottage cheese
  • 1 tbsp cream cheese
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
  • 1 egg
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 + 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • Roasted tomatoes

Preheat oven to 180C (375F). Line a baking sheet or pan with parchment paper.

Remove parchment paper from the baking pan, and place flat on table. Place a sheet of puff pastry (or a square of your own made cheese pastry) onto the parchment.

Roll out the pastry to to a rectangle about 18″ by 12″ and then fold over the edges by about 2 inches all around. Pinch to make sure the folded over edges stick, and using a fork, prick holes in the centre of the pastry. Slide onto your baking sheet or pan, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up and is a light golden brown.

If you are using puff pastry, remove from the oven, and dig out about half of the centre layers. You will have very puffed edges, and a crisp centre.

Beat together the sour cream, ricotta, cream cheese, garlic, egg, salt and pepper and 1/4 cup of grated cheese. Pour into the centre of the pastry.

Arrange the roasted tomatoes on top of the mixture, and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, making sure you dont cover the tomatoes completely.

Bake in the oven for a further 20 minutes or so, or until the centre is puffed and browned.

Slice into pieces and enjoy! This can be served at room temperature, or even from the fridge the next day and is still very scrummy.

 

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Kind-of-Ratatouille-a-la-Karo

14 Oct

with Spinach Couscous!Tonight’s dinner may not be much to look at but it sure was delicious! And it was an intersection of different food thoughts that have been running through my head in the last few weeks. Inspired by so many things – my friend Karo’s post about the grated courgettes (zucchini), the Medjool dates at Per Se, and Karo’s link to Ottolenghi’s website.

Dinner needed to be fast and yet different tonight. Suddenly, autumn is upon us. I think we had our last 80 degree day a few days back, and now the crisp chill of cold is in the air around us. So dinner needed to be a response to that – warm and hearty, yet with echoes of sunshiney places. I didnt really think I wanted to do a ratatouille (though that often speaks of sunshine and warmth), mainly because I didnt have enough tomatoes. And I wanted to do the zucchini grated, and see what happened.

I started cooking with the thought that I was going to grate everything – but it didnt work out that way. Im pretty glad about that because I think I would have had a dark brown looking sludge by the end of it! Some stuff was grated, some stayed basically intact. You could serve this kind-of-ratatouille with french bread, rice, pasta – or as I did, with spinach couscous for a lush hint of colour and raw spinach flavour.

This is an example of my favourite free-form cooking – starting with a few ideas, and some beautiful ingredients, and seeing what happens. The end result was pretty damn tasty, completely vegan, rich and complex. The spice choices leant a hint of sunshine to the dark cold night, and we all went to bed happy and satisfied. All is right with the world 🙂

Serves 4

  • 1 tbsp plus more as needed olive oil
  • 1 small onion grated (mostly liquid)
  • 2 cloves garlic (or more as is your preference), grated
  • 1 small eggplant (aubergine) – diced
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • Pinch (or more) cinnamon
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 portobello mushrooms, peeled and minced
  • 1 zucchini (courgette) grated
  • 1 Medjool date, pitted and chopped very small
  • 1 cup carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
  • 1/2 orange sweet pepper
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped tomatoes (I used baby heirloom)
  • 1/2 cup or so water
  • 1/2 cup cashew nuts (toasted)
  • Spinach couscous

First off, toast your cashew nuts if they are raw. Use a non stick frying pan, dont add any oil, and toast over a medium fire until lightly browned. Pour off into a small bowl and set aside.

Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil to the frying pan. You might need to add more oil as you go through the various ingredients, but try to be miserly with the oil – you dont want an overly greasy end dish. Instead, use more or less heat (and eventually water) to control the cooking process.

Grate a small onion directly into the pan. The onion I grated ended up being quite watery – this is fine. If you have lovely little grated shards of onion, this is good too. Saute for a few minutes until the onion is glossy and soft. Grate in the garlic and stir to combine. Lower the heat and let the onion and garlic get acquainted.

While the onion and garlic are bubbling together gently, dice the eggplant into small cubes, keeping the skin intact. Bring the heat up a little (and add a touch of olive oil if you think it needs it), and add all the eggplant, mixing well.

Season the eggplant and onion mixture with the paprika, oregano, pepper, cinnamon and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust if needed.

Cook for about 5 minutes on high-ish heat. You want to burn the eggplant a little bit, and allow the onions to melt into the mix. When you start smelling that wonderful eggplant roasted burnt scent (its unmistakable) add the next part.

Add the mushrooms and mix extremely well. The mushrooms will let go of their liquid – encourage this by mixing thoroughly.

Lower the heat to medium, and let everything simmer together while you grate the zucchini. Squeeze most of the liquid out of the grated zucchini, and add to the pan. Sautee together, and mix very well. The zucchini will act as a paste and start to incorporate everything together. Taste and adjust for seasoning. add the minced date, and mix together. Allow everything to saute on medium heat for a few minutes.

Add carrots, sweet pepper and tomatoes to the pan, bring the heat to high, and stir to combine. As soon as everything starts to pop and sizzle, add the water, and allow the mixture to bubble. Taste for seasoning and adjust.

Add the cashews, and taste everything to make sure its a singular whole. Serve over spinach couscous or a grain of your choice!

 

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Carrot Soup

29 Sep

SoupAfter the party and the cakes and cupcakes and cookies … and the traumas of today (Z had her 1 year checkup and injections at the doctor) … it was time for something soothing. It has also been quite rainy these last few days, so I decided to make carrot soup. Well, that, and we had plenty of carrots left over from the party! The preponderant taste of this soup is carrot, but it has the addition of just a bit of butternut for silkiness, and some tomatoes for heartiness.

I do love soups. When youre ill, and you just dont want to eat, soup can tempt you with its scent, its warmth, its comfort factor. When its rainy outside, soup makes everyone feel good. And on hot days, a cold soup is a refreshing option for a quick meal. Speaking of which, this carrot soup is just as good cold as it is hot – and its amazing orange glow immediately raises the spirits!

I served the soup with toast, spread with the last of the artichoke spinach dip. It was such a great contrast – the sweetness of the carrots juxtaposed with the salty creaminess of the dip. Warm garlic bread would also be a nice option here … just think about how to make the sweetness pop by adding a salty element.

This soup serves 4 people, with leftovers. Enjoy, hot or cold 😉

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for flavour as well as for sauteing the onions)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 cups carrots, washed and chopped (skin on is fine)
  • 1/2 – 1 cup butternut
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes (you can use canned if you have to but fresh is better)
  • 2 cups water
  • A few tablespoons cream, sour cream, almond or soy milk or coconut milk

In a large pot, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. I specify extra virgin here because it adds a depth of flavour to the soup. If you dont have it, use regular olive oil or vegetable oil.

Saute the onion until it becomes glossy and soft. Add the garlic, and stir well. Season with paprika, oregano and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Add the carrots, butternut and tomatoes in batches. Stir after each addition, and allow the vegetables to soften a bit.

Add the water, and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or so, or until all the vegetables have softened. You may find you need to add more water, but do this judiciously. You want quite a thick soup.

Once all the vegetables have softened, puree the soup using an immersion blender, or a stand blender or food processor. Be careful as the soup will be quite hot!

CarrotTaste and adjust seasonings. I often find I need to add a touch more salt.

Just before serving stir in the cream or milk. Do not bring to the boil, but heat until simmering.

Serve with toast on the side for a comforting bright meal.

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Vegetable Soup with Matzoh Balls

19 Sep

With Matzoh Balls!My sister and I caught the Baby Queen Z’s cold, so we are all a tad miserable. Even though its a gorgeous day outside, colds and flus almost demand a good, homemade vegetable soup. When we were little, it used to be a chicken soup with matzoh balls, so I decided to make them and add them to the vegetable soup. Matzoh balls are a supremely comforting Jewish tradition – matzoh cracker meal, combined with salt, egg and a bit of soup stock to make dumplings. Eating them feels like being enveloped in a pure cashmere blanket. And when youre ill, they are very nourishing.

I went vegetarian with the matzoh balls, though I did find good vegan recipes here and here. To be honest, I just wasnt up to trying the vegan version … not feeling focused or well enough to pay attention to multiple ingredients. But the soup is vegan – and I made it creamy and thick by whizzing it up with my immersion blender. Literally less than a minute and all those amazing veggies were pureed in a silken mass. I made the matzoh balls and boiled them in the soup pot (with the soup safely stored in a heatproof bowl) and then when they were done, introduced them to the soup.

Good, healthy, nourishing and full of vegetable love. Sure to make us all better in a jiffy!

Vegetable Soup

This makes 1 big potful. Adjust the vegetables to what you have in the fridge, but note that I almost always use onion or leek or both, carrot, and a can of plum tomatoes. Everything else comes and goes, but those are the constants 😉

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 leek, chopped
  • 3 small carrots, topped and tailed, and roughly chopped (leave the skin on)
  • 1 zucchini, roughly chopped (skin on)
  • 1 can plum tomatoes in their juice
  • 1 cup potatoes, chopped (skin on)
  • 1/2 head of rapini or broccoli, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped spinach
  • Salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onion and leek until they go soft and slightly melty, and a little browned along the edges. This is quite important as they form the basis of the soup, so you want to cook them long enough to caramelise a bit. This can take up to ten minutes depending on heat source.

Add the carrots, stir to combine, and let them soften, about three to four minutes.

Add the zucchini, stir to combine and let it soften, about two to three minutes.

Open a can of plum tomatoes in their juice, and pour over the soup base. I usually use one hand to hold and pour the tomatoes, and the other hand to catch the tomatoes as they fall into the soup and lightly crush them.

Fill the can with water twice, and add to the soup pot. Stir everything to combine.

Taste and lightly salt and pepper.

Add the potatoes, rapini and spinach, and lower the heat to a soft simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for about 20 minutes, checking every ten minutes or so to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot. If there isnt, top it up.

Adjust salt and pepper.

You can eat the soup just as it is – broth and wonderful chunks of vegetables. But when I am ill, I like a smooth soup, so I take it off the heat, and use my immersion blender to make a really thick silky soup. The choice is up to you.

Matzoh balls

To be honest, you could use just about any cracker in this soup – saltines or oyster or water biscuits would all do. But if you have matzoh, use it – there is something very particular about this delicious taste that owes itself to the matzoh meal. Also, if you use salted crackers, adjust salt accordingly.

This will make for quite a salty unboiled mixture. Dont worry. A lot of the salt will boil out in the pot.

  • 1 cup matzoh meal
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp soup stock

To make the matzoh meal, take a matzoh cracker or two, break it up into smallish pieces, and place in a sturdy ziploc plastic bag. Using a wine bottle, rolling pin or other hard, heavy implement, smash the matzoh cracker until it is dust! Very therapeutic 😉

In a small bowl, combine the matzoh meal and the salt. In a separate small cup or bowl, beat together the eggs, oil and soup stock until combined well. Pour the egg mixture over the matzoh meal, and stir lightly to combine. It will be quite sticky and soft.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

To boil the matzoh balls, transfer the soup into a large heatproof bowl. Its okay if a bit of soup remains – this will enrich the boiling liquid for the matzoh balls.

Fill the pot with water, and bring to the boil.

Take the matzoh mixture out of the fridge, and using your hands, make small balls (about 1 inch in diametre) and drop them in the boiling water. Remember that matzoh balls expand to more than twice their size, so dont make huge balls!

Boil for 20 – 30 minutes, or until cooked through. You will know when they are completely cooked when you cut through one and it is light and fluffy all the way through, having absorbed enough water to cook the insides.

Transfer the cooked matzoh balls to the soup, drain and rinse the pot, and transfer soup and matzoh balls back. Reheat gently. Eat and feel better!

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Spinach Croquettes with Tomato Garlic Mushroom Sauce

18 Sep

With Tomato Garlic Mushroom SauceThe Tiny Queen Z (M’s baby) was having a tough day today. She is teething AND has a cold! Poor thing! But it also meant that my sister was completely exhausted, having been up every hour on the hour with the baby last night, and having to be with her all day today. I wanted to make dinner that would really feel like an indulgence, but be easy to eat, quick and extremely tasty. First I thought of a simple tomato and garlic pasta, but pasta can sometimes be too heavy. We have huge amounts of spinach in the fridge (and its so good for energy and strength) – so I thought spinach croquettes!

These arent the “traditional” croquette, made with mashed potato and rolled in breadcrumbs. To be honest, thats quite an involved recipe, and I wanted to get dinner on the table in under an hour. This actually took about 30 minutes all told, and it was really good. Simple, bold flavours, hot and comforting, the indulgence of fried foods, and yet the healthiness of spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes – simply cooked, without too much fuss.

This is easily convertible to a vegan dish. In the croquettes, substitute almond meal or ground almonds for the parmesan (they give the same wonderfully nutty hit) and a few tablespoons of soy milk to bring it all together instead of the eggs. In the sauce, you could either leave the vegetables clean, or you could substitute wine or soy or coconut milk for the sour cream. Any which way, this is a wonderful meal — it makes people feel comforted and happy. We needed that today!

Serves 4 people. Makes approximately 10 croquettes / patties.

Spinach Croquettes

  • 2 tbsp olive oil (plus a drizzle of truffle oil or roasted sesame oil if you have it for depth of flavour – but not neccessary) plus more for the frying
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar or red wine or vegetable stock
  • 4 – 6 cups raw baby spinach, rinsed, and then chopped fine
  • 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I used Panko crumbs, but you can really use anything – whole wheat would be lovely, as would sour dough)
  • 2 eggs (vegan substitution: 2 – 4 tbsp soy milk or coconut milk)
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan (vegan substitution: ground almonds)

In a medium saucepan, over medium high heat, saute the onion until it is soft and glossy, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and dried basil, and mix to combine. Add the balsamic or wine to the onions, and mix well. This will just soften the onions a little bit more, and add even more flavour to the dish.

Add the baby spinach in 2 batches, stirring until the spinach is just wilted, a few minutes. There will be some liquid in the bottom of the pan – this is great! You want it 🙂

Once all the spinach has been added, and lightly cooked, transfer the entire contents of the pan to a heatproof bowl.

Tip in the breadcrumbs and eggs and stir very gently just to combine. The mixture should come together easily. If not, add water, a tablespoon at a time. You want the mixture to bind together, but lightly – you dont want it mushy and wet.

Add the parmesan or ground almonds and mix lightly.

Put in the fridge to firm up while you make the sauce.

Once you are ready to eat (about 10 – 15 minutes before hand), preheat your oven to 100C (200F), and place a pan in the oven. Sprinkle a medium to large non stick frying pan with a touch of olive oil and place on medium heat. Make palm sized patties of the spinach mixture, and saute for about 4 – 5 minutes on the first side. You should be able to get 3 – 4 croquettes in a frying pan.

Flip the croquettes and saute for about 3 – 4 minutes on the second side. As you make the croquettes in batches, transfer the cooked croquettes to the pan in the oven to keep warm. Otherwise, place on serving platter, and cover with a dishtowel or paper napkin.

Tomato Garlic Mushroom Sauce

This is wonderful with the spinach croquettes. It is wonderfully tomato-ey, sweet and slightly gooey. The mushrooms give it depth of flavour too … I use this sauce on everything – on toasted bread for bruschetta, with pasta, as a filling for a decadent omelette. Its a great sauce to have on hand and it gets put together in a matter of minutes.

  • 1 1/2  tbsp olive oil
  • 5 – 7 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 cup mushrooms (I used portabello), peeled and sliced thinly
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 – 2 cups baby tomatoes (I used a mix of baby heirloom tomatoes which were amazing!), chopped
  • 2 tbsp sour cream or soy milk (optional)
  • Pinch of sugar (optional)

In a small frying pan, over medium low heat, saute the sliced garlic cloves in the olive oil. Let the garlic saute for about 5 minutes or so. You want it to get soft and slightly sticky, and lose its bitterness. This extended cooking time really allows the garlic flavours to bloom and soften. Its critical. Be patient. Everything else goes quite quickly.

Bring up the heat, and add the mushrooms in two batches. You want to encourage the mushrooms to lose their liquid, and just start to brown a little on the edges. They will go slightly caramel and sticky in the pan. They wont do this if you put too many in at the same time, which is why you are doing this in two batches. This should be the work of minutes, and watch carefully – you dont want the mushrooms to burn, but rather to brown.

Once the mushrooms have browned, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the baby tomatoes all at once. They will immediately start to melt in the high heat, and their liquid will bubble and start forming a lovely sauce. Mix everything together well and taste. Add sour cream or soy milk if you want a creamier sauce, and add a tiny pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are not very sweet, to bring out their tomato essence.

Serve the sauce over the spinach croquettes. YUMMY.

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Sticky Fingers Bakery + Fried Rice

5 Sep

Today was a totally vegan day. We planned it that way, but to be honest, no one ever even vaguely missed the dairy! For brunch, we went to Sticky Fingers Bakery – a Washington DC vegan institution. M and I had been talking about it for ages … when she got married, I thought of getting her a cake from Sticky Fingers, but I couldnt get my act together! Finally, we went and ate there. It was a bit of a mission to get to, but thank Goddess for GPS, she found it fine!

Sticky Fingers is a really cool, relaxed place. There were families, teenagers, a young woman studying for her LSATS, guys drinking coffee and Skyping, and a man who came in and bought himself a huge sundae, and sat all by himself and ate it with great relish. As you walk in, there is a cold case with pre-made food: everything from TLT’s (tomato, lettuce and tofu bacon sandwiches) to pasta to gyros. Straight in front of you is the bakery section with cookies, cakes, brownies, cupcakes. Everything is home made, fresh and looks incredibly tempting. There is a menu on a chalkboard above the payment counter, and drinks from a cooler or you can order coffee and tea. You can choose between take out and eat in, and because we were with the baby, we sat and ate. There are a few tables (one big communal and 6 smaller tables) inside, and a few outside.

I had the iced vanilla latte, and it was absolutely superb. The coffee itself was brilliant, and I couldnt tell the difference between the soy they used and regular milk. I think they used Silk, which we have tried, and its great. M suggested we have the breakfast sandwich. It came from the pre-made cooler, and it was sublime. Sooooo bloody good! Two english muffins sandwiched a tofu egg omelette (coloured with tumeric and creamy and delicious), with soy protein sausage, and a yeast vegannaise. It was one of the most delicious things I have had in a long time.

M and B had seconds, and I decided to be adventurous by ordering the biscuits and gravy, with scrambled tofu and roasted potatoes. To be honest, I should have stuck with the breakfast sandwich. The biscuits were bland, the gravy was this floury white sauce that was completely tasteless, the scrambled tofu was just ok, and the roasted potatoes had no flavour to them at all. We were all quite disappointed after the delights of the sandwich.

To make up for it, I ordered a sweet and salty cookie which was really good! A chocolate chip and raisin cookie, baked with a sprinkle of salt over it. Really lovely, wonderful juxtaposition of tastes. I would have those again and again! M had a peanut butter fudge cupcake for dessert and B had an oreo cupcake. They were delicious (I think B had seconds on that too!)…. Not too sweet, velvety, moist, and very chocolaty. Even Baby Z got into the fudge cupcake. But when everything is vegan, cholesterol free, lower in saturated fats and sweetened with evaporated cane juice … its actually kind of okay 😉

I also ordered, and took home, a sticky cinnamon bun. How can you not when they are the bakery’s name inspiration? They were good, if a bit doughy…I should have gotten another sweet and salty cookie instead. Though this bakery is not cheap, it is very much worth the trek to find it, and the expense. I wish I could say everything was delicious, but what was good, was phenomenal! We were so busy eating, I didnt even have time to take photos 😉

Sticky Fingers Bakery
1370 Park Road, NW Washington DC, 20010
1 block north from Columbia Heights Metro
Tel: 202.299.9700

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vegan!We had a busy afternoon, walking around downtown, shopping, playing… When it was time for dinner, we wanted something really light and yet satisfying. Fried rice was the perfect solution. I made it really quickly and very simply, with a few ingredients.

Because we had rice, curry and rendang potatoes for dinner last night, I had left over rice – this, as any Malaysian will tell you, is the key to good fried rice – cold rice! Once rice has been cooked and refrigerated, the starches solidify over each grain. When you apply heat again, the grains of rice remain intact, firm and rice-y. If you try and fry hot just cooked rice, it will turn to mush!

I used what was in the fridge for this dish, and heated up the remains of the rendang potatoes (mmmmmmm) to serve as a side dish. It was a delectable vegan dinner! You could use any manner of vegetable in this dish – peas are wonderful, as is spinach. Toasted cashew nuts would be great too.

Serves 4

  • 2 – 3 tablespoons oil (I used 1 tablespoon each of olive, truffle and toasted sesame oil – use what you have – peanut oil is good too – it gives a nutty smoky flavour) plus additional if needed
  • 1 cup sliced and chopped red onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 inch ginger, sliced and chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon plus extra soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 – 2 cups button mushrooms, peeled and sliced
  • 3 – 4 cups cold rice (at least overnight in the fridge)
  • 1/2 cup baby roma tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/2 cup baked seasoned tofu, cubed
  • 2 tbsp chili sauce (I used Lingam’s)

In a large, non stick frying pan, over medium high heat, saute the onions, garlic and ginger in the oil. This is the longest part of the dish – you need to get the onions past the soft stage to the slightly burnt and sticky stage. Adjust your heat accordingly so they dont over burn, but keep stirring and let them really cook down so they are soft and brown at the edges. Salt and pepper well.

Pour over the soy and balsamic vinegar, and let the onion mixture cook for several minutes more. Peel and slice the mushrooms, and add them to the onions. Encourage them to burn a bit too – you want them to lose all their moisture, and cook well. Once the mushrooms have coloured, add the rice all at once, and mix the rice into the pan ingredients. Fold over and over again, using a spatula or wooden spoon. Incorporate everything, and then taste. Pour over a bit more soy so that the rice colours a little. Taste again.

Add the tomatoes and tofu, and stir to incorporate. Taste. Adjust. Add the chili sauce and taste again. Adjust to your liking, and serve hot. M and I love scraping the pan from fried rice – its where the best bits hide!

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Tomatoes + Garlic +Quinoa + Spinach

1 Sep

Spinach + QuinoaToday was yet another eventful day – our mother left, and by the end of the day, we were all really tired. We needed a quick meal, but I wanted something delicious. Something that would be comforting and yet incredibly fresh. Nothing too heavy, but definitely delectable, lip smacking, delicious. I decided to lightly saute some garlic until it was soft, mix it with some burstingly fresh tomatoes, encourage the sweet sweet sauce with a lick of cream. Mix that up with some protein rich quinoa and fresh spinach. A meal that is a balm on the senses – pretty, delightful and happy making.

Because its summertime, the tomatoes are so luscious I cannot even begin to describe them. The smell of them is heady, almost perfume-y. Their juices dribble and drip as soon as they even see a knife. I did not really want to do much with them – certainly not cook them for too long. I wanted that fresh tomato taste to be honoured and respected. I managed to ensure this by cooking them only briefly, and mixed in a little bit of cream for richness. If you are vegan, you dont have to use cream – add some soy or almond milk if you want, or just leave the tomatoes without cream.

I chose quinoa because of its high protein content. I chopped fresh baby spinach fine, and as soon as the quinoa was ready, I mixed the hot quinoa with a teaspoon of butter and the spinach. It wilted the spinach, and added a pure green flavour to the quinoa, a lovely contrast to the richness of the tomatoes. This meal was really good! We finished everything and as I write this, the house is quiet, happy and satisfied. Exactly right 🙂

This recipe will serve 4 people, and can be adapted to be vegan

Tomato + Garlic

You can serve this sauce with pasta, quinoa, couscous, or even on toast – its fresh, easy and delicious

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp truffle oil (if you have it – it adds a depth of flavour)
  • 4 – 6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp dry basil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 – 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp light brown sugar (optional)
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream (or soy or almond milk if you are vegan)

Heat the olive and truffle oils in a medium non stick pan, over medium high heat. Turn the heat to medium low and saute the garlic in a single layer for about five minutes or more. You want the garlic to soften and infuse the oils. This also enables the garlic to cook off its bitter taste. You will have that lovely hit of garlic, but without the sharpness.

Sprinkle the garlic with basil, and liberally season with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to medium high and drizzle the balsamic over. Add the tomatoes, and cook them long enough so that they release their juices. Taste. You may need a little bit more salt and pepper, or you may need to enhance the natural sweetness of the tomatoes with a little bit of sugar. The fresh late summer tomatoes I used were so sweet I didnt need any sugar, but trust your instincts. This sauce should be sweet with tomato-y juices.

Add the cream if you decide to use it, and let it cook down and reduce over low heat for a few minutes. Set the sauce aside while you prepare the quinoa.

Quinoa + Spinach

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 cup baby spinach, chopped fine

In a small saucepan, mix the quinoa with the water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Place on high heat, and allow to come to the boil. Lower heat so that the quinoa is at a simmer, and cover. Simmer for 20 – 25 minutes until the quinoa is cooked through, and all the liquid has been absorbed.

As soon as the quinoa is ready, spoon into a serving platter. Cut butter over the quinoa, and using a spoon, mix in well. Taste for salt, and adjust. Mix in the fresh spinach and mix well. The spinach will wilt just a little bit and flavour the quinoa.

To Serve

Spoon the tomato + garlic over the quinoa + spinach, and, if you want, scatter a few parmesan shavings over the top. Serve at room temperature. Delight in the freshness of summer!

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Summer Stew

22 Aug

Perfect Bright Summer FlavoursWow, today was such a lovely day! Lunch at Le Pain Quotidien – perfect tart lemonade with loads of mint, and a gorgeous open face sandwich of fresh ricotta, mission figs, cracked black pepper, honey and chopped tomatoes. I know, it doesnt sound like it would all go, but oh boy, did it! Superb. And then home, and loads and loads of cooking. Dinner was a cold potato salad – roasted garlic and baby tomatoes, mixed as soon as they came out the oven with a few tablespoons of mayo. SO good. And summer stew – the best, brightest and tastiest of the summer veg, stewed briefly together, served with some rice. Vegan, and delicious. And for dessert, a strawberry fool – those gorgeous strawberries I bought yesterday, macerated with a bit of balsamico, and then folded into lightly whipped cream which had been sweetened just a bit, and flavoured with a bit of vanilla. Actually, it turned out to be an Eton Mess, because we also had some store bought meringue which we crumbled over the top. So bloody good!

And then of course, I had to do some prep cooking for M’s birthday tomorrow. I have decided that since it is summertime, I am not going to bother with huge numbers of hot dishes. Most everything can be served cold or at room temperature. Tonight I made broccolini with toasted almonds and a bright lemon olive oil dressing. Roasted butternut which will go into an arugula salad with a few shavings of parmesan. The stuffing for the mushroom pastry. The pudding for the chocolate cake. My feet hurt! And its late. But at least tomorrow, I can bake the cake in the morning, and do the mushroom pastry in the afternoon, and assemble all the salads in between, without having to worry I dont have enough time. Plus, we are planning on going to the farmer’s market! I cant wait! That should be wonderful fun.

So now, back to this summer stew. These are a few of the beautiful vegetables I found at Whole Foods. I didnt want to over cook them, as their bright clean flavours were just too delicate. Also, to be honest, I only put a tiny bit of flavouring into this stew – I wanted the veggies to perfume the gravy with their own fragrance, and I felt it really didnt need any additional enhancement. Please go to the market and see what is bright and fresh and tasty. Use that. If you dont see a squash, but there is a wonderful array of carrots, substitute! This stew is about using whats best in the summertime, and celebrating it. Enjoy!

Serves about 6 – 8

  • 3 – 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 Vidalia onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 large (or 2 small) aubergines (eggplant), washed, sliced and chopped fine
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 yellow zucchini squash, halved and chopped
  • 1 zucchini, halved and chopped
  • 1/2 butternut, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
  • 2 ripe large heirloom tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 – 1 cup water
  • 1 package firm seasoned tofu, chopped roughly
  • Large handful baby spinach, washed well

In a large pan, over high heat, in about 2 tbsp olive oil, saute the onion until glossy and softened. Add the aubergine, and sautee until the aubergine starts to brown and burn a bit. Season with paprika, oregano, salt and pepper.

Add the yellow zucchini squash and zucchini to the pan, and sautee until slightly softened. You may need to add more olive oil.

Add the butternut, and combine well. You may want to put a lid on the pan to soften the butternut a bit, but I usually just let all the ingredients bubble and saute for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, and encourage the sauce that will start to form with the addition of some hot water. I usually add about 1/2 cup, and let the stew cook for about 5 minutes, and then check the butternut. If it needs more time, I add more water. Let cook and meld together for about 10 – 15 minutes, and taste and adjust seasonings.

Dont overcook. This is a delicate stew, and you want to really allow the clean fresh flavours of the vegetables to remain intact.

Add the tofu and baby spinach, and cook just until the spinach is wilted.

Serve warm over jasmine rice.

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Spinach Pie

20 Aug

Today, around 11am, I realised I had a houseful of hungry women to feed – me, my sister, our mother, and the Au-Pair Nation (3 in total, though in M’s house it seems to be in constant flux!)… So went to the fridge to have a mosey about to figure out what I could cook. The quickest, easiest, and freshest thing seemed to be a spinach pie, with basil from the garden, and a ripe tomato to add colour, prettiness, and sweetness. I love cooking on the fly like this. I love checking out whats fresh, what looks delicious, and thinking up creative ways to cook it. This kind of meal is my favourite – unplanned, and yet with a certain urgency to it.

We sat down to eat at around 1230 or so – and the cooking was really a series of pottering about, mixing, tasting, stirring, sauteeing… It was very organic (as were the ingredients), and even baby Z got into the equation when she went to the garden to help Essia pick the basil! This pie will serve 6 – 8 people for lunch, and is wonderful on a hot summer’s day as it really does taste wonderful lukewarm, or even cold. You can try it with lots of different toppings (sauteed onions or mushrooms come to mind), and you can choose to add or subtract cheese, as is your wish. I used some sour cream and a little milk with the eggs, but if all you have is condensed milk, water, cream – use that. Its a very forgiving dish, and will really adapt to what you have.

Its also best, in my opinion, looking very rustic. This is not fancy restaurant fare. This is healthy, delectable home cooking, and it shouldnt pretend to (or try to) look polished and refined. There is a certain lustiness to this kind of cooking and food that people really respond well to.

I baked this in a medium sized Corningware dish, but if you want to bake it in a pie pan, go right ahead. Its easy peasy, and so delicious. Plus, I find people love pie. It feels like you have done a huge amount of work, when you really havent – and they feel like you have treated them to something magical.

For the crust

  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached organic flour plus extra for rolling out
  • 3/4 stick (6 tbsp) frozen butter, grated
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (or parmesan, pecorino, goats cheese, whatever you like)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 egg

Preheat the oven to 170C

Measure the flour into a small bowl, and grate the butter over. Use your fingers to mix the butter in well, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese and salt and pepper in, and using your fingers again, mix well.

Break the egg into the flour mixture, and mix well, until a dough forms. Knead this dough, using the heel of your palm, until it feels very soft and elastic.

Let it sit for about 10 minutes in the fridge, and then roll it out, very thin, flouring your rolling surface and pin first.

Transfer the dough to your baking pan, ensuring that its even, and goes up the sides of the pan, and prick all over with a fork, remembering to prick along the sides as well.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the crust has browned nicely. Remove from oven, and allow to cool, though if you are cooking the filling whilst baking the crust, its fine to assemble immediately upon removing the crust from the oven. Dont mind the sizzle 😉

Filling + Assembly

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 (Vidalia) onion, chopped well
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 4 – 5 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1 large tomato, sliced into 6 even slices
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 1/3 cup milk, cream or half and half
  • 2 + 1 tbsp grated parmesan
  • A few rough chunks of goats or sheep cheese, roughly chopped (optional)

In a large frying pan, over medium heat, saute the chopped onion in the olive oil, and season well with salt, pepper and dried basil. Once the onion has become soft and glossy, add the white wine, and allow to simmer until the wine has almost completely reduced.

Add the chopped spinach all at once, and saute until wilted. Remove from heat, and let cool for a few minutes.

Chop the basil leaves fine, reserving 6 for the top of the pie, and mix the rest into the cooled spinach. Cut a large tomato into six equal slices, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the ggs, sour cream, milk and 2 tbsp parmesan.

Mix the egg mixture into the spinach mixture, and taste for seasoning. Adjust if needed.

Pour the spinach-egg mixture into the pre-baked crust. Lay the reserved tomato slices on top, and top them with the six reserved basil slices. Strew a few chunks of goat’s cheese into the pie, if you feel like it (I kind of poked them into the filling), and sprinkle about 1 tbsp parmesan over all.

Bake for about 40 minutes in a 170 C oven, and allow to cool for at least 5 – 10 minutes before serving.

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