mooning around
When I don’t feel quite “right” I either blame hormones, or the moon. I’m going to blame both today; last night’s CRANKING full moon seems like a prime scape goat candidate. Weird dreams, sporadic bursts of energy followed by huge sleepy slumps, crazy crazy crazy dog AND child and just plain feeling like I’m dreaming, drifting, spacing out all day long.
Nothing to do but cook.
I love condiments and I love vinegar…. I go through more apple cider vinegar in my house than I care to admit (I’m weird and scull it straight at times). Balsamic vinegar is so rich and hearty – love it. I’ve updated my onion jam recipe into the vegan-realm as when I first post it, many many moons ago, I used honey, but really use what you like to sweeten it. It’s may be one of the cheapest, easiest and most delicious fridge-dwellers you could possibly meet. It makes an awesome pizza topping…. check out Annie’s latest recipe for inspiration. The longer you cook the onions down, the better the jam will be…. onions have a natural sweetness which is brought out by sloooooow cooking. Patience is a virtue, or so I’m told.
Vegan Onion Jam
(Vegan, gluten/wheat/nut/soy/seed/refined sugar free)
- 750g brown (or red) onions, finely sliced
- 2T coconut sugar (or any sugar you prefer)
- 3T water
- 3T balsamic vinegar
- 1/4t sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Chuck first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan.
- On the lowest heat possible gently gently gently cook down the onions for AT LEAST 1 hour…. more is better (I tend to cook them down for around 2 hours). I like to sort of bash the onions around with a wooden spoon, to help them break down a bit.
- Add balsamic vinegar and cook for a further 15 minutes or until a “jammy” consistency has been achieved, and vinegar has been absorbed.
- Season with salt and lots of black pepper.
- Store in a glass jar in the fridge (lasts for around 2 weeks in the fridge).
I will admit it, here and now, I LOVE canned beetroot. The additives and SUGAR content of which is generally quite horrendous. I bought a 1kg bag or baby beets the other day for 49c, simply because they were so cute. Annoying to peel, yes, but so delicious when cooked with a slightly sweetened dose of balsamic vinegar. Perfect with salads, on pizza, as a side dish (Viper recommends on a whopping big burger, but I will take his word for it).
It seems patience is the theme of the day…. these little beety-gems take quite a while to cook as well – perhaps this is the full Moon’s message to me… be patient and good (delicious) things will come.
Just Like the Canned Ones:Baby Beets
(Vegan, gluten/wheat/soy/nut/seed/refined sugar free)
- 500g peeled baby beets (or regular sized, cut into quarters)
- 1C water
- 1/4C balsamic vinegar
- 2T coconut sugar (or agave, rapadura, coconut syrup etc) – I’ve used coconut sugar in both of these recipes as it’s earthy, dark flavour goes really well with both onions and beets. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it.
- 1/2t sea salt
- Combine everything in a saucepan and bring to the boil…. reduce the heat as low as it can go and gently cook until the beets are tender and the liquid has reduced to a thick syrup (there will be about 1/4C left)…. you will need to put a lid on the saucepan after about 20 minutes to help the beets cook.
I have to apologise to the moon I think – it’s not it’s fault. I have a sneaking suspicion that my ‘feeling off,’ can be attributed to my on-going candida-overgrowth problem. I have been struggling with this since I was pregnant, and I’m sure a lot of you can relate as it’s a super-common problem these days.
Anyway I’m going to be doing a little experiment with my daily eats to see if I can help reduce my symptoms…. wish me luck.
