This is very tasty. A lot of my friends said it looked gross or sounded too weird to eat, but it was exactly what we needed. AND it is delicious! MMMMM.....
For a 2-quart pot, you'll need:
1/2 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
1 cup glutinous rice
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 15-oz can coconut milk
Optional: Crushed peanuts for serving.
Soak 1/2 cup dried black-eyed peas overnight. Or if you're in a hurry, you can use canned beans,
just make sure they're unsalted.
Rinse beans and add to pot with 2 cups of water. Turn heat to high and when it boils, turn the
heat down to medium-low to simmer for about half an hour for the beans to soften. Obviously,
you can skip this step if using canned beans since they'd already be soft. Add 1/2 cup sugar,
1 can of coconut milk, and 1 cup uncooked glutinous rice and let simmer for another half hour to
cook the rice until soft. I like my rice to be the consistency of rice porridge. Taste and add more
sugar if you've got a sweeter tooth than mine.
Serve warm or cold. Add a sprinkle of crushed peanuts on top if you wish.
Enjoy!
GK's notes: Obviously we skipped the peanuts, but I bet they would be good. *sigh*
I added probably 1/8 c more sugar than she calls for, but that's obviously optional! In addition, I used brown rice, because A: I like it and B: it's healthier. Dh wants me to try the sticky rice, so next time I will. I'm sure it will be good, too. =) It took much longer for my beans to get done, like an hour and a half, but they had been left out of the water for a whilebetween soaking and cooking, and may have dried back up some. Soak those beans really well, folks!
11/18/2009
burmese style tofu
This is very exciting. I love tofu, in all its glorious splendor, but my darling son is allergic to soy. I discovered garbanzo bean based miso, which is wonderful, but I never dared to dream there might be such a thing as soy-free tofu. Who knew? My nephew's wife sent me a recipe, which is not the one I'm sharing here. This one seems to be a bit more nutritious, which is always my goal. I don't like eating stuff that's supposed to be real food that has little nutritional value (but I have no problem eating junk food. I am human, after all). So after niece-in-law's email, I got curious and went a-lookin'. I haven't tried this recipe yet (I found it at netcooks), but you can rest assured I will very, very soon, and I will get back to you, dear imaginary reader.
By the way, I am eternally indebted to my wonderful niece-in-law. I don't know how she found out about this, but I'm shoutin' it from the mountain top: THANK YOU!!!
3 cups Chick-pea flour(Pare Hmont)(Garam Dhal Powder)
15 cups water
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. ground tumeric (yellow powder)
1 tsp. salt
Mix the chick-pea flour and water together with a whisk or eggbeater. Let stand overnight, about 12 hours.
Next day, strain the mixture through a thin cotton cloth slowly. Scrape out the residue from the cloth and discard it. Let the balance of the liquid settle for 3 hours.
With a soup ladle, carefully remove 6 cups of liquid from the top of the mixture without disturbing the balance. Discard the 6 cups liquid you have removed.
Rub the bottom of a large pan with the oil. Pour in almost all of the balance of the liquid (9 cups) and add the turmeric and salt. What remains in the original pan is thick chick-pea sludge, about a cup. This should be reserved in a bowl for future use.
Bring to a boil the 9 cups of liquid and cook over moderate heat for 30 minutes, stirring continuously. At this time, add the chick-pea sludge, which is a thickening agent, and continue to cook over low heat for 10 minutes more, stirring the thick mixture firmly. Remove the pan from heat.
Turn out the mixture into a tray 12x4 inches and 3 inches deep, lined with a clean, cotton cloth. Cool completely, uncovered, overnight. At this stage, you may slice the firm tofu into pieces of whatever size you wish. It is ready to use.
To make a salad- A few pieces of tofu, some shredded cabbage, onion slices, crispy onions, and the oil, fish sauce, tamarind paste, toasted chick-pea powder ad mix everything together. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top.
To fry- Cut the tofu into 2 inch square pieces 2/3 inch thick and deep fry them in oil for a few seconds.
By the way, I am eternally indebted to my wonderful niece-in-law. I don't know how she found out about this, but I'm shoutin' it from the mountain top: THANK YOU!!!
3 cups Chick-pea flour(Pare Hmont)(Garam Dhal Powder)
15 cups water
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. ground tumeric (yellow powder)
1 tsp. salt
Mix the chick-pea flour and water together with a whisk or eggbeater. Let stand overnight, about 12 hours.
Next day, strain the mixture through a thin cotton cloth slowly. Scrape out the residue from the cloth and discard it. Let the balance of the liquid settle for 3 hours.
With a soup ladle, carefully remove 6 cups of liquid from the top of the mixture without disturbing the balance. Discard the 6 cups liquid you have removed.
Rub the bottom of a large pan with the oil. Pour in almost all of the balance of the liquid (9 cups) and add the turmeric and salt. What remains in the original pan is thick chick-pea sludge, about a cup. This should be reserved in a bowl for future use.
Bring to a boil the 9 cups of liquid and cook over moderate heat for 30 minutes, stirring continuously. At this time, add the chick-pea sludge, which is a thickening agent, and continue to cook over low heat for 10 minutes more, stirring the thick mixture firmly. Remove the pan from heat.
Turn out the mixture into a tray 12x4 inches and 3 inches deep, lined with a clean, cotton cloth. Cool completely, uncovered, overnight. At this stage, you may slice the firm tofu into pieces of whatever size you wish. It is ready to use.
To make a salad- A few pieces of tofu, some shredded cabbage, onion slices, crispy onions, and the oil, fish sauce, tamarind paste, toasted chick-pea powder ad mix everything together. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top.
To fry- Cut the tofu into 2 inch square pieces 2/3 inch thick and deep fry them in oil for a few seconds.
11/13/2009
lentils and couscous
The original recipe is from The Meatless Gourmet, by Bobbie Hinman. I altered it some, of course. Here's the original, followed by my changes.
1 c lentils, uncooked
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/16 tsp gr. cinnamon
1 bay leaf
3 c water
2 tsp veg oil
2 c onion, cut vertically into very thin slivers
1 c water
1/2 c couscous
Place the lentils in a medium saucepan. Add garlic, spices and 3 c water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
While lentils are cooking, bring the 1 c water to a boil in a small saucepan. REmove from heat, stir in couscous, cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until onion is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. (Crisp, very brown onions are one of the secrets to the flavor of this dish, but be careful not to let them burn)
Add lentils to skillet and mix well. Remove and discard bay leaf.
Serve lentils over couscous.
GK's notes: I sweated the garlic and cumin before I added the broth and lentils. I couldn't stand the thought of just plopping raw garlic into the broth.
Because I used store bought, prepared rice couscous that had a flavor (Lundburg brand Roasted Brown Rice couscous--Mediterranean Curry flavor), I dropped the cinnamon, because I thought those flavors would clash (I've tried cinnamon and curry together before. It was gross.)
Instead of plain water, I used broth for extra depth of flavor. I used beef broth in the lentils and vegetable broth for the couscous.
I didn't have enough onion to make up quite 2 cups, but they MADE this dish. Next time, I will probably go for at least 2.5 cups, because they were really, really nice. But we adore onions, so take that into consideration. =)
Also, we are huge garlic fans, so I usually don't bother measuring the garlic--I just plop a generous amount in (I don't use fresh, I use the minced stuff from the produce department.) that is at least what they ask for.
Also, I added a 1 lb bag of frozen carrots to the lentils at the beginning of the cook time. The carrots and the onions added a lovely, sweet counterpoint to the savoriness of the beans and couscous.
This turned out SO GOOD. It's been a long time since my husband and I have waxed poetic over a new recipe, but this one took the cake. Mmmmmm......and it is so surprisingly not complex--not precisely simple...just not particularly sophisticated, for as rich and delicious as it turned out.
1 c lentils, uncooked
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/16 tsp gr. cinnamon
1 bay leaf
3 c water
2 tsp veg oil
2 c onion, cut vertically into very thin slivers
1 c water
1/2 c couscous
Place the lentils in a medium saucepan. Add garlic, spices and 3 c water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 40 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
While lentils are cooking, bring the 1 c water to a boil in a small saucepan. REmove from heat, stir in couscous, cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until onion is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. (Crisp, very brown onions are one of the secrets to the flavor of this dish, but be careful not to let them burn)
Add lentils to skillet and mix well. Remove and discard bay leaf.
Serve lentils over couscous.
GK's notes: I sweated the garlic and cumin before I added the broth and lentils. I couldn't stand the thought of just plopping raw garlic into the broth.
Because I used store bought, prepared rice couscous that had a flavor (Lundburg brand Roasted Brown Rice couscous--Mediterranean Curry flavor), I dropped the cinnamon, because I thought those flavors would clash (I've tried cinnamon and curry together before. It was gross.)
Instead of plain water, I used broth for extra depth of flavor. I used beef broth in the lentils and vegetable broth for the couscous.
I didn't have enough onion to make up quite 2 cups, but they MADE this dish. Next time, I will probably go for at least 2.5 cups, because they were really, really nice. But we adore onions, so take that into consideration. =)
Also, we are huge garlic fans, so I usually don't bother measuring the garlic--I just plop a generous amount in (I don't use fresh, I use the minced stuff from the produce department.) that is at least what they ask for.
Also, I added a 1 lb bag of frozen carrots to the lentils at the beginning of the cook time. The carrots and the onions added a lovely, sweet counterpoint to the savoriness of the beans and couscous.
This turned out SO GOOD. It's been a long time since my husband and I have waxed poetic over a new recipe, but this one took the cake. Mmmmmm......and it is so surprisingly not complex--not precisely simple...just not particularly sophisticated, for as rich and delicious as it turned out.
11/04/2009
Breakfast delight
This is not my recipe, but I don't remember whose it is! I've had it kicking around my recipe file for ages, and finally got around to making it. I liked it fine--it didn't upset my stomach, and it was satisfying. I think I'm not a big fruit in my cereal person, so the flavor wasn't quite what I would have chosen. I might have to tinker. The boy didn't care for it at all. I had to coerce him to eat two bites, and then I let him make himself a bowl of instant grits (with supervision). Anyway, in case anyone is reading the blog, and might find it up their alley, here 'tis.
Crock Pot Breakfast Delight
1 cup grain (brown rice -OR- millet -OR- quinoa.)
3 cups water
1/2 cup dried fruit, diced (apricots, apples, raisins, or dates.)
1/8 cup unsweetened coconut
dash of cinnamon
Place all ingredients in the crockpot the night before. Set on "low". Cereal
will be delightfully ready in the morning!
GK's notes:
It really does need to cook in the crock for at least 8 hours. I didn't quite let it, and had to transfer it to the stove to finish it up for breakfast. I think it was the quinoa that was so persnickity. I did about half and half millet and quinoa. I also used dried blueberries. They plumped right up, almost like fresh blueberries, so that was kind of cool. I made a mistake and used big flake coconut. Use finely shredded; you'll thank me! (Unless you like big chunks of coconut. If that's the case, go crazy!) Also, I sweetened mine with some honey and maple syrup. I think brown sugar would have been better than honey, but hey. =)
Crock Pot Breakfast Delight
1 cup grain (brown rice -OR- millet -OR- quinoa.)
3 cups water
1/2 cup dried fruit, diced (apricots, apples, raisins, or dates.)
1/8 cup unsweetened coconut
dash of cinnamon
Place all ingredients in the crockpot the night before. Set on "low". Cereal
will be delightfully ready in the morning!
GK's notes:
It really does need to cook in the crock for at least 8 hours. I didn't quite let it, and had to transfer it to the stove to finish it up for breakfast. I think it was the quinoa that was so persnickity. I did about half and half millet and quinoa. I also used dried blueberries. They plumped right up, almost like fresh blueberries, so that was kind of cool. I made a mistake and used big flake coconut. Use finely shredded; you'll thank me! (Unless you like big chunks of coconut. If that's the case, go crazy!) Also, I sweetened mine with some honey and maple syrup. I think brown sugar would have been better than honey, but hey. =)
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