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Jumat, 03 September 2010

Announcing - My Legume Love Affair 27

Hello, everyone! It's my great pleasure to announce that MLLA 27 is being hosted here by me on The Well-Seasoned Cook. I'd like to follow the traditional of thanking the creator for allowing me the opportunity of hosting this long-running and popular event, but that would be just plain silly, so I will thank you instead. Without your great recipes, generosity, and work (yes, blogging is work, no matter how much fun), MLLA would not be enjoying the great success that it has since I launched the event back in February 2008.

So, with gratitude for, and in honor of, all the fine cooks who enjoy MLLA, I am tweaking the monthly prizes/random drawing structure to make your time here just a little more appetizing:

* NEW: Pick-Your-Own Prize - Choose any food-related book from Amazon U.S. with a value of up to 15USD (not including shipping). I will order the book and ship it worldwide at my expense. (F.T.C. Notice: I do not receive any compensation from Amazon.)

* Hurst Bean Prize - The winner's choice of six (6) Hurst Bean products, suitable for all diets. Hurst Bean sponsors this prize. Due to shipping restrictions, this prize will only be awarded to a U.S. resident. (F.T.C. Notice: I do not receive any routine compensation from Hurst Bean, although I did recently request two products of nominal value which are not available in my local markets. This has been the sole exception.)

* Drawing Structure - As has been the procedure in the past, in the event that the winner of the overall pool is a U.S. resident, that winner will be awarded both the book and Hurst Bean prizes. NEW: In the event that an international winner is drawn, a second drawing will be conducted from the pool of U.S. participants to ensure that every month the Hurst Bean prize will be awarded. The international winner will receive the book, and the U.S. winner will receive the Hurst Bean prize.

To participate, please:

* Post a recipe featuring legumes between now and September 30, linking it to this announcement. Send your post to thewellseasonedcook AT yahoo DOT com with MLLA in the subject line.

* Your choice of recipes is very broad. As much as legumes are most commonly known as fresh or dried beans, peas, lentils and pulses, they are also the sometimes edible pods that contain these seeds. Add to the list alfalfa, fenugreek, peanuts, carob, tamarind, and other members of the Fabaceae or Leguminosae family, as well as derivatives such tofu, and bean flours and noodles, and you'll have a hard time focusing on just one. All courses and cuisines (vegetarian/vegan/non-vegetarian) are welcome, as long as legumes are the dominant ingredient. (Please note: In France, vegetables of all sorts are known as légumes. They are not included in this event.)

* Multiple recipes are permitted (although only one submission will be counted towards the random drawing/s).

* Recipes submitted to other events are also permitted.

* Recipes from archives can be accepted ONLY if updated and reposted as current.

* Recipes from those who are not bloggers are welcome. Please send me your name, location, recipe, and optional photo. I will ensure you are included in the drawing/s and round-up.

* Location of each participant is necessary so that I will know who qualifies to win the Hurst Bean prize, shipped to U.S. residents only. If you don't want your location published in the round-up, please indicate this in your email so that I can maintain your privacy.

* Use of logo is optional.

* Photo is preferred, but not essential, with a width or length dimension of 400 pixels.

* I will post the round-up and winner/s announcement during first week of October.

* My family and personal friends are not eligible to win any prize.

I'm very much looking forward to your recipes. Thanks again for allowing me to dine at your tables.

Announcing - My Legume Love Affair 27

Sabtu, 17 Juli 2010

Peach Oolong Almond Milk Bubble Tea - Weekend Herb Blogging #242

Break out the bubbly, the bubble tea bubbly, I mean. This is my first post in I don't know how long - the early days of July? It's been so hatefully hot and humid that I have rarely been in the kitchen. Neither eating nor cooking have much appeal to me. I know. You will tell me to just suck it up. Well, I have. I sucked several up, actually, from a sweating-cold glass as tall as a skyscraper. Giant tapioca pearls taste like nothing, but chew like nothing else. If you like gummy bears, you will find this refreshing Asian concoction of stunningly sweet, fruity milk tea addictive. And even if you can't ferret out the funky wide straws which make you look like you've just survived the golden ticket tour of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, a long-handled spoon works just fine for excavating every last sticky black marble. Who said bottom feeding is beneath one's dignity?

Peach Oolong Almond Milk Bubble Tea - My own recipe

Makes 2 large glasses, approximately 16 ounces each.

Ingredients

1/2 cup large dried black tapioca pearls*
Water to cook tapioca pearls

Sugar Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water

1 cup very strongly brewed Formosa Oolong tea, chilled
1 cup peach nectar, chilled
1 cup unsweetened almond milk, chilled (You can also use condensed, sweetened milk; if so, you will not need additional sugar.)
Additional castor sugar or sugar syrup to taste
2 cups ice cubes

Method

In a medium-to-large saucepan, heat to boiling enough water to deeply cover tapioca pearls. (As big as they are, they will expand to 2-3 times their original size. Consult the cooking directions on your specific package, which vary by brand. I used one labeled "Ready in 5 Minutes," but it took 3o minutes. Some brands may take longer. As a general rule, the longer it is cooked, the softer the centers will be. Overcooking, however, will turn it into gelatinous mush. These directions are for the brand I used.)

Pour tapioca into boiling water. They will drop to the bottom of saucepan. Stir briefly to prevent sticking. Cover saucepan and boil for exactly 5 minutes. During this time, prepare the sugar syrup by combining sugar and water is a small saucepan, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the sugar is fully dissolved (also 5 minutes). Remove from heat and reserve, keeping it warm.

Return to the tapioca. Turn the heat off and peak inside the saucepan. Tapioca should be floating on the surface. If not, stir gently to dislodge it from the bottom and sides of saucepan. Cover the saucepan again and let the pearls continue to cook in the stored heat of the water for 25 minutes. Do not turn the heat back on. The additional 25 minutes are necessary whether they are floating or need to be lifted.

In meantime, pour all other ingredients and ice into blender or cocktail shaker. Before you agitate, return to the tapoica pearls, draining them in a large mesh strainer. Pour them into the saucepan that holds the warm sugar syrup, insuring they are fully covered with it. If using a blender, its highest speed will grind the ice until fine, smooth, and loose granules form. Divide tapioca into two tall glasses, adding some sugar syrup with each spoonful. Pour the blended mixture on top of tapioca in each glass. Though they will settle in time, the bubbles on top of the drink create a fanciful mantle of foam to suspend the thick straw in. If the foam is too thin, return just the liquid contents to blender, adding another 1/3 cup almond milk before whipping the mixture on the highest setting. Again pour into glasses. Taste for additional sugar. Though bubble tea is traditionally very sweet, you can incrementally add just enough sugar to suit you, either by stirring in small amounts of caster sugar or the sugar syrup that held the tapioca. I find that a generous amount of sugar intensified all the subtle and unique flavors of peach, oolong, and almond milk. Leftovers may be saved in the refrigerator. Since the pearls become hard when cold, they can be scooped into a small saucepan of hot water to restore their softness and elasticity.

* Dried black tapioca pearls are available online or in Chinese and Thai grocers, and can occasionally be found in other Asian retailers. Cassava root, from which this is made, is naturally white. Bubble tea tapioca is often colored for novelty.

Since tapioca is made from cassava, a highly versatile vegetable that much of the world relies on for their daily diet, this is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging #242. I have the pleasure of hosting this week and expect to have the round-up online on Monday, July 19. There is still time for those who are interested in joining. Full details can be found over at Cook Almost Anything at Least Once, the home of Haalo, mistress of WHB. Thanks to Haalo for the offering me another stint as host, and thanks to all who have already sent me your great recipes.

Peach Oolong Almond Milk Bubble Tea - Weekend Herb Blogging #242

Peach Oolong Almond Milk Bubble Tea - My own recipe

Makes 2 large glasses, approximately 16 ounces each.

Ingredients

1/2 cup large dried black tapioca pearls*
Water to cook tapioca pearls

Sugar Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water

1 cup very strongly brewed Formosa Oolong tea, chilled
1 cup peach nectar, chilled
1 cup unsweetened almond milk, chilled (You can also use condensed, sweetened milk; if so, you will not need additional sugar.)
Additional castor sugar or sugar syrup to taste
2 cups ice cubes

Method

In a medium-to-large saucepan, heat to boiling enough water to deeply cover tapioca pearls. (As big as they are, they will expand to 2-3 times their original size. Consult the cooking directions on your specific package, which vary by brand. I used one labeled "Ready in 5 Minutes," but it took 3o minutes. Some brands may take longer. As a general rule, the longer it is cooked, the softer the centers will be. Overcooking, however, will turn it into gelatinous mush. These directions are for the brand I used.)

Pour tapioca into boiling water. They will drop to the bottom of saucepan. Stir briefly to prevent sticking. Cover saucepan and boil for exactly 5 minutes. During this time, prepare the sugar syrup by combining sugar and water is a small saucepan, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the sugar is fully dissolved (also 5 minutes). Remove from heat and reserve, keeping it warm.

Return to the tapioca. Turn the heat off and peak inside the saucepan. Tapioca should be floating on the surface. If not, stir gently to dislodge it from the bottom and sides of saucepan. Cover the saucepan again and let the pearls continue to cook in the stored heat of the water for 25 minutes. Do not turn the heat back on. The additional 25 minutes are necessary whether they are floating or need to be lifted.

In meantime, pour all other ingredients and ice into blender or cocktail shaker. Before you agitate, return to the tapoica pearls, draining them in a large mesh strainer. Pour them into the saucepan that holds the warm sugar syrup, insuring they are fully covered with it. If using a blender, its highest speed will grind the ice until fine, smooth, and loose granules form. Divide tapioca into two tall glasses, adding some sugar syrup with each spoonful. Pour the blended mixture on top of tapioca in each glass. Though they will settle in time, the bubbles on top of the drink create a fanciful mantle of foam to suspend the thick straw in. If the foam is too thin, return just the liquid contents to blender, adding another 1/3 cup almond milk before whipping the mixture on the highest setting. Again pour into glasses. Taste for additional sugar. Though bubble tea is traditionally very sweet, you can incrementally add just enough sugar to suit you, either by stirring in small amounts of caster sugar or the sugar syrup that held the tapioca. I find that a generous amount of sugar intensified all the subtle and unique flavors of peach, oolong, and almond milk. Leftovers may be saved in the refrigerator. Since the pearls become hard when cold, they can be scooped into a small saucepan of hot water to restore their softness and elasticity.

* Dried black tapioca pearls are available online or in Chinese and Thai grocers, and can occasionally be found in other Asian retailers. Cassava root, from which this is made, is naturally white. Bubble tea tapioca is often colored for novelty.

Sabtu, 05 Juni 2010

My Legume Love Affair 23 - The Round-Up - Part 1

So. I asked you to hit me with your best recipes. And you did - all eighty-something of them. I lost count. Your natural talents and hospitality never cease to amaze and impress me. You really humble me. Thanks so much for your contributions.

Here are the first forty delectable dishes in the order they were received. I struggled to decide whether I should stay the course another few days to get the whole gorgeous lot up in one shot, or divide and conquer. I must confess to not being a model of efficiency lately.

Still running on fumes after a crazed month, I opted for the later. Everyone will be accounted for. What I won't do, however, is keep you waiting with the winning results of the two May random drawings: congratulations are in order for Mansi of Fun and Food Cafe, the U.S. winner; and Cinzia of Cindystar, the international winner (whose recipe is featured in Part 2). I'll be back by Monday night with the rest of the round-up. As much as I Love Lucy, I love you and your legume recipes more. ; D

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Healthy Chaat
Bird's Eye View - Food and Laughter
India

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Slow-Cooked Vegetarian Chili
Preeti - Write Food
Albany, New York, U.S.

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Moong Dal Chilke Wali
Jyoti - The Veggie Hut
Dublin, Ireland

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Sprouted Green Gram Paniyaram
Nandini - Nandini's Food Page
India

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Five Mixed Bean Curry
Nayna - Simply.Food
U.K.

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Mung Bean Paneer
Lisa - Lisa's Kitchen
London, Ontario, Canada

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(No Photo)
Roasted Garbanzo Beans and Grape Tomatoes with Smoked Paprika
Della - Non-Blogging Contributor
Benicia, California, U.S.

The original recipe is from Bon Appetit posted on http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roast-Chicken-Breasts-with-Garbanzo-Beans-Tomatoes-and-Paprika-242113. This is a great recipe which I have made a few times already, but I also love eating the beans and tomatoes all on its own with brown rice. It's so healthy and the flavors are so complex with the smoked paprika, cumin and cilantro. So today, I decided to roast the garbanzo beans and tomatoes without the chicken and it is equally as delicious! If you can't find smoked paprika, substitute with one chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (canned). Either one will give a nice smoky flavor to the dish, only the chipotle pepper will make this dish spicy. I have tried using both kinds and I don't mind using either one.

1/4 cup olive oil (1.7 ounces)
4 large clove garlic, finely minced (0.6 ounce)
1 tablespoon smoked paprika OR 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Two 15.5-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
One 16-ounce package whole grape tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (0.7 ounce)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and position rack in the center of the oven.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly until well blended.

In a separate large bowl, combine the garbanzo beans and tomatoes. Add the olive oil mixture and cilantro. Toss everything together with a spatula until well combined. Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet and spread beans and tomatoes out in one layer.

Bake for 20 minutes. Great eaten with cooked quinoa, couscous, brown rice, or whole-wheat orzo pasta.

Yields 2 to 4 servings.