Join Me for Merienda: Oat Milk!!!!

A short post tonight,

I recently made oat milk for the first time.

I don't know why it took me this long to make some since it's so economical and easy to make. 

You just need 3 basic ingredients:

*Old Fashioned Oats (not instant oats)

Filtered water

Sea salt

*Use certified Gluten Free Oats to make sure

That it is celiac friendly!

I looked up a recipe on youtube and one suggested 2 Cups of Water for every 1Cup of Oats plus a pinch of sea salt ( I like to use himalyan pink sea salt).

Place everything in a blender and let it go until most of the oats are broken down and then pour everything through a fine mesh sieve ( any of the leftover particles can be eaten as is or used in recipes( and then bottle ( I reused some old kombucha bottles that I sanitized) and store in the fridge.

I played around with the water ratio before and after the fact. It seems like you can adjust the consistency to your liking. You could also add in vanilla or a natural sweetner of your choice to suit your taste.

I also added cacao to one batch and it's great =)

If you like oatmeal; then you'll probably like oat milk.

That's it!!!!

Give it a try =)

Wishing you peace and happy cooking🌟

<3 Love,

Jessica

Join me for Merienda: Jess' Baked Individual Chocolate Mochi Cakes

Hello to you, dear reader. Thanks again for stopping by to spend a little while with me in the blogosphere.

Today, we're going to be making a really simple and delicious recipe for baked, individual, chocolate mochi cakes. They are not overly fancy, but you can certainly dress them up; if you choose to take them to get glamour shots or hire a food stylist =p

I have always had an affinity for Mochi. I didn't grow up with that Japanese term /concept of it,though.It was known to me in their Pilipino embodiments as Malagkit,Suman,Bibingka,Tambo-Tambo, Bilo-bilo,Espasol or Palitaw (Note: the following photos of these various Pinoy desserts and the Japanese mochi ,were not made by me, unless otherwise indicated). I'm not sure when exactly was the first time that I ate Japanese style Mochi. It was probably Daifuku, from a local Asian market. Then, later I became familiar with the many other styles and a fun version of Mochi; where you would cut squares from a hard block of Kakumochi, and bake them and they would come out puffy, crunchy and chewy in the middle. Heaven.

Uncooked Malagkit rice

One version of Suman

Bibingkang Malagkit

Do you see the round fluffy balls of mochi in this bowl of Ginataan? Heaven.

Espasol

Espasol as its sold at the market and from street vendors in the Philippines

Palitaw

A version of Daifuku, filled with sweet bean paste

Kakumochi shown as being cut and grilled

Over the years, I have experimented (when have I not been toiling away in my Food lab?) with different ways to make Mochi in its various international guises. I can tell you that making Daifuku, is some tricky business. People who are experts at making Daifuku, must have asbestos hands. You have to work quickly and you can easily mess up a whole batch of them; if you don't seal them properly. So, I prefer to make cakes out of Mochiko aka Glutinous Rice Flour (which is actually a misnomer because there is no gluten in rice. It's just that it's so pliable and sticky like a ball of gluten, but its elasticity can be attributed to the (here's a copy/paste of scientific babble from the Wikipedia page for Mochi:

'Mochi is a multicomponent food consisting of polysaccharides, lipids, protein and water. Mochi has a heterogeneous structure of amylopectin gel, starch grains and air bubbles.^[3] This rice is characterized by its lack of amylose in starch and is derived from short or medium japonica rices. The protein concentration of the rice is a bit higher than normal short-grain rice and the two also differ in amylose content. In mochi rice, the amylose content is negligible which results in the soft gel consistency of mochi.'

Don't you feel super scientific now? =p Anyway, let's get back to talking about mochi cakes. I have made this recipe quite a few times now and most people who've eaten them have loved them. I think that they're used to eating Mochi in its various other forms, but my style is different because its baked. I don't think my method is novel at all, but I can tell you that it is tasty =)

Buchi/Botsi

A batch of Chocolate, Coconut Milk Mochi Brownies that I had previously made

Other than just straight chocolate mochi cakes, I have made Banana Chocolate Chip Mochi cakes,Spongy Mochi cakes topped with fruit preserves, I even made my version of oven baked Botsi-Botsi/Buchi-Buchi and pan versions of mochi brownies, but I prefer to bake the cakes individually because I like the fact that they each get their crunchy outer shell, rather than just a few lucky people getting corner pieces. No fancy equipment needed for this recipe, you just need the ingredients, a mixing bowl, wooden spoon for mixing and a muffin pan and maybe an ice cream scoop too; if you have one to your avail.

A note about the flour: Make sure that you are using a fresh package/box of Mochiko; if you use old flour (as with any other recipe) it won't taste right. It'll taste okay, but it will still taste a bit stale and you don't want to waste all your hard energy to produce just 'okay' mochi cakes. You want to make fabulous tasting mochi cakes.

I give Blue Star Brand, Mochiko, 4 Stars =)

For those of you who follow a gluten free regimen: While most of the Glutinous Rice Flour aka Sweet Rice Flour is naturally gluten free and may even say it on the packaging; you should always check to see if it states any other allergy warnings. Such as 'Produced in a factory that also processes, soy, wheat and tree nuts,' something like that. The Blue Star Brand Mochiko's box states that they are a dedicated factory where all they process is rice; so you might want to stick to that brand. It is more expensive than the other brands, but it may be worth its weight in gold; if you have problems with gluten.



Individual Baked Chocolate Mochi Cakes-V,GF

Preheat Oven to 375F

Preparation Time: Approximately 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
2 C Mochiko aka Glutinous Rice Flour aka Sweet Rice Flour

3/4-1 C Dark or Pure Cocoa Powder*
3/4 C Unrefined, preferably organic sugar

4-5 Tb Organic ground flax meal

Pinch of Himilayan Pink Sea Salt

1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Wet Ingredients:

2 C Water or your liquid of choice (almond milk, hemp milk etc.)

1/4C or less of a Neutral Oil such as Canola or Grapseed Oil

1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla (Optional)

*If you can't have chocolate; you can always substitute it with carob powder, but you will probably want to adjust your sugar content as carob powder is much sweeter tasting than the naturally bitter cocoa powder.

Method:

Prepare you muffin pan by wiping it down and then oiling it up with either your preferred spray or by brushing the nooks and crannies with your choice of neutral oil. In a large mixing bowl sift all of the dry ingredients together until evenly distributed. Add your oil and optional vanilla extract and then slowly incorporate the water adding 1 cup at a time. You may find that you might need the full 2 cups depending on the weather/humidity in the air. You want to mix  everything together until it is just slightly thicker than a regular cake batter. You do not want to add too much liquid; so add in that water carefully. Once you've mixed the batter well; let it rest for about 5 minutes.

Batter up! 

I like to use an ice cream scoop to portion out the batter into the muffin pan/s to just a tiny bit more than half way filled (I have a 12 cup muffin pan and I still end up with enough batter for at least 2 more cakes) and set the timer for 25 minutes. If you have leftover batter; you can either pour it into another small pan and bake it or you can even actually cook it in a greased bowl in your microwave for 2-4 minutes depending on your power setting, but the real oven method is better.

When they are done baking, they have lovely domed tops and just look totemo kawaii desune! (so cute).
I usually give them 5 minutes to rest and then I de-pan them and let them cool to room temperature before storing them. I recommend that you store them in an air tight container in the fridge. They will last for about 2 weeks maybe longer, but they're usually all gobbled up before 2 weeks have passed) I haven't tried to freeze them because they're usually all eaten before I would even consider freezing them, but if you need to freeze them; I would recommend that you wrap them individually and seal them in a zip top style bag, before putting them in the freezer.

Why, hello there! Would you like to get to know a chocolate mochi cake better?

Chocolate Mochi cake being overtly brazen and showing off its bottom! =o

How to serve them? These cakes are great to have with tea or coffee. As they are a bit dense, I usually cut them into quarters. They hold up well during travel and can be easily stashed in a sandwich bag for a quick merienda on the go. If they're coming out of the fridge, I usually pop one in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, but you can figure out how you like to eat these lovely baked chocolate mochi cakes, for yourself.
You might even like eating them straight from the freezer, but I would be careful with that. You wouldn't want to get brain-freeze or lose a tooth ;)

I hope that you have fun making these easy and delicious mochi cakes. You can have a lot of fun experimenting with this recipe.

Stay tuned for next week's merienda. As of right now it is scheduled to be my version of sweet tamales done two ways:  Mulberry Almond and Fig Walnut Spice =)


Wishing you good health and happy cooking!

Love,
Jessica

Join me for Merienda: Omma's Kitchen inspired Collard Green V and GF, Bi Bim Bap Wraps

A nyoung ha sae yo! (That's the formal way to say 'Hello,' in Korean =)

I wasn't able to post the previous month due to some personal circumstances, but I am dedicating this post to the memory of my cousin Jojo. I know that she would've loved to have eaten this dish with me. She always had a great appreciation for food and for life. 

My cousin Jojo is on the right. She always had a smile on her face and was one of the kindest and most generous human beings that I have ever known in my life. 

Pinsan, these Bi Bim Bap wraps are for you =)  Mahal kita!  <3

Yes, we're going to be talking about Korean food today. I have long been a fan of Korean food because of its freshness and true flavors. I've been aware of Korean food since a very young age because of a local store that my family would frequent. Let's put it this way, I was more acquainted with Kim bap than sushi as a youngster. In subsequent years, the store would expand to include a tiny restaurant side to it as well. It's really nice to support a small and family run business and I still go to this same store/restaurant today. 

An example of lovely Jap Chae noodles =)

I think that this is somebody's idea of Kimchi heaven =)

Over the years, I've learned many different techniques of cooking from various cultures and adapted them to my taste and my personal regimen. I've been making my own Vegan (as well as Gluten Free) version of various types of Kimchi for the last couple of years as well. I mean, who doesn't enjoy a nice bowl of  Jap Chae, I just add in more shiitake mushrooms and omit the meat/seafood. 

Anyway, maybe I'll have some posts about that stuff another day, but today we're going to pay homage to Ommas Kitchen. This youtube channel features videos of a Korean Mom giving cooking lessons to her daughters. She speaks directly to them; telling them how to make their favorite dishes. It's so cute sometimes when you hear her banter with her husband in the kitchen too. In one video, she was showing how she makes Bi Bim Bap wraps with blanched collard green leaves and I wanted to give it a go myself. 

If you don't already know what Bi Bim Bap is; then you can check out the wikipedia link for it right here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibimbap

I like Omma and her kitchen. I can relate to her style of cooking because she's pretty liberal about it when it comes to ingredients and just using whatever you have on hand and adjusting it to your taste etc.

Here is the link to the original video on Ommas Kitchen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVY_m64AQiA

So, let's get down to business and show Omma, some love!

This is going to be a more show and tell type of entry as opposed to the regular recipe posts. If you have any questions, just leave them in the comments section and I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability.

Collard Green leaves you with a good feeling =)

The big difference between how I prepared the leaves, is that she blanches the collard green leaves, but I chose to steam the leaves instead because I didn't wanted to waste all that water. I washed the collard green leaves very well and then cut off the longer stem pieces and put those on the bottom of the steamer tray/basket and then carefully layered the leaves to cover the whole surface area. I then steamed the leaves for about 13 minutes. After steaming the leaves, I then put the leaves into an ice water bath for about 12 minutes and then removed them. The steaming worked well and made the leaves pliable for rolling.

I chopped up the stems of the collard greens and pickled them in a vinegar solution. I don't think that there's ever a time when I don't have some sort of homemade pickle in the fridge; so I will save the pickling liquid and use them for marinades. In this instance, I had pickling liquid leftover from some pickled garlicky daikon ribbons that I had made.

The other ban chans (vegetable side dishes that are traditionally served with Bi Bim Bap)  that I made for this version were fried tofu triangles, sauteed sesame carrots with green onion and garlic, homemade hijiki salad, a bit of korean short grain brown rice and homemade V,GF napa kimchi..

There are so many other ban chans that could've been made or gone into this version, but that's what makes it fun to eat and make. You can play around and figure out which combinations you like the best. I think that I'll probably make a marinated mung or soy bean salad and add in some shredded cucumber as well for the next version. 

Are the Ban Chan's related to Jackie Chan? =p

Another view of the Ban Chan's: Clockwise- Pan Fried Tofu Triangles, Sauteed  Sesame Carrots with green onions and garlic, Hijiki Salad, Marinated collard green stems and homemade V,GF Napa Kimchi.

Hey, we gotta go! Wrap it up, already!

The Ban Chan's at their daily meeting spot.

The two collard green wrappers: America's next top rap sensation?

Portable nourishment! Reach out and grab one! =)

If you encounter the problem of not having big enough collard green leaves to fully wrap your ingredients; you just simply overlap two leaves and problem solved! I am Jessgyver! =p

I should also,give a shout-out to some of the other Korean cooking channels on youtube that I also enjoy and those are:

Aeri's Kitchen

Korean Food with Maangchi

I hope that you try this style of Bi Bim Bap and also check out those youtube channels. I always find inspiration from everything in my life and from some of these culinary channels as well.

Wishing you good health and happy cooking =)

A nyong hee gae sae yo! (That's one of the formal ways to say 'Goodbye,' in Korean =)

Until next time....   

=)

Love,

                            Jessica

Join Me for Merienda: Jessified Hasselback Style Potatoes

Hello again blogosphere and hungry people out there who have been patiently waiting for this post.

The first thing I should tell you is that my version was inspired by a segment of America's Test Kitchen; which is a neat show with good information (even though the host is sometimes a bit annoying ;p). I would have linked directly to the site, but it is a paid membership site; so it doesn't allow you to access any information without that aforementioned paid membership. Anyway, kudos to the ATK team for the inspiration and tips.

Potatoes: There are so many varieties out there, yet the most popular preparation of them in the U.S. is cut up and fried. I'm not saying that fries are bad because I think that most of us have a hankering for them every now and then, but there are so many ways to prepare all manner of potatoes; so why don't we try something different for once?

Hasselback potatoes originated in Hasselbacken, Sweden (hence the name). I'm not going to give a culinary history lesson right now, but basically it boils down to some chefs who were bored at this restaurant and wanted to come up with a new way to prepare potatoes et voila, the rest is history.

What exactly makes these Hasselback style potatoes, so appealing? Well, the manner in which they are prepared makes them both crispy and tender. The outer is crisp and crunchy  while the interior remains moist and tender. They are also basted in olive oil and dusted with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and that alone makes them quite attractive to my taste buds. The original recipe calls for the potatoes to be covered in a topping of buttered crumbs, cheese and herbs, but I prefer to keep them plain; so that I can top, them as I like and to order of my guests. 

The original batch

Jessified Hasselback Style Potatoes- V, GF

Ingredients:

6-10 Organic Russet Potatoes

Olive Oil

Himalayan Pink or Sea Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Kitchen equipment needed:

Roasting pan

Cutting Board

Chef's Knife

Tongs

1 pair of plain Bamboo chopsticks

1 Large mixing bowl

1 Microwaveable plate

Brush for basting

Method:

Preheat oven to 380F

Scrub and wash the potatoes very well and dry them off. Figuring out which side of the potato is the flattest, cut off 1/4 inch from the bottom of the potato. Proceed to cut off 1/4 inch of both ends of the potato.( I don't throw away the removed portions. I put them a bowl of cold water and save them for another recipe. Center the potato between a pair of chopsticks (serving as a guard to prevent you from slicing all the way through the potato) and slice about 1/4 inch equidistantly, end to end. 

This potato has a flat bottom, but wasn't insulted by this observation.

This potato looks like it's either on stilts or crutches.

This looks like some kind of magic trick.

You will have to 'sacrifice' a pair of chopsticks for this preparation;  so don't use your fancy lacquered  pair!

As you finish slicing each potato, place it into a large bowl with cold water in it. Once you've prepared the potatoes, you should make sure to individually swish each potato around in the water, making sure to wash out any excess starch, especially between the cut slices. If you skip this step; the excess starch will act as a glue and the slices will not splay properly or at all, when you bake them.

Cut potato going for a bath.

 Pat the potatoes dry slightly and place them on a microwaveable plate and cook them for about 12 minutes. Let the potatoes cool a few minutes before placing them on the roasting pan (I use tongs to move them from the plate to the pan). Brush olive oil on each potato, making sure to get between the slices. Season the potatoes with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 30-40 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. 

In the microwave getting par-cooked.

After the ride in the microwave.

These potatoes are all oiled up and have somewhere hot to go.

The potatoes should look nicely splayed and golden. At this point, you could potentially top it with the traditional topping and then put them back under the broiler for a few minutes until the Vegan cheese melts and gets slightly bubbly, but as I mentioned earlier; I like to have options =)

I dressed one of the original batch with some Daiya brand Vegan Cheddar and my homemade Parsley and Almond Pesto. Delicious =)

2nd batch with a few slices waving hello.

Mmmmm....

Look at those gorgeous golden bottoms. The potatoes are suing me for harassment.

I also tried a batch with regular standard sweet potatoes and they came out okay, but I think that I want to try some other varieties of sweet potato; to find the the best one for the Hasselback preparation =)

The sweet potato batch experiment.

Sweet potato looking sweet, but I'm still look for the 'one.'

If you have any leftovers (which is highly unlikely; if you've got guests with you); they do keep well for a few days, but the best time to eat them is when they're fresh out of the oven. If you do have to reheat them; I would recommend reviving them in the oven, but I have also tried reheating them in the microwave and they do come out decently, but the oven would be the better choice =)

This is a very simple recipe albeit a bit labor intensive in preparation, but it's a labor of love if you appreciate a beautiful and delicious end result ;)


Wishing you all good health and happy cooking!


Love,
Jessica