January | 2016 | Irma Green

Monthly archives of “January 2016”

31st January 2016

Homemade Kimchi

I hope you all had a lovely first month of the year and are looking forward to getting closer to spring, without wishing time away, of course! This month’s post comes in two parts, the first part is a homemade Korean Kimchi, which kind of… Read more

Homemade Kimchi – makes 1 medium sized Kilner Jar

Organic ingredients:
1 small Chinese cabbage ( roughly chopped)
OR
4 small carrots (finely sliced)
4 medium sized turnips ( finely sliced)

Kimchi paste:
3 cloves of garlic (grated)
2 chilies, finely chopped ( remove seeds to control heat)
3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
1 tsp of sesame seeds ( optional)

750-1000ml brine ( mix 2 tbsp of sea salt with 750ml filtered water)

Method:

Mix salt and water in a bowl and set aside, then peel and very finely slice the carrots and turnips or if using cabbage, roughly chop, add to the salt water , making sure the vegetables are well covered in salt water and leave to soaks over night. A tip for slicing the carrots and turnips: You can get very fine stings rather than slices by using a peeler, it looks great and is super quick and easy.

Prepare the Kimchi paste by blending the garlic, ginger and chili together, put in a jar and store in the fridge until the next day.

The following day, drain the soaked vegetables, keeping the brine as you may need to add some at the end. Check the vegetables for taste, if they taste too salty, rinse with water once. Next mix the drained vegetables with the Kimchi paste, mix well to make sure the paste is well distributed.

Then take the Kilner jar and pack the vegetables tightly into the jar, one layer at a time, pressing down layer for layer. The brine will start rising slowly, keep on packing and pressing down the layers, leaving two inches at the top. It is important that the vegetables are covered with rising brine, so add some of the left over brine if needs be for the vegetables to be well covered.

Now place a glass of water on top of the vegetables to press them down, put the jar on a plate, as rising brine might spill over the top during the fermentation process. Cover with a towel and leave to ferment in a warm place for 5-7 days.

Check daily to see where the fermentation process is at, you will see bubbles rising, this is a sign that our little helping bacteria are hard at work. Press the glass down to release some of the air, which helps to speed up the process a little. Once the bubbles stop showing, usually after a week, close air tight and store in the fridge until serving.

Try with Irma’s gluten free summer rolls or watch out for next week’s chicken broth pho served with Kimchi…..

Bon Appetite !

28th January 2016

Sprout your way through till Spring

Around this time of the year I love taking advantage of home sprouting, it’s such a good way to bring freshness to your plate. You can almost sprout any seeds or pulses, as well as some nuts. The idea of sprouting is to increase mineral… Read more

Lentil, chickpea and alfafa sprouts

You can get the dry beans and seeds from the supermarket and most organic shops or green grocers should have some. Organic is always better and not that much more expensive. And here is how it works:

1. Place a handful or two of seeds into a bowl , fill with water until covered and leave to soak over night. Ideally use filtered water.

2. The next morning, rinse well with filtered water and drain using a sieve, then place seeds back in the bowl, this time without adding water.

3. Leave covered or uncovered throughout the day, avoiding direct sunlight and repeat rinsing process in the evenings and mornings. Keeping the seeds moist and at room temperature will encourage them to start sprouting.

4. After 2-3 days small tails should start showing . Once the tails are well visible, they are ready to be eaten and will keep in and air tight container in the fridge for around 3-4 days. The cool temperature in the fridge will prevent them from sprouting further. Sprouts go really well on top of salads, soups, as sandwich fillings or eaten as a snack. In fact you can just sprinkle some freshness onto any lunches and dinners of your choice! For example I topped my kale & red cabbage salad with some alfafa sprouts today.

Bon appetit !

5th January 2016

Gluten free multi-seed bread

It is already day 5 but I think I can still say ‘Happy New Year’!! For many of us the New Year starts with some sort of detox . I have chosen to give up alcohol, coffee and gluten for a month. Coffee is probably… Read more

Gluten free multi-seed bread – makes 2 small loafs

90g sunflower seeds

45g pumpkin seeds

90g linseeds

65g chestnuts; almonds or hazelnuts

145g oats ( make sure they are packed in a gluten free environment)

4 tbsp psyllium husk

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp of maple sirup or date sirup

3 tbsp of coconut oil

1 tsp of ground Himalayan salt

350ml of slightly warm water

Chop the baked chestnuts into small pieces or cut in half and thinly slice them, mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl; then whisk together sirup, oil and water until oil is dissolved and add to the dry ingredients; stir with a wooden spoon until you get a nice texture (its not dough like, its more like a thick but smooth porridge) . If the mix seems to dry add a little more water. Prepare small bread baking pans with baking paper, that way the the bread won’t stick to the pan. I even use the baking paper on non sticky pans, safes washing up and I try and re-use the paper. Add the bread mix to the pans and leave covered at room temperature for at least two hours, even better over night.

Once the mix has rested, preheat the oven at 175c and bake for 20minutes, then take the bread out of the pan and put upside down on baking tray, using baking paper to keep everything clean.

Put the ‘upside down’ bread loafs back in the oven and bake for another 30-40 minutes. The bread is ready if it sounds ‘hollow’, when gently tapping on the top.

Leave the bread to cool before cutting and eating it . The bread keeps in the fridge for 3-5 days. I usually slice it and put in the freezer, so I can have it fresh when ever I fancy it. It works well going straight from freezer in the toaster. Top with your favourite bread toppings , mine include cheese & pickle, mushroom pate, hummus, ghee & a sprinkle of salt, honey, marmalade or avocado & spring onions with a little bit of tamari sauce. Just too good!