Ann's Air Gardens

More Goodies from my Window Sill Garden

This is a detail from a leaf of the Asia Red Amaranth described in this article:

My Article on Amaranth Tea

There, if you are so bold as to look, you will see me cup in hand enjoying my latest fortuitous accident. 

The Asia Red Amaranth Breakfast Nog was good and before I forget what went in there, a list is in order:

• Several sliced amaranth leaves
• Two leaves of sweet basil
• Two leaves of Thai basil
• Two sprigs of oregano
• The sliced top of one scallion

And here it is again: 

Such a pretty color!

This experiment came about after my brother, who like me grows basil in his kitchen, mentioned making tea from fresh basil leaves.

We both have wisdom wands (heat-safe blown glass straws with holes in the bottom to strain the liquid out of this kind of tea) so I ran to the kitchen to pick a few leaves and dropped them in boiling water to steep for five minutes, not expecting to be thrilled with the flavor.  But it was actually good and so pretty, too.    So this morning, wanting a healthy hot drink, I looked to see what else might be tasty and ready to pinch back. 

The Asia Red Amaranth cried out "Pick Me!"  So I did.  Since the red amaranth is not as tender as the green, I boiled it a few minutes instead of adding to the already hot water and just letting it steep.  Then I looked to see what else wanted to become breakfast. 

Something Else to Do with Scallion Tops

When I started "growing" scallion tops on the window sill, it was because I like to float them in broth for recipes such as my Amaranth Soup.   It was frustrating to buy a whole bunch of scallions just to get a few and then wonder what to do with the rest. 

In my first experiment, I cut the tops off very close to the bulb and secured the roots in Hydroton rocks in a  little ebb and flow container and waited quite a while until the new leaves grew.  That works, but I have also learned that in a pinch we can just cut the leaves off part-way down and stick the rooted bottoms in plain water in a tall narrow glass.   With the second method, they grow so fast that we are back to square one--what to do with the rest?

They are good sprinkled over the top of fried rice, but today I decided to try this:

These whole grain rolls are made from Montana Seven-Grain Cream of the West roasted cereal flakes (hard and soft red wheat, white white, oats, barley, rye, triticale and spelt with additional wheat bran added).  I ground them into flour in the Magic Bullet blender along with a handful of instant oatmeal, some rosemary and flax seeds.  The leavening was rapid rise yeast.   My favorite version of these rolls is flavored with green curry paste.   I cook a diced sweet onion in a tablespoon or two of green curry paste, then add warm water and a little honey to supercharge the yeast. 

As suggested by the picture of butter melting over the top, these rolls are best served warm.

The rolls pictured above are the same recipe, but I left out the curry paste and used  fennel instead of rosemary...and added a handful of chopped scallion greens.   The greens turn sort of khaki colored from the baking but they still look nice and taste delicious in this bread.     I don't know how this works in a regular oven.  I bake mine for 15 minutes in the NuWave InfraRed Convection countertop oven. 

Beans with Verdolagas

A while back, cooks were cautioned never to make beans in the pressure cooker, but times have changed and technology has changed with them.

Good eating hasn't.  It used to be a lot harder to make this meal, but no longer. 

Step one:

I put a cup of clean pinto beans in the bowl of the multicooker along with enough water to fill the bowl half full and set the timer for ten minutes.  This is my substitute for soaking the beans overnight.

Step Two:

A while later, after the pressure has dropped, I open the cooker and add a chunk of meat.  Pork loin or shoulder is fine, or if you like the beans vegetarian, just leave the meat out. 

Step Three

Next, stir and add more water if needed, so that all of the beans are covered.  Then cook another 30 minutes and when the pressure comes down the second time add chopped fresh purslane (also known as verdolagas) as shown:

Then cook for an additional 10 minutes.  When the pressure comes down again, these are ready to eat.  Additional seasonings may now be added or the beans can be enjoyed as is. 

Here is what the purslane looked when it was still in the salad bar:

When it is still small like this we eat it raw in salads, but as the plant gets larger, and it does get very big, I cut it completely back and after saving a handful of cuttings to root to make new plants, cut it up to cook.  Until recently the search engines turned up very little about purslane and less about verdolagas, but recently recipes and even photos of the plant have started to appear. 

If you are interested in growing this plant, I recommend starting with the Golden Purslane seeds.  I have seen recipes that say you should wash the purslane and cut off and discard the red stems, but when you grow your own indoors this is not necessary.  The stems are quite delicious cooked up in beans as long as you slice them first, as shown my photo above. 

Finally, yes, purslane is the same "weed" that is invasive in gardens everywhere and often seen forcing its way up through the cracks in a dry sidewalk, and if you have some in your garden that is free from insecticides and other hazards, it can be eaten, too, but it is not nearly as tasty as the domesticated varieties that are now available, from which I have grown single leaves up to 3" long and an inch wide: 

NOTE:  To see another recipe and photos of the salad greens I grew to make it, look here:  Bitter Greens from my Garden.          

I also planted a few of the dry beans we had on hand, pintos, anasazi, and others and put them in hydroponic planters on our porch.