Bibimbap!

I am hooked on this. I am posting this so that if I ever become unhooked, I can remind myself to make this for lunch again and rehook myself.

The plate in the picture is comprised of:
sushi rice, with a touch of sesame oil
seaweed, dressed in rice wine vinegar
frozen snap peas, thawed
sardines, canned in oil
kimchi
a gently fried egg, over-easy
hot sauce, ties the room together

It is the best way I have found to incorporate kimchi into my life. Ditto for little fishies. Ditto for seaweed. And it is easy to whip up in a pinch, with whatever you might have in your pantry. And kids seem to like the compartmentalization of it all.

Buckwheat Pound Cake

This recipe is adapted from one I found at casayellow.com. It is only slightly sweet and pretty nutritious, as far as cakes go, anyway. We enjoyed it for breakfast with canned plums. I thought it was really something special.

1 c buckwheat
1 t sourdough starter
1/2 c milk
1/2 c unbleached flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 lb butter, soft
3/4 c sugar
4 egg yolks
1 egg
1 t vanilla
3 T nocino, or booze of your choice

1. About 12hrs before baking, mix buckwheat, sourdough starter, and milk. Leave at room temperature.

2. Preheat oven to 350F.

3. Add white flour, salt, and cinnamon to buckwheat.

4. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add vanilla, nocino, and egg. Add buckwheat mixture and blend well.

5. Smooth batter into cake pan and bake for 40-45 min.

Jamaican Beans

This recipe is slightly adapted from Sally Fallon's book, Nourishing Traditions. And it was quite tasty and comforting.

Serves 6:
1 c kidney beans, soaked
1 can coconut milk
3 cloves garlic, mashed
2 t dried thyme
1 t red chili flake
2 t salt

Cover beans with just enough water to cover and bring to boil. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer, covered for 4hrs or until tender. I served it with rice, avocado, sliced hot dog (leftovers that needed a home! Don't knock it . . .!) and chopped chives.

Blueberry Cobbler with Sourdough Rye Biscuits

You know, for breakfast. Of course.

I made it with very little sugar and a high fruit to grain ratio. Plus, the lemon is a nice wake-me-up.

Make it easy on yourself and the night before, toss 2 qt blueberries (in the baking dish) with the zest and juice of 1 lemon and a good sprinkle of flour and sugar and keep it in the refrigerator.

Then, make the biscuit dough. This is how I did mine:


4 T lard
1 c rye flour
1 T sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c sourdough starter

Cut the fat into the dry ingredients and stir in the sourdough starter. Keep dough in the refrigerator, too.

In the morning, drop big spoonfuls of dough onto the berries and put into oven. Bake for about 50min.

White Wine Braised Chicken

This may not look like much to you (am I always saying this? Haha.), but it sure was wonderful.

1 whole chicken, pieced (I used 4 large hindquarters instead)
1 c white wine
1 c tomato sauce
1 onion, diced
1 leek, sliced
4 T cream (I used coconut milk)
1-2 bay leaf (I used one dried and 1 fresh)
flour for dusting chicken

1. Flour chicken pieces and fry in oil in a large dutch oven until golden.

2. Pull chicken out of pan for a few minutes, while you deglaze the pan and scrape up bits with the white wine. Put the chicken back in and add the rest of the ingredients except for the cream. Cover and simmer gently for 2 hrs.

3. Uncover, add cream, and boil gently to reduce the sauce to your liking. Serve with rice and chopped parsley.

Bacon-wrapped Black Eyed Pea Patties

This recipe is taken from nourishedkitchen.com (slightly adapted).
I made a double batch and the leftovers keep well and reheat well. Next time I am going to make extra patties and store them in the freezer for a rainy day. Each one is just right for a single dinner serving and would be great next to a salad or sweet corn.






Serves 6:
1/2 lb black eyed peas, soaked
1 sweet potato (or an equal amount of carrot), 1/4 inch dice
1/2 t salt
2 T arrowroot powder (or 4 T flour, or 2 T cornstarch)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 c chopped collard greens (any leafy greens will do)
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t cayenne
6 slices bacon

1. Boil peas until tender and drain. Roast sweet potato at 425F for 30 min.
2. In cast iron pan saute onion in oil or lard until translucent. Add greens and cook until tender.
3. Mash peas, greens, onion, arrowroot, and seasoning in a bowl. Fold in sweet potato. Form into 6 patties and wrap in bacon.
4. In cast iron pan, fry the patties for 5 minutes on each side, or until the center of each patty is hot.

Sourdough!

There are many ideas and methods out there, but here's what I did, with great results. This bread has a crispity crust and big air pockets inside.

In a very large, 4 qt bowl (you'll have 3 qt of starter in the end), mix 2c rye flour with 2c filtered water. Then cover the bowl with a thin towel and a rubber band to secure. Leave it at room temperature.

The next day, and every day thereafter, for a total of seven days, whisk in 1c rye and 2/3c-1c water (enough to keep it runny). The starter is then ready for use and whatever you do not use right away can be stored in the refrigerator.

For the bread pictured (1 loaf), use:
1c starter
3 1/2c unbleached flour
3/4 c water
2 t salt

1. Mix the ingredients together to form a wet shaggy dough. Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 12hr.

2. Scoop and fold the dough in over itself a couple of times and let rise 4hr more.

3. Flour hands and gently shape dough into loaf and place on a baking sheet that is dusted with cornmeal. Cover and let rise 2hr more.

4. Preheat oven to 450F and set kettle on stove for boiling water. Place cast iron pan on bottom rack and set rack for bread in the middle of oven.

5. When oven is hot, place bread in, pour hot water in cast iron pan (without giving yourself a steam burn) and shut the door. Turn oven down to 325F and bake for about 1 hr.