Valentine Drink

Tomorrow is February 14 and on this day, lovers express their love and affection for each other by presenting flowers and offering confectionery.   This is a western tradition and lovers around the world are all worked up on  this day especially with such high media on this subject.  I think although the chinese might be less romantic, they are more sensible.  This chinese say is so true - YAU CHENG YAM SUI PAU  (Cantonese meaning - when you are in  LOVE, you don't need food, WATER  will satiate).  Lovers around the world, don't you agree with this saying?

So, for the love in my life, i give you - WATER

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

A Prosperous and A Happy Chinese New Year

I know by now most of my relatives and friends in the otherside of the world, should have enjoyed their Reunion Dinner and would be having fun karaoke-ing and waiting for The God of Weath to arrive.  Me, still snuggling under the blankets and dreaming of a luxious meal.  Anyway, i am awake and trying to post this so that i can wish all of you out there who will be celebrating the Chinese New Year - A Prosperous and Happy Chinese New Year. 

See What I won

I hate to enter contests cos most often i will not win.  I have come to the conclusion that i will always have to work to earn something, even to the extent of 'singing for my supper', but this time it is different, i won a set of '4 kidishes' from Duralex through The Foodie Blogroll Contests and Rewards.  Thanks Foodie Blogroll and their sponsor, the dishes will come in handy as they are microwable and i use the microwave alot even my grand daughter mad Mac and Cheese with the bowl in the microwave.

Thank you gain.

Cilantro Oil

Like i have said in my previous post on Cilantro Pesto, i came to like cilantro and use lots of it, adding it to lots of dishes especially soups. When you have more than you need of fresh cilantro and before they die on you, besides making Cilantro Pesto,  the next best option is to turn it into a infused oil,.  It is not quite the real thing, it is less pungent but it is there in your refrigerator, to put on almost anything - noodles, rice etc. 

Ingredients:

250 ml (1 cup) vegetable oil or olive oil
2 bunches of fresh Cilantro


Method:

.Drop the cilantro into boiling water for a few seconds and refresh in ice water.

.Squeeze the blanched cilantro dry.

.In a high speed blender/food processor, blend the oil and cilantro together for 30 seconds, strain it through a cheesecloth.

Serves

Cilantro Pesto

I have a  hate-love relationship with this herb - Cilantro.  I used to hate this raw green leaf that sat side by side, closely clustered together with shredded green onions, like a couple who are in love and they were or still are, sitting on top of all dishes served in the restaurants.  At home, it was a different story, garnishes like these two never appear with our meals, cos we had to be frugal and garnishes were luxury,  perhaps that was why i hated garnishes, not because it did not taste good, it was because i have not eaten enough to like them.  Now, it is a different story, i don't know when i started to like these garnishes but i really love them.  Cilantro can be very expensive especially during the Chinese New Year Celebration in Malaysia but strangely and luckily, it is pretty cheap here.  The problem arises when it is cheap, i will buy a few bunches and cilantro don't keep so well and knowing this fact, have to find ways to use/cook them before they wilt.  Making pesto is one of the ways and pesto keeps well in the freezer until you need to use it.

Ingredients:

2 cups, packed, of cilantro, large stems removed
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped and seeded serrano chile(optional)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil













Method

In a food processor, pulse the cilantro, almonds, onion, chile(if using), and salt until well blended. With the food processor running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream.

Add more oil as needed for your use.
Makes about 1 cup.

Serves

Potato Top Pie

This is a casserole lined with cooked meat and vegetables, topped with mashed potatoes, and baked.  You guessed right, Black Friday's lunch, leftover turkey and vegetables and of course leftover mashed potatoes. I dressed it up with more mixed vegetables and to give it another level, some diced cooked Brats were added.  What a lovely way to present your leftovers?  Don't mentioned that they are leftovers and no one will know, cos the casserole  tasted so much better than it looked.

Ingredients

2 cups diced cooked turkey
2 cups diced cooked brats
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups mixed vegetables(leftover or otherwise)
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup stock/water
2 tbsp butter/cooking oil
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Leftover mashed potatoes or

1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
4 tbsp butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup milk/water/stock

1 egg for glazing

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, start with cold water and boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 2 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick)/oil  in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat .  Add in 1 tbsp flour and saute until cooked. If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put carrots in with the onions, then add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions and carrots, or if using leftovers - add every ingredients in including the cooked meats.  Add in 1/2 cup stock/water and cook until thickened.  Season accordingly and put into a baking dish..

4 Mash potatoes in bowl with 4 tbsps butter amd milk, season to taste.

5 Distribute mashed potatoes on top of cooked meat and vegetables.. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well. Glaze with beatened egg.
6 Cook in microwave oven  on high for 2 - 3 minutes until bubbling.

7. Broil for last few minutes to brown.

8 Serve hot..

Serves

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I wish a Happy Mother's Day to MOMs all around the world. We should love, honor, and respect our Mothers every day of the year, of course, but this day is a chance to show MOM just how much she means to you. Mother's day is the occasion to pay rich tributes to MOM, who has had a great impact on our lives, a person whose love and care, knows no boundaries, a person who does everything to keep her children happy and joyous.

My Miracle Mother

Author: Joanna FuchsMom,

I look at you

and see a walking miracle.

Your unfailing love without limit,

your ability to soothe my every hurt,

the way you are on duty, unselfishly,

every hour, every day,

makes me so grateful

that I am yours, and you are mine.

With open arms and open heart,

with enduring patience and inner strength,

you gave so much for me,

sometimes at your expense.

You are my teacher,

my comforter, my encourager,

appreciating all, forgiving all.

Sometimes I took you for granted, Mom,

but I don’t now, and I never will again.

I know that everything I am today

relates to you and your loving care.

I gaze in wonder

as I watch you being you—

my miracle, my mother.

Homemade Gluten Puffs

Making gluten the traditional way is time consuming. It calls for mixing 8 cups of flour with 3 to 5 cups of water and forming a dough. The dough is then kneaded and rinsed under running water to remove the wheat starch. After about 20 to 30 minutes of kneading and rinsing, which to me seems like a considerable amount of time, the resulting 2 or so cups of stretchy gluten is evident. At that point the gluten needs to be simmered in broth for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours or more or deep-fried to make gluten puffs

Luckily there are some shortcut methods for making gluten that make it a convenient food to prepare. I have had the most luck using high gluten flour or vital wheat gluten, although I have found that until you become familiar with the texture you are aiming for during the mixing and kneading process, the results will vary somewhat.

The added benefit of using this method is that you can flavor the gluten during the kneading process by adding herbs and spices of your choosing other than the traditional ginger and garlic. You can use poultry seasoning or chicken flavor broth powder to make a "chicken" flavored seitan, or a blend with paprika, cayenne, fennel, garlic, and Italian seasoning for a "sausage" flavor. Flavoring is limited only by your imagination.

Ingredients:

4 ozs Vital wheat gluten

5 ozs lukewarm water

1/4 tsp salt

Method:

Put the wheat gluten in a large bowl.

Dissolve salt in lukewarm water and pour over the wheat gluten.

Mix into a dough and knead 8 to 10 times.

Cover dough and let it stand for 2 hours.

Heat a wok with 2 cups of oil and when temperature is 350 f, drop tiny pieces of dough to fry until golden brown.

The puffs are now ready for a variety of recipes.

Serves

Hard Boiled Eggs

Cooking hard boiled eggs can be a hassle because you have to kor hui and kor chui in hokkien, jaga api and jaga air in Malay and in english, meaning you have to regulated the heat and the amount of water used.
Jean Scully was so kind to share this method of cooking the eggs whereby you don't have to worry whether they are over-cooked or under-cooked.


Ingredients:

Rice Cooker

2 sheets of Kitchen Towel

2 or more eggs(enough to put in a single layer in the rice cooker)

Method:

Wet 2 sheets of kitchen towels and wring out excess water.

Put them in the rice cooker

Put 2 or more eggs on top of wet kitchen towels

Close the lid of rice cooker and press 'cook'.

When the 'cook' button is off and turns to 'warm' - eggs should be ready if they were in room temperature to start with, but if they were from the fridge, keep cooked eggs in the 'warm' function for a while to fully hard cooked the eggs.

Viola!! Hard boiled eggs

Happiness Cake

I think PO PO's Happiness Cake must be delicious
I am thinking too

Oh, yes, must be Yummy

Renee says 'Thumb Up'

Ashley agrees

I know, i ate it all

When I found this recipe from Chef2Chef, i had to post this special recipe. It is one of the finest cakes I have ever made. I hope this recipe will be shared by many generations to come. These three are the TOPPING.

Ingredients:

1 cup good thoughts

1 cup kind deeds

1 cup well-beaten faults

1 cup consideration for others

2 cups sacrifice

3 plus cups forgiveness

Method:

Preheat oven to 98.6 degrees F.

Mix thoroughly

Add:Tears of joy, sorrow and sympathy

Flavor with love and kindly service

Fold in 4 cups prayer and faith

Blend well

Fold into daily life

Bake well with the warmth of human kindness and serve with a smile any time

It will satisfy the hunger of starved souls.

Serves

Fried Pomfret with Ginger sauce

You would say that i am not doing justice to this fine textured fish by pan frying it but i would not no, cos the flesh is just as delicious fried this way. To serve steamed fish is quite difficult here, especially winter, food gets cold so fast and every member of the family has to present and ready to eat, then only can the steamed fish be served.

Ingredients:

1 white pomfret - gutted, cleaned, wipe dry and sprinkled with salt

1 tbsp tapioca starch/cornstarch for coating

4 tbsp julienned ginger

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp sugar

a dash of pepper
Oil for frying

Method:

Coat the salted fish with the tapioca starch/cornstarch.

Heat wok and add in oil, only when the wok is shimmering hot.

Lower the fish into the oil carefully to avoid splatterings.

Fry until golden brown before flipping and fry the other side of fish until golden brown too.

Remove fish and place on serving plate.

Remove all the oil except 2 tbsps oil.

Fry the julienned ginger until crispy. Remove and put them on top of the fish.

Add soya sauce and sugar to the oil in the wok and cook until it thickens.

Spoon over the fish and serve hot with white rice.

Serves

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Renee and Alexander with Santa, 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Marmite Chicken

I grew up with Marmite. My mom would make soup or add it to congee or rice and it was the best, there was no need for any other dishes or sides, just a tiny spoonful of Marmite.


What is Marmite? Read about it here Wikipedia

Ingredients:

2 Chicken thighs - cut into bite-size
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp oil

Sauce

2 tbsp Marmite

1 tbsp maltose

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp light soya sauce

dash of pepper and chicken stock granules

100 ml water

Method:

Heat oil and add in chicken pieces to brown. Sprinkle salt and pepper and turn chicken when it is browned on one side. Brown the other side.

Add in the sauce ingredients and cook until sauce has thickened.

Serve hot with white rice.

Serves

Snap Peas and Yellow Squash Stir Fry

This summer, i did not plant any yellow squash but did enjoy a stir fry with a few that was given to me. Snap peas are nutritious and filling, yet not as high in total carbohydrates and fats as normal peas. The pods themselves contribute mostly water and vitamins when conssummed. Together, this stir fry impressed the palate.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 lb snap peas

2 - 3 yellow squash - seeded and cut into bite size

1 fresh red chilly pepper, seeded and julienned

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

Marinate for the shrimps:

2 tsp cornstarch/tapioca starch

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

Sauce:

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp soya sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

1/4 cup chicken stock

A dash of shaoxing wine

Sesame oil

Vegetable oil

Method:

Combine the ingredients for the sauce, set aside.

Marinate shrimps with the marinating ingredients, set aside.

Heat 1 cup oil in a wok or skillet until hot but not smoking. When hot, add the snap peas for just a minute, and as soon as the snap peas are bright green, remove with slotted spoon and drain.

Reheat the oil and add in the shrimp and stir, separating the pieces, just until the shrimp changes color. Remove from the oil to drain.

Remove the oil and reserve.

Reheat the wok over high heat. When hot, add 3 tbsp of the reserved oil. When the oil is hot, add the yellow squash , chilly pepper, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring until the squash is soft.

Add in the snap peas, shrimps and the stock mixture, bring to a boil and cook until the stock thickens and clear. Splash in the wine and continue to stir briefly.

Spoon into a serving plater and serve sprinkled with sesame oil.

Serves

Pickled Watermelon

As promised, the recipe for Pickled Watermelon is below.

I have always grumbled and said that it is such a waste to get rid of the rind but i do not grumble anymore when our friend, robyn told me that her dad will make a pickle with the rind of the watermelon. So everytime, we have watermelon, the rind will be made into pickle and a very delightful sweet drink. Look out the the sweet drink recipe tomorrow.

Ingredients:

Watermelon rind with skin removed

Salt

Sugar

Sambal Olek

Vinegar

Method:

Cut watermelon rind into 1 inch length and 1/4 inch thick pieces

Sprinkle salt and leave aside for 30 minutes.

Wash away salt.

Add vinegar, sambal olek and sugar (adjust to your taste)

Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Serves

Sore Throat Cure

I have my daughter, Sharon to thank for forwarding this article to me as soon as she heard that i am down with a cold. It is flu season here and everyone is advised to get the flu shots - so lined up with the rest of the population to get a jab. It is the 'herd mentality' in me that says, if everyone is having a jab, i better have one. After reading the article below and 'What most doctors won't tell you about colds and flus', i would like to share them with all my readers. No co-pay and prescriptions - just what you have in the pantry and the tap in your kitchen sink.



Ingredients:

Salt

Warm Water

Method:

How to Prevent a Sore Throat from Progressing to a Cold
By Dr. Ben Kim on March 09, 2008
Natural Health Solutions


Before I share a great little tip on how to stop a sore throat from progressing into a week-long cold, please know that periodically experiencing a cold or the flu can actually be helpful to your health. If you have no idea why this is, please view the following popular article that I wrote on this topic:
What Most Doctors Won't Tell You About Colds and Flus

You just won't get this information on why colds and flus can help you stay healthy over the long run from medical textbooks and mainstream media - please consider sharing it with family and friends.

Although experiencing a cold or the flu once in a while can help rid your body of your weakest cells, I'm willing to bet that there are times when you would really prefer to delay such a period of cleansing and malaise.

Here's how you can stand a good chance of preventing a cold from developing:

As soon as you experience that sore, tickly feeling in your throat that precedes a full-blown cold, gargle with warm salt water.

And when I say gargle, I mean really gargle; take in a mouthful of warm salt water, look up at the ceiling, and gargle aggressively. You may want to tap at your throat (the Adam's apple region) with your fingers while you gargle to encourage the warm salt water to trickle deeply into your throat.

Gargle like this several times with a glass of warm salt water, and repeat as often as possible throughout the day.

Warm salt water can remove viruses from the tonsils and adenoids that line the back of your throat region. Viruses that cause colds and flus typically get caught by your tonsils and adenoids before they spread through your body. Your tonsils and adenoids are important parts of your immune system because they are located near the entrance of your breathing passages, and they serve as a first line of defense against undesirable airborne microorganisms and substances.
This, by the way, is why it is best not to remove tonsils and adenoids from your throat region. Chronic swelling of tonsils and adenoids is best addressed by reducing sugar intake, adopting a minimally processed diet that is rich in fresh plant foods, and supporting immune system health by getting plenty of rest, exercise, and exposure to sunlight and fresh air.

Cold salt water may also help to remove viruses from your tonsils and adenoids, but warm salt water tends to be more effective. Warm water may help to melt the fatty coating that protects viruses that cause the cold and flu.

What if you gargle for all you're worth but still end up developing a full-blown cold?

Get lots of rest, drink plenty of fluids, and take comfort in knowing that countless viruses are at work destroying your weakest cells. And don't forget to blow your nose as often as it runs; help your body get rid of what it wants to get rid of.

Molly's Ketchup Mei Fun With Omelette

Although this dish has no exotic ingredients, it is very tasty and a favorite in my family, Molly's family. Molly is my mom and she is 82 years old. She has dished up this Ketchup Mei Fun for us, her children and also her grandchildren so often and yet we cannot have enough of it. We might have it for breakfast, lunch or snack time and as usual the plate of mei fun will be consumed in a jiffy. I have served this dish many times at parties and potlucks,and the request for the recipe was always the main topic of the conversation. I have promised to post this recipe but there was no more left for picture everytime i cooked this dish. The green vegetables were present for making this platter more colorful - the original is just mei fun and omelette.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb mei fun/beehoon/rice vermicelli - soak in cold water

1/2 cup tomato ketchup/sauce

1 tsp chicken seasoning powder/granules

1 tbsp chopped garlic

4 eggs - beaten with salt and pepper

Water - enough to cook the mei fun

oil for frying the omelette and the mei fun

salt and sugar to adjust taste

Method:

Make omelette and cut into strips, set aside.

Heat oil in wok and fry the chopped garlic until slightly golden.

Add in tomato ketchup/sauce, 1 cup water and chicken seasoning. Bring to the boil and stir to combine.

Add in soaked mei fun and stir fry until mei fun is cooked and dry. (sprinkle more water if mei fun is still not cooked through and add more oil if necessary - mei fun tastes better with a little more oil)

Adjust the taste with salt and sugar.

Dish out and serve hot with the omelette.

Serves

Stuffed Crispy Tofu/Tauhu Sumbat

Tauhu sumbat -a nutritious finger food snack, are pockets of fried tofu stuffed with vegetables You get both protein and vegetables in one serving. When drenched with a spicy peanut sauce, they are extra tasty but they are just as good if served with any chilly sauce. There are many types of tauhu/tofu that you can use for this dish and of course, it has to be the fried ones, but i use the 'tauhu/tofu pok' which are very crispy when they are fried again before filling.

Ingredients:

Several pieces of semi-hard tauhu/tofu or tauhu/tofu pok
1/2 cucumber, cut into fine thin strips
1 cup beansprouts, scalded lightly

Enough oil to deep-fry tauhu/tofu

Sauce(follow the Satay Sauce) or

1 tbsp thick tamarind juice
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
2 tbsp oil

Combine the following:

300g groundnuts, toasted and pounded coarsely
3 to 4 red chilli, seeded and pounded
3 shallots, pounded
1 clove garlic, pounded
1/2 tsp belacan granules

Seasoning:
2 tsp brown sugar
Pinch of salt, or to taste



Method:

For tauhu/tofu pieces, cut diagonally into halves. Sprinkle a little salt. Pat dry with paper kitchen towels, then deep-fry in hot oil until crispy on the outside. Cut a slit in the tauhu and pry open slightly. Stuff with a little bit of each vegetable into the opening.

For Tauhu/Tofu Pok, make a slit and then either deep fry or toast in the oven before stuffing.

For the sauce:

Heat two tablespoons oil in a wok and saute the combined pounded ingredients until fragrant. Add tamarind juice, water and seasoning. Bring to a simmering boil until sauce turns thick. Dish out and serve with the tauhu sumbat

Serves

Dorayaki

These Dorayaki were made while i was making Flapjacks. The recipe is the same only the way they were served was different.

For the recipe follow the Flapjacks but add in a spoonful of red bean paste before folding the flapjacks in half. Preparation of red bean paste can be found here Mooncakes

Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish

This dish is simply delicious and such an easy stir-fry. The only difficult part is plucking off the tails and shoots of the beansprouts. How i wish my mother was here as she was the one who will patiently do this prison duty.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb beansprouts - tails and shoots removed

1 small piece salted fish, preferably threadfish - cut into tiny pieces

2 slices ginger

1 clove garlic - chopped

1 tbsp fish sauce

3 tbsp cooking oil

2 stalks spring onions - cut into inch length

Method:

Heat oil and fry the salted fish until fragrant. Dish out without the oil and leave aside.

Add in ginger and garlic to the oil and saute until golden brown,

Add in the beansprouts, stir well and add in fish sauce.

Return the salted fish and spring onions. Stir fry until spring onions wilt slightly.

Dish out and serve hot.

Serves