Fresh Summer Herbs - Dressing Up the Dullness of Winter

        Ah summer! Veggies in season! Fresh herbs for some culinary alchemy?  Basil plants have particularly had a good year. Olive oil infusions - every day! yes!!! to dress up the bean and the grain!!! Dismiss that feeling that a long winter brings on your food choices.  Garden plan early in february or march or later!! in a pot, a bird bath, window, you decide, and go for it!  A summer herbal smorgasbord of fresh basil, parsley, thyme, cilantro, dill, and mint is divine!!!  Everything tastes ... Mmmm, mmmm! If growing isn't an option, then shop! it's all here, now it's comparably fresher!!!

Here are some easy July staples from the Grasshopper Kitchen.

Golden Beets - peeled, quartered, and steamed - served warm with fresh dill weed

Black-Eyed Peas Salad - cooked beans, celery,  grate a radish peeled beet and garlic clove, add chopped green beans (or substitute carrot for example...go for texture and crunch), a handful of pumpkin seeds,  chopped basil, cilantro and parsley, ground or grated fresh ginger, black pepper, salt, cumin -  olive oil and vinegar (your choice) Mix all together, cover and let flavours meld in the fridge for a couple of hours. Serve cold or at room temperature.

                  AND

Easy Fall Herbal Medleys

String Beans in Herb Vinaigrette - Wash and lightly steam green beans along with cauliflower florets, quickly cool and toss in a bowl. Add thinly sliced red onion or chives, sprigs of dill, chopped basil, cilantro or parsley, and halved grape tomatoes. A glug of balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, with a pinch of salt and black pepper to finish.  

Delicata Squash and Cilantro - the squash is washed, sliced, and roasted at 400* for 15 minutes each side. Chill, peel if desired. Serve with lots of fresh chopped cilantro. Mmmm!

Love Grasshopper

Noodles Mock Thai

Want a quick, easy, delicious meal? here it is! Grasshopper discovered a new use for a vinaigrette salad...turn it into a delightful thai dish with noodles. The lentil/mung bean mix is pre-cooked, and the vinaigrette from the salad give this dish a sweet taste.
Inspired by finding prepackaged food bags with large bags of dried lentils to buy and donate to the local food bank. Grasshopper is comforted that these wonderful vegan proteins can be nutritious and affordable for all.

Noodles Mock Thai 

Carrot salad
2 grated carrots
2 diced celery stalks
1 cup cooked lentil/mung bean mix - see December 2012, Lentil Mung Bean (LMB) Perfect Combo
2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tbs olive oil

Mix together, add to cooked kamut or any whole grain spaghetti noodle and that's it! Warm it all up in a skillet.

Love Grasshopper

Lentil Mung Bean (LMB) Perfect Combo

       Lentil Mung Bean (LMB) Combo (for Natasha)

        Finally, it's here! It took many years of kitchen experiments to create the perfect cooked brown or french lentil, like how they come out of a can, a tender, whole legume. Seeing them oh so perfect in commercial salad bars, or gourmet vegetarian wedding entrees, always intrigued grasshopper (even red ones), and led to relentless cooking trials. Lentils and mung beans can be the most finnicky legumes to remain whole, yet thoroughly cooked. Mmmm! For this recipe, Grasshopper relinquishes the red lentil to dissolve in a soup pot, and focuses on the wonderful texture variety of cooked larger lentils and mung beans.
     The secret is this, it is in the over-night pre-soaking (8-12 hours) and slow, absolute attentive!! (yes, don't leave it) cooking for about 10-30 minutes, depending on how long you soaked them, how old the legume is, your heat of your stove's lowest temperature, and the size of the lentil. French lentils cook faster than brown and older ones take longer than a new crop. Any rapid boiling or overcooking causes the skins to fall off, then using them mashed in a recipe is the best option. 24 hour soaking will also cause lentils to lose their skins as well....more mush, and an unsettled feeling that many nutrients have dissolved in the cooking water instead of your mouth.
    Being the one at the work lunchroom table who's eating  lentil soup with skins floating around, and gets asked, "What is that black stuff you're eating?" Coined as 'mental lentils' by grasshopper's favourite child taste testers, the taste was good, but the texture was always black chewy skins masked in a mushy sauce, yuk, all for the sake of a cheap protein source.Years of disastrous attempts at getting them to look palatable have failed, up to now. No more floating skins and mushed out insides.
     yes, yes, you've been told that lentils don't need soaking, but this is the perfect lentil now. Sprouting a life force again enhances food value and increases digestibility. Please soak overnight, and discard the soaking water, hopefully onto your thirsty house plants, to reduce the effect on the body of the nasty enzyme prohibitors- phytic acid and oligosaccharides. Here are two links to more information on the benefits of soaking for full absorption of minerals. http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/cooking-with-sprouts-zmaz93amztak.aspx or http://nourishedkitchen.com/soaking-grains-nuts-legumes/
    With this two legume mix, grasshopper delights in the varied colour texture and fabulous protein boost these little bites offer to all kinds of recipes. Whole black french lentils are sublime and grasshopper's favourite, or brown lentils mashed in fillings are magically inspiring. This LMB combo tastes great out of the pot with nothing added to them, but they can be mashed, or partially mashed to allow many options as a protein base for casseroles, salads, skillet dinners, soups,  fillings, dips and dahls, so make a big pot and freeze portions for later use in a variety of recipes.

Cooking Method  (can be used for any legume)
   
      Start with any amount of dried french black lentils (or brown) and mung beans in a large saucepan and cover with water (about 2-3 times the volume of the dried legumes), in a large pot to soak overnight, about 8-12  hours. 1cup of each is a good start. Make sure they remain ALL covered with water. Drain and discard soaking water. Cover legumes with fresh water, rinse thoroughly and drain. *Cover legumes again with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until froth appears floating on the top. Drain off all of this off, change the cooking water once again. Repeat from * until there is no longer any froth or black dirt at the water line.
     Now you are ready to cook these little morsels, and they won't take long, up to 10-20 minutes! 
    Optional: To the final cooking water, seasoning with bay leaves, sprigs of sage, fennel seed, or ginger root helps ease gas even further, and makes the house smell wonderful, and legumes taste sweetly gourmet.
   Bring water to a boil and immediately turn down to a very slow simmer. Grasshopper reminds us of the importance of a keen watchful eye and testing for softness with gentle cooking. Do not overcook or use high temperatures, you'll have mush and floating skins! Test for softness every few minutes. If the skins start to break open, quickly lower the temperature. Remove from heat when soft and just right. Drain. Remove bay leaves if used. 
     Enjoy hot or cold as a side dish, or use in your favourite recipe.
More recipes to come.

Love Grasshopper

Yesterday's Oatmeal and Rapini Pie-Something from Nothing

       Yesterday's pot of leftover cooked oatmeal becomes the crust of this simple to make, easy to brownbag vegan pie. Vegans generally have 'let go' of the flaky perfect pie crusts of the Betty Crocker kitchen, and opt for an oil-based high protein crust. Grasshopper's love of buckwheat, calcium-rich and gluten-free, added to pre-cooked oatmeal in a fortified vegan milk of choice creates an easy high protein nutty base. Whole toasted buckwheat and can be ground on a fine grind in the blender to make a flour. Getting hungry now, and imagining the endless possibilies here with nut butters, tahini or inexpensive ground nut or seed additions...  sunflower or hemp seeds, peanut, Mmmmm,......
     You decide how to 'stiff up' the cooked oatmeal with oil and dry ingredients. Use tahini or nut butters for their oils, or grind a dry mix of seeds. Plain and simply, grasshopper uses the oil:dry ratio of 1:3 for a crunchy crust.  Decide: what's available in my kitchen, AND how much of this ingredient do I want for taste pleasure and protein.  Just count the servings you are creating. Experiment! It'll never taste the same again!
                                                                                                                  
   Yesterday's Oatmeal and Rapini Pie
       1c yesterday's cooked oatmeal    
      1/3-1/2 c of dry mix combo: buckwheat flour, ground nut or seed ..sunflower, hemp or sesame
      3tbs or more olive oil or tahini or nut butter
      dash salt
  one large bunch rapini, cleaned, washed and chopped
  2 garlic cloves crushed
  1 tsp olive oil
  dash salt

Mix enough dry ingredients/oil with oatmeal until you have a workable dough. Oil a pie plate as well as your fingers, then shape dough along the edges of the plate. Pre-bake at 350* for 10 minutes or until slightly brown. Meanwhile, oil a large covered skillet, add garlic and slowly simmer for 2 minutes. Add chopped rapini, cover, steam, and 'stir down' for 10 -12 minutes, or until soft and creamy. 
   Spread on prebaked crust.  Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Enjoy hot or cold.
Love Grasshopper

Ginger Adzuki Bean Spread

  Ah, the comfort of ginger... taste sublime, and digestive heaven for our organs. Grasshopper simply loves adzuki beans for their ease in digestibility, size and colour, and ease in cooking. Use pre-cooked beans or soak dry beans the night before, drain old water and use new water, then cook gently for 30-60 min over med-low heat. This spread/dip was a delightful surprise accident in the kitchen, as spinach curry was the start, then came the adzucs. Any bean will do!! Any soft veg will do! Consistency and flavour are the true essentials to this taste experience, so use organic whenever possible. Use this great spread on your favourite whole grain cracker, chip, chapati, taco, tortilla etc. for a complete protein.

Ginger Adzuki Bean Spread
   1 c pre-cooked drained adzuki beans
   1c washed drained spinach
   2 tbs olive oil
   2 tbs  fresh ginger slivered lengthwise
   2 garlic cloves, slivered lengthwise
   1 1/2 tsp garam masala
   7 whole cloves
   salt to taste
    juice of 1 lemon
    3 tsp coconut oil
      In a large covered skillet heat oil on low with garlic, ginger, garam masala, salt and cloves. Simmer slowly until flavours have 'softened', about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice, stir, then slowly simmer for 2 more minutes. Remove whole cloves, add cooked adzukis, and simmer for one minute. Maintaining a low, covered skillet will retain moisture in this recipe.
  Place spinach on top of this mixture, then cover to steam on low for one minute. Turn off heat.
  Melt 3 tsp of coconut oil onto spinach. Slightly mash with a potato masher. Spread warm or cold onto your favourite bread, cracker etc. Add a bit of water if mixture gets too dry.
Love Grasshopper