And taadaaa!
2L of beet kvass. I could have squeezed the leftover bit into the other jars duh, but it'll do for tomorrow's tonic. In the fridge now so the bubbling is settling.
It took about 750g beets, but could do with a little bit less or more either way.
I made the best ever eggplant and chickpea dish last night in the slow cooker function of the #InstantPot.
The recipe is Macedonian Chickpeas, Eggplants and Tomatoes, from The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean, by #PaulaWolfert.
A few bits (onion, green capsicum, eggplants) are sauteed quickly then tomatoes, LOTS of parsley, greek oregano, bay leaves is added, then tomatoes. Simmered for 10 mins then mixed with chickpeas and slow cooked for 3 hours.
The recipe also includes chillies, but I added the water used to swish around the blender after I pureed the fermented chillies. It was a perfect heat!
All from the garden except onion and chickpeas.
The recipe punches above its weight!! Very special. Lots in the fridge for 'ron. 
The Prince of Vegetables, beetroot, was at its most sweetest tonight, cooked perfectly in the Instant Pot, sweet as, with a touch of butter and a little black pepper. It has been ages... My heart sang as I bit into the first beet.... 
Last time I cooked them in the IP they were rock hard. I like them soft. I got the timings perfect this time (110g-160g beetroot, on trivet, 34m HP, 5m NR - very soft). 
Beancurd sticks/dried tofu sticks
Maybe a decade ago, Michael from https://herestheveg.blogspot.com/ was asking about some tofu sticks they'd seen in their recent trip to China. He couldn't find them. We discussed options, but he really wanted to find these lovely twirled beancurd sticks. Not the long, scrunched, sort of flat beancurd sticks. These are twirled around to make a round, long, light stick.
I'd never seen them. And still hadn't until recently I found them in my local Asian shop.
The are soaked briefly, then can be used like noodles. I just made some with some Maggi seasoning, soy sauce and chilli crisp, with just a little veg and herbs from the garden.
Hit the spot. When they soak they become twice the length and slightly unfurl, but still hold enough spaces and twists to really get the sauce right through the sticks.
Do you know these? How do you use them?
We are nearly out of all of the nimbu pani that I made, so time for panakam. It is a summer drink, often made during one of the summer festivals, and very cooling. A basic recipe is lime, jaggery, cardamom and black pepper, but recipes vary from place to place, home to home. Ginger can be added, salt too, tamarind instead of lime/lemon, tulsi, nutmeg - any can be added.
I am just going with jaggery, ginger, cardamom, lime and tulsi (as I have it growing). An alternative sweetner version for me, sadly, as I am off sugar atm. I have quite a few recipes but today I reached for #MonsoonDiary by #ShobaNarayan.
Here is one I made earlier....
#Rhubarb talk....
It is slightly cooler tomorrow (27C) and the coolest we'll get for a while. Nights will be around 15 or 16C until Sunday. I've just picked the rhubarb for a fermented rhubarb relish - may as well get it going when I can keep it relatively cooler for a couple of days at least. Recipe is from #FermentedVegetables by #KirstenShockey . It is fermented with rosemary, cranberries and I am using goji berries cos I have them in place of golden berries (whatever they are).
Its ferment time in the book is 5-7 days - in the warmer weather I am aiming for 3-4.
In other rhubarb thinking: The raw rhubarb pickle has been incredibly successful this year (not fermented), and now one of my fav uses of rhubarb. I am hoping the relish will be amazing too.
There will be another rhubarb pick soonish and my thoughts now are that I will make the rhubarb umaboshi again, like last year, but try fermenting it. This is the recipe I used,https://www.chopstickchronicles.com/umeboshi-rhubarb/ but there are a few online if you want to google them.
UPDATE: here is how to ferment the rhubarb umaboshi. https://www.cornishseasalt.com.au/blogs/recipes/rhubarb-umeboshi
#Rhubarb is pickled, or at least in it's jar and beginning to pickle. I discovered I had some left-over brine in the fridge, so it made the job easy. I layered it with just-picked chillies and tarragon, and some fresh bay leaves.
Meanwhile I got curious about eating raw rhubarb. Can you?
**How to Eat Rhubarb Raw**
In its raw state, the “pie plant” is pretty sour. Think Granny Smith apple sour! This is one of the reasons it’s often paired with sweeter fruits, like strawberry. To eat rhubarb solo, dip the stalk into sugar or honey to help mellow out that tart taste. You can also whip up a raw rhubarb compote and add it to your morning bowl of homemade yogurt. Its biting acidity goes beautifully with sweet ripe strawberries (of course), mangoes and even coconut.
Rhubarb is a wicked good way to kick up the crunch factor in salads, too. Its sharp flavor makes a mouthwatering foil in sweet fruit salads, but it’s a delight in green salads, especially when paired with fennel. You can even add thin strips of raw rhubarb to a slaw.
From https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/can-you-eat-rhubarb-raw/
Good morning all you special people 
It is hot today, so I'm making a chilled liquorice root and ginger iced tea (a version of Mulethi Wali Chai; it will have some black tea in it too, as well as a few other spices). I am about to put it on to brew and cool before refrigerating.
I'd make it with milk if I was drinking it hot but I prefer without milk when having it iced. Perhaps a little lemon.
Liquorice root is very healthy and it is surprising that it is not used more. Also it has a sweetness to it, so no need for any additional sweetener in the tea. ("It is a good source of B vitamins and vitamin E. It also has minerals like phosphorous, calcium, choline, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium, silicon and zinc.")
I made this spinach-lentil dish to go with lunch - it is more spinach than lentils (mung dal) and soft/wet but not soupy. The dal is cooked until extra mushy, and it coats the spinach. Made in the #InstantPot. The tadka includes garlic which I cooked till crispy, and it is excellent with the spinach.
From #VasantLad's #AyurvedicCooking
Yesterday, @dillyd had me reread the chapter in #TheEverlastingMeal 
on cooking dried beans and it had me putting beans on to soak immediately. The writing is sublime.
I have just put the soaked beans in the pot with all of her suggested additions (including fennel, I just happened to have half a fennel in the fridge. She says beans should always be cooked with fennel).
She reminds us that cooking beans makes the most beautiful broth, and we should never throw it away.
I added lots of herbs from the garden, including celeriac leaves which are growing again this year. Plus the pickings from yesterday's work in the veg garden - leeks, chillies, tiny tomatoes, lime leaf, ....
Following her instructions, I have brought it to the boil, and now have it in the InstantPot's Slow Cook function which will keep it just below simmer for a few hours.
Her advice on testing the doneness of beans is pure gorgeousness.
First up, there will be some celeriac and cabbage soup. It is an easy one to make first as it is in the #InstantPot, and I have prepared (peeled) celeriac in the freezer (from a HUGE one I purchased a couple of months ago).
The recipe, from #ModernPressureCooking by #CatherinePhipps, can use potato instead of celeriac.
I checked the curry leaves (which I never weigh, but generally use a branch, which is a little more than some recipes call for). The amount seemed too much in this recipe, but probably similar to what he uses elsewhere as well.
I picked some branches. It takes 4 - 5 branches of curry leaves for the 5g that #Ottolenghi uses. Far too many, and that amount will add a bitterness to the dish. No wonder he uses 25g sugar in the curry.
Use 1 branch curry leaves and omit the sugar (or just add a pinch or two).
I never trust Ottolenghi's use of Indian ingredients, and use my own instinct instead. At least in this recipe he pops the mustard seeds, and uses an appropriate amount.
But first, Butternut, Coconut Tamarind, my first cook from #Ottolenghi's new book #Comfort. On the stove now, although I have some questions about the amount of curry leaves he uses.
Also, watch your "tamarind concentrate". It varies around the world. The one I get here requires only 1 - 1.5 tspn max to a dish (I generally use 1/2 tspn). He uses 120ml, so it is probably a syrup rather than concentrate.
But smelling good!
Having the #InstantPot has made the cooking of lentils and beans a synch. If I only ever use it for this, the purchase is worth it. (I do use it for a lot more.)
So I am upping my use of lentils and beans. Yesterday - a thin mung bean soup with delicious flavours.
And this week I'll make #BillGranger's Puy Lentil Soup with Parmesan Toasts, from #SydneyFood. It's a soup the whole family makes, since decades. This is very close to the recipe: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-11-12/puy-lentil-soup-with-parmesan-toasts/8934824 (The ABC is posting without attribution! 
)
Parmesan toasts are not essential, but good.
I like this recipe from #VogueEntertaining from the early 2000's, and especially their advice to use as a substitute for tomato paste.
I tend to roast tomatoes a lot, in different ways, for different dishes, or just on their own. I'll do them this way today for use in a tomato-chickpea curry, Happy days.
(I have a lot of VE recipes in my digital recipe stash, as I subscribed for so many years, from the early 1990's, maybe the late 1980's.)
Oven-roasted Tomatoes
(Serves 4 to 6)
9 medium, fresh, ripe tomatoes
olive oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
2 teaspoons finely mopped garlic
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 160 C. Cut !he tomatoes in half Lightly oil a baking dish and place In the tomatoes, cut side up.
Sprinkle them with the parsley, garlic and extra-virgin olive oil. Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour or more until the tomatoes have shrunk to less than half their original size. Transfer to a serving platter.
Note: these tomatoes have shed the excess water that dilutes their flavour, so their Juices are pure essence of tomato. They are delicious served with pasta, in soups or to use In sauces. Use as a substitute for tomato paste.
I've been toasting and grinding garam masala this morning. I bought a pack of whole garam masala, as it has some interesting ingredients, and topped them up with some individual spices.(Katoomba brand - Australian)
Contents: coriander seeds, cumin, blck pepper, cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, black cardamom, green cardamom, fennel, mace, nagkesar, (Ceylon ironwood), teja patta (Indian bay leaves), laung patta (clove leaves).
Reminder: Garam Masala is generally used as a finishing spice, not a cooking spice. Add to cooked or almost cooked food, stir, cover, allow to infuse for 3-5 mins.
I have lots of recipes like this one, scribbled hastily, decades ago, by a friend when I asked for the recipe, or copied from a magazine in a waiting room or in a kitchen as a friend tells me what she does. I love to make them. And I grew up in an era of "no pic" cookbooks and even "no measurement" recipes, so I am comfortable working with this type of recipe. Like this one, sometimes they are even "no timing, no temperature" recipes.
How times have changed. People want everything measured, down to the gram, millilitre, minute or degree.
I love to watch my daughter cook. When she would cook with me as a teenager, I wanted her to get to know the ingredients well, never mind the recipes. She loved to cook with me so there was plenty of time to do that. I watch her now and she cooks the same way I do - partly intuition, partly comfort with the food items. She cooks different dishes to me, but always very delicious.
I am making this one today. A bit retro indeed. But oh so good.
