Green Tea Pumpkin Seeds

I always wanted to roast some pumpkin seeds.  My opportunity came when I had a bag of pumpkin seeds given by a library event (pumpkin carving) that we went to.  I loved green tea flavor and so automatically I wanted to try green tea flavored roasted pumpkin seeds.  This is definitely good and make a great snack.  Me and my girls all loved it.

Since this was slow roasted for an hour, we can certainly pop the whole thing in the mouth.  It's totally edible with extra fiber and crunch.  You can taste the green tea and salt.  Of course if you choose to just eat the seed, you can do that too. I did that while watching my korean drama.  LOL!

Ingredients:

1- 1 1/4 cup whole pumpkin seeds (cleaned, remove pulp and strings, wipe with paper towel and let dry)

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1/2 Tbsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. green tea powder or matcha

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 275'F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2.  Mix the ingredients in a bowl and spread it on the foil lined baking sheet.

3.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Let cool and store in an air-tight container.

(Double the recipe for 2 cups of pumpkin seeds)

Soft Pumpkin Cookies

What can represent Fall season more than pumpkin?  I just want to make something with pumpkin this time of the year.  I saw this pumpkin cookies recipe on joyofbaking Website and decided to give it a try.  The reason was simple because I never make it before.  This cookie is just like what it stated, soft and cake like in texture.  I certainly would prefer a more chewy one or crispy one.  I used sugar instead of brown sugar as stated in the original recipe, I wonder perhaps it might caused my cookies to be none chewy.  I also omitted the cream cheese frosting.  Anyway, my girls loved it nonetheless so I was glad.  Evy will bring this as her school snack.

As for me, I would love to play and experiment with this recipe some more, as I wanted a crispy pumpkin cookies instead of soft and cake like.  It's like eating a tiny piece of cake on the next day.

Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking.

Ingredients:


(A)

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (I omitted this)

1/2 teaspoon salt

(B)

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cups (260 grams) light brown sugar (I used sugar instead of brown)

1/2 cup (120 ml) canola oil or corn oil (or other flavorless oil)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (215 grams) canned pumpkin puree

Method:

1.  In a bowl, sift together (A).

2.  Use a electric hand mixer or stand mixer and beat together eggs and sugar until light and smooth.  Add in the rest of the (B) ingredients, beat until blended.

3.  Add in sifted (A) and beat until combined.

4.  Use a cookie scoop and scoop into a parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake in preheated 325'F oven for 15-18 minutes.   Move to cool completely on wire rack before storing.

Spicy Green Beans with Shrimps

I like this dish and made it quite often.  I don't know if the green bean is in season but the farmer market here has been selling it for 99 cent/ pound.  If I would make this for my family, I would omit the extra chili and since I was making this for adults, I added my chili paste in oil to give it an extra kick.  I only added one teaspoon because I was afraid that it might be too spicy as this new batch of my chili paste in oil was kinda spicy.  I certainly wouldn't want to make it inedible for most because of the heat.

I have a similar recipe here.  Except for this I added some chili paste in oil to make it spicier.  Check it out, super easy to make for the overseas Malaysian who misses this dish.  You can substitute the green bean with asparagus, long bean, okra and eggplant.

 

Evy & Edda Updates 10/10/2010

My Evy at 6.5.  She lost the baby fat on her face and looks slimmer now.  She is considered tall in her class, I think she inherited her daddy's tall gene.  We didn't skip her to 2nd grade so she is at Grade 1 but goes to enrichment class once a week if applicable.  We also signed her up in a Destination Imagination club where she will participate in activities that will challenge her critical thinking, problem solving and presentation skills.  They will get to compete with other schools in COS.

We enrolled her in a Chinese School here.  Now she goes to the Chinese School Grade 1 level every Sunday for two hours.  In this class, she will learn to recognize Chinese characters, read, write, speak and form sentences.  She would received a page of reading material and homework assignment which she would have to learn before class.  I got to say, she did well in it.  Her Chinese teacher was impressed at the sentences that Evy could form in Mandarin.  I was so pleased and proud to hear that of course.  :-P  We just received two text books and 4 work books from the school and she will be getting a test this coming Sunday.

I made her lunchbox everyday to bring to school.  It's nothing fancy like a bento because I couldn't foresee myself being that hardworking.  Her lunch consisted of brown rice, veggie and chicken/fish (sometimes fried rice or noodle) that we had the night before.  I took out her portion before we started dinner.  The next day, I reheat her rice and pack it in a 12oz. food thermos along with her water bottle and snack.  For me, this is healthier than the cafeteria food that the school served (even though this cafeteria offers healthy food choices).   Her reward for finishing all her lunch (Mon-Fri) is she will get to eat in the cafeteria on the day that I don't have a lunchbox for her (like we went out to eat on Sunday night and thus no lunchbox on Monday).  If it happens that one of those day, she brought back half thermos fulled of food, then her reward is canceled.  So, on that day, I will cook some chicken potstickers (from frozen) or omelet and pack with some brown rice for her.

I loved this picture of them!  Now this picture is my desktop.

There is a thing about them that bugs me.  They always want to fight over the stuff that the other has.  For example, when brushing teeth, Edda took the tooth paste first, and Evy had to grab it from her and used it first, thus Edda was crying because Evy grabbed the tooth paste from her.  Another example, when Evy was playing something, for instance a toy, and Edda had to come and play with the same thing, and thus another conflict disrupted.  There is a constant fighting over them as who got to play first, use first, etc.  So, I told them whoever started this nonsense again, I would have to send her back to Malaysia and live with her grandparents.  LOL!

My Edda just turned 4.  She is just a sweet girl but has a temper of her own.  She is conversing in Mandarin and English now instead of just Mandarin alone.  I think she has to pick it up if she wants to play with kids who couldn't speak in Mandarin.  Her pronunciation still needs improvement but she will get there.  She is a little shy at first but once she warms up, off she goes.  I would say she is a smart girl as well.  But I won't know for sure until she got tested at school when she goes for her kindergarten.  I am looking forward to learn her Adam 50 score when she first enters school.  I want to know how she fairs in class.  Hehe...

She will be enrolled in the Chinese School kindergarten level next year.  A chance for her to be familiar with the classroom setting.  Kindergarten class is shorter with longer recess, I guess they have to do it with smaller kids as their attention span is shorter.  Actually we can enroll her now if we think she can sit still throughout the class, but we think she is still too little and I don't think she can write Chinese characters yet.  I haven't even started to teach her how to write Chinese characters.  As she is learning how to write the numbers and alphabets now.  One thing I really need to teach her is how to read, but how to teach?  I asked her to learn the Phonics via dvd so that she can proceed to learn reading.  But her interest in Phonics is short span.  Evy started reading at 4.5 years (but she is gifted), with Edda I don't see it coming soon.  But I got to admit, I didn't work hard enough on her.  Well, she has two more years before she goes to kindergarten anyway, let see how it goes with my next update.

Banana Dried Fruit Waffles

This is another type of healthy waffle that I had in mind.  My elder girl won't eat banana but she liked banana cake.  So, I thought I would smashed up the banana and added into the batter and make the waffle so that she doesn't even know she is eating a waffle with banana in it.  On of my readers suggested me to slice the banana and bake it with the waffle which gave me the idea.  For this, I only used one large banana and surprisingly I could still smell the banana in this waffle.

I read that a good energy food for breakfast is oatmeal, banana, milk and etc.  So, this is definitely a good energy boost breakfast for you to last until lunch.  Not to say, yummy too and no syrup needed!  This waffle has oatmeal, banana, milk, eggs, honey and dried cranberries to list some.

~Yields about 12 waffles (for the above shape)

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup instant oatmeal/ quick-cooking oats

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. honey

1 3/4 cup 1 % milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 large banana or two smalls, mashed (frozen works great)

Dried cranberries or raisin, as needed (optional)

Method:

1.  In a big bowl, hand whisk the two eggs until beaten.  Add in the rest of the wet ingredients, whisk well.  Then, add all of the dry ingredients except dried cranberries or raisin and hand whisk until all is blended.  Set aside.

2.  Preheat your waffle maker.  When preheated, spray with buttery non-stick spray and scoop some of the batter onto the waffle iron.  Spread some dried cranberries or raisin on top.  Then, cover the top and side with more batter.  Cover and cook until brown.  For mine is about 6 minutes.  Exact time depends on your waffle maker.

3.  Take it out with a spatula and chopstick and serve hot.

4.  Or cool on wire rack and put in a zip lock bag and freeze for future use.  Toast in a toaster to heat it up.

New Kellogg's Special K with Added Fiber!

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received this new Kellogg's Special K Red Berries with added fiber as sample.  This product is packed with 3 grams of fiber per serving and zero gram trans fat.  Each serving is about 1 cup and I think this make a great snack for the afternoon too.

I loved the crunchy rice and wheat flakes with strawberries.  It tasted great and would certainly make a healthy, delicious and convenient breakfast for my family.  Anyone would benefit from the extra fiber especially for those who hardly eat your veggie.  From now on, I should make choosing a healthier cereal for my family as a priority, one that is better for us and tastes great, instead of the one that has more sugar and with added colorings.

What about you?  Do you make an effort to check the ingredients list and choose a cereal that is healthier for your family or just buy whatever your kids like?

Salmon Mixed Vegetable Porridge (jook)

Porridge again?  Why so many porridge because this time I had been sick.  I had some bad sore throat right after Evy was cured.  It was really painful and I had to cook myself some porridge/jook/congee.  This time I used frozen mixed vegetable, dried scallop, salmon, dried shrimps and some cut bok choy.  Lastly garnished with some fried shallots.  The cooking instruction can be found at my old post here.

This was how I like my porridge, all the rice grains broken out, watery and soft.  It was sweet with a touch of salt as I added dried scallop and dried shrimps in this.  Healthy too right?

Too bad, both my girls do not fancy porridge, even though it is delicious.  My elder has been very picky and my second one just like to follow her sister.  But if the sister is at school, she will eat the porridge with me.

2-2-3-4-5 Braised Chicken

This dish was inspired by 1-2-3-4-5 Sticky Spareribs (Tang Chu Pai Gu).  Since I don't have spareribs and only chicken, I cooked it differently but with almost the same sauce except I increased the Shaoxing rice wine to 2 Tbsp.  Got to say, delicious!  Now I have one more chicken dish to serve my family.  :-)

I added tofu knots in mine.  If you don't have tofu knots in your area, you can omit it.  Or you can substitute it with Chinese dried mushrooms or dried beancurd sticks.  This sauce is so good with rice, you have to try this dish!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine

2 Tbsp. Chinkiang vinegar

3 Tbsp. white sugar

4 Tbsp. Kikkoman soy sauce

5 Tbsp. water

Few pieces of smashed gingers

3 or 4 chicken thighs or 8-10 chicken drumsticks, chopped into pieces

1 bowl of tofu knots, soften in water, drained (optional)

EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) or any oil

Method:

1.  In a heated pot, add in some EVOO and gingers.  Stir until fragrant.  Add in cut chicken pieces and brown it.

2.  Add in the 2-2-3-4-5 sauces and stir well.  Add in the tofu knots and let it simmer for an hour.

3.  Serve with the gravy.  Or take out all the chicken and tofu knots and reduce the gravy to half and pour on top of the chicken and tofu knots.  Serve with rice.  Delicious!!!

Pandan Chiffon Cake 2 (Healthier Version)

 

Pandan chiffon cake was my childhood favorite cake.  I remembered I always asked my mom to buy it at the bakery shop for us to have as breakfast.  It was great being a kid without having to worry about counting calories and just consumed however much we liked.  I seriously would not have known what went into making a cake, a bread, or a dish without me being a cook and a baker myself.  Once I learned that, I have to be careful at what to cook for my family and how much portion to consume in a day, you know to watch my diet and not over eating certain food that is high in saturated fat.

This recipe is adapted from my Pandan Chiffon Cake recipe but because I want to make it healthier with less saturated fat content, I omitted the coconut milk and used 1% milk instead.  I also changed the all-purpose flour to cake flour, just for experiment.  Glad to say it turned out well, still fragrant with Pandan smell and not much difference from the Pandan chiffon cake made with coconut milk.

I didn't do a nice job at dismounting my chiffon cake from the tube pan, this really takes patient and skill.  LOL!

Ingredients:

(A)

1 3/4 cup cake flour, sifted

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar

(B)

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

6 egg yolks

3/4 cup milk (I used 1 %)

1 tsp. pandan paste

(C)

6 egg whites

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

3/4 cup sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350'F (175'C).

2. Combine (A) in a bowl. Whisk to blend. Add (B). Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.

3. Beat (C) with a clean beaters until moist peaks formed. Gradually add 3/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff and shiny peaks are formed. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolks mixture, fold to mix until blended and proceed with the rest of the egg whites. Fold gently but thoroughly. Turn batter into ungreased 10" tube pan.

4. Bake for 55 mins in the center of the oven or til a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert cake and cool completely in pan. When cool, loosen the edges with a thin plastic knife and invert pan to remove cake.

The above is the picture of the Pandan paste that I used, usually selling for 99 cent at the Asian grocery store.  This is the brand and paste that I recommend to produce a fragrant cake, essence and powder form are not recommended.  

Toast Camembert Bagel

I received this sample of Normandie Ile de France Camembert recently.  I was one of the lucky fews who got to sample the product before it hit the shelf and release to the general public.  Its' flavor is more intense than Brie and I instantly noticed it when I first opened the box.  I could actually smelled it.  Ile de France Camembert is crafted in Normandy, from local Rbst (hormone) free pasteurized cow milk.  The herds spend most of their time outside, grazing in the fields of Normandy, known for its temperate climate and rich soil.  It has the mushrooms and nutty undertones and known for its' creaminess.

This was my first time sample a Camembert and frankly I had no idea how people eat this besides serving as a cheese platter.  So I went to the Ile de France Website and look through the recipes.  But I was too eager to try it and I had some bagel at home, so I just cut two slices and toast it in the toaster oven.  Got to say, even though it didn't smell too good, it tasted not bad at all.  Very creamy and melted beautifully.  Even my little Edda who said yuck at the smell couldn't stop eating it.  Two days later, I tried it in my cheesy shell pasta dish and my two girls walloped it up.  They really loved it. 

Two slices of Camembert on my mini blueberry bagel.

The end product!  Loved how the cheese melted, yummy!  Would go great with a English muffin with bacon and fried egg as well.

Salmon with DOM

I  have been cooking a lot of salmon recently, guess you have been noticing it too.  Salmon is rich in omega 3 fatty acid and thus a brain booster.  Supposed to be good for your brain.  So, I came out with this recipe with what I had in my refrigerator at that time.  The soup of this dish was really fragrant with the smell of DOM, so good drizzle with rice.  It made a good one dish meal too!

Ingredients:

2 pieces of salmon fillets, cut into pieces (marinated with rice wine, salt, white pepper)

2-3 stalks of celery, cut

1 small carrot, cut

1 cup of wood ear fungus, soften

1 Tbsp. of goji berries

1 small pieces of ginger, julienne

3 gloves of garlic, minced 

Salt to taste

White pepper to taste

1 tsp. chicken stock granules

Water to suit

1 Tbsp. Benedictine DOM

Oil for cooking

Cornstarch thickener:  1 Tbsp. cornstarch + 2 Tbsp. water, mix well.

Method:

1.  Heat up your wok, when heated add in a little oil.  When the oil is hot, add in the ginger and garlic.  Stir-fry until aromatic, add in celery, carrot and stir fry well.  Add in wood ear fungus and mix well.

2.  Add in water to cover.  When boiling, add in the marinated salmon pieces.  Let the stock cooked the salmon, don't stir it too much.  Season with chicken stock granules, salt and pepper.  Lastly, add in the goji berries.

3.  When the fish is cooked,  add in the Benedictine DOM and cornstarch thickener.  Stir until thicken and turn off the heat and serve hot.