2 sauces: tahini + tamari
March 18, 2010
The refresh cookbook by Ruth Tal is fantastic. There are a number of soups I want to try out (butternut squash and pear with coconut milk – sounds yummy!) so I’ll get back to you on those. In the meantime I thought I should highlight two of their sauces that are the perfect accompaniment to rice and veggies, or what they call rice bowls. Rice bowls are simply steamed brown basmatic rice (but you can use any rice) topped with, well, pretty much anything from tofu to grilled vegetables to nuts and seeds. My favourite is sticky rice with grilled peppers, zucchini, fennel, maybe some steamed greens, sesame seeds and/or tamari sunflower seeds and then, of course, these two sauces – tahini and tamari. Dollop on liberally and enjoy. It’s good, it’s filling, it’s nurturing. Vegan comfort food. And because you build it yourself, the kids can opt in and out of whatever tickles their fancy or not. Everyone’s happy.
Tahini Sauce
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped parsley (the other day I didn’t have any so I used cilantro instead which was equally good)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsps lemon juice
2/3 cup filtered water
1/2 cup sesame butter (tahini)
Whiz ingredients in a blender or food processor. Run until smooth, scraping the sides down once or twice.
Simple Tamari Sauce
1/2 cup tamari
3 tbsps sesame oil
1 1/2 inch ginger root, peeled and minced
4 tbsps lemon juice
Put all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
ginger hummus
March 15, 2010
I’ve tried a number of hummus recipes which have all been more or less good. Last night I tried this new one. We decided we like it best. Not sure why – flavours are a little more subtle, it’s softer and smoother, it doesn’t firm up the way others do after a day or two. It’s a good one. It’s from a cookbook I bought awhile ago but haven’t really explored fully – Tassajara: Dinners and Desserts. I’m now motivated to work my way through it, especially after reading about their very appealing approach to food (Musing #5). If I could only tap into that. Wow! Watch out. The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is the oldest Japanese Buddhist Sōtō Zen monastery in the US located in the Ventana Wilderness area in California. It attracts serious zen practitioners and is known for its mission of teaching teachers. They eat this hummus. Now that’s a powerful endorsement.
2 cups chickpeas, cooked
2 inches ginger, peeled and cut into coins or grated
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
2-3 tbsps olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cups of tahini
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt
Prepare the chickpeas (either cook dried chickpeas or rinse canned chickpeas). Puree chickpeas with remaining ingredients and about 1/4 cup of water. Check consistency. If you want it less stiff, add more olive oil, tahini, and/or lemon juice. Add salt to taste.
v:gourmet 