Valentine's Day

I’m a bit tardy with this post but meh.

I know many women who hate this day. To be perfectly frank – I never have. Simply because I have never given it much thought. So I don’t understand the angst. When I was single (which was for quite some time), the day would come and go and if I wasn’t reminded, I would forget. Now that I’m in a relationship, I still don’t seem to care much which either makes me a) a cold-hearted monster or b) completely unromantic. You be the judge. It’s not that I hate over-commercialized holidays either. Just ask any of my college roommates what month I start playing Christmas music….

HA! Trick question! I play it year round. BOOM!

Anywho, let’s talk about this year. Since I’m still of the unemployed persuasion, I didn’t want to go to crazy ESPECIALLY since we just spent a heck of alotta coin in Napa over Christmas. And speaking of Napa, we had brought back with us this brilliant bottle of Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon, our pride and joy. Seriously. Sometimes I would take out this bottle and caress it like a baby. That’s how much we love it. So I thought it would be a great occasion to cook at home and open this sacred vessel.

I found a recipe online for lobster risotto from a great French restaurant here: Le Mistral.

Here’s how it went down:

Cook 1 cup risotto according to label, but use 1 cup white wine, 1 cup water, and 1 cup fish stock, instead of all water

Chop up 12 oz lobster tail (organic from Central Market of course), then saute in butter with salt and pepper

*tip: be sure to have them cut the shell at the market – makes it SO much easier to extract the meat

Add a handful of chopped shallots to the pan and then flambe with 1/2 cup sweet Vermouth

(the flambe-ing did not work out so much for me – was more just a “pour in the Vermouth”)

Add the lobster mixture to the cooked risotto and then toss some Spinach into the old lobster pan and saute

Add to risotto

Next is the heavy cream. I LOVE HEAVY CREAM. Recipe calls for 1 cup, which seemed like too much for me

….and I was right – too soupy. I would recommend only using 1/2 cup

To finish it off, add 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 cup clam juice

We paired it with a Viognier from Darioush. Heaven.

I was stuffed after this endeavor, but we still had an entire entree planned

filets with garlic butter and bleu cheese

sauteed vegetables

pan-seared scallops in a tomato cream sauce with linguine

Max watching me cook – so proper with his legs crossed

So that’s it. Let me know if you try out the recipe and how it goes. And if anyone out there is a master flambe-er, please, help a sister out!

[Via http://worldaccordingtoerin.wordpress.com]

Blown Away

Hopefully you all weren’t thinking I simply baked and ate granola all day – while I may or may not have had my fair share of granola – I’ve actually been mia due to losing power shortly after dinner until now – 3am! I shouldn’t complain because at least we have it back now, but man, I was getting cold! haha. I think this is the windiest it has ever been…no joke. So – since I’m wide awake after falling asleep at 7pm, I’ll post the pics I uploaded when I did the granola recipe.

Stay tuned for my awesome dinner recipe! Hey, maybe if tomorrow’s dinner is boring, I’ll just pretend what I had tonight (uh, last night? it is Friday already…) is what I have tomorrow night. Or, to make this really confusing – tonight. I bet this post makes a lot of sense, eh?

Funny story? Before I discovered the whole wide world of oatmeal, I had apple cinnamon oats just about all the time. This bowl was made particularly amazing with the addition of my honey apple butter Hannafords find:

um, yum. I’d definitely say my oat-making skills have risen since then, too That apple topping, cinnamon raisin peanut butter, or milled flax wouln’t have been there a couple months ago!

Oh, and of course, crystallized ginger and raisins. And pumpkin icing! I almost forgot that these were actually pumpkin-apple oats.

A mango lassi? Maybe?

mango, banana, greek yogurt, almondmilk, dollop honey, splash vanilla, flax, cardomom & chai spice blend.

topped with additional chai & ezekiel.

The beverage was delicioso. The Ezekiel was not.

Lunch was a carbon copy from yesterday. Hey, I’m allowed!

Yum. I tried finding my favorite feta at the store today – but they didn’t have it! I’m really starting to miss it, as much as I love mozzarella.

I may be messing around with blog layout in the upcoming days – I really want to find a template that looks clean and neat, but lets me display caption boxes. This template doesn’t support that function. So if you see funky things happening – just hold on

I’ll leave you all with this awesome message from Yogi:

Mental happiness is total relaxation.

What brings you total relaxation?

[Via http://healthyexposures.wordpress.com]

Tom Douglas Five-Spice Roast Chicken

This may very well be my favorite roasted chicken.   Make this one for company–they will love you!  The first time I ate Five-Spice Roast Chicken was at my son’s apartment about a year ago.  It was moist and very flavorful.   I was so impressed that I wanted to make it myself.

Prepare the five-spice paste a day ahead and allow your chicken to sit in the fridge overnight.  It’s worth the wait.

Five -Spice Roast Chicken

Five-Spice Paste

3 star anise

1/2 dried chipotle chile

1/2 cinnamon stick broken into 1/2″ pieces

2 tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp whole cloves

1/4 tsp hulled cardamom seeds

1 tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/4 c firmly packed light brown sugar

1 Tbsp Kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 3 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil

For the Chicken

1 whole chicken 3-31/2 lbs

1/4 orange cut into wedges, plus extra orange wedges for garnish

3 star anise

Kosher salt

2 Tbsp unsalted butter or bacon fat, melted

To make the 5 spice paste:

put star anise, chile, cinnamon, fennel, cloves, and cardamom in a small pan over medium heat and toast for a few minutes until aromatic, shaking the pan.  Let cool, then grind the toasted pieces in a clean coffee or spice grinder/mill.  Transfer the ground spices to a small bowl.   Add the ginger, garlic, brown sugar, salt and pepper.  Gradually add the oil, stirring with a wooden spoon to make a smooth paste.

Rinse chicken and dry completely with paper towels.  With your hands, rub the paste all over the skin of the chicken.  Set the chicken on a rack over a baking pan and place it uncovered in the fridge overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place the quarter orange and star anise in the cavity of the chicken.  Season with Kosher salt and place on a roasting pan.  Line the pan with aluminum foil because paste will drip and burn.  Using a bulb baster rather than a brush so as not to disturb the spice crust, baste the chicken with the melted butter or the bacon fat, and put in oven to roast..  Baste chicken with fat collecting at bottom every 20 minutes.  The chicken is done when an instant read thermometer inserted  in the thickest part of the thigh reads 175 degrees, and the juices run clear about 1 1/4 hours.  Remove chicken from oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before carving.

Cut up chicken into 10 pieces, pile on a platter and garnish with extra orange wedges.

I served this with Tom Douglas’

Baby Bok Choy w/ Garlic Oil

1/2 orange cut into wedges

4 unpeeled fresh ginger coins

1 1/2 lbs baby bok choy sliced in half, or left whole if small

3 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

3 cloves garlic, thinky sliced

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Set up steamer, such as a large saucepan or wok with a Chinese bamboo steamer set over it.  Put 2 cups water, the orange, and the ginger in the bottom of the steamer basket, cover, and steam until tender, 6-8 minutes.

A minute or two before the bok choy is tender, heat the oil in a saute pan over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic and toast until light golden brown.  Remove from heat.

Arrange the bok choy on a platter, cut sides up.  Drizzle first with the hot garlic oil, then with the soy sauce.

Aromatic Steamed Rice

2 cups Japanese short-grain rice

1 stalk lemongrass

2 cups cold water

3 1/8-inch-thick coins of unpeeled fresh ginger, smashed with the side of a knife

3 star anise

Zest from 1 scrubbed orange (preferably large, wide strips cut with a vegetable peeler)

• Place raw rice in a fine-mesh strainer. Rinse under cold running water until water runs clear. Drain well.
• Smash the lemongrass stalk with the back of a knife; slice it thinly crosswise. Wrap it in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie in a bundle with kitchen twine.
• In a medium pot, combine the rice and water. Add the cheesecloth bundle to the pot, scatter the ginger, star anise, and zest over the top and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer gently until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the lemongrass and other aromatics, fluff the rice with a fork and serve hot.

[Via http://angelninascottage.com]

Veggie and Quinoa curry

If you’ve never heard of Quinoa get to the store and buy some. It’s one of natures best foods- containing all the essential amino acids- and is as flexible as rice but so much better for you.

This is a one pot wonder. So put it all in-

2.c. rinsed quinoa

4c. low or no sodium organic chicken broth

veggies (broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, carrots)

Desired amounts of sea salt, pepper, turmeric, curry powder, sage, thyme, and basil

simmer covered until broth has absorbed into quinoa and it’s tender, and all the veggies have softened.

enjoy. The below picture shows this meal served with whole wheat flat bread and reduced fat crab and cream cheese wantons.

[Via http://chrissainthekitchen.wordpress.com]

Chocolate and Ginger Flapjacks

Ah a recipe combining my two favourite flavs: chocolate and ginger, stem ginger to be exact: that gooey sticky syrupy delight. This recipe comes all the way from James Martin’s Taste program … but I’ve made some mods.

Chocolate and Ginger Flapjacks

~ 20 flapjacks

• 150g brown sugar
• 200g butter
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 400 g jumbo oats
• 3 tbsp chopped preserved stem ginger

Topping

• 100g dark chocolate
• 20g butter

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a rectangular cake tin with greaseproof paper. I used my silicone muffin trays (oiled) and one 7″ cake tin (lined). 2. Put the sugar, butter and golden syrup in a saucepan. Heat gently until the butter has melted, stirring occasionally. Then stir in the jumbo oats and ginger.

3. Press the mixture into the prepared tin(s). Press it out evenly with the back of a wooden spoon or your hand.

4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes.

5. Allow the mixture to cool for 10 minutes then slice while still in the tin. Leave to cool.

6. To make the topping, gently melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave on medium heat. Allow to cool slightly before spreading/drizzling over the flapper-jackers.

The result is a chewy, sweet, buttery flapjack which would be lost without the chocolate and ginger. I am not convinced by it at all … I would prefer a more ‘wholesome’ taste ’cause I loves me porridge.

[Via http://somesaycocoa.wordpress.com]

[Big sigh inserted here]

Oooooooh.  [Big sigh inserted here].   That’s how I’m feeling tonight.

I haven’t been able to talk to C in a while.  There have been one death after another the past few days in Afghanistan.  So many young men lost their lives because of the evil there.  I wonder if it’s worth it.  Will it help?  Is all the time that these young men are away from their families and loved ones fighting in that country worth it?  Will it protect America?  Will they clear out the Taliban and then more men will be recruited to re-join their evil causes?

All the worry I have inside is overwhelming.  There is so much more time for C to make it through safely.  The closer they get to the dangerous areas the more I worry.  I want this over.  I want time to fly by.  I want him home safe to me.  I want this behind us.

On top of all these thoughts it’s hard not to have communication.  It’s hard not to fall back to worrying when you can’t hear anything.  Communication gets shut down and there’s nothing that can be done about it.  I worry about everything.  It’s not that I don’t believe that he is safe right now – it’s just that when you have silence in your communications your mind wanders and you can’t help but think about the one you love so far away from you.  So much worry.  So many anxieties…

I just want to be able to talk to him…to hear from him.  I just want him safe.  I just want him HOME.

[Another Big sigh inserted here].

God give us strength.

[Via http://loveknowsnodistance.wordpress.com]

Do You Roll Your Own?

The entire time I’ve been married (almost 16 years), my darling husband has been bragging about how he and a friend, in high school, used to make won-tons.  I’m skeptical because my husband knows how to cook approximately 3 things and I have never seen him make won-tons.  So, when our friends, the Ragsdales, invited us over for an eggroll party, we eagerly accepted.  You see, Mrs. Ragsdale would not just be making eggrolls for us, but TEACHING us how to do it ourselves.

Now, I’ve had the occasional, tiny, meager, greasy eggroll in chinese restaurants and haven’t been very impressed.   The skinny little cigars of pasty dough didn’t leave a good taste in my mouth.  Nevertheless, Mrs. R assured us that we would be pleasantly surprised by her homemade creations.  I bought my assigned package of eggroll wrappers (available in the produce section) and we headed over for the party.

The party had around 12 guests and we all sat around rolling up our dinner and letting our host fry them in a turkey fryer in the back yard.  They were delicious.  What a difference from what I’d been served in restaurants over the years.

Over here in Romeroville, I’ve made them twice.  The first time, I added green chile (after all, we’re in NM, so we eat chile on everything) and I made them again last night with spicy sausage.   So, here you go…Mrs. R’s eggroll recipe and my peanut sauce recipe for dipping.

Eggrolls

1 pkg. eggroll wrapper

1 lb. breakfast sausage (I like the ‘hot’)

1 pkg. shredded cabbage

1 pkg. shredded carrots

1 T. freshly grated ginger

vegetable oil for frying

salt and pepper

In a large pan, break up the sausage and cook until almost done.  Dump in the carrots and cabbage with a little oil and cook for about 8 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften.  Add the ginger and some salt and pepper.   Set aside to cool for a bit.  Meanwhile, put a pot of rice to cook and start making your peanut sauce (recipe follows).  Heat about 3 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy pan until a piece of eggroll wrapper sizzles and rises to the top when dropped in.  While your oil heats, make your eggrolls using the directions on the back of the package.  Make sure that you have sealed every opening and secured the flap with a swipe of beaten egg (EGG ROLL, get it?).  Place all of your rolls on a clean sheet pan and get ready to fry.   When your oil is hot, carefully drop about 4 rolls into the pan and fry until GB&D (about 6-8 minutes).  Drain on a paper towel and start a new batch until you’re done.

Amy’s “asian” Peanut Sauce

In a small container with a lid combine:

3 T all natural peanut butter

1 T soy sauce

1 T asian hot sauce

the juice from one lime

2 T brown sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 T. water

Put the lid on the container and shake until smooth.  This is a delicious dipping sauce for the eggrolls.

Cooking the filling.

Roll ‘em up baby!

I can bring home the eggroll…fry it up in a pan…

Ahhhh…perfection!

[Via http://biteblog.wordpress.com]

Homestead Day

Wednesday found us homebound.  After our day of wake on Tuesday, it was well needed.

Along with random emotional outbursts, these days, I’ve noticed that Miss Q is itching to be helpful.  In order to channel this new world of helpfulness; and since Miss Q has always loved helping in the kitchen – dumping in ingredients, decorating, licking the beaters; I opened our kitchen for business.

No, she didn’t wash dishes, or scrub the oven- even though her little hands would be excellent for fiddly work.  Miss Q helped me make Moroccan Chicken Soup and Strawberry Raspberry Crisp (for the latter, by ‘help’ I mean eat the berries).

It was a great hour of cooking with my sous chef while Miss S slept soundly in the Ergo.  She fetched ingredients out of the fridge for me, dumped, stirred, and, of course, tasted.  It always amazes me how confident she is in the kitchen; though she still runs when I turn on the dust-buster or mixer; and I cringe when she declares she can, “pour it myself.”

While waiting for the crisp to bake, Miss Q helped change her first diaper.  How excited was she when I let her pull back the tape, “Ooh this is a good surprise,” she declared.  (Fortunately it was a good surprise and not a stinky one.)

For her part, Miss S giggled and squirmed as she waited for Miss Q to pick the right diaper and outfit for her to wear – Miss S is Miss Q’s biggest fan.

Once the crisp exited the oven, we piled Miss Q’s bike into the back of the car and cruised to the muddy parking lot for a ride with her friends.  (Miss Q was content to splash in the puddles this time – with her boots.  No bike riding for her.)

We came home muddy and pink from the rather cold afternoon breeze.  Good ol’ Victoria: the sun in the winter makes you think it’s warm, until you walk outside into the wind.  Fortunately there was soup accompanied by Daddy’s biscuits and yummy crisp to warm our bones.

Days like this feed your soul and remind you to breathe.

[Via http://cautiousmum.wordpress.com]

48/365

Last night I made a vegetarian lasagna for dinner. It turned out very tasty, even if it was a bit runny. I wasn’t sure I had enough sauce (I make my own and didn’t have a second can of tomato sauce) so I watered it down a bit. I figured the noodles would absorb the water, which they did, just not all of it.

This picture was in the process. I forgot to take a final photo.

Slowly but surely I find my family is moving towards vegetarianism.

[Via http://thecraftypepper.wordpress.com]

Fake food artisans

I enjoyed reading this story about the fake food industry in Japan. Speaking from experience, when you visit any mall or shopping center you see elaborate displays like this one posted on Wikipedia:

The food, as you may or may not be aware, is fake. It’s plastic, but the likeness is pretty impressive, and as the article above states, it’s often hand-made by trained artisans in Gifu Prefecture among other places. Fake food there is practically an art form there.

The article covers the life of one veteran artisan named Shimada who has been in the industry for 16 years, and while the career was difficult at times, he took his job very seriously, learned to cook the recipes he would imitate, and like a true artist, took inspiration from competitors and other people’s work. It’s a fun article to read, and puts a face behind all those fake food displays you see daily there when eating out. Also, the exacting standards that go behind such displays is very impressive too.

As I will be visiting again in April (a warm season at last!), we will likely visit a “family restaurant” or famiresu more than once,1 and those are nice places to view fake food. If you’re in the Tokyo area then, don’t be surprised if you see a big chubby foreigner there staring at the window display of a restaurant with an appraising eye before his Japanese wife smacks him in the head, telling him to sit down.

1 Family restaurants are like the ones you see in the US, but much cleaner and nicer customer service. Good comfort food too, good hours, and great treats for the kids. If you’re a parent there: best. idea. ever.

[Via http://japanlifeandreligion.com]

Lobster Risotto

I didn’t know how I wanted to cook my last lobster tail so I settled for risotto. Seafood risotto is always fun to make… Chardonnayyyy…

I put too much paprika this time, by accident. Instead of half a tablespoon, it was a full tablespoon. That’s why the rice is so red.

[100% organic & wild]

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chicken broth
• One 8 oz. bottle clam juice
• 4 TBS unsalted butter
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large shallots, minced
• 2/3 cup Arborio rice
• 0.5 cup dry white wine
• 1 lobster tail, removed from shell and chopped into bite sized chunks
• 0.50 TBS paprika
• 0.25 cup heavy whipping cream
• EVOO

Instructions:

1. In a pot, boil the chicken broth and the clam juice together then turn off heat
2. In large sauce pan, add 0.25 cup EVOO over medium-heat
3. When oil is hot, add in half of the shallots and half the garlic. Cook until translucent
4. Add in the Arborio rice and stir until every grain is coated well with the oil
5. When rice has just begun to turn a nice golden color, reduce heat to low and add the white wine. Stir well
6. Season with salt and add the paprika
7. Add in 0.5 cup of stock every time when the liquid levels are low. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon
8. Risotto will take approximately 25-30 minutes to cook
9. When there is about 10 minutes remaining on the risotto, it is time to create the sauce. While you are cooking the sauce, remember to stir the risotto
10. In a saute pan, add a few turns of olive oil and butter over medium heat
11. When melted, add remaining shallots and garlic and saute until translucent
12. Add in your lobster chunks and allow to cook for a few minutes
13. When lobster is cooked through, add in your heavy whipping cream and mix well
14. Pour the lobster sauce over the risotto

*Adapted from Bell’ Alimento.

[Via http://ifyancanyoucan.wordpress.com]

年糕

Hi everyone! Welcome to the second day of Chinese New Year! This morning, my mom decided to prepare some nian gao, a sweet sticky glutinous rice delicacy, for breakfast. In case you’re wondering, we bought prepared nian gao from Crystal Jade Imperial Palace, and stuck it in the fridge for two days.

Thanks to my mommy, our house is nicely decorated with all sorts of red things:

Valentine’s Day is the same day as the first day of Chinese New Year, hence the balloon filled with little red hearts!

My cousin received a bouquet of roses from one of her admirers, so my mom quickly ordered her to disintegrate the paper wrappings, and relocate it into its new home – vase on the coffee table! It’s all about recycling, you see, we care about the environment and beauty over in Singapore!

A mini tangerine tree we carted back from the pasar, surrounded by three pots of morning glory. My mother, as usual, served as the chief-in-command and ordered my cousin and I to borrow a cart from the uncle who sold pork. We enquired if he had any carts to spare, he replied in the negative, but quickly directed us to the auntie who sold fruits. Finally, we managed to loan a cart successfully, and we pushed the tangerine tree and pots of morning glory back to our flat. The little red dangly things are symbolic of luck, prosperity, happiness, and wealth! To be perfectly honest, I don’t know all those things, but they look nice anyway!

***

NEW YEAR GOODIES!

Every Chinese New Year, kids and adults look forward to one thing – new year goodies! Some people might challenge me and say, well, I thought everyone wants to receive a ang bow? In another words, a red pack from married/elderly folks containing the flashy greens (or in Sg’s case, reds and blues).

WRONG.

For one, singles near the threshold of 30 are pretty embarrassed to be receiving ang bows. This is because old people are very naggy, and upon delivering the ang bow into your hands, they’ll quickly ask, “So you got boyfriend or not? When you getting married? How many kids will you have? Better get married faster hor, if not ah, you cannot even buy government housing!”

See, it’s not easy to be single during CNY!

Thankfully, we have new year goodies to sweeten the mood!

Can you guess what they are?

Buttery almond cookie

Pineapple tarts, my favourite!

Durian puffs – love it or hate it! Personally, I love durian. However, it has many many calories. So unless, you want to look as appealing as durian, please refrain from indulging in them too often.

Also, here’s a close up of the placemat! My mommy bought them specially for this year’s zodiac character!

year of the golden tiger *hi kitty kitty!

***

FINALLY!

A step-by-step documentation of NIAN GAO preparation!

The thing about nian gao is that it has to be eat freshly pan fried, after being swirled around in a bowl of egg batter. If done correctly, it should be slightly charred and crispy on the outside, while being moist and chewy on the inside!

Step one:

Lather the knife with vegetable oil, such that the blade slices into the yet to be fried nian gao smoothly. This step was invented by mommy, who found that slicing the nian gao with a dry blade means that the nian gao gets stuck on the blade!

rapidement

Step 2:

Liberate nian gao from the confines of its plastic container, and cut it into comparatively thick slices. The rationale behind this is such that it does not start to disintegrate when it comes into contact with the oil.

Step 3:

Prepare nian gao’s best friend – egg batter. Place them side by side. It’s auspicious that way.(just kidding)

Step 4:

Heat pan/wok/whatever metal apparatus you have, and gracefully dump vegetable oil into the receptacle. Place slices of nian gao into the egg batter, and quickly transfer them onto the heated oil. Sizzling will be heard – it’s a good sign!!!

no fighting, separate militant nian gao with chopsticks

getting deep-fried in peace and harmony

Step 5:

When nian gao turns golden brown, a color that is highly open to interpretation, gracefully remove them from your metal apparatus, and place them gently onto a plate. Napkins are highly recommended, as they will suckle some oil from your nian gao.

Step 6:

Repeat steps 1 to 5 with other types of nian gao!

taro with red bean

water chestnut, with “cooling” powers, according to my mother

Step 7:

Prepare a pot of jasmine tea, and distribute tea to little china teacups gracefully! One should always drink loads of tea when eating oily stuff.

Step 8:

Distribute in little saucers to everyone!

In case you’re wondering, my cup is the one decorated with strawberries. It was allocated to me by my mother. Don’t you know that all Chinese households are centrally commanded economies?

chopsticks in hand, ready, get set, go!

HAPPY GOLDEN TIGER YEAR EVERYONE!

[Via http://tapissery.wordpress.com]