I had to throw the fermenting apple vinegar out 😭 Just as it was smelling so delicious.

Vinegar needs to be stirred every day, but last week I had a couple of really flat days where I didn't do very much at all. Feeling sort of ill in a non-specific way. The vinegar didn't get stirred. It developed kahm yeast. I did all I could to rescue it, but I in the end I had to give up.

This morning I read, from Kirsten Shockey:

"Don't get too attached to your expectations about the outcome, and understand that some ferments might not turn out well. You might have to throw some back in the ground, and that's okay."

#Food #Fermentation #Ferment #Fermenting #Vinegar #FromTheKitchen #FromTheFermentationBench

I wrote this in 2018:

"And with everything that is going on in the world at the moment, we need a little hope for the future."

Goodness, and look at the things we have faced since then. And the statement stands true today.

I wrote it in an article about soup 😄 There is something about soup that puts everything right with the world.

Turkish Chickpea, Spinach and Barley Soup.

#food #FromTheArchives #FromTheKitchen #Soup #TurkishFood

Special Miso Sauce

This recipe is one that Taste published some years ago ( https://tastecooking.com/special-spicy-miso-sauce-not-special-home-cooking/ *) and a friend pushed me to have a look at it. I was very sceptical – for several reasons including cooking lemon juice changes its flavour and it can become bitter.

But I do like to test recipes, especially if prompted or recommended by friends. So one Saturday afternoon when I was roasting some broccoli and needed a sauce for it, I set about making this special miso sauce.

It has only 6 ingredients – red or brown miso, sweet components (a lot of sugar and some mirin), sour ingredients (sake or rice vinegar and lemon juice) and a lot of heat (dried red chillies).

The result was precisely as you imagine. Dark. Rich. Bright. Chilli-hot. Sweet.

** These days this is a bit too much sugar for my tastes, but today I am going to mix miso, chilli crisp, and some rice vinegar to have with some baked potatoes.

*Click through at the bottom of that page for the actual recipe.

*The recipe is from Hiroko Shimbo’s Hiroko’s American Kitchen.

#FromTheArchives #FromTheKitchen #WhatIAmCooking #Food #Miso #Vegetarian

How we love the eggplant and its versatility. This recipe sautés the eggplant until it is golden and then immerses it in a tangy, spicy tomato sauce before serving garnished with herbs. It is the perfect side dish or dish to eat just with rice for a light lunch, snack or supper.

#Food #IndianFood #FromTheArchives #FromTheKitchen #Vegetarian #Eggplant

I have found this too. My efforts to dry a lot of purslane have been vindicated 😄

This is from an interesting article about using garden greens including marshmallows and other mallows, hollyhocks and lots of others.

https://foragerchef.com/common-mallow-plants-cheeseweed

#FromTheKitchen #Purslane #Vegetarian #Food #FromTheGarden #GrowYourOwn

Oh wow! I just saw an Indian recipe for macaroni fritters! A chickpea flour dough, quite spicy with chillies, ginger, coriander leaves etc and cheese. This is mixed with cooked macaroni and deep fried! 👀

Ok, I am not making that 😭 but I do have macaroni to use up. India has adopted pasta in the last few years and with abandon. So I think I am making a macaroni, peas and tomato curry.

#FromTheKitchen #Food #IndianFood #Macaroni #Vegetarian

I know I have posted this pic before but it is getting tantalisingly close to time to pick the pomegranates and quinces. I check them every few days, but watched kettles never boil 😂

I may make very small amounts of quince molasses and pomegranate molasses for occasional use (high in sugar which I am not supposed to have) or gifts. Altho I no longer have a juicer ... so maybe not this year. It depends, maybe I can borrow a juicer for a day.

Making quince molasses is fun. The juice will start off green-yellow in colour and gradually turn a bright red as it cooks.

Makrut limes are also on ripeness-watch, for Indian pickles.

#FromTheGarden #Food #FromTheKitchen #GardeningAdelaide #GrowYourOwn

The kitchen is tidy. The chickpeas are soaking, making cracking sounds. There will be miso made tomorrow.

The apples are dehydrated. I leave them out until morning to cool so I can feel if they have any moisture left in them. But I reckon they are done. There are enough apples left for another batch, altho they look beautiful in their golden greenness in the large Moroccan bowl.

I picked some more bay leaves, about 50, rinsed them and they will dry overnight before being added to the pile on the large tray for complete dehydration. I don't put them in the dehydrator, they dry on their own pretty quickly. Ditto for some curry leaves that are on another tray.

There is gentle jazz in the background and the crack crack crack of the chickpeas.

The apple vinegar, fermenting on the bench, is bubbling well. I made a beet-celery fermented salad mix, kraut style, which will ferment for 4 or 5 days at a guess.

An Indian cookbook lies open on the lounge.

#FromTheKitchen #Food #WhatIAmCooking #WhatIAmFermenting #FromTheFermentationBench