Savory Dill Cucumber Pancakes

1 c multi-grain flour
3 t baking powder
1 - 2 tsp dried dill or 1/8 c fresh dill
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oil
1 c cucumber juice (or cucumber pulp)
1 egg
1 clove garlic, chopped

Blend together egg, garlic, juice and oil until smooth. Put dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir until moist. Do not over mix batter. Use a ladle to pour batter into rounds on a medium-hot oiled pan. When batter bubbles, turn and cook until golden brown on opposite side. Spread with tofu dill dip.

Note: I used 1/2 c. 10 grain flour from Bob's Red Mill which contains wheat, rye, triticale, oats, corn, barley, soy, brown rice, millet and flaxseed; and 1/2 c multi-grain cereal/flour which contains unpolished rice flour, pearl barley, oats, buckwheat, whole wheat, wheat germ, lotus seed, fox nut, yam (mountain yam) and yeast.

The result of combining these flours was a nutty dill flavor which went perfectly smothered in tofu dill dip and followed with a tall glass of fresh vegetable juice. A healthy way to begin the day.

Scrambled Eggs with Red Yeast Noodles and Chives

While I was eating the red noodles with pesto yesterday, I imagined the color of yellow scrambled eggs and green chives with the red noodles. So, that was breakfast this morning.

Red Yeast Noodles with Cedar Shoot Pesto

A few months ago I bought a bag of reddish colored noodles. After checking the ingredients I found the unusual color came from a red yeast rice added to the flour rather than food coloring. Out of curiousity, I bought them, then googled red yeast rice. Today, while going through the cupboards for something quick for lunch, I decided to try them boiled with the last of the cedar shoot pesto.

I boiled up the noodles as a regular pasta in water with salt. Then added some chopped garlic and olive oil. I expected the noodles to lose their color while boiling, however to my pleasant surprise the color deepened. Ahhhh, yes...the dark green pesto would sit around the red noodles for a most appetizing meal. After cooking and draining, I added the pesto and topped with some sesame seeds.

I did not expect the noodles to taste any different than a regular pasta noodle and I was right. How fast! How delicious! The uniqueness of red noodles against the green pesto transformed an ordinary pasta into a most colorful lunch and followed with a glass of herb tea.

Notes: Basil cilantro pesto can be substituted for the cedar sprout pesto.



EDIT: Here is a NPR report on red yeast rice.

Chocolate Prune Brownies

In separate bowl combine the below ingredients and set aside.
1/2 cup soy flour
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/8 to 1/4 c cocoa powder
3 t baking powder
dash of salt
1 t 5 star Chinese spice or star anise, finely ground

1 egg
1 C prunes
1/4 cup white wine (or substitute water or fruit juice)
1 1/4 cup water
2 T oil
optional: sweeten with 1 or 2 T maple syrup or palm sugar

Puree together until smooth. Then, add 1 tsp orange zest and pulse until well mixed.
Combine with dry ingredients and mix until moist.

The puree batter is thick. Do not overmix the batter when combining with dry ingredients. A moist thick batter will be the result. Scoop into 3 - 5 inch silicone pan (muffin cups, brownie pan, round silicone pan and bake around 375F to 400F (200 to 220C) for about 30 - 45 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes clean. I am using a small confection oven and baked at 220 for 25 minutes. To make sure it was completely baked, I then reduced heat to 200 for another 15 minutes, until I was sure the toothpick came out clean.

Although the taste of anise and orange did not come through, the result was a tasty moist brownie. Next time, I will not blend the orange zest rather leave it whole and add more anise. The use of high quality cocoa powder makes this a rich chocolaty treat with out the need to oversweeten. It goes great with fresh berries, fruit compote, coffee or ice cream.

Garbanzo Salad

The rise in outdoor temperatures is a call for fresh vegetable salads. Indira from Mahanandi informed me here that what I made on my very first post was a version of kosambari. Adding pulses and dals to salad sounded like an ideal way to add more substance to the vegetables. Using pulses and dals to a typical western salad began a flood of ideas for new summer salads. Today I added my favorite legume, garbanzo beans, to my salad and added an Indian twist to the basic tofu dressing. It all turned out yummy and thank you Indira for opening me to new and exciting salad ideas.
Garbanzo Salad
1/2 cup garbanzo beans, soaked overnight and cooked
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1/4 c spring onions, chopped
lettuce
1 cucumber, cubed
cilantro

Tofu Dressing
One block tofu
1/4 cup fresh dill
squeeze of lemon, to taste
1 t masala
1/4 tsp turmeric

Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Refrigerate for up to three days. Mix with salads, use as spread on breads, or as a dip for vegetables.

Tofu Dill Dressing

For more than 25 years, this simple dressing has been a favorite of mine. I found it in a tofu cookbook, which was my first introduction to tofu cookery. It is so simple and the variations are only limited to your imagination.

1 block tofu
fresh dill
squeeze of lemon
oil, optional
dash salt

Blend together until smooth. Stores well refrigerated for about a week to 10 days.

Notes: Substitute basil or cilantro for the dill.
Substitute apple cider vinegar for lemon.

Apricot Almond Milk with Whole Wheat Spice Bar

Breakfast this morning consisted of almond milk sweetened with stevia tea and apricots and a freshly baked whole wheat oat bar filled with almond/apricot pulp. Fast and mmm...mmm...deliciously good! The apricots added a delicate sweetness to the almond milk.
Whole Wheat Spice Bar

¼ c apple sauce
¼ c banana
½ c stevia tea, (strong)

1 c. quick oats, ground to flour
3/4 scant cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp baking powder
salt to taste

Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Blend apple sauce, banana and stevia together until smooth. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until all are wet. Divide the dough in half or thirds and form into shapes.

Shape 1: Place half of the dough in the center of one large piece of plastic wrap. Take one end of plastic and cover the dough and begin to roll into a log shape about 4 inches long. When rounded, smooth out the ends and wrap it up around the plastic. Put it into an airtight bag and freeze or refrigerate for three days. When ready to use, cut into 1/3 inch sections with serrated knife. Reshape into rounds or oblongs and bake for 15 minutes at 375 F (190 C), turn and bake on other side for about 10 minutes.

Shape 2: Place pieces of dough on a piece of plastic wrap. Cover this with a second piece of plastic. Now with your hands and rolling pin, press pieces of dough together. (This will not be like rolling out pie or pastry dough.) The dough easily sticks together, so just push it together until you have a square or rectangle about ¼ to 1/3 inch thick. Shape the edges. With the second piece of wrap still over the dough, take one end of the two pieces of plastic and gently roll it up. Refrigerate or freeze until ready for use. This one is good for shaping into Newtons.

Shape 3: Gently press dough into a divided container. Freeze or refrigerate until ready to use. Slide knife or spatula under dough to remove. Frozen dough is just a tad bit easier to remove. If the dough rips, just press it back into shape.

Note: Baking time will depend on the thickness. For a more crunchy bar, cut thin. Best the next day.



Almond Milk

Soak overnight 1/2 cup almonds with 1 1/2 cup strong stevia tea and about 10 apricots. Follow with almond milk or any nut milk recipe.




Fairly dry almond apricot pulp wrapped in dough using method 3. Baked 20 minutes on one side, and 15 minutes on other. The pulp became a not too sweet almond cream filling. Cool and best if eaten the next day..., but I couldn't wait.

Couscous Millet with Vegetables

½ c couscous, soaked in ½ c vegetable stock
½ c millet soaked in ½ c vegetable stock
mustard seed (optional)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 T garlic/ginger infused with vinegar
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed (optional)
¼ to 1/3 c vegetable stock, if needed
1/3 c celery, chopped
¼ cup green pepper, chopped
¼ c yellow pepper, chopped
1 T garam masala

On medium heat, in a wok toast mustard seeds then put in garlic/ginger/olive oil paste, and onions. Cook until onions soften. Stir in chopped celery, peppers, tomatoes, millet and garam masala. Cover and lower heat to cook millet about 6 minutes. If needed, add soak water from millet to prevent from browning. Finally, add couscous and stir together gently. Turn off heat and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Verdict: Delicious. The garlic/ginger infused in vinegar gave it a tangy taste. Tamarind could be used to give the same flavor effect.

Cooking time will depend on the type of stove you are using. The gas fire on Chinese stoves is much hotter than that on American stoves, so cooking stir fry goes very fast, but you have to watch and stir to prevent burning.

Masala Stirfry

An overindulgence in sweets and carbohydrates yesterday, prompts me to eat light today. Light, easy and quick with lots of vegetables sounded like stir fry. Then at the last moment, I decided on more spice flavor so added masala. As I was sprinkling the masala into the wok, I flashed on making an Indian dish, and that the masala would probably blend well with all these flavors. For the final touch, I poured mushroom sauce over the vegetables. The end result could have been disasterous, but was a mouthwatering unexpected fusion of flavors that this palate immensely enjoyed. As I ate, I imagined Chinese stir fry in India to taste similar.

Masala Stirfry
mustard seed (optional)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 T garlic/ginger/olive oil paste
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed (optional)
¾ c carrots, chopped
¼ to 1/3 c vegetable stock, if needed
½ c celery, chopped
1 large Asian eggplant, chopped into ½ inch pieces

handful of mung bean sprouts
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 T briyani masala (chili, coriander, clove, cinnamon, aniseed, cardomon, ginger, garlic, onion, nutmeg, star anise, salt)
vegetarian mushroom sauce

On medium heat, in a wok toast mustard seeds then put in garlic/ginger/olive oil paste, and onions. Cook until onions soften. Stir in carrots, celery and eggplant, mix and cook for 2-3 minutes until they also soften. Stir in mung beans sprouts, basil and briyani masala. Cover and lower heat to medium low. The sprouts should still be a little crunchy. Be careful not to overcook.

Spoon onto plate and top with mushroom sauce.

Black Noodles with Bean Sprouts

Many years ago when living in Rota, Spain one of my favorite dishes was a meal of squid in its ink over rice. While shopping awhile back, I recalled those yummy times when I bought spaghetti noodles with 3% squid ink. They remained on the shelf until today when contemplating what to do with the mung bean sprouts which were ready for immediate use. Those long black spaghetti noodles next to the off white bean sprouts might create an interesting dish. So I went at it and came up with simplicity - light against dark. The color of the squid noodles turned this ordinary dish into something almost spectacular. Today this was just fine; another day, another project will be to add red peppers, and other colors.

Squid Noodles

1 onion chopped
¼ c celery chopped
4 cloves garlic
sesame oil
two handfuls of mung bean sprouts
vegetarian oyster sauce

In sesame oil, Add chopped garlic to hot sesame oil in pan, then add onion and cook until onions are almost soft. Add celery and cook for another 3 minutes or until celery is soft. Then add sprouts. Reduce heat to medium low and leave for about 5 minutes or until sprouts are softened but still crunchy. Add noodles and mix well.

Garnish with sesame seeds.