Black Butter and Charcoal Biscuits In My Kitchen

Mostly black things in my kitchen this month.  

This was not intentional, but more of a shopping happy accident - for some reason there seemed to be an overwhelming selection of dark edible things in my kitchen and I have no idea why, especially as Halloween is way off and I don't even have a black supper menu planned either, well not until now. 

Let me begin with this jar of Black Butter that I picked up the last time I was in Bristol from the a pop up market.  It is made from apples, cider, clack treacle, licorice and spices. This Black Butter is suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.   Its a jammy product that could compliment both sweet and savoury dishes.  If you like the sound of this, then you may also like to my homemade Sweet Black Sesame Seed Butter too. 

Snake Beans In My Kitchen

I have lots of new things in my kitchen, like new tea-towels and a new kettle and a gorgeous retro umbrella shaped cake stand that I picked from Crock and Cosy in Rye, East Sussex, but I haven't got round to taking a picture of any of these, so this is a short post to share some things that I have managed to photograph  in what is becoming a dark kitchen with the changing season. 

I picked up these ceramic celery, garlic and tomato pieces from the flea market in Bristol a little while back.  I am not quite sure of their purpose, but they could serve either as spoon rests or to hold olives maybe, or maybe they are just designed to be admired.  The vegetarian and vegetable grower in me could not resist bringing them home with me. 

I've purchased Snake Beans also known as Yard Long Beans from the Bangladeshi grocers before, but forgot about them and then turned brown and had to be put into the compost bin.  I have a couple of ideas what I want to do with this.  the obvious thought would be a Bangladeshi curry which is what the woman at the grocers advised, but I am still thinking about it.  Have any of you cooked with Snake Beans and have any new ideas for me.   

Some little pumpkins picked up from a farmers market.  Too pretty to eat, at the moment they are still on my table being admired, but they will be consumed soon, perhaps in a pasta salad for a working lunch.

We went to Glastonbury not last weekend, but the before previous and I loved visiting Earthfare Wholefoods.  I could have spend a good hour in there browsing the shelves, but.  I picked up some sprouts and some spices including Tograshi Spice Blend (Japanese), Garlic Salt and Horseradish Powder which I used yesterday for my Beetroot and Horseradish Popcorn. 

Some of you may remember that a little while back I picked up some Korean Chilli Powder, well I finally got round to making some vegan Kimchi at home.  It is still fermenting.  I will give you my verdict soon.  A friend at work of Slovac heritage also gave me a jar of homemade Dandelion honey, which I hope to share later in the month with you as its accidentally vegan - she had not intended it to be vegan. 

I had the nephews and nieces over early in the month and made some Red Quinoa, Sweet Potato  and Chilli Burgers adapted from my Parsnip and Quinoa Burger recipe.  I do like a good veggie burger, its just a shame I don't make them as often as I used to a couple of years back when I was running the vegetarian cafe. 

I have been experimenting a lot with Japanese Sea Vegetables Salad and Green Nori Sprinkle.  Some of you may remember my luxurious Vish Ocean Pie.  The latest being these Fish Free Sea Vegetable Cakes.  I will share the recipe soon as these are vegan.  

I have some large bottles of Stubbs Legendary Bar B Q Sauce.  Majority of Stubbs products are suitable for vegans and vegetarians.   I am looking forward to using it for Buffalo Cauliflower Wings.  I have been using Stubbs hickory liquid smoke for a while, mostly in my facon bacon, including the most recent coconut facon bacon and seitan variation too. 

A friend at work introduced me to Twinnings Intensely Beetroot Burst Fruit teas.  I drink the lemon and ginger a lot, but these were new and I liked them very much, so I have been drinking it a lot and in the evenings I always have a cup of my favourite Celestial  Bengal Spice, the spices hit me right in the back of the throat which I like and the smell is amazing too.  

In the fridge we have Koko Dairy Free alternative to milk and some milled linseed that are being sprinkled over porridge when I can be bothered to make it

And finally some Peri Peri Rub and Dosa Podi flour mix.  I'm looking forward to playing with this during the weekend.  

I am sharing this Vegan Mofo edition of  In my Kitchen with our new host Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things.  In My Kitchen is a event for food bloggers to share what in their kitchen from all around the world, it was started by Celia who blogs over at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.     If you interested you may want to take a peek at  Vegan Month in my kitchen last year.   

Horseradish and Beetroot Powder Popcorn for Grown Ups

I am such a moody person, I don't have one late night snack I go to, its depends how I feel.

These days late night snacking for me can be nacho and dip or hummus with pitta chips or simply Marmite on toast , but there are night when it can also popcorn in all its many flavours Turmeric Garam Masala and chilli, Wasabi Popcorn, Black Pepper and Salt Popcorn, Rosemary and Chilli Popcorn, Sumac Popcorn  and more recently Beetroot and horseradish.  This is popcorn for grown ups. 

I don't really do sweet popcorn and find it a bit sickly, though recently whilst looking at a bottle of ginger syrup in my kitchen cupboards, I got thinking about making some gingerbread popcorn for Christmas festivities.

I've picked up some beetroot powder, tomato powder, lemon powder, spinach powder, horseradish powder and a number of others and have been thinking of ways to use them in my sweet and savoury baking and cooking.  I have used it in shortcrust pastry and popcorn so far, so thought this would be good to share tonight for Vegan Mofo prompt of Late Night Snack.   

This Horseradish and Beetroot Powder Popcorn is an acquired taste, so don't bother making it unless you like both the ingredients, unless of course you just want to marvel at the colour. 

May In My Kitchen

I thought I would not have much to share with In My Kitchen series this month, but then yesterday I found a few jars in my kitchen cupboards not yet shared on my blog. 

But first to start of I have replenished my spice jars with these Indian Spices.   Although these are dubbed as Indian Spices, I think they are pretty versatile in other worldwide cuisines.  For a start I like to use the Garam Masala and Madras Curry Powder in my Quinoa Burgers.  

I've never used Coconut Sugar before, so this is truly a new ingredient in my kitchen.  In my head I had thought the sugar would be white, but it was more like demerara sugar, just softer and finer. It tastes much lighter than other sugars I've tried.  I have yet to use it in baking.

Welsh Nosh and Welsh Things In My Kitchen

In the past, Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial who hosts In My Kitchen (IMK) series has been kind enough to give me the opportunity to showcase my new Welsh kitchen when I moved home.  

Now nearly a year on I am going to share some other Welsh things and nibbles.  So what's in my kitchen for March?!  As we just celebrated St David's Day in Wales I thought IMK this month would have a distinct Welsh influence.

I am not a beer drinker at all, but I had to have this glittery beer glass.  It will probably never be used for drinking, but it looks pretty.  I may just fill it up with pens and pencils and put it on a table; or fill it up with daffodils when they pop up in our garden.  Next to this big glass is a little Welsh shot glass, look close and you will see a little Welsh lady.  

I have some Laverbread: a traditional Welsh delicacy that is often just spread on toast.   I have made some vegetarian recipes in the past with it like vegetarian burgers and pie, but I have recently made some new ones over the weekend, I will showcase them in the coming days, if you interested.  In the dainty red ceramic jar, we have Halen Mon Anglesey sea-salt that was gifted to me a little while back.  

Lurking back at the back of my cupboards in the kitchen, I found two Welsh Lady jars, one contains Roasted Chestnut Chutney and the other Mincemeat. You may not the little red ceramic dragon sitting on top of the left jar, I picked the cute little dragon from a crafts fair around Christmas time.  

Next we have 100% Welsh Extra Virgin Rapeseed Oil by Blodyn Aur.  It's been a while since I've used Rapeseed oil, the last time was actually when I lived in Scotland and I picked one up from the farmers market then. I am looking forward to using this mostly on salads.  Next to it, we have a Welsh Dragon Chilli Sauce called Electric Mud.  I picked this up when I was in Cardiff from the Riverside Market.  It is extremely hot and to be used in very small drops.  

February 2015 In My Kitchen

My goodness is it already February 2015, I cannot believe how fast January has gone by. Okay onto what's in my kitchen for February.  Well there were a lot of vegan ingredients in my kitchen last month as I was following the Veganuary challenge, but this month begins with a bit of a mish mash. of crockery, edibles and bites.  Hope you like.  

I share with you a a plate, a bowl and a mug that I picked up from a charity shop last month.  

This is what it looks look when put together.  The child in me likes it.  I don't think I will ever use it, but it makes me smile whenever it catches my eye. I am sharing this charity shop treasure with Thriftasauraus.

This little tub of Black Garlic has been sitting at the back of my kitchen cupboard for a few months, its time to use it, so come back to check out some of the recipes I make with it this month.

I haven't opened either of these jars yet, but am looking forward to spreading them on my bagels, it would make a nice change from peanut butter.  The Curd Herd Heavenly Blackcurrant and Star Anise sounds unusual; and the Meridian Crunchy Hazelnut Butter well just would make a lovely change.

From Steenberg Organics I have some Fair trade Saffron, Orange Blossom Water and Apple Stuffing.   Any one have any suggestions as to what to do with orange blossom water, I do have some ideas, but other suggestions are always appreciated. 

Marigold Pomegranate Molasses that will go perfect with my Zaytoun ingredients to cook up a Middle Eastern inspired dish. Just in case your wondering, the accompanying pomegranates are fake, they come out for Christmas table, but I forgot to pack them away this year, so they are adorning a fruit bowl in the kitchen window. 

I have had a bit of a sore throat recently, so have been putting a few drops of Echinacea liquid into my herbal and fruit teas, fortunately the cold has stayed away and so far no time has been taken off work, so it must be doing me some good. 

I have had a recipe bookmarked from Johanna at Green Gourmet Giraffe for vegan coconut bacon for a little while, and finally got round to making it today, but I couldn't help myself and adapted it a little by adding some sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds to the mix - its very moreish.  Here it is cooling down. 

And just as my adaptation of the vegan coconut bacon came out of the oven, these potato slices coated in chilli flakes were about to go into to the oven.  Come back later in the week to find out what dish this is.

And finally, 5:2 Vegetarian Cookbook by Celia Brooks.  I have been borrowing a copy of this book from the library the past year, but I was kindly bestowed my own hard copy by the talented Celia Brooks herself.  Other than the vegetarian and vegan recipes, what I like about this book mostly is that it is handbag size, so that I can pop it into my bag and take a gander for cooking inspiration for the coming week.    

I am sharing this post with the dynamic  Celia at Fig and Jam for February 2015 edition of In My Kitchen Series. Please go by and check out her post as well as the other IMK posts. 

Early January In My Kitchen

So what is in my kitchen this early January.  I have signed up to do Veganuary Challenge this month, so lots of the ingredients I have in my fridge happen to be vegan:  Non diary milk and sunflower margarine, but these two ingredients can often be found in my fridge, not just for Veganuary, so here are some other bits and pieces around the kitchen that you won't often find in my kitchen.  

I have been drinking lots of herbal infused teas recently due to my chesty cough.  I was given another box of Christmas Collection tea-bags.  I mentioned before that I was introduced to Yogi Tea by my bestest friend Leah when I visited her in the USA, it makes an appearance in my kitchen now and again and makes me feel a little nostaligic.

For lunch, I have been tucking into a bowl full of Black Eyed Peas and Lemon Hot Pot.  The lemony zing is just soothing on my scratchy sore throat.

Image courtesy of Celia from Fig and Jam

I was one of the lucky recipients to receive Sourdough Starter Priscilla through Celia at Fig and Jam and our host for In My Kitchen.  Itcame in the post last month.   Thank you Celia, as advised its in the fridge ready to be used one of these rainy or frosty weekends. 

I travelled into Bristol a few weeks back before Christmas and stopped at an Oriental Supermarket to stock up on some goodies, namely raw adzuki beans, a vital ingredient for my vegan 'facon bacon', which I made last week.  In the above image, you will also see that I was tempted by some Tapioca Pearls, Spicy Seaweed, Kaya - A Malaysian Coconut Jam.  I have the recipe to make my own, but when I saw the jar, well I had to get me some to try.  And a packet of what looks like purple potato wafer rolls, but it was the vivid colour on the packaging that got me interested.  

Some new ingredients in my kitchen

A few new ingredients in my kitchen.  These include Freekeh a  burned green wheat, which I have already cooked with making a Freekah Pilau with homegrown vegetables including yellow mangetout.  

I've used quinoa many times in cooking before, namely for light salads or vegan burgers, but I have never used Red Quinoa, so am looking forward to trying that to see if it tastes any different. I've already used some of the Goji Berries in my Goji Berry Scones, but always welcome new recipe ideas. 

Also Nutritional yeast is a great flavour enhancer, I like to use it in my facon 'bacon' recipe and most recently in a vegan Spanakopita Spirals,.  

The Pear and Apple Fruit spread was lovely spread between the Goji Berry Scones and the Cashew Butter waits to be opened namely for bagels. 

I have harvested some vegetables and berries from my garden plot, this includes some strawberries. I've made a number of recipes already with them like Strawberry Risotto, but also have plans to make Strawberry Curd as well as more cakes! 

In the fridge, I also have some home-made Carrot and Coriander Hummus. I've a few more things to share including new kitchen  gadgets, but haven't got round to snapping a picture of them, so hopefully will do in time for next month.   I am sharing this post with Celia at Fig and Jam for In My Kitchen Series. 

Senegalese Style Peanut Butter Soup

This is the first time I have ever made a peanut soup, albeit it with peanut butter from a jar.  I know tut tut, I should have made the peanut butter from scratch.  I hang my head down in shame as I had no excuse, I even had a large bag of peanuts in a packet.

D was a bit hesitant in trying this soup, saying curry powder and peanut butter sounded like a strange combination.  However, after the first spoonful, he was quite happy to finish it off.  He admitted though that he could not eat too much of it, as this is a rich creamy red soup.

Other than the peanuts - a main crop in Senegal, I don't know exactly what makes this soup Senegalese as this was not explained by the food writer.  I've read somewhere that 'Senghalese' should have read 'Singhalese' (cuisine from Sri Lanka), but I don't know how much truth is in that.

This soup is best eaten within a couple of days.  This is my first submission to Food of The World hosted by Simple Eating and Living et al.  The country is Senegal in West Africa,

Senegalese Style Peanut Butter Soup
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
25g coriander with stems, minced
½ teaspoon chilli or cayenne powder
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 x 400g can tomatoes, chopped
175g unsweetened peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
Salt to taste
Method
Heat the oil in a saucepan, then add the onion, garlic and coriander stems.  Give a stir, then cook over high heat for a few minutes to warm the onion.  Lower the heat and cook until the onion has softened, about 10 – 12 minutes.  Stir in the cayenne and curry powder.
Add the tomatoes, including all their juice and a pint of water.  Stir well and bring to a boil.  Drop in the peanut butter and simmer until the onions are soft and the peanut butter has dissolved, about 15 minutes.  Season the soup with salt and serve.  Adapted from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison.

Baked Beans with Wild Garlic

This recipe was made in jest - a prod at my husband for making fun of me for making so many Wild Garlic recipes this week.  So please just take it for what it is, with a pinch of humour.

I've written before of my fondness of  breakfasts and brunches from my childhood. Tamarind Chickpeas or Spicy Baked Beans being one of them; and this is when I thought I'd give a tin of baked beans the Wild Garlic treatment.  D was laughing at my idea, but I didn't see him laughing when he was tucking into them. 

Baked Beans with Wild Garlic
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
Optional pinch of chilli flakes or chilli powder
1 tablespoon wild garlic, washed and minced
1 x 400g tinned baked beans
Method
Heat the olive oil or butter in a pan, add the chilli and the wild garlic, let it simmer for a couple of minutes for the flavours to infuse, then pour in the baked beans, heat and serve immediately on toast or jacket potatoes.

The Virtues of Tinned Tomatoes

This is a thick, rich and deep soup. I would even go as far as to say that it has smoky undertones.
This is my entry for this months No Croutons Required challenge hosted by the lovely Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes. Jacqueline asked us to be frugal and to create either a soup or a salad using store cupboard ingredients. No nipping out to the shops. Although it was okay to pop out to the garden to pick your home grown vegetables and herbs which I could have done so easily. Instead I decided to take a look in my cupboards and fridge and see what I could come up with the ingredients I had there.

I was originally going to make a Caribbean inspired callaloo soup, but then went and added some shop bought red peppers which would have disqualified me from the challenge, plus the callaloo dish was quite chunky and would hardly constitute as a soup, so it was onto plan 2. I used tinned tomatoes, tinned chickpeas and sun-dried tomatoes in oil from a jar that has been sitting at the bottom of my fridge for a long while now. I also used some of my belly warming spices.
I think this flavour combination is popular, after all who doesn’t have tinned tomatoes?! It is such a versatile ingredient: you can whizz it up, blitz it, add it to soups, casseroles, make impromptu sauces for pizzas, pastas, lasagne's and so forth.

Chickpea and sun-dried tomato soup
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tbsp oil
1 x 800g tin of chick peas
1 x 400g tin of tomatoes, chopped (I normally buy whole tomatoes and break them up in the pot as i'm cooking)
3 tbsp of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 generous tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne
1 pint of vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Minced parsley (optional)
Method

In a large pot on medium heat, sauté the onions and garlic in oil until translucent. Then add the spices until well infused. Now add the tomatoes, chickpeas and stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Then turn off to cool. When cool enough, put half of the soup into a food processor and blend until smooth, return to the pot. Stir in parsley if using and reheat gently before serving.

Vegan Caribbean Flavours

One of my other tasks over the weekend was to clean out some of my store cupboards to see what jars, tins and sauces I had, and how many of them were past their sell-by-date, fortunately not many were, but a few had to be used, including this callaloo tin. I am cringing just to admit I have a tin of callaloo in my store cupboard, especially as someone who tries to grow her own vegetables. You may then ask why on earth do I have the tinned stuff? Well the truth is, I was curious to try what callaloo tasted like. Callaloo is made from the leaves of the Dasheen bush, which you can buy at specialist markets, but I have not seen it fresh in any of the shops in Scotland, so it had to be tinned.

Callaloo is served mainly as an accompaniment, so my thoughts turned to how I could make a complete meal from this, so out of the store cupboard came out a tine of gungo peas also known as pigeon peas, as i had decided on putting a Caribbean twist on my meal tonight.

I flicked through my small collection of Caribbean food books and decided on these recipes. Aloo pies for starters and then chunky callaloo and gungo peas with plain boiled rice. What struck me about these flavours was how familiar they were to me, as some of the dishes in the cook book had South Asian influences. One of the reasons for this is that the Caribbean has a long multicultural history and naturally food has been influenced by settlers importing their cuisine and influencing the local diet.

D agreed with me that the aloo pie, a potato filled Trinidadian snack usually eaten with pepper sauce was simple and delicious, one Caribbean dish we will definitely be having again (including tomorrow for lunch as we have 4 left over). Neither of us was bowled over by the callaloo, but to be honest with you, I don’t think the tinned version of callaloo does the 'real thing' any justice, as it just tasted like any tinned greens. I think to truly appreciate callaloo you have to try it fresh, so I won’t ever be buying the tinned variety ever again. In fact, I may even try and look for some callaloo seeds and grow my own. My experiment with Caribbean flavours does not end here. I also have a tin of ackee and green gungo peas in the cupboard, so the Caribbean theme will be on the menu again. Watch this space if your intrigued.

Aloo pieMakes 6
Ingredients
For the pastry
225g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp oil
Pinch of salt
For the filling1 tbsp
400g potatoes, peeled and mashed
1 onion, finely minced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp freshly ground cumin or garam masala
1 habernero pepper, deseeded and finely minced
Method
For the filling: Heat oil and add the minced onions and garlic and cook until translucent, then add the cumin or garam masala and pepper, cook for a couple of minutes for the flavours to infuse. Turn off heat. Stir in mashed potatoes so well combined and set aside.
For the pastry: Mix the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt then knead with enough water to make the dough. Brush the dough with 1 tsp of oil, cover and leave to one side for about 30 minutes. Then divide dough into six balls and leave for a further 10 minutes. When the dough is ready, roll out each ball into a circle, placing 2 tbsp of the potato mixture in the centre. Then fold into a half moon shape and seal the edged by pressing with a fork. In a wide pan, deep fry each pie in oil until puffed and golden brown. Be prepared to be amazed at how these puff up in the hot oil.

Chunky callaloo – Jamaican styleServes 4
Ingredients1 tin x 540g callaloo, drained and rinsed
1 tin x 400g tomatoes, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1 large onion, finely sliced
Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method

Fry the onion in the oil until translucent, then add the peppers and cook for five minutes. Then add the tomatoes and callaloo. Cook for a further 20 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Gungo peas
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1 x 400 tin of tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 habernero pepper (gently pierced)
1 x 400 tin of gungo peas
Method
Fry the onion in the oil until translucent, then add the tomatoes, puree and whole habernero pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes, then add the gungo peas and simmer for another 10 minutes Serve with plain boil rice. All Recipes adapted from Caribbean cookery for Vegans and More Caribbean Cookery for Vegans by Peter Mason