Okay I’m going to kick-off. The ingredient at the very back of my kitchen cupboard is arame. I bought this seaweed ages ago, full of good intentions. Seaweeds are packed with nutrients, really good for you and I’d love to use them regularly, but I just don’t know how to.

Any suggestions on what I can do with arame this evening? Feel free to leave links to your website if you’ve made something.

hey i was going to say seaweed too. i also have some dashi stock cubes. i bought them in a phase of wanting to make more japanese food but never got the guts to use it.

i also have some readbean paste. not so healthy though i guess.

I think I actually use everything in my pantry 8-|
I’ve used the nori, the wild rice and the quinoa. Used up some black bean, hoisin and worcestershire sauces recently. Munched the old glace cherries. The only things I can think of that I don’t use are either not very interesting (treacle, brown vinegar, american mustard for bbqs) or not ingredients (herbal teas, maraschino cherries).
However, there’s a fennel bulb sitting in my fridge. I got it because it looked really nice and fresh, but I rarely eat fennel and only have one recipe with it in, a fish stew I’m not in the mood for. So my task is going to be find something else to do with a huge bulb of fennel.

There is this DIY sushi kit that I bought ages ago that I am going to finally tackle this weekend, for the rest I am just focusing on emptying my pantry because of my impending move. I’ve made a few very interesting recipes lately! Scrambled eggs with kidney beans anyone?

Gwyneth – I’m impressed by your ingredient eating. There are a few lurking in my pantry, but today I’m focusing on the seaweed.

But fennel I know. It’s delicious sliced really finely in salads. I’ve made this fennel & orange salad before. And my other main use is roasted. Fennel goes really well with fish and thanks to Lucy I’ve also been converted to serving it with walnuts.

My only suggestion is to make sure you remove the outer 1 – 2 “leaves” as they can be quite tough. Good luck.

Arame – great soaked and used in a stir fry. Here’s one that worked for me http://confessionsofafoodnazi.blogspot.com/2007/11/great-stir-fry_09.html

Fennel – I’m with Kathryn on this. Love it in a salad or baked in the oven. Yum!

My latest pantry treasure that needs to be used in Aduki beans. Ideas?

Any idea’s for a packet of unprocessed bran? I think i bought it intending to make healthy muffins but have lost the recipe and haven’t found anything else inspiring! also i bought a huge bag of red onions on impulse.. i know.. silly! But what can i use an abundance of red onion for?

Es: for the bran I’ve always liked the look of Wendy’s muffins from A Wee Bit of Cooking.

Man, I was gonna say say seaweed too! Well actually just bog standard nori, but I’ve never made sushi before and thought I’d go with something easy like California rolls or something. Mmm I can taste them now…

So everyone is stuck on the question of how to use seaweed. Interesting. Any ideas out there?

Em: nori is great for sushi, but I’ve also used it cut up to add a bit of spark to salads.

I am enjoying this series Kathryn but unable to participate. Also too much unused food in my pantry but they will have to wait to feel loved. But couldn’t resist some suggestions. Most of the recipes these bring to mind are not on my blog (apart from fennel ones) so these are just some ideas

I like to use seaweed in miso soup but since blogging have got out of the habit of making it – maybe could try this again on weekend if I get organised – can’t remember if mine is arame or hijiki??? Also have a Vikki Leng recipe for carrot and hijiki salad that looks good.

Mollie Katzen uses quite a bit of bran in her moosewood recipes – I think it might be in her tofu nut balls which I loved but haven’t made for ages

Fennel has not gone down well in salads in our house but is excellent in cassoulet and we had it roasted in a salad which was pretty good.

Stuffed roasted red onions are great – I have a lovely recipe that has a stuffing made of breadcrumbs, cheese, nuts and possibly sultanas (I think a nut roast sort of filling works well and there are a few nut roasts on my blog)

If you’re looking for recipes online, try “sea vegetable” instead of seaweed.

And as for the aduki beans, aof, I’d be using them for blind baking ;) although there’s a recipe for whole oat, pumpkin and adzuki bean casserole in Holly Davis’ Nourish (cook 200 g beans with 100 g oats (both soaked overnight) and kombu until soft, keep liquid, brown onions in sesame oil and add finely chopped ginger and medium chunks of pumpkin, add tamari, veg stock and cooking liquid and cook until pumpkin is tender. Add beans and oats and serve hot with parsley leaves.

I only made this one once, it texturally wasn’t too appealing. Could have just been me.

It’s an excellent book, and also has lots of seaweed info and a great fennel recipe:

Rub olive oil and a pinch of sea salt into a bulb of fennel and 400g of potato or jerusalem artichoke (cut into wedges) and 4 cloves chopped garlic. Pop in a baking dish and add 2 tablespoons dijon mustard, 100 ml stock, 1 tbspn lemon juice and pepper to taste – mix to coat. Bake at 170 degrees until veg “brown and collapsing”, turning a couple of times (40 mins or so). Then add 200 g haricot beans (soaked and cooked our out of a can, I won’t tell) and mix them in and cook for another 15 minutes. Stir in the finely chopped fennel greens.

If it’s not an everyday meal, a drizzle of cream and/or truffle oil doesn’t hurt either!

Not stuck at all on seaweed. I made a stir fry tonight with soaked arame, shitake mushrooms, carrot, pak choi, flathead, tofu, rice noodles and lots of herbs and flavours. It was fantastic.

I used to eat a pumpkin and hijike roll (in filo pastry at a cafe in Prahan (long gone sadly).

Nori – smells so good toasted. If you are intimidated by making nori rolls/sushi, then “scattered sushi” (chirashi) is much easier. A bowl of sushi rice with little piles of goodness on top. Toasted nori cut into strips is often part of it. Heidi at 101 cookbooks had an interesting recipe for a vegan version with brown rice http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/sushi-bowl-recipe.html.

AOF – sorry didn’t meant to include you in the seaweed confused group! I’ve always liked the sound of Lucy’s adzuki bean croquettes.

I used up (some of) my aging brown rice flour in some really good almond cookies – gluten-free and quite something.

Seaweed. Gosh, I love it.
This is my favourite way with arame.

(Did that work?…Maybe not. Trying to learn how to make HTML links in comments work…)

I like nori cut into small squares and floated on top of a bowl of miso. Am working on wakame next. That’s today’s pantry challenge!

Fennel? Favourite thing in the world to eat. Braised with wine and carrots, onion and celery it is beautiful…silken…lovely stuff!

Lucy I’ve just sorted your html – gosh that looks good. Right I’m trying that this evening.

It didn’t work…damn. Back to the drawing board.

http://nourish-me.blogspot.com/2006/11/seaweed-delicate-and-luscious-meal.html

That’s what I was talking about…an arame and carrot stirfry. Very good.

Hi Kathryn,

I’m a newcomer to Limes and Lycopene but am SO impressed with all the work you have put into this site – it’s fabulous!

I tend to follow a pretty healthy, vegetarian diet for the same reasons as you – it makes me feel better. But it’s always nice to have new inspiration and ideas which you have certainly provided.

One thing I have currently lurking in the back of the fridge is a jar of spirulina. I sometimes use it in smoothies with banana, blueberries and soy milk, but that’s it! Do you use it in your cooking at all? Or have any suggestions for other ways of using it up?

I have recently started my own blog, which is only in it’s formative stages, and have included a link to Limes and Lycopene. I hope that’s ok with you?

Caroline

I’m reporting back the challenge. Used the arame up last night. The last of the packet, which I’ve had for a long, long time. I made Lucy’s carrot and arame recipe and loved it. Beautiful dish, easy to make, the arame tastes fabulous – not too strong.

In fact, I’m going to buy another packet of arame. And make this dish a regular fixture in our weekly meals.

Caroline, thanks for your comment. I tend to just use spirulina in smoothies as well. I have heard of people adding it to guacamole, and even using it with dates and coconut to make little sweets. But I’d advise against cooking with it. Heating up the spirulina will affect the nutrient profile and therefore it’s efficacy.

I don´t know if people are still reading this post, but personally I love fennel in a salad combined with slices of ripe banana and walnuts and dressed with a small amount of walnut oil or olive oil and lemon juice (you don´t need much oil since the bananas are so sweet). It´s actually probably my favourite salad. I like to cut up all the frondy bits of the fennel with scissors and sprinkle it over the top.

I tend to use arame in soup. I just put it into the water and let it soak in there in a lump while the soup is cooking. It seems to add its flavour just fine that way. When the soup is done, I take it out and snip it up with scissors to add it back into the soup afterwards.

Fennel and banana – what an interesting combination Iona. And I like your arame idea.