Mango & Tomato: marx foods

3/26/12

Einkorn (Wheat Berry) Spring Salad Recipe

A while back, I received a box from Marx Foods filled with a bunch of little samples: grains, mushrooms, salts, etc.

I used the mushrooms in a stir fry, and have seasoned countless dishes with Hawaiian pink salt, but the rest of the samples have just been sitting on my kitchen counter.

Enough is enough, I thought! I needed to do something about this!

I took out a little plastic bag labeled einkorn and decided to come up with a recipe for it.

What is einkorn!? I had never heard of it either. It looked like wheat berries, but I was too lazy to do any research on it.

Lucky for you, there is a very thorough write-up about einkorn on Lost Past Remembered. Go and educate yourselves!

If you can't find einkorn, use brown rice.

Einkorn (Wheat Berry) Spring Salad Recipe
Serves 2-4

Ingredients
For the dressing
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons walnut oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

For the salad
1 cup einkorn, cooked according to the package directions and cooled {I cooked mine in 2 cups of salted water by bringing everything to a boil, then turning the heat down, covering the pot and letting einkorn simmer for 20 minutes}
5 large radishes, sliced
1/2 English cucumber, halved, thinly sliced
20 Italian-style oil cured olives, pitted and roughly chopped
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions
1. In a small bowl, whisk the salad dressing ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients, drizzle with the salad dressing, and mix.

This was such a filling, colorful and healthy salad. It's perfect for lunch or dinner, and is very fitting if you participate in the Meatless Monday movement.

I feel like a broken record, but you can make so many variations from this one recipe: use brown rice instead of wheat berries, add red peppers, choose different herbs or oils, remove olives if you don't like them, etc.

I loved the crunchiness of the radishes, the saltiness of the olives and the chewiness of einkorn. If you aren't looking for a Meatless Monday recipe, top the salad with grilled chicken or steak to make it more substantial, or add grilled Portobello mushrooms to keep it completely vegetarian.

What are you making for Meatless Monday?

5/13/11

What to do with morel mushrooms? Mushroom, potato & pea potstickers

I'm reposting this because the voting is now open. If you like this recipe, please VOTE FOR IT!!!!

I love mushrooms. Growing up in Russia, my family used to go mushroom picking quite often, and my parents would marinate them, dry them, make soups with mushrooms, or just saute them with onions and add them to boiled potatoes drizzled with sunflower oil. Delicious.

When I saw that Marx Foods was doing a recipe contest using morel mushrooms, I wanted in! This was not the first time I've collaborated with this company, and I was eager to continue our relationship ;) A few weeks ago I received about 2 cups of dry morel mushrooms and instructions to make "an original hors d'oeuvre recipe." I went through different ideas in my head, but finally decided to make Mushroom, Potato & Pea Potstickers.

Ingredients
2 cups dried morel mushrooms, covered in boiling water for 20 minutes, drained, chopped {do not discard the liquid: you can use it as a base for soups or risotto}

2 cups Dutch yellow baby potatoes, boiled, mashed {try to remove some of the bigger chunks of potato skin}
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
salt & pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
olive oil
wonton wrappers {I used Nasoya brand}
water
serve with cucumber & dill yogurt dip

Directions
1. In a bowl combine chopped mushrooms, mashed potatoes, peas, parsley and spices.

2. Put about a teaspoon of the mixture on top of each wonton wrapper. Brush the edges with water, seal, and pleat.

3. Heat a cast iron skillet. Add olive oil. Place the potstickers and cook for 3-5 minutes until the bottoms are brown.
4. SUPER carefully add water to the pan (enough to cover about 1/3"), cover, and cook for about 10 minutes.
5. Serve with the yogurt dip.

I can't tell you exactly how many potstickers this recipe makes because I only made 6. I did not have enough time to use up the entire mixture. You can eat it as a side dish, or make potato patties from it by adding an egg and pan frying them similar to these.

How would you have used the dried morel mushrooms? Please share ;)

4/6/10

How to make chili oil at home

A few days ago I was working out at my apartment's little gym and watching Bobby Flay. I know some people think that he's arrogant (some would use stronger words than that), but I really like him and his show. As part of the show, he made chili oil, which I thought was a brilliant idea!

Here is my chili oil using dried de Arbol peppers from a sample of dried peppers I received from Marx Food in Seattle.
Ingredients
6 dried de Arbol peppers
1 cup vegetable oil

Directions
1. In a hot cast iron skillet toast the peppers until they become aromatic.
2. Let the peppers cool a bit, then cut off the tops and remove all the seeds.
3. In a blender puree the peppers with the oil.

4. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, discarding the remaining bits of the dried peppers.

5. Pour the rest of the "clean" oil into a jar or a bottle. Keep in the refrigerator.

I haven't used this oil yet, but it looks and smells divine! I think it would be good drizzled on salads or added to stirfrys or as part of a marinade for beef or chicken.
How would you use this chili oil?

11/20/09

Challah French Toast with Madagascar Vanilla

After coming back from San Francisco, I learned that Marx Foods was having a photo contest using vanilla beans. I was very excited about entering the contest and receiving 6 Madagascar and 6 Tahitian vanilla beans.

As you already know, I used some of the beans to experiment with making vanilla extract at home. But what to do with the rest!? Luckily, Anna came to the rescue and suggested I make a Challah French Toast. Since she's my older sister (by 30 minutes!!!!), I listened to her.

This time instead of making my own challah, I bought one at the grocery store. And I also used a new whisk I received at the Foodbuzz Festival a few weeks ago: isn't it pretty? Unfortunately, it did not work too well in the shallow plate I was using...maybe it's best to be used in deeper bowls?

Challah French Toast with Madagascar Vanilla

Ingredients

4 3/4" challah slices

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk (I used whole milk)

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 vanilla bean

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons butter

Directions

1. In a bowl add eggs, milk, orange zest, seeds from a split vanilla bean and brown sugar. Whisk together.

2. In a heavy-bottomed pan heat the butter. Dunk the challah slices in the egg mixture and cook in butter for 2 minutes on each side. Serve with a bit of powdered sugar. I found no need for maple syrup, as it would have overwhelmed the flavors of vanilla, brown sugar and orange zest.

The photo below will be my entry to the photo contest. I'll let you know when the voting will begin :)

Note: obviously the flower is not to be consumed.

Any suggestions for what to do with my remaining vanilla beans? Thanks!

11/17/09

How to Make Vanilla Extract at Home

I've written before about my resistance to sign up for Twitter. But then I joined (@MangoTomato) and have found the experience addictive and helpful so far. For example, after received vanilla bean samples from Marx Foods in Seattle, I posted a question on Twitter asking for suggestions for what to do with those vanilla beans.

Stephanie from Adventures in Shaw recommended I make vanilla extract and even gave me a link for a recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini.

All you need for this is rum (or vodka), vanilla beans, glass jar with a tightly fitted lid and 8 weeks of your time.

By the way, did you know vanilla beans come from orchids? (And I LOVE orchids.)

Basically, what you do is sterilize a glass jar with a tightly fitted lid by pouring boiling water into the jar and letting it sit for 10 minutes.

Then pour out the water. Take 3 vanilla beans and split them open with a sharp knife. Put the split beans into the jar and top off with 1 cup of rum. Close the jar tightly and shake it!!

Keep the jar in the dark cool place for 8 weeks (I heard you can also do it for 6 weeks) shaking the jar occasionally.

Thanks Cindy for the jar :)

I will let you know how this experiment works out!

Also, stay tuned for another recipe I made with the vanilla beans from Marx Foods and a chance to help me win $150 certificate from them :)

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