Simple Juice Recipe

Here is a simple recipe for making a delicious juice out of ingredients that are all currently in season. If you don't like the intense flavor of the beet, you can cut back to half the size of the beet shown in the picture below. The lemons in the picture are Meyer lemons, a bit on the green side. I tossed everything whole in to the juicer, which meant the juicing took only a few minutes.

Ingredients: Apples, Carrots, Beet, and Meyer lemons. Enough for two people. 

Fall fruits in California

Here are my three favorite fall fruits that are at their peak:

Pomegranates: Select ones that are heavy for their size. I prefer the ones that are cracked or partially open, ensuring that they were allowed to fully ripen on the tree.

Concord Grapes: They have an intense, bold flavor that mirrors drinking port wine. However, they do have seeds, which makes them less popular, but in my opinion nothing comes close to these grapes.

Fuyu Persimmons: You can eat these even when they are hard like an apple, which is not the case with the Hachiya variety that have to be allowed to ripen at home until they turn extremely soft.

Misr or Malka with Rice (Pink Lentils with Rice, Khichri)

This is a new simple recipe that is inspired by Ethiopian ingredients and Indian Khichri. It is probably one of the fastest meal that I can make and I often will cook it when I don't have time. I am praying that the Ethiopian Gods will let me take their ingredients and create something simple and different. You will need to use a pressure cooker for this recipe.

Ingredients: 

• Misr, Malka, or Pink Lentils: 1/2 cup
• Arborio Rice: 1/2 cup
• Water: 2.5 cups
• Berbere: 2 teaspoons
• Oil: 3 teaspoons sunflower, regular olive oil(yellow one), or mustard oil.

Recipe:

• Place the pressure cooker with the oil over medium heat for few minutes. 
• Add two teaspoons of berbere and stir with a wooden spoon.
• Wash the rice and malka and strain the water.
• Add the rice and malka to the pan, and stir the ingredients for a few minutes.
• Add the water to the ingredients, the pan should make a bit of a sizzling noise.
• Increase the flame to high and bring the pressure to first ring (7 bar), reduce the flame to low.
• Set timer to 5 minutes, and turn off the flame and remove the pressure cooker from the stove.
• Let the pressure drop. The meal is ready to serve, just add Niter kibbe(Ethiopian spiced butter).
• Total cooking time: 10 to 12 minutes.

Heat the rice and lentils with the spices for a few minutes.

 

Add the water and close the pressure cooker.

 

Here you can see the two rings, the first one is 7 bar and the second is 14 bar. Cook at first ring. The pressure cooker in the picture is 5-liter Duromatic Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker.

 

Served with Niter Kibbe(Ethiopian Spiced Butter)

Fresh Anchovies

My experience with anchovies was limited to the canned variety that have so much salt that I didn't really know how fresh anchovies are supposed to taste. I stumbled upon them at the fish stand at the Old Oakland Farmer's Market. The Pacific Ocean near San Francisco is full of amazing delicious seafood, but it is very difficult to find fresh catch straight from the ocean. The anchovies were fresh and were caught in the Monterey Bay, they simply looked amazing. They were inexpensive, I paid $5 for 3 lbs of fish!

Cleaning: Use a sharp pointed knife, I use a boning knife that has a sharp end, to cut a slit along the bottom side of the fish and scoop out the guts. I use a 1/8 teaspoon to scoop out the contents, and then rinse the fish under cold water.

Preparation: I put the anchovies in a stainless steel mixing bowl, added olive oil, salt, and chopped garlic and mixed them. Afterwards, I spread them on a baking sheet and baked them in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit for 6 minutes. They taste buttery and delicious. The bones are fairly soft and you can easily eat the sides bones, even the main bone is fairly soft and can be eaten. It is unlikely that I am ever going to eat canned anchovies again.

Padron Peppers

Padron are mild delicious peppers that are perfect for an appetizer. They are easy to prepare, saute them in olive oil and add some salt.

 Fresh padron peppers

 Half way through the cooking process

Misir Wot (Ethiopian Lentil Stew)

I finally managed to successfully make Misir Wot which is an Ethiopian dish made with pink lentils. Pink lentils are a nutritional powerhouse, 26% by weight protein, 30% dietary fiber by weight, and high in thiamine, folate, and iron. It is one of my favorites and is very easy to make. It also tastes amazing and I can practically eat it every day. Here is the list of ingredients (You can find these at Yagerbet Market, 2412 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, the lady there barely speaks English so please be patient):

• Pink Lentils (1.5 cups)
• Two medium sized onions
• Sunflower oil(four tablespoons approximately)
• Two medium sized tomatoes
• Four cloves of garlic
• Three tablespoons of berbere
• Salt (about two teaspoon, berbere has salt but I needed a little bit extra)
• Water: about five cups
• Niter kibe (spiced Ethiopian butter)

 Pink Lentils

Niter Kibe(Ethiopian spiced butter)

 Berbere (Ethiopian Spice Mix)

Recipe: Add about 3/4 cup of water to a pot and bring to boil, dice the onions and add them to the boiling water, and cook until the water has completely evaporated. This step is radically different from what most recipes will say, I got this suggestion from an Ethiopian friend. Once the onions are cooked, add oil, and also chopped garlic. Cook until the onions are brown. Chop the tomatoes finely and add along with the onions. Cook until the water from the tomatoes is completely evaporated. I keep the pot covered during this time to speed up the cooking of tomatoes, but you do have to stir the contents to make sure they don't stick to the base of the pot. You are done when the oil starts to separate.

Add berbere and mix and cook with the onions and tomatoes for about a minute or so, it will turn in to a thick red paste. Add the lentils, and two cups of water, cover and cook on medium heat while stirring intermittently. Keep adding water as the lentils soak the water and cook and swell. You will need about five cups of water, but pay attention to the consistency of the stew. It needs to be somewhat thick. Serve with injera and enjoy this healthy and delicious meal.

Misir Wot

Bottle Gourd/लौकी(Lauki)/葫子(huzi)

Thanks to my immigrant farmers, I can find some vegetables that are common in India, but hard to find in mainstream grocery stores here, the lauki is a good example. I bought these at the Oakland Chinatown farmers' market, they were fresh and perfect. Look for the young ones that are not too big.

I like to cook lauki from time to time to introduce some seasonal variety to my cooking. I peel it and then cut it in to small pieces. 

Saute one medium sized onion, garlic, and whole dried red chili peppers, add some cumin as well. Add three medium sized tomatoes and saute until the oil separates, add cumin, and turmeric, and the pieces of lauki. Add about two cups of water, and cook at medium heat for 15 minutes, lower the heat and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until the lauki is fully cooked.