Baked Wild Trout with Red Rice and Sea Beet

I was given a wild trout that was caught by the husband of a friend of mine in the Teifi River near Cenarth in West Wales. He prepared the fish beautifully and gutted it, cut off the head & tail and removed the dorsal fin etc. I brushed it with olive oil inside and out and squeezed some lemon juice over it and then covered it with bread crumbs (panko and finely grated pecorino in melted butter and olive oil). I then put it in the oven for 30 mins at gas mark 5 or 375 and meanwhile, i had earlier fried some chopped chorizo in the pressure cooker and added 1/2 cup each of short grain brown rice and wild red rice (both organic) and fried a bit longer and then added about 1 1/3 cup of chicken stock (real made earlier in the week) and brought to pressure and then turned to low and put on the heat diffuser for 45 mins and turned off and let come to room temp on its own. I then added a big spoonful of homemade coriander pesto. for the pesto, i use maldons sea salt, garlic and cashew nuts (pine nuts cost too much now days, might try walnuts next time, but had cashews) and olive oil and  used my bamix to pulverise and then added more olive oil and lots of coriander and pulverised again adding olive oil till i got consistency right and then added grated pecorino and added more olive oil till consistency was as i like - i then put in frig and this is good for weeks. for the sea beet, i soaked for awhile cause you never know if a dog has been walking the beach etc and then i steamed it and added toasted sesame oil and soy sauce to taste. Needless to say, the meal was superb, i only ate 1/2 of the fish tonight, but will put it back in the oven tomorrow night for about 20 mins to heat up and it will again be superb, perhaps a bit drier, but it will be a quick meal. Milky the cat also thought the trout was superb!!

Brown Risotto Rice

I found a website, http://www.vit-shop.co.uk, which has the best selection of macrobiotic/japanese foods I have found on the web for the uk. The range is extensive and the prices most reasonable. The site also has a full range of health foods, beauty products and all of that. The name doesn't lend itself to being a place to get macrobiotic foods and I found it by putting in clearspring to see where I could get their products. I live in West Wales and it is not easy to find the items I want. I can order a lot of them from my health food store, but not all. I do travel to London once a year perhaps to source new foods from Planet Organic or WholeFoods, but this vit-shop site does have a brilliant selection...

So now back to the brown risotto - I found it on the vit shop site where I put in Biona and brought up all their products. I do love risotto and figured that brown must be better than white so bought a pack and have just now used it for the first time. I have used Pru Leith's Cookery Bible for making my risotto for years and basically do 8 oz of risotto to 1 1/2 pt (30 oz) of stock. Well today I had made hummous (the best ever) and used the water that I had pressure cooked the chick peas in for 45 mins. To this I also added the water that I had soaked the Maitake Mushrooms (Grifola frondosa) in. I had read about these in Japanese Foods that Heal and found them on the vit shop site. I used olive oil and sauteed 3 smallish organic brown onions that I had sliced into thin half moons. When they softened, I added 4 chopped sun dried tomatoes (yes, I know, a solanoid) and the mushrooms that had soaked all day. Meanwhile, I got a small dish and added saffron to some soya milk and put it in the microwave (yes, i know about this too) for about 30 seconds to bring to the boil so that the colour would bleed into the milk (this turned out to be a waste as the brown rice did not absorb the saffron colour). When the onions, etc were well sauteed, I added a big slug of marsala wine and the brown risotto and cooked over medium heat until all was absorbed. I then started to add the stock a small portion at a time and cooked till absorbed. I added the saffron milk to the stock, but you can also add directly to the rice mixture. Well, 45 mins later I was still adding and stirring and had run out of stock so made up some quick marigold stock and was adding this and the rice was still very al dente, not teeth breaking, but not as it should be. I continued on and finally when it got close, I added about an ounce of grated organic parmesan cheese (yes, cheese, I know) and put the lid on in hopes that it would absorb and soften. I had in the interim, briefly steamed some purple sprouting brocoli (not organic, havent seen it organic) and then added a bit of organic balsamic vinegar and olive oil (not organic, but will get some next time I hope).

The risotto was very nice and the chewiness was close to just right and the brocoli went along well with it. Now you might not think this is exactly macrobiotic by the book, but the weather has changed here in the UK during the past week and has been very warm and I have been craving Mediterranean food. The challenge of the Solanaceae family will definitely be a subject of internal debate this summer as I take on board the reasons that they are eschewed by hard liners, but find that I like them in my food during the summer. I will just have to pay very close attention to my body, back health and all that to see if they affect me adversely....

n.b.I just read the back of the risotto pack and it recommends 70 mins and more stock - perhaps I should have read that first.... that would be long time to be tied to the stove stirring and adding so I will have to ensure that I have other dishes on the go at the same time so as to maximise productivity...

I shall have to write about my hummous later...

Pressure Cookers

I recently purchased a WMF Perfect Plus Pressure Cooker 6.5ltr from amazon.co.uk. I had been watching it and when I saw that it was 25% off, I went ahead and bought it. I already had a pressure cooker, a much cheaper one, and although it was ok, it wasn't brilliant and also wasn't big enough. Mayumi recommended a Silit which from the reviews does appear to be excellent, but it was more expensive than the WMF which also had excellent reviews. The WMF is German and they do the best washer machines (Miele), the best knives (Wusthof - yes I know about Global which are comparable), etc, so I figured I'd go for it. I also went for the larger size, 6.5 ltr, and although I have not used it to full capacity, it is there if I need it. The first time I used it I nearly cried as I thought I had spent all this money and well, not that it didn't work, but I really didn't understand what I was to do as it was so different. But, I figured all the reviews couldn't be wrong and I persevered and within a few more uses I had it down. You can't hear it making lots of noise which made me think it wasn't working, but it is so far advanced from what I had that I simply wasn't prepared. It is brilliant and I highly recommend it - also, Mayumi says that all her recipes are for the Silit and I find the recipes/times work perfectly for the WMF!!

Macrobiotic Cooking

I have most of the macrobiotic cookbooks out there and this is the one I come back to over and over. It is perhaps not for the hardliner, but it has helped me to learn to cook in a whole new way - the marcobiotic way with a bit of leeway.... the new macrobiotics.

Homemade Sauerkraut

here are the pictures - will update with details later

Sourdough Pizza

The nicest pizza i ever had was in a pub in sarasota florida where they also served pizza - the crust was nearly paper thin and believe it or not, i loved it - i was always a thick and chewy pizza crust person, but this pizza was so exceptional because you could taste the flavours in the toppings and not be overwhelmed with stodge - i have never until now been able to emulate this kind of crust!

I am now making sourdough bread and came across this recipe in the monthly e newsletter from www.culturesforhealth.com which is an excellent american site - lots of good recipes and advice - so i have made crusts from this recipe (first bake only - less than 7 mins)  and cut them in half and froze them for later.. read recipe and then go below for how i made the pizza

Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe

Ingredients: 1.5 cups Fresh Sourdough Starter* 4-5 tablespoons Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, etc. 1 teaspoon Salt 1.25 to 1.75 cups Flour Preheat the oven to 500° F.  Mix together the fresh sourdough starter, one tablespoon of oil, the salt and 1.25 cups of flour.  Add more flour, a little at a time, as needed to form a pizza dough consistency.  The amount of flour needed will depend on the hydration level of your sourdough starter (i.e. the ratios used when feeding the starter).  Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes as it will be easier to roll out (it won't rise significantly if at all).  Roll the dough out into a circle using a minimum amount of flour to prevent sticking.  Bake the crust for approximately 7 minutes.  Remove the crust from the oven and brush on the remaining oil to prevent the toppings from soaking into the crust and making it soggy.  Add the desired toppings and bake the pizza until the crust browns and the cheese melts. *We recommend using sourdough starter which has been fed three times 4-12 hours apart prior to making the pizza crust.  Click here for more information on feeding your sourdough starter prior to baking. i put a pizza stone in the oven and turned it up high (6 or more) and spread coriander pesto on the crust along with tomato purée and then topped with cooked chorizo slices, black olives, cheese, anchovies, black pepper and chili pepper flakes and baked for about 5 mins - incredible - you can really just put whatever you have around!!! this was a quick lunch, but for a full dinner you could obviously spend more time preparing toppings - also, basil pesto would be best, but i only have coriander pesto in the frig (homemade or course)

Dinner with Diana Henry...again

Penne with kale, roast onions and Gorgonzola, page 88

In Food From Plenty, Diana will have a main recipe on the page and then at the bottom will usually offer variations - in these variations one can often find a real treasure as I have done with the penne recipe.

Heat oven to 375 or 6 and cut 3 onions into wedges - i should have done 8ths as quarters did not roast quickly enough, and mix with 6 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper - put in the oven and roast until tender and slightly charred, (30-60 minutes) meanwhile, remove ribs from kale (or not depending - you can always remove and use for something else or sometimes i will remove ribs and steams leaves and put chopped ribs in boiling water below), cut up kales into long strips and steam - i used chopped spring greens as tescos was out of kale and there is none in my garden yet - once steamed, set aside, then cook penne (about 200gm depending) - i used biona organic spelt wholegrain penne (a favourite which i always have on hand) and once cooked, add some good quality olive oil and let rest in covered pan till onions are ready - right before onions are ready, put a bit of olive oil in a biggish pan and fry kale gently to reheat and then add pasta to mix and heat and then add onions and also about 5 oz of gorgonzola which has been chopped up to melt quickly - keep over heat for a few minutes until all is melted!!! very very nice!!

you can always go to amazon look inside to find this recipe....

Wild Greens Soup - Diana Henry - Food from Plenty

I can't find the recipe for Diana's Wild Greens Soup on the internet, but you can go to amazon and look inside and then put in wild greens and the recipe will come up on page 232 and you can copy it out. I made the recipe with fresh nettle leaves and fresh sea beet. I used celery and its leaves instead of carrot as i had the celery and did not have the carrots. It has surpassed my expectations - it is incredible and if served with a slice of sourdough bread and butter, you are in for a treat!!!

Eating Sourdough Bread

I think good bread and good butter (organic of course) is superb!!! If you have made a loaf of real sourdough bread, try spreading a thin coat of butter on it and then spread some unpasteurised miso on it - i do like source miso from south wales - it is really earthy and tastes great over the butter or on its own. Miso should be unpasteurised, otherwise there is not live bacterium which one needs for good health. Clearspring also do excellent unpasteurized misos, but i think they are stronger and thus better used in a recipe instead of on its own. Good jam is also nice on toasted sourdough  - try st dalfours jams which do not use sugar - they arent organic, but is still use them...

Sourdough Bread

Moro - The Cookbook - Sourdough Starter Recipe

The Starter

• 1 bunch organic red grapes
• 500 g unbleached strong white bread flour
• 1 liter water

The Food

• 100 g unbleached strong white bread flour
• 150 ml water

Directions:

1. 1
   Wash the grapes and wrap them in a muslin or fine cheese cloth.
2. 2
   Loosely tie the open end with a string or elastic band and lightly crush the grapes inside with a rolling pin.
3. 3
   Combine the flour and water in a large plastic, ceramic or stainless-steel bowl.
4. 4
   It is best if you can find one with a lid.
5. 5
   Squeeze some of the juice from the grapes into the flour and water mixture, before completely burying the little bag inside the mixture.
6. 6
   Cover with the lid or a plate and leave for 10 days to two weeks at room temperature, around 20 C or 68 F.
7. 7
   The grapes should start to ferment and the bag should balloon slightly with the gases being given off by the grapes.
8. 8
   Pull the bag out of the mixture and squeeze any juice back into the white mixture.
9. 9
   Throw away the grapes and the bag.
10. 10
    Stir the starter, which should now be slightly pink and have a sour, grapey smell.
11. 11
    Now you should pour away about a third of the initial starter mixture and stir in one batch of its food.
12. 12
    In the beginning, you will have to feed your starter twice a day (best done at regular intervals) for two weeks.
13. 13
    Just before you feed the starter, make sure you also throw away 200ml of the basic mixture.
14. 14
    This might seem like a waste but if you don't you will have far too much starter!
15. 15
    After two weeks, your starter should really be alive and kicking.
16. 16
    Taste a bit and it should have a slight fizz to it.
17. 17
    If the starter doesn't taste fizzy, keep feeding it until it does.
18. 18
    A slightly lower room termperature can slow things up a bit.
19. 19
    When it tastes fizzy you are ready to start making bread.
20. 20
    To keep your starter going (it is a living thing, after all) you should only need to feed it once a week and leave it in the fridge, unless you are making bread more than once a week.
21. 21
    If you are not making bread very often, you can leave feedings for two weeks.
22. 22
    Make sure you keep it in the fridge, which slows the starter down.
23. 23
    If it is kept at room temperature, it will need to be fed every day.
24. 24
    Between making bread, give the starter at least a day to recover.

I found this on the internet and it is essentially the recipe from the book - the book is definitely brill and worth buying - best of the 3 moro cookbooks i think.


Once you have your starter you can start making bread. I use Dove's Organic White Bread flour for the starter as it is organic, but not priced over the top. For the bread, I use Bacheldre Mill flours - they are superb - the book recommends shipton mill which i cant buy locally.  Below is the recipe from the book which again i found on the internet. I used half unbleached white bread flour and half rye flour - both are of course organic - the bread is superb - heavy and moist - i could never go back to yeasted bread - more on that another time...

STAGE 1 450g unbleached strong white bread flour (preferably organic) 700ml cold water 250g Sourdough Starter (see separate recipe), stir first to recombine before measuring STAGE 2 100g unbleached strong white bread flour (preferably organic) 150ml cold water STAGE 3 450g unbleached strong white bread flour (preferably organic) 2-3 teaspoons fine sea salt (depending on how sour the dough is) olive oil or sunflower oil for oiling the bread tins extra flour (bread or fine semolina) for dusting Notes: This recipe will make two loaves. We have had good success with New Zealand Biograins Stoneground Organic White Flour and also Kialla Organic Unbleached Plain Flour. Feed the starter organic flour, then you can always make organic bread! A sourdough will need slightly more salt than bread made with a commercial brewer's yeast because of its sour flavour. If you are unsure taste a little bit of the dough to make sure the balance is right. We mix our bread by hand but if you use a dough-hook be careful not to over-mix the dough (5 minutes is sufficient). The gluten of an over-kneaded dough will have lost all its elasticity and this will result in a bread of poor texture and shape. Bread needs warmth. It likes to be made in a modern centrally heated house, not a cold draughty pantry. Nowadays, most houses are warm enough, but do not leave the rising dough next to an open window. Use a hotwater cupboard during winter if you have one. The slower the rise, the better texture and taste the bread has. For this reason the recipe has two rising stages - first overnight and then the next day. This is best suited to sourdough especially. Source: Moro Ebury Press, 2001 pp.14-16

STAGE 1: Friday night, before bed In a mixer, with a dough hook, or by hand in a large bowl, mix the water into the flour, then stir in the starter. Transfer to a larger bowl if the mixture comes above two-thirds, for it will rise a little bit. Cover and leave overnight. STAGE 2: Feed the original sourdough starter Add the flour and water to the original starter and mix until incorporated. It does not matter if there are a few lumps as these will disappear. Cover and leave overnight (out of the fridge). STAGE 3: Saturday up until midday Return the sourdough starter to the fridge. You will need two 450g rectangular bread tins, roughly 22cm long by 11cm wide and 6.5cm high. First stir in the salt, then add the flour to the existing bowl of dough that has been resting overnight and mix by hand until smooth or turn the machine on to a low setting. When mixed in, beat by hand (with the tips of your fingers) for 5-8 minutes until more or less smooth and elastic. If using machine 5 minutes should be sufficient. The dough does not need to be kneaded on a floured board, as it is too wet anyway. Rest for another 5-10 minutes to relax the dough, while you prepare the bread tins. Oil the tins well, then dust the inside generously with flour (bread or semolina). Beat the dough again for 2-3 more minutes. Divide the dough between the tins. They should be no more than two-thirds, full. Lightly dust the top with more flour. Depending on the room temperature and activity of the starter, the dough will need 3-5 hours to prove until increased in size by a third at least, or the dough has risen as much as possible in the tin without overflowing. STAGE 4: Saturday Afternoon When the dough is roughly in it's last half-hour of rising, preheat the oven to 230°C. When the oven is up to temperature and you are satisfied the dough has risen sufficiently, place the tins on the middle shelf. Bake for a good 30 minutes (try not to give in to the temptation to look at it for the first 15 minutes as it can affect the rise). When the 30 minutes are up, remove the bread from the tins and bake for a further 10-15 minutes. If the bread has formed a good hard crust and has browned it is ready. To make extra sure, tap the bottom, which should feel hollow. Transfer to a cooling rack and leave until completely cool. It is always tempting to cut the bread before it has totally cooled, but if you do, the steam will be released and change the texture. Bread with a perfect texture should have even holes and a glossy look to it. If your bread is split or cracked in any way, then it means it had not quite proved enough.

Diana Henry's Chiang Mai Chicken Noodles

Tonight's dinner was superb thanks to Diana Henry and her book Food From Plenty. I first viewed this book at TK Maxx several months back and for some reason, did not immediately snap it up. I saw it again a few months later and read the reviews on Amazon and decided that I must have it - I did go back to TK Maxx and got it cheaper than it was available on Amazon (this is, however, generally not the case)

So I made the Chiang Mai Chicken Noodles recipe:

CHIANG MAI CHICKEN NOODLES

A great change from Thai chicken curry, which I seem to make rather a lot.
You can also make this with leftover pork.

Serves 4
For the noodles
Groundnut oil
1 onion, sliced into crescent moon shapes, or 6 shallots, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp red Thai curry paste
400ml can coconut milk
200ml chicken stock
350g leftover cooked chicken, in chunks
1⁄2 tsp soft light brown sugar, or to taste
2 tsp fish sauce, or to taste
Juice of 1⁄2 lime, or to taste
400g egg noodles

To serve
2 spring onions, chopped on the diagonal
1 red chilli, halved, deseeded and shredded
2 tbsp chopped coriander
Wedges of lime

• Put 1 tbsp of the oil into a saucepan and sauté the onion or shallots until golden. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, then add the turmeric and curry paste. Stir for 1 minute until the spices become fragrant. Add the coconut milk and stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the chicken and heat through thoroughly. Season with the sugar and fish sauce and adjust it to your taste; you may want lime or more sugar.

• Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Divide them between four bowls, spoon over the chicken curry and sprinkle over the spring onions, chilli and coriander. Offer wedges of lime to serve.

My notes: I used olive oil as I do not keep groundnut (peanut oil) in my kitchen. I had 2 organic chicken leg/thigh portions and removed the skin and simmered them with an onion, a celery base and bay leaves (all organic naturally) - after several hours I removed the meat from the bones and chopped into large chunks and reserved enough stock for the recipe. I did not have thai curry paste so instead used my standard Patak's Mild Curry Paste. A note on coconut milk - do read the ingredients, you will be amazed at all the crap that can be put into some products - I have to go to the middle eastern market to get a can of coconut milk that does not have anything other than coconut and water in it (Heera is the brand). I cannot find additive free coconut milk from tescos or morrisons!! I don't have fish sauce as I don't use it often and have read that it will not last indefinitely - so i mash up an anchovy and add soy sauce instead (i do use kikkoman soy sauce and although not organic, it is additive free). I am ashamed to admit that I have a bottle of lime concentrate in the frig as i rarely use limes and did not plan to make this when i did - you could i am sure forgo the lime juice and perhaps i will next time. For the noodles i used clearspring organic udon noodles - i certainly did not use 400 gm worth and it was too much - i used 2.5 wrapped bundles.

To serve I cooked up a steamed serving of freshly collected sea beet and mixed with the main dish and also added fresh coriander, sliced green onion, clearspring sweet white miso, alfalfa sprouts, fried chicken skin (i adhere to sally fallon nourishing traditions and that fats are good for you - must be organic and must not be to excess - i fried the skin from the chicken in a pan and will save the fat for cooking - it is better than a lot of oils) and chopped up the crispy chicken skin and put over the bowl of noodles etc. Finally, I put a large spoonful of my home made sauerkraut which of course is alive!!

Sea Beet - ancestor of modern spinach - superb!!