Marinated Shiso
I brought my pot of shiso indoors before the first below freezing temperatures to see if I could extend the growing season for just a bit. I had transplanted a few of each variety that had self sowed in my garden into a pot for …
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Pumpkin Spice Muffins
And the race to use up the pumpkin spiced puree is on. I thought, what’s the easiest way to use it up? Pumpkin pie has been done to death and quite honestly, it’s gotten to the point where I can’t tell the difference between that …
Negi Tekka Don (Scallion and Tuna Tartare Bowl)
I always have Ahi tuna steaks in the deep freezer, for those days I just want sashimi/sushi but don’t have the desire to go out and buy it. The first time I saw the packages in Aldi, I did a double take and knew I had to get it, especially since the individually wrapped portions were just right, the meat looked good, and best of all, it was a great price! (Costco also has them but I haven’t done the weight/cost comparison yet.)
Tuna and scallions are a match made in heaven, from negitoro (scallion and fatty tuna) to tataki, it’s a refreshingly simple combination!
Make sure you choose tuna that has been deep frozen (saltwater parasites cannot survive freezing) and that is rated to be eaten raw/rare, as Ahi tuna is. This recipe uses a shortcut to chop the tuna into small pieces–if you guessed food processor, you’d be right!
Ingredients
- 1 Frozen Ahi Tuna Steak
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion chives/scallion
- 1.5 cups hot cooked white sushi rice
- 2 tablespoons sushi vinegar (or rice wine vinegar with salt and sugar to taste)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- Wasabi to taste
- Benishoga (pickled ginger) for garnish
1. Let the package of frozen Ahi tuna sit in cold water until it has defrosted slightly–about 7-10 minutes. Chop into cubes with a sharp knife and place in the food processor–pulse until it has reached your desired consistency (I prefer it very smooth, some people like it with pieces). Alternatively, if you feel up to it, you can hand mince the tuna instead. The hot rice will defrost the rest, and this ensures the tuna is as fresh as possible when you take that first bite.
2. Scoop the hot white rice into a bowl and add sushi vinegar. If you don’t have sushi vinegar, rice wine vinegar with a pinch of salt and sugar will work too. Place tuna tartare over the hot rice.
3. Garnish with scallions, pickled ginger. Mix soy sauce and wasabi and drizzle over the whole bowl. Once the tartare has fully defrosted, enjoy! Alternatively, I sometimes enjoy it still slightly frozen–the change in texture and temperature, changing from firm to melt in my mouth is a fun gastric adventure.
You can actually use any sashimi grade fish for this particular meal. Or even several!
No Churn Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
Remember when I made the spiced pumpkin spread? Well, what I didn’t tell you was that I ended up making a huge batch of it–about half a gallon to be exact. Who knew one pumpkin could produce so much? Anyway, it’s been a race to …
Super Rich Garlic Miso Ramen With Marinated Eggs And Melty Pork Char Siu
I knew it was going to be a cold day when I woke up this morning and I was buried under blankets I didn’t want to come out of. When I stuck my toe out to test the air, I could tell that my wood …
Simple Mint Chickpea Salad
This recipe is always a hit as a side dish during any event or party–it’s tasty in its fresh simplicity. It uses copious amounts of mint (spearmint or peppermint), which is just as well because they can get invasive if not controlled. I usually make this as part of a mezze platter with cheese and cured meats, but my husband likes it often just by itself as a high protein, vegetarian meal. I use canned chickpeas, and you can add other herbs to it as well.
IngredientsÂ
- 1 can chickpea/garbanzo beans, drained
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 handful fresh peppermint or spearmint, chopped (roughly half to a cup)
- Salt and pepper to taste
1. Wash fresh mint and chop. Rough or fine is up to you.
2. Combine mint, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix and allow to sit for 5 minutes while you open and drain the beans.
3. Combine garbanzo beans/chickpeas with the mint mixture, toss to coat, and either serve immediately or chill. Mint may discolor if left for too long but it is still delicious.
Home Made Spiced Pumpkin Spread
We carved up the pumpkins today just in time for Halloween, and that meant a lot of pumpkin innards. I don’t really like throwing away perfectly edible ingredients and I just so happened to have seen a recipe for pumpkin spice. Now, I’m not big …
Honey Roasted Brussel Sprouts
My husband likes bacon, I don’t, but sometimes he’ll buy a pack and beg me to make it for him. I’ll put bacon slices in the roasting pan and crisp it up that way (nice and even), and while he munches on his favorite cured …
Krazy Kale
As the cold weather sets in, the cool weather crops come out. Once the weather began dropping into the 40’s during the night, I cleared my annual bed and began to prepare it for the fall crops. One of the things I often grow (but don’t always eat unless I remember) is kale (Brassica oleracea). This scientific plant name includes cabbages, collards, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts, and kale is considered a leaf cabbage cultivar.
It is grown as a cool weather crop because of two reasons: It is tolerant of cold temperatures that would otherwise kill other leafy vegetables (surviving down to -10 degrees Fahrenheit), and because it can’t tolerate the heat. Many brassica vegetables are biennial (often grown as annuals), which means they will die in their second year after flowering and producing seed. The heat makes them bolt and the plants stop producing leafy greens and instead produce spindly growths for flowering. Hot weather also makes them bitter and tough. Kale that has gone through a frost are said to be particularly sweet.
They like their soil fertile, slightly acidic (pH between 5.5 and 6.8), and well drained, in full sun. The autumn sun shouldn’t bother it nor give it too much heat, but during hot months, should you grow them, they’ll need some shade and protection.
It is otherwise low maintenance, and provides nutritious dark greens throughout most of the winter months where I’m located. While it can easily survive the low temperatures of Long Island, where it seldom gets before 20 degrees Fahrenheit, growth slows during extended periods of cold which picks up again once spring arrives.
I keep it in the ground until early May, when it gets switched out with the other heat loving annuals like tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.
When I collect it, I don’t collect the leaves from the outer areas of each plant, leaving the inner, terminal bud alone so it continues to produce.
Hearty Garden Bean Soup
As we start getting into the thick of Autumn, the weather’s starting to get colder and the garden is drawing to a close. I had a box of macaroni in the pantry that I haven’t used and it was taking up some space, so I …