Kombucha in the winter

When the weather turns cold, it always takes me a while to adjust my kombucha so that it reaches fizzy perfection. It usually ends up taking at least two days longer. Then I discovered that bottling it even if I decant it too early by accident can solve the problem. Give it a few more days and it grows another teeny mushroom in the bottle and fizzifies. The only problem then is the risk of drinking slimy globs of culture, or as Papa Miao likes to call it, “alien snot.” Also, the waiting. I don’t have my kombucha when I need it.

I keep a giant jar of raw sugar for my kombucha and general baking.

Super easy collard greens recipe

I am doing so well with my resolution not to waste food. My collard greens were starting to show hints of aging, so I made them tonight. The most time-consuming part of this recipe is rinsing the leaves off.

Super Easy Collard Greens with Balsamic Vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collards, rinsed
1.5-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Remove the stems from the collards. I don’t bother with a knife. I just tear the spine out. It is kind of satisfying. Then, chop the stems up and save. If you sautee the stems at the beginning, they become so crisp and delicious that they are actually my favorite part of the vegetable. Tear the leafy part into smaller pieces.

Sautee the garlic for a couple minutes over medium heat. Add the collards stems. Sautee for 3-5 minutes, until the stems turn a beautiful shade of bright green. Then, add the chopped leafy parts. Sautee for five minutes or so, until it is a bit wilted. Then mix in the balsamic vinegar and remove it from the heat after a minute or two.

Then eat.

I do not know if Sprocket is as fond of collards as he is of kale because he was too busy with his post-dindins nap to help me.

And here is a bonus picture of Chun with a glitterball that he considers to be nutritionally superior to collard greens.

Cinnamon red bean congee with fresh ginger

I didn’t have high hopes for my latest breakfast congee, but it turned out fairly well, and it is nice to have something warming to eat in the morning, if I give myself enough time to heat up breakfast.

CINNAMON RED BEAN CONGEE WITH FRESH GINGER
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup red lentils
1 cup small red beans*, soaked overnight
1 small strip kombu
Salt to taste
1 tsp cinnamon
grated fresh ginger to taste (I used lots)
plenty of water

Sprocket was initially intrigued by the congee but upon closer inspection he found it to be offensive.

First, boil the small red beans with the strip of kombu. I boiled them for at least two hours before I added the other ingredients. They became super soft and somewhat mushy. Then add the lentils and rice and keep boiling. You can turn the heat down, but make sure it’s actually boiling, not just staying warm. Add water as needed so it doesn’t become thick. There’s no such thing as too much water. You can always boil excess water off, and it keeps absorbing water even after cooking. Add the cinnamon and ginger closer to the end, about 10 minutes before you turn off the heat. I boiled it for at least three hours. It took all evening, at any rate, and the humidity level of the kitchen was much improved as a result.

*Small red beans = chi xiao dou. Not sure if these are the same as adzuki beans.

Drying parsley with Sprocket

I’m not crazy about parsley. When at all possible, I use cilantro. I don’t think the problem is with parsley, it’s just that cilantro is so much better, it makes parsley look bad by comparison. Recently, I wanted to make fresh salsa but the co-op had no cilantro, so (since I had already bought the other ingredients) I had no choice but to get parsley. It turned out okay, but I was left with a huge bunch of parsley that I didn’t want to waste. After consulting Foxy, I decided drying it in the oven would be the best way to preserve it.

First, rinse the parsley. Let it drain. Pre-heat oven to lowest possible (mine was 170 F). Spread out on baking trays. Bake until leafs are dry enough that they crumble in your fingers. I checked on it every 15 minutes and it must have taken at least 40 min, probably at least 60, but unfortunately I was distracted so I lost track. When you open the oven to check, be prepared for an overwhelming parsley scent.

I realized part way through that I should have removed the thick stems, because they take a lot longer to dry and they sort of mess up the whole process by raising the humidity in the oven. Or something.

Sprocket loved the parsley. He was chomping on the leaves and stems and making sure that everything was liberally sprinkled with floof. Lotus thought the parsley was even better than catnip. A few leaves fell on the floor and he was rolling around so happily.

Sprocket examines his parsley

I didn’t have enough baking sheets so my parsley was rather crowded. Removing the stems would have helped. and possibly drying the stems separately, because they shouldn’t be wasted either.

miao mold

I just discovered that food processors can grow mold. I thought drying dishes off was overrated, but now I stand corrected.

Luckily no food was harmed.

No pictures.

Cooking Resolutions for 2012

I have neglected my food blog for the past couple weeks, mostly because I haven’t taken any food photos and I feel like there is an unwritten rule against posting a recipe without a photo. I made 57 new recipes in 2011 and had lots of fun doing it.

My Resolutions for 2012:

1. Improve my food photography
2. Try at least 52 new recipes
3. Make at least one thing from each of my many cookbooks (I counted 24)
4. DO NOT WASTE ANY FOOD
5. Photograph my Miaolings and Miao Brothers in culinary contexts:
– in mixing bowls
– in cooking pots
– covered with kale
– peeking out from a pile of produce
– wearing measuring cups as hats
– wearing broccoli florets
– perched on a pile of apples
– chomping carrots
– chomping a variety of cookies
– etc
6. Get a chef’s hat for my Miaolings

Chun enjoys homemade crane pie

Millet and amaranth for supper!!

Deep Dish Greens with Millet and Amaranth Crust! recipe here

I found this recipe in some random magazine (Natural Health?) and made it for Thanksgiving. Everyone seemed to like it. I made it again tonight and it didn’t take nearly as long as the first time. There are three parts – the crust, the veggie filling, and the sauce to thicken the filling. The only modifications I made were:

~1.5 tablespoons of arrowroot powder to make it thicker
1 tablespoon of tamiri instead of two because I didn’t like it so salty

Also, when I made this recipe last week, it was the first time I had ever used an oven broiler. I was kind of nervous and I irrationally thought that my casserole dish would split in two from the heat, but nothing so dramatic happened.

Sprocket likes to eat the little carrot bits that jump to the floor when I’m chopping.