Author: Kim Heinrichs

Brown Basmati Coconut Rice

Mmm.  So simple, so good.  Just a few little additions to your regular rice make it so rich and tasty!  I serve it with palak “paneer,”  but it would be great with Thai dishes too.

You could use white rice too, but brown has so much going for it that it might be worth a try!

What you need:

1 cup brown basmati rice

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup water

a few tablespoons dried unsweetened coconut, preferably ribbons

a little salt

What you do:

1.  Add all the ingredients to a pot and put it on high heat.

2. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover.

3.  Cook for 45 minutes and work on the rest of your meal.

4.  After 45 minutes remove from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 more minutes.

5.  Fluff it up and serve!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Lots of people are drinking pumpkin spice lattes on these cooler fall days.  Here’s a homemade version to warm you up.  Just whip up a batch of the syrup, then add it to your coffee with some hot frothy milk.  I know it’s supposed to be a shot of espresso, but I don’t have an espresso machine at home, and I drink decaf anyways… but this is still really yummy, and it’s waaay less than five bucks a pop!

Oh, and there’s actually no pumpkin in it.  Just the spices!

What you need:

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 -1& 1/4 cups water

1 cup sugar

a piece of cheesecloth for straining

What you do:

1.  Bring water to a boil in a small pot.  Add the spices and boil on low for about five minutes.

2.  Line a sieve with cheesecloth and strain the liquid through it.

3.  Pour the liquid back into the pot and add the sugar, heating until the sugar has melted.  Stir in the vanilla and remove from the heat.

4.  Once the syrup has cooled you can pour it into a jar.  Use a teaspoon or two per cup of coffee, depending on how sweet you like it.

I just make some really strong coffee, heat some soy milk, add it to the coffee along with some syrup.  I froth the last bit of the soy milk, then add a dusting of nutmeg to the top.

How to Make a Beautiful Veggie Platter

Okay, so you’ve agreed to bring veggies and dip to the potluck . . . but it sound so boring.  Here’s how I like to make my platter look more interesting.

The main things to keep in mind are colour and layout.  I like to separate the colours, so I this time I started  with the green, laying down a few sections of cucumbers and peas.  Then I filled the sections in with the other colours.  I kept most of the veggies the same length, so they all fit on the platter.

I had some radishes, so I placed them around the centre to make it more interesting, and added a few nasturtiums.  Click for links to sites about edible flowers here and here.

I like to make yogurt dips because the veggie platter is supposed to be one of the healthy dishes.  I just add some herbs or spices and a touch of salt.  My favourite is fresh dill.  I keep it chopped up in the freezer so I can just grab a little when I need it.  I also like to add a little curry powder to yogurt – really simple!

Spinach Borek with Apple Tahini Sauce

Spinach Borek is a great little vegan savoury appetizer than you can make up ahead of time, then pop in the oven as guests are arriving.  I made up the filling the day before and filled it right before putting it in the oven, but you could also fill and fold them up ahead of time.  Just put them in the fridge with a slightly damp towel over top.  I found this recipe in Molly Katzen’s ‘Enchanted Broccoli Forest’ years ago and have only slightly modified it.

What you need for the Spinach Borek:

2 packages frozen spinach

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large onion, chopped finely (about 1&1/2 cups)

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper

3 cloves garlic

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1/3 cup fine bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind

1/2 cup currants

a little grated nutmeg

1 pound filo pastry

What you need for the Apple Tahini Sauce:

1/2 cup tahini

1/4 cup apple juice, or more as needed

1 & 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of cayenne

How to make the spinach borek:

1. Thaw filo and spinach.  Filo needs a few hours to thaw; read the instructions on the label.  If you have it in the fridge, take it out at least one hour before you plan to use it.

2.  Heat about 1 tablespoon of the oil and fry the onion over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes.  Squeeze the excess moisture out of the spinach and add it to the onions, cooking for a few minutes.

3.  Remove from heat and add all the remaining ingredients and mix them in well.

4.  Lay out the filo and brush a little olive oil over the sheet.  Follow the diagram below to fold them up, then brush on  a little more olive oil before they go in the oven.

5.  Bake at 375F for 30 minutes.  These are great hot, and can also be served at room temperature.

How to make the tahini sauce:

1.  Use electric mixer to beat tahini for about 5 minutes.

2. Gradually add apple juice and cider vinegar.  Add more apple juice if it’s too thick.

Note:  if you don’t add it gradually it will become a blobby mess and the oil may separate, like it did for me.  I spent ages trying to bring it back to the consistency it should be.

3.  Add remaining ingredients and taste to see if you want to adjust the seasonings.

4.  You can keep this in the fridge for a few weeks, but keep in mind that it thickens up when it’s cold.  You may want to take it out of the fridge a while before serving so it has time to soften up.

This sauce is also great for a veggie dip, or a spread for crackers or bread.

Flavourful Olives

These olives are infused with flavour; first marinated, then cooked.

What you need:

a cup or so of olives with pits in

4-5 prunes, chopped into quarters

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 bay leaves

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 tablespoon dried oregano

salt and pepper

1/2 cup white wine (I used a Riesling)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

a sprig of fresh tarragon (optional)

What you do:

1.  Place olives, prunes, olive oil, red wine vinegar, bay leaves, garlic, oregano and salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.  Refrigerate over night.

2.  Cook olives and marinade, along with wine, brown sugar and tarragon for 20-30 minutes.  Add a little more wine if it is getting dry.

3.  Cool and serve as a tasty appetizer.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Yogurt Dill Sauce

A branch, heavy with green tomatoes, fell off my plant the other day.  I took it as a sign that I was to make fried green tomatoes.  Now that I’ve tried them, I want to go pick some more tomatoes before they ripen so I can make some more.

What you need:

a few green tomatoes

1/4 cup fine bread crumbs

salt

pepper

egg

olive oil

For the sauce:

plain yogurt

fresh dill

What you do:

1.  Slice tomatoes about 1 & 1/2 to 2 cm wide.

2.  Crack the egg into a medium-sized bowl and mix with a fork.  In another bowl, place the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.

3.  Coat each tomato slice in egg, then breadcrumbs.  You’ll need to turn them over a few times, and press the breadcrumbs down a little to get a thicker coating on.

4.  Heat a frying pan to medium, then add a little olive oil.  When it’s hot, add the tomatoes.  Cook them for a few minutes on each side.

5.  While they are frying, mix up the yogurt and a little dill in a small bowl. I prefer yogurt that isn’t low-fat; the flavour is better, and I don’t feel the need to add sugar.

Enjoy them hot with a little sauce on the side.

Oma’s Dill Pickles

Mmm, there’s nothing like biting into a crisp, cold pickle out of the jar.  I prefer homemade pickles, so I can make them a little less salty than the commercial ones, and a little spicier.

The main thing to remember when pickling is to keep everything clean to get rid of any bacteria.  To do this you can boil the jars in a canning pot, put them in the oven at 250 F for 20 minutes, or run them through a hot dishwasher.

What you need:

canning jars (20lbs of pickles makes 20-24 jars – prepare more jars and lids than you think you need)  Make sure you only use proper canning jars; reused jars like commercial jam or peanut butter won’t seal properly.  You can reuse the rings from year to year, but you need to use new lids so that they will seal properly.

lids

rings

large canning pot

Ingredients for 5-ish jars:

5 lbs pickling cucumbers

8 cups water

1 & 1/2 cups pickling vinegar

1/4 cup pickling salt (I couldn’t find any and used kosher salt this time)

1/2 cup sugar

dill (stems and flowers, not the green feathery parts you cook with)

horseradish

5 hot red peppers (thai work well)

5 cloves garlic

Here’s how you do it:

1. In each jar place some dill (I used one flower head and stalk cut up), a slice of horseradish, one pepper cut in half (don’t cut it if you don’t want the pickles to be very spicy), and one clove garlic.

2.  Cram as many clean cucumbers in as you can.  I usually start with a few big ones, and save the smaller ones to fit in between and on top.  Leave about 2cm of space between the cukes and the top of the jar.

3.  Heat brine to boiling, and make sure the water in the canning pot is boiling.

4.  Place new lids in a pot of water to heat for  a few minutes.  This sterilizes them and softens up the rubber, making it easier to get a seal.

5.  Fill each jar with brine, leaving a bit of space.  Place the lid and ring on each jar right away and tighten.  The canning pot I use fits seven jars, so I only filled seven at a time.  Place the jars in the canning pot, put the lid on and keep on high heat for just a few minutes; you don’t want to cook the pickles, so if it starts to boil you should remove them.

6.  Find a place where you can leave the jars untouched for 24-48 hours.  My Oma and Opa always put a towel on the top and bottom, so that’s what I do.

7.  Over the next day or so you’ll hear that popping sound that lets you know that your jars have sealed properly.  You can also tell they are sealed because the lid has curved down slightly, and it makes a high-pitched sound when you tap it with a spoon, instead of the dull sound of an unsealed jar.  If you happen to have one jar that doesn’t seal,  just keep it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

8.  I usually wait about three months before I open my first jar.  After your first try at making these, you’ll get an idea of what you want to change to make the recipe suit your tastes.  Feel  free to comment and let me know what you did differently.

Some adaptations I’ve tried are:

no garlic

more or fewer peppers

a slice of carrot or yellow bean for colour

mustard seeds

Here’s a great link for canning info!

Lemon Tahini Chickpea Salad

This salad is so easy to make, tastes amazing, and has lots of nutrients tp keep you healthy!  Chickpeas have plenty of dietary fibre, vitamin B6, folate and manganese.  One third of a cup of sweet red peppers contains your recommended daily intake of vitamin C, as well as lots of vitamins A and E, B6, folate and many other nutrients!

What you need:

1 can chickpeas, rinsed

1 sweet red pepper, sliced into bite-size pieces

1 tablespoon red onion, chopped finely

1/4 cup loosely packed chopped basil

2 teaspoons olive or flax oil

1 tablespoon tahini

1/4 teaspoon cumin

juice of 1/2 a lemon

optional: fresh mint

What you do:

1.  Mix the oil, tahini, cumin and lemon juice.

2.  Put the chickpeas, onions, pepper and basil in a bowl.  Mix in the dressing.  Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

3.  Before serving, chop up some mint and place on top of the salad.

Nut Crusted Portobello Mushroom Appetizer

These mushrooms are full of flavour!

What you need:

2 portobello mushrooms

1/2 cup ground almonds

2 tablespoons grated parmesan

salt

pepper

1 egg

olive oil

What you do:

1.  Place ground almonds, cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl.  In another bowl, crack the egg and beat it up a little.

2.  Remove the stems and clean mushrooms with a damp cloth – if you clean them in water they will absorb too much water.  Cut the mushrooms into strips, a few centimetres wide.

3.  Coat each mushroom strip in egg, then the almond mixture.

4.  Heat a frying pan on medium heat, then add a little olive oil.  When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms.  They should not be overlapping.  Cook on each side for a few minutes, until they become golden on all sides.

5.  Serve them on their own, or with a bit of mayo on the side.

Ruby Swiss Chard and Cabbage

My quest to find tasty ways to cook cabbage has recently combined with a sudden influx of ruby swiss chard in my garden, and this recipe is the result.  It doesn’t taste or smell very cabbagey, so if you’re picky about that sort of thing, you might still like this.

You need:

1/2 sweet onion

a bunch of ruby swiss chard

1/2 a green cabbage

butter (olive oil for vegans)

salt and pepper

fresh tarragon, optional

What you do:

1.  Slice onions and fry on low in a little butter for 3-4 minutes.

2.  Remove the stalks from the swiss chard and chop them into 3-4 cm long pieces.  Add the chopped stalks to the onions and cook for a few more minutes.

3.  Once the onions and chard stems have started cooking, put about 1-2 cm water in a separate pot.  Bring it to a boil, add the cabbage, put a lid on it, and steam for 2-3 minutes.  The cabbage should be tender but not soggy.

4.  Chop the swiss chard greens.  When the chard stems and cabbage have both cooked, add the swiss chard greens to the pan with the onion, then put the cabbage on top of the green.  Add a little butter, salt and pepper, and toss it all together until the greens have wilted.

5.  Mmm.  Eat up!