Cashew Waffles

Baked Garden Rolls in Tomato sauce

Last summer was cold and rainy, and there was nothing to harvest in the garden before July. This year the garden is a jungle! It has produced salad, spinach, turnip tops, and baby beets since the end of April and, by now, I've already planted a second round of carrots, white radish, Swiss chard, and bok choy.

BAKED GARDEN ROLLS IN TOMATO SAUCE
(makes about 20 bite size rolls)

20 green leaves (Swiss chard, turnip tops, zucchini leaves, or bok choy leaves etc.)

For the tomato sauce:
1-2 Tbsp ghee
1 tsp peeled and finely grated ginger (juice squeezed out and set aside)
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp jeera seeds
1/4 tsp hing powder
4 peeled and quartered tomatoes (stems removed)
2 tsp freshly ground coriander powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp kala namak powder
1 tsp Himalayan salt
(the ginger juice)
1/2 cup (125 ml) Ricotta cheese (125g)

For the filling:
2-3 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp hing powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp powdered nutmeg
2 cups (500 ml) chopped greens (Swiss chard, spinach, turnip tips, wild vegetables like nettle, and herbs)
1/2 cup (125 ml) cooked quinoa
1/2 cup (125 ml) cooked black lentils
1/2 cup (125 ml) roasted pine nuts (or roasted and chopped cashew nuts)
1/2 cup (125 ml) Ricotta cheese (125g)
1 tsp Himalayan salt

For baking:
Olive oil
(Parmesan like hard cheese - optional)

The method:

Preheat the oven to 440 F (225 C).

Wash the leaves and cut off the stems (chop the stems to be used in the filling). Plunge the leaves into boiling water for a minute to blanch them. Lift out the leaves and spread them on a clean towel to dry.

Heat up the ghee in a small wok or pan until it's hot but not smoking. Roast the ginger until it's light golden and push it aside of the pan before adding the black mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle and pop, add the jeera seeds and hing powder. Toss and turn the spices once with a spatula and drop in the tomatoes. Cook on the medium heat until the tomatoes break and become juicy.

Stir in the coriander powder, cinnamon powder, cayenne powder, kala namak powder and salt. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the ginger juice (set aside earlier) and Ricotta cheese. Pour the sauce onto a baking dish.

While the tomatoes are cooking, melt the butter on the pan over a medium heat. When it's hot, add the hing, black pepper and nutmeg powder. Toss the spices once or twice and add the chopped greens and stems. Sauté the vegetables until they wilt, for a couple of minutes.

Remove the greens from the stove and mix them with the cooked quinoa and lentils, roasted nuts,  Ricotta, and salt.

Spoon a small portion of the filling onto the wider end of a leaf. Fold the sides of the leaf on the top of the filling, and roll them up. Place the rolls into the tomato sauce, seam side down. Arrange the remaining leaves in a similar manner.

Sprinkle the leaves with olive oil and, if you like, with grated parmesan like hard cheese (you may want to reduce the amount of salt when cooking the sauce and the filling, considering that the cheese will add saltiness to the dish).

Bake in the oven until the top of the rolls are brown, for 15 to 20 minutes.

Tip:

Cook one part of quinoa and one part of lentils separately with two parts of water. With 1:2 ratio neither the quinoa or lentils will turn into a porridge.

Zucchini & Corn Soup

Is a blind uncle better than no uncle, I wonder, while dropping you a recipe without any other content?

Zucchini & Corn Soup

(Serves 2-4 persons)

Ingredients:
2 small zucchinis (about 400g)
1-2 Tbsp ghee, butter or oil
1/4 tsp hing powder
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 tsp sweet paprika powder
3/4 tsp dry dill
1 cm (1/3”) fresh turmeric root, peeled and finely grated
750 ml (3 Cups) water
400 ml (1 1/2 Cup) frozen corn
125 ml (1/2 Cup) Greek style thick yogurt
1 tsp salt
1 tsp kala namak powder
125 ml (1/2 Cup) fresh dill

Method:
Wash, peel and cut the zucchini in half lenghtwise. Slice the halves into bite-size pieces crosswise.

Heat up the ghee in a pot. Add the spices and then the zucchini slices. Sauté the vegetables for a few minutes. Add the water. Cook, covered, until the zucchini pieces are tender but still firm. You don’t want them to become mushy!

Add the corn kernels. Bring the liquid to a boil and mix in the yogurt. Remove the soup from the stove and toss in the salt and kala namak powder, and the fresh dill.

Optional:
Garnish with sprouts.

Broth & Daikon Noodles

Let me push the mop aside and get up from my knees to tell you what has kept me from updating the blog.

I’ve come to think of our cottage as a lovely granny, who squeaks, leaks, and lapses. Like any 91 year old, she urges constant care. Although I nurse her, she’s prone to accidents and regularly falls apart. She is cozy, but also naughty, and it’s a full time job to tend her. Her mishaps keep me busy and make my life unpredictable.

For example, I was cleaning the woodstove in the kitchen a week ago. Suddenly carbon deposits blocked the ash vacuum, blowing the soot around the house. Goodbye white walls, ceilings and floors! And, good bye a new blog post! Since then I’ve been scrubbing every surface, furniture, and household item, and washing the textiles. By now, I’m only halfway through.

Before I'll climb on the ladder to sweep the walls, let me drop you a recipe I came up with in March while fasting on a festival day. Although I didn’t entertain my mind with anything fancier than a warm, clear broth while abstaining from food, I added spices, herbs, and vegetables to the soup when I cooked it later. Protein, like chickpeas or kidney beans, would make it more filling. Tofu or paneer would go very well with it, too.

BROTH WITH DAIKON NOODLES
(Serves 2-4 persons)

The broth:
2 Tbsp ghee or oil
2 ½ cm (1”) cinnamon stick
5 cloves 2 star anise
1 tej patta
1 tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp jeera seeds
¼ tsp hing powder
1 green chili (hot)
2 ½ cm (1”) ginger
1 l (4 cups) grated vegetables (sweet potatoes, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, kale etc)
2 l (8 cups) water

The eggplant:
1 eggplant
2 Tbsp ghee oil
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2-3 Tbsp Bragg soy sauce

Other ingredients:
7 ½ cm (3”) daikon
3-4 small grill peppers
250 ml (1 cup) broad beans
2 tsp Himalayan salt or to taste
1 tsp kala namak
1 ½ tsp amchoor powder
1 bunch of basil leaves and seedlings

Make the broth first. Heat up the ghee or oil in a pot. Add the cinnamon, cloves, anise, tej patta, fennel and jeera seeds, and fry them for 30 seconds. Sprinkle in the hing powder, and add immediately the chili and ginger. Fry the spices, tossing, for 30 seconds before adding the vegetables. Sauté the vegetables for a couple of minutes then pour in the water. Cover the pot and bring the water to boil. Then reduce the heat to moderately low and cook for 40 to 60 minutes.

Strain the liquid and keep it warm until all the components are ready. Save the vegetable fiber for pancakes or bread.

While the broth is cooking, dice the eggplant. Heat up the ghee on a frying pan. When it’s hot, add the black pepper. Toss once and add the eggplant pieces. Fry them over moderate heat until they are golden on all sides. Pour in the soy sauce. Place the eggplants into the broth. Spiralize the daikon into long noodles and cut the peppers into thin slices. Place them and the beans, along with the salt, kala namak and amchoor into the broth. Garnish with basil leaves and seedlings.

Alternatively, you can place the vegetables, basil leaves and seedlings on individual plates and pour the hot broth on the top of them.

Thank you.