Her Diamonds Dance Upon the Ocean

Baked Veggie Quinoa Patties

Ingredients

2 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 6 tablespoons water (or use 2 eggs)
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup frozen peas, thawed (I used a peas and carrot combo)
¼ cup red pepper, chopped
¼ cup broccoli, chopped
2 shallots, chopped (onions would work too)
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
½ cup cheddar cheese (I used daiya)
2 tablespoons flour (brown rice or whole wheat)
½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl combine flax seeds and water. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine quinoa, peas, red pepper, broccoli, shallots, garlic and cheese. Stir to combine. Add flour and paprika. Salt and pepper to taste. (I also added in a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast.) Add in flax mixture.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form small patties (if they are too big they won't cook through) and place on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip and bake 5 to 8 more minutes.

The topping:
Mix, 1/2 cup mayo (or tofu mayo or Greek yogurt or sour cream)
1 tablespoon siracha
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon of parsley

from http://www.cookingquinoa.net/

Nobu's Black Cod - Marinated with Sake & Miso

I know most of my recipes here are vegetarian...but this one is just TOO good to not put up. Sake House is Leucadia has by far the best Black Cod with Miso I have ever had. Nobu's is pretty darn good too. This is a slightly modified version of Nobu's recipe from their cookbook. I am sooooo into it these days.

Ingredients:
2-3 black cod fillets (about 1 lb)

For the marinate:
1/4 cup sake
1/4 cup mirin - a rice cooking wine, pretty readily available and delicious
4 tablespoons white miso paste
3 tablespoons sugar

To Make:

Mix the marinate ingredients thoroughly in a plastic container (with lid) and set aside.
Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels and put them into the plastic container with the marinate. Cover the lid and leave to steep in the refrigerator overnight or for a few days...
Transfer fish and marinate to cast iron pan (or baking dish).
Put in Broiler, until browned...and perfect.

Cook’s notes:

You can substitute black cod for see bass or salmon or any kinds of flaky fish fillets.
There are many different kinds of miso (red, brown, white, and more). Use white miso.

Miso Noodle Soup with Edamame

From Veg Times, yum!

Start with the smaller amount of the miso, and add more as needed, dissolving extra spoonfuls in hot soup liquid. If you have both dark and light misos on hand, use half of each for a more complex flavor. If fresh edamame are already cooked, add them to the soup at the last minute.

2 oz. bean thread noodles
3 oz. fresh shiitake or button mushrooms, chopped finely
2 tsp. canola oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced with white and green parts
1 small carrot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced on diagonal
1 cup (6 oz.) frozen shelled edamame
5 oz. baby spinach
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
4 to 6 Tbs. dark miso
1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Tamari soy sauce, optional

-Put noodles in a bowl with water to cover, and set aside.
-Heat oil in a soup pot. Add scallion whites, mushrooms and carrot, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mushrooms begin to soften, for about 2 minutes.
-Add 5 cups water, and bring to a boil. Add edamame, and cook for 4 minutes. Drain noodles, and add to pot with spinach and ginger. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until edamame are tender but still firm, for about 1 minute more. Stir in scallion greens.
-Blend 4 tablespoons miso into 1 cup warm water, using a fork to mix. Reduce heat to low, and stir miso into soup, adding more miso for a more intense flavor, if desired. Add sesame oil and tamari to taste. Serve hot.
-I also add seaweed....

Honey Walnut Pumpkin Bran Bread

Recipe from Whole Foods

Ingredients

Canola oil cooking spray
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup oat bran or wheat germ
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cane sugar
1/3 cup canola or sunflower oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup soy milk
1 1/4 cups fresh or canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

-Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch loaf pan with canola oil cooking spray and set aside.

-In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oat bran, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a second large bowl, combine sugar, oil, honey, milk, pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in walnuts.

-Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack then remove from pan and set aside to let cool completely.

Edible Magazine - Celebrating Local Foods - Season by Season

I've been a big fan of Edible Magazines for quite some time now. I want to make sure you all know about this wonderful publication and find one of these quarterly gems in your area. I try to at least read the Hawaii & San Diego magazines as they come out. You can frequently find them at health food stores, restaurants, farms, as well as farmers markets. For more info visit their website.

Here's a quick blurb from the Fall 2010 Hawaii Letters of Aloha . A good reminder for us all.

Edible Hawaiian Islands is all about food. But is also (and just as importantly) about supporting the building of a deep local economy using local food as the driver. Think about it:

When you hand the Starbucks clerk a $5 bill, say good-bye. It’s on its way to Seattle. When you hand a locally owned coffee shop your money, a much higher portion of that re-circulates in the Hawaiian economy.
When you choose the big brands, you are enriching corporations and their shareholders. When you select local products— especially at locally owned food stores—you are creating local jobs.
When you purchase directly from the farmers market or farm stand, you are reducing our dependence on foreign oil and chemically addicted industrial agricultural corporations…and you are building community as you meet and establish ongoing relationships with those local vendors.
When you dine at one of our many independent restaurants—especially those who source local food—you are supporting the entire local food and supply chain.
When you dine at chain restaurants, you are likely sending your dollars to some remote location for food and supplies that have traveled back and forth across the globe.

TAKE THE EDIBLE CHALLENGE: For the next week, use cash for all your food and restaurant purchases. Don’t use a discount card. As you hand over your hard earned money, think about: WHO are you handing it to? WHERE is it going? HOW MUCH of it will stay in Hawai‘i, re-circulating and building a vibrant, deep local economy?

Sticky Buns (Yummy, so delicious and super easy no kneed) !!!!

From King Arthur Flour (I'm a big fan), to watch video of process click here
I am SUCH a big fan of sticky buns! The process (with all the rising) takes a bit of time but they really are so easy to make and they come out SOOOO delicious. The dough for this recipe makes 24 but the filling and topping only makes 8, so if you wanna make them all at once, just triple each section (other than the dough). If you wanna save the dough you can keep it in fridge for a few days or store in freezer

Dough

6 3/4 cups or 7 3/4 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
4 large eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
*See step #1, below.

Filling

2/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Topping

3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons maple syrup, honey, or corn syrup, light or dark (I like Maple Syrup the best, you can taste slight honey flavor if you use honey, but still so good!
1/3 cup + 3 tbspn brown sugar
2/3 cup pecan halves or coarsely chopped pecans

Directions

1) The flour/liquid ratio is important in this recipe. If you measure flour by sprinkling it into your measuring cup, then gently sweeping off the excess, use 7 3/4 cups. If you measure flour by dipping your cup into the canister, then sweeping off the excess, use 6 3/4 cups. Most accurate of all, and guaranteed to give you the best results, if you measure flour by weight, use 33 ounces.

2) To make the dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients, in the order written, in a very large bowl (at least 6 quarts). Stir to make a sticky dough. You can do this in a stand mixer and then transfer to a larger bowl; or simply use a big bowl and spoon (or dough whisk).

3) Cover the bowl, and let the dough rise for 2 hours at cool room temperature.
4) Refrigerate the dough for at least several hours, to chill it and make it easier to work with. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before using.

5)When you're ready to make sticky buns, make the filling. Set aside.

6) To make the topping: Spread the melted butter and syrup (or honey) in a lightly greased 9" round cake pan. Sprinkle the sugar(s) atop the butter, then scatter the nuts atop the sugar(s). Set aside.

7) To make sticky buns: Spray your hand with non-stick vegetable oil spray, and dip it into the dough in the bucket. Pinch off/pull out 1/3 of the dough; this is about the size of a large softball or a large grapefruit.n Place the remaining dough back in the refrigerator, to use another time. Or wrap and store in the freezer. This dough recipe is enough to make three 8" or 9" round pans of sticky buns.

8) Transfer the dough to a floured work surface, and rol1 it into a rectangle approximately 15" x 10".

9) Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a narrow margin around the edges uncovered.

10) Starting with a long edge, gently roll the dough into a log. Don't roll it too tightly; if you do, the centers of the buns will pop up as they bake.

11) Cut the log into 8 pieces.

12) Space the buns in the pan. Lightly press each down till they're touching one another.

13) Cover the pan, and allow the buns to rise till they're quite puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

14) Uncover the pan, and bake the buns for 40 to 45 minutes, till they're a deep golden brown.

15) Remove the pan from the oven, and turn it over onto a piece of parchment, or onto a cooling rack set over a piece of parchment or waxed paper (to catch any drips).

16) Lift off the pan, and scrape any nuts or sugar in the pan onto the buns.

17) Serve immediately, or let the buns cool a bit. Wrap any leftovers securely, and store at room temperature.

Yield: 8 sticky buns.

Ginger Tea!

So, this might be a little goofy to actually put a recipe for ginger tea, but it is perfection in a cup! It is one of the easiest things ever to make and there isn't really a "recipe" but I figure if I put it up, maybe you'll all think to make it more often. It is one of my very favorite things to make and drink. I swear, when I am not feeling well, it fixes just about any ailment and always makes me smile! Enjoy...and here's to better health and happiness :)

1. Add a bunch of thin slices of ginger to water in a small saucepan (the more you use the more spicy it gets), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Strain out ginger slices and discard, Stir in honey a bit of honey if you like, and serve (hot or iced).

Pumpkin Bread

The Joy of Cooking
Everything should be at room temperature. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, preheat to 350. Grease a 9x5 inch (8 cup) loaf pan.

Whisk together thoroughly:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tspns ground cinnamon
1 tspn baking soda
1 tspn salt
1 tspn ground ginger
1/2 tspn ground nutmeg
1/4 tspn ground cloves
1/4 tspn baking powder

Combine in another bowl:
1/3 cup water or milk
1/4 tspn vanilla

In a large bowl, beat until creamy, about 30 seconds:
6 tbsn unsalted butter

Gradually add and beat on high speed until lightened in color and textrue, 3 to 4 minutes:
1 1/3 cups sugar, or 1 cup sugar plus 1/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

Beat in 1 at a time:
2 large eggs

Add and beat on low speed just until blended:
1 cup pumpkin puree

Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk mixture in 2 parts, beating on low speed or stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Fold in:
1.2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1/3 cup raisins or chopped dates

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.