Quinoa with Eggplant

One of my friends left a few weeks ago. She was here with the Australian High Commission, on a short posting (less than a year). Being with the high comm, she had a ridiculous amount of luggage she could import. With this, she chose to bring in quinoa, and didn't use it all up by the time she was due to go. Cue, very happy vegan me.

I googled what on earth I should do with quinoa and eggplant - eggplant being, as always, cheap - and this came up: http://avocadopesto.com/2012/08/21/quinoa-with-eggplant-and-roasted-red-peppers/

Some slight adaptations - roasted red pepper?! Yeah right - and we're ready to go!

Quinoa with Eggplant
3 tablespoons olive oil (thank you, Bulk Store)
Spring onion, diced - how much you include depends on how much you like spring onion
4 Solomon eggplants, quartered lengthwise and then diced (this was actually a good way to do them)
5 cloves garlic, chopped (I really like garlic)
3-4 birds eye chillies, chopped
Balsamic vinegar
4-5 small tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1.5 cups veggie broth

- In a pot heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and add quinoa and 3 cloves of garlic. Cook stirring occasionally for a few minutes. Add broth, turn heat to high until it comes to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes, or until water is absorbed. (I found it took longer than 20 minutes)
- In a separate pan heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add diced spring onion and 2 cloves garlic, and cook for a few minutes then add eggplant. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar, birds eye chillies and the tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes, then remove from heat.    
- Serve the eggplant over the quinoa.

If I keep this up I'll need to go see if Panatina stock quinoa... 

Hibiscus Happiness

I was so, so happy to discover this recipe. I haven't yet figured out how to make it without an ice cream machine, but I'll either buy one at Christmas, or do it sorbet-style. I have a hibiscus flower tree and a lime tree in my compound - coconut tree is just outside the house, and what kind of aid worker would I be without a constant supply of white rum (and gin... and dark rum... and vodka... and tequila... erm). This was made for me!
Credit goes to Laura Friendly, recipe originally posted on HelloGiggles!: http://hellogiggles.com/vegan-hibiscus-ice-cream

Vegan Hibiscus Ice Creamby Laura FriendlyPrep Time: 30 minutes
Ice Cream Maker Time: about 25 minutes
Makes: about 4-1/2 cups

• 1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, optional
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 13.5-oz. cans coconut milk (full fat)
• 1 tbsp gluten-free vodka or white rum

1. In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil and add dried hibiscus. Turn water off and steep flowers for 15 minutes.
2. Strain the hibiscus water through a fine mesh and return to the saucepan.
3. Add in sugar, lemon juice and salt. Bring the liquid to a boil and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (sugar should be fully dissolved).
4. Allow syrup to cool completely.
5. Transfer hibiscus syrup into a blender. Add in coconut milk and vodka. Blend well.
6. Pour liquid into your ice cream machine bowl, and churn for about 20–25 minutes, or according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately.
7. If you’d like a firmer consistency, transfer into a freezer safe container with lid, and freeze for about two hours to thicken.

note: the hibiscus syrup is a bit tart, so you can start by adding half of the syrup and increase to your desired taste

Fruity Coconut Salad

I haven't posted much lately, for a few reasons - I've been super busy at work - I went on holiday to Japan and Australia for 3 weeks - and, I've just been really uncreative with cooking. So in an attempt to get back into it, I'm embracing coconuts again...

Fruity Coconut Salad
2 cups grated coconut
2 cups grated carrot (if you can find them)
1 shallot, chopped
1 pawpaw, chopped
1 small cucumber, seeds removed and diced
1/2 pineapple, diced
1 large tomato, diced (or about 6 small ones, chopped in half)
2 mangoes, diced
Mint leaves, chopped (might need to rely on your own garden for this one...)
1 tbsp lemon (bushlime) juice
1 tbsp coconut oil

Mix together the first ten ingredients. Refrigerate if not serving straight away. Mix the lemon/lime juice and coconut oil to pour over the rest, just before serving.

Pumpkin Curry

Today was a very exciting day - there was a pumpkin at Ngossi Market. I bought it straight away - best AUD$2 ever - and got cookin' curry.

Simple Pumpkin Curry

One diced onion 
About 4 cloves garlic
Chunk of ginger
Lime/lemon
A s**tload of chillis (that's the technical term) 
Pumpkin
Cumin, turmeric, salt, pepper

I'm rediscovering the beauty of a mortar and pestle, so I smashed together the garlic and ginger. I put that together with the onion and, because I ran out of olive oil yesterday, threw them in a pan with the chopped birds' eye chillis, squeezed lime and a bit of water to steam cook. After peeling and cubing the pumpkin (a pain in the arse), I threw that in with the cumin, turmeric and salt, sauteed, covered with water and let it go while I drank a few glasses of wine.
After remembering I was cooking dinner, I came back and it was all nice and mushy. Added pepper and ate with Solrice (godawful cheap white rice, but what can ya do). Nom.
 

Veggie Chap Chap

At some point a few weeks ago, I decided it would be a good idea to buy a "serving" (pile?) of ginger. It cost next to nothing and I've barely touched it. Time to embrace the ginger...
(only amusing if you know me, therefore knowing I'm a ranga.)

Vegetable Chap Chap
1 tbsp oil
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger
1.5 kg greens - bok choy, cabbage - whatever was lookin' good
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp brown sugar (I use raw)
2 tsp crushed chilli (I've currently got a massive bundle of birds eye chillis... about 5 of those)

Heat oil in the pan and fry the garlic and ginger. I add onion, cos I like onion.

Add everything else. All of it.

Serve!



One thing I'm loving about Solomon kukim... simplicity.  

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...

While in the Solomon Islands, I've committed to learning how to make my own coconut milk. Despite my apprehension, or any encouragement from friends who don't understand why I don't ask my housemaid to do it (oh it's a hard life here), I want to learn how to make this funny looking fruit into creamy white deliciousness, the only white deliciousness here that I'm not dependent on a shipment from Australia from (on a happy note, the last boat brought in chocolate soy milk! JOY!).

I'm the proud owner of a coconut scraper - a wooden board with a jagged circular metal saw thing on the end. This weekend I will be purchasing a bushknife, and a strainer, and then we'll see what happens!

For anyone else who wants to take this journey/cluck in sympathy at my stupidity... here's what my Solomon Islander friends told me to do (in between giggles and asking if they could come and watch):

Step one: whack the coconut open with the blunt edge of the knife. Do this over a container to try and capture as much of the water/juice inside as you can.
Step two: Scrape, scrape, scrape. I've been assured this will take me, the weak white novice, up to an hour to do. I've also been told that I will probably cut my hands with the scraper multiple times and put blood in the coconut, therefore ruining it for anyone else to eat.
Step three: Put all the coconut "meat" into a strainer (with a container underneath) and push, push, push. Mix with the coconut juice if you want it stronger.

Tadaaa... coconut milk.

Now let's just see how brave I am...

Pawpaw goodness

Pawpaw (or papaya for you Americans) is simply amazing. Rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B vitamins, minerals and fibre, you can't really go wrong with a good pawpaw! And they're plentiful and cheap in the Solomons.

Sometimes you get sick of them as a fruit - and that's when it's time to turn it into a vegetable.

Curried Pawpaw

2 pawpaws, de-seeded and cubed
1 onion, finely chopped 
Milk from one coconut (get out that coconut scraper...)
1 tbsp curry powder
(I also add garlic, but I add garlic to everything.)

Fry the onion (and garlic), add the pawpaw and coconut milk and curry powder. Boil and eat. Tadaaaaaa. 

Edit: I made this the other night and only had one pawpaw; I added chilli, capsicum (bell pepper) and tomato. All cheap Sols ingredients! Tasted delicious. (Eventually, I will start taking photos and adding them here too - but as we know, internet runs somewhere between turtle and snail speed here, so maybe that can be done after I go to Australia on holidays!)