O-musubi aka o-nigiri aka Japanese rice 'balls'

They aren't round. They are adorable little pudgy triangles. And it's become a thing -- started by a Japanese comedian who took a photo of his baby with his hands around the baby's face in the triangular shape of o-nigiri -- to put o-nigiri baby photos on social media.

(http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/07/02/rice-ball-baby-face-is-so-cute-we-want-to-eat-it-all-up/)


But that has nothing to do with the fact that this is a badass way to eat rice that few people away from the land of the rising sun practice. It involves compressing cooked rice in your hands into a triangular shape. That's it. You can eat it right away then. This time, I cut up sheets of nori and wrapped each triangle in a stub of nori, then sprinkled it with shoyu and pressed the edges into white sesames seeds.  Then oven bakes for about 25 minutes I think. Ta da!!

So, cook yourself some short grain brown rice (stickier than long grain), season it up with a little salt or whatever, and press it into triangles.

Simple and yummy. A fun way to make rice into finger food.

 ingredients:

short grain brown rice -- I like to get rice for stuff like this that is short grain. Cal rose is a nice one.

sea salt

nori
tamari
sesame seeds

1. rinse the rice in a strainer or a sieve
2. cook the rice
(I cook it 1:2 rice:water, and I include sea salt in it when I cook it. Not a lot, but some.
3. let the rice cool. You can season it as you like it here.
4. you can also use rice that you cooked previously that is already cool
5. using hands that are damp (with such things as apple cider vinegar, why not) scoop up a small hand full of rice, and press it between your palms. I tend to make my o-nigiri smaller than the ones in the photos. If you want to put some filling in, you can also do that!
6. turn the rice ball in your hands, and press again
7. that's it.
8. decorate for flavour and appearance with tamari, nori, and sesame seeds, if desired
9. eat as they are, or bake at 345 for 20 minutes or so.

Bagels

We have a  ... thing ... for bagels. If you are from New York or Montreal, you may hate them. These are nothing like yours. What they are, however, is my son's favourite. These bagels are extremely flavourful, and nice and chewy. If you aren't familiar with the making of the bagel, boiling after rising is a must.

We use Kamut flour generally these days for our bread. Additionally, scotch oatmeal, chia seeds, and tapioca starch add texture, moistness, pre-biotics, and awesomeness. These bagels are a little sweet -- blame my sister who always adds so much honey to her loaves that my son was always saying how much  more delicious Aunt Sandra's bread was than ours  -- and extremely popular.

You can definitely mix up the ingredients, so long as you end up with a nice, elastic dough. And boil 'em. That's the part that you can't skip.

1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp yeast

1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 cup scotch oatmeal
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup tapioca starch
2 1/2 cups whole grain organic kamut flour
2 tsp sea salt


1. knead
2. rise
3. shape into 24 bagels (approx 50 g each)
4. rise for 1 hour
5. boil for 2 minutes per side in baking soda water -- I always do 6 at a time in my large pot
6. remove to a cooling rack using a slotted spoon so they can drain a little
7. place on a silicone baking sheet. You can top with seeds or sea salt if you like. We usually prefer plain.
8. bake at 345 for 25 minutes

Stacey's Homemade Chili Powder

I may simply be a control freak. Or I may just like to suit things to my own palate. I started making my own chili powder, and I'll often combine it with mesquite powder, such as on sweet potatoes that have been thinly sliced and tossed in coconut oil. Sprinkle with sea salt, toss them in the oven, crisp them up -- fabulous.
Chili powder is a mix of herbs and spices, and when that's the case, there's always room to customize. Here's the mixture I came up with, and we're pretty happy with it!

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equipment needed:
measuring spoons


ingredients:

1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup cumin
1/4 cup oregano
1/4 cup marjoram
2 tsp turmeric
4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chipotle
1 tsp granulated garlic


directions
1. combine the spices and herbs
2. store in a glass jar

**herbe de provence -- Stacey's herbe mix

A while back, I started concocting my own herbe de provence. My son loves making it with me, and quite frankly, it's delicious. Something as simple as chickpeas, shallots, and some other simple vegetables thrown into the oven with coconut milk, here de provence, and sea salt makes a dish so mouth watering, it defies belief.


For my here mixture, I use equal quantities of each dried herb. Today I also added about a tsp of dried lavender that I'd saved from my garden. Next summer I'd better harvest more!

The thing about any herb or spice mixture you make yourself is you can customize it to your own palate. So, here's a good starting point, but then, go ahead and make it your own!!

equipment needed:

measuring spoon


ingredients:

rosemary
basil
oregano
summer savoury
sage
marjoram
fennel seed
thyme


direction:
1.combine dried herbs in equal quantity
2. store in a glass jar away from light
3. enjoy




(plus some dried lavender from our garden)

Brownies -- the best in the world

It feels like time to revisit this brownie recipe. These brownies will make brownie-lovers weep with gluttonous euphoria. These brownies will tempt the pickiest of dessert eaters. These brownies .... okay, well, they won't save the environment or even the economy, but damn they are so good.

And they are cruelty free. Vegan and fair-trade. I would urge you to be careful and picky in your chocolate selections. The vast lion's share of chocolate sold here is produced using child slave-labour. Always look for fair trade for your cacao.

So, these are moist and rich, chewy and cakey all at once. These are the perfect symbiosis of decadence and apotheosis. Dazzling, tantalizing, and very close to perfection.

The amazing thing, friends, is that they are also real food. And can be made with either almond flour or sunflower seed flour, depending on your nut-free needs.

So go ahead, make yourself something so naughty that it's just simply nice.

equipment needed:

hand blender -- aka immersion blender

seed grinder

mixing bowls

mixing spoons

measuring cups

measuring spoons

kettle for boiling water

oven

2 square silicone baking pans (8x8 each)

cooling rack

wet ingredients:

1 1/2  cup pitted honey dates

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil 

1 cup coconut nectar

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1  tbsp vanilla extract 

1/2 cup ground hemp hearts -- should practically be a paste

dry ingredients:

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup chia seeds, finely ground

1 cup sunflower seed flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1 tbsp ground vanilla 

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup raw cacao powder

coconut sugar to sprinkle on top -- use plenty, it's awesome that way.

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. pour the hot water over dates in a bowl, and let sit for about 10 minutes to soften, along with the coconut oil, so it can  melt

2. in a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients save for the coconut sugar for sprinkling. mix really well until completely homogeneous

3. To the melted coconut oil, water, and date mixture add the coconut nectar, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract,  and I will add the hemp hearts at this point, then puree the whole thing with a hand blender (immersion blender)

4. mix the pureed wet ingredients into the dry ingredients

5. divide the mixture into 2 square silicone baking pans

6. sprinkle the top with a little coconut sugar (or a lot -- I like a lot -- a couple of tbsp not tsp)

7. bake at 345 for 60 minutes

8. allow to cool in the pan before removing