pea shoot, radish + fermented jalapeño tostadas / March 25, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

pea shoot, radish + fermented jalapeño tostadas | dolly and oatmeal

the beginning of spring gets me every time. the simple pleasures of warmth, growth, and outside vibes are enough to make me super giddy. i'm looking forward to a less agitated beginning of spring since last year there was a stressful move to our new apartment while i was in the midst of finishing up my cookbook. so i can't wait to get out into our little outside space and bring our backyard back to life a bit earlier this year. i'm hoping to plant some of my favorite plants, veggies, and bushes, including sweet honeysuckle, perhaps a raspberry and edlerflower vine, and i'm super hopeful about growing a rhubarb bushel. i guess we shall see if these grow in brooklyn too!

spring also means a slew of new cookbooks hitting the shelves! i couldn't be more excited for so much of the creativity and beauty that dress the pages of so many bloggers and cooks that i admire. so in the spirit of cookbook season, i'm sharing a recipe from autumn giles (of autumn makes and does), new cookbook, beyond canning! i was so excited for this book, because i am totally overwhelmed by all things preserving, fermenting, pickling, etc.! when i opened autumn's book it was like a breath of fresh air - a steady voice guiding me through the steps until boom!, i had fermented my first piece of food without incident! for this and many other recipes you will need a kitchen scale (which i've been using for a while now, and have really become reliant on especially when baking), mason jars/weck jars/ ball jars, salt, and water. the fermented jalapeños were so welcome in this breakfast tostada situation, adding heat and tons of flavor that i'm eager to add them to a salad or blend them up in a dressing. autumn also provides a recipe for fermented jalapeño salsa, which i think i'll definitely be making with the leftovers as well!

and i'm thrilled to give away a copy of beyond canning: new techniques, ingredients, and flavors to preserve, pickle, and ferment like never before, to one reader (giveaway open worldwide!). if you'd like to enter, please leave a comment below about your favorite spring or summer-time produce to preserve throughout the season - as a beginer who needs all the help i can get, i'd love to hear your thoughts! thank you for entering :) *giveaway closes friday, april 1 at 5pm EST

pea shoot, radish + fermented jalapeño tostadas | gf

these can easily be made vegan by substituting the sunny egg for a chickpea or tofu scramble, or even leaving that off altogether and adding a grain like quinoa or brown basmati rice.

fermented jalapeños

| makes 1 scant quart |

340 grams jalapeño slices; you can decide how thick you’d like them
5 percent brine to cover by at least 1 inch

tostadas

| makes 4 tostadas |

8 toasted tortillas (i like these)
1 batch 5-spice black beans, (omit cayenne pepper)
roughly 1/4 cup fermented jalapeños
2 radishes sliced paper thin on a mandolin
handful of pea shoots or microgreens
extra virgin olive oil
4 organic farm eggs
1-2 avocados, pitted and sliced thin
hot sauce (optional)
salt and fresh pepper

method

fermented jalapeños

make the brine. place a quart mason jar on a kitchen scale. zero the scale. fill it with water. calculate 5% of the weight of the water, add that amount in salt which creates the 5% brine. cover and shake the jar until salt is dissolved.
drop the jalapeño slices into a clean quart mason jar, shaking the jar side to side to help them settle, but not packing them down. if you slice them especially thick, you may not fit the full amount in the jar. fill the jar only to its shoulder.
pour the brine into the jar so that it completely covers the jalapeños. jiggle a wooden chopstick around in the jar to help remove air bubbles.
weight the contents, secure with an airlock, and allow the jalapeños to ferment for up to 2 weeks. you may begin tasting for doneness after 3 days. jalapeños and other hot peppers have a tendency to produce more surface yeasts than other vegetables, so if that happens, don't be alarmed, just skim it off and proceed with fermentation.
cover, label, and refrigerate.

tostadas

toast the tortillas using tongs over a gas stovetop flame, or heat them in the oven until warm. plate one tortilla and top with the beans, a couple of jalapeños and radishes, and some pea shoots (or microgreens). top with another tortilla and set aside. (repeat with remaining tortillas before you cook the eggs.)
heat a skillet over medium heat and add enough olive oil to thinly coat the pan. once the pan is hot, carefully crack the eggs into the pan and cook until whites are set, but yolk is still a bit runny, about 5-6 minutes.
top each tostada with 1 egg, a few slices of avocado, more jalapeños, radishes, and pea shoots. drizzle with hot sauce (optional), a sprinkle of salt, and a few grinds of pepper.

enjoy!

similar recipes:

balsamic roasted asparagus w/ fried capers + a 7-minute egg

vodka gingerade w/ spring herbs / March 18, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

@Hangar1Vodka gingerade w/ spring herbs | dolly and oatmeal #FreshPickedVodka

spring is nearly here and i couldn't be more grateful! the beginning of this year brought on quite a bit of personal stress, so i'm extremely excited to let the winter pass by, and hold on to the more fond memories it gave us. the air has been a little more dense with moisture as opposed to the light, crisp air we've had for most of the winter (except those days when it was nearly 60 degrees - wink-wink). the sun is showering us with more of its golden light, and there are more and more morning chirps from the birds in our crab apple tree.

for me, spring is the most optical season - where one can witness life and growth so vividly, and experience just how darn amazing this planet is. it's also the time of year where we collectively emerge from hibernation mode and perhaps seek long walks, fresh air, getting our hands in some dirt, and having friends over for weekend get togethers.

early spring is still somewhat bare here in nyc. aside from croqueses and forsythia, the first few signs are when mint, oregano, and thyme leaves casually pop through the earth, or when i notice that there are tiny chive shoots breaking through as well. and even though they're tiny gestures, it's still a sign of all the abundance that's yet to come!

i partnered up with H angar 1 Vodka a few months ago to celebrate vodka picking season, and the fresh ingredients they infuse their vodka with. and while i wasn't partaking in any alcoholic beverages for most of the winter, an afternoon cocktail party to honor the impending spring months, and its seasonal goods was too compelling to pass up. i wanted to create something bright and lively, so a zippy vodka gingerade seemed the like the perfect thing to enliven the senses for this new season! the punchy gingerade is made from fresh steeped ginger that's blended up, and sieved; it's then mixed with fresh lemon-lime juice and agave for a sweet, spicy, and citrusy blender. there's also an assortment of muddled spring herbs, fizzy water, and Hangar 1 Straight Vodka for good measure ;)

all the warm, sunny spring vibes to you! xo

*this post was created in partnership with Hangar 1 Vodka. all of the opinions expressed, as always, are my own. thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that keep dolly and oatmeal going!

vodka gingerade w/ spring herbs

if you or a guest do not or cannot drink alcohol, the gingerade mixed with sparkling water is a great substitute and tastes delicious.

gingerade

| makes roughly 3 1/2 cups |

1 six-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin
2 cups water
2 lemons, juiced
3 limes, juiced
1/2 cup raw agave

vodka gingerade

2 parts H angar 1 S traight Vodka
2 sprigs spring herbs (i used a mix of mint, lemon thyme, and marjoram)
2 parts gingerade
1 part sparkling water
ice
lime wedges, to serve

method

to make the gingerade, combine the ginger and water in small a saucepan. bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat off. steep the ginger and water for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the mixture to a blender (preferably a high speed blender, but a regular one will work just as well) and blend on high for 30-45 seconds, until ginger is broken down. pour the ginger-water through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth, and discard the pulp. whisk in the lemon juice, lime juice, and agave. let the mixture come to room temperature, then store in a lidded jar. (*note: the mixture will be quite concentrated, so do not be put off by its strong taste, it will be diluted with added with the vodka and sparkling water later on.)
in a lowball glass, crush the herb sprigs, then add the ice, Hangar 1 Straight Vodka, gingerade, and sparkling water; give it a gently stir and serve with lime or lemon wedges.

enjoy!

more beverages:

grapefruit + lime-grape coolers w/ crushed mint

(no bake) peanut butter + cacao nib cereal bars (gf + v) / March 15, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

(no bake) peanut butter + cacao nib cereal bars | dolly and oatmeal #glutenfree #vegan

i'm pretty sure i've spoken about my affinity for peanut butter, but when i looked in my blog archive and found only a single recipe highlighting one of my favorite things to enjoy, i knew i needed to fix that! my fondness for peanut butter is somewhat well-known to those who are around me often, i've even received a jar of peanut butter and a copy of E.T. as a birthday present one year because my friend knew how much i loved those 2 together. and when i'm hungry for a quick snack i'll grab a spoonful of peanut butter. then there are the days when i'm super lazy and needing that nut buttery fix and an apple and peanut butter is my lunch, or even my dinner. so when i saw these cereal bars on pinterest a few weeks ago, i had the biggest Oprah, aha (!!!) moment. i could combine my fave cereal and my fave nut butter to make the bars of my dreams!

these bars are the simplest and most rewarding snacks that come together and can be enjoyed in about 30 minutes (freezing the bars makes the set faster, which i'm a huge fan of!). there's no baking, or setting, and they're kind of on the healthy side. i used puffed varieties of brown rice and millet, which happen to be gluten free whole grains, plus, they have a super crunchy texture which gives them a rice crispy treat quality. there's also cacao nibs for crunch and some chocolate undertones, and chopped peanuts because that peanut flavor is so necessary ;) they're easy to store, portable, and somewhat filling - all wins in my book! i hope you enjoy them as much as i do :)

xo!

peanut butter + cacao nib cereal bars | v + gf

as i said above, i love peanut butter and really wanted a peanut buttery snack. but feel free to incorporate your preferred choice of nut butter and nuts here. you could also use another crunchy cereal of choice, or replace the brown rice syrup with honey. and if you're wanting more chocolatey flavor replace the cacao nibs with chocolate chips, or melt chocolate and drizzle on top of the bars.

| makes 16 square bars |

coconut oil, for the pan
1 1/2 cups puffed brown rice
1 1/2 cups puffed millet
3/4 cup unsalted roughly chopped roasted peanuts
1/2 cup cacao nibs
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup unsalted peanut butter

method

lightly grease an 8x8-inch square pan with coconut oil. line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper and set aside.
in a large bowl, mix together the brown rice puffs, millet puffs, chopped peanuts, cacao nibs, and salt.
in a small saucepan over a medium-low heat, use a rubber spatula to combine the brown rice syrup and peanut butter. heat and stir the mixture until it's fluid and smooth, about 5 minutes. pour the syrup and peanut butter mixture over the puffed cereal mix and use the spatula to combine. mix for a few minutes, until each piece of the mixture is evenly coated.
transfer the mixture to your prepared pan and use the back of the spatula (or, if the mixture isn't too hot, use your fingers) to press the bards firmly and evenly into the pan.
let the bars sit at room temperature for 1 hour, or freeze for 20 minutes until firm. slice the bars into 16 squares with a sharp knife. bars can be kept in an air tight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.