Lavender Picking, Culinary Uses for Lavender and Lavender Roasted Onions

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

After a little blogging hiatus, I’m back with a new blog design, lots of new posts, recipes, and pictures!

We went lavender picking at the Seven Oaks Lavender farm in Catlett, VA. I spent two hours snipping grosso (French) lavender and taking lots and lots of pictures. Before I give you suggestions and culinary uses for lavender, here are some photos from our lavender picking trip..

The farm had baskets lined up for lavender picking

Summer workers from Pennsylvania were staying at the farm and helping to harvest lavender

Lavender attracts bees, butterflies and bugs

How to Dry Fresh Lavender
If you’ve picked fresh lavender stems like I did, you may want to dry them first. To dry fresh lavender, tie the stems in bunches using a rubber band and hang them in a dark place to dry. (If lavender is exposed to too much light while drying, it will lose color). You will have perfectly dried lavender in about 7 days. Once the lavender is dry, gently strip the buds from the stems and store in an air tight container. You are now ready to use lavender in cooking.

Some Culinary Uses for Lavender
- Lavender sugar – simply place some dried lavender with white sugar and let it sit for two weeks before using. Recipe on the herb gardner.
- Lavender syrup – cook sugar, water and dried lavender together to form a fragrant syrup that will be great on cakes and other dessert. Recipe on 5 star foodie.
- Lavender roasted potatoes – combine potatoes, olive oil, dried lavender, salt and pepper and roast in the oven. Recipe on school of the seasons.
- Lavender crème brulee – recipe on whats cooking America.
- Lavender focaccia – add a unique twist to focaccia by adding lavender to it. Recipe on whats cooking America.
- Goat cheese with lavender – marinate goat cheese with garlic, lavender, fresh herbs and olive oil. Recipe on lavender lovers.
- Lavender butter – simply mix softened butter, dried lavender and any other herbs/seasonings. Recipe on joys of lavender.
- Lavender cornbread – recipe on joys of lavender.

The possibilities for cooking with lavender are endless. You can make lavender cheese cakes, salad dressing, vinaigrette, herbs de province, lavender lemonade, scones, lavender ice cream or even lavender sparkling wine. And here is something else you can do with lavender..

Lavender Roasted Onions

lavender and onions

You only need a few ingredients to make this delicious lavender scented side dish - onions, olive oil, thyme, lavender

onion peel

cutting onions

Chop the onions into wedges, keeping the root end intact.

onions and oliveoil

Then sprinkle thyme, lavender, salt, pepper and drizzle the onions with olive oil. Toss everything and bake in the oven till browned. Its that easy!

lavender roasted onions with thyme

Lavender and thyme go so well together with these roasted onions.

lavender roasted onions2

Don’t have lavender?

Use herbs de provence instead -

an easily available dried herb mixture that contains both thyme and lavender.

lavender-roasted-onions1

Lavender Roasted Onions Recipe
about 2 servings

2 medium onions
A pinch of dried lavender
½ tbsp fresh chopped thyme
¾ tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Peel and then cut each onion into wedges, keeping the root end intact. Place the onion wedges on a baking sheet. Sprinkle lavender, thyme, salt and pepper over the onions. Drizzle olive oil and toss everything to coat.

Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes or till the onions are brown and crisp on the edges.

Peruvian Causa – Layered Potato Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Posted on May 9, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

causa3
When my friends B and R, who lived in Peru for a few years told me about this salad, I just had to make it. A causa, they explained is anything layered with mashed potatoes. In Peru, they use seafood, avocados, tomatoes, olives and sometimes eggs in the salad. Traditional causa also has aji amarillo – Peru’s signature yellow pepper.

I used three different colored potatoes to make the salad look vibrant and festive. I used Peru’s own purple potatoes, white fleshed potatoes, and red skinned potatoes colored orange with food coloring (or saffron).

The possibilities are endless with this salad, you can layer the potatoes anyway you like, with anything you like! You dont need a special mold to assemble this salad. Read on to see how you can use common household items to stack up these colorful layers.

Coincidentally, two other friends, also called B and R (how weird is that!), just returned from Peru. They got me the gorgeous orange sun-and-moon plate you see in the first, last and below pictures.

Continue reading →

Green Mango Pickle

Posted on April 1, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

green mango pickle

Somebody pry me away from this pickle! It’s becoming a dangerous addiction! All I’ve been eating is curd rice and mango pickle! Its that yummy. But then, what’s not to like about my grandmother’s recipes? Like all her recipes, this one is full of tasty, south Indian goodness. The secret ingredient in this pickle is roasted, ground fenugreek. I always have some on hand to add a rich, nutty, slightly bitter punch to recipes. Unlike pickled cucumber which is sweet and vinegary, this Indian pickle is spicy, salty and pickled in oil. It packs a lot of flavor, so a little goes a long way!

Make sure you buy raw (not ripe), green, rock hard mangoes for this recipe. The pickle will keep up to 3 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. It tastes the best after the second day, when all the flavors have soaked into the mango pieces.

Green Mango Pickle
makes about 2 cups

1 large firm, green mango
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
2 pinches asafoetida
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili/cayenne powder. Use paprika for less heat.
¼ tsp fenugreek powder, see below for method
¾ tbsp salt

How to make fenugreek powder: toast fenugreek seeds in a skillet on a low flame. Once they are fragrant, about 2 minutes, turn off heat and let the fenugreek cool. Then grind in a food processor to a fine powder. Store in an air tight container.

Using a sharp knife, cut the mango and discard the core. Chop the mango into very tiny pieces. Or you could zip it through a food chopper.

Place the chopped mango in a bowl. Place the turmeric, chili powder and fenugreek powder in a little mound on top of the chopped mango.

Heat the oil in a small skillet and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add the asafoetida and turn off the heat. Pour the hot oil with the mustard seeds and asafoetida over the mound of turmeric, chili powder and fenugreek. Add the salt. Stir till everything is well combined.

When the pickle is cool, put it in an airtight container and refrigerate.

This pickle is great as a condiment with Indian food. I also enjoy it with pita bread and hummus or stirred into pasta or couscous.

Jamaican Style Curried Kale and White Bean ‘Patties’

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

jamaican patties

Just as I was prepping to make these yummy savory pastries, we heard a little ‘thud’ outside. S and I went out to the deck to see what was going on. It was a little red bird lying motionless and belly up on the deck. Little red feathers were floating down. We quickly realized what had happened. The poor bird had crashed into our living room window mid-flight. Apparently 100 million birds die each year, crashing into transparent windows.

S was going to sweep up the bird after dinner. And I returned to making the Jamaican patties, which incidentally were so incredibly super fabulously good that I can’t stop thinking about them. Next time I will have to make a few million of these and freeze them. Anyways, I digress. So when I opened the oven door to take out the freshly baked, heavenly smelling patties, I head another sound outside. I peeped out the window.

The dead bird was waking up and about to fly away!
The dead bird smelled my wonderful Jamaican patties and came back alive!!
Or that’s what I’d like to believe.

I later read online that many birds that hit windows are just passed out, not dead. Good we didn’t bury the poor fella when we found him. But I still think the bird woke up because it smelled the Jamaican patties.

Jamaican Style Curried Kale and White Bean ‘Patties’
makes 8 muffin sized ‘patties’

This is my interpretation of a Jamaican patty, so its not exactly authentic, but very tasty nevertheless. A traditional Jamaican patty or pattie is half moon shaped and generally filled with meat. The flaky outer crust is made with flour and butter or shortening, and the crust is yellow from the addition of turmeric. As a short cut, I used store bought puff pastry with turmeric sprinkled on top. I baked these in a muffin pan. You don’t have to use a muffin pan, you could bake them like you would a turnover.

1 sheet puff pastry
1 can Cannellini Beans
1 bunch Kale
¼ tsp chopped green chili, or scotch bonnet (this is a very hot pepper), or a few pinches of crushed red pepper
1 tsp minced or grated garlic
1 tsp minced or grated ginger
1 tbsp curry powder (my curry powder is very mild so I used 1 tbsp. start with half, taste, and then add more if needed)
¼ tsp + 1/8 tsp turmeric
1 tsp vinegar
Salt
½ tbsp milk for brushing
½ tbsp vegetable oil

Thaw the puff pastry for 45 minutes. While the puff pastry is thawing, work on the filling.

In a large pot, bring plenty of water to a boil. Add some salt and the vinegar to the water. The vinegar will help retain the color of the kale. Remove and discard the tough stems from the kale. Roughly chop the kale. When the water comes to a boil, drop the chopped kale in the water. Blanch for 1 minute. Then drain the kale. Wash it with cold water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze out all the water from the kale and set aside.

Drain and wash the cannellini beans. Heat oil in a skillet and add the garlic, ginger and chopped chilies, (or scotch bonnet peppers or crushed pepper). Cook, stirring on medium heat for about 30 seconds. Then add 1/8th tsp turmeric and the curry powder. Cook another 20-30 seconds. Make sure the curry powder doesn’t burn.

Now add the cannellini beans and blanched kale to the skillet. Turn off heat. Add salt and stir the mixture until everything is well combined.

Pre heat oven to 400F.

Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with non stick baking spray. You can skip this step if you are using a non stick pan.

Lay out the thawed puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the pastry sheet a little. Then using your hands, lift and gently stretch the pastry sheet to make it thinner.

Sprinkle 1/4th tsp turmeric all over the pastry sheet. Spread the turmeric as evenly as you can using your fingers. Now take a fork and prick all over the pastry sheet. This will ensure it doesn’t puff up on the oven.

Cut one third of the pastry sheet and set side. Cut the remaining pastry sheet into 8 equal squares. Gently stretch each piece out so that it lines a muffin cup. Place each square of pastry sheet into each cup of the muffin pan. The side with turmeric should be touching the pan. The side without turmeric should be touching the filling. If the corners of the pastry sheet are sticking out, cut them and use them to patch up other parts of the lining.

Once you’ve lined all the muffin pan cups, fill them with the kale-white bean mixture. Take the reserved one third pastry sheet and cut it into 8 pieces. Gently stretch the pieces so they fit over the muffin pan cups. Place them over each cup, fold over the corners and lightly pinch the edges together.

Brush the tops with milk. Bake for 20 minutes or till the ‘patties’ are golden.

This goes to the monthly mingle event over at Meeta’s lovely What’s For Lunch Honey? blog.

Muhammara – Walnut Pomegranate Dip

Posted on February 17, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

a Turkish themed Valentine’s day dinner

muhammara

Why a Turkish theme for valentine’s day dinner you ask?

When we visited Turkey, we discovered that in the touristy areas, almost every edible thing for sale was marked as either an aphrodisiac or a viagara substitute. No matter what a vendor was selling, he claimed it was good for your love life. Apricots, nuts, sweets, spices, tea…every thing came with the promise of…err…better procreative ability.

Talk about marketing technique! Sweets at the grand bazaar in Istanbul and a dried fruit stall in Cappadocia.

I’ve traveled enough to know that this aphrodisiac thing is a scam. But somehow during the Turkey trip, my brain made a connection between Turkish food and aphrodisiac. So when I was thinking of what to make for Valentines day, Turkish food was the first thing that came to mind

We started dinner with Muhammara – an incredibly delicious and easy Turkish dish to whip up. This dip is also called Acuka in Turkey and is also eaten in other parts of the middle east. It is slightly tart and sweet from the pomegranate and buttery from the walnuts. Muhammara is great as a dip, but it will also make a fantastic sandwich spread. There are several variations of this dish, but the main ingredients are always walnuts, roasted red peppers and pomegranate molasses. You can get pomegranate molasses in any middle eastern grocery store.

Muhammara – Turkish Walnut Pomegranate Dip
makes about 2 cups

1 cup walnuts
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 large roasted red peppers (see below for how to roast peppers)
1 clove garlic
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup dried bread crumbs
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tbsp ketchup
½ tsp salt

Toast the walnuts in a skillet on medium heat, till they are slightly browned.

Put the toasted walnuts and all other ingredients in a blender and blend into a smooth dip. If the mixture is too thick to blend, add a few tablespoons of water to the blender. Serve with warm pita bread or vegetables.

How to roast peppers

Place red peppers over a direct flame – either on your stove or in an outdoor grill. Roast the red peppers on a high flame till they are completely charred on all sides. Place the charred peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the peppers steam this way for atleast 10 minutes. Using a paper towel, wipe off all the charred skin of the red peppers. Chop the peppers, discarding the seeds and membrane inside.

Ethiopian Berbere Spice

Posted on January 29, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

berbere
(This photo is my entry to Jugalbandi’s Click event; this month’s theme is ‘red’)

When it comes to complex, spicy flavors, there is nothing to beat Ethiopian food. The heady aromas of fenugreek, cardamom, cloves and cumin constitute some of my favorite flavor combinations. And I love their communal eating concept – everyone sits around and eats from the same plate. (For my Ethiopian fix, I go to Meskerem Restaurant in Washington DC and highly recommend it).

I had always assumed that the Berbere spice mixture used in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisines was difficult to make. But then I saw an easy, almost authentic version of Berbere in the ‘Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant’ cook book. (I say ‘almost’ authentic because traditional Berbere has ajwain and rue berries, this recipe does not.) I tried the recipe and it was really good. And my kitchen even smelled a little like Meskerem Restaurant!

I made a few changes to the recipe – I call for less cardamom than the original recipe. I felt the cardamom was a little too dominant in Moosewood’s recipe. I also used less dried chiles.

Ethiopian Berbere Spice
about 3 tablespoons
Adapted from the cook book, Sundays At Moosewood Restaurant

Cumin Seeds – 2 tsp
Whole Cloves – 4
Cardamom Seeds – 1/2 tsp (crush cardamom pods with a wooden spoon to remove the seeds)
Whole Black Peppercorns – 1/2 tsp
Whole Allspice – 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds – 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Dried Red Chiles – 5
Fresh Ginger, minced – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Sweet Hungarian Paprika – 2 1/2 tbsp
Ground Cinnamon – 1/8 tsp
Ground cloves – 1/8 tsp

Heat a skillet on medium-low. Add the first 7 ingredients (cumin seeds through coriander seeds) to the skillet. Toast the spices, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.

Cool the toasted spices and add them to a spice grinder. Add all the other remaining ingredients to the spice grinder as well. Grind to a fine powder.

Store Berbere in an air tight container in the fridge.

A slightly different version of Berbere is on the Congo cook book site.

How to use Berbere

The classic use for Berbere is in Wats (stews). Make Yemeser Wat by cooking lentils with some Berbere
Try sprinkling Berbere on french fries
Or make spicy ketchup using Berbere, recipe here
Do a Berbere stir fry using assorted vegetables or tofu
Berbere will also work well in any recipe that calls for Garam masala because Berbere and Garam masala have several ingredients in common.

Thai Tapioca Pearl Dumplings (Saku Sai)

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

saku sai

For a long time now I’ve been wanting to try out a savory tapioca pearl recipe. Until I made this dish, Ive only had tapioca pearls in puddings or in bubble tea. But Saku Sai (or sakoo sai) is a great way to enjoy the chewy texture of tapioca pearls in a savory dish. ‘Saku’ means tapioca and ‘sai’ means stuffed. Traditional Thai saku sai is filled with pork (saku sai mu) and the filling is slightly sweet. I made a savory filling with peanuts and morningstar crumbles and served the dumplings with a dipping sauce. This makes a great appetizer. I served the dumplings on a platter lined with a banana leaf. They were all gone in 5 minutes!

This is is my entry for the AWED Thailand event.

Thai Tapioca Pearl Dumplings (Saku Sai)
about 20 dumplings

Tapioca pearls – 1 cup
Boiling water – 1 1/4 cups
Morningstar Crumbles (frozen) - 1 cup (or crumbled tofu or your choice of minced mixed vegetables)
Peanuts – 1/4 cups
Onion – 1 very small
Ginger, minced – 1 tbsp
Garlic – 2 cloves
Soy sauce – 1 tbsp
Cilantro – 2 tbsp chopped
Vegetable Oil – 1 tbsp
Sesame oil – 1 tsp to coat dumplings

Finely chop the onion. Mince the ginger and garlic. Chop the cilantro. Coarsely chop the peanuts in a food processor.

Heat a skillet with oil. Add the onion and saute till brown. Then add the ginger and garlic and cook till fragrant, about 45 seconds. Stir in the morningstar crumbles, peanuts and soy sauce. Cook till the crumbles have thawed and become soft. Mix in cilantro and turn off heat.

Place the tapioca pearls in a bowl. Add the boiling water a little at a time. Knead the pearls to form a mass. They should not be dry but must resemble tight dough.

UPDATE: some readers have had trouble forming the tapioca ‘dough’. You may need more or less water depending on the brand and size of tapioca pearls you are using. Its important to add the boiling water a little at a time, untill you get a dough like consistency that you can stuff and form into balls easily.

Keep a bowl of water near you. Dip your fingers into the water. Then take about a tablespoon of the tapioca pearls mixture and form a disc. Place a small amount of morningstar crumble mixture on the center of the disc. Bring the sides up and form into a ball. Dip your fingers in water as you go to prevent sticking.

Place the balls in a steamer, make sure they don’t touch each other. Steam for about 30 minutes or till the tapioca pearls are completely transparent.

Don’t go by the pictures in the post, where you can still see some white tapioca pearls. I realized they were under done after taking the photos. So I put them back in the steamer till they were completely transparent.

When you remove the dumplings from the steamer, spray or coat them with a little sesame oil so they don’t stick to each other.

Serve dumplings with cilantro, Thai chillies, crushed peanuts and soy-sesame dipping sauce.Soy-Sesame Dipping Sauce

Soy sauce – 1/4 cup
Sesame oil – 1/4 cup
Water – 1/4 cup
Peanuts – 2 tbsp
Rice wine vinegar – 1 tbsp
Honey – 2-3 tbsp
Ginger, minced – 1 tsp, optional

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend till well combined.

Note: You can find tapioca pearls in any Asian store. Buy the white, small sized pearls.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Waffles with Dulce de Leche

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

whole wheat waffles

My sister was visiting and shes a big fan of sweet things. I thought it would be the perfect time to use the wonderful dulce de leche with hazelnut that I brought back from Argentina. So we started the new year with some home made whole wheat waffles topped with lots of dulce de leche. I used this recipe, but made some changes.

Dulce de leche, or “sweet milk” is popular in Argentina and tastes like caramel. I bought mine from the Historias y Sabores chocolate factory in Mendoza. I also picked up a bottle of this dulce de leche with hazelnuts for my readers. I will be giving it away on my blog soon, so watch this space!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Waffles with Dulce de Leche
(about 6 servings)

Whole wheat flour or all purpose flour – 1 1/2 cups (or use half of each type of flour)
Corn starch – 1/2 cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Baking soda – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
Buttermilk – 2 cups
Melted butter – 3/4 cup
Egg – 2
Sugar – 6 tsp
Vanilla extract – 2 tsp
Cinnamon – 1 1/2 tsp
Dulce de leche or syrup or honey for topping

In a bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients. Mix well using a whisk. Then add in all the other ingredients, except the dulce de leche or syrup or honey. Mix well. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes.

Heat a waffle maker, ladle the batter onto it and cook according the waffle maker directions.

Serve with dulce de leche, syrup or honey.

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