Baked Samosas

Samosas are an Indian pastry with a savory filling, usually some mixture of vegetables or ground meat. They are usually deep fried but they can easily be baked. I make a quick dipping sauce to go along with this, but you could serve them with a chutney if you'd prefer. I hate to brag again, but these are fantastic - even my kids loved them.

For the Samosas
1-2 tsp. canola oil
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 a medium onion, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
1/4 tsp. ground corriander
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. sea salt
3/4 c. frozen or fresh diced potatoes, thawed under hot water in a strainer and drained well
1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed under hot water in a strainer and drained well
1 tsp. vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, minced
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed according to package directions

For the Dipping Sauce
3/4 c. ketchup
2 Tbsp. mango chutney (optional)
1/2 tsp. curry powder

1) To make the sauce whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

2) Preheat the oven according to the package directions for the puff pastry you are using. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly oil it, and set aside.

3) Preheat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and add the cumin seeds. Toast the seeds until they are lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

4) Add the onion, jalapenos, spices, and salt. Saute until the onions are soft, about 5 more minutes.

5) Add the drained potatoes and peas and saute until warmed and mixed through with the onions, peppers and spices. Then add the vegetable broth and tomato paste and stir until incorporated with the vegetables.

6) Remove the pan from the heat and toss in the fresh cilantro.

7) Flatten the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it out until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to slice the pastry into 4 long strips lengthwise and then 6 long strips widthwise so that you end up with 18 squares.

8) Fill each square with about 2 tsp. of the filling and then fold the edges in and crimp the edges closed to form a ball. Gently squeeze the ball in your hand to round it out and then flatten it a little bit between your palms. Repeat until your dough is used up placing the finished samosas on the prepared baking tray.

9) Bake the samosas for 15-17 minutes until lightly browned. Serve with the dipping sauce.

This makes about 4-6 appetizer servings and would be very easy to double for more.

Quick Pickle Red Onions

I eat these like popcorn when I make them. Even if you don't want to make them to eat as a snack on their own, they are great on tacos, wraps, sandwiches or salads. In my opinion, these have just the right balance of tangy, salty and sweet. I love them on corn tortillas with Black Beans, Guacamole, and Scotch Bonnet Salsa.

1 c. cold water
1 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. unrefined sugar
1 large or 2 small red onions

1) Whisk everything but the onions together in a glass container large enough to hold the liquid and the onion (I use a pyrex 4 c. measuring cup)

2) Slice the onion into thin strips. You could do rings, or any shape you want, I just think strips are the easiest shape to deal with.

3) Place the onions into the liquid and weight them down with a small glass or ceramic object (such as a small plate, bowl or lid). Let the onions sit at room temperature in the liquid for 1-5 hours.

4) Drain the onions in a strainer and briefly rinse them off in cool water. Store the onions in a glass container in the fridge for at least a week, maybe longer.

This makes about 2 c. of onion pickles depending on the size of your onion. The photo to the right is of my taco spread with pickled red onions.

Curried White Bean Spread

In my Indian Chickpea Salad post I likened that salad to a deconstructed hummus. I like that salad so much that I decided to reconstruct it into a white bean spread/dip. You can use this like hummus. I like using cannellini beans rather than chickpeas (aka: garbanzos) for this dip because they get smoother and creamier. You could also try navy beans.

3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon juice (I like it better with the vinegar)
2 Tbps. water, plus more for thinning during mixing if necessary
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans (or 2 cups cooked)
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. curry powder (hot, sweet, whatever you want)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. tahini
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1) Place all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender or a food processor and mix until fully combined and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add more water 1 Tbsp. at a time to facilitate blending if necessary.

2) Taste and add more curry, vinegar or lemon, or salt if needed.

This makes about 2 cups of bean spread.

Hummus and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

I keep hearing how good raw apple cider vinegar is for you so I've tried to use it more but the flavor is a little stronger and more sharp than I like. However, when mixed with a little hummus it makes a lovely creamy vinaigrette.

1 heaping tsp. dijon mustard
1 small drizzle of pure maple syrup
Small pinch of sea salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar (the raw fermented kind if possible)
2 heaping Tbsp. hummus (I used my Edamame Hummus recipe)

Place all of the ingredients into a small jar and whisk or shake until blended well.

Edamame Hummus

I've been buying the edamame hummus from Trader Joe's for a long time, it's my very favorite. But then I realized that frozen edamame is sold everywhere and it's pretty affordable, so I decided to try to make my own but I was afraid it wouldn't be as good. As it turns out it tastes exactly like the store bought variety, delicious.

If you have a high powered blender you can use it for this recipe and you'll get a really creamy texture. If you don't, I would  recommend using a food processor instead because it might be too thick for a regular blender.

12 oz. frozen edamame, blanched in boiling water for 3-4 minutes to thaw
1/4 c. water
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 large lemon, about 1/3 cup
1/3 c. tahini
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

1) Let the edamame cook in a pot of boiling water for about 3-4 minutes and then strain it and rinse with cold water.

2) As the edamame boils add the other ingredients to a blender (liquid first).

3) Once the edamame has been cooked, strain it and rinse it in cold water and then add it to the blender.

4) Blend the mixture in a blender until very smooth, adding more water if necessary to aid in blending and scraping down the sides until blended well.

This makes just over 2 1/2 cups of hummus and is delicious with raw vegetables, or in a wrap with lettuce, olives, peppers, cucumbers, micro greens or sprouts and even baked tofu, or with a garden burger.

Mango Chutney Barbeque Sauce

I got the idea to use mango chutney in barbeque sauce from a garden burger cookbook I have. The original recipe used liquid smoke to get a smokey flavor, but I don't like liquid smoke so I use chipotle chile powder instead. You could also try replacing the chipotle chile powder with smoked paprika or a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. I also added some vegan worchestershire sauce to mine and a few other goodies. This is my favorite condiment to serve with sweet potato fries.

1c. ketchup
1/4 c. mango chutney (I like hot, but you could use mild)
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. chile powder
1 tsp. chipotle chile powder
A small drizzle of pure maple syrup
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. vegan worchestershire sauce (I use Wizzard brand)
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

1) Place all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil as you whisk everything together.

2) Reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 20-25 min. Make sure to give it a stir and scrape the sides and bottom of the pan every 5 minutes or so.

3) Let it cool a bit and the puree with an immersion blender or in a blender. Transfer to a glass container or jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.

This makes about 1 1/2 c. of barbeque sauce.

Miso Lemon Tahini Sauce

With roasted asparagus and shallots.

This is high in protein and delicious over grilled or roasted vegetables, especially asparagus or broccoli. It's also good on veggie burgers, croquettes, baked potatoes, or stirred into leftover rice. If you know someone who thinks vegetables are bland, give them some roasted vegetables with this sauce drizzled on top. My almost two year old daughter eats it with rice and adzuki beans all the time.

1/3 c. tahini
1 Tbsp. light miso
1 tsp. shoyu or tamari
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Water to thin out the consistency if necessary

1) Whisk it all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Add water, a little at a time, and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and drizzles nicely.

This makes a little over 1/3 cup of sauce.

Roasted Garlic and Basil Aioli

Aioli is a French condiment that uses mayonnaise usually mixed with garlic and eggs. My version obviously doesn't have eggs, but I've added a little lemon juice to it. I like this drizzled over roasted potatoes or grilled asparagus, but it's good with all kinds of vegetables.

Baked potato rounds with Roasted Garlic and Basil Aioli

1 c. vegannaise
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 a head of Roasted Garlic (4-5 large cloves)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Dash of black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. fresh basil, roughly chopped

1) Put everything but the basil into a blender or food processor (blender works better) and blend until smooth.

2) Add the basil and pulse a few times to incorporate the basil, but stop before the aioli turns green.  Transfer to a container. This can be kept in the fridge for about 4-5 days.

This makes about 1 cup of aioli.

NOTE: To make baked potato rounds, slice a russet potato into 1/2" thick rounds and toss in a large bowl with a little olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and any desired spices. Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Spring Rolls with Peanut Lime Dipping Sauce

I think spring rolls might be the ultimate appetizer. You can put anything you want in them, they're fresh and full of vegetables, you can dip them in any different kind of sauce (anything involving sauce is tops with me). Plus they're fun to make and kids love helping. One of the best and easiest ways to get my kids to try new foods is to have them help me make it. It's so easy for kids to help put the filling into spring rolls - you can even let them choose the fillings they like best. You should tailor this recipe by putting you your favorite vegetables (cabbage, mung bean sprouts, sliced avocado, kim chi, carrots, red or green onion, etc.), this is just how I like them.

For the Peanut Lime Dipping Sauce:
1/2 c. natural peanut butter
1 Tbsp. chili garlic paste (or Asian hot paste, start with 1 tsp. if you're sensitive to spicy food)
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. shoyu or tamari
1 tsp. pure maple syrup or agave nectar
1" knob of fresh ginger, grated

For the Spring Rolls:
2 oz. mung bean thread noodles or very thin rice noodles
1 Tbsp. shoyu or tamari
1 Tbsp. mushroom flavored soy sauce (or more shoyu)
8 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 a red bell pepper, very thinly sliced
Cilantro leaves (about 1 c.)
About 1/3 recipe for Baked Tofu or 4-5 thin slices
10-12 sheets spring roll wrappers (rice paper)

1) For the dipping sauce, place all of the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2) Place the shoyu or tamari and mushroom flavored soy sauce in a bowl and add the thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms. Toss to cover the mushrooms with the sauce and then set aside to marinade as you prepare the other ingredients.


3) Fill a sauce pan with very hot water and add 2 oz. of bean thread or very thin rice noodles and let them sit in the water for about 8-10 minutes until softened. Drain with a fine mesh colander and then place the colander over the pan you used to soak them so they can drain.

4) As the noodles soak in the hot water slice your peppers, get the cilantro washed & ready to go and slice your baked tofu into long thin strips.

5) Once you have everything ready to go, take the mushrooms and pour the excess mariade from them over the noodles that are resting in the colander over the pan and toss them around with your hand to coat them in the marinade.

6)Take a large baking dish (like a 9x13 one) and fill it about 1/2 way up with very hot water. Then dampen a dish cloth and hang it lengthwise over the edge of your counter so that half of it is on the counter and the other half is hanging down.

7) To assemble the spring rolls, place a sheet of rice paper into the hot water and leave it in there for 30-60 seconds or so, until it's fully hydrated and no longer hard. Then carefully take the wrapper out of the water, place it on the dampened dishtowel making sure to flatten it out, fold the edge of the towel that's hanging down up over the wrapper and pat it a little to remove the excess moisture, and then pull the towel off and let it hang over the edge of the counter again while keeping the wrapper on the other half of the towel.

8) Place a small handful of the noodles onto the bottom 1/3 of the wrapper and then top the noodles with the mushrooms, peppers, tofu and cilantro. Note: once I put the noodles on the wrapper I usually put the next rice paper wrapper into the hot water to let is soak so it's ready when I want to make the next spring roll.

9) Fold the bottom of the wrapper up over the filling and pull down to secure and roll it about 1/3 of the way up. Then fold in both sides and continue to roll the rice paper until completely sealed and set on a serving platter. Note: if you are making a lot of spring rolls it's a good idea to keep a damp cloth over the completed spring rolls so that they don't dry out and stick together.

This serves 4-6 as appetizers.

Hummus

I don't think I need to point out how important hummus is to vegans. It's our cheese, our butter, our vegetable dip, our sandwich filling...I think some vegans bathe in it. There are some pretty good brands of hummus out there and there are a lot of them that don't even have a lot of gross preservatives in them. But there are several reasons to make your own: 1) Hummus can be pretty expensive and not only is it cheaper to make your own (especially if you cook your own chickpeas), but you get a huge amount of hummus from one batch. 2) You can put in any flavorings you want when you make your own hummus. 3) It's really satisfying to make hummus from scratch.

2 15 oz. cans or 3 cups cooked chick peas (Keep in mind Eden brand canned beans do not use BPA's in the linings of their cans)
Juice of 1-2 lemons (use more if you like it lemony, less if you don't)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. tahini
2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. corriander
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Water to thin
Other optional ingredients that work well are:
-sun dried tomatoes
-kalamata olives
-roasted garlic
-fresh herbs
-sumac

1) Place all of the ingredients except for the water into a food processor (this is too thick for a blender) and process until it begins to smooth out.

2) With the motor running add water 1/4 c. at a time (at first) until the hummus reaches a consistency that you like. I usually end up using about 1/2 c.  Then add any optional ingredients and pulse to incorporate.

3) Transfer to a storage container or serving dish. This can be stored in the fridge for about 5 days.

This makes about 3 1/4 c. hummus.

Umeboshi Vinaigrette

Umeboshi plums are a dried Japanese plum pickled with shisho leaves. They are very purifying and alkalizing for the blood and are said to promote good digestion. Umeboshi vinegar and umeboshi paste are byproducts from the pickling process and while they are not as health promoting as the plums themselves they are still very good for you and tasty too. I like to use this to drizzle over cooked grains or cooked greens. It is the main seasoning in my Macro Plate recipe. This vinaigrette is very strongly flavored so you don't need to use much for seasoning.

Mixing Umeboshi Vinaigrette into rice.

2 Tbsp. ume plum vinegar
1 tsp. shoyu or tamari
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. mirin
1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. tahini
1/4 tsp. toasted sesame seeds or gomasio

1) Place all of the ingredients in a small jar and shake vigorously or whisk together in a bowl. That's it.

This makes about 3 1/2 Tbsp.

Salsa Verde

This is the same recipe as the scotch bonnet salsa except it is green and not as hot. For this one I replace the scotch bonnet peppers with jalapenos and the red tomatoes with green zebras. If you can't find green zebras try tomatillos, they are the traditional salsa verde base (or you could secretly use red tomatoes and make red salsa verde).

15 green zebra tomatoes (or tomatillos) about 2 1/2 lbs.
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
3 tsp. agave nectar
Juice of 1 fresh lime, about 3-4 Tbsp.
6 jalapenos, roughly chopped
1 white onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/3 c. (handful) fresh cilantro
1 scant tsp. sea salt

1) Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

2) Transfer the salsa to a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low boil (more than a simmer) and let it boil with the lid off, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced to the thickness you want it to be. It usually takes about 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to a thickness I like.

3) Once it is done let it cool for a little while and then transfer to mason jars and store in the fridge.

This makes about 5 cups of salsa.

Baba Ganoush

Sometimes I don't like baba ganoush because it tastes too bitter or is a little too slimy. I think roasting the egg plant this way combined with the spices and cilantro makes a really nice dip. And, I'll come out and admit it, I don't like raw garlic. Using roasted garlic in this recipe makes the dip more rich and mellow.

1 large or 2 small eggplants, peeled and diced into 1" cubes
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
6 cloves roasted garlic (you can put 6 individual cloves of garlic, still in their paper but with the tips sliced off, into the pan with the egg plant if you don't feel like roasting an entire head of garlic).
Juice of 2 small lemons, about 4 Tbsp.
1/4 c. tahini
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground corriander
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 - 1/3 c. cilantro

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the ends off of the eggplant, remove the peel with a vegetable peeler and dice it into 1" cubes. Place the cubes in a large baking dish, drizzle with a good amount of olive oil and toss to coat. Cover the dish with foil and bake, covered, for 35 minutes. Note: if you are roasting your garlic with the egg plant just take 6 cloves with their "paper" on and cut the tips off and place in the pan with the eggplant).

2) Remove the foil, toss the eggplant with a little more olive oil and a couple pinches of sea salt and toss. Return the dish to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let it cool a bit.

3) Once the eggplant has cooled place it in a food processor fitted with the S blade, remove the garlic from the paper with a knife or by squeezing each clove out the tip that you cut off. Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the cilantro and process until pretty smooth.

4) Scrape down the sides of the food processor, add the cilantro and pulse to combine. Taste for salt and lemon adding more if necessary.

Mini pita rounds with baba ganoush and fresh tomato slices.

This makes about 2 1/2 c. baba ganoush.

Scotch Bonnet (or Habanero) Hot Salsa

 
My husband discovered scotch bonnet peppers when his love of Reggae music lead him to investigate Jamaican food so that I could cook it for him. We discovered that to make truly authentic Jamaican jerk we needed to have scotch bonnet peppers, which are as hot as habanero peppers but tangier.

We have never found scotch bonnet peppers for sale, so we ordered seeds online to see if they would grow well in Minnesota and as it turns out they have been very prolific every year. On the seed packet it says they should ripen to red, but ours always stay orange which makes for a very unique colored salsa. However, if you don't want to grow scotch bonnet peppers you can use habanero peppers and replace the apple cider vinegar in this recipe with distilled white vinegar to get a bit of the tang that habaneros lack. Later I'll post some jerk recipes, but I happen to be making this (my favorite) salsa today.

1/2 c. apple cider vinegar (or distilled white vinegar if you are using habanero peppers)
Juice of 1 lime, about 3-4 Tbsp.
3 tsp. agave nectar (I don't measure, I just do 3 squeezes of the bottle that look to be about 1 tsp. each)
3 large or 4 medium tomatoes, cores removed and roughly chopped (don't bother peeling them)
3-5 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
1 white onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 c. fresh cilantro (just tear off a big handful)
1 tsp. sea salt

1) Place all of the salsa ingredients into a blender and blend until chunky-smooth (more smooth than chunky but not totally pureed).
 
2) Pour the salsa into a large enough sauce pan so that you have at least 2 inches of space at the top of the pot because it foams as it begins to boil and it could boil over if your pot is too full.

3) Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a high-simmer. You want steam constantly coming off of the salsa so that you know it is evaporating and thickening.

4) Lightly boil the salsa for between 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, depending on how thick you want it. This is something you can have going on in the background without paying too much attention to it. Stir the salsa occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn at the bottom of the pot.

5) Once the salsa reaches a consistency you like, remove it from the heat and let it cool and then transfer to mason jars or a glass container and refrigerate. This keeps quite a long time (at least a couple of weeks) in the fridge but it's never stayed in ours long enough to know how long it would take to go bad.

The volume of salsa will depend on how big your tomatoes were and how long you boiled it. I usually end up with about 3 cups of salsa.

Avocado Salsa

I use this solely as a topping for Black Bean Enchiladas but I'm sure it would also be good with tortilla chips, tacos, or even as a salad.

Dressing:
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. dijon or whole grain mustard
2 Tbsp. rice or white wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbsp.)
1 scant tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Dash of hot sauce (optional)

Salsa:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1-2 jalapenos, diced
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 a red onion, diced
3-4 avocados, diced
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

1) In a large bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients.

2) Chop the vegetables and add them to the bowl. If you are making this ahead of time, don't chop up the avocados and tomatoes until you're ready to serve it. Toss and enjoy.

Vegan Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

This ranch dressing is very herby. I give suggestions for what fresh herbs to use, but the idea is to use a lot of different fresh herbs that you like. The soy milk, lemon juice combo is used to mimic the traditional buttermilk ranch flavor.

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 c. plain soy milk
2 c. vegenaise
1 clove fresh garlic
1/2 head roasted garlic (how to roast garlic)
1/2 a small yellow or white onion, diced
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. chives, minced
1 Tbsp. Italian parsley, minced
2 tsp. fresh oregano, marjoram or tarragon, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, minced

1) Combine the soy milk and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir to combine (this is your buttermilk), set aside.

 2) Combine vegenaise, roasted garlic, onion, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender and process until pureed. With the food processor still running, slowly pour in the soy milk/lemon mixture and turn off the machine.

Remove the cloves of roasted garlic by sliding them out with a knife.

3) Add the herbs and pulse to combine. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper or lemon if needed. Transfer to a mason jar or air tight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

This makes about 2 1/4 c. of dressing and besides salads can be used on fried green tomatoes or other vegetables.

Want your kids to eat more vegetables? Give them some of this vegan ranch dressing, here is 5 year old Simone finishing up her plate of vegetables:

Simple Vinaigrette

Don't buy salad dressing. You don't need to be super exact with this, just eyeball it.

A pinch of sea salt, maybe 1/4 tsp.
A dash of black pepper, maybe 1/8 tsp.
1/2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
3/4 tsp. pure maple syrup
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 shallot, minced (optional)
1/4 to 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

1) In a small bowl add the first 5 ingredients

2) Whisk in the olive oil

3) Taste for balance adding more salt, vinegar, oil or maple syrup in very small amounts, if needed, and drizzle over a large salad or store in the refrigerator for at least a week.

Kalamata Zucchini Hummus

This can be raw if you use raw tahini. But it's still good and lower in calories even if you use roasted tahini because you're using zucchini in the place of chickpeas. Raw tahini is very expensive, which seems kind of silly since roasting is an extra step in processing. Perhaps the price is related to shelf life. In any case, use whatever kind of tahini you want. I hear there is a tahini made out of black sesame seeds, that would be interesting to try. This is the perfect recipe for using up the obscene amount of zucchini that your neighbors pawn off on you from their garden. It's easy to double this recipe if you like it.

Romaine Wraps with raw Kalamata Zucchini Hummus, bell peppers, cucumbers and sprouts:

1 small/medium zucchini, peeled (about 1 c.)
Juice of 1 fresh lemon, 2-3 Tbsp.
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 c. pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp. raw or roasted tahini
A dash each of:
-sea salt
-paprika
-cumin
-corriander
-cayenne

1) Place all of the ingredients into a blender or mini-processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add a little water or more lemon juice to aid in processing as necessary.

2) Use a spatula to scrape the hummus into a storage container and refrigerate. This hummus should keep about 4-5 days.

My sister-in-law, Christina,  made this with fresh mini bell peppers blended in and it tasted excellent.   You could also try adding fresh herbs or sun dried tomatoes.

Wild Fermented Sour Kraut (Raw)

In some ways home fermented sour kraut is very easy to make, but in other ways it's a little fussy. It's easy because all you have to do is chop the cabbage, salt it and keep it submerged in it's own liquid for about a month. It's fussy because you really do need a kitchen scale and a large crock with a lid (ceramic or glass) to do it properly, so if you don't have those things you need to go get them to make your own wild fermented kraut.

Even so, the end product is so vastly superior, in flavor and nutrition, to what you can buy in a store that it is completely worth it. Wild fermented sour kraut takes advantage of lactobacillus by using the salt to encourage an environment where it can thrive and win the battle against other harmful bacteria. Lactobacillus gives off the sour flavor characteristic of yoghurt, kraut and sour beers. It's also one of the "good bacterias" for your intestinal flora. Sadly, when kraut is pasteurized or caned by boiling all of those good bacteria are killed along with much of the delicious nutty flavor found in wild fermented sour kraut.

There is no particular measurement for how much kraut to make - make as much as you want to make. It's more of a mathematical equation. You want to have 2-2.5 % salt to cabbage ratio. It's easiest to measure in grams so if you are going to get a kitchen scale to do this, get one that measures in grams (preferably to .01 grams if possible). I'm totally nerding out now. Here's how I made it this time:

5 small heads of cabbage, quartered and cores removed (photo to follow)
Sea salt (as untreated as possible)
Other ingredients as desired (such as: garlic, onion, caraway, dill, fennel, peppercorns, mustard seeds, etc.)

1) Quarter each head of cabbage lengthwise so that you have four wedges. Cut across the bottom of each wedge diagonally so that you remove the portion of the core that is lodged there:

2) Place all of the core-less cabbage into a large bowl and weigh the cabbage making sure to write down the weight of the cabbage - in grams if possible:

3) Take the cabbage out of the large bowl (or use a second large bowl) and slice the cabbage very, very thinly placing the sliced cabbage back into the bowl.

4) To measure out the salt take the weight of your cabbage and multiply it but .02 to .025, whatever number you get weigh out that much sea salt (this is why it's easier to use grams, the small amount of salt is more accurately weighed in grams).

5) Have ready a large glass or ceramic fermenting crock. We got a large glass crock at Target for $14.00, but you can buy really fancy ceramic ones online for $200 if you want to. Working in batches, add several handfuls of cabbage to the bottom of your crock and sprinkle in some of the salt. Knead together the cabbage and salt with your hands. You want to have the cabbage covered with the salt which acts as an abrasive and starts to draw the liquid out of the cabbage:

6) Continue to add more cabbage and more salt while pressing down and turning the cabbage over to work the salt into the cabbage. You can also add any other ingredients you'd like to use (this time we tried it with about 2 Tbsp. caraway seeds and 15 very fresh garlic cloves from the farmer's market).

7) Once you have incorporated all of the salt and cabbage press down very hard to pack the cabbage as tightly as possible. This time we had very fresh cabbage from the farmer's market and it started to ferment almost immediately, you could even hear it bubbling like a fizzy pop:

8) Once the cabbage is packed tightly you must add some kind of weight to keep it pressed down and submerged in it's own liquid (in the above photo the cabbage had only been salted for about 3 minutes and was already submerged in it's own liquid. With less fresh cabbage it may take a bit longer for the juices to come out). The fancy fermenting crocks often come with weights that fit inside. We fill 2 one gallon baggies with water, double bag them to avoid leaks, and then place that on top of the cabbage and place two mason jars filled with water on top of the bags.  But we have a friend who is an artist that works with ceramics that is making weights to fit into our glass jar - I can't wait (I'll add a photo when we get them)!

9) Place the lid on the crock. If you use a glass fermenting crock, place it in a dark place (we use our hall closet) that's not too hot and not too cold. It will probably need to ferment for about a month (make sure to write down the date you made the kraut!). Take it out to check it once in a while, you want to make sure it stays submerged in the liquid. If any bits float to the top they may mold and you an just scrape them out and discard. If the cabbage does not release enough liquid to remain submerged, add a little filtered water. Once it's been fermenting for at least 20 days you can start tasting little bits, when it gets to a sourness you like you can call it done. It can then be transferred to mason jars and stored in the fridge for at least 6 months if not longer...but it will never last that long.

I posted a recipe for bangers and mash earlier that uses kraut. I also have a recipe for a tempeh reuben that is really good which I will post later. I'm going to try to ferment my own tempeh soon, so that recipe will be coming up as well. I will also post recipes that use the left over kraut juice in the future.

Guacamole and Pico de Gallo

Posting a recipe for guacamole seems kind of like posting a recipe for a garden salad. You just put stuff, mainly avocados, in a bowl and mash it up. And yet, I've had some pretty bad guacamole. I'm always disappointed when there are too many unnecessary ingredients like garlic, dried spices or olive oil.

The best guacamole I've ever had was at a little cafe after exploring the ancient Myan ruins of Tikal in Copan, Honduras. I suppose it didn't hurt that the cafe was perched on a small mountain road overlooking a panoramic jungle-like view:

I think the reason it was so good was because it was all fresh ingredients with a little salt to flavor - no chile powder or cumin, no over powering raw garlic, and lime rather than lemon. Ever since then I've worked to perfect my recipe into what I think is the perfect guacamole.

And as long as you're going to make guacamole you might as well make pico de gallo because it's the exact same ingredients as guacamole without the avocados. Plus these are both good with the recipe for garlicky refried beans that I posted earlier. So here they both are:

Guacamole

3 large or 4 medium avocados, pitted, chopped and removed from skin
1/2 a small white or red onion, finely diced (I prefer white)
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced
1 large tomato, seeds and juice removed and diced
Large handful of cilantro, minced
Juice of 1-2 limes, depending on how juicy they are
1 tsp. sea salt

1) Chop all of the ingredients and add them to a mixing bowl. For the avocado, cut around the avocado pit lengthwise and twist the two halves apart around the pit. Whack your knife blade into the pit & twist to remove the pit. Score the flesh of the avocado with a knife and then scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

2) Add the salt and lime juice and mash the mixture with a potato masher until it is pretty smooth but still a bit chunky. Give it a stir with a spoon to make sure the ingredients are distributed evenly. Test for lime and salt and add more if necessary.

Photo courtesy of Vera Lehner

This makes about 3 cups of guacamole. I have found that if I put it into a plastic storage container, squeeze a little extra lime juice over the top, place plastic wrap over the top while forcing out any air bubbles and then place the lid over it this will keep in the fridge without browning for up to 3 days. I don't normally advocate the use of plastic wrap unless it's to protect my guacamole.

Pico de Gallo

3 large tomatoes, seeds and juice removed and 1/4" diced
1-2 jalapenos, seeds removed and finely diced
1/2 a small white or red onion, finely diced
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Juice of 1/2 a lime

1) Chop all of the ingredients and place into a glass bowl. Stir to mix.

2) Do not add the salt and lime until just before you're ready to serve it or the mixture will become too watery.

This makes about 2 cups of pico de gallo.

To remove the seeds from the tomatoes quarter the tomatoes lengthwise, cut diagonally into each wedge slicing out the portion of the core lodged there, and then scrape out the seeds: