Best Chickpea Salad Ever

I came across this salad recipe in a Cuisine magazine & just loved the sound & look of it so I thought I'd better have a go- thank goodness I did! It's absolutely delicious.

I'm telling it my version, however.

2 cans chickpeas- drained.

The liquid can be used for making a great mayonnaise if you feel so inclined.

Put the chickpeas in to a frypan with a little olive oil & sprinkle with sumac & sea salt & cook on a medium heat until they are starting to colour & taste delicious.

Transfer the chickpeas in to a bowl to cool & then add

Finely chopped coriander, to your taste- loads or a little.

1/2 c coconut chips lightly toasted (in the same pan)

1/2 cup broken or chopped cashews lightly toasted.

Then, either some chopped spring onion, or finely chopped red onion.

You can pour a little rice vinegar over the onion while you're preparing everything else to help soften the raw onion thing- tip off the vinegar again.

6 or so Medjool (type)dates- de-stoned & chopped. 

Dressing

4 tbsps olive oil

2 tbsp tamarind puree- either ready made or soak the caked tamarind version in water to soften, then push through a sieve.

2tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp lime juice

2 cloves of garlic or onion weed bulbs crushed

1/2 tsp fennel seeds lightly toasted & crushed- mortar & pestle or a spice grinder.

A pinch of chilli flakes

Shake altogether in a jar & pour over the salad mixture.

We sprinkled the salad with fresh flax seeds. New year is just the right time to collect them.

 The dark sausagey pods are best.

Here's the original salad that included crushed poppadoms.

 It was the most delicious dinner we've had in ages!

No substitutes on this one- lime juice & maple syrup are essential to the flavours. 

As is toasting the fennel seeds & then crushing them.

You can find the Kawakawa salad recipe just here.

And the Aquafaba mayonnaise just here.

Well, you will find those recipes soon when I've written them up.

Katie X

Beetroot Dip

We love beetroot & cook it often.
Bayfresh at our local Farmers' Market grow fabulous beetroot, as does Epicurean & Gay & Robert, when they're not too busy growing plants.
There are so many gorgeous colours now too.
It's marvellous used cold from the fridge or grated & mixed with a simple dressing & kept in the fridge for the week.
Sometimes, I roast beetroot, other times just simmer them until tender- slip off the skins & they're all ready to use. This delicious dip is so simple to make, ever so colourful & goes with almost everything.

 Aren't choggia fascinating!

Whatever your preference- good old red beets or others.
Soak a cup of raw cashew pieces in water for an hour (or overnight if you've thought ahead)
Cook around 350 grams of beetroot until tender.
Drain the cashews thoroughly & slip the skins off the beets.
Place them both in to a bowl together- cut the beet up a bit.
Add 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar, or lemon juice or white balsamic vinegar- whichever you have one hand, or takes your fancy.
1/2 tsp sea salt & loads of freshly ground black pepper.
1/2 tsp cumin seeds ground in a mortar & pestle or spice grinder next then, if you like, add a 1/2 tsp honey.
Last thing- add 2 tbsp melted/softened coconut oil.
Add crushed garlic if it appeals. As soon as I find some onion weed "onions" I'll use a couple of those in the next lot.
Blend together with a stick blender or in a food processor.

Here are a few alternatives: instead of cashews use a cup of lightly toasted walnuts. Wild onion bulbs work as an excellent alternative to garlic- perhaps 6 or 7 bulbs would be great. Roll them with the flat of your hand on a hard surface & the papery skins come off, then process with the nuts. Olive oil is a good alternative to coconut oil you'll just get a different texture depending on which nuts are used & which oils. A little soy/tamari sauce in to the red beetroot dip is also nice. 

 The top version was made with red beets, yellow version was made with orange ones & the bottom bright pink lot was made with an equal mixture of the two.

 All three together.

 Delicious for a picnic.

 Amazing with other summer salads.

And I was just thinking that it would be brilliant added in as a layer in these delicious salad, summer beetroot wraps.

And one more inspiration-

Basic recipe- from Ruth Pretty passed on from my best cooking friend & inspiration Suzanne.

Katie X

Seed Crackers

 These seedy crackers are so easy to make, stay crunchy for ages & are super munchy & satisfying.
They are a Ruth Pretty recipe, but in my usual manner (which is probably quite rude of me!) I have made some slight adjustments & an alternative version.
Firstly turn on the oven to 180 degrees C
Then put theses ingredients in to a bowl together:
1/2 c sunflower seeds,
1/4 c linseeds brown or golden
1/4 c sesame seeds white or black
2 tbsps chia seeds white or black
1 tsp sea salt & a good few grinds of black pepper.
Add 1 c of white rice flour, 1/2 c water & 1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
The last addition is either a tsp of garlic powder (which I didn't add) or my preference, a tsp of finely chopped rosemary & a tsp of black cumin seeds.
Mix altogether. I like to use my hands to knead it all so it holds together.
Then press it out on to a baking paper lined oven tray as thin as possible/reasonable.
You can either mark the dough into rectangles or just break it all up once cooked.
Bake for around 15- 20 minutes but keep an eye on things towards the end so that they don't over cook, but do go nice & golden.
Once cool, store in an airtight container.

 The second version is lighter & crisper & has no flour in the mix. So instead of adding the cup of white rice flour add 1/2 cup of psyllium husks (organic shop) & 1/2 cup of ground almonds.
Once mixed just let the dough sit for 10 minutes so that the psyllium can do it's work & soak up the liquid & hold everything together- then press out on to the baking paper lined tray.

 The original version is at the front of the photo.

The third rendition 8th January 2023

You can make them as simple or as interesting as you like. I added: white & black sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, some dried onion weed, tiny Rosy garlic bulbs, coriander & black cumin from the garden, flax seeds, linseed, nettle seeds, yellow dock seeds, plantain seeds, sea salt & ground black pepper, water, olive oil, psyllium husks, buckwheat semolina & a little tapioca flour.

NZ flax seed- Harakeke, Phormium Tenax- ready at this time of the year.

Katie X

Elephant Milk!

Last Christmas, there was an unexpected stall at our Farmers' market run by some parents from Napier Central School. They were selling a book called Neighbourhood Eats. It was so beautifully presented & entirely made by the parents & PTA as a fundraiser. It's a gorgeous book, so we bought a copy. We love to support local endeavours. So.. this Christmas we decided to make the Elephant Milk, from the desserts section.

The recipe was provided by Cameron Huckle- a family favourite from Granny in Zimbabwe.

 Elephant milk has in fact been known to me for quite some time. Only, 40 years ago we called it Lemon Crunch Pie. You can find that recipe just here. One of the easiest dessert recipes ever & almost certainly universally loved. The only difference between Lemon Crunch Pie & Elephant milk is two egg whites & a tweek on the method- so just go with whatever works best for you.

Simply pour a can of sweetened condensed milk in to a bowl, add 300mls of cream, half a cup of lemon juice (preferably a Lisbon type- better flavour & setting effect) & the finely grated zest of the lemon. You can skip the zest if you prefer.

Beat altogether until thick, like whipped cream.

Beat the two egg whites to soft peaks & then fold those through the lemony mixture.

 Now pour in to bowls, tea cups or a large bowl  if you prefer & pop in to the fridge to set, or freeze for a couple of hours or overnight to make ice-cream, or pour over a biscuit base & there you have Lemon Crunch Pie- the easiest cheesecake you will ever make. The mixture can also be layered with crushed biscuits, nuts & custard.

 Since I made this at Christmas I have served this ice-cream with lychees, fresh shredded coconut (that I recently discovered in the freezer at the local Asian shop) White Soul strawberries, a ripe Kawa kawa fruit pulled off the stem & finally a drizzle of Linden honey.

 It tastes absolutely amazing together! But as Felicia was want to say- "If you like that sort of thing!"

 These Linden flowers are from a Silver Linden tree & we found them flowering on Christmas day. Their scent is like nothing else on earth- heady Linden plus deep jasmine notes- steeped in a light honey (I used Tawari) for a day or so & you have a truly magical elixir.

So...either keep it simple, or let your imagination run wild. I did!

Katie X

Delicious Raw Ginger Slice

I came across a recipe months ago just here for a raw ginger slice. I finally got around to making it today- my way. I'm not in to "plant based" or vegan diets so I have reinvented the recipe for myself & it is so delicious!

My amounts are pretty approximate as I was making it up as I went along.

Make to taste & according to what you have a available & your own needs & preferences.

I really like this simple base that's blended altogether in a food processor:

1/2c walnuts, 1/2c raw cashew pieces & around 8 large soft, stoned dates.

Add a few pieces of glace or crystallised ginger.

Blitz in together until it's nice & fine & blended.

Add a tbsp of melted coconut oil & pulse to mix.

Press in to container- couldn't think what to use & then I found this pie dish.

I've used some natural waxed paper underneath.

Pop the base in to the fridge.

Topping:

1 cup of broken raw cashews soaked in unchlorinated water for 4 hours, or overnight. 

Drain- & put in to the food processor with

10- or so stoned dates, 1 large tbsp of honey, a squeeze of lemon juice, a tsp of true vanilla essence, 1/2 tsp of good salt, 3 good tsps ginger powder.

Blend until smooth.

Add 1/2 cup of coconut cream or milk & 1/2 cup of a mix of melted butter & coconut oil.

Blend some more.

Taste & adjust the balance to suit.

Pour over the base & pop in to the fridge until set.

Keeps well in the fridge.

Glorious Sweet Violet Jelly & Cheesecake

It may seem a bit odd- a whole lot of pictures of flowers in a food blog, but truly it is not. I've come to believe that the presence of violets in the landscape redeems winter beautifully, not to mention that they are the loveliest of medicines. I have posted here about making violet honey syrup- a resource we would now never be without. We have both been irritated by the abundant drenching of the whole province with pine pollen over the last month & heavily relied on the violet honey syrup to get us through the night. It is amazing for soothing a cough- instantly! 

There are several places that we know we can gather wild violets locally: Ellis Wallace road, Keirunga valley- under the oaks & at the top of the Karituwhenua walkway off Te Mata road in Havelock North 

 If you are picking for making violet syrup it's quicker to pull the flowers rather making a bunch of them.

 Every part of the gathering process is a joy- the heady fragrance,

 the visit to the land & the blessing that the plants offer as we gather them with so much respect & gratitude.

And of course, you may find other treasures along the way.

 Violets come in so many pretty hues- all are valuable.

 As long as you have a good proportion of purple the colour comes out much the same.

The syrup, once made, is best stored in small jars in the freezer, but since Rob still had a particularly niggly cough I thought that little jellies might be useful. Useful- they are amazing! 

 I simply set the syrup with a good amount of gelatine. Left uncovered in a little dish in the fridge it lasts for ages or until it disappears!

 After making the violet jelly I wondered what a little cheesecake might be like.
I decided to use a simple base of soft dates & nuts- a mix of flaked almonds, cashews & home shelled walnuts. Didn't take long to come together in my little food processor. I used quite a few dates so I didn't need to add any other sweetening. I added the juice of half a lemon & a tbsp of melted coconut oil & it set to a lovely texture.

 I used a 400ml jar of Raglan blackcurrant & vanilla coconut yoghurt as the middle layer, set with a large dsp of gelatine dissolved in a little juice or water. It's a good idea to mix in some yoghurt  to the gelatine before adding to the rest. Mine started to set too quickly in the cold yoghurt.

The violet honey syrup was also set with a lovely organic gelatine in the same way.

The flavours are just delicious together.

It's amazing how many edible winter flowers that there are- violets, grape hyacinths, forget-me-nots, jasmine & sweet alyssum look lovely with the violet cheesecake.

The other winter flower that is just delicious & works nicely with violets & lemon (or lime) to make an amazing natural fizzy drink is magnolia. You can find how to make Fee just here. 

Love Katie xx