Cauliflower Soup

 I made this simple soup for lunch today.  I wasn't going to write about it but it turned out so white, creamy and smooth that I had to.  Joe had a friend over and they both loved it.

Cauliflower Soup
Serves 4 (and 2 babies)

1 med head of Cauliflower
1 onion
2 parsnips
1 large potato (I used 1 small and 1 med)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 pint of milk (I used powered milk to make mine)
1 cup water
1 bay leave
1 veg stock cube
pinch of nutmeg 
salt and pepper

Cut and wash Cauliflower.  Peel and chop the onions, parsnips and potatoes. Saute the veg in the oil over med heat for about 5 min.  Add salt and pepper.  Add milk and water to cover the veg.  Add the bay leave and stock cube.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the veg is soft.  About 15 min.  Take off the heat, take out the bay leaf and add the nutmeg. Blend.  Taste for salt and pepper.

Everyone really enjoyed this soup...which is too bad because I would like to eat some more!

Indian Warm Cabbage Salad

 I love this warm cabbage salad.  Its Anjum Anand's recipe from Indian Food Made Easy. I was so happy when my mom got me her cookbook a few years ago.  The funny thing is that I mostly just make this salad.  In Kansas I don't use curry leaves so I use frozen basil leaves (crazy??? but it works) I've been using other nuts than peanuts because of the baby.  I like cashews. 

Simple and yummy well worth buying mustard seeds, nigella seeds, urad dal and curry leaves even if thats the only thing I use them for!  Mustard seeds double as a childrens toy....maybe not but Joe like it!

Zucchini Pancake or Kadoo Kookoo

I first had Kadoo Kookoo when an Iranian woman made it for me. She used zucchini, walnuts, mint and eggs to make her pancake.  Over the past two years I've played with her recipe and have added one small potato, flour, cumin and feta or goats cheese.  What I'm left is the perfect light lunch or even tart filling (if more eggs are added).

Zucchini Pancake or Kadoo Kookoo
makes 6 slices

2 cups grated zucchini
1 small grated potato
1 egg
1 Tbs flour
1 Tbs walnuts
1/2 tsp dried mint
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbs feta or goats cheese
salt and pepper
1 tsp oil for frying

Heat the oil in a pan on med heat.  Mix the the zucchini, potato, egg, flour, walnuts, mint, cumin, cheese, salt and pepper.  Pour into the pan to form one large pancake. Cook for about 5-7 min or until the bottom of the pancake is browned. Flip the pancake and cook the other side for 5-7 min or if you are like me and have trouble flipping large hot food than just finish cooking the pancake under the boiler.

Egg Fried Rice

 I've been making this simple high in veggies Egg Fried Rice as a speedy lunch for my little boy.  It is one part cold leftover rice and one part veg with an egg for protein. Feel free to use any kind of veg you like fresh or frozen. Could also add any cooked meats if you wished.

Egg Fried Rice
serves 1 1/2

1 tsp sunflower oil
1 cup veg (I used shredded carrot, celery and spring onion)
1 cup leftover rice
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp chinkiang vinegar
1 egg
1/4 tsp sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds
pepper (and hot pepper if you like)


Heat a pan or wok with oil to med high.  Add veg.  Stir-fry for about 1 min.  Add rice.  Mix. When the rice is warmed  add  the soy sauce and chinkiang vinegar.  Mix. Make a well in the middle of the pan.  Add the egg  and pepper to the well.  Mix.  When the egg is cooked take the pan off the heat and add the sesame oil and sesame seeds.  Mix and Eat

A fast lunch and a great way to get extra veggies into a baby.  He picked out all the carrots from his and my bowl...and ate them all!

7 Layer Olivia Salad

 Olivia a salad popular in Iran but it is from Russia where its called Olivier.  To me its like baby food mixed with mayonnaise...gross and far too rich.  A few weeks ago my mom told me about a deconstructed olivia that she was making.  It got me thinking what if Olivia was constructed as a American 7 Layer Salad?  But without the mayo because 7 Layer Salad is gross and far too rich too!

7 layer Olivia Salad
Makes on large Salad

1 kg of new potatoes boiled and sliced
2 large carrots shredded
1 cup of peas
1 cup of cooked chicken shredded
3 eggs hard boiled and sliced
2 pickels sliced
15 olives sliced
Salt and Pepper


For Dressing
1 cup Plain Yougurt
jucie from 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper

Mix up the yougurt dressing and season to your teast or use mayo.  Assemble the salad by layering each ingredent with 1/4 cup of the dressing between each layer of potatoes, carrots, peas and chicken.

Everyday Coleslaw and Summer Rolls

 I have been eating this coleslaw just about everyday for the last month.  I posted my mothers Ramen Coleslaw way back in 2010 this is a new version of that salad.  I've taken out the Ramen as it turns out the Baby also likes to eat uncooked Ramen and I would rather he did not. But not to worry the taste is even better than before.  I've been eating it as a side with dinners and with/on a sandwich for lunch.  It even makes a great low-cal snack in a Summer Roll.

Everyday Coleslaw
makes about 3 cups

2 cups of shredded cabbage
2 med carrots shredded
2 spring onions sliced thin
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chinkiang vinegar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp roasted sesames
salt and pepper (and hot pepper if you like)

Mix and Eat


Coleslaw Summer Rolls
1 Filling Snack or Light Lunch

3 pieces of rice paper (for summer rolls)
1 cup coleslaw
fresh herbs: mint, coriander, basil, parsley

Dipping sauce
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 chinkiang vinegar

Fill a plate or pan with warm water.  Soak one piece of rice paper until its limp.  Remove the limp rice paper and fill with 1/3 of the coleslaw.  Add fresh herbs and roll.  Repeat and eat!

 Simple and Local. Yummy right after its mixed or after a day in the fridge.  

Shawn's Oven Chips (Fries)

 Shawn knows about potatoes. Back in May he brought 10kgs of potatoes over to our house.  Lucky for those Irish Red Roasters he told me about a very simple oven chip recipe.  Bring the potatoes to boil first! I have made one change to his simple recipe...add turmeric.  It gives the potatoes that golden 'fried' look.

Shawn's Oven Chips (Fries)
serves 2 1/2
3 large potatoes
1 tsp sunflower seed oil
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt and pepper

Cut potatoes into the size chips that you want.  Put in a pot of cold salt water and bring to a boil.  Drain and let the potatoes dry.   Mix the cooled potatoes with the oil, turmeric, salt and pepper on a cookie sheet.  Bake in a very hot oven (220c) for around 20-30 min or until golden brown.

note: This is also how to make the perfect roast potatoes that you can find with any roast dinner in any Irish pub.  Its just how you cut the potatoes and shake in the pot after draining.

Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry

 Lidl has started selling beautiful Irish grown oyster mushrooms and they are only 1e. Feel free to use whatever kind of mushrooms that are local to your area. 

Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry
serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side

500 gram Oyster mushrooms cut into strips
1 onion cut into strips
1 green bell pepper cut into strips
1 green onion
1 tsp sunflower oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp chinkiang vinegar (black glutinous rice vinegar)
1/2 tsp sesame seed oil
a few sesame seeds

Heat the oil in a nonstick pan or wok to med high.  Add the veg and stir fry for 2-3 min.  Add the soy sauce and chinkiang vinegar. Mix, take off the heat add the sesame seed oil mix.  Plate and top with green onion and sesame seeds. Enjoy with rice.

Vermicelli Salad with Prawns

Vermicelli are rice noodles. The cook really fast and are the perfect base for any summer salad. This one is Ng Thai or the cheating way that I make Thai (a mix of soy and fish sauce, sweet chill sauce and lime juice).

Vermicelli Salad with Prawns
for 4
1 package of Vermicelli
1 carrot shredded
1/2 English cucumber shredded
2 green onions chopped
1/2 cup of fresh herbs chopped (Thai basil, lemon basil, coriander, chives and parsley)
1/2 cup of cooked and peeled prawns
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp of fish sauce
1 tsp of sweet chill sauce
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp of sesame seeds (to top)

Cook the Vermicelli for 3 min or follow the package. Mix with the carrots, cucumber, herbs, pawns, sauces, lime and oil. Taste and add more lime to brighten or sweet chill to sweeten or fish sauce for salt. Top with more herbs and sesame seeds. Eat right away or let it hang out in the frig for a few hours and enjoy cold.

I like it cold.

Cucumber Raita Gazpacho

Given my love for yogurt and the huge cucumber plant conquering my conservatory it is no surprise that I'm posting a Cucumber Raita Gazpacho. Raita is an Indian yogurt dip made with garlic, mint and cucumber. We eat it all the time and turns out it makes a great gazpacho.
Cucumber Raita Gazpacho
serves 2
1 1/2 English cucumbers pealed
1/2 clove of garlic
5 walnuts
1 Tbs fresh mint
1 tsp lemon basil (optional)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
salt and white pepper

Chop the cucumbers and garlic. Blend with the walnuts and herbs adding olive oil and yogurt until everything is smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper. For a thinner gazpacho add water or bread for a thicker one. My cucumbers were really juicy so I didn't need to do anything.

Baba Ganoush

My mom makes the best Baba Ganoush (and hummus) in the world and I don't think she ever uses a recipe. She just blends adding more lemon, oil, or tehina until it taste right. I tried to write down a reicpe close to hers, but feel free to play around and find your own.

Baba Ganoush
Make about 1 cup
1 eggplant
1 clove of garlic
1 lemon
1 tsp tehina
1-2 tbs olive oil
salt, pepper, hot pepper

Roast the eggplant in a hot oven for about 45min. Just stick in while your baking something else. Or wrap the eggplant in foil and pop on the bbq, its done when its looks like a ballon ready to pop. Let the eggplant cool and peel.

Blend the eggplant, with the garlic, tehina and the jucie of half a lemon. Taste and add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper as needed. I also like to add hot pepper, lemon zest and fresh herbs.

Enjoy as a dip or sandwich spread.

Wild Irish Garlic Kimshi

As soon as I filled my kitchen with wild garlic it smelled like Korea. So i figured might as well make kimshi! Kimish can be as hot or not as you like. I really like the taste of Korean hot pepper powder so I used 1 Tbs but if you don't like it hot kimshi can be made without it.

Wild Irish Garlic Kimshi
Makes 1 jar (8oz)
4-6 cups wild Irish garlic leaves
1/2 inch grated ginger
1 tsp salt
1/8-1/2 tsp fish sauce or dried scrimp
1/2-1 Tbs Korean dried hot pepper powder

Wash the garlic leaves well. Soak the leaves overnight. Dry the leaves and mix with the ginger, salt, fish sauce and hot pepper powder. Mix well and don't worry if its dry the salt is going to bring the water out of the garlic leaves. Put into something with a lid and leave out at room temp for a few days stirring eat day. Move into the the warmest place in the frig and enjoy right away if you like young kimish.

I like older kimshi so I left mine for a month and its still not to my taste yet!!! I check on it about once a week to let out the gas.

Rosemary Parsnip Chips/Fries

I'm not really one for frying. I guess its because my mom would bake things in a bit of olive oil rather than fry. But I love fried rosemary and its way to hot to turn on the oven.
Rosemary Parsnip Chips/Fries
severs 2
2 med parsnips
1 tsp fresh rosemary chopped
oil to fry
salt

Peal and chop the parsnips into thin chip/fries. Add oil to a large pan (I used 2 Tbs, should be minimum 1/8 inch deep.) Bring to a med heat and add the parsnips. Cook for about five min, keeping an eye on them and turning every min. Should turn a lovely dark brown. Add the rosemary for the last minute of frying. Fish the chips out of the oil and drain on some paper. Top with salt and enjoy hot.

This is fast food fast!

German Cucumber and Radish Salad

For the last two weeks my sister was visiting us. She said that she did not like radishes, but as her older sister I made her try one and now she loves them. I guess its because the radishes were fresh from the garden. My lettuce and rocket is in and we had a nice little salad every night. We even had radish sandwiches.
But cutting up a few radishes is not really a recipe so I'm posting a German salad which is based on a dill salad dressing packet which my mom used to use when I was child.
German Cucumber and Radish Salad
serves 2
10 radishes
1/3 of a seedless cucumber or 1 whole cucumber de-seeded
1/2 tsp of caraway seeds
1/2 tsp of dried dill
1/2 tsp of walnut or olive oil
1 tsp of lemon
dash of salt and pepper

Thinly slice the radish and cucumber. In a hot pan dry roast the caraway seeds for about 10 sec or until they start to pop. Add the caraway seeds, dill, oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Mix.


This is a very refreshing summer salad. The dressing would also be nice on just cucumbers, daikon radish or boiled potatoes.

Grated Carrot Salad

My sister is visiting us from Kansas so I've been too busy to cook. But I always have time to make grated carrot salad. It is the perfect salad for crazy days. I've been making it for years.
Grated Carrot Salad
per person
1 carrot
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Peal and grate the carrots. Dry roast the mustards seeds in a hot pan until the seeds start to pop. Pour the hot seeds on top of the carrots. Add the vinegar, oil salt and pepper. Mix and eat right away.

I like to make this salad with mustard seeds, but sometimes I make a peanut or Asian version.
For peanut salad replace the mustard seeds with warm peanuts (and olive oil with peanut oil). For Asian salad replace the mustard seeds with toasted sesame seeds, olive oil with sesame oil and salt for soy sauce. Anyway you make it grated carrots can be made into a very tasty salad.

Broccoli Salad- Made with Yogurt and Dates

Broccoli Salad can be found at just about any North American BBQ or potluck. The classic recipe being a mix of broccoli, raisins, red onion, mayo, sunflower seeds and bacos. While my mom never used bacos or bacon she stayed close to the classic recipe. I love yogurt and it is no surpise that I'm using the plain stuff in place of mayo. Saeid doesn't like raisins so I'm using dates, but so many other dried or fresh fruits work well in this recipe. Try using some pomegranates in the fall it works like a treat!
Broccoli Salad- Made with Yogurt and Dates
Makes about 4 cups
1 head of broccoli, washed and chopped (use the stem too)
1/4 of a red onion chopped
1 cup of dates chopped
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
2 tsp of fresh lemon juice
1 tsp cummin
salt, pepper, hot pepper

Mix the plain yogurt with the lemon juice and spices. Add the vegs, dates and half of the sunflower seeds and mix well. Top the remaining seeds.
This salad gets better with age. Fell free to add anything you like to it but try the plain yogurt.

Greek Salad

A friend of ours likes Greek Salad and asked me to post a recipe. In the summer that would be a really easy task, but the fresh veg is starting to look very sad here. Where are you spring?
Greek Salad
serves 2
Ingredients
1/4 cup of cubed feta
1/4 cup olives (chopped or not but pitted)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped and seeded cucumbers
1/4 of a small red onion finely sliced
1 tsp chopped parsley

Optional Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
a few pickled hot peppers(peperoncini)
4 marinated artichoke hearts
1/8 tsp red hot chili flakes
1/4-1/2 cup fresh herbs
1 tsp capers
1/4 cup chopped radishes
1 smalled chopped beets
3 or 4 anchovies or sardines
1 or 2 cups salad greens

Dressing
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar or lemon
1/4 tsp of dried oregano
1/4 tsp of black pepper
salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy right away or let marinate and eat later. Don't worry if you don't have all the ingredients, few free to mix and match.

We enjoyed our Greek Salad on top of a green salad with homemade bread.