We hadn’t eaten black-eyed peas for a while, so the peas and rice did taste extra delicious. Anni commented how the taste of the black-eyed peas combine the sweetness of chickpeas and the flouryness of regular beans. I think that’s an apt description!

Here’s what I used:

• 2,5 dl dried black-eyed peas
• a piece of kombu
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• about 2 teaspoons of cumin
• about 1,5 teaspoons of coriander
• 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, finely chopped
• 2 dl tomato sauce, passata style
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

About two hours before I started to cook, I quick soaked the peas: I rinsed them, put them in a bowl filled with boiling water, and covered the bowl. (Obviously, they could’ve been soaked overnight too, but since I forgot to do it, I had to quick soak them.) Then, two hours later, I began with boiling the black-eyed peas. I threw soaking water away, put the peas in a kettle over low heat, added the kombu and plenty of boiling water.

While the peas were simmering, I prepared the sauce. First, I put a frying pan over medium high heat, added the onion, and fried it until quite brownish. I kept stirring the onion a lot so that it wouldn’t burn. Then I added the garlic, cumin, coriander and the chipotle, and fried them about half a minute, stirring continuously. I poured the tomato sauce in the pan, stirred, lowered the heat, and waited until the black-eyed peas were done. I drained the peas, removed the kombu, and added the peas into the frying pan. I mixed the sauce and the beans, added the salt, and checked the taste.

Now these burgers are not about the patty, since the “patty” is actually just a slice of fried tofu, and I guess that in the US these might most likely be called sandwiches instead of burgers. But the main thing that’s going on here is the beet-sauerkraut relish, with its sweet-tangy taste that goes so very well with the rye bread, and its beety texture that is quite lovely with the fried tofu – especially when everything is drenched in creamy tahini sauce. Simple, quick, and tasty, just the way we prefer our dinners to be right now.

This recipe makes enough for 4 burgers, with some extra beet relish and tahini sauce left over. The relish is mighty tasty as a side dish as well, and we often serve this sauce with cooked grains like quinoa or barley. We also filled our burgers with pea sprouts and sliced yellow bell pepper, and enjoyed them with a side of carrot sticks.

The Tofu:

• 300 grams tofu
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• canola oil for frying
• black pepper to taste

Heikki first cut the tofu in 4 slices, pressed them for a bit with some cheesecloth, and then fried them in canola oil until slightly brown on both sides. Then he drizzled the liquid smoke and the soy sauce in the pan and turned the slices over a few times to make sure they got an even coating, and crackled plenty of black pepper over the tofu when it was ready.

The Beet Relish:

• 2 large beets, julienned (or even grated)
• 1 and 1/2 dl sauerkraut (about 100 grams)
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
• salt and black pepper to taste
• (a sqeeze of lemon juice)

I heated the oil in a frying pan and fried the onion until slightly browned. Then I added the beets and the sauerkraut in the pan, and fried for about 5 minutes, until the beet started to soften. Now I added the salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice, covered the pan, and let it stew until everything else was ready to serve (it took about 10 minutes).

Tahini Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 1 dl nutritional yeast
• 3/4 dl water
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Heikki just dumped all the ingredients in our mini food processor and mixed until thoroughly combined and creamy. The thickness of this sauce can be easily adjusted by cutting the amount of water – this makes quite a runny sauce.

To assemble, we buttered out two toasted rye bread slices with a bit of vegan margarine, slathered the bread slices with tahini sauce, then added a pile of the beet relish on the bottom slice. That got drizzled with some more sauce, then covered by a slice of tofu and a bunch of veggies, and another drizzle of the sauce.

I recently found a wonderful organic smoked rye flour. It’s called riihikuiva which means barn-dried in Finnish, and has an amazingly deep and rich smokey flavor. If there’s no smoked flour available, I bet a pinch of smoked paprika with regular rye flour would work just as well. We served these muffins plain, hot from the oven with our evening tea, and I bet muffin halves spread with some vegan cream cheese would be pretty tasty as well.

Dry Mix:

• 2 dl white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 dl smoked rye flour (or another smoked flour, or medium rye flour)
• 1/2 dl oat bran
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar (muscovado)
• 1 teaspoon each: salt, dried basil, chilli flakes

Wet Mix:

• 1 and 3/4 dl plain unsweetened soy yoghurt
• 3/4 dl cold-pressed sunflower oil (or olive oil)
• 1/2 to 3/4 dl water
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed

Add-ins:

• 15 kalamata olives, chopped
• 3 sundried tomatoes in oil, rinsed and chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons capers
• 1 spring onion, sliced

I first preheated the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and sprayed 8 muffins cups with olive oil.

I stirred together the wet and dry mixes in separate bowls and then combined the two, being careful not to overmix. I had to add a tablespoon or so more water because the batter was too dry, but this always depends – it’s best to start with 1/2 dl water and add more as needed. I folded in the olives, sundried tomatoes and capers, and spooned the batter in the muffin cups. Then I sprinkled the muffins with some onion slices, and baked them for 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin came out clean.

This makes enough tofu for 4, so we have plenty of leftovers – they are very munchable and a nice addition to many meals.

The Herbed Tofu (serves 4):

• 500 g tofu
• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon each: smoked paprika, thyme, sage, tarragon
• 1 teaspoon brown rice vinegar
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

I first pressed the tofu – sliced it, wrapped in cheesecloth, placed a cutting board and a pile of cookbooks over it, and let sit for 15 minutes. Then I cut it into small-ish cubes (about the size of the tip of my thumb), heated the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat, and fried the tofu cubes until slightly browned on most sides. This takes about 10 minutes, and while the tofu was frying, I had plenty of time to mix together the seasonings (tamari through garlic).

When the tofu was nice and golden brown, I poured the seasoning mixture in the pan, and stirred it to coat all the tofu cubes. I kept on stirring until the liquid was absorbed and started to get brown, and removed the pan from heat. I let the tofu come to room temperature before adding it to the salad base.

The Salad Base (serves 2):

• 1 small head of new cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• a bunch of arugula, chopped
• 6 sundried tomatoes, chopped
• a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons gomasio (Japanese sesame salt), or salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon agave syrup
• plenty of black pepper
• fresh basil

I just tossed everything together in a large bowl, added about half of the tofu, and sprinkled with some fresh basil.

We’ve used these bacon bits as a yummy pizza toping and in two kinds of pasta sauce – the other was just a tomato sauce with chick peas, and here’s the carbonara sauce we whipped up the other night.

Here’s what I used:

• 2 dl soy flakes
• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons brown syrup
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke
• canola oil for frying

I first mixed the soy sauce, vinegar, syrup and liquid smoke together. Then I placed the soy flakes and the seasoning in a bowl and stirred until the flakes had absorbed all the liquid.

Now I heated our cast iron skillet with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and then fried the soy bits until nice and brown all over, with a few blackened spots here and there. For crispy results, I’ve used more oil, and for a chewier and less greasy result just a thin layer is enough.

I drained the bacon on kitchen towels and then it was ready to be used – in pasta, on sandwiches, as a pizza topping, or in salads. Yum.

Simple Carbonara:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 dl soy cream (or other vegan option – rice, almond, oat)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• plenty of black pepper
• 1 and 1/2 dl soy bacon bits
• chives and nutritional yeast

I heated up the oil and fried the onions until browned. Then I added the garlic, fried a minute more, and added the soy cream and heated it up. Then I removed the pan from heat, and stirred in the salt, plenty of black pepper, and the lemon juice. This makes enough sauce for a dry-ish pasta dish for 2 persons – add more cream if you like it saucier.

When the spaghetti was cooked, I stirred most of the soy bacon bits in the sauce, and then mixed the sauce with the pasta. We sprinkled our portions with nutritional yeast, chives, and more soy bacon bits.

I just used whatever veggies there were to be found in our fridge, and luckily the red bell pepper and edamame beans went really well together both in texture and flavor. Ginger juice can be easily extracted by first grating some fresh ginger and then squeezing it so that the juices ooze out. The amount in this recipe is an estimate since I didn’t measure, but I used what I got from a small piece of ginger.

This is what I had (for 1 large lunch portion):

• 1 bundle or 50 g soba (Japanese buckwheat) noodles
• 2 dl frozen edamame (fresh soy beans)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 10 Roman lettuce leaves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon shiro miso
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger juice

First I cooked some water and poured it over the frozen edamame to defreeze them. Then I heated a large pot of water until boiling, added the noodles and the drained edamame, and cooked for 6 minutes. Meanwhile, I chopped the veggies and placed them in a bowl, and mixed together the sauce ingredients (miso through ginger). When the noodles and beans were cooked, I drained them and rinsed under cold water, drained again, and added to the bowl. I dressed with the sauce and tossed everything together, and my 15-minute-lunch was ready to be served.

A bundle of soba noodles.

The secret of this soup is how we used tahini as a thickener, which produced an almost coconut-milk-like creaminess. It really worked well in this recipe, and we’ll be sure to try tahini in other soups in the future.

This is what we used:

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons cumin (jeera)
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
• about 6 dl of vegetable stock
• 5 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1 – 2 tablespoons lime juice
• salt to taste
• sugar to taste
• pepper to taste
• chopped fresh parsley to garnish

I began by prepping the potatoes, onion and garlic. Since we were hungry, I diced the potatoes into smallish cubes to reduce cooking time.

I heated the oil in a thick-bottomed pot and added the cumin, coriander, turmeric and paprika. I stirred with a spatula, until the fragrances were released. Then I added the onion and garlic, and sweated them for a few minutes. Next I put the potato cubes in the pot, and poured in the stock, just enough to cover the potatoes. I brought the soup to boil, covered the pot, and cooked until the potatoes were soft.

When the potatoes were done I added the chickpeas in the soup. Then I took about 1 dl of the liquid from the soup in a cup, mixed in the tahini with a spoon until no lumps remained, and poured it back into the soup. Then we added the salt, sugar, pepper and lime juice, and checked the taste until it was to our liking. Before serving, we sprinkled our soup with some chopped parsley.

This batch serves 2 people as a snack or a starter – I have a feeling that next time we make these I will be doubling the recipe. The mint flavor came out quite delicate despite the seemingly large amount of mint leaves in the recipe, possibly because our mint was a little bit on the dry side.

The Ingredients:

• 200 g firm tofu, not pressed
• 1 dl cashew nuts
• 1 dl mint leaves, lightly packed
• 2 cloves garlic
• a 5 cm piece of a lemon grass stalk
• 1 red Thai chili, de-seeded
• 1 to 2 tablespoons water, as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

I placed half of the tofu, cashew nuts, mint leaves, garlic, lemon grass, the chili, and a splash of water in our mini food processor, and started blending into a coarse paste. The paste didn’t end up completely smooth, just so that there were no larger pieces of lemon grass or chili – I think this could easily be achieved with an immersion blender as well.

Now I crumbled the rest of the tofu, and added that to the spicy paste. I seasoned the dough with salt, and it was ready to be fried.

I heated a tin layer of canola oil in a frying pan, formed the dough into 10 balls, and flattened them lightly. I actually battered two of the croquettes with a gram flour and water mixture (the one that is on the right side of the picture being one of those), but I think the un-battered ones were slightly nicer.

I fried the croquets on high to medium high heat until browned on both sides, and then drained them on kitchen towel. I served these right away with an easy dipping sauce made with lime juice, soy sauce, and a pinch of sugar.

After googling, reading and watching through a plethora of kimchi recipes, I settled on the one that looked most promising, and adapted it to my liking. Not only it proved to be really easy to make, but supremely delicious too! I am already planning my next batch of pickled vegetables. Even though making kimchi is easy, it does require some planning ahead. During the first day, there are two separate stages of preparing, and a six hour wait between them. After that, it takes three or four days of fermentation before the kimchi is ready.

This is what I used:

• 650 g chinese cabbage
• plenty of salt
• 1 beet, grated
• 2 red onions, chopped
• 2 – 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• slice of ginger, about 1 cm thick, crushed
• 2 teaspoons hot chili powder (or to taste)
• 4 teaspoons sugar

When making the kimchi, I mostly followed the instructions from the Pyongyang metro kimchi recipe.

I began by rinsing and chopping the cabbage, resulting with pieces of cabbage about 5 cm in diameter. I made layers from the cabbage in a plastic bag, sprinkling salt liberally between each layer. At this stage, it’s important to ensure that the cabbage is thoroughly salted, so next I poured some salt over my hands and rubbed the pieces of cabbage between my hands. I added some more salt, and repeated until I’d gone through all of the cabbage. Then I squeezed the pieces of cabbage between my hands to extract as much water out of them as possible. I did this over the plastic bag, so that all the extracted water was collected in the bag. I tied up the bag, and let it sit for 6 hours.

At this point, the original recipe said rinse the cabbage “if necessary”, and remove the extra water, but since my cabbage wasn’t that watery, I decided not to remove any water. Moreover, I didn’t rinse the cabbage, since I hadn’t used that much salt. Most of the saltiness disappears in the fermentation process anyway. Now I put the cabbage in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, and added the rest of the ingredients. I put on my kitchen gloves, and started squeezing the ingredients in my fists. I continued squeezing the cabbage mix for a couple of minutes.

All done! I tasted it a bit, and it was already really yummy, a bit salty perhaps. I closed the lid, and put the kimchi box into our coolest cupboard for 3 days. I think I read from one of the recipes, that the place to keep the kimchi should be under 20 degrees Celsius.

After three days, the kimchi was ready! I kept it in the fridge now, so that it wouldn’t go extra sour too quickly. We ate it as a side a couple of times, and I had it over rye bread a few times. We also made kimchi fried rice, which was really great! I followed this recipe pretty closely, except I substituted the meat for tofu, and omitted the eggs, of course. Oh, and I used 2 or 3 times more tamari than the recipe calls for, adding more of it in the end, tasting until the balance was right.

Kimchi fried rice with some steamed bok choy

Soup ingredients:

• olive oil for frying
• 2 onions, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
• half of a medium rutabaga (about 275 g), diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 teaspoon hot chili powder
• 4 teaspoons of ras-el-hanout
  
• 4 dl (about 275 g) dried split fava beans (you can use whole beans, but they take longer to cook)
• enough water to amply cover the vegetables and beans (about 1 – 1 1/2 liters)
• 3 teaspoons vegetable stock powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• juice of 1 mandarin
• salt to taste

Harissa yogurt ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon harissa
• 1 1/2 dl soy yogurt
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper

About 4 hours before starting to cook the soup I speed soaked the fava beans. Speed soaking means I simply rinsed the beans in cold water, put them in a bowl, poured boiling water on them, and covered the bowl. Of course one could soak the beans properly too, overnight in cold water.

After the beans were soaked, we started by chopping the onions and crushing the garlic. While I diced the rutabaga and the carrot, Anni put some olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat, and fried the onion and the garlic until the onion was translucent. We then added the chopped rutabaga and carrot, and fried them for a minute or two more.

Now we added the chili powder and the ras el hanout, stirred the mix for a while, and then added the beans, water, stock powder, sugar, and vinegar. We covered the pot, and simmered until the beans were soft. This took about one hour.

Anni then proceeded to purée the soup using our immersion blender until it was smooth, and adjusted the taste by adding the olive oil, the mandarin juice, and a pinch of salt.

We garnished our soup bowls with some harissa yogurt – the yogurt was simply made by combining and mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl.