Japanese Restaurant Style Ginger Dressing

Don't miss this one.  I don't even know how long it would keep in the fridge.  It hasn't lasted that long around here.  It is a nice dressing to use on a Kale & Apple salad because it breaks down the tough leaves nicely.

Original here.

Ingredients
4 carrots, peeled
½ white onion
¼ cup chopped ginger
2 tablespoons white miso paste
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons dark toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Instructions
Throw everything in a high speed blender/food processor and blend until smooth.  Really it won't be that smooth, unless your equipment is amazing.  It will still be a little chunky like the restaurant dressing.

Hints

• Store extra ginger in your freezer.
• Miso paste is a fermented soy product.  You could probably use a little soy sauce in its place or just skip altogether like I did.  Having the miso would probably have rounded out the flavors really nicely.
• Don't skip chopping the ginger.  It needs to start off smaller to be well dispersed.  

Hamburger Buns 2

Ahhh... These buns are much better than the previous recipe I used.  They taste better and are easier.  Win-win!  I'll be playing with a few details, but there is no going back to the old recipe.

Original recipe (& reviews) here.

Buns
3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
*For best results (a smooth, slightly soft dough), use the smaller amount of water in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate); and something in between the rest of the time.

Topping
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
Place bun ingredients into bread machine in order specified by manufacturer and start the dough cycle (or do it by hand or in your mixer with a 1-2 hr rise). Upon completion, gently deflate the dough and divide into 8 pieces (perfect size for 1/3lb Bubba Burgers; make more if you like smaller burgers).  Shape each piece into a round ball by pinching the bottom.  Place on a parchment paper covered (or lightly greased) baking sheet. Allow to relax for a minute or two and then flatten with the palm/heed of your hand so that they are at least 3" in diameter.  Cover and let rise for 1 hour, or until noticeably puffy.  Brush buns with half of melted butter.  Bake at 375* for 15-18 minutes.  Brush with remaining butter for a soft crust.  Cool buns on a rack.

Intended future modifications:

• Try this as a sandwich bread loaf as some commenters suggested. 
• Try brushing with water after baking.  Or at least unsalted butter.  The greasiness/griminess was unpleasant in the hand, even though the taste was wonderful.  
• Try decreasing sugar or replacing with honey.
• Replace some of the flour with whole wheat. 
• Try an egg wash (white + 1/4 c. water; add extra yolk to dough) with sesame seeds.

Black Bean Soup 2

I finally found a black bean soup that I love and that I can consistently reproduce.

Saute together until fully cooked:
1T olive oil
1 lg onion,c hopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped

Add:
2T chili powder
1T ground cumin
1/4t black pepper
1T+ salt (adjust to taste, esp if you use salted broth)
4c unsalted broth
2 cans* black beans

Puree** and add:
2 cans black beans
28oz can tomatoes (diced or crushed or whole, whatever is cheaper)

Cook until flavors have combined and everything is heated through.

Remove from heat and add:
2T lime juice
15oz can coconut milk

Serve with cilantro.

*If you are using beans cooked from dry (much cheaper), 1 can is a scant 2 cups cooked. Recipe uses approximately 1.5lb dry beans.

**When I use dried beans and crushed tomatoes, I skip the pureeing.  Canned beans usually have chemicals added so that they retain their shape and firmness.  You don't have that with dried beans and I often find they are falling apart by the time I'm cooking them to my preferred doneness.

Hummus

If you don't love hummus, perhaps it is because you haven't had good, homemade hummus.  Now is your chance!

If you find the chickpea (garbanzo) measurements annoying, I'm sorry.  This recipe has been customized for one of my pots and my food processor size (7c).

Ingredients:
1 1/8c Dried Chickpeas (equiv of 1.5 cans)
1/4c Tahini (I hear you can use Peanut Butter in a pinch)
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped/minced
1/2c Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
2T Olive Oil
2T Dried Parsley
1/2t Crushed Red Pepper
1/2t Black Pepper
1 1/2 - 2t Salt

Directions:
Cover chickpeas with water and simmer until tender (approx 90 minutes).  Drain, reserving a bit of liquid.  Place all ingredients in food processor and puree.  Add reserved liquid to achieve desired consistency.

Uses:
Vegetable Dip
Sandwich Spread

Hot Cereal

I mentioned that I've been eating a lot of non-oatmeal hot cereal lately.  I have a new recipe you might like to try.  It is a very high fiber recipe.  I've been eating it while on an elimination diet where I'm not eating gluten (and a bunch of other things).  Oatmeal is technically gluten free, but there is a high risk of cross contamination and oatmeal has another protein that can affect people with gluten sensitivity. 

Anyway.  It is yummy.  Mix up a big batch and enjoy!

1c brown Basmati rice (Basmati really is worth it)
1/2c quinoa
1/2c millet
1/2c buckwheat groats
1/2c sesame seeds
1/2c flaxseed

Use the food processor to partially grind the rice and buckwheat.  Mix all together and store in the fridge or freezer. 

Bring 4c of water to a boil.  Add 1c of the cereal and simmer for 20 minutes.  See my post about oatmeal flavors for some different ideas on how to flavor your cereal.