Blueberry Cardamom Chia Pudding

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Chia Pudding with Blueberries and Cardamom

Adapted from Gena Hamshaw by My Little Blue Heron

Chia was always a novelty item that grew into an animal that looked like green upstate roadkill. They sold it at the drug store for $10. I think they grew it into other shapes too, maybe Santa? I will call this my pet chia pudding.

Some people have issues with the texture (kinda like tapioca meets large quinoa). Here's why (especially for vegans/vegetarians and people seeking these nutrients): Chia seeds are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, iron, and calcium. A 28-gram, or 1-ounce, serving of chia seeds also contains 5.6 grams of protein. Interest piqued? 

This pudding will win you over to the acquired taste. It’s delicious. It’s beautiful in color. Add it to or add to it: layer it with overnight oats, yogurt (dairy or non-dairy), mixed into smoothies, cereal, or sprinkle some granola or nuts or fresh or dried fruit over it. On its own, it's purple chia haze. 

You’ll need ground cardamom (I grind my own so it’s really fragrant and fresh). The original recipe calls for fresh blueberries, but I make mine with frozen organic blueberries that I buy in large bags at a really great price at Whole Foods and it’s yum. Frozen or fresh, when you can, use organic berries. Use unsweetened almond milk. My favorite is Califia. They make an unsweetened vanilla that rocks. Maple syrup isn’t inexpensive. I buy mine at Costco or Trader Joe’s. Vanilla extract? It’s a fortune. I’ve been making my own with bourbon and vodka and used vanilla beans – it takes time, but the result is lovely and will save you some cash. Vanilla powder is great. Authentic Foods makes a good one, but there’s some sugar in it. Most vanilla extracts have some sugar added – even my holy grail vanilla extract, Baldwins, has sugar. grrrr.

I make this and I freeze it in ½ cup containers. It’s great for snacks and school lunches. 

This may become your first and last chia pudding recipe.

peace and love,

jane

 

Great read by Sharon Salzberg

Blueberry Cardamom Chia Pudding

Equipment:

Blender

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chia seeds (white or black)

2 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk

1 cup blueberries, preferably organic, fresh or frozen

1 ½ tsp. ground cardamom

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ cup maple syrup (you can use agave, but I haven’t)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Procedure:

Measure and put chia seeds in a large bowl that will accommodate at least 4-6 cups.

Place all ingredients (EXCEPT CHIA SEEDS) in a blender (I use my Vitamix) and blend on high until smooth.

Pour blueberry/almond milk mixture over chia seeds and mix well with a fork or a whisk.

Let sit for five minutes.

Mix well (again) with a fork or a whisk and let sit for ten more minutes.

Stir again. Cover. Refrigerate overnight.

Stir. If too think, add some almond milk.

Texture is similar to tapioca (very small beads.)

Enjoy!

Vegan (or not) Rice Pudding

Vegan (or not) Rice Pudding

Adapted from Jonah Rosenberg by Blue Heron Kitchen

In honor of my Mother, my Grandmothers and my Children

You’ve loved rice pudding from the first jar of Gerber’s you mother cracked open. Many cultures prepare rice for dessert from Asian sticky rice preparations to Italian dessert risottos. The Greeks nail rice pudding with egg yolks and heavy cream. In a pinch, there’s Cozy Shack.

A couple of weeks ago, Martha Rose Shulman's column offered brown rice recipes for health (link is to recipes in the Times). She offered these recipes despite reports of alarmingly high levels of arsenic in most brands of domestic rice (link is to Consumer Reports article) which now require us to limit our intake. Brown rice was the worst offender, with the most arsenic found in the hull. I’m still scratching my head at why, given this horrifying information, she chose to offer us an array of “healthy” brown rice-based meals. 

So you must be wondering why I'm offering you a recipe for rice pudding. Findings were that the levels of arsenic were significantly lower in aromatic rice varietals, such as basmati rice. Basmati, from India is the rice I keep in the house because I cook Indian food; and it's the rice I’ve used in this recipe. 

Beautiful package - a gift from my friend, Rick.

You can use short grain 'risotto' type rice, which is more conventional. Buy the best quality rice you can find. Buy rice from Italy, Greece or India. 

I’m still dumbfounded that brown rice isn’t safe anymore.  

My son, Jonah, is a fine cook. He regularly prepares meals for large groups of friends. Challenged by living in a country where food is much pricier than here in the U.S. (he lives in the U.K.), he came up with this economical, simple, quick and delicious recipe for rice pudding. 

He’s going to be furious that I used almond milk, but tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I’m using my “get out of jail free” card. 

This recipe is lactose-free, dairy-free, vegan, loaded with calcium and comfort. It’s good for your baby, your children, you, your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Your call on the dog.

Use unsweetened almond milk. I’ve been using “Silk” brand. An 8 oz. serving provides 450 mg. of calcium (!), it tastes great (when I drink it straight up, I add some stevia) and it has 30 calories per 8 oz. serving. Without running this through a nutritional analysis program, I calculate this dessert at roughly 167 calories per serving. Sweet.

Go legit and substitute whole cow’s milk. You can use 2% milk, but I wouldn’t go lower in fat. (If you do and it's great, please comment and let me know!) I used Nielsen Massey’s Vanilla Bean PASTE. You can find it at Amazon or Williams-Sonoma; and sometimes you can snag it at discount stores like Home Goods.

(Click on me to go to my website)

Please take time today to visit Sandy Hook Promise.org and send loving and caring Mother’s Day wishes to the mothers whose children were senselessly murdered:

http://www.sandyhookpromise.org/

To all who are lucky enough to have your mother: call her today. Stop dissing Hallmark. It was a good idea.

peace and love,

jane

Vegan (or not) Rice Pudding

Equipment: 1 heavy-bottomed 2 to 3 quart saucepan, preferably stainless steel.

Ingredients:

4 cups (960 ml) unsweetened almond milk, almond-coconut milk, cashew milk (or cow’s milk.)

½ cup short grain (high starch), such as Arborio or sushi rice, rinsed under cold water

¼ cup granulated white sugar

4 whole green cardamom pods, slightly cracked open (you can omit these, but the taste is wonderful.)

Rind (without the white pith) of one orange or lemon (Meyer lemon is heaven!)

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or scrape seeds from ½ a soft, fresh vanilla bean) or pure vanilla extract will do.

Cinnamon (for serving)

1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier or Triple Sec (optional)

Procedure:

Put all ingredients into pot (except optional liqueur) and heat over medium/high flame until it comes to a boil.

Lower flame to medium/low and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon or a spurtle (a wooden tool used to cook oatmeal that you should own if you make oatmeal because it’s brilliant and once you use it, you’ll wonder why you never had one.) often. Cook for about 35 to 40 minutes, until mixture is very thick. It will thicken a bit more as it cools.

If you’re adding liqueur, add it a few minutes before removing the pudding from the flame.

Remove cardamom pods and citrus rind. 

If you like raisins in your rice pudding, plump some - about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup - by pouring hot water over them and letting them sit for several minutes (You can add some liqueur to them too and this would be delicious.) Stir them into the pudding after you've removed it from the stove.

Serve warm, room temperature or chilled. If you’re not vegan, a dollop of whipped cream! If you’re vegan or dairy-free, try some dairy-free topping. 

You don’t need much more than a sprinkle of cinnamon, a spoon and love.

Yield: 4 servings

  

Glazed Ginger Shortbread

Glazed Ginger Shortbread
Adapted from David Lebovitz by Blue Heron Kitchen

David Lebovitz writes that these cookies were inspired by the Ginger Crunch recipe from a cookbook called “The Edmonds Cookery Book”, first published in 1908. Edmonds is a company in New Zealand that produces baking powder. Please check out David's blog (you can link to it under "The Mother Blogs"). You'll want to subscribe.

If you love ginger and butter (or with options to further enhance flaor with cardamom or rose), you’ll adore these. And Ginger Rogers?  Yuz honors, I rest my case:

The glaze calls for Lyle’s (or other brand) golden syrup. Most U.S. markets are growing up and are selling this wonderful syrup from the U.K. If you can’t find it, try some dark corn syrup. If you’re opposed or don’t have any, you can fool around with honey or rice syrup. Agave’s okay, but it’s kind of runny and thin. If you’re committed to Agave, use the darker one.

Use a 13- by 4-inch (34cm x 10cm) rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. If you don’t have this size, use one that renders similar area. You can use an 8-inch (20cm) square cake pan or a 20 x 30 centimeter rectangular pan, but if you do, line the bottom with a wide piece of foil leaving an overhang over the sides of the pan, then smoothing the sides and buttering the inside. Once the bars are finished, you should be able to lift the foil (and the bars) from the pan easily.

If the dough is giving you a hard time and won't come together, dampen your hands and knead the dough until it does. (It doesn’t need to be perfect.) Transfer the dough to the pan and use the heel of your hand to press it evenly into the bottom. Remember, you're the boss.

Ingredients:

Cookie base
4 1/2 ounces (9 tablespoons, 125g) unsalted butter, room temperature [it should be very soft - truc: to hasten this process, cut butter into slices.]
1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g) [I used sugar infused and perfumed with cardamom ... see below*]
1 1/2 cup (210g) unbleached all-purpose flour [I use King Arthur brand]
1 teaspoon baking powder [Rumford brand - aluminum free. Be sure it's fresh.]
1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried ginger [Be sure it's fresh. In the U.S., Penzey's is a good resource.]

Icing
2 1/2 ounces (5 tablespoons, 75g) butter, salted or unsalted [if you use unsalted, add a pinch of salt; it’s better with some salt.]
2 tablespoons Lyle’s Golden Syrup [available at better markets, markets with “International” aisles (it’s European!) or online at Amazon.com]
3/4 cup (90g) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon ground dried ginger

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC.) Butter a 13-inch rectangular tart pan or another pan (see above).

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand in a large bowl, make the cookie base by creaming the butter with the sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger.

3. Mix the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture until well-combined. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead it until the dough is relatively smooth. (If the dough is dry, dampen your hands to add a bit of moisture.)

4. Press the dough into the prepared pan and flatten the surface.

5. Bake the dough for 15-20 minutes, until it’s light golden brown.

6. Five to ten minutes before the dough is done, making the icing by heating the 2 1/2 ounces of butter and golden syrup in a small pan, then mix in the sifted (ALWAYS sifted!) powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon ginger, stirring until smooth.

7. When you take the shortbread out of the oven, pour the warm icing over the cookie base. Let sit for about 20 to 30 minutes, then remove from the pan and slice while still slightly warm.

I sliced them in accordance with the pan’s fluting, so with this tart pan, the recipe yielded about two dozen fairly thin cookies. You can slice them thicker if you want to, say, sell them in an independent coffee shop.

 * To make cardamom sugar: use a glass jar and pour about 1/3 of the way up with granulated sugar, add whole green cardamom (about one heaping tablespoon), pour another 1/3 of the way up and add another heaping tablespoon. Close the jar and in a few days, your sugar will be infused! The sugar will ‘keep’ for six months to a year. It’s great in recipes like this one, or sprinkled on top of scones or biscuits. 
For rose sugar: follow directions above, replacing cardamom with edible, dried rose buds. Rose sugar is gorgeous. You'll use it in butter cookies, buttercream, meringue and la vie en..xo