When we were in Mexico a few years back, we would frequently stop in a bar for a pre prandial beer and a free snack would almost always be provided. Mexico is one of those nice civilised cultures where you are expected to eat as you drink - always a good thing in my book. Anyway, more often than not, the snack was spicy pickled carrots. We became a bit addicted to them, they are perfect with beer and handily also count as at least one of your five-a-day.
So if you are trying to create a bar/pub experience in your own home, to make the lockdown evenings slightly more exciting, then whip up a jar of this. It looks and tastes gorgeous and is mostly made with basic groceries and store cupboard ingredients. If you don’t have all the spices and herbs then sub in something else or leave it out
@edibleflowerbrews made this batch - I can’t take credit. Recipe below:
Mexican Pickled Carrots
Makes 1 litre
750g carrots
1 small onion
1 x 200ml jar of jalapeños in vinegar
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
100ml cider vinegar (or white wine or rice vinegar)
200ml water
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
4 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Peel and slice carrots into diagonal rounds (7mm thick) and onion into 7mm slices.
In a large pan add the garlic, vinegar, plus the vinegar from the jar of jalapeños, water, oil, bay leaves, peppercorns, oregano, cumin seeds, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil and add the carrots and onion. Bring back to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Add the jar of jalapeños and then allow to cook.
Spoon into clean glass containers. Keep refrigerated. Leave for at least half a day before eating. Best after a day or two. It should keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.
How is everyone doing? Today I felt a bit low, sometimes the days seem interminable, constantly needing to find the next 15 minute activity to keep two toddlers entertained and no way of breaking up the day a bit - taking them to a class, to visit their Nannie or a friend, for a walk in Rowallane, to the supermarket... Hopefully tomorrow will be a little bit easier.
Picking @edibleflowerbrews lovely salad leaves in the garden for dinner this evening.
#gardening #nodig #saladleaves #organicgardening #mustardleaves #lockdown #edibleflowergrows #theedibleflower
This veggie Three Bean Chilli is perfect on rice or nachos and can be made with almost any sort of tinned beans (except maybe baked beans) so it's a great use for any tins lurking at the back of the larder. If you don't have three different types then just use two types or even one in a pinch.
Slightly edited recipe here but see link in bio for full recipe on website.
Serves 4 - 6
For the Colorado Sauce:
4 small dried chillies or 2 large fresh ones (or more or less to taste)
1 red pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, grated
A large pinch of salt
OR if you don't have any of these ingredients then use one tin of chopped tomatoes and add a 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder at the same time as the other spices
For the Chilli:
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
4 tins of beans, drained (ideally a mix of three different sorts, for example 2 tins red kidney beans, 1 tin of cannellini and 1 tin of black eyed beans)
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, grated
1 green pepper, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato concentrate
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
salt and dark brown sugar
If using dried chillies soak them in boiling water for half an hour, then slit them and wash out the seeds. If using fresh chillies remove the seeds and stalk and roughly chop. Remove the seeds from the red pepper and roughly chop. Put all the ingredients in a blender and puree with a few tablespoons of water
Heat a large casserole dish or heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid over a high heat. Once hot add the oil and then immediately add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes until soft and slightly browned.
Add the garlic, green pepper, tomato concentrate, ground cumin, bay leaf and one teaspoon salt. Cook for another few minutes, stirring the whole time. Add the drained beans, the Colorado sauce (or tinned tomatoes) and about 200ml water (just enough to almost cover the beans). Bring to a simmer and then put the lid on and turn the heat down to low and cook for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and add a splash more water if needed.
Taste the chilli and add salt and sugar to taste. Enjoy x
A few years ago I taught a cooking class for young teenage girls (aged 12-14) in a community centre in Monkstown. It was really fun - there was a lot of laughter, a lot of drama (someone was always locked in the loo), I spent much time encouraging them to try different foods (avocado, mango, cauliflower), they spent much time telling me they only ate chicken... We always all sat down for a meal together at the end!
The girls got to decide what we cooked each week, with a bit of negotiation on my part - I was keen for vegetables, they were keen for chicken and cheese! All the recipes are on our website - see the link in my bio. They were mostly successful (cauliflower goujons were a big hit - I insisted on these if they were going to also cook chicken goujons) though I remember granola and yoghurt was weirdly not popular!
If you are home schooling your kids you might be thinking this is a good time to teach them to cook. They get a life skill, you all get fed at the end - it’s got to be a winner! If you cook any of the recipes let me know (post a picture 😋) and if you need substitutes for any of the recipes then send me a message and I’ll see what I can suggest.
#homecooking #cookingwithkids #kidsrecipes #fakeaway #kidscooking #edibleflowercooks #theedibleflower
