Vegan roasted eggplant curry · Tuesday February 18, 2025 by colin newell
Sometimes a damp winter night calls for something warming, nutritious, delicious and comforting.
This eggplant dish meets all of those criterium — and it’s vegan too!
Now normally one would bake the eggplant in the oven, but we opted for 12 minute batches (x2)
in a air fryer at 380 degrees F. The air fryer is quicker and way more energy efficient. I could write a veritable treatise on how we use the regular oven less and less and less in favour of the small, quicker, faster, better air fryer appliance.
Ingredients
4 cups cubed eggplant
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp avocado oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1-inch cube of ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup cooked chickpeas
Rice for serving (optional)
Directions
Cut the eggplant into a dice – salt the eggplant for around 15 minutes (for reduced bitterness) and to dry it.
Toss it into a bowl with a tablespoon of vegetable or avocado oil – mixing thoroughly.
Divide this mix into 2 – and cook in the air fryer as indicated above.
Meanwhile, open your 14 ounce tin of diced tomato, the tin of coconut milk and the tin of chickpeas.
Put some vegetable oil in a pot (heat it on low) - take a 1/2 of a large onion – chopping it up.
Take 3 large garlic cloves and finely mince.
Put the onions on into the oil to soften for 2 minutes – add the garlic – add a tablespoon of prepared mince ginger.
Still for 2 minutes. Combine.
Add the spices: Paprika, coriander, the curry powder, pepper and salt. Stir for a minute.
Add the tin of diced tomatoes and coconut milk – stir and let it come to a boil.
Add chickpeas (don’t forget to rinse) - and add roasted eggplant.
Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over rice pilaf.
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident, coffee drinker and writer and has been haunting the internet since 1995!
Seville Orange and Lemon Marmalade with a twist · Sunday January 26, 2025 by colin newell
I’ll admit it — with an English and Irish family heritage, I am a bit of a marmalade junkie. I’ve been enjoying it since I was a kid – and thankfully have had access to some locally made farm marmalade – albeit with imported Seville oranges.
For some reason or another, I had forgotten about the last batch that I made (a whopping 4 or 5 years ago…) and it was a combo of Seville Orange, Meyer Lemon and Quince. It was epic. Just the right consistency with just the right amount of peel or rind.
About a year ago I had discovered that there was 3 or 4 bottles kicking around. And knowing how diligent I am when preserving (bottling/canning) it, I cracked open a jar one Saturday morning to enjoy with hot, black coffee. What a treat! I was so taken by how delicious this was, that I gave away some of the remaining bottles. That was a smart move as before too long, I was completely out of this previously preserved confiture. Another Saturday morning rolls around and I head for the cellar to see what might be hiding behind forgotten or feared bottles of canned salmon, mystery chutneys and unmarked bottles of what could possibly be distilled dark matter.
Bingo. A bottle of marmalade from one of my wife’s girlfriends “Angie” — while not the Angie from the Rolling Stones song, this Angie whips up a wicked Marm. So thrilled by it I was that I reported it to her — and she said, “That batch is from 6 years ago – why did your wait so long?!” How can I explain… “Hidden behind bottled toxic waste…” Anyway, I was kicked into action!
Anyway. The recipe for my latest concoction!
12 to 14 Seville Oranges (in season from January through February.)
2 to 4 Lemons of any ilk, stripe or varietal.
Have piles of white sugar handy (enough to light up the eyes of your family dentist…)
Juice the Oranges and Lemons with one of the manual juicers shown at right and/or left.
Put aside the spent/juiced rinds of the lemon and orange in a pot.
Put the pulp and seeds into a small pot for a special treatment afterward.
When you have all the juice set aside (in a measuring pot, carafe or what-have-you) put it in the fridge covered.
Take all of the seeds and pulp that you have and put them into a sauce pan with enough water to cover the mixture.
Bring the mix to a very light boil and then reduce to simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. This seed/pulp mix gets this treatment to generate lots of extra pectin (which is key for setting the marmalade. )
Run the pulp/seed/water mixture (which should be in almost sauce form) through a very fine strainer or cheese cloth. The liquid from this exercise goes into your pot/carafe/jug of juice. The seed/pulp remnants go into the compost!
Take your lemon and orange rinds and remove as much pulp as you can that might be left over. Ideally, you want the skins or rind only.
For robust or rustic marmalade, you can use ALL of the rind/skin of all of the fruit but I would advise against that if you are making this marmalade for the first time. Use 1/2 to 3/4 of the skins that you have available.
I tend to cut up the skin/rind into strips that are no more than 1/2” long and as thin as you might think worthy or appetizing. I use a very sharp knife for this — so be very careful! This is where the work gets super risky. Process as much rind as you think worthy of going into your marmalade. I used the rind of every piece of fruit and it the result is: One very thick and rustic marmalade! You have been warned. OK. You have your sliced rind/skin at the ready.
Put all your juice/extract mixture into a suitable pot or dutch oven. Slowly heat while adding 1/2 cup sugar per orange and an additional cup for the lemons. Add your sliced/diced rind. You should have gotten 4 to 6 cups of juice from your lemon/orange juicing combo. If you seem short of fresh juice, you can add 1/4 cup or 200ml (give or take) of bottled organic juice of almost any kind. I used Pomegranate. It’s not too flavour forward but it adds a bit of colour.
Safety note – from this point forward, we are dealing with increasingly hot material. The desire is to bring the liquid/rind mixture to a minimum of 222 to 225 degrees (F) or 104.5 © – at this temperature, these materials if spilled on a human or other living thing can maim or kill. Be very careful.
Common sense here folks: If you have small children, pets or inexperienced kitchen people, keep this in mind – this is a high-hazard activity.
Items required at this point include an accurate analog or digital thermometer — ideally a purpose built candy thermometer.
Additionally, you want the marmalade mixture to pass something called a wrinkle test.
To perform the wrinkle test, add 1/4 teaspoon of the “liquor” or “syrup” in the mix (after it passes 222 degrees) to a plate that has been in the deep freezer for a minimum of a 1/2 hour. Put the plate back in the freezer for 5 minutes or more. Remove the plate and run your finger into the small pool of liquor. If it wrinkles in front of your finger, it has reached the critical set point. If it hasn’t, keep boiling!
When your mix is at that magical “set” point, you want to bottle it. I use glass jars with lids and rings. The discussion of this technique is beyond the scope of this blog — but I could create another blog entry. The two photos above illustrates part of the process. Some other “makers” sometimes pour paraffin wax over the top of the jam/jelly/marmalade before putting on a lid. I use the boiling water immersion method because it is time honoured, safe and guarantees a long shelf life.
Once you get the hang of “basic” Orange marmalade, it opens up a galaxy of infinite variety in terms of additional ingredients, juices, spices, fruit peel and on and on and on – if anyone reading this knows something about adding liquor to marmalade batches, please chime in – I like the idea of the flavour of a single malt whiskey — but I have not idea as to when to add it or how much. Thank you!Colin Newell is a Victoria area resident and long time writer on the subject of coffee and food culture. He can often be found taking up space in a local cafe sipping the best brew the World has to offer.
Instant Pot Spicy Cauliflower and Cheddar cream soup · Monday October 23, 2023 by colin newell
Winter time is the right time for soups — and our Cauliflower, Cheddar Cheese, Cream and Chili soup is delicious, satisfying and dreamy!
And while it is not yet winter, we can happily call this a harvest recipe – Andrea quipped that practically everything on the dinner table came with our hands and out of our garden — apart from the Cauliflower — I have yet to create the wonderful ones that I find at my local farmers market.
Stuff you are going to need!
• 1 medium head Cauliflower
• 1 tbsp Garlic
• 1 Sweet onion, small
• 1 fresh Jalapeño – chopped – seeds IN or OUT
Canned Goods
• 4 cups Chicken broth or vegetable broth
Spices
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper • 1/2 tsp Salt • 1/2 tsp Chili flakesOils
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
Dairy
• 3/4 cup Milk or Table Cream! (Use the cream, trust me!)
• 1/2 cup Smoked Cheddar cheese
• 2 cups White cheddar cheese, sharp
• 1/2 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
Here’s how you do it!
In the insert of the Instant Pot, add olive oil and diced onions.
Using the Saute function, cook the onions for a couple of minutes until they begin to turn translucent.
Add minced garlic and stir for about thirty seconds, until it becomes fragrant.
Turn off the Saute function by pressing Cancel.
Add chopped cauliflower, broth, salt and pepper.
Select a cook time of five minutes at high pressure.
When the cook time is complete, perform a quick release of pressure.
After the pressure has released and the valve has dropped, carefully remove the lid and press Cancel to turn off the pressure cooker.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your desired consistency.
Create a slurry by whisking together the cream.
Pour into the hot soup, stirring to combine. Allow this to thicken for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally (if needed, you can use the Saute function to simmer the soup).
Add the shredded cheese combo, stirring until melted.
Serve, topped with additional shredded cheese and chives, if desired.And now for your entertainment, some Hawaiian slack key guitar that I recorded after several trips to the Islands!
Comment [1]
Dark Rye Flour Sourdough Bread - double batch · Sunday September 11, 2022 by colin newell
Sourdough bread is, as history tells us, the World’s first bread.
Ingredients include water, salt, flour and natural yeast – and not the yeast that comes out of the jar – the stuff that is all around is at all times… in the air, on the ground, on our skin… yea, there too – everywhere. It is the natural leavening agent that has been with us forever.
It is also said that man cannot live on bread alone — while that is not entirely true, I think what they meant was that we need to mix it up a bit – as in adding darker flours, like rye and whole wheat! Now that is definitely better for you.
In this recipe we do not talk about sourdough starter, levain and such like… you need to research that in advance – this is a recipe for a moderately advanced baker. Need help – email me or get Googling!
Instructions
1.) Grab a bowl that will hold at least 1 kg of dough – that is 1000G – so something medium/large sized.
2.) Add 180g of your ready sourdough starter to the bowl. (It is ready when a spoonful floats in water…)
3.) Add 18g of kosher salt – great salt can effect the flavour so don’t cheap out on this critical ingredient.
4.) Add 585g of warm water (not hot water!) 35 to 45 degrees © or 110 degrees (F) is probably OK but definitely not hotter than that.
5.) Mix the water, salt and starter well. Add a tablespoon or two of blackstrap molasses for some sweetness and depth of colour. Option: Add 1-2 tablespoons of caraway seeds.
6.) Gradually add 375g of white flour, 375g of whole-wheat flour and 150g of rye flour.
You can use a mixer. I do this by hand or with a bread mixing hook.
Work/knead the dough to form a sticky ball.
Stretch and fold – To develop the gluten in the dough, it is important to stretch and fold the dough twice an hour for the first 2 hours and then once more before putting in the fridge to develop/ferment overnight.
There are many awesome YouTube tutorials on the “Stretch and Fold” so find one you like and develop your technique. Note video below!
7.) You can let this all rise overnight (6 to 12 hours) or slow it down by putting it in the fridge. Fermentation keeps moving along even when your dough is tucked away in a cool area – it changes the flavour some. For keeping the dough “feisty” I tend to keep it out in the kitchen and work around its schedule.
Rule: Higher room temperature, faster “development” and fermentation of the dough.
8.) Assuming you are doing this overnight, in the morning the dough should have doubles in size – or more. Pull out the dough and toss it onto a floured bread board or surface you are happy scattering flour on.
9.) Here is another learning moment – (find a suitable YouTube video…[example below]) This is where you work the dough a bit and pull, fold and shape into a “loaf” and drop into a floured or parchment papered loaf pan.
Do consult the internets on technique because it is extra difficult to describe in words alone.
10.) Let rise for 4 – 6 hours… even 8 hours… or overnight again… in the fridge.
12. ) Transfer the dough into the pan. Cover and “2nd rise” for 4 to 6 hours. Dress with additional caraway seed. Slash with a razor (see the video below!)
13.) Bake for 24-28 minutes at 475 degrees (F) or until delightfully brown on top. You are looking for a core temperature of at least 190 (F)
14.) If baking in a Dutch Oven, bake for the first 17-20 minutes with the cover on -
and then for another 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees — or until core TEMP of 190 (F)
Check out the video below for some valuable technique! Trust me – the more video you watch, the better you are going to be at making bread!
Comment [2]
Sourdough Rye Bread · Saturday May 21, 2022 by colin newell
Sourdough bread is, as history tells us, the World’s first bread.
Ingredients include water, salt, flour and natural yeast – and not the yeast that comes out of the jar – the stuff that is all around is at all times… in the air, on the ground, on our skin… yea, there too – everywhere. It is the natural leavening agent that has been with us forever.
It is also said that man cannot live on bread alone — while that is not entirely true, I think what they meant was that we need to mix it up a bit – as in adding darker flours, like rye and whole wheat! Now that is definitely better for you.
In this recipe we do not talk about sourdough starter, levain and such like… you need to research that in advance – this is a recipe for a moderately advanced baker. Need help – email me or get Googling!
Instructions
1.) Grab a bowl that will hold at least 1/2 kg of dough – that is 500G – so something medium sized.
2.) Add 100g of your ready sourdough starter to the bowl. (It is ready when a spoonful floats in water…)
3.) Add 10g of kosher salt – great salt can effect the flavour so don’t cheap out on this critical ingredient.
4.) Add 360g of warm water (not hot water!) 35 to 45 degrees © or 110 degrees (F) is probably OK but definitely not hotter than that.
5.) Mix the water, salt and starter well. Add a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses for some sweetness and depth of color. Add 1-2 tablespoons of caraway seeds.
6.) Gradually add 230g of white flour, 230g of whole-wheat flour and 52g of rye flour.
You can use a mixer. I do this by hand or with a bread mixing hook.
Work/knead the dough to form a sticky ball.
Stretch and fold – To develop the gluten in the dough, it is important to stretch and fold the dough twice an hour for the first 2 hours and then once more before putting in the fridge to develop/ferment overnight.
There are many awesome YouTube tutorials on the “Stretch and Fold” so find one you like and develop your technique. Note video below!
7.) You can let this all rise overnight (6 to 12 hours) or slow it down by putting it in the fridge. Fermentation keeps moving along even when your dough is tucked away in a cool area – it changes the flavour some. For keeping the dough “feisty” I tend to keep it out in the kitchen and work around its schedule.
Rule: Higher room temperature, faster “development” and fermentation of the dough.
8.) Assuming you are doing this overnight, in the morning the dough should have doubles in size – or more. Pull out the dough and toss it onto a floured bread board or surface you are happy scattering flour on.
9.) Here is another learning moment – (find a suitable YouTube video…[example below]) This is where you work the dough a bit and pull, fold and shape into a “loaf” and drop into a floured or parchment papered loaf pan.
Do consult the internets on technique because it is extra difficult to describe in words alone.
10.) Let rise for 4 – 6 hours… even 8 hours… or overnight again… in the fridge.
12. ) Transfer the dough into the pan. Cover and “2nd rise” for 4 to 6 hours. Dress with additional caraway seed. Slash with a razor (see the video below!)
13.) Bake for 24-28 minutes at 475 degrees (F) or until delightfully brown on top. You are looking for a core temperature of at least 190 (F)
14.) If baking in a Dutch Oven, bake for the first 17-20 minutes with the cover on -
and then for another 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees — or until core TEMP of 190 (F)
Colin Newell is a Victoria resident and pop culture writer – active on the internets since 1994! That is a long time. His features on pop culture, food and beverage things have been around here…. well… forever!
