EcoPunk's Fluffy Yummy Quinoa

EcoPunk's Fluffy Yummy Quinoa

Quinoa is a grain that is very high in nutrients, and tastes really good if you prepare it correctly. If you prepare it incorrectly, it can be pretty terrible, so here is the big secret to making good quinoa.

The secret is in the washing. When quinoa is harvested and dried, the grains exude a sap coating called saponin, which helps preserve the grain. Saponin tastes like bitter soap, to put it bluntly. If you do not wash it off, your dish will taste like soap too.

Measure your dry quinoa and put it in a fine-mesh strainer. Run it under warm tap water and mix the grains around with your hand for several minutes. At first you will see that the saponin is a little bubbly, as if it were real soap, but this will eventually wash off and you will stop seeing the bubbles. Wash the grains until all the bubbles are gone, and then wash them for another minute or so for good measure. Yes, this makes a difference!

One cup of dry quinoa  will yield about 3 cups of cooked quinoa.

Put your clean quinoa in a pot.
Add 2 cups of water for every dry cup of quinoa that you are cooking.
For every cup of dry quinoa in your pot, add a large pinch of salt.
Boil briskly until most of the water is absorbed, then reduce heat and cover. It will take about 20 minutes to cook completely.
You will know when it is done by trying a sample, it should be soft, much like cooked rice.
Let it stand for a 5 minutes after turning off the heat, then fluff it with a fork before serving.


You can add all sorts of flavorings when you boil your quinoa. Try these:
broth
fresh herbs
a bit of butter or olive oil
bits of dried veggies
sauteed onions and mushrooms


My friend Ellah makes a quinoa salad that I adore. It is one of the very few ways that I actually LIKE cucumbers. Here is the recipe, based on my own memory of the dish:

4 cups cooked quinoa
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
2 large very ripe tomatoes, diced
About half a cup of minced fresh parsley
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
Salt & pepper to taste
 (there may have been a little vinegar in there too)

Toss the lot together and enjoy!

EcoPunk's Autumn Chestnuts

EcoPunk's Autumn Chestnuts

You've seen them in the store, and most people have exactly NO CLUE what they are, how to cook them, how to eat them, or what to serve them with. Chestnuts are one of America's perplexing foods, and apparently only the street vendors of New York and the residents of Redwall Abbey  know the secrets of cooking these little beauties.


No More! Let everyone know the wonder of the Chestnut!

How to pick the good ones:
December is the prime month for fresh chestnuts. Chestnuts are normally presented in the grocery store in a huge bin, and each customer is expected to pick the ones they like, much like green beans or fresh corn. This is how to pick the good ones:
1- Make sure the shell is intact, no bug holes or cracks.
2- Select nuts of a similar size, so that when you cook them they will all cook at the same rate.
3- Depending on how you plan to cook them, you may need to select nuts with a flat side (for roasting in the oven).
4- Always get them fresh, they don't store very well after you get them home. Treat them as you would fresh fruit.  You won't know if they are bad until you cook them. Don't try to eat them raw, they won't be very tasty, and nearly impossible to peel! On the other hand, eating raw chestnuts is not harmful, they just taste bad raw.

EcoPunk's Easy Steamed Chestnuts (very easy, good for dry climates where roasting them can sometimes dry them out too much to eat)

Select about 6-10 nuts per person.
Using a paring knife, cut a slit in each shell to prevent them from exploding.
Using a steaming pot, add a very generous amount of water in the bottom, place all nuts in the steaming tray, and boil briskly for about half an hour. Make sure you don't run out of water!

Test if they are done: Carefully scoop one nut out of the steam and cut it in half. Use a small spoon to scoop out the meat, if you can scoop it then it is done. If it is still too hard to scoop, steam longer.

Serving suggestion: Cut each nut in half and wrap them in a kitchen towel to keep them warm. To eat, scoop out the inside meat with a spoon. You can try peeling them, but I'm telling you it's a waste of time when you steam them!


Roast'Em!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire... Yep, I just sang for you!
If you slit the shells first to prevent exploding nuts, you can roast chestnuts over a fire. This requires a chestnut pan, which is basically a very large deep pan with holes drilled in it. Like this:
 Source: http://www.lionsdeal.com/pwc-a4172128.html?utm_source=googlepla&utm_medium=cpc&adtype=pla&gclid=CKzXk-zohrsCFSRk7Aodp3EAJw

To roast chestnuts, you need to keep moving them almost constantly, and check them often. When they are done , the shells will start to peel back from the slits a little, the meat will be soft, and they will smell really great, a bit like sweet fresh baked bread. A well roasted chestnut can be peeled with your fingers. There will be a smooth outer peel, and then a fuzzy inner peel that sticks to the nut. Take the time to peel off both layers before you eat it, trust me on this one!

Tip: In dry places like New Mexico, it helps to steam them first, then roast them. This makes the meat more moist, which is good. If you roast them until they dry out, they will be rock hard and impossible to eat.

Mom's garlic vinaigrette

Mom's garlic vinaigrette

DO NOT make this in a metal bowl, or your garlic will oxidize and turn green. Use a wood, pottery, or glass bowl.

Juice of 1 fresh lemon
1/4 cup of rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of extra virgin cold press olive oil
1 Tbsp of soy sauce or Tamari. (or Bragg's Aminos)
4 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed thoroughly
1tsp of ginger preserve (optional)

Mix everything together very well. It will separate again over time, so mix it again before serving.

This stuff is good for about a week in the fridge. The fresh garlic goes bad after that, and it tastes funky, but the vinegar ensures that it won't actually hurt you. The olive oil will turn solid in the fridge and you have to thaw it for an hour on the counter before eating.

I always make it fresh because it's best when eaten within a few hours of making it.

This is particularly tasty with a baked potato, the slight sweetness of potato offsets the dressing wonderfully. I love to serve this with Chestnuts when they are in season!

Note: If you are using bitter greens such as Dandelion in your salad, try using more garlic, and serve with a side of something sweeter such as EcoPunk's Roasted Veggies.

EcoPunk's roasted Veggies

EcoPunk's roasted Veggies

Line a large cookie sheet with tin foil.
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees, make sure your oven rack is in the middle.
Get a very large bowl.

Slice up a bunch of veggies into 'french fry' sized bits. Try:
carrots
potatoes
yams
bell peppers
onions
zuchini

... And toss them together in the large bowl.

Drizzle generously with olive oil.
Peel and mince 3 to 5 cloves of fresh garlic and add it in.
Add salt, pepper, and spices to taste. I like to add ground Chipotle pepper powder.
Toss everything together until it is very well mixed, and spices and oil coat each veggie thoroughly.
Dump the lot out onto the cookie sheet and spread evenly, so that veggies are one layer thick over the whole tray.

Bake for about 20 minutes, then remove from oven and mix (flip) the veggies with a spatula (so it won't tear the tin foil).

Bake another 20 minutes or so, possibly mixing one more time if needed.

When veggies are cooked and starting to brown on the edges, you are done!

Serve with fresh dandelion salad, and a strong garlic vinaigrette dressing.