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| Feeling inspired by summer and blueberry cocktails - Photo by Wasabi Prime |
Showing posts with label ginger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ginger. Show all posts
Monday, September 30, 2013
OMG a Recipe: Mixing Things Up at the Hobbit Ultralounge
It's a oft-said saying that Nature abhors a vacuum, and that's true for many things, even with food and drink. If you stick with a narrow menu of items, even if they're your favorite things to eat or drink, you're missing out on a world of possibilities. I'm the most guilty of this vacuum, settling into Hobbit-like comfort zones and not always being on top of the latest and greatest things, most notably with beverages of the adult persuasion. But laziness – begone! I've been fortunate enough to take my drinking palate out on the town of late and reminding myself that one should never settle for a simple vodka soda... ever. It's long overdue I mixed things up again.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Mixed Plate: Teatime With Wasabi
One of the benefits of having a garden full of fragrant herbs is you'll most likely wind up with excess, which can certainly be used in a pesto sauce, but I wanted to try something different: oven-drying aromatics and making custom mixes of herbal teas!
Admittedly, this has been a longterm project that I've been working with since early spring -- our lemon balm and mint perked up and really went crazy, so I was snipping leaves from those first. I do regular walks on the trail that runs through Duvall, which has tons of greenery growing wild, including wild roses. My green-thumbed friend, Ms. SSG had talked about using rose hips before, so I started plucking the very heavily scented flowers, along with the buds. After much nitpicky labor, the flowers and buds were cleaned, separated and washed. Everything was put on sheets of parchment paper and dried at the lowest setting on the oven, just around 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
For small leafy things, it takes maybe three to four hours of low, slow oven drying. The parchment paper is key, as the leaves will definitely want to stick to everything as they dry and my Silpats always feel forever oily and I didn't want that getting into the leaves. Overall, the rose hips were surprisingly strong in terms of flavor; I thought the small handful of dried petals wouldn't yield much, but it definitely added a surprise punch of sweet fragrance. The mint and lemon balm seemed to mellow considerably through the drying process, so for the ratios of flavor, I'd say go heavy with the mint and lemon balm, but light with rose hips. This first batch of home DIY tea was just mint, lemon balm and rose hips, making a pretty mild herbal tea.
The second attempt had different ingredients -- ginger and citrus rind, along with the same usual minty/lemon balm suspects, although this round yielded rosebuds along with the petals. The warmer temperature was producing smaller flowers and more buds, which I unceremoniously pulled off as many plants as I could. At the risk of getting lots of weird sidelong glances by joggers passing by, I probably plucked a few cups' worth of rosebuds. I had extra ginger and saved the rind from a couple of lemons and an orange, so I loaded up the oven with everything for another drying session. The ginger and citrus rind took longer to fully dry, nearly double the time of the leafy herbs.
This time I put all the ingredients in separate plastic bags, so that I can custom-mix each brew. As the summer gets more into swing, I'm thinking more along the lines of iced teas or even fragrant cocktails and unique seltzers. I'd still brew the mixture of aromatics like a tea, but then chill, flavor with simple syrup or honey and carbonate, or just introduce the herbal elixir to my dear friend vodka. I'm also hoping to stockpile the dried aromatics for beer brewing, as Mr. Wasabi has been feeling the itch to brew again, and many recipes call for citrus rind. The nice thing about drying your own aromatics is once you get that liquid out properly and store it somewhere dry, they'll last quite a while and can have multiple uses.
I'm hoping to get lavender from our garden to have a nice stockpile of it for teas or baking. I'm already dreaming of a rose hip and mint shortbread, or a lemony lavender tea cookie! Stay tuned to see what other experiments come out of Wasabi Kitchen Stadium!
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| Call me Ms. T, where the T stands for... well, Tea - Photo by Wasabi Prime |
Admittedly, this has been a longterm project that I've been working with since early spring -- our lemon balm and mint perked up and really went crazy, so I was snipping leaves from those first. I do regular walks on the trail that runs through Duvall, which has tons of greenery growing wild, including wild roses. My green-thumbed friend, Ms. SSG had talked about using rose hips before, so I started plucking the very heavily scented flowers, along with the buds. After much nitpicky labor, the flowers and buds were cleaned, separated and washed. Everything was put on sheets of parchment paper and dried at the lowest setting on the oven, just around 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
 |
| The bright and fresh "before" pics of mint, lemon balm and rose hips - Photos by Wasabi Prime |
For small leafy things, it takes maybe three to four hours of low, slow oven drying. The parchment paper is key, as the leaves will definitely want to stick to everything as they dry and my Silpats always feel forever oily and I didn't want that getting into the leaves. Overall, the rose hips were surprisingly strong in terms of flavor; I thought the small handful of dried petals wouldn't yield much, but it definitely added a surprise punch of sweet fragrance. The mint and lemon balm seemed to mellow considerably through the drying process, so for the ratios of flavor, I'd say go heavy with the mint and lemon balm, but light with rose hips. This first batch of home DIY tea was just mint, lemon balm and rose hips, making a pretty mild herbal tea.
 |
| OK, get all those t-bag jokes out of your system, I know you want to - Photos by Wasabi Prime |
The second attempt had different ingredients -- ginger and citrus rind, along with the same usual minty/lemon balm suspects, although this round yielded rosebuds along with the petals. The warmer temperature was producing smaller flowers and more buds, which I unceremoniously pulled off as many plants as I could. At the risk of getting lots of weird sidelong glances by joggers passing by, I probably plucked a few cups' worth of rosebuds. I had extra ginger and saved the rind from a couple of lemons and an orange, so I loaded up the oven with everything for another drying session. The ginger and citrus rind took longer to fully dry, nearly double the time of the leafy herbs.
 |
| Rosy buds and a good use for extra ginger and citrus rind - Photos by Wasabi Prime |
This time I put all the ingredients in separate plastic bags, so that I can custom-mix each brew. As the summer gets more into swing, I'm thinking more along the lines of iced teas or even fragrant cocktails and unique seltzers. I'd still brew the mixture of aromatics like a tea, but then chill, flavor with simple syrup or honey and carbonate, or just introduce the herbal elixir to my dear friend vodka. I'm also hoping to stockpile the dried aromatics for beer brewing, as Mr. Wasabi has been feeling the itch to brew again, and many recipes call for citrus rind. The nice thing about drying your own aromatics is once you get that liquid out properly and store it somewhere dry, they'll last quite a while and can have multiple uses.
I'm hoping to get lavender from our garden to have a nice stockpile of it for teas or baking. I'm already dreaming of a rose hip and mint shortbread, or a lemony lavender tea cookie! Stay tuned to see what other experiments come out of Wasabi Kitchen Stadium!
 |
| Kampai to ghetto-fabulous herbal teas! - Photo by Wasabi Prime |
Friday, October 9, 2009
UnRecipe: Won Ton Soup is Good Food
There's a bit of anticipation in the Wasabi household -- no, we're not pregs, but it would be funny if this was how I announced it. Preggo eggos aside, Brock and I will be hopping a plane very soon to see my dear cousin, Miss J, get married in Hawaii. My whole family is from there, so it's a rare blessing to have all the aunties, uncles and cousins in one place. Even the holidays are tough to get everyone together, so it makes for an even more special occasion and we're very much looking forward to the time off. Because I have family on the brain, I've been craving foods my mom cooks when I visit. She always makes gyoza, aka, potstickers, which are great appetizers before dinner or a meal on their own. I do my own twist on them in the interest of time, and with the recent chilly weather, I made a sweet and sour vegetable soup. The result was my own version of Won Ton Soup.
I prefer using the round wrappers, as they're a bit thicker and the shape allows for the pretty pinch-folds on the edge to seal them up. The store only had the thinner square won ton wrappers, which fine since they come out looking like little packages. As long as the food is cute, what else matters, right?
I like gyoza or won tons because you can really fill them with anything, and are especially nice ways to dispatch small portions of leftovers. This was a little more premeditated, so I had some ingredients picked out specifically for this dish. Some bok choi, garlic, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms were buzzed in the food processor and mixed with unseasoned ground pork and chopped scallions. Little spoonfuls were stuffed in the center of each square and sealed shut. I like cooking things quickly, so I take all the little bite-sized packages and place them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and lightly brush or spray with cooking oil, and under the broiler they go. There's not a lot of meat filling, so it cooks quickly and the intense heat browns the wrappers nicely. It's almost like they've been fried and it cooks everything at once.
The broth for the soup was a little more involved -- I periodically make up batches of beef, chicken or vegetable broth. I keep a brown paper sack in the freezer full of vegetable bits and bobs like mushroom stems, celery and carrot ends, onion tops, etc. When the bag gets full, I'll boil water and make a pot of vegetable broth, freezing it for later use. It's a combination of being terribly compulsive and having a disdain for waste. By making broth, all manner of chicken and beef bones, plus vegetable flotsam get a second life in a meal.
Making the broth more Asian-inspired, I took chunks of fresh ginger to steep in the simmering liquid, and added fresh shiitakes for a strong, earthy flavor. Baby bok choi leaves were added, and healthy dashes of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar gave it a savory/sour tang. A few crispy won tons were floated in, as well as snacked on while the broth simmered. It wasn't exactly something my mom used to cook, but an inspired recreation that I think she would approve of. The next time the Wasabi parental-sans come out for a visit, I'll have to show them the twists I've done on their recipes.
A total personal family note that's too good not to share -- congratulations to my other cousin and her husband who just welcomed a baby girl into the world. Much love goes out to J + C, and to little Z who's got the lofty task of being a big brother ahead of him. See you soon!
 |
| Won tons of fun - Photo by Wasabi Prime |
I prefer using the round wrappers, as they're a bit thicker and the shape allows for the pretty pinch-folds on the edge to seal them up. The store only had the thinner square won ton wrappers, which fine since they come out looking like little packages. As long as the food is cute, what else matters, right?
I like gyoza or won tons because you can really fill them with anything, and are especially nice ways to dispatch small portions of leftovers. This was a little more premeditated, so I had some ingredients picked out specifically for this dish. Some bok choi, garlic, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms were buzzed in the food processor and mixed with unseasoned ground pork and chopped scallions. Little spoonfuls were stuffed in the center of each square and sealed shut. I like cooking things quickly, so I take all the little bite-sized packages and place them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and lightly brush or spray with cooking oil, and under the broiler they go. There's not a lot of meat filling, so it cooks quickly and the intense heat browns the wrappers nicely. It's almost like they've been fried and it cooks everything at once.
The broth for the soup was a little more involved -- I periodically make up batches of beef, chicken or vegetable broth. I keep a brown paper sack in the freezer full of vegetable bits and bobs like mushroom stems, celery and carrot ends, onion tops, etc. When the bag gets full, I'll boil water and make a pot of vegetable broth, freezing it for later use. It's a combination of being terribly compulsive and having a disdain for waste. By making broth, all manner of chicken and beef bones, plus vegetable flotsam get a second life in a meal.
Making the broth more Asian-inspired, I took chunks of fresh ginger to steep in the simmering liquid, and added fresh shiitakes for a strong, earthy flavor. Baby bok choi leaves were added, and healthy dashes of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar gave it a savory/sour tang. A few crispy won tons were floated in, as well as snacked on while the broth simmered. It wasn't exactly something my mom used to cook, but an inspired recreation that I think she would approve of. The next time the Wasabi parental-sans come out for a visit, I'll have to show them the twists I've done on their recipes.
A total personal family note that's too good not to share -- congratulations to my other cousin and her husband who just welcomed a baby girl into the world. Much love goes out to J + C, and to little Z who's got the lofty task of being a big brother ahead of him. See you soon!
 |
| Ginger, shiitake mushrooms and oh boy - bok choi! - Photos by Wasabi Prime |
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