I bought miso paste for the first time in the spring of 2013. I didn't like miso soup but I'd read great things about the nutritional value of miso and I wanted to like it. The health-food store on the next block from us only ended up having red miso, as opposed to the white miso called for by the recipe I was using. Even though red miso is stronger than white (and therefore potentially harder to get used to) I really wanted to make the dish and bought it anyway.
I've made a bunch of dishes with miso since then but this Miso Tahini Soup is the first time I really enjoyed the taste. Coincidentally, I also used up the last of that first container of red miso. I want to try white or yellow miso next, although I'm happy we got used to the stronger taste of red.
The original recipe calls for delicata squash but since it's not available this time of year I used acorn squash. Other than that I didn't alter anything so going to the original recipe on 101 Cookbooks is perfect.
My friend Jess says that everyone should marry a woodworker and here is the proof. Here are the before and after shots of our small but mighty kitchen. I am thrilled with how it turned out.
Matt originally built the cabinets for our previous apartment in Bayonne, where we had them under a large butcher block kitchen island. The wood for the cabinets all came from plywood scraps from his shop at work.
For this (much smaller) space he built a new counter top to go over the cabinets, fitting it to match the curve in the wall on the end closest to the window. We got the wood for the countertop for less than $20 through a great Craigslist find.
We focused on making the best use of our wall space in the kitchen. Matt built the narrow shelves on the walls to hold our jars of rices, nuts, seeds, etc., and the lid tree. The magnetic strips to hold measuring devices were an easy order from Amazon ($10 each) and the cast iron piece that the pots hang from is something Matt's parents had for almost 30 years before he started using it about 7 years ago. Matt made the knife block last Christmas out of scraps.
We extended the countertop past the cabinets to create more counter space. This also created space to store a small stool that is very nice to have when peeling lots of carrots or potatoes, or when we just want to hang out together while one of us is cooking.
I love the spice rack Matt built out of scraps. We don't have any counter space next to the stove which means that when I set out ingredients for a dish, everything is out of arms-reach from the stove. The spice rack is easily accessed while cooking and allows me to keep my spices organized. We'd previously been storing our spices in a cabinet so moving the spices to the wall freed up cabinet space (hooray!). I also enjoy the pizza peel's cozy home out of the way behind the heat pipe.
We downsized considerably when we moved to Brooklyn from Bayonne and the kitchen was one area I was worried about. But now that it is complete, I am thrilled with how functional and efficient it is. Even the dishwasher, which is not very good, manages to be quite useful as a drying rack when hand-washing large loads of dishes.
This is a kitchen that begs to be used and I am happy to be the one to use it!
I got this recipe from Navitas Naturals where they call for it to be a cheese-free pizza. Their resulting bright green pizza looks prettier than mine, but we enjoy cheese too much to leave it out. The next time I make this I'm going to make 2 so that we have some leftovers.
This is a bit of a snooty pizza with a number of specialized ingredients (hemp seeds, chia seeds, almond milk, brown rice flour) and you also need the use of a food processor. Feel free to substitute items as needed (my own recipe substituted a number of ingredients from the original).
Pesto Pizza with Flatbread Crust (adapted from Navitas Naturals)
Crust
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbs chia seeds, plus one more held aside
- 1/3 cup almond milk (add a splash more if needed when mixing)
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1/4 mashed black beans
- 1 tsp baking powder
Pesto
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tbs hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 2/3 cup spinach, packed
- 2 tbs lime juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbs olive oil
Toppings
- For Crust: Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients except the reserved tablespoon of chia seeds and knead into a ball. Let stand for 10 minutes then roll out onto parchment paper while adding/pressing in the remaining chia seeds. Transfer onto pizza stone in oven with pizza peel. (Alternatively, press dough onto a non-stick baking sheet.) Bake for 10 minutes and remove.
- For Pesto: Place everything except the olive oil into a food processor and process until things are in small pieces. Add oil gradually until fully blended. You may have to scrape down the sides throughout this process.
- To Assemble: Spread pesto over baked crust, top with tomato slices and cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes. Makes a 12-inch pizza.
