falafel platter

I purchase, brown rice, oat, berry, bean( black turtle, chick-pea, soy) and condiment(shouyu, brown rice vinegar, mirin..)through a wholesale store. I have had a large bag (25pounds)of black turtle beans, chick-peas, and soybeans.Today I took inventory in my food storage, I found I need to use chick-peas more often. So, I decided to cook falafel(quite a long I had not cooked falafel) today. Using uncooked chick-peas make a light and soft falafel, I think.

ingredients:
yield 16 falafel balls

1cup dry chick-peas, soak over night
8ounces onion,coarsely chopped
2cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4tablespoons chick-pea flour
1tablespoon fine bulgur
2cups italian parsley leaves
1/2teaspoon salt
1teaspoon cumin
1teaspoon coriander
1/4teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/4teaspoon black pepper

procedure:

1 In a large mixing bowl, combine drain chick-peas, onion, garlic and parsley, and mix well.

2 Transfer to the food processor, add all seasoning and spices. process until smooth, need to stop processing and scrape unprocessed chick-peas mixture off several times.

3 Transfer to the bowl and add chick-peas flour, and fine bulgur, mix well. If too wet, add more flour. Let mixture stand for 1hour in refrigerator.

4 Roll the chick-pea mixture into balls 2inches in diameter /3tablespoons of mixture.

5 Heat the oil in a wok, and when oil is hot enough ( a piece of bread drooped in should come to the surface immediately)gently lower the balls. 3-4 minutes do not disturb until they set. Fly for 6-8 minutes or until browned.

Serve with Tahini sauce (tahini + water ( add 1 tablespoon at a time to your desire consistency) + lemon juice + salt to taste)


falafel platter: falafel with tahini sauce, carrot with french vinaigrette,and sauteed kale mix with brown rice

winter squash soup with pomegranate

Coming Tuesday will be the last day of 2007 green market in my neighborhood...it kind of sad...
because I have no choice eating "conventional organic vegetables" for next 6 months. less excited, isn't it?
Today's soup made from a huge winter squash(at the green market it was divided to several mass for sale)has very bright orange inside. I asked what kind of squash..? and the farmer yelled " Fairy tale, Cinderella ride." ! ?




1 pound fairytale squash pealed, discarded seeds, cut into large chunks, and put them in a large pot. Add 1cup dasi* and 2 cups water. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger. Bring to a boil,reduce heat, cover, simmer for 10-15 minutes or become squash become tender. Mix soup with wooden spoon to break up squash (it's easy to break up). Season: 1/2 to 1teaspoon shouyu, 1 to 2teaspoons sea salt, 1 to 2 teaspoons mirin, to adjust the taste. Serve hot with garnish with pomegranate seeds.


















* dasi
Dasi means soup stock made from kombu and bonito flakes, and essential ingredients for our Japanese cooking e.g. miso soup, sobanoodle soup cooking vegetables, etc.
I make vegan dasi using kombu and dried shiitake. Just cover with water for minimums 5hours to overnight ( longer soaking time make stronger dasi).


500 milliliters water
5 inches kombu
2-4 dried shiitake ( depend on the size of shiitake or your preference. shiitake releases a strong flavor when it soaked in the water)

Put them in the glass jar with lid and put in the refrigerator when soak overnight.
can keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Dasi could be diluted or using straight depends on your recipe. Save soaked shiitake and kombu for another dishes.

five ingredients rice

I am looking for this time of the seasons every year, and I feel very happy living in NYC. Why? It is gingko - seeds harvest time! Gingko seeds, we call ginnan, is very good for every method of cooking: dry roast, deep fly, boil, saute... We really appreciate it's flavor and texture in Japan. Today's receipe, rice cooking with gingko - seeds, is one of my favorite gingko-seeds dish.




ingredients:
serves 4-6

2 coups white rice, wash and soak in the water for 30minutes
1 cup gingko seeds, take off outer shells
2 ounce or 1/2 coup burdock, sasagaki*
2 ounce or 1/2 coup carrot, sasagaki*
4 dried shiitake, julienned
1 abura age( fried bean curd),julienned
2 coups water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 table spoon shouyu
2 table spoons sake

* sasagakiis the way of cutting burdock,it's like sharpening a pencil with a knife.

procedure:

1 Combine five ingredients:gingko-seeds, burdock, carrot, shiitake, abura age in a bowl.

2 Combine water, sea salt, shouyu and sake in another bowl.

3 In a 3-4 quarts pot ( or you can use a rice cooker) combine the rice and water- seasoning mixture.

3 Add 5 ingredients mixture on the rice. Covers, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 - 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

4 Allow the cooked rice to rest 5 minutes, covers, off the heat.

5 Before serving, mix rice and 5 ingredients, from top to bottom, with a wooden spoon.



Serves with miso soup with daikon and white yam.

pumpkin boo soup

Ghost and Boo shapes are made from shiratama-ko (sweet rice flour) with nori (seaweed).

procedure:

1 In a small mixing ball put the shiratama-ko. Add water little at a time and mix with your fingers(I used 1/4 cup shiratama-ko and 3 tablespoons water). When mixture become no longer sticky and softness like an earlobe, divide mixture in to 4-5 balls. Shape each ball in to e.g ghost etc.

2 Boil the water in a medium pot.

3 Put these shapes in to the boiling water and cook until it rise to the surface. Keep boiling another 1 minute and scoop them up and to put in the cold water. Soak 1 minutes and drain.

4 Cutting out nori sheet to make eyes or words, and place them on the shape.

5 place these shapes on the pumpkin soup and serve.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

mushy-mooshy broccoli

I think not many people like over boiled or steamed broccoli. I don't like either, except this mushy-mooshy broccoli. When I was staying at my friends house at Belgium, quite long time ago, she cooked this tasty and homey dish ( I think this is an Italian home cooking) for us. Her original ingredients were broccoli, olive, garlic and anchovy. I used capers and ume plum vinegar , instead of anchovy.






ingredients:

1 pound broccoli,except very ends of stalks
1/3 cup pitted black olive, coarsely chopped , (I used oil cured, low sodium, pitted olives )
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 table spoons capers
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1.5 teaspoons ume plum vinegar

procedure:

1 Peel thick part of broccoli stalks and chop 3/4 inches long, from florets part to thick starks part.

2 In a large pot, heat the oil and saute garlic and add broccoli, olives and capers

3 Reduce heat to very low, cover, cook(actually steam because broccoly release moisture ) for 20 minutes, or until broccoli lose its green color and mush. (without taking off the lid, shaking a pot frequently to prevent burning. Once a while uncover and stir with wooden spoon. Make sure there is enough moisture in a pot.If not add a little water or stock, 1 teaspoon at a time.)

4 When it done, add ume plum vinegar and stirring well. more salt to taste. turn off the heat and combine with cooked pasta and serve.

red beet-apple salad

Beets were not popular vegetable in Japan, when I was there. So I may ate but had never cooked beets while I lived in Japan. Living in NYC, still I did not want to buy beets to cook. I did not care for beets due to its strong earthy flavor when cook. So when I signed up for Community Supportive Agriculture program, un-utilized beets took over the vegetable bin in my refrigerator. I started choosing recipe for beets and cooking beets. I found several nice beets recipe and now beets and I became a very good friend. This salad is one of them and was a ice breaker. Fresh beets and apples create powerful, pungent, refreshing taste. I got this recipe from: "Vegetables First" by Louise Frazier (Roxbury Farm news letter,0ct.24,2005)




Louise wrote:
"Red beets-apple salad has always been a favorite and is especially welcome when weather cools and lettuce leaves. Combine an equal number of beets finely grated with apples coarsely grated, toss with splash of lemon juice + fresh ginger or anise seeds for flavor. This salad can be made ahead and refrigerated --- leftovers for 2-3days--- or made into soup."

I used Benriner Japanese Mandolin to shred beets(with angel hair blade)and apples(with Julienne blade). Splash plenty of lemon juice and I prefer ginger for flavor.

rotini & mushrooms with " I can not believe it's not alfredo" sauce

I am crazy about this sauce, is made of cashew milk. So simple and easy to make and what a rich in taste! ENJOY.




serves 2-3
ingredients:

sauce
1/2 cup cashew nuts, very lightly toasted
1 & 1/3 cups vegetable stock or water
2 large cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons non-hydrogenated margarine or canola oil

mushrooms & pasta
7 ounces assorted mushrooms(I used oyster, shiitake and crimini)
2 scallions (without very green part)chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces pasta

procedure:
1 Put cashews, garlic and stock or water in a blender to make cashew milk.
2 Pour cashew milk into a pot and add lemon juice, sea salt and margarine or oil to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, stirring constantly, to thicken the sauce. If sauce is too thick thin with stock or water as needed.
3 In a large skillet heat the oil. Add scallion first and mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms become soft. Salt and pepper to taste.
4 Cook pasta in aldente and drain, combine with mushrooms and sauce. serve immediately.