August 9th, 2015
Paloma and I made it back home after our nearly two month stay Russia. We spent some quality time with family and friends in my home town, where Paloma took a few classes and got a chance to polish up her swimming, gymnastics and piano skills. The teaching style in Russia is quite different than back home – a lot is asked from the children, and the teachers are quite serious. Paloma didn’t seem to mind and actually had a few important breakthroughs. After all that hard work we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Sochi, swimming in the beautiful waters of the Black Sea (more on Sochi in the next post), hiking in the Caucasus Mountains and wandering around the Moscow center.
Back home in Florida, we still have a bit of time before school begins, to look at the hundreds of pictures we took and share the adventures with our friends over here. I keep a little dish of multicolored glass, polished by the sea, speckled pebbles and shells close by on the counter, to keep reminding myself of the most magical moments of this summer.
Below are a few favorite photos from our travels, starting with the said pebbles.
Caucasus Mountains in the summer.
One of the dozens of the ornate subway stations in Moscow.
Perlov Tea House, a beautiful tea shop and a historic building in Moscow.
One of Stalin’s high rises captured from the Moscow River.
It always takes me some time to adjust to the food here when coming back from the other side of the Atlantic. After eating all the juicy berries, wild mushrooms and my mother’s delicious Russian cooking, it’s hard to find things to be flavorful here, at least for the first couple of weeks. I do crave lots of vegetables and big salads.
This simple daikon pasta was the first dish I cooked back home, satisfying my veggie cravings. In two months without many eastern flavors, I forgot how delicious ginger and coconut milk are. The corn is also sweeter here in my opinion. This was my first attempt at cooking vegetable noodles like pasta – boiled in a pot of salted water – a method I’ve been curious about for a while. I loved the resulting neutral flavor and the noodle texture did resemble very delicate angel hair.
Daikon Radish Pasta with Corn and Tomatoes in Creamy Coconut Sauce
1 medium to large daikon radish
2 ears of corn
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons sriracha
1 tablespoon lime juice
sea salt
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon smooth almond butter
1-2 handfulls heirloom cherry tomatoes – quartered
handful of basil leaves – torn
microgreens to garnish – optional
1. Cut kernels off the corn ears and set aside.
1. Set a medium pot with salted water over high heat. Peel and cut daikon into noodles, using a juliene peeler, veggie peeler or mandoline. When the water begins to boil, add daikon noodles and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Warm coconut and sesame oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add ginger, sriracha, lime juice, pinch of salt and corn, saute for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add coconut milk, tamari and almond butter, stirring to incorporate until creamy and hot. Add daikon pasta, cook for another 3 minutes, letting all the flavors combine.
4. Turn the heat off, add tomatoes and basil. Serve immediately.
Tags: basil, coconut milk, corn, daikon radish, pasta, tomato
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June 14th, 2015
By the time this post goes up, Paloma and I will be in Russia spending some much anticipated time with grandma. I will try to keep Instagram updated with some snaps from our travels.
I leave you with this salad, made with plenty of nutritious grains, herbs, and two stars of the spring/summer farmer’s market – asparagus and strawberries. It’s a variation on one my all time favorite salads, from our book (Fava Bean, Quinoa, and Mint Salad on pg. 89) – simple, rich in textures, filling and very fresh. Mint is essential to the flavor here, so try not to skip it.
Enjoy the beginning of summer!
Multigrain Summer Salad with Strawberries and Asparagus
for the salad
1 bunch asparagus
2 cups strawberries – sliced
handful fresh mint leaves – chopped
handful basil leaves – chopped (optional)
2 cups cooked grains (I used a combination of sorghum, red rice and spelt, but any grains like quinoa, faro, frekkeh, any type of rice, or even buckwheat would work fine here)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)
for the dressing
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of sea salt
1. Cut tough ends off the asparagus. Cook it your preferred way – blanch, steam or grill. I like to blanch asparagus in salted water for 3 minutes, then shock it in an ice bath, so it stays bright green and crispy. Slice into bite sized pieces.
2. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until well combined and set aside.
2. Place cooked grains into a large mixing bowl. Add asparagus, strawberries and herbs. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired. This salad tastes best when eaten within a day.
Tags: asparagus, basil, grain, mint, red rice, rice, salad, sorghum, spelt, strawberry
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September 21st, 2014
I’m so excited to talk about the new creation of our long-time (virtual) friends, David and Luise, the team behind Green Kitchen Stories. I’ve been anticipating their second cookbook, Green Kitchen Travels, with much enthusiasm after admiring their work for many years. Once it arrived at my doorstep, I didn’t put it down until I saw the whole thing, studying every stunning image many times over. The book is filled with vibrant vegetarian and vegan dishes, many of which I was tempted to make right away. What makes it special is that every recipe is inspired by the authors’ travels around the world, often based on authentic dishes with a fresh, veggie-based twist. The creative and easy-going GKS style is evident on every page.
It was very tough for me to decide on a dish for this post. I was quite torn between the Crispy Aubergine Bites, Lentil and Strawberry Tacos, Sicilian Caponata, Vietnamese Pho, Vegan Moussaka, Indian Cardamom Laddu, Portuguese Sopa de Legumes and Lemongrass Brussels Sprout Curry. Finally, my never-ending love for Pad Thai took over, and this No Noodle Pad Thai recipe did not disappoint. The flavors here are warming, yet very fresh and crisp, with julienned daikon and carrots replacing noodles.
Now I’m off to shop for ingredients for the Caponata, before it’s too late in the season for tomatoes and eggplants.
The good news is that Green Kitchen Travels is available for pre-order right here! Thank you David and Luise for another beautiful cookbook.
No Noodle Pad Thai
1 daikon radish or zucchini
4 medium carrots – peeled
4 cups mung bean sprouts
4 spring onions (scallions) – finely chopped (I used chives here)
1 package firm tofu – cut in cubes
1 handfull cilantro leaves (I used basil because I had beautiful basil on hand)
2 tablespoons black or tan sesame seeds – toasted, plus extra for garnish
4 slices of lime – to serve
Sauce
1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) peanut butter (I used almond butter)
4 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
1. Create the noodles from the daikon and carrots using a julienne peeler, mandoline, spiralizer or potato peeler. Place the ‘noodles’ into a bowl, then add in the mung bean sprouts, onions, tofu, herbs and sesame seeds. Mix well.
2. Stir together all the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl, add more water if needed. Adjust the seasoning.
3. Pour the sauce over the vegetables and toss to combine thoroughly, using your hands. Garnish with more herbs, sesame seeds and a slice of lime.
Note: If making ahead, store the salad and sauce refrigerated in two separate containers.
Tags: basil, carrots, daikon radish, pad thai, raw
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