Vegan Risotto with Zucchini and Tofu

Still plenty of zucchini in the garden...I have been cooking them in 100 ways, so here is a risotto!

Ingredients

1 block of tofu, frozen and then defrosted

1 shallot

2 yellow zucchini

2 green zucchini

2 tbs olive oil

400 g arborio rice

1 glass wine (optional)

1.5 l vegetable stock

If you freeze the tofu, and then defrost it, it becomes porous and absorbs flavours like a sponge! Also it doesn't brake into pieces while you are cooking it, even in risotto, when you have to stir often!

Cut the tofu into small cubes. Chop the shallot and slice the zucchini. In a capable saucepan sauté the shallot and tofu with the olive oil. After a couple of minutes add the rice and, when hot, the wine. Stir and add the zucchini, and then, ladle by ladle, the vegetable stock.

Cook as for any risotto and serve.

Lastly, for the Italian readers, I would like to share this post from Erbaviola.

So che il tofu che si trova in Italia non e' sempre un gran che, questo e' proprio il tipo di tofu che mi tocca congelare, e poi scongelare, e cucinare come in questo risotto, perche' mangiarlo 'crudo' non e' proprio possibile per me, soprattutto dopo aver vissuto in Giappone!

Te Henga, 'Bethells' Beach

Sunday at Te Henga

No food in this post, just black sand cake!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

My Sweet and Spicy Tomato Chutney

Ingredients

1 kg tomatoes

1 red onion

3 fresh chillies, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

4 tbsp sultana

250 ml white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp hot chilli powder (optional)

1 cinnamon quill

5 cloves

400 g sugar

1 apple

Wash the tomatoes and dice into 2 or 3 cm pieces. Peel and chop the onion and dice into 1 cm pieces. Place the vegetables in a large saucepan with the chillies, garlic cloves and ginger.

Bring to simmer, stirring often, and when the tomatoes are starting to break add the sultanas, vinegar, salt, hot chilli powder (if using), cinnamon and cloves. Bring back to simmer point and then add the sugar.

Stir well until the sugar is dissolved, then add the apple, also diced into 2 or 3 cm pieces, but not peeled (apple peel contain pectin, a setting agent). Keep stirring and simmer until the apple becomes soft, but not mushy.

Add some fresh chillies if you like and simmer for five more minutes.

Place the hot chutney into sterilised jars (dried in the oven), then let it cool down and close with the capsule lids. Place the jars in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the jars. Let the jars cool down in the pot overnight and when they are cold make sure that the capsule has popped by pressing gently on the lid. Store in a dark place and then, once opened, in the fridge.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Mango Pudding with Cinnamon and Clove Strawberries

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Our friends Jonathan and Fiona invited us for a Indian dinner, and I brought this dessert:

Mango are quite expensive in NZ, and not always very good, but in the Indian shop I found this big can of Mango pulp.

For the Mango Pudding:

850 g mango pulp

250 ml water

2 tsp agar agar powder

Place the mango pulp and water into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the agar agar powder and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring. Pour into a mould (mine had a hole in the centre) and let it set for a few hours, first at room temperature, and then in the fridge.

For the strawberries:

600 g strawberries

half a lemon

1 cinnamon quill

3 cloves

2 tbsp sugar

Hull and wash the strawberries, cut into small pieces and add the juice of half a lemon, one cinnamon quill and three cloves. Add 2 tsp of sugar and stir. Let the strawberries marinate for a few hours at room temperature and then cool in the fridge.

Thank you Jonathan and Fifi for the great evening and food! :-)

Chestnut flour fritters

I grew up in the Apennine mountains of Italy, and during Autumn and Winter I ate chestnuts almost every day. These fritters were a staple in my family, they are easy to make and incredibly filling.

Mix 250g of chestnut flour with 400ml of water, mix well and add a tablespoon of sultana.

With a spoon drop some batter into the hot oil (I used rice bran oil) and cook on both sides; it only takes a couple of minutes.

Place the fritter on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

These fritters are actually better cold, just by themselves, or with a little ricotta cheese.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

purple-green bean salad with balsamic red onion

I entered this recipe for the the “Grow Your Own” food blog roundup, created by Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes, which features dishes using ingredients which have been raised in our own (or someone else's) gardens or have been hunted or foraged. The event was hosted by House of Annie http://chezannies.blogspot.com/, look here to see all the entries.

http://chezannies.blogspot.com/2010/02/grow-your-own-roundup-38.html


Thank you so much for hosting this Annie and Nathan.

To all bloggers: the next time you post about cooking something you've raised / grown / harvested / foraged, remember to submit it to the GYO roundup. Keep an eye out on either the House of Annie site or Andrea's Recipes for the next GYO announcement.

from my garden

I pick yellow beans every day now, and every few days, purple beans. The purple beans are beautiful, but unfortunately they loose their colour while cooking. I tried to add salt and a pinch of baking soda to the water...nothing, the purple colour just washes away....but they do become an incredible brilliant green!!!

To remember that they were purple. I decided to serve them with a red onion, (from my garden), and this is my recipe:

Cut the red onion into thin slices, put into a bowl with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena (ABTM). Let the onion marinate for at least two hours.

Wash and top and tail the purple beans, boil them in plenty of water with a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking soda. I like to leave them a little crunchy, but you can cook them to your taste. Drain the beans and rinse them under cold water, then dress them with a little extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place them in a glass and top them with some balsamic onions.

Serve.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

縁

It is a blessing to have friends around the globe, but it is also hard to keep in touch. After a few years, if there are no chances of meeting up, correspondence may relent or fail us, and sometimes we loose touch completely for years. But then, if we are fortunate and determined enough to meet again, old friendships seem never lost, and sometimes more 'mature' friendships blossom.

And then there are those cases which are almost 'formal'. Correspondence is rich at first, and then diminishes down (yes, even with emails!) to the once a year New Year's greetings. This is what has happened with my friend Yoko. We got busy. We got married, and we had children. And we lived in two different continents. At the beginning I could go back to Japan and meet her briefly, check on the kids and so on, but after a few years it became hard.

But in the last New Year card I wrote to her I had the impulse of writing also my blog address, and there she was, back in touch, and telling me that her husband had opened a restaurant in Tokyo. So, to celebrate our renewed contact, I will show you her restaurant!

Now, the vegetarians followers of this blog may be surprised that I show pictures of a meaty restaurant, but as probably 98% of my friends are not vegetarians, and some of them read my blog anyway, here is something for them to look at! And in a way I like to show meat and fish eaters the same courtesy that I would like to receive from them (and that, fortunately, I mostly enjoy anyway).

縁

Yoko tells me that her husband's shop (in Japan this is defined as a shop, not a restaurant) is called EN 縁

(in my dictionary the kanji translates as relation, or connection, Yoko please let me know if this is wrong!)

Yoko says: "Because beef and the internal organs meat are mainly cooked on the charcoal fire, with the aid of a clay stove called SITIRIN, they are very delicious!

Please stop by when you come to Tokyo!"

I will do Yoko, and maybe you could cook, just for me, some tofu!!!! And we will drink some sake together :-)!

EN

177-0041

3-25-8 Syakujii tyo Nerimaku Tokyo

JAPAN

http://r.gnavi.co.jp/e578100/

Trapani ed Erice

This was my first taste of Sicily, unfortunately too brief and 'confusing' to make detailed comments or take good photos, but I can only say that it left me wanting to discover more. For now here is:

Trapani

Above: It feels very North African. Below: Spaghetti alla Norma

Baroque...

But not always...

Erice

At the Hotel Moderno, everybody in my party ate fish (apparentely this place is famous for its fish couscous), but I had pasta with pesto alla trapanese (I put here a link from the blog

Io da Grande with the recipe - in Italian). Below: Antipasti, china, and sweet things.

In Erice there is also the Castle of venus, built over a temple where Venus Ericina was worshipped. The legend says that the temple was founded by Aeneas, and the oldest walls were build by the architect Dedalus. Later the Normans did the rest. I thought this to be a very fine place, and the view was amazing, mostly because the weather was uncertain that day and I could not distinguish the sea horizon, which just blended with the sky into a never-ending brush of aquamarine.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Oratia Plum Jam

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Plum jam is one of my favourite, and as I live near some beautiful orchards in Oratia, west of Auckland, I like to make the most of the plentiful supply. This year my neighbors invited me to pick from their fruit trees, the variety was great and the fruit delicious.

Plum Jam

Ingredients

For each Kg of plums I used 600 g of sugar, (because I like my plum jam a little tart) and one teaspoon of pectin.

Wash the freshly picked fruit and place in a large saucepan with a little water. Bring the fruit to a gentle boil. When the fruit is simmering add the sugar and stir well. After 5 minutes add the pectin. Simmer the jam for about 5 more minutes and then pass through a sieve, discarding the stones.

Place the hot jam in sterilised jars, dried in the oven. At this point you can add to each jar a cinnamon stick (for dark plums) or a long pepper (for yellow plums); or you can wet the inside of the jar with a little grappa or brandy (an old Italian method). Either seal the jars with cellophane covers (available in all supermarkets) and secure with an elastic band, or use capsule lids (I use Quattro Stagioni brand).

If using capsule lids, seal the jars well, place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the jars. Let the jars cool down in the pot overnight and when they are cold make sure that the capsule has popped by pressing gently on the lid. Properly sterilised jars will keep for over a year.

I also made plum paste, but I will talk about it in another post...if it turns out well :-)

Almost self-sufficient zucchini antipasto

I have two zucchini plants, one yellow and one green. It is incredible how many flowers and zucchini two plants can provide, certainly more than enough for a family of 4! The green zucchini plant is huge and very prolific, the yellow one less so (don't know why...), but still, I get enough. In the garden I also have herbs and lemons, and a friends who grows garlic gave me some; for this dish I only had to buy salt and olive oil!

Zucchini Antipasto

Cut the zucchini in long strips and fry on both sides with extra virgin olive oil. Finely chop some Italian parsley, mint, and Genovese basil with two cloves of garlic and a generous pinch of salt.

Place this 'pesto' on the zucchini (keep a little aside for decoration) and add the juice from half a lemon. Stir and let the zucchini marinate for two hours. Arrange on a platter and add the remaining 'pesto'. Serve.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I am entering this recipe in the Grow Your Own competition hosted by House of Annie. Do you Grow Your Own? Have you posted about it during the month of January? Read the complete rules on Andrea’s site. Then show off your post and submit it here:

http://www.emailmeform.com/fid.php?formid=532860

Lake Taupo, Huka Falls, Geothermal Areas, Waitomo Caves, Kawhia...and more!

I hea koe?

I Taupō au.

I had a few lovely days in Taupo, on the lake, good family time and a few dips in the thermal pools.

To see nearby: the fantastic Huka Falls

And the geothermal areas: first a look at a geothermal power plant

And then the Craters of the Moon geothermal site. The signs are clear...

and numerous....

We kept to the path, but our feet were hot!

Then we travelled north ...

And stopped to visit the famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves. These are great but no photos can be taken inside, so look here! A magical experience! Below is the cave exit...

In Waitomo we stayed in the historic and charming Waitomo Caves Hotel

More travelling: wild animals in the back seats:

And a few amazing sites on the way: Mangapohue Natural Limestone Bridge

The Piripiri Caves

And the Marokopa Falls. All these sites are reachable by short walks in the bush.

In the car again, on the road to...

Our final destination before turning back to Auckland: the charming harbour and village of Kawhia

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Win a copy of Savour: Irresistible pizzas, pies, tarts and bread

I am off for a few days holiday in Taupo, so probably I will not be able to post anything. But I do like to offer another book, this one is about savoury food, lots of baking, over 100 recipes, vegetarian and vegan, and a few surprises like how to make your own mozzarella :-)

All you have to do is follow me here, or on Only Recipes (or put your avatar among the followers/supporters on both blogs for a double entry). If you are already a follower you are in!

By next Friday you will know who is the winner!

Good luck!

Alessandra

Update:

Dear all, I have the house full of children so I did my hat thing again and the winner is...Arfi of HomeMadeS

Congratulation Arfi, and thank you all!

Strawberry Trifle layer by layer

I started with 500 g of ripe strawberries, halved and placed in a bowl with the juice of 1 lemon and 3 tbsp of sugar. I left the strawberries marinate for half a day and then I collected 300ml of juice.

To make the jelly: bring 300ml of the above juice to the boil and add half a teaspoon of agar agar powder. Simmer for two minutes, stirring, and then place in a serving bowl. Set.

Once the jelly is set top with a layer of savoiardi or sponge biscuits, or sponge. Top with the strawberries from the marinade (but keep aside any other juice that they may have produced while the jelly was setting). If you like you can add some liqueur.

Make a custard with 2 free range eggs, 3 tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of flour. Add slowly 500 ml of milk and simmer until it thickens, then add 1 drop of vanilla essence. Stir while it cools and then pour over the strawberries.

Whip some cream, 200/300 ml will suffice. Add the remaining strawberry juice and keep whipping until very firm. Adding the strawberry juice is optional, but I like it because it makes the cream pink! If you like, top with some fresh strawberries.

Place in the fridge and keep everybody away until after dinner!! This is good and won't last long! :-)

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

How to rescue a spider, and yellow beans

He has been lurking around the home for days. I have seen bigger, but still, they are often in the bush, or in the shed, or somewhere where we can leave them alone. Instead this 'little' Avondale Spider (I don't know if it is a he or she, so I keep referring to 'him' as a he...and not it!) was walking around like he owned the place, and not in corners or against the wall, but straight in the middle of the corridor path, in the living room, office, kitchen...in full daylight. The French doors are open for most of the day now, I thought that he could leave on his own accord, especially after been almost stepped on a few times. I tried screaming, but he just stood there looking at me, and waited for me to step aside (me walking against the wall). But he didn't leave. My husband is away so I couldn't ask him to put him out, I kind of liked the creature, Avondale spiders are not dangerous, and they are quite cute, in an arachnid sort of way, that is. Mostly I was afraid of the cats finding him...he could not stay! So, what is a 'domestic goddess' to do? I put a plastic jar over it, and slid a piece of paper underneath, showed him to the kids, and then took him out into the garden. Bye bye Avi, please don't come back!

And then in the garden I saw my first yellow beans!!!

I picked them immediately, the more you pick them and the more they seem to grow, and the plants still have so many flowers on!

Initially I thought of cooking them with a tomato sauce, but then I changed my mind: they are so fresh, and the first, so I just sautéed a shallot with olive oil, added the beans (washed and top and tailed, of course) and sautéed them gently for a little. Then I added a pinch of salt, put the lid on, lowered the heat, and let them cook in their own steam for about 10 minutes (checking and stirring from time to time). I didn't need to add any water, probably because they were so fresh, and they tasted perfect!

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

More Japanese Style Recipes

Tomato Gari

A friend from a culinary forum told me that there is a new rage in Japan and it is tomato gari: a slice of tomato topped with some gari (thin slices of Japanese pickled ginger - the ones you eat with sushi) and salt. Well, I had to try it! I wasn't sure how it is supposed to look like, so the composition is my 'invention', and I used some Maldon salt (in flakes). And then I tasted it.

A M A Z I N G ! ! !

A real hit to the taste buds...but...I wanted a second...wow, still surprising...and then a third...and I was tired.

Yes, I will make it again, for some posh Japanese dinner maybe, I will serve ONE single slice per person, maybe between courses, or as a starter to wake up the taste buds. But no more. With one I think that people will remain wanting more...and they will remember it in their 'culinary memory bank' like something unique. More than that, and I feel it may be too much.

Now, for something less experimental:

Simmered Tofu Balls with Celery

I make this a lot, especially for my kids. I buy the tofu balls in the Chinese shop. They are already fried and puffy, and they are very versatile. For this recipe I just simmer them for 10 minutes with celery stalks and vegetable stock, then I lift them up from the stock (which I use as a base for soups or other things) with a slotted spoon, and I serve them, warm. They are so simple to make and yet they taste quite elaborate. I often serve them as part of a Japanese meal (as the protein dish) accompanied by a bowl of rice, a bowl of light soup, and some steamed seasonal vegetables dressed with soy sauce and lemon.

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©