Potato Roses

Hey folks!

Potato's! What's not to love?! :-) These pretty potato roses make a cute - romantic addition to any meal.

This recipe idea is something I saw online and I figured I'd give it a shot. I made these for my friend Mandali - for her lunchbox when she was leaving the USA on her travels to Europe.

It takes a little while to get the hang of making them right, so give yourself plenty of time.

Ingredients:
A few medium large potato's ( I used red russets), wash and dry
Wooden cocktail sticks or toothpicks
Ghee or oil to fry
Sea salt

Slice potato's super thin. Roll a slice into a center petal and fix with a cocktail stick. Add more slices as outer petals. Add another cocktail stick, and fix potato slice petals to the ends of the sticks. Add a 3rd stick of necessary. You can play with the petals to make them look more realistic til the sticks are filled.

Drop into hot oil and fry on medium temperature - turning a couple times - til golden all over. Place in a colander lined with paper towel to drain. Keep on going til you have fried as many roses as you want.

Tips:
1. Don't cut loads of potato slices and place in water because although it would prevent oxidization, it also makes them lose starch and become stiff and inflexible.
2. New potato's make a more crisp rose, old potato's make softer petals.
3. Warn your diner's that these have sticks in them so they don't skewer themselves in the mouth!!! Wisdom learned through experience!! ;-D

Arrange roses on a serving plate and sprinkle with salt. Delightful served hot or cold.

Banana Buckwheat Bread Pudding

OMG!! I made bread pudding for the first time today and it came out awesome!

I had seen someone make it before on a cooking show a few months ago, but they used eggs and white bread, so though it gave me an idea of how to make it, the recipe was no good for me.  I never use eggs, and I avoid using white flour or sugar as much as possible. So this was a total experiment with a happy ending! :-)

I used a sweet spice buckwheat bread which I'd made for Ekadashi yesterday, (for recipe see end of this post). I found it a little too dry to eat today and to avoid waste I decided to try out this idea. I'm sure it would work with any bread, though the sweet spices really gave it a delightful flavor.

Im sure this recipe could be made for Ekadashi day's too - just use a substitute for the cornstarch.

You will need:
3 mini loaves of sweet spice buckwheat bread (or bread of your choice), cut into medium thick slices. Arrange in a small glass baking dish.

 Blend til smooth:
2 cups organic whole milk
1 banana
2 TBSP vanilla essence
Approx 1/2 cup maple syrup
1 heaped TBSP non-GMO cornstarch

Pour this mixture over the bread.

Sprinkle on top:
2 big TBSP butter cut into pieces
3- 4 TBSP walnut or pecan pieces
2 TBSP cranberries (optional but it helps absorb the liquid too)
Approx 3 TBSP brown cane sugar

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 370 Fahrenheit or so for approx 40 mins or til liquid is absorbed and top is nicely browned and somewhat caramelized.

Great served hot - would make a fancy breakfast or brunch dish.

If you want to try making it with buckwheat bread like me, then here's how I made the bread:
Ingredients:
Approx 1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
Approx 1 cup tapioca flour
Approx 2 tsp baking soda
Approx 2 TBSP cinnamon powder
Approx 1 tsp cardamom powder
1 cup orange flavored cranberries (Trader Joe's)

Mix all together evenly and set aside.


Blend til smooth:
1 ripe banana
2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup sunflower oil
Approx 1/2 cup maple syrup

When mixing into dry ingredients, add:
Fresh whey as needed

Pour the liquid mixture into the bowl with dry ingredients and mix evenly, adding sufficient fresh whey to make a medium runny dough. Fill into oiled mini loaf tins, and bake for approx 30 mins or til lightly browned on top and it springs back up when you make an indent by pressing your finger lightly into it. Allow to cool. Serve at room temperature with butter or reserve for the former recipe.

Roast Potato Slices

Hey folks,

Here's another Ekadashi-friendly recipe - Im on a roll today! :-)
These roast potato slices are super simple to make and lovely served with a salad. Serves approx 6 as part of a larger meal.

Ingredients:
8 medium potato's, washed, peeled, and pre-boiled til tender (chill them in the fridge til ready to use)
Fresh rosemary sprigs
Sea salt
Paprika
Blk pepper
Approx 4 TBSP soft butter

Cut cooled potato's into medium thick slices. Smear a glass baking dish with butter. Arrange the potato slices in the dish. Sprinkle with seasonings, rosemary sprigs and add dabs of butter.
Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, til golden. Serve hot.

Ekadashi Potato Burgers

It's good to have a few handy recipes like these up your sleeve for Ekadashi days.
This one is for you Urmila Mata. :-) 

This makes approx 16 mini burgers.

Ingredients:
4 medium sized new potato's, washed, peeled, chopped, cooked and mashed (I added butter, salt, pepper and some water left from cooking)
3 cups cooked mushy quinoa
1/2 cup cooked celery (finely sliced)
1/2 cup cooked red bell pepper (optional)
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 cup shredded vegetarian mozzarella
1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp asafoetida (optional)
2 tsp sea salt or to taste
1 tsp ground blk pepper
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
Buckwheat flour for coating
Approx 3-4 TBSP oil for frying (I used sunflower)

Mix all ingredients and form into small thick patties. Coat lightly in buckwheat flour. Pan fry on an oiled pre-heated heavy cast iron griddle over medium low heat. Handle as little as possible to retain their shape. Turn patties over when the first side is dark golden brown and fry again til ready.

Serve hot topped with some fried jalopeno chilli's, a dash of ketchup and a good salad.

Cranberry Quinoa

Quinoa is a seed which was highly valued by the ancient Aztec's and Mayan's because it's packed full of protein and nutrition. This dish is light, and simple to prepare when you know how. :-) The cranberries add color and a tasty twist. Some people prefer to soak quinoa overnight to remove any residual bitterness, but I have never found this necessary so far.

Ekadashi friendly and vegan. :-)

Ingredients:
2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
3 3/4 cups water
1 tsp coconut oil or ghee
Sea salt to taste
2 tsp of Italian seasoning or herbs of your choice
1/2 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 handful dried cranberries
1 handful toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro or parsley (optional)
A dash of extra virgin olive oil

Combine quinoa, water, oil/ghee, salt, seasoning and spices. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low and cook covered for 15 minutes. It should be ready, soft and moist without being sticky. If its still got liquid, let it cook off uncovered for a few mins. Remove from heat, add in the cranberries and sunflower seeds, cover and let it sit for a few minutes - this helps it get fluffy and the cranberries to soften up. Add cilantro, and olive oil and toss to mix. Great served warm alongside a salad.

*On non-Ekadashi day's I like to sprinkle a mixture of freshly toasted and ground sesame seeds, nutritional yeast and sea salt over the top to amp up the flavor and nutrition. Sesame is a fantastic source of calcium amongst other things!