Sunday 30 October 2011

Pikliz if you please

With being a family of tight pockets, we live a life satellite TV free. I know this isn't uncommon or completely backwards to the average person's existence but you do someday's feel a bit out of the current affairs loop. The three free channels that we can partially acquire through busted up bunny ears are jam packed with boring, brain melting unworldly nonsense. Generally to turn off the TV and get down on some husband and wife painting/crafting is easily our first choice but when you have spent your day with a racing mind and busy hands, zoning out one someone else's life adventures is elevated into pole position. 


Recently, in desperation to fill my mind with something other than New Zealand dramas or border patrol - I (quite possibly) illegally downloaded the most current season of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. I smashed two to three episodes a night and felt envy and delight with every mouthful of cultural delicacy Mr. Bourdain took. One of my all time favourite locations that he visited was Haiti. The most amazing looking food. It was all simple, basic but the ingredients that they used were jam packed with flavour and when put together with the right tasty buddies they absolutely hollered at you with deliciousness. One thing that they seemed to have with most every meal was Pikliz (pick-lee-z). Spicy pickled uncooked vegetables. So easy and as I can now vouch for them myself, so so amazing. 


Take half a cabbage - shred, two carrots - sliced how you desire, 1 onion - sliced, 6 garlic cloves - lightly crushed and peeled, 3+ habanero peppers (use more if you want it with super heat) - sliced in half, 10 peppercorns, 3 teaspoons salt. Get this all mixed up in a large bowl. Cram it all into a large jar(s) and fill with white vinegar - no heating required. Make sure to press down on the vegetables to make sure all the bits are covered. 






Once filled, chuck into the fridge for 24 hours before you consume. Have along side some dirty rice and slow roasted pork for optimal results.  



Monday 17 October 2011

Oat and coconut tantrum tamer.

Reason for the oversized gap between posts - my son is two and a half going on puberty ridden 13 year old teenage girl that thinks that whole world is battling against her. Any suggestion - and I mean ANY suggestion - is met with resistance and unbridled fury. "Hey Raimi! Wanna go to somewhere that you really enjoy with people who's company entertains you and food that is normally on the restricted list?!", "NO WAY!" "What about going to pet some fluffy bunnies and kittens while eating candy that is coated in sprinkles and love?!", "NO WAY!". Dinner time takes a piece of me with every tantrum unnecessarily torpedoed in my direction. "No _____ anymore!" is thrown around like it is the only phrase he speaks. As much as our exhaustion encourages us to bow down to his every whim, our desire for a polite, vegetable loving pre-teen rises from the ashes, calmly kneels down to place the young child in the naughty chair for 2 minutes, waits for a "sorry" to be heard and an agreement to return to normal society to eat his god-damn lasagne!


On days when the tension is running rich, the only desirable fuel that can bring this family to a quiet standstill is that of a warm and crumbly muffin of calmness. Filled with oats and coconut this muffin makes my heart sing with the joys of the future and the passing of this toddler independence struggle. 


Combine one and 1/4 cups of boiling water with one cup of uncooked rolled oats and half of a teaspoon of salt. Let this soften for 20 minutes or so. Cream together 1/2 a cup of butter, 1/2 a cup brown sugar, one cup of white sugar and 2 eggs. Add to that 1 and 1/3 of a cup self rising flour and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix. Chuck in the oats and 1 and a 1/2 cups of coconut to this mixture. Cook for 25 minutes at 180c. I jammed a little square of chocolate in the middle of each muffin for a bit of extra goodness. 















Thursday 6 October 2011

Spiced pumpkin seeds and a bleeding heart

Whether bound by generational blood, fluttering hearts or open arms, the love that a family can give surpasses all other. A family - no matter how it is constructed - supplies you with safety, with understanding, a quiet hand to hold or even just an ear. Judgement is always short lived, with compassion and a care filled soul righteously taking over the lead position. My family has always been the protectors of my bleeding heart. They shelter me under their wings and guide me to an unbiased corner of our world to help repair any troubles my fragile being may have. The love that I have for my family - old and new - is of an immeasurable amount. And I wish I shared this with them more often than I do. 


Might be strange to now start talking about pumpkin seeds but it's a memory that I often return to when thinking about my childhood. I can picture my sister and I scooping out the seeds and slime from the belly of a carve-able halloween  pumpkin - being grossed out by it's consistency yet excited about the deliciousness we can create from it's little seedy bits. I miss being within arms reach of my sister. She has supported me through many a tough feat - even my fear of what lurks in the depths of a pumpkin.


In a bowl or grinder blend together 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 a teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 a teaspoon brown sugar, 1/4 of a teaspoon ground smoked chipotle, 1/4 of a teaspoon black pepper, and a 1/4 of a teaspoon garlic powder. Set aside and coat 2 cups of dried pumpkin seeds with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add some of the spice mix to that - little at a time to suit your taste. Throw the spice covered pumpkin seeds on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cook in a  150c oven for 20 minutes or so. Check them often to ensure they are not burning. 



Once they have exited the oven in good health, chuck them in a bowl, let cool, and devour.