Quick Pickled Bok Choy

Our weekly veggie boxes lately have been coming with a LOT of bok choy and I was at a bit of a loss when trying to figure out how to use it all. I'm not that much into bok choy, but had this thought one day that I could pickle it. I figured somebody must have done it before because everything is on the internet right? But when I did a quick search, apparently not. So I made up a quick pickle and gave it a go. It turned out so good that I pickle the bok choy straight from the veggie box every week. I can't tell you how long they'll last you in the fridge or cupboard, though. They don't last long in my house because my kids eat them straight out of the jar.

It's a very straightforward pickle. I used a warm pickle instead of hot because I didn't want the bok choy to get too "cooked", so it would retain it's nice crunch. Add any flavours you like - chilli, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves. Our favourite variety is the ginger ones.

I use these pickles inside rice paper rolls, with Asian salads or noodle dishes. They add a lovely fresh crunch to a sweet/sticky tofu dish.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with all the leaves? I add them into other dishes in small amounts but can't seem to use them up in the quantity that I have them! Suggestions welcome :)



Ingredients:
2-3 bok choy, stems only
1 cup, boiling hot water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (you could also use white wine vinegar or rice vingear)
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt


Additional flavours (optional): chilli, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves. 

To Make:
1. Wash bok choy stems and cut into sticks. Put into a clean jar (pack them in tight because they shrink as they pickle).
2. Combine the boiling water with the sugar until dissolved and then add the apple cider vinegar and salt. 
3. Pour into the jar over the bok choy. If the quantity isn't quite enough you can top up with a little more vinegar and water to fill up the jar.
4. Put the lid on and store in the fridge overnight.

Makes approximately 1 x 500ml jar. 

Vegan Pear and Rhubarb Cake

We get veggie boxes delivered these days, although I'm hoping that one day we'll grow so much fresh food that we won't really need to. I love the lucky dip nature of it, it's different every week and you figure out what you're going to make when it comes. Surprisingly though, it comes with pears pretty much every week. Much as I love them I've struggled to use them up in such quantity, leading to experimental cooking like this. This creation turned out fantastic!


Vegan Pear and Rhubarb Cake
Ingredients
3 ripe pears
4-5 rhubarb stalks
1 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar (I use raw)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups wholemeal flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp brown sugar

To make:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2.  Core 2 of the pears and chop into 1cm or so cubes, don't worry about peeling the skin. Chop the rhubarb stalks into 1cm lengths.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the soy milk, oil, sugar and vanilla together.
4. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and chia and mix well to combine.
5. Grease a loaf tin (or a small round tin) well and line with baking paper.
6. Pour in the batter. Slice the remaining pear and use it to decorate the top with whatever pattern you like. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.
7. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a knife (or skewer) inserted into the middle comes out clean.
8. Cool in the pan and then use the sides of the baking paper to lift it out and serve.

Makes 1 loaf or 1 small cake. To make a full size cake you'll need to double the recipe.

Weeds & Greens Salad with Finger Lime dressing

One of the good things about having a blog is using it to keep track of your own recipes. I haven't posted anything on this blog for years but I still come into it every now and then to look up one of my recipes to make. Everytime I log on to the blog I'm amazed at how much traffic it gets even though I haven't posted on it regularly for more than 5 years. When I see that it makes me feel like getting back onto it.

My life has changed a lot. But I thought I might try and post every now and then. It's going to be a be a bit different, it's going to be more real. I don't have the energy for perfect styled photos. I got rid of most of my "styling" props when we moved because I wanted a simpler life with less stuff. You'll get quick snaps on my phone, probably with kids hands reaching in to take the stuff right off the plate.

I've got 2 kids now but this is not a "mum blog", I've never had any desire to have a blog like that.

A year ago we moved into a new place and the house was everything we hoped for, with a bonus overgrown jungle as the garden. I'm passionate about growing our own food, but I've never seen myself as a forager. However, as I cleared sensational amounts of plants and weeds away to start to form our veggie patch, I realised we were probably already growing a lot of edibles without knowing it.

I checked out this book from the library and became a weed eater. I've come to view the weeds in our garden differently, for what they can do rather than just what they are. Our veggie patch is still a work in progress, but the garden always has a bounty to offer because weeds are everywhere!

Here's a simple recipe which represents where we're at right now. It's not much of a recipe really because it's so adaptable. Finger Limes are an Australian Native Citrus, with little bubbles of citrus inside like caviar. We've got a tree growing and had a nice crop this year, so I've used it here in the dressing. It's not available that widely, so just use some lime or lemon juice instead if you can't get them (if you can though - do it!!!). I recommend you plant one though, if you're in Australia, because they're just fantastic.

Weeds & Greens Salad with Finger Lime Dressing

1-2 cups mixed edible weeds, we used dock and oxalis mainly.
1-2 cups fresh rocket (we grew ours) or baby spinach
1 finger lime
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
Edible flowers, to garnish (we've used oxalis flowers, you can also use violas, nasturtiums or Calendula petals).

Quick note: I recommend you do your research before eating weeds so you make sure you can identify what you're eating beyond a shadow of a doubt. Also both dock and oxalis are high in oxilic acid, so I wouldn't eat this salad every day. 

To make:
1. Toss the leaves together. 
2. Squeeze all the "caviar" out of the finger lime into a small jar and add the olive oil, vinegar and soy sauce. Shake/mix well and pour over the leaves. 
3. Garnish with edible flowers and eat right away.