Sweet and Sour Pickled Vegetable Salad

I've long wanted to figure out the whole pickling deal. I don't know why it really took me so long. I guess it just sounded complicated. It sounded like a lot of mason jar sterilizing, large bubbling vats, and endless storage space (or friends to give this stuff away to). Friends I have, storage space and patience for mason jar sterlizing....? maybe not. BUT browsing through my terrific Thai cookbook I realized that many recipes call for pickled vegetables, and it's not hard to do in the slightest!

Different recipes also call for different types of pickling. The pickling I've done here requires a large amount of sugar, which is why the salad is called 'sweet and sour'. The sour comes from the rice wine vinegar. The flavor combination really works here. And it's another fun way to incorporate the ever healthy bean sprouts into a recipe.

This recipes makes about 2 large lunch meal salads, or 4 small side salads.

The prep time of this recipe is 2.5 hours, because of the time you will allow the vegetables to pickle in the brine. Besides that, the work involved will take you no more than 10 minutes.

Pickled vegetables:

1 carrot, julienne

1/2 cucumber, julienne

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

Salad:

1 cup Chinese cabbage, chopped

1 cup bean sprouts, washed

2 scallions, diced

1/2 large red chilli, sliced on the diagonal

2 tbs soy sauce

juice of 1 lime

2 tbs crushed peanuts or cashews

1.) Start by making the brine for the pickled vegetables. This requires that you boil the water, vinegar and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and cool the mixture.

2.) Pour the brine over the jullienne vegetables in a large jar or bowl and let marinate (or pickle) for at least 2 hours. I left mine in the fridge so they would be nice and cold with my salad.

3.) Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.

4.) Drain the pickled vegetables, reserving the liquid. Add the vegetables to the salad.

5.) To make the dressing, add the soy sauce, lime juice and 1/4 cup (125ml/4 fl oz) of the pickling brine.

6.) Sprinkle with the nuts and serve.

Tofu and Carrots in Peanut Sauce

This is just another easy recipe to make. This and the fact that I love peanut butter in almost anything just meant that I had to make this recipe. There aren't so many ingredients and it doesn't take too much time, so if you're stocked up on tofu and you don't wanna make the same old stir-fry, here ya go:

Stir Fry

5 carrots, peeled and chopped coarsely

2 tsp peanut oil

1'' of ginger, diced

soy sauce

4 scallions, including the greens, chopped coarsely

salt

1 package of firm tofu (sliced into 1'' thick triangles and drained the water by pressing or slowly sauteeing)

1.) Cook the carrots in the hot oil with the ginger for a few minutes, and then add the soy sauce.

2.) Add about 1/2 cup of water to the pan and cover to cook until the carrots are tender.

3.) Add the scallions and cook to reduce the liquid into a light glaze.

4.) Seperately, stir fry the tofu in some oil and soy sauce.

Peanut Sauce

1 tsp peanut oil

1/4 cup cilantro paste or chopped cilantro

1 tbs mint leaves

1/4 cup of lime juice

3 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp chilli powder

1 red chilli, sliced on the horizontal (optional if you can't stand the heat)

salt

1 tsp soy sauce

Whisk all ingredients together while heating through to soften the peanut butter and infuse the flavors. This will take only a few minutes.

Toss all the ingredients together and drizzle with the peanut sauce.

Sweet Potato Gratin

Many recipes I've used many times come from my homeland of America. North America to be exact. Therefore, while they may be ethnically inspired, they are more or less, just, American.

Since the sweet potato, or the softer- yam- as it is known in America, is native to the Americas, this is not a stretch. It has long since spread throughout Polynesia, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Africa. The sweet potato is considered a staple crop in many African countries, such as Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, since they grow heartily in temperate climates if rain is scarce.

Furthermore, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared sweet potatoes to all other vegetables and ruled that sweet potatoes were of the highest nutritional value, due to high amounts of fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamins A & C, iron, protien and calcium. What could make you happier about grubbing up something delicious with these orangy spuds?!

I made the following recipe for my boyfriend, A, and his parents, who rather typically of their generation, have a difficult time thinking up whole meals that don't contain either fish or meat. I do believe they said 'ruokka oli hyvaa'. :)

Sweet Potato Gratin
(serves 4)

2 tsp oil
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
2 tbs sage or herbs de province
3 medium sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup shredded guyere, smoked mozzerella, or any smoky flavored cheese
grated parmesan
1 cup cream, warmed

1. Preheat oven to 190C, oil a gratin dish, and set a pot of water to boil
2. Add sweet potatoes to water with a pinch of salt. Depending on how thinly you were able to slice them, they should take only a few minutes to soften. Test softness with a fork.
3. Heat onion, garlic and herbs in a skillet until the herbs are fragrant and the onion translucent.
4. Add sweet potatoes to skillet and mix well.
5. Layer 1/3 sweet potato mixture, 1/3 cheeses, until all are used. Salt and pepper to taste as you go.
6. Pour cream evenly over all other ingredients.
7. Bake with foil cover for 25 minutes and without for another 25 minutes.

I used a less expensive smoked cheese than guyere, and herbs de province instead of sage.
This recipe was modified from Deborah Madison's 'Vegetarian Suppers'.

I served it with steamed broccoli on the side and another vegetable high in beta carotine, a curried carrot salad.

Curried Carrot Salad
(serves 4-6)

1 lb carrots, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup finely diced leek/green onion/onion
juice of 1 lemon, or 1/4 cup vinegar (good quality red wine vinegar or equal)
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry
3tbs olive or safflower oil
1 tbs honey

Add all ingredients together and let marinate at least 20 minutes before serving.
Add optionally something sweet, like pineapple, shredded apples, raisins, or currants. Or use something bitter or sour, such as pickled capers for a burst of additional flavour. Sugar can be a substitute for the honey if that's all you have available.

This recipe can be modified to whatever you have in the kitchen, or or your preferences. I have also heard of people cutting thin slices of the carrot and quickly blanching them, cooling them before adding other ingredients.

This recipe was modified from Martha Rose Shulman's 'Fast Vegetarian Feats'.