Do you have a green dream? Or is yours a green reality?
I grew up with a very green mother (at 88 she still prefers outdoor works to in-house chores, suggest knitting or crocheting to her and she will politely decline). As a child I did not appreciate garden work (and up today I cannot stand having soil or flour on my hands, it gives me goose bumps) and being told innumerable stories of how to plant this, weed that and all the botanical names, in Latin also.
Today I enjoy planting and growing my own herbs and vegetables (as far as the limited space in our garden and on my balconies allows). What a lovely start to the day having a cup of coffee on the balcony in the early morning sun and looking at your pots.
Pottering away gives me a deep feeling of satisfaction and balance. Imagine how balanced I would be if I could realise my dream of living n Tuscany!
My lovely new plant shelves
We had a very severe winter, for 14 days the temperatures were as low as -20° C and the damage to the plants, shrubs and trees is considerable: I had to replant rosemary, sage, lovage, celery, flat parsley, lemon thyme, lemon grass.
And I could not resist planting some new herbs: chervil, winter and summer savoury, marjoram, lavender, mint, oregano.
All my strawberry plants died but I am not going to replace them. Their yield was not too overwhelming and I need the space for other herbs.
I am still hoping that my lovely fig tree (who has given me so many figs over the last years for my fig mustard, find the recipe here) will recover, I grew it myself from a tiny seedling and watched it stand tall and proud over the last 15 years.
Today I put some lemon grass (tip: buy them in an Asian food shop and put the stems in a glass of water, they will start making roots within days) and a piece of ginger in a pot. Even if the ginger root does not grow roots or leaves, it is a practical way of keeping it alive.
I have planted basil and sown cilantro seeds (tip: buy a big bag of seeds in an Asian shop, much cheaper than buying seeds in a nursery).
And tomatoes: I have kept seeds of last year’s harvest (I cannot remember the name of it, but it was a lovely smaller meaty and fully flavoured tomato), bought seeds of organic cuore di bue (ox heart) and another heirloom sort.
Tomato seeds sown on April 20, 2012
And look at the result within 10 days: my own seedlings clearly win the race!
Tomato seedlings on April 30, 2012
And I wish I had a palm tree in my garden producing this:
It is called Salak, is that not a wonderful and beautiful fruit?
I wonder how long I can resist eating it! I have never tasted it, they say it is sweet and acidic at the same time. I will let you know.
Do you have a green dream? How did you fare last winter? Do you grow your own vegetables and herbs? And what do you do with the proceeds? Eat it or use it for home remedies?
I still remember my first Falafel: years ago in Jerusalem in front of Jaffa Gate there was a street vendor selling Falafel in pita with lettuce, tomatoes and tahini. I was instantly smitten with the richness of its flavours. And it has become one of my favourite snacks.
This week I was invited to the book vernissage of a friend, a wonderful child therapist and kinesiologist. I promised to bring some appetizers and decided to make tiny Falafel balls and offer a lighter (!) kind of tahini dip to go with it. For easy handling use toothpicks: put it in your Falafel ball and dip it into the sauce.
The following recipe has gluten (flour or bread crumbs) in it, you could substitute the bread crumbs with gluten free flour or xantham gum.
You could also buy a ready made falafel mix but you might know my aversion to their hidden ingredients.
Ingredients
2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) = 500 g
(or 2 cups dried chickpeas)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh mint
1 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Ras el Hanout
5 tablespoons bread crumbs (or flour)
some lemon zest and juice
Salt + pepper
1 egg
Oil for frying (sunflower or peanut)
Method
Drain chickpeas and rinse well.
When using dried chickpeas: soak overnight, drain well and rinse some more. Place them in a pot with fresh water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat after minutes and simmer for one hour.
Dry roast your cumin and coriander. Let it cool.
Combine (cooled) chickpeas with the other ingredients in blender and gently mix. The result should be a thick not too sticky paste, if necessary add some more bread crumbs.
Fry in 5 cm of oil (175 – 200° C) until golden brown (3 -5 minutes).
Serve hot or cold together with tahini or hummus. It looks nice on a bed of flat parsley when serving as an appetizer.
Tips
Remember Dukka from an earlier post this year? You will find the recipe for it here.I rolled my finished balls in a mixture of bread crumbs and Dukka which gave them a nice finish.
You could also use fresh coriander leaves to garnish
Before frying put the Falafel balls in your freezer for 10 – 15 minutes. I have found that the balls are less prone to disintegrate (stirring too vigourously will result in the same, I know it happened to me).
Be careful with the temperature of your frying oil. It should slightly bubble and make a soft noise. Too low = no good (you end up with a disintegrated mass of dough), too high = no good either (you will burn your goodies).
I am really nervous tonight: I have a date. I am very exited to get to know Fabrizio Faraco in real life, we have met online through a professional group on Facebook. Those of you who have made friends online and got to meet them in real life as well, know what I am talking about.
Basel is conveniently located in the middle of Europe, great European destinations only a short flight away.
This weekend will take us to Rome. And big thanks go to my friends who invited me to this lovely trip (it was their present for my big birthday last year). Rome: I cannot believe I have not been to Rome before as I love to spend much time in Italy.
It is a short and lovely flight with a perfect view of the Alps and the coast line all the way to Fiumicino, Rome’s airport. We can even spot the Costa Concordia.
Dukka is an Arabic side dish consisting of a mixture of herbs, spices, nuts (hazel, cashew, pine) and salt. The word is derived from the Arabic „to pound“, i.e. the ingredients are pounded together after being dry roasted. Each family has its own recipe and the mixture can widely vary and contain dried mint, caraway, chickpeas, zataar.
You can also use store bought Dukka but it is so easy to make, I would not advise to buy it but I would like to encourage you today to try out your own spice mix.
A friend introduced me to it some weeks ago and ever since I have been experimenting with it. We had Dukka as a dip with an excellent virgin olive oil and bread – heaven on earth.
I have used it as a panade (coating) with curried shrimps or spiced up steamed red beet together with a sauce of crème fraîche with grated lemon zest and juice. There is no limit to your imagination, come and play!
Dukka Recipe
Ingredients
1 TS hazelnut
1 TS cashew nut
1 tsp coriander (seeds)
1 tsp cumin
1 TS white sesame
1 tsp whole peppercorns
1 tsp sweet bell pepper powder
½ tsp coarse sea salt
Method
Dry roast nuts on a tin in the oven at 180° C for 10 minutes (the time might vary according to the nuts used: the harder the nut the longer it will take to dry roast)
Gently dry roast spices and herbs in a frying pan, occasionally stirring and constantly watching as not to burn them
Roughly chop nuts, spices and herbs in a mortar or a food processor. It is nice to have a mixture that is not too finely chopped, you will experience the explosion of all the different savours on your palate.
Mix all the other ingredients together and store in a container. It will keep for weeks.
Tips
Prepare a multiple quantity (go easy on the salt and spices), this is a huge time saver. So next time when you have little time to prepare your dinner, serve Dukka as an appetizer together with olive oil and flat bread.
See: there is little left
Now, head off to the kitchen, enjoy yourself and share your ideas and tips!
When was the last time you made soap bubbles? And I mean: real soap bubbles, huge soap bubbles which will fly high up in the sky (well, weather and humidity permitting …)?
Catch a fleeting moment and treasure it, watch a child playing and giving total commitment to the here and now.
