Kitchen Desires

I wanted something light and easy for dinner and found a recipe on a vegetarian cooking site http://www.thefirstmess.com/  and changed it a bit. I made it for myself as dinner but it could be a nice side dish aswell. And it’s totally vegan this way but you could add some Greek Yogurt mixed with spices and herbs to give it a fresh touch.

we need:

I was invited to diner at a friend and she made this delicious polenta-chili cake (which, as it turns out, is still delicious after a couple of days in the fridge) with some oven-roasted veggies. Maybe add some chunks of feta for a fresh pop. the recipe is in Dutch apologies

Finally a desire that was on the list for ages, has been fulfilled. I even had all the required ingredients and utensils in my pantry for months but I couldn’t get round to it. But today, on a relaxed Sunday with nothing to do, I finally made my own, fresh, vegetarian Sushi! And it was absolutely delicious!!! I’m so proud. Here’s what I did:

For about 3 big rolls:

1 cup of sushi rice, rinsed, cooked and cooled
splash of rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 egg
1/2 avocado
piece of carrot
piece of tempeh
roasted sesame seeds
mayonnaise
wasabi paste
nori sheets
rolling mat

Make a marinade with some soy sauce, sesame oil, sweet sirupe and a squeeze of lemon and let the chopped Tempeh marinate for a couple of minutes and then bake it in a skillet with heated oil. leave to cool. finely chop up the other ingredients, avocado, carrot and make a simple omelet with the egg, some sesame oil and soy sauce. chop that up in to fine slices. Mix the mayonnaise with some of the wasabi, taste and add.

When the cooked rice has cooled gently mix in the vinegar to taste, start with a splash and taste, add to preference. Put everything around your clean workspace, use a cutting board or flat plate. Put the rolling mat with a sheet of nori on it on the workspace.

I had bought some beatroot-hummus (pink food is strange and makes people start to question your food-choices) from the store and really liked it. But when I ran out and didn’t feel like running to the store for more I thought: “Tss if the store can do it, so can I!”

As luck will have it I still had some really successfully pickled beetroot. I found them in the back of the fridge, they must have been there for ages since my pickling days are long gone. I think I just cut the beetroot in manageable sticks so they would fit in the jar, cooked some water and salt, added to the beetroots in the jar, closed and waited until it cooled. and forgot about it. :)

But back to the recipe: Since I thought of this in a spur of the moment-moment, I was even luckier to have a can of cannelloni beans hanging around. Otherwise this moment had to wait 8 hours before the dried chickpeas were welled enough to be processed. but, getting of track here, what did I make and how?!

Beetroot-humus (kind of)

we need:

beans, usually chickpeas (they are beans, I’ve looked it up) but any canned bean will probably do. I used cannelloni as said.

1 beetroot (pickled or fresh) if you use pickled do not add salt!

coarse grain mustard

fresh parsley, chopped

pinch of cayenne pepper and cumin

splash of lemon juice

pepper (and salt)

You can add anything you like, like Greek yoghurt, horseradish or mayonnaise whatever you think will work. Toss everything in a blender and blend the hell out of it! you end up with this hot pink substance which is lovely on toast for lunch, dip for chips or vegetables and side sauce with your couscous. After 15 minutes of thinking about it, it was there!

Enjoy!

I don’t really like tofu. It’s the cardboard flavour, or lack of flavour that I dislike. I do like the various marinades which are always soy-sauce based but I wanted something different. I decided to experiment with Western marinades on tofu to see if it works and with what.

So I made two versions so far. I only tested out one completely, the other will follow soon.

white wine/mustard/honeymarinade

We need:

The lunch-problem reared it’s ugly head again. I’m on a budget and the cafeteria isn’t really forthcoming with vegetarian options anyway so I made my own option!

This Mushroom pâté is easy and full of flavour. Granted, this picture looks a bit unappetizing but believe me, it is!

We need:

200 gr Mushrooms (I used regular whites but you can get creative)
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
50 gr butter
fresh (2 sprigs) or dried thyme (1/4 teasp)(not the same amount since dried is much stronger)
2 tblsp of (soy) crème

Chop everything up, melt the butter in the skillet and let the onions sauté on a medium heat. Throw in the garlic and keep it moving a bit so it doesn’t burn. When the onions are soft add the mushrooms. Make sure there is enough butter in the pan to coat them a bit. let them cook until most of the moist has been evaporated. Add the thyme and stir it in. Let it cool for about 10 minutes. Then stick it in a blender or a food processor and add 1 tbls of crème, blitz and add another tablespoon. Blend until smooth and add crème if you think it can use some more.

This pâté is lovely on toast or in a pasta-dish. It’s full of flavour and works cold or warm. so enjoy!