PASSION ON THE STOVE TOP

Baked Macaroni and Cheese With Sage and Thyme

2011-10-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

My good friend Robbie made plans to visit me tonight after work because I haven't seen him for a few months. The plan was to have dinner at a nearby restaurant in Fremont or maybe go to our favorite place in San Jose @ Santana Row. By mid-day, I decided that I will just make his favorite food to eat and enjoy more of our time at my own home and catch up without the distraction and noise of restaurants.

This mac and cheese recipe was adapted from Fannie Farmer's Classic Baked Mac and Cheese cookbook and I added a few ingredients to make it my own. I doubled the ingredients so that the rest of the family in the house can enjoy it. This recipe yields for 6 servings.

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounces) package macaroni
8 tablespoons butter
8 tablespoons flour
3 cup milk
1 cup cream or buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 cups cheddar cheese

2 cups Jack or Gouda Cheese

10 pieces fresh Sage leaves

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used Smoked Chipotle Pepper)
1 cup breadcrumbs

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F

Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside

In a large sauce pan melt butter

Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended.

Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly, Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes, reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly)for 10 minutes.

Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Add the cayenne pepper, sage and thyme

Remove from heat and pour in the baking dish with macaroni and coat with the cheese sauce.

Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Serve hot!!

Banana and Nutella Cupcakes

2011-10-26T13:15:00.001-07:00

A friend from church asked me to make cupcakes for her boyfriend's birthday. I gave her several flavor options and we decided on Banana Nutella with Cream Cheese Nutella Frosting. The other flavor option she picked was Lemon and Raspberry with Butter Cream with Raspberry preserves which I will blog separately.

This recipe yields for 3 dozen cupcakes. One dozen went to the birthday party. My husband took one dozen to work and we kept one dozen for us to enjoy at home! Enjoy baking!

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs at room temperature
2 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups coarsely mashed very ripe bananas (about 5 large)
3/4 cup Nutella
1/4 cup greek style yogurt or regular plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preparation:

- Heat oven to 350°F

- Line a muffin/cupcake pan with cupcake paper cups
- Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.
- Beat together eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer with a whisk attachment at medium-high speed until very thick and pale, and the mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing, then mix in bananas, yogurt, Nutella, and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture.

- Scoop 1/4 of a cup in each cupcake (about 3/4 of each liner)

- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean/dry.

- Let cool before frosting.
- Top with a fresh strawberries and sprinkle powder sugar on top and enjoy!

Frosting Ingredients:

- 2 8oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese (room temperature)

- 1 cup of butter (room temperature)

- 3 cups of confectioners sugar (add more if you like your frosting sweeter)

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Whisk the cream cheese until it is light and soft about 1 minute. Add the buter and whip for another one minute. Add the sugar and the vanilla extract and whip until the frosting comes together. Using an icing spatula or a piping bag and tip of your choice, frost each cupcake. You can also use a ziploc bag to pipe the mixture for frosting.

Banana and Nutella Cupcakes

2011-10-26T13:13:00.002-07:00

- Scoop 1/4 of a cup in each cupcake (about 3/4 of each liner)

- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean/dry.

- Let cool before frosting.
- Top with a fresh strawberries and sprinkle powder sugar on top and enjoy!

Frosting Ingredients:

- 2 8oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese (room temperature)

- 1 cup of butter (room temperature)

- 3 cups of confectioners sugar (add more if you like your frosting sweeter)

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Whisk the cream cheese until it is light and soft about 1 minute. Add the buter and cream for another one minute. Add the sugar and the vanilla extract and whip until the frosting comes together. Using an icing spatula or a piping bag and tip of your choice, frost each cupcake. You can also use a ziploc bag to pipe the mixture for frosting.

Banana and Nutella Cupcakes

2011-10-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

- Scoop 1/4 of a cup in each cupcake (about 3/4 of each liner)

- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean/dry.

- Let cool before frosting.
- Top with a fresh strawberries and sprinkle powder sugar on top and enjoy!

Frosting Ingredients:

- 2 8oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese (room temperature)

- 1 cup of butter (room temperature)

- 3 cups of confectioners sugar (add more if you like your frosting sweeter)

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Chicken Rice Porridge (Arroz Caldo)

2011-10-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning craving for some rice porridge. I have been feeling a little under the weather and even my husband has a bad cold. Rice porridge or Lugaw or Arroz Caldo, as we call it in the Philippine culture somehow always makes me feel better. As soon as I got up from bed, I went straight in the kitchen and grabbed all the ingredients I needed. This recipe is intended for 2 servings only. You can double the ingredients if you want to cook more than 2 servings.

I had 2 bowls and I feel better already so I decided to blog the recipe!

Ingredients:

3 chicken drumsticks or wings
3 fresh garlic cloves (minced)
1 1/2 inch of fresh ginger (chopped)
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked white rice
2 tablespoon fish sauce (or substitute with a pinch of salt)
2 green onions and chopped (for garnish)
6 cups of water

1/4 slice of Lemon or Calamansi juice for tasting

Preparation:

Sauté the garlic in oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and set aside. Add the ginger and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and brown for about 5 minutes. Add the rice, water and fish sauce (or salt), cover the pan, and simmer over medium to low heat. Stir frequently and simmer until the chicken and rice are cooked through, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Ladle the porridge into a soup bowl and garnish with the chopped green onions and fried garlic. Squeeze the lemon or calamansi juice for taste.

Roasted Potato and Apple Medley

2011-10-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

I was thinking what to cook for dinner tonight and I immediately thought of the bag of potatoes I bought last week. I really did not want to make the usual bake potato or breakfast style potato so I searched for a new recipe online. My favorite website of bloggers always inspire me to challenge myself and prepare a dish that looks and taste good! I found this recipe which was also adapted from Martha Stewart Recipe. I made it my own and use some of the fresh herbs from my garden and a Penzey Tuscan Sunset seasoning that I just bought over the weekend. This is a good side dish with your favorite grilled meat. I paired it with pan grilled breast of chicken that were marinated for a few hours.

Ingredients:

3 medium size Russet potatoes
3 medium size red apples
4 tablespoons butter (melted)
3 tables spoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Penzey Tuscan Sunset seasoning (or your choice of seasoning)
2 tablespoons fresh basil (chopped)
sea salt and black pepper for taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine oil and melted butter. Brush the bottom of a baking dish with some of the mixture.

Peel and slice the potatoes and apples very thin crosswise with a sharp knife or mandoline.

Arrange the potato and apple slices vertically in the baking dish, alternating the colors randomly. Brush the remaining butter mixture on top of the dish and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for 1 1/4 hour. Remove from oven and add chopped fresh basil or your favorite herb such as thyme or rosemary and return to oven. Bake for another 25-30 minutes until the dishes reaches your desired brownness.

Adobong Balut (Duck Egg)

2011-10-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

Balut.....Baluuuut....Baaaaluuuuut.... Ah, yeah! Thats the sound of vendors selling this delicacy. If you're Filipino and grew up in the Philippines, you've heard them and may have eaten balut at least once. If not, maybe you've heard about it and felt disgusted by the sound of it. You may even have seen it on the tv reality show Fear Factor. Even Andrew Zimmern, a Food Writer and TV Personality guy enjoyed it! Well, I can tell you that I am not afraid to eat this delicacy because it's tastier than a regular hard boiled egg and its high on protein.

The inside of the balut with the juice - the best part that you suck/slurp while peeling!

Balut is a boiled fertilized duck egg with a 9 – 14 day old embryo inside. It is commonly sold as a streetfood in the Philippines during night time by a vendor roaming the streets and carrying a basket of full of warm baluts.

I finally bought a couple of raw baluts to cook because I have been craving them for sometime now and trying to dare my husband to try it sometime. Since halloween is coming up, I thought this is a good dish to serve your guests because it looks like something gross that you may only see in movies or a tv show. I did not take a photo of the embryo because I usually don't eat that part anyway and I myself get disgusted by looking at it! The photos I took below will suffice to give you the best view of the inside.

But if you like Filipino Chicken Adobo, then try this and then you can say that you've had it.....at least, the sauce and juice from the balut!

Ingredients:

2-3 Balut, boiled and peeled

2 tbsp cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 yellow onion minced
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup vinegar
½ tsp sugar
3 pcs bay leaf
1/2 tsp peppercorns

Directions:

Sauté garlic in cooking oil until brown then add onions and caramelized
Add Balut and fry for a few seconds
Pour soy sauce and vinegar
Bring to a boil without stirring
Simmer for a few seconds
Add bay leaf, sugar and peppercorns
Simmer for about 5 minutes and its done

Chicken and Broccoli In Oyster Sauce

2011-10-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

The most common chinese dish that is easy to order is beef and broccoli. I used to date someone who will order this dish every time we have chinese food for lunch or dinner. I will usually just eat the broccoli and not the beef because I do not like the taste of the beef cooked at Chinese restaurants. So to ease my crave for broccoli cooked in oyster sauce, I decided to use chicken instead of beef.

Ingredients:

1 piece of breast of chicken (diced)
1 head of broccoli, cut in florets
3 cloves of fresh garlic (minced)
1/2 yellow onion (diced)
5 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat up a large frying pan or a wok and add oil and garlic until brown. Add onions and stir for 2 minutes.

Add the chicken and stir until chicken is no longer pink

Rinse the broccoli, add and stir well

Add the black pepper, oyster sauce, soy sauce and hoisin sauce and stir, coat well

Mix corn starch with water and mix well and pour in the pan. Stir and cover, cook in medium high heat and cook for about 5 minutes

Turon (Philippine Banana Eggroll)

2011-10-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have been craving for some Turon (Philippine Banana Eggroll) lately and I finally had the time to buy some Saba, a cooking banana. The saba must be really ripe to make this dessert. Easy to make and you can pair it with your favorite ice cream.

6 pieces of Saba bananas
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups vegetable oil
12-15 pieces of eggroll wrapper (use any brand eggroll wrapper)

Slice bananas lengthwise to avoid eating uncooked part. Dredge banana pieces in brown sugar. Then, place one banana piece on a large egg roll wrapper and wrap. Fold up the bottom to cover the banana, fold in the right and left sides, and roll up until the wrapper is closed. Moisten the top flap of the wrapper to seal. Do the same for the rest. This recipe yields for one dozen of turon.

In a pan, heat oil over medium/medium-low heat. Shallow-fry or deep-fry turon until golden brown. Serve warm and crispy.

Monkey Bread

2011-08-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was craving for something sweet and I didn't want to make cupcakes again. I wanted something different and that I have not had in a while. I stared at the items I had in the fridge for a few minutes and the Pillsbury biscuits caught my eyes. I suddenly thought about the monkey bread I had at a friend's bridal shower for breakfast. I remember exactly how it was made by the maid of honor and I got excited and checked if I had all the ingredients. I was disappointed that I didn't have butter!!! I always have blocks of butter in my fridge and I realized that I have not been to the store lately. So I had to wait the next day to ease my craving because I was too lazy to step out of the house! So the day after, I bought my butter and made these amazing easy to make dessert! I also made individual serving so that they are easy to serve. These can be served for breakfast or as a dessert.

Ingredients:

1 tube of Pillsbury Grands Biscuit dough

1/4 cup of white sugar

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a bundt pan or mini bundt pan (6 individual serving) with a cooking spray. In a large ziploc, mix white sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 8 biscuits and cut into quarters. Shake in ziploc bag to coat with cinnamon sugar. Arrange dough in pan and pack all dough inside. If using the mini bundts, arrange 5-6 pieces of the dough in each mini pan. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter and brown sugar. Pour over the biscuits.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning upside down onto a serving plate. Scrape down the sides of the pan with a butter knife or spatula to loosen the bread so that it comes out in one piece. Serve warm and pull apart to serve or individually if baked using the mini bundt.

Fresh Fruit Bruschetta

2011-08-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

We were invited to attend a BBQ party today and the host asked that we bring a side dish or an appetizer. I knew about this a few weeks ago and I still couldn't make up my mind on what to bring and finally told my husband that I will just prepare a tomato salad or bruschetta. On our way to church today, I have decided that I will just make Bruschetta since I wasn't able to go to the Farmer's market and get the heirloom tomatoes I needed for the tomato salad. I thought it'll be nice to make something different than typical bruschetta (tomato/basil). I used fruit instead and they came out very tasty! Try making them for your next party.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of french bread (2-3 days old) or regular baguette (sliced thinly)

1 cup of red grapes (sliced in halves)

1 cup of blueberries

1/2 cup finely diced cucumber

10 fresh mint leaves (minced)

1 large nectarine (seeded and chopped in tiny pieces)

1/2 cup fig jam (or any fruit jam)

1 block of cream cheese

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the thinly sliced bread/baguettes on a flat cookie sheet and bake until slightly brown. Remove from oven and cool.

Heat the jam in a small pot and liquify in low heat then cool for about 5 minutes.

Mix the cream cheese and half of the mint. Spread the cream cheese on each sliced bread/baguette carefully with a butter knife

Mix the fruits and cucumber in a big bowl with the other half of mint. Pour the cooled liquid jam in the fruit bowl and mix thoroughly.

Top a spoonful of the fruit mix on each bread/baguette. ENJOY!

Banana Pancakes

2011-07-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

I love waking up in the morning and the first thing I want to do is COOK! I'm always thinking what to eat for breakfast and what my family will enjoy. Weekend mornings are always the best days to prepare something special because I don't have to rush out to go to work and the kids are still in bed taking their time to get out of bed. I know that I should do that too but I always find myself waking up early so why not do what I enjoy.....COOKING!

As I walked in the kitchen, first item that caught my eyes were the over ripe bananas. I know that no one will eat those anymore because we all like firm bananas. I contemplated for a minute and thought.....banana pancakes or banana biscuits? or save them later for banana bread or cupcakes? I had to based my decision on what other ingredients I have in the pantry and fridge. Well, they all have the same ingredients so I decided on making the pancakes since it is breakfast time after all!

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose Flour

2 tablespoons Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

2 cups regular milk or 2% milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

3 ripe bananas, mashed

Preparation:

- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

- In a separate bowl, combine the milk, butter, and egg. Add to the dry ingredients.

- Add the mashed banana
- Heat up a large griddle or skillet on low heat
- Spray with pan or melt a little butter and pour 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake
- When the top side of the pancake is all bubbly, flip and cook for about a minute
- Enjoy with slices of bananas, confectioners sugar and your favorite syrup. You can also top it with whipped cream.
- Enjoy the left over pancakes in the afternoon with some ice cream!

Lemon Basil Basmati Rice

2011-07-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

I ran out of Jasmine rice so I took out my bag of Basmati rice (emergency stash) to cook for dinner tonight. I think that basmati rice is better when its cooked with herbs and spices. I do not like it plain unless I am eating it with a dish that has creamy gravy like Butter Chicken.

I decided to do my usual homework and searched online for a simple but good recipe. Most recipe I came across have nuts, raisins, bacon or lentils. I don't have any of those ingredients handy so I searched again until I found this recipe by Vittles and Bits. She mentioned her addiction to this rice and I think I will be addicted to making it all the time. It is really heavenly and in my own words...YUMMYLICIOUS! I did tweak it a little bit to make it my own recipe. I was so impressed with the result, I had to step away from the kitchen otherwise, dinner will be gone before it's served to my family!

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
3 cups of basmati rice (washed and drained)
1 can of coconut milk
1 stick of butter
2 medium size yellow onions (diced)
6 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 cup fresh basil (minced)
1 whole fresh lemon juice
2 tbs lemon rinds
1 tbs ground cayenne pepper
4 cups of water
salt to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the very well-drained rice in a 3 quarts baking dish or pan.

Heat the oil in a nonstick or heavy saucepan. Add the garlic and sauté over medium heat until they are medium brown but not burn. Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes until they are soft. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the rice and basil and bring to a boil.

Stir the mixture into the rice, being sure to scrape up and include all the goodies. Seal tightly with foil or lid and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork before serving, then fold in the basil.

Fried Banana Triangles

2011-07-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

Ever had Filipino banana lumpias? They are the same as banana spring rolls or Kluay Kaek that they serve at Thai restaurants on their dessert menu and usually topped with Coconut Ice Cream. Filipinos call them "Turon". They are also a popular dessert item on PF Chang's menu.

The bananas used for this fried dessert are the Saba. They have to be ripe and firm or mushy to enjoy their sweetness. I found out that Vietnamese also makes the same dessert but they actually mash the bananas before rolling them in the wrapper and fry. My daughter and I had some at Eggroll King in San Jose. I decided to make them myself. I bought 3 big Saba and let them ripen for a week in the kitchen counter.

To make it my own recipe, I combined the three culture in the eggroll. I mashed the bananas, added brown sugar and cinnamon and served it with chocolate syrup and confectioners sugar.

Ingredients:

3 large ripe Saba
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup vegetable oil
10 pieces Lumpia wrapper or Spring Roll wrapper (cut in half)
Hershey Chocolate Syrup
Confectioners Sugar
1 Egg or 1 cup of warm water for sealing

Preparation:

Mash thoroughly the ripe bananas. Add the cinnamon and sugar and mix well. Heat up a large frying pan with oil in medium heat. Scoop a full tablespoon of the mashed bananas on one end of the wrapper. fold as a triangle and seal with warm water or egg wash. Fry each side until golden brown and drain on a plate with paper towel to get rid of excess oil. Serve warm and drizzle with chocolate syrup and confectioners sugar. Enjoy with ice cream!

Mango Bread

2011-07-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

Mangoes are in season again and I cannot be more excited! I grew up in the Philippines and mangoes are one of my favorite island fruits. I can eat them very green or very ripe. When they started importing Manila mangoes here in the US, I was ecstatic and when they are in season, I buy at least 1 box and enjoy them with my kids. They enjoy them as much as I do. We also enjoy mango ice cream, mango pie, mango juice....mango mango mango and anything M.A.N.G.O.

Last week, the produce market stand near my house were selling a box of 14 mangoes for $5.99. What a steal! I bought 2 boxes and I realized afterwards that my husband is out of town and my daughter just moved out on her own. Now I have a ton left and they are getting too ripe. So I decided to make a Mango Bread with a hint of Jamaican Rum and make use of them.

Ingredients:
- 4 medium size ripe mango (remove pulp from seed and finely chopped or chunky) about 2 cups
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp Jamaican Rum or Vanilla extract
- ½ cup regular butter, melted
- ¼ cup oil

Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350º
- Sift flour into a large bowl. Add baking soda, sugar and cinnamon and stir the dry ingredients to combine.
- In a medium bowl, beat eggs, add vanilla extract, melted butter and oil. Combine the ingredients and add to dry ingredients.
- Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon stir to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Fold in the finely chopped mangoes.
- Pour batter into a butter greased loaf pan and bake for 55 – 60 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Or use 2 medium size loaf pan to make the slices smaller.
- Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and cool. Dust with powder sugar before serving with a cup of tea or milk and enjoy!

Catfish with Basil and Jalapeno

2011-07-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

A good friend who loves Asian food was visiting the bay area for business about a month ago and we had lunch at The Slanted Door by the Ferry Building. We ordered a few appetizer and one main dish in a clay pot - Caramelized Catfish. The fish was good but the gravy sauce was a bit too sweet. The chef may have put a little too much of the brown sugar. Both Leticia and I agreed on that and she suggested that I should try to cook it myself the next time she is in town.

About 2 weeks later, I bought a bag of frozen cattish nuggets and I decided to give it a try. Well, the past two weeks have been quite busy and I never got around to it until today! Now that I have fresh herbs growing in the backyard, I don't have to constantly run to the store and get what I need. The dish we had had cilantro and chillies. I substituted with basil and jalapeno. I don't own a clay pot so I used my wok. I used hoisin sauce instead of brown sugar. I used oyster sauce instead of fish sauce. Here is my own recipe!

Ingredients: (Servings for 2)

10 pieces of catfish nuggets (frozen or fresh)

3 tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped ginger

3 garlic cloves (minced)

1 jalapeno pepper (sliced)
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Preparation:

Heat up a large frying pan or a wok with the sesame oil. Add ginger and garlic. Toss and saute well until medium brown. Add jalapeno pepper and basil leaves and toss for about 1/2 minute. Turn the heat to medium and add the catfish nuggets and stir well in the wok, cover and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and water and stir well. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes and until the sauce has thicken a bit. Enjoy with steamed rice!

Nutella Banana Bread

2011-07-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

In our house we always have fruits. Bananas are always on the grocery list and I usually just buy enough to last a week. Somehow, there's one week that we had a few left over and of course, they became brown and very ripe. I did not want to waste them so I decided to make a banana bread. I have never made this type of bread before so I thought I should find a simple recipe so that I don't disappoint myself. I also thought on making it different than the classic banana nut bread.

I found a few classic recipe online but since I wanted something different, I continued the search and found a recipe and just revised it a little bit. I started checking out what I had in my pantry and found raw peanuts, raw cashews and Nutella. I decided to omit the nuts and just used the Nutella jam. What came out of the oven were 3 loaves of very moist heavenly tasting melt in your mouth bread!!

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs at room temperature
2 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups coarsely mashed very ripe bananas (about 5 large)
3/4 cup Nutella
1/4 cup greek style yogurt or regular plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preparation:

This recipe actually makes about 3 loaves

- Heat oven to 350°F. Butter 2 (9- by 5- by 3-inch) metal loaf pans, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl.
- Beat together eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer with a whisk attachment at medium-high speed until very thick and pale, and the mixture forms a ribbon when beater is lifted, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing, then mix in bananas, yogurt, Nutella, and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture
- Divide batter between loaf pans to about 2/3 full, spreading evenly, and bake in the lower third of the oven until golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, about 1 hour. Start checking for doneness at about 45 minutes.
- Cool loaves in pans on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Turn loaves right side up and cool completely.
- Sprinkle powder sugar on top and enjoy!

Classic Filipino Leche Flan

2011-07-09T21:22:00.001-07:00

Leche Flan is one of my favorite Filipino dessert and I have always wanted to learn how to make it. When we visited my sister in Boise, one of her Filipino friends gave her a recipe for a classic Leche Flan. Since I was helping my sister prepare the food for her daughter's graduation party, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and make the flan myself. I couldn't believe how simple it was to make the flan and it turned out really good.

The recipe only has few ingredients and they were easy to remember. I decided to make the flan again for my daughter's graduation party. I made individual servings using ramekins and they came out beautiful and quite tasty!

Ingredients:

10 egg yolks
1 can condensed milk (12 oz)
1 can evaporated milk (14 oz)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tablespoon of lemon rinds
1/4 cup water

8 Ramekins (7 oz)
1 large baking pan

Prepare the caramel sauce:

Put the sugar, lemon rinds and water in a small saucepan and caramelize them then pour about 2 tablespoon in each ramekin then set aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk the eggs, condensed milk and evaporated milk well until you no longer see solid egg yolks. Pour the mixture equally in each ramekin on top of the caramel sauce.

Cover each ramekin with foil and place in the large pan. Pour hot water in the large pan covering just almost half way up the ramekins. Place the pan in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool then refrigerate.

To serve: Run a thin knife around the edges of the mold to loosen the Leche Flan. Place a flatter on top of the mold and quickly turn upside down to position the golden brown caramel on top.

Tea Party Menu

2011-04-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

GARDEN TEA PARTY

As part of my birthday celebration this year, I decided to host a garden tea party. I invited about 20 lovely close women friends. This was my very first tea party and it was a success and it was quite pleasant. We were blessed with a beautiful and sunny weather and were joined by a few dozen birds chirping in the garden. A good indication that Spring is here to stay!

I prepared a very simple menu which I decided to share and blog and hoping to encourage more women to take some time for themselves and enjoy a cup of tea with some friends. I had a fabulous time with these women below and I am thinking of hosting a tea party quarterly now and my husband approved! See you again soon ladies!

TEA PARTY MENU

(Serves 10-12)

Minted Cream Cheese and Cucumber Sandwich

1 loaf of firm white bread (I used Hawaiian White Bread)

1 whole cucumber (peeled and sliced 1/8 inch rounds)

1 Philadelphia Cream Cheese (8 oz )

10 Fresh Mint Leaves (finely chopped)

Mix the cheese and mint together. Spread one side of each bread with the mixture. Top with cucumber then top with another slice of bread. Cut the crust off the bread and cut the sandwich into triangles.

INSALATA CAPRESE ON BAGUETTE

1 loaf of baguette (sliced about 1/2 inch thick)

4 medium size firm but ripe tomatoes (thinly sliced into 1/4 in)

Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella

1 bunch of fresh basil

Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with good-quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar

BRIE, FIG PRESERVE AND CAVIAR

A box of plain, multi grain or sesame crackers. Use a good brand of Brie, your choice of fruit preserve and caviar as an option. This appetizer will also make a great pair with champagne!

PROSCIUTTO BRUSCHETTA

1 loaf of baguette (sliced in 1/2 inch)

1 package of smoke or regular prosciutto (chopped)

1 jar of Bruschetta Topping

VARIETY OF DRIED SALAMI

Spicy, Peppered and Rose Salami is what I used for my party. They can be eaten plain or with cracker and cheese

THE SWEETS!

VARIETY OF SWEETS

World Market Imports or Trader Joe's has a variety of European Cookies

CUPCAKES FROM OH CAKE!

VARIETY OF TEA

I served 12 assorted black, green and herbal tea to give the women options

I hope you enjoyed reading this special tea party blog and start planning your own! If you need someone to plan and cater it for you, EMAIL ME! I can cater a party of 25.

Jack and Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

2011-04-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

One night, I was craving the cheese biscuits that they serve at Red Lobster Restaurants. My husband and my kids love those too. I have never made biscuits from scratch before this because its just easy to bake the store bought Pillsbury brand. I decided why not challenge myself again and try and make them myself! I checked out my old country recipe books and also some recipes online to find the easiest and less ingredients that I can try out with the ingredients I already have in my pantry. I found this easy recipe and added my favorite herb instead of using dill which I am not a fan of. I also used 2 types of cheese to make them cheesier! These biscuits turned out savory, soft and you can't have just one! Try making them tonight for your family.

JACK AND CHEDDAR CHEESE BISCUITS WITH ROSEMARY

Ingredients:

- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick unsalted cold butter
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 cup jack cheese, grated
- 2 tablespoon fresh or dried rosemary, finely chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Blend the cold butter into the dry ingredients. Use your hands to mix and blend until the mixture has pea size chunks of butter left. It will be crumbly and that is a good thing. You want to see little pieces of butter. Don’t over blend.

Pour in the buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon. Gently mix, just until the ingredients are moist. Gently stir in the cheese and rosemary. Don’t over mix.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With a spoon, scoop the biscuits onto the baking sheet. Use about 3 Tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Bake the biscuits for 12-15 minutes. You want them to be golden brown on top and on the bottoms.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with butter.

Turkey and Corn Enchiladas

2011-04-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hello fans! It's been a while since I blogged but I'm back and I have a few recipe I will share this week. Thank you for your continued support and sharing my blog to your friends and family.

I've been stuck at home for a few months now and while I'm actively looking for a new job, I'm also being challenged at home on what to cook for lunch or dinner since I have plenty of time in my hands. A few weeks ago, I decided to clean and organize my lazy Susan and found items I can cook together and prepare some delicious meals. Here is one easy recipe I came up with. Try it yourself!

GROUND TURKEY AND SWEET CORN ENCHILADAS (serves 4)

Ingredients:

- 1 lb Jenny O ground turkey (any brand will do)
- 2 cups cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese (I used cheddar)
- 12 pieces corn or flour small tortillas (6 inch)
- 2 10 oz cans Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce (hot)
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- pinch of salt and black pepper
- 1 cup of sweet corn kernels

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 13x9 inch glass baking dish. In a skillet, cook and brown the garlic with olive oil then add the ground turkey. Cook the turkey until brown. Drain any remaining oil. Stir in 1 can of enchilada sauce and 1 cup of cheese. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.

Spoon enchilada meat filling onto tortillas and roll up and place seam sides down in baking dish. Arrange them side by side. Pour remaining 1 can of enchilada sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle the remaining cheese all over them. Bake 20 minutes or until all cheese is melted and they are hot!

Coconut Garam Masala Crab

2011-01-24T19:05:00.000-08:00

I love crab and I can eat them everyday if I want to! I'm always trying to find other ways to cook them. Tonight, I decided to prepare them using my Indian spices. This is another simple recipe that anyone can enjoy. I took pictures step by step so that you can easily follow the cooking instructions. Prepare to get your hands dirty! This is one messy delicious meal!

Ingredients and Preparation:
1-2 serving

1 large fresh dungeness crab cleaned, legs and body chopped
1 cup of coconut milk
1 tbs garam masala powder
1/2 tsp ground red chili pepper
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup of fresh basil leaves
6 cloves of fresh minced garlic
1 medium sliced yellow or white onion
3 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Pre-heat the wok and add the oil; when the oil is hot, add the garlic and fry until golden brown

Add the onion and stir fry for about 3 minutes until they are limp

Add the garam masala, stir and cook for about 1 minute

Add the cumin seeds, stir and cook for about 1 minute

Add the coconut milk

Stir well and cook for about 2 minutes

Add the crab pieces and coat well with the mixture

Add the basil leaves, stir, cover and cook in low heat to prevent from burning. Cook and let it steam by not removing the cover for about 25 minutes.

The crab is ready to be served with some hot steamed rice! Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies

2011-01-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned before in this blog, I don't have a sweet tooth but my husband and my kids are a big fan of anything baked sweets! I have been experimenting a lot lately with all kinds of ingredients to come up with a recipe that I can also enjoy. One night, my son asked me if I can bake some cookies for a change instead of a cake. My daughter arrived a few hours later and I asked her what kind of cookies she prefers. Her response was a question! "Have you ever heard of cookies with sweet potatoes?" My son heard that and said "EWWW! I hate sweet potatoes! Please just bake chocolate chip cookies." Then my husband made his own suggestion. He requested oatmeal cookies.

After a few minutes of listening to their request, I decided to search online and found exactly what they all want in one cookie! I showed them the recipe but they did not like the idea of combining the 3 main ingredients into one cookie. Well, I did not want to take a chance of wasting some of my ingredients and did not feel like making a trip to the store so I decided to make 2 types of cookies to please everyone. The classic chocolate chip and sweet potato oatmeal. I took some of the information from the recipe I found and made some substitution of the spices. I used allspice instead of ground cardamom and I added more ground cinnamon in place of nutmeg. I also omitted the chocolate chips and nuts but I doubled the amount of pureed sweet potato. I was quite surprise on the outcome of the sweet potato oatmeal concoction. The cookies are very moist! It's like a cake cookie. This is one cookie I can truly enjoy with the family. Try the recipe for yourself!

Ingredients and Preparation:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick cooking rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peel, cut in half and boil 2 large sweet potato. When they are soft enough to mash, take them out of the boiling water and mash in a bowl. Set aside and let cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until fully incorporated. Beat in the egg, followed by the sweet potato puree and vanilla extract. Working by hand or a large flat spatula, stir in the flour mixture, then mix in the oats thoroughly.

Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheet with parchment sheet. Bake for 15-18 min, until cookies are set. Let cool on sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container to enjoy later.

Mini Vanilla and Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce

2011-01-19T22:48:00.000-08:00

After watching Food Network all day, I felt inspired to bake something yummy again and surprise my husband and kids tonight. I saw a few recipe and noted them down but I was too lazy to go to the store and get the ingredients. I decided to check my pantry and grabbed what I have and searched for a recipe online that consist the ingredients in front of me. I found a simple recipe and I modified it a little by adding a few more ingredients in it. You really can't go wrong with chocolate chip morsels!!

Ingredients and Preparation:
6 Mini Bundt Cakes

- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chip morsels
- pinch of salt
- Caramel Sauce or Chocolate Syrup or other glaze

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the eggs and the sugar in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer on high speed for about 8 minutes or until it is fluffy and has volume. Slowly add the cream, salt and vanilla extract in the mixture. Finally, slowly add the flour. baking powder and the chocolate chips. Beat well until all ingredients are incorporated. Scoop the dough with a 1/3 cup measuring spoons and pour into the non stick mini bundt molding pan. Bake for 20 minutes. After they are cooked, let them cool before unmolding. When you are ready to serve them, unmold and glaze them with caramel sauce or with melted chocolate syrup or just top with fresh fruits and whipped cream. ENJOY!

Classic Lemon Bars

2011-01-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

We have 2 meyer lemon tree in the backyard. Sometimes I get overwhelm with them because they litter the yard. They bear fruits all year round so we always have lemon in the house. When I have more than enough in the house, I give some to the neighbors or take some to work. I also use them for cooking and the kids makes fresh lemonade whenever they feel like having one.

I'm a big fan of lemon cake, lemon cookies and lemon bars. I have been itching to make them from scratch with all the fresh lemons I have around but I never get around to it. I finally had the time and made these beautiful and delicious classic lemon bars. I found the simple recipe on foodgawker. I decided to blog it on my site because it is worth sharing!

Note: The most important part of this recipe is cooking time, all ovens and pans are different, so it's really hard to tell how long to cook something; the best thing I can do is to tell you what to look for. Make sure when you're only cooking the crust that you don't let it get too dark (it will take away from the flavor if it cooks too long) and if its undercooked, they'll be harder to keep intact, and they'll be more gooey than anything. Same thing goes for when you're cooking the bars with the filling; you want a golden color around the edges, nothing too dark, or they'll be too stiff, and if undercooked, too gooey.

Ingredients and Preparation: (20-25 bars)

Crust:

2 cups flour (sifted)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter (firm)

Topping:

2 cups sugar
2 lemons, juiced and rind grated
4 tablespoons of flour
4 eggs beaten
pince of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour and powdered sugar together in a big bowl. Mix in the butter in pieces and mash with hands thouroughly or use a blender if you have one. Do not over mix. Pat mixture into bottom of a greased 9x13x2 baking pan or a non-stick pan.

Bake for 25-30 mins until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.

To make topping mix flour and sugar, add to beaten eggs; add lemon juice and salt. Mix thoroughly. Pour topping over crust, return to oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Chicken Muamba/Apritada

2011-01-13T23:33:00.000-08:00

Chicken, chicken and chicken! We just can't have enough chicken to eat. There's so many chicken recipe and I always find myself cooking it adobo style, baked, broiled, tinola or jamaican jerk. Today, I defrosted about 10 pieces of chicken drum stick and I started searching for a simple recipe that I could experiment with. I found 2 that were interesting enough and I knew I had all the ingredients in my pantry. The first one was Chicken Asado/Apritada which is a Filipino dish and it reminded me that it was one of my favorite dish back home. The other one was Chicken Muamba which is an African dish (Angola/Congo) and it is very similar to the Filipino dish. The only difference is one vegetable ingredient. One has potatoes and one has okras. Well, I didn't have potatoes in my pantry but I had a bag of fresh okras and everything else. So, I decided to call it Muamba/Apritada! It is delicious and very satisfying. I almost ate 2 servings today!

Ingredients and Preparation
5 servings

10 pieces of chicken legs
1 14.5 ounces can dice tomatoes
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
4 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoon vinegar
1 medium onion chopped or slice very thin
6 cloves of galic chopped
3 dried bay leaves
1 lb fresh okra (ends removed)
6 tablespoon olive oil
salt and black pepper for seasoning

Heat the oven to 450 degrees

In a large frying pan, add olive oil and heat it up. Add the garlic and onion and sautee for about 3 minutes or until onion is limp

Add the chicken and mix with the onion thoroughly

Add the salt and pepper and season all over, cover and brown the chicken

When the chicken is brown and somewhat cook (about 10 minutes), transfer it in a baking pan

Add all the remaining ingredients - diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and bay leaves

Add the okra and cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour

Serve hot with steamed rice and enjoy!

Chipotle and Citrus Baby Back Ribs

2011-01-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

I had planned to bring ribs to a family gathering for new year celebration but we ended up not having it due to everyone's schedule. Well, I bought the ribs already so they ended up in the freezer. A few days later, I decided to marinate one slab and try a recipe that I was putting together in my head. The recipe turned out perfect and the ribs are absolutely tender, juicy and tasty. I have a feeling that this is going to be one recipe to be repeated every summer for gatherings.

Ingredients and Preparation
Servings 2

1 slab of baby back ribs (about 10-12 pieces of ribs)
1 fresh valencia orange
1 fresh lemon
1 tablespoon of Ground Chipotle Chili Pepper seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 cups of water
Sweet Banana sauce for dipping (Philippine Ketchup)

NOTE: Marinate meat overnight for better tasting

Drizzle the salt, black pepper and chipotle seasoning on both sides of the ribs. Cut the slab in 2 section (5-6 ribs each slab) and put inside a 1 gallon ziplock. Slice the valencia orange and lemon in half and squeeze the juice inside the ziplock covering all parts of the ribs. Close the bag tightly and shake it a bit. Open the bag again and release all the air and zip it tightly. Marinate in the fridge overnight or at least 6 hours.

READY FOR COOKING:

Set the oven to bake for 425 degrees. Arrange the ribs in a shallow baking pan and pour all the liquid from the bag in the pan. Add 2 cups of water. Seal and cover the pan with heavy duty foil and bake for 2 hours. It might seem long but this is slow steam cooking and it will give you off the bone tender licking good ribs!

Dip the ribs with sweet banana ketchup or your choice of barbeque sauce. I prefer the banana ketchup because it goes well with the chipotle seasoning spice. Sweet and Spicy = yummy!

Crab w/ Coconut Milk and Ghost Pepper

2011-01-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

There is an abundance of crab this season and I have had my share of this delicious crustacean. Crabs are my favorite shellfish. My grandfather on my father's side was a fisherman in the Philippines and I remember the days when he used to come home along with other local fishermen carrying their bounty. Fresh crabs, fish and shrimps every day!

I've had baby crabs, mud green crabs, blue crabs, alaskan crab and dungeness crabs. I think that my favorite is still the mud green crabs. They are very fatty and sweet. Most of the time, I will just boil the crab with salt and then eat them with steamed rice and dip the crab with vinegar. Lately, I have been experimenting on how to prepare my crabs to make them feel special and make my meal more tastier! I've been trying all types of peppers to come up with a spicy recipe. I'm so blessed to be living in the San Francisco bay area where you can find dungeness crab for as cheap as $2.99 a pound! I can totally eat these babies every day :)

Here is what I prepared today and I think it will be a great recipe to repeat on every crab season! I think that the Ghost Pepper made a difference because it is suppose to be the hottest pepper in the world! WHOA!!! My mouth was on fire but it was absolutely delicious with the coconut milk and thai basil.

Ingredients and Preparation:

Serves 1

1 Dungeness Crab Fresh or Pre-Cooked

1 Ghost pepper or 5 Sereno peppers (cut in half)

1/2 tablesoon ground black pepper

1 can of coconut milk

3 cloves of chopped garlic

3 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup of fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup water

Clean the crab well and chop it into pieces. Save the green and juicy stuff in the shell and set aside. If you don't like that part of the crab, toss it but I prefer to incorporate it because it will taste better with it.

Heat up your wok or large frying pan or pot and add vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and brown by stirring frequently. Then add the crab pieces and water and do a quick stir. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.

Uncover and add the coconut milk, basil, blackpepper and ghost pepper or your choice of hot pepper. Stir, cover and cook for about 15 mins in medium heat. Enjoy this dish with steamed rice.

Steamed Shrimps With Fresh Minced Garlic and Butter

2010-11-29T21:41:00.000-08:00

A group of us from work did a night shift at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco and served 875 dinner meals to the homeless. We served breaded fish, boiled red napa cabbage and rice. It only took about 2 1/2 hours to serve that many people! After serving, I was craving for some fish even tough I smelled like fish the entire night! I asked one of my co-workers if he wanted to stop by China town and have dinner with me and my daughter who happened to be just getting off school and was in the neighborhood. We chose to go to my favorite place in China town - R&G Lounge Restaurant. I used to go there 2-3x a week when I used to work at the financial district area. I let Roy picked from the menu and what he ordered was NOT ON THE MENU! This dish was one of them and I craved for it the past several days and I decided to prepare some to satisfy my cravings.

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimps with shell (10-12 count - medium to large size)

4 cloves of fresh minced garlic

2 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of water

Preparation:

Rinse the shrimps thorougly. Split the shrimps in half by cutting them from the back meat side. Make sure that your knife is really sharp otherwise, the shrimps will be mushed. Arrange the shrimps in a round pie platter or large plate. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste

In a small pan, melt the butter and stir the garlic in it for about 1 minute. Do not let the garlic turn brown. Turn off the heat.

Heat the wok or steamer and add water. Put a bowl upside down in the middle of the wok. Put the plate of shrimp on top of the upside down plate and make sure its evenly in the middle just to make sure that the plate is not submerged in the water. Sprinkle the melted butter and garlic all over the shrimps. Cover and steam for about 8 minutes or until the shrimps have turned bright pink. Enjoy with rice and a veggie side. Or serve as an appetizer.

Brussel Sprouts and Portabella Mushrooms

2010-11-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year, my family agreed that we do a potluck instead of me cooking the entire feast. I volunteered to prepare and bring the turkey and one side dish - Macaroni and Cheese. Of course, instead of cooking just those two, I decided to prepare an additional side dish and made it as the stuffing for the turkey too. It was quite delicious and was a hit. If you like brussel sprouts or would like to at least give this mini cabbage a chance, you must try this recipe.

Ingredients: Serves 4 as side dish

1 lb or 1 package of fresh brussel sprouts (cut in quarters)

2 large portabella mushrooms (diced)

4 cloves of fresh minced garlic

1 stick of butter or margarine

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp of red pepper flakes (optional)

1/4 cup water

Preparation:

In a hot pan and medium heat, melt butter and add garlic. Let garlic brown a little and then add sprouts and mushrooms. Stir well until butter and garlic is incorporated fully with the veggies. Add the water, salt, pepper and the red pepper flakes. Stir, cover and cook in medium heat until sprouts are tender but not mushy (about 8-10 mins). Stuff a bird with the veggies or eat as a side dish.

Thai Peanut Chicken

2010-10-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhhhh it has been a while since I cooked and blogged! I have been quite busy with a new job but now that everything is settling down and the transition is going well, I'm finding myself in the kitchen again! YEAH! My kitchen is going to get busy this holiday season.

While I was watching the SF Giants play the World Series, I took out 2 lbs of chicken breast and decided to prepare something different for dinner. Of course, I had to wait until the game is over so I can concentrate in the kitchen. Something new, spicy, different and it must be a type of dish I've never cooked before. I browsed online and saw a few interesting dish. One dish that caught my attention has peanut butter! I read all the ingredients and checked my what I have in the kitchen. Well, sure enough, I have everything!

Ingredients:

2 lbs breast diced chicken breast
3 tablespoons fresh garlic (minced)
1 ½ tablespoons fresh ginger (minced)
oil (for cooking)
1 red bell pepper (sliced)
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
3 cups of chopped cabbage

Sauce-
6 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to your taste)
1/2 cup water

Preparation:

To make the peanut sauce – In a bowl mix soy sauce, peanut butter. Add white wine vinegar, sesame oil, brown sugar and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.

In a large skillet heat oil. Add garlic, ginger and chicken. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside (about 5 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside. Add a tiny bit more oil to the pan and stir fry red bell peppers and green onions for about 2 minutes or until they have reached desired tenderness. Remove from pan and set aside.Over medium heat add the peanut sauce mixture to the pan. Heat while stirring constantly. When sauce mixture starts to bubble add ¼ cup of water and mix well to thin it out a bit. In a large serving dish add chicken, green onions, red bell pepper, and roasted peanuts. Add sauce and mix well. Serve with white rice.

Sisig

2010-08-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

I went to the Pistahan @ Yerba Buena Garden in San Francisco. A FANTASTIC FESTIVAL OF FILIPINO CULTURE AND CUISINE. It is the largest celebration of Filipino art, dance, music and food in the Bay Area. It is annually held on 2nd weekend of August. While I walked around the festival, I noticed many attendees eating Sisig. After walking a few more minutes, I noticed a taco truck with a long line outside waiting to order. My eyes got big when I saw the sign - Senor Sisig! I've heard of this food truck on the radio and read about it on a few food newspaper article/blog in the bay area. I walked towards it and checked out the menu. They serve the Sisig with nachos, in a taco and with fries! I was very surprised that they don't serve it with RICE!!! I didn't bother ordering any. I like my Sisig with rice.

I then walked over to the other food booths and 2 more vendors serves the Sisig and with rice. But, I still didn't buy any because I didn't want to pay $6.00 for a small portion of meat and rice. So when I was on my way home, I stopped by the store and bought ingredients for Sisig and decided to make my own! This is actually the first time that I have prepared this dish and I'm very happy with my own creation.

Ingedients:

6 pieces of Lean Pork Chop (no skin / 1/2 inch thick)

6 tablespoon of butter

5 green chili peppers (finely chopped)

1 large white onion (finely chopped)

3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

1/2 lemon

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white vinegar

salt and pepper for seasoning the meat

Preparation:

Heat a large frying pan and add and melt 4 tablespoon of butter. Season the meat with salt and pepper on both side. Pan fry the meat 3 at a time, about 3 minutes each side or until the meat is no longer pink inside. After the meat is done, put on a plate and let it cool. While the meat is cooling, finely chop the onion and pepper. Then, finely chop the meat. Turn the stove back on and melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the garlic and brown it for 1 minute. Add the chopped meat, vinegar and soy sauce, stir on high heat and cook for about 3 minutes. Turn off stove and add the chopped onion and chili pepper. Mix well and add the juice of the 1/2 lemon. Serve with hot steaming rice!

White Russian Cupcakes - For Adults Only!

2010-08-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

I have been watching too many cupcake shows on TV and it has inspired me to try and bake some of the new flavors I have seen and read either via the web from bloggers or via the food channel networks. Here is my first try of a new flavor that attracted me from a website. This is my husband's favorite cocktail drink. This is the first drink that he orders whenever we go out to have a drink.

I followed the recipe step by step except I doubled the Kahlua in the icing mixture. My husband loved them!!!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

18 1/4 ounces yellow cake mix
3 1/2 ounces vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 cup Kahlua, plus
2 teaspoons Kahlua, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Frosting

1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate, shavings

Directions

Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°F and line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Place cake mix, pudding mix, oil, milk, eggs, vodka, 1/4 cup Kahlua, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (Remove empty liners if you don't get the full 24 cupcakes). Bake until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, about 17-20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks. Cool for 5 minutes. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with remaining 2 tablespoons Kahlua. Remove cupcakes from pans. Place on wire rack to cool.

Frosting

Place a large, clean mixing bowl and electric mixer beaters int he freezer to chill for 1 minute. Remove the bowl and beaters from the freezer. Pour the heavy cream into the bowl and beat with electric mixer on high speed until the cream has thickened, 1 1/2 minutes. Stop the machine and add the sugar and 1 tablespoon Kahlua. Beat the cream on high speed until stiff peaks form, 1-2 more minutes. Place a heaping tablespoon of the whipped cream on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or spoon, taking care to cover tops completely. Garnish with chocolate shavings or powdered cocoa.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

2010-07-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

Until I started dating my husband about 4 years ago, I had no idea what red velvet cake was. I've never seen it in stores. He said that it's his most favorite cake in the world! So finally, I found one at one supermarket but he said it's still not the same taste like the way he's had it in the Midwest or the South. Fast forward to the final weeks of planning our wedding, we decided on having red velvet as our wedding cake. We found a good baker in San Leandro. I'm still not a fan of it. I think that it's too sweet especially when they top it with the cream cheese on top or sometimes with butter cream. I told my husband that one day, I'll try to make it for him.

Fast forward to 2010, I see red velvet on everything!! CAKE, CUPCAKE, ICE CREAM, COFFEE, ETC! It's like a war of red velvet! 2 weeks ago, the Gelato place near our house had red velvet gelato too! I didn't taste it but I bought it for my husband and he approved! Then I was reading one of the magazine that we brought back from Atlanta family reunion and I saw a recipe for a red velvet cheesecake. I love cheesecake and the recipe is simple enough for me to challenge my self to make it for my husband's birthday today!

You must try this recipe because it is DIVINE!!

Ingredients:

2 packages (8 ounces each) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate morsels, melted

1 tablespoon red food coloring

1 prepared chocolate crumb crust

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, beating on low speed just until blended. Transfer one cup of batter to a medium bowl; stir in melted chocolate and food coloring. Pour into prepared crust. Top with remaining plain cheesecake batter. Bake until center is almost set, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours. To serve, drizzle with your favorite fruit or chocolate topping. ENJOY!

Mongolian Beef

2010-07-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

We have community lunch twice a week for a team of employees working on a product at work. It's usually sandwiches, salad, taco bar or whatever is easier to order near the office for delivery. Today, I decided to order Chinese food from Chinatown in Oakland. They don't deliver so I had to pick it up. The food was a hit with the team since it's been a while since this type of food had been delivered to the office. Unless you go to Chinatown, there's really not that many Chinese restaurants near our building. One of the dish I ordered was Mongolian Beef. It was the first one to go so I wasn't able to try it. So I decided to cook it for dinner. I sent my son to go to the market around the corner to get one of the important ingredients - green onion!

Ingredients:

2 lbs sirloin steak (sliced thin and crosswise)

1/2 cup of corn starch

5 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 teaspoon of grated ginger

6 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1/2 cup of dark brown sugar

1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon of pepper flakes

1 cup of water

1 bundle of green onion (sliced thin)

Pat steak slices dry and add to a bowl with corn starch. Toss to ensure all pieces are coated. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large wok or non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger, stir until fragrant. Add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 3 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Turn the heat to high and add the remaining oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook until browned on all sides. Pour the sauce back into the wok and cook until the sauce reaches desired consistency. Add the green onions, stir and remove from heat. Serve with steamed rice.

Smoked Chipotle Pork Loin Sliders w/ Cantaloupe Slaw and Blue Cheese

2010-07-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Sliders are becoming very popular and it seems like every restaurant I go to has them in their appetizer menu. I've seen and read a variety of sliders in cook books and there's even some sliders truck at busy downtown areas serving people from the street. From salmon, pulled pork, oyster, beef ribs, turkey burger and so on. I've been itching to try to make some and after the church service today and a good word from our Pastor about food, my brain was working on a good recipe on the way home. This recipe is truly an MJ's original! It's a combination of spicy, sweet, sharp and salty.

Ingredients: (Serves 3)

9 mini wheat or regular buns

6 pieces thin sliced pork loin (cut in thin strips)

2 teaspoons of smoked chipotle powder seasoning

1/2 teaspoon of salt

6 tablespoons of butter

1/8 wedge cabbage (thinly sliced)

1 wedge of cantaloupe (thinly sliced)

3 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon of olive oil or vegetable oil

sweet and sour chili sauce (for dipping or added condiment)

Preparation:

Heat up a frying pan and melt the butter in slow heat to avoid burning. After the butter is melted, add the pork, salt and chipotle seasoning and stir fry for about 6 minutes in high heat or until meat is done to your liking. Over cooking the pork will make them chewy and dry. Set the pork aside when it's done. Mix the sliced cabbage, cantaloupe, balsamic vinegar, oil and blue cheese in a bowl. Arrange 3 mini bun on a plate and top each bottom half with about a tablespoon of the pork. Then top the pork with the cantaloupe slaw and drizzle a dollop of the sweet and sour chili sauce. Finish by putting the other half of the bun firmly on top of the mixture. Enjoy with a lemonade or your favorite beer!

Shitake Mushrooms and Long Beans Coconut Curry

2010-07-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

I was craving for some spicy curry this week after 5 days of eating soul food and fast food while we were in Atlanta for a family reunion. My taste palate is looking for something different. I looked at what I have in my fridge and was very surprised to see that most of the vegetables I bought before our trip are still fresh and looks good enough to make a good dish out of them. I decided on preparing a vegetarian dish with the curry.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of fresh Shitake mushrooms
1 1/2 lbs of long beans (cut in 2 inches length)
6 pieces of dried red hot chili peppers
6 cloves of fresh garlic (chopped)
15 pieces of fresh whole basil leaves
2 cups of coconut milk
6 teaspoon of vegetable oil
1 cup of water
6 teaspoon of fish sauce
2 teaspoon of yellow curry powder
1 teaspoon of galangal powder (optional)
1/2 fresh lemon or lime juice

Instructions:

Turn the heat to medium high with a large frying pan. Add the oil and the garlic. Brown the garlic.

Add the mushroom and saute with garlic for 2 minutes

Add the long beans and saute for 3 minutes

Add the basil leaves and saute for 2 minutes

Add the coconut milk and cook for 3 minutes or until the milk starts boiling

Add the curry powder, galangal powder, fish sauce, water and chili peppers. Stir well and cover. Cook for about 8-10 minutes until the long beans are done. Squeeze the 1/2 lemon or lime juice all over and serve with rice and enjoy!

Chicken Adobo

2010-07-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

I heard that there will be an Adobo Festival being held in Union City this weekend and it inspired me to cook my own version and decided to film it and share the cooking demonstration with my blog fans. I also shared some of the Adobo with some friends at Penelope Bar located near my job. They loved it!

Ingredients:

10 pieces of chicken legs (drumstick)

5 medium potatoes (cut in quarters)

2 teaspoon of whole black peppercorn

1 cup of white vinegar

1/2 cup of dark soy sauce

1 cup of water

4 bay leaves

8 pieces of fresh garlic (smashed with skin)

1 large yellow onion (sliced thin)

3 teaspoon of brown sugar
1/4 cup of vegetable oil

Watch the video for cooking demonstration!

Sauteed Jalapeno and Cheddar Smoked Sausage

2010-07-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here is another way to enjoy hot links off the grill. Less messy and less carb! Just enjoy it with salad for a healthier meal at the picnic!

Ingredients and Preparation:

1 package of Johnsonville Jalapeno/cheddar Smoked Sausage

1/2 medium yellow onion (slivered)

2 tbs butter

Slice the sausages 1/2 inch thick

Slice the onions thinly

Heat a medium saute pan and add and melt the butter. Toss in the onions and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the sausages, stir and cover. Cook for about 6 minutes. Serve with salad or over rice if you want your carbs :).

Pomegranate and Basil Prawns

2010-07-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July weekend! We had a great day and enjoyed the warm day in the Bay Area at Stinson Beach early in the day and ended up in Sausalito for the fireworks.

Since it's just 3 of us celebrating as a family, I decided to prepare the food ahead of time for our picnic lunch instead of carrying a portable grill with us. This way, it will be easy, convenient and not too messy and we can enjoy the day relaxing and not grilling. Here is one dish I prepared.

Ingredients and Preparation:

1 1/2 lbs jumbo prawns (peel and rinse well) (fresh or previously frozen)

10 fresh basil leaves

2 tbs of butter

pinch of ground black pepper

1 tbs of pomegranate molasses

Heat a wok or medium saute pan and add and melt the butter but don't let it burn. As soon as the butter melted, add the prawns and toss with butter and cook for about 3 minutes in high heat while tossing (or stirring). Add the basil, black pepper and molasses. Stir well and cook for another 3 minutes in medium heat. Serve with steam rice or if bringing for a picnic to eat later, let the prawns cool before packing for travel.

Crustacean Inspired Garlic Noodles

2010-07-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here is another Crustacean inspired recipe for Garlic noodles. I found this recipe on one of the blogs I follow on Facebook - Rasa Malaysia. I've always wanted to try this recipe but I'm more a rice person than noodles. Since I'm cooking the roasted crab, the only way to savor it is with garlic noodles. At least, that's how they serve it at most Asian restaurants. A serving of garlic noodle at Crustacean is about $11.00. If you already have the ingredients in this recipe, it will cost you just between .99 cents to $1.50 for a pound of fresh homemade noodles at the Asian market!!

Ingredients and Preparation:

1 lb fresh noodles
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic (pounded)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
2 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce

Rinse the noodles with cold water and set aside. Heat up a pot of water and let it boil. Boil the noodles in the hot water until they are done, drain the water, and set aside to cool down the noodles.

In a pan, saute the garlic with the olive oil in medium heat. The purpose is to infuse the olive oil with garlicky flavor.

Take out the garlic and set aside for garnish later and then add in 4 tablespoons of butter and turn the heat to low.

Add in the chicken bouillon powder, garlic powder, oyster sauce and blend well.

Set aside to let it cool.

Once the garlic mixture is cool and the noodles are cool at room temperature, pour the garlic mixture over the noodles and toss them together to blend well. Sprinkle the garlic you put aside for some crunchiness and more garlic flavor.

Roasted Crab with Peppercorn and Garlic

2010-07-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

Crab season is almost over and I haven't had a chance to cook any. It's also been a few months since I blogged a recipe that I tried. Well, I have a darn good excuse....BEEN QUITE BUSY with travel and events and its just the beginning of summer. I found myself itching to blog for the past 2 days so I decided to visit the market and see what I can cook.

I stopped by my regular Asian market and my eyes got big when I saw that the live Dungeness crabs are on sale!! I started salivating and thought about the recipe I received from a colleague that she found from a blogger chef on Facebook and it turns out that I am also a follower of this blogger. I must say that this is my first time roasting crabs and the outcome is scrumptious!!

Ingredients and Preparation: (2 servings)

2 Dungeness Crab (about 4 lbs)

2 stick unsalted butter

8 cloves garlic (chopped coarsely)

4 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder

4 teaspoons black peppercorn (cracked using a mortar and pestle)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Clean and chop the crab into halves or in quarters

Heat up the butter in a wok (between medium to low heat)

and saute the garlic until aromatic, but not brown

Add in the black peppercorn, chicken bouillon powder

and then add in the crab and stir well. Add in the sugar and cook the crab until half done

Dish out the crab into a deep baking pan and bake it in the oven at 375 degree F for 30 minutes

Serve hot with garlic noodles

Spicy Sambal Long Beans with Roasted Peanuts

2010-05-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

This recipe is quick and an easy side vegetable for many Asian themed meals. Long beans are also known as “Chinese Long Beans” and “Yard Long Beans”. They can grow up to 3 feet long, but you'll see them sold at most Asian stores between 12 and 18 inches in length. If you live in the Bay Area, you'll even find them at Safeway, Luckys or even at the Farmer's Market. They usually sell them in 1 lb bundles. Long beans taste a lot like green beans but they are flexible and thinner and LONGER! Cook them very quickly because when they are over cooked they can get mushy. I like mine with a little crunchiness!

Ingredients: (4 servings)

2 lbs long beans (trim both ends and cut in half)

3 Tbsp canola oil

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
1 onion sliced
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp fermented black bean paste
6 Tbsp water
2 tsp sambal chili sauce
2 Tbsp roasted peanutes
juice from 1 large lemon

Heat a wok or large skillet, and add the oil. Toss in the garlic, onion and ginger. Quickly stir fry for about 1 minute.

Add the beans to the pan and stir-fry them for 1 minute.

Add the black bean paste, sambal chili sauce and the water and cook for 2 minutes.

Stir, cover and cook for 1 minute.

Add the peanuts and the lemon juice and stir. Serve immediately with steamed rice and your favorite meat or fish dish or just eat as it is with a cold beverage!

Garlic Sauteed Chinese Mustard Greens

2010-05-21T21:43:00.000-07:00

Yay! Summer is here and that means more variety of vegetables and fruits will be in the market. I stopped by the farmers market today in Oakland and I bought several types of Asian vegetables. It's going to be veggie galore in my kitchen for a few days! Here is one dish I've been craving to make all day.

Ingredients: (1 serving)

1/2 lb of young Chinese mustard greens

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

6 dried red Thai chili pepper

3 teaspoon of sesame oil

1 teaspoon of rice vinegar

1 tablespoon of low salt soy sauce

Heat a wok or large frying pan in high heat and add oil. Add the garlic and stir until its aromatic and lightly brown. Add the chili pepper and stir for 1 minute then toss in the mustard greens, the rice vinegar and the soy sauce and saute for 2 minutes or until they are tender. Serve immediately with rice and your favorite meat.

Tandoori Flatbread Japanese Mushroom Pizza

2010-05-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not a pizza lover but if the crust is thin enough and crunchy, then I will eat it. Lately, I've been seeing flat bread pizza being served at restaurants as an appetizer. Flat breads when baked can become crunchy so now, when I crave for pizza, I always look for a place with flat breads! I recently came across a recipe that sounded simple enough and I knew that I will try to make it my own. The outcome is one very healthy yummy pizza!!

Ingredients:

3 Tandoori Flat Bread (Indian Naan)

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 large white onion

3 tablespoon pesto sauce

1 cup feta cheese

150g brown Beech mushrooms

150g white Beech mushrooms

3 tablespoon of mint chutney

Preparation:

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, when hot, add the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and the onions, and saute until slightly soft, about 2 minutes.

On the flatbread, spread the basil pesto, avoiding the outer one inch edge.

Top the flat bread with the feta cheese

Add the mushroom and onion mixture

Set the oven for 400 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the flatbread is toasted. Sprinkle with the mint chutney. Serve hot!

Chicken Tikka Masala

2010-05-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to visit one of the biggest Indian grocery story in the Bay Area - Bharat Bazaar in Fremont. It's about a mile from my house. I've heard that it's really big and they were right! I spent about 1 1/2 hour slowly walking through the aisles to make sure I don't miss an item to check out. I came out with more spices and some raw rotis, chapatis and naans and some Indian snacks. This week, I decided to try and cook more Indian dishes so I did my research on a few recipes I've been eyeing on. The first one is Chicken Tikka Masala. I borrowed the recipe from another blogger who adapted it from Cook's Illustrated Magazine September/2007 Issue. I did make a few substitution because I didn't have some of the ingredients.

For the chicken tikka:
1/2        tsp ground cumin (I USED 2 TEASPOON WHOLE SEED CUMIN)
1/2        tsp ground coriander
1/4        tsp cayenne pepper (I USED POWDERED RED CHILI PEPPER)
1           tsp salt
2           lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat*
1           cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2           Tbsp vegetable oil
2           medium garlic cloves, minced (about 2tsp)
1           Tbsp grated fresh ginger

For the masala sauce:
3           Tbsp vegetable oil
1           medium onion, diced fine (about 1 1/4cup)
2           medium garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tsp)
2           tsp grated fresh ginger
1           fresh serrano chili, ribs and seeds removed if you cannot take the heat
             (I OMITTED THIS INGREDIENT)
1           Tbsp tomato paste
1           Tbsp garam masala (I USED 2 TBSP TO ACCOMMMODATE THE SERRANO CHILI I DIDN’T HAVE)
1           can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes (I USED 2 BIG ROMA TOMATOES AND MINCED THEM)
2           tsp sugar
1/2        tsp salt
2/3        cup heavy cream (I USED REGULAR MILK)
1/4        cup cilantro leaves, chopped (I OMITTED THIS)

Directions:

Cut up the chicken in cubes. Mix cumin, coriander, cayenne yogurt, oil, garlic, ginger and salt in a small bowl. Marinate the chicken with the mixture and refrigerate for 30 to 60 mins or longer.

Make the sauce: Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, stir occasionally and cook until light golden, 6 to 8 mins.

Add garlic, ginger, and garam masala to the mixture, stir frequently, until fragrant for about 3 mins.

Add chile tomato paste minced tomatoes, sugar and salt, bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15mins, stirring occasionally.

Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

Broil the chicken: While sauce simmers, adjust over rack to upper middle position (about 6" from heating element) and heat broiler. Put a foil baking sheet in a deep pan. Spread chicken in the pan. Broil chicken for 10 to 15mins. Flip chicken half way through cooking time. Chicken is done when it reaches about 160F and is slightly charred.

Let chicken rest for 5 mins and then stir into warm sauce. Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve with basmati rice or naan/roti.

Bhindi Masala (Okra Masala)

2010-04-12T22:15:00.000-07:00

I've been craving for some okra since I started seeing the abundance of harvest at the Farmer's market and also at some local produce market. I finally bought some and the first dish I had in mine to prepare them was Indian style dish. This recipe was forwarded to me by a colleague and she said I should try it myself. I made a few substitution but still turned out quite tasty.

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh okra

4 tomatoes

1 large yellow onion

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 teaspoon powder coriander

1 teaspoon chile powder

4 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon ginger

8 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 bay leaves

5 cloves

salt and pepper to taste

Slice the okra in small rounds as shown. Dice the onion and the tomatoes. Minced the garlic. Heat a large frying pan and add 4 tablespoon of oil. Add the okra and fried for about 5 minutes. Take out of the pan and set aside. Add the remaining 4 tablespoon of oil and add the bay leaves and cloves and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the onion and the garlic and cook until brown. Add the Garam masala, coriander, chile powder and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir with the cooked spice, cover and cooked for about 3 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft but not mushy. Add the okra and stir slowly and cook for another 2 minutes then its done! Remove from pan and serve hot with rice or naan.

Chipotle Pork Chop with Mango and Avocado Salsa

2010-04-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

Mangoes are everywhere. It must be getting close to summer! Mangoes are one of my favorite summer fruits. Especially the skinny ones - Champagne Mango or Manila Mango. They are super sweet when they are ripe. I just bought a whole box today because I was thinking of making salsa to go with the pork chop I thawed out before heading out to church. Salsa is always best when served fresh!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of lean pork chop (1/2 inch thick - about 8 pieces)

4 teaspoon Chipotle Chili seasoning

4 tablespoon butter

1 avocado (scoop out and chopped)

1 Roma tomato (chopped)

2 medium size ripe mango (champagne or manila mango)

salt and pepper to taste

Rub the Chipotle Chili seasoning on both side of the meat. Heat a large frying pan and add 2 teaspoon of butter in medium heat. Add about 4-5 pieces of the pork chop and fry each side for 3 minutes. Do the same for the remaining pork chops. Set aside on a large plate when all chops are done.

Peel the mangoes and slice both sides and chop. Put in a deep bowl. Chop the tomato and add in the bowl with mango. Cut the avocado, discard the seed and scoop out the meat and chop. Add in the bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and fold slowly to avoid mushing the avocado.

Arrange the pork chop as shown or serve individually with a few scoop of the salsa. Serve with your favorite veggies and rice.

B.A.B.B. Omelet (Bacon, Avocado, Basil & Blue Cheese)

2010-04-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to sleep late today but that didn't happen! I was awaken too many times by kids, calls and door bell ringing! I got up and all I can think about was making something filling for breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 tablespoon crumbled blue cheese

1/2 diced fresh avocado

2 pieces of bacon

1 sprig of fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon butter

Diced bacon and cook until crispy in frying pan. Remove bacon and set aside and discard the oil fat. Wash or wipe the frying pan and put back on the stove in medium heat. Melt the butter in the pan. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl and immediately pour in the pan. As the eggs begin to settle, use a spatula/ wooden spoon, push the eggs towards the center while tilting the pan to distribute runny parts. Continue this motion until eggs stop flowing. Start adding the bacon, basil, avocado and blue cheese on one side of the egg. Leave to cook until the edges/bottom is browned. Fold omelette into half and serve!

Chicken, Baby Portabella and Bokchoy with Oyster Sauce

2010-04-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

Instead of ordering bar food after a few drinks today after work, I decided to wait until I get home to have a bite to eat. The bar's food is not that bad but its just not enough to fill my hunger. I was craving for some real food from my own kitchen!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of cubed chicken breast

1 1/2 lbs of bokchoy with bottoms trimmed

1/2 lb of baby portabella mushrooms cut in halves

1/2 yellow onion diced

4 garlic gloves and minced

6 tbs of sesame oil

4 tablespoon of oyster sauce

3 tablespoon of hoisin sauce

1/4 cups of water

1 tablespoon corn starch

Heat a large frying pan or wok with the sesame oil. Add the garlic and brown. Add the onion, stir and cook for about 1 minute. Add the chicken, stir well, cover and cook for about 6 minutes in medium heat. Uncover and add the mushrooms, bokchoy, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and stir well. Cover and cook for about 3-4 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the water and the corn starch and add in the pan. Stir well and cook for another 5 minutes in low heat then its done! ENJOY!

Broccoli with Curry Masala and Mustard Seeds

2010-04-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I visited Betel Nut restaurant with my daughter and we ordered a few appetizer and some entrees. One of the appetizer was Curried Cauliflower with mustard seeds. She loved it and said " Mom, you can totally make this at home!"

On our way home today, she asked me what I had planned to cook for dinner. I told her I'll know when we get home. I did my usual fridge check and took out chicken breast and 2 heads of broccoli. I told her I'll make chicken with broccoli and oyster sauce. Her response - "how about making that curry veggie appetizer we had with mustard seeds?"

So here is that request!

Ingredients:

2 small broccoli head chopped like thin slices flowerettes and rinsed

4 teaspoon sesame oil

3 teaspoon yellow curry masala

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Heat frying pan or work with sesame oil. Add the broccoli, stir thoroughly and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, cover and cook for about 6 minutes or until the broccoli is tender but not mushy. I like mine with a little crunch! Enjoy with your favorite meat and rice.

Eggplant with Crab Paste and Soya Bean Oil

2010-04-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

I didn't plan to cook tonight because I was feeling lazy all day. I brought my kids pizza and there was a piece of steak left over from yesterday's Easter lunch that my husband can eat. As soon as I got home and saw my kitchen, I suddenly felt an energy shooting up my spine! I changed clothes and sat for a minute. I realized I didn't want pizza anyway so I opened the fridge and the eggplants I bought the other day were shining through the plastic wrap. Here is what I cooked for me!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of Indian Eggplants (small round ones) substitute w/ other kind of eggplant if not available

4 tablespoon of sesame oil

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoon of Crab Paste with Soya bean oil

Cut up the eggplant in quarters and rinse. Heat a medium frying pan or wok with sesame oil. Add the minced garlic and brown a little. Immediately add the eggplant and stir the oil and garlic all over then add the water. Lower heat, cover and cook until the eggplant are tender but not mushy. Add the crab paste, stir, cover and cook for another 5 minutes in low heat and it's done! Enjoy with fresh steamed rice.

Bahamian Style Whole Broiled Red Snapper

2010-04-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

The first Snapper I cooked for lunch today was a hit but it only fed 3 people. My husband had a bite of mine. He didn't mind not having any since he just ate the left over food from last night. I told him I will make it up to him but I really didn't want to cook the second Snapper the same. My husband is half Jamaican and so I thought I'll prepare the fish adapting a recipe from the islands. This recipe was adapted from the cook book Taming the Flame and I made some substitution so I can use some of my own spices and I broiled instead of grilling because I do not own a grill - YET! I'm sure one of these days, I will make a stop at a store a get one! Summer time is just around the corner and I know it's going to happen.

Ingredients:

1 whole Red Snapper (about 2 lbs) scaled, cleaned and rinsed well

1 teaspoon red chile flakes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Celery Salt
Black ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed and thinly sliced
2 lemons, sliced in rounds
6 green onions cut lengthwise about 2 inches
1 lemon, cut into wedges for garnish

Turn the oven to broil. Put the chile flakes and oil in a small saucepan. Slowly heat the oil until the chile flakes begin to change color athen turn it off and set aside.With a sharp knife, cut 2 to 3 diagonal slashes on both sides of the fish. This will hold the garlic and lemons and help to evenly cook the fish. Place the slices of garlic and lemon in each of the diagonal cuts. Put the garlic in first and then the lemon slices, letting some of the lemon "peek" out from the slit. Sprinkle the celery salt and black pepper inside the cavity of the fish and on both sides. Then stuff the cavity with green onions. Grease a deep baking pan and carefully place the fish in the center. Slowly pour the pepper oil with a spoon on each side of the fish. Broil each side for 20 minutes. After one side is cooked for 20 mins, carefully turn the fish and broil for another 20 minutes. Serve with rice and favorite vegetables.

Here is what it looks like before broiling.

Steamed Red Snapper w/ Laksa Paste Sauce

2010-04-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

Today, I woke up and was inspired by another food blogger Rasa Malaysia. Her recipes are quite easy and the food looks really good on the photos. She cooks a variety of Asian food which is one of my main goal when I started my food blog - COOK A VARIETY OF FOOD! Living in the Bay Area, I have learned to enjoy and appreciate all the different types of food. It is one of the most diverse part of California. So my blog will not just be about Asian food recipes, it will be food recipes from around the world! Rasa's FB status caught my attention and directed me to her main blog. Seafood got stuck in my head!

After I got up and dropped off my daughter at the train station to go to work, I decided to visit my favorite Asian store and bought a variety of fish, meat, vegetables, beans and paste. I bought so much stuff I couldn't decide what to cook first! After putting away all the groceries, I decided to cook one of the red snapper while it's still fresh.

I have a Burmese friend who used to tell me that it's really easy steaming fish. All you need is a wok, a plate and boiling water. I thought, well, why not do that! I have always wanted to try it myself so this will be my first time steaming a fish. I took out my wok that I haven't use in a while. Then I searched online for a good recipe. Most of the recipes I found were indeed quite simple but none of them got me excited enough to borrow. So I have decided once again to make my own recipe for the sauce.

After a successful first try of the steamed fish, I know I'm going to cook my fish this way more often than having it fried or baking it. The sauce I made is intensely delish!

Ingredients:

1 whole fresh red snapper (about 2 lbs and already cleaned from the fish market)

1 medium size yellow onion diced

1/2 bunch of green onions chopped

2 inch size fresh ginger and thinly sliced

2 tablespoon Laksa paste

2 tablespoon Chili Garlic Sauce

6 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 lemon

2 tablespoon rice vinegar

6 tablespoon liquid from steamed fish

Instructions:

Boil about 5 inches of water in the wok and add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. In the meantime, rinse the fish thoroughly and pat dry. Stuff the fish cavity with 1/4 of the chopped onion, 1/4 of green onions and 1/4 of the ginger. Make two diagonal cuts along the body of the fish (the fleshy part) on both sides.

Put the fish on a large plate and place it on the wire stand in the wok with the water boiling. cover and steam on high heat for about 25 minutes – the water in the steamer should be boiling before the fish goes in, and the duration stated for steaming should start only from that moment.

Note: The bigger the fish, the longer it takes . Do not over-steam as the meat will become tough.

Sauce:

In a frying pan, heat the rest of sesame oil. Add the remaining ginger and the yellow onion and cook until fragrant. Add the remaining green onions, the laksa paste, garlic chile sauce, half of the lemon juice, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Stir all together and cook for about 5 minutes in medium heat then turn off and leave in the pan.

When the fish is done, take out from the wok slowly as the plate will be very hot. Scoop out 6 tablespoon of the liquid from the plate and add it to the sauce in the pan. Turn the stove back on low and stir the liquid with the sauce and cook for about 2 minutes.

Arrange the steamed fish on a large serving plate and pour the sauce all over the fish. Squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon all over the fish. Serve right away with steamed rice. ENJOY!

Broiled Mango and Bavarian Seasoning Chicken Thighs

2010-03-31T23:19:00.000-07:00

My daughter said she is tired of eating chicken and that I should cook fish for dinner tonight. I told her that we will have to stop by the supermarket to get fish because I am pretty sure I don't have any in the freezer. She said she is tired and just want to go straight home, eat and sleep. She said if it's going to be chicken, then it will have to be Chinese style orange chicken breast. I knew for sure that I will not be able to cook that either because there are only thighs and drumsticks in the freezer. So I started searching for a recipe online used by fellow chefs and resulted in Broiled Mango and Bavarian Chicken Thighs.

The recipe was originally developed by my idol chef - Bobby Flay. I modified several important details from his recipe. I substituted mango juice instead of tangerine juice and broiled the chicken rather than grilling it as I don't own a grill - YET! I also used the Penzeys Bavarian Seasoning and Shallot Pepper seasoning that I recently bought to substitute the thyme and pepper in his recipe and I used honey instead of maple syrup. The outcome was unbelievably delicious! It was sweet and spicy.

Ingredients:

12 pieces of chicken thighs

vegetable oil spray

1 tablespoon salt

3 cups of mango nectar juice

2 teaspoons Shallot and Pepper seasoning

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

6 tablespoon Bavarian Seasoning (crushed brown mustard, rosemary, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, sage)

Set the oven on broil. Spray a deep baking pan with the vegetable oil spray. Mix the salt and Bavarian seasoning and rub all over the chicken. Arrange the chicken in the baking pan and broil for 30 minutes (15 minutes each side) or until the chicken is done. Make sure to check every 5 minutes to make sure its not burning the skin. Flip the chicken if broiler is on high heat. In the meantime, in a deep small pot, mix and boil the mango juice and the shallot pepper seasoning. Cook for about 15 minutes or until reduced to 1 cup. Add the honey, soy sauce and continue to boil for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour all over the chicken. Enjoy with your favorite side.

Pesto Turkey Lasagna

2010-03-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I were driving home from work and I asked her what I should cook for dinner. She said something creamy because she drank milk all day while doing the 'Got Milk' campaign. She did not want anything that has too much spice in it. I started thinking what I could possibly have in my pantry and my freezer that I can cook to avoid stopping by the supermarket. We were a few exit away from our house when I suddenly thought of some items I already have and I told her I will make lasagna for dinner. Here is what I made. This is my own recipe that I just put together tonight using all the ingredients I currently have.

Ingredients:

Servings 8-10
1 box of 16 ounces lasagna
2 pounds ground turkey
4 cups of mixed grated cheese (mexican blend)
1 cup of pesto sauce (store bought)
6 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 large onion (diced)
6 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon shallot and pepper seasoning (substitute with lemon pepper seasoning if its not available)

Bechamel Sauce Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
5 tbsp flour
4 cups milk

Boil 4 quarts of water and cook lasagna noodles as instructed on the box. Turn on the oven and set for 350 degrees. Heat a medium frying pan and add olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and stir until brown. Add the turkey meat, pepper seasoning, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the stove and set aside.
In the meantime, in a deeper pot melt the butter and add the flour. Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly. Add the milk, whisking to avoid lumps. Cook for a few minutes, until it starts bubbling and thickens. Turn off heat and set aside.

Grease a baking dish with the pesto

arrange 1/4 of the pasta sheets to cover the bottom. Add a layer of pesto on top of the noodles

Add bechamel sauce on top of the layer

Add a layer (1/3) of meat (spread evenly)

then 1/4 of the grated cheese. Add one more layer of everything and finish with pasta covered with bechamel and cheese

Bake for 35 minutes or until golden and bubbling

Asian Ground Beef on Lettuce Boat

2010-03-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

It's one of those nights again when I have no clue what to cook! I have so many spices I would like to use and so many recipe in my head I would like to try. I checked my freezer to see what meat I have and I decided to take out the ground beef. I looked online to get an idea on how to prepare my meat of choice for dinner. I checked out my favorite site for recipes - Foodgawker. I came across Asian Beef Lettuce Wrap recipe. I love lettuce wraps!! This recipe has ground beef which made me try it but I also made a few substitution to make it my own.

Ingredients:

1 head romaine lettuce and cut off about 3 inches from the bottom

2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

4 tablespoon sesame oil

1 large onion diced
4 cloves fresh garlic minced
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon chile sauce (optional)
1 cup diced cauliflower (or 1 cup of diced water chestnut)
1/2 cup of yellow/red/orange baby sweet peppers chopped

Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not to tear them. Set aside.

In a large skillet over high heat, brown the garlic and onion with 2 tablespoon sesame oil. Add the ground beef, stir with the garlic and onion and brown thoroughly then reduce the heat to medium. Add the basil and cook for about 2 minutes or until its wilted. Drain any excessive fat of oil if necessary. Stirring frequently, add the remaining sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar and chile sauce. Add the cauliflower, stir, cover and cook for about 5 minutes in medium heat.

Arrange romaine lettuce on a plate and pile mixture on it. Serve each person with 4 pieces of lettuce and let them spoon portions of the meat into the leaf. Eat them like a taco and enjoy!

Szechuan Eggplant and Basil

2010-03-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetable. They come in different sizes and shape! I bought a pack from my regular asian market and have been trying to figure out how to cook them besides frying, baking or boiling. That was the only way I have cooked them in the past. Now that I discovered hundreds of spices from around the world, I thought it's time for me to make my eggplant a bit more exotic and flavorful!

Ingredients:

8 small size Indian eggplant or Thai Eggplant (about 1 1/2 lbs) cut into quarters
6 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoon red chile pepper
2 teaspoon szechuan seasoning**
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 cup of water
1 cup of fresh basil leaves

Rinse the eggplant with cold water and pat dry. With a large, sharp knife cut off its stem end. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into quarters. Heat the saute pan with the oil. Add the garlic and stir until medium brown. Add the basil and cook for 1 minute. Add the eggplant and stir for about 1 minute then add the red chile pepper and the szechuan seasoning. Stir for another minute in high heat. Add the water, stir, cover and simmer in medium heat for 10 minutes or until the eggplant are soft and the liquid evaporated. The dish is done and enjoy with steamed rice.

**Szechuan Pepper and Salt by Penzeys Spices
- Coarse Flake Salt and Szechuan Peppercorns - the peppercorns are roasted and ground with flake salt to a fine powder.

Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower and Potatoes)

2010-03-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

Here is one of my favorite Indian dish that is easy to make as long as you have all the spices in your pantry. Aloo Gobi is a Punjabi classic made with potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (gobi). I enjoyed making this dish from scratch with the simple recipe I borrowed from No Recipes with a few minor substitution.

Ingredients:

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp whole cloves

4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 tsp of ginger powder

1 medium onion minced

1 tsp of chili powder

2 tsp garam masala1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp salt

2 tsp honey

1 cup of water

3 gold potatoes cut into 1/2" cubes

1 medium head cauliflower florets cut up

1/2 cup green peas

1 tbs lemon juice

cilantro hand torn for garnish

Heat heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until very hot and add the oil. Add the mustard seeds, cumin and cloves and stir until the spices begin to crackle. Add the ginger and garlic and fry until fragrant then add the onion. Fry this mixture until the onions are soft and just starting to turn brown, then add the chili, garam masala, turmeric, salt, honey, water and potatoes.

Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes, add the cauliflower and cook until everything is tender, another 30-40 minutes. Add the lemon juice and peas at the very end and serve the Aloo Gobi garnished with cilantro alongside some basmati rice or naan flat bread.

Garam Masala Chicken

2010-03-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

I received a big bag of Indian Spices as a housewarming gift from our good friends, Sammy and Lauren. I couldn't wait to try and cook my favorite Indian dishes from scratch!!! Here is my first try which turned out pretty good. I found a very basic recipe online and made a few changes but it was still very good.

1 lb breast of chicken chopped in cubes

1 large onion sliced thin

2 large tomatoes diced

2 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

1 tablespoon ginger powder

2 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoon garam masala powder

5 teaspoon vegetable oil

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions till golden brown. Add the tomatoes, garlic and ginger and fry for about 5 minutes. Now add all the other spices and mix well. Add the chicken and cook until brown in medium heat to avoid burning. Add 1 1/2 cup of hot water to the chicken, simmer and cover. Cook till the chicken is tender. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with Naans (Indian flatbread) or plain boiled rice. Enjoy!

Crab and Lobster Ravioli w/ Tomato, Basil and Caper Sauce

2010-03-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

I found these raviolis at Costco and they are divine! The raviolis has real crab and lobster meat! I made my own sauce and paired it with some Reisling.

4 lbs Crab and Lobster Ravioli (from Costco) (6 servings)

6 large tomatoes diced

2 cups fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoon capers

6 cloves garlic minced

2 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

4 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the raviolis as directed on the package. Heat the frying pan and add the olive oil. Toss the garlic and capers in the heated oil and stir for about 1 minute in medium heat. Add the basil, tomatoes, italian seasoning, salt and pepper and sugar (optional only if tomatoes aren't sweet enough). Stir and simmer for about 5 minutes covered in medium heat. Arrange the raviolis on a large plate (about 6 pieces each plate) and pour some of the sauce on top. Enjoy!

Pork Loin and Asparagus with Black Bean Sauce

2010-03-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Asparagus were on sale at Safeway and I couldn't help myself and bought more than what I needed for one dish. Here is what I cooked with the second batch 2 days later.

Ingredients:

1 lb pork loin cut in cubes

1 bunch of fresh asparagus cut up (about 10 stalks) (discard about 2 inches from the bottom)

1 cup fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoon black bean sauce

6 garlic cloves chopped

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon corn starch

3 tablespoon sesame oil

Heat frying pan and add sesame oil. After a few seconds, add the garlic and brown. Add the pork loin, stir and cook for about 5 minutes or until tender. Add the asparagus, black bean sauce, hoisin sauce and the basil leaves. Stir all ingredients and cook for about 3 minutes in medium heat. While its simmering, combine the water and corn starch in a bowl and add in the pan and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes in slow heat until the sauce thickens then its done!

Shitake, Basil and Blue Cheese Omelet

2010-02-28T23:59:00.000-08:00

I am always thinking of food! Always thinking what to cook for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I always check the fridge the night before so that when I wake up in the morning, I'll just go straight to the kitchen and do what I'm passionate about....COOKING!! Last night, I thought of cooking omelet for Sunday breakfast but I didn't bother to check out the fridge. I knew I have some ingredients I could use and I must say that I made a very delicious omelet! I wanted seconds :)

Ingredients: (1 serving)
2 eggs
2 fresh large button mushrooms - chopped
2 fresh large shitake mushrooms - chopped
1 clove garlic - chopped
1/2 shallot - chopped (optional)
2 tsp crumbled blue cheese
5 fresh basil leaves
pinch of ground black pepper
3 tsp of butter

Heat a frying pan in medium heat and add 2 teaspoons of butter. Add the garlic and shallot, stir until brown then add the mushrooms and basil. Cook for 2 minutes then take out from pan and set aside. Whisk the 2 eggs in a bowl. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of butter in the pan and pour the eggs until it forms into a round wrapper. Cook for about 1 minute in medium heat and then add the cooked mushroom mixture one one side of the egg. Add the blue cheese and fold the egg, flip and cook for another 1 minute. Add a pinch of ground black pepper and serve warm. I like mine with hot sauce!

Orange Zest Pancakes

2010-02-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

We recently had a flapjack Friday at the office and it inspired me to make a hearty breakfast for the family today before heading to an all day track meet event for Dexter's school. This is a mixed recipe of Aunt Jemima and MJ! Well, I realized I am out of flour but I found a box of Aunt Jemima pancake mix. I just picked some oranges from the backyard and I added some orange zest to the batter mixture and the pancakes were absolutely delicious with fresh slices of orange. Just add your favorite syrup!

Ingredients:

2 cups of Aunt Jemima pancake mix

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups of milk

2 tbs vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon of orange zest

melted butter or vegetable oil spray for cooking

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and whip for about a minute. Do not over whip the batter or you'll have hard pancakes. It's okay if you see clumps in the batter. Heat a lightly buttered skillet on medium heat. With a small ladle or large spoon, scoop the batter onto the pan (about 4 inches diameter), and heat until the top begins to bubble or until you can flip the pancake without making a mess. Heat the other side until golden brown. Repeat Step 3 until the batter is used up.

Stir Fried Scallops with Asparagus

2010-02-25T22:03:00.000-08:00

Asparagus is extremely popular among Asian dishes. The combination of garlic, chili sauce, ground black pepper and lemon zest gives this dish its spiciness. You can substitute the scallops with shrimp or other firm fish.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons sesame oil

2 bunches of asparagus, cut into 2 inch lengths

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 pound baby scallops

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon coarsely black pepper

1/2 teaspoon chili sauce

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

Preparations:

Heat half the oil in a wok or large fying pan. Add the garlic and stir until brown.

Add the asparagus and stir-fry for about 4 minutes. Transfer the asparagus to a plate and set aside.

Add the rest of oil and the scallops and cook for 4 minutes.

Return the asparagus to the wok or frying pan, add the chili sauce, fish sauce, black pepper and coconut milk. Stir and cook for about 4 minutes. Serve with steamed rice.