Tapioca Pudding

This recipe ratio comes from Bob's Red Mill and the pudding has a really fluffy texture; of course, this is from beating the egg whites. I would post a pic but it's just a vanilla pudding with tapioca in it.

Makes 6 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients

1/3 c small pearl tapioca, soaked in 3/4 c water for 30 minutes
2 1/4 c whole milk
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 c sugar, divided
2 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Soak tapioca in water in a saucepan that can hold at least 2 quarts. Don't drain any remaining water.

Add milk, salt, 1/4 c sugar, and stir frequently over medium heat until boilings. Then simmer over very low heat for 10-15 minutes.

In a small dish, beat the egg yolks. Temper the egg yolks by gradually adding some (maybe a tablespoon?) of the tapioca mixture to the yolks and stirring before adding the egg yolks+tapioca to the pot. Whisk together This is what gives the pudding its yellow-ish color.

As it is cooking over very low heat, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl with 1/4 c sugar until soft peaks form.

Once the tapioca has thickened, turn off the heat (momentarily). Stir or whisk in the beaten egg whites, about 1/4 cup at a time until it is well combined.

Turn heat back on to a low setting and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla extract. Let cool before eating.

Apple Cider Vinegar & Honey Shrub

This batch made roughly 16 oz of syrup and seems to have the right "sweetness" for a drinking vinegar. What to do with the leftover grated apple? I am composting it in the vegetable garden.

Ingredients

One apple, cored not peeled
1/2 c organic granulated sugar
1/4 c raw honey
1 c raw/organic apple cider vinegar (ACV)

Directions

1. Combine ACV, honey, and sugar into a clean 1-quart mason jar.
2. Grate apple and add to jar.
3. Cap the jar and store in refrigerator for 2-3 days.
4. Strain vinegar syrup into a clean jar.

To Use

Mix 3 tablespoons of vinegar syrup with 8 oz of sparkling water.

Vegan Mushroom Jerky / Slow-Roasted Mushroom Strips

As far as snacks go, this was so time consuming with little reward (remember the zucchini chips?) that it makes me almost want to buy a food dehydrator. I doubt I'll ever use fresh mushrooms this way again. It's no wonder all the mushroom jerky recipes call for those large portobello mushrooms. The mushroom slices shrink by more than half, which is why you'd want to use the largest mushrooms as possible. I, however, did not have portobello mushrooms and used fresh shitake mushrooms instead. Recipe ratio comes from Food52.

Ingredients

2 tbsp low sodium tamari soy sauce
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp ground chili powder
x large or medium portobello mushrooms

Directions

Slice mushrooms to 1/4" thickness. Add to marinade. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 250 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange mushroom slices on the sheets.

Bake for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until the pieces have shrunken and are dried out. You could flip the slices at the midway time mark, but I didn't bother.

Certainly flavorful and I ate half before I stored the rest in the fridge.

As a snack food, this is a waste of time for so few calories.

I added the remainder of the finished batch to a soup and it was delicious.

Restaurant Style Salsa

Ever since finding this recipe ratio on the internet, it has been my go-to quick salsa for chips, nachos, tacos, and potlucks. It is so easy to prepare (with a food processor) that I have canned fewer jars of salsa this year; only a half batch of hatch chile salsa. But, this recipe doesn't require hatch chiles at all. I usually use one bunch of cilantro, leafy green parts only; and this is significantly more volume than the half cup the recipe calls for. If you want the cilantro to be finer, roughly chop with a knife before adding to the food processor. 

TheFoodening Blog - Restaurant Style Salsa

Ingredients

Two 14.5 oz cans of roasted diced tomatoes w/ green chiles
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 green jalapenos, halved and seeds removed
1/4 tsp organic granulated sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 c fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 lime, juiced

Directions

Pulse together in a the bowl of a food processor with the sharp/serrated blade: all the ingredients.

Refrigerate for an hour before serving to let the flavors mingle together.

Slow Cooker Minestrone

I suppose it is possible to overcook the vegetables on this, though it wouldn't be any worse than reheating the soup. If you are going to add some type of pasta to this, I suggest cooking the pasta separately, then adding cooked pasta to the serving bowl. There is a lot of flexibility as to what goes into this vegetable soup; though most notably it's root vegetables + beans + pasta.

Ingredients

1.5 quarts vegetable/chicken/beef broth
Two 14.5 oz cans of diced/crushed/whole tomatoes
One 15 oz can beans (cannelini or white/red kidney beans)
2 organic carrots, diced
2 organic celery ribs, diced
1 zucchini, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced or finely chopped
1 cup green beans, fresh or frozen (optional)
1 lb fresh spinach leaves (optional)

Spices

1 tbsp fresh or dried parsley
1.5 tsp fresh or dried oregano
1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
sea salt, to taste (about 1 tsp)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pasta

1/2 c macaroni, fusili, or other small shaped pasta, cooked separately

Directions

Add broth, vegetables (except the spinach), beans, and spices to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Cook macaroni or fusili pasta separately. Drain. Set aside until ready to eat.

Add spinach leaves and cooked pasta to crockpot at least 20 minutes before serving.