green tea with lemon peel and ginger

 

this is a very mellow blend... 

the element that is most time consuming is air drying the lemon slices.

ingredients:

organic green tea

dried lemon slices

chopped candied ginger

easy!

sweet potato + ginger soup

This soup is the finale for winter soup kitchen 2011.

Ingredients:

sweet potato- about 6, roasted until soft at 350º
yellow onion- large, chopped
stock- vegetable or chicken, your preference
milk- small carton

fresh ginger- tablespoon, minced
cinnamon- half teaspoon ground
cloves- 5 whole cloves
allspice- 5 whole pellets

saute the onions in butter until soft
add the stock
tie the cloves and allspice in cheesecloth and add them to the stock
add ginger and cinnamon
chop roasted sweet potatoes and add them to the pot
bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 1 hour
liquid should just cover the top of the sweet potatoes
let cool, and remove cheesecloth with cloves and allspice
use immersion blender to blend everything and make a smooth mix
add milk 
heat and serve

toasted hazelnut chai tea

A post in Habeas Brulee inspired my first investigation into blending tea. The best way to describe it is an aromatic trip to heaven.

The ingredients were listed in grams on Habeas, and since I don't have a scale I had to guestimate proportions, and so will you, unless you have a scale handy.

37 grams black tea
50 grams toasted hazelnuts
12 grams rosepetals
20 grams whole cinnamon sticks
15 grams whole cardamom pods

method:
TOAST    the hazelnuts until they are slightly browned and smell good. This might be 15 minutes at 300º, depending on your oven's personality.

CRUSH   separately the hazelnuts, rosepetals, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom pods.

BLEND  all of the chopped ingredients with the black tea.

The objective is to keep the blend coarse and not make a fine powder that will slip through your strainer. It is best to crush by hand... I used my mortar and pestle with a broken handle, which worked fine, but I am looking into a better option for crushing the ingredients. The seeds kept jumping out of the mortar and the broken pestle made a blister on my palm. A bit more effort went into crushing than I had anticipated!

carrot ginger soup

Carrots are a truly divine root! Why do I always pass these lovely little creatures in the produce aisle? They wave at me like beckoning fingers of orange joy but I am not seduced. What changed my mind this time? Oscar Night Soup Kitchen!

makes soup for a dozen

Ingredients:
2 lbs. of funky, gnarly, organic carrots.
4 cups vegetable broth, or a carton.
1 lb. shallots
At least 5 cloves of garlic, more if you want.
Fresh ginger root, chop fine. Not too much or it will burn.
1 tbsp your favorite curry powder
1 tbsp sugar
salt to taste

Carmelize the shallots, then add the finely chopped garlic and ginger for 3 minutes. Add curry powder. Stir, Stir, Stir. Add vegetable  broth and bring to a boil. Add chopped carrots and simmer until soft. Puree with immersion blender. Garnish with (plain) yogurt when serving. Easy!

gobi masala [cauliflower curry]

All I do this winter is stay home and cook. But there are fruits to my boring nature. This is a kick ass vegetarian dish that the sundance kid turned me on to.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of cauliflower florets
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 tomatos finely chopped
• bunch of cilantro
• 2 tbsp yogurt
• Curry Powder: 1 tsp of chili powder + coriander powder + ½ tsp of turmeric + ½ tsp cumin powder.
• Grind: 1 tsp poppy seeds + 2 tsp of cashews grind to a fine paste
• Grind to a paste: 3 cloves of garlic + 2 green chilies + a small piece of ginger
• Salt for taste

Method

Heat oil and add the chopped onions and sauté till golden brown.

Add ginger, garlic, green chili paste and sauté. Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté for 2 minutes. Add all the spice powders red chili powders, coriander powder, turmeric, cumin powder, salt and cook till the tomatoes absorbs the flavor.

Add the yogurt and sauté till the yogurt is well blended. Now add the cauliflower florets and sauté them well turning all sides to coat the masala and cook them covered for 2 minutes.

Add the cashew poppy seed paste and ½ cup of water. Cook them covered for 5-6 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot.

Window Box Salad

A few boxes outside the window are a perfect place to grow dinner: mizuna, parsley, sage, thyme, and throw in some feta.

Perfect Boiled Huevos

Place two XL farm fresh eggs in a pot of tap water. Bring to a fast boil and set a timer or pay attention. As soon as water begins to roll, turn flame off and let sit for no more than two minutes. Quickly remove eggs from the pot, place in colander, and run eggs under cold water for one minute. This slows down the eggs. Eat immediately!