Fennel and Orange Salad

After getting disappointed with his Cheese Straws recipe, I totally scored with this Fennel and Orange Salad from the How to Cook Everything book - it's refreshing, tasty and crunchy. I thought the fennel anise taste would overpower the dish but i was wrong... marinating it with lemon & orange juice made it mellower. I added some raisins, avocado slices and a soft boil eggs and oh it's so good!


Ingredients:
1 pound fennel (1 large or 2-3 small bulbs)
3 small sweet oranges or tangerines
salt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

• Trim and core the fennel and cut into thin slices.
• Squeeze the juice from one of the oranges, pour over the fennel, add salt and lemon juice, and let it sit for a couple hours while preparing the orange slices.
• Peel the remaining oranges and segment into orange slices.
• Add the oranges and cilantro to the fennel, toss, taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
• Add raisins, avocado slices and soft-boiled.

Sake Ochazuke (porridge with broiled salmon)

At a glance, a bowl of porridge with a piece of no-dressing, no-marinade salmon sounds almost sad. As in, it's-Saturday-night-I-am-home-alone-slurping-instant-ramen sad. But in fact, this dish is full of rich and nice flavors and has quickly become a staple at my house.

The key is to get the right ingredients and not under- or over-cook the salmon. Once you assemble the porridge with a hint of green tea and that dashi stock umami with the fatty crispy salmon skin and slightly salty salmon flakes, the flavor combination just doesn't get better than that. Oh wait, it does, put some roasted seaweed on top. Now you've got the texture, the taste, and the warmth all from a single bowl of pure goodness.

Ingredients
4oz Salted Salmon Belly
1/2 sheet Roasted Seaweed ( like Yamamoto nori)
2 cups Cooked Rice (use Nishiki brand rice)
1 cup Green Tea (use Japanese green tea such as genmaicha for its nuttiness)
1 cup Dashi Stock
Canola Oil
Salt

Direction

• Rub the salmon with a generous amount of salt
• Cover and let it refrigerate overnight
• Remove the salmon and rinse under cold water to remove the salt
• Dry the salmon with paper towels or a kitchen towel
• Drizzle oil over salmon and place under a broiler in low setting
• Broil for 15 minutes until a nice crust has formed; if the skin is still not brown enough, you can turn the broiler to "high" for a couple of minutes and monitor closely to make sure the salmon doesn't burn
• Break apart the salmon into flakes and set aside
• Add rice to a bowl with salmon flakes and seaweed on top
• When you are ready to serve, mix the hot green tea with the stock. You can add as much liquid as you would like, as long as you remember to use it in the ratio of one part tea one part dashi stock.

Minestrone (kind of) Soup

Today I made this soup based on a simplified Minestrone recipe on NYTimes in preparation for the cold and wet weather coming to San Francisco. To make it even healthier and substantial, I added some sliced sausages and a can of white kidney (cannellini) bean. I am not really sure if I can still call it Minestrone soup or not but I know that now I am ready to take on the rain!


Ingredients:
4 Italian sausages, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
4 garlic, finely chopped
2 potatoes, cut to 1-inch sections
1 can diced tomatoes, drained & rinsed
1 can white kidney (cannellini) beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup of dry white wine
2 cup of vegetable (or chicken) broth
2 cup of water
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
1 cup of frozen peas
salt & pepper

Directions:

• Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven over a medium heat for a couple of minutes and saute the sliced sausages for a few minutes until totally cooked and set aside.
• Add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil into the pan and saute the chopped onion, carrot, celery rib and minced garlic for 5 minutes.
• Add the cubes potatoes and cooked for 2 minutes.
• Add the drained tomatoes, white wine, broth, and water.
• Cook until boil and lower the heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the drained beans and simmer for another 15 minutes.
• Add in the chopped parsley and frozen peas.

Stir-fried Yu Choi and Shiitake Mushroom

Here is a simple and delicious vegetable dish that can be used as a main dish or a side dish for something like Osso Buco since it can stand up for itself. It took me only 5 minutes to prep and another 5 minutes to cook the dish.


Ingredients:
1 lb yu choi or other chinese vegetables, ends trimmed
1/2 lb shiitake mushroom, sliced
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1-inch ginger, julienned
2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

• Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a wok on a medium high heat and, when hot, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry quickly for 1 minute or so until fragrant.
• Add in the vegetables, mushroom, and sauce and stir until combined. Cover and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

Nobu style Miso-glazed Black Cod

My friend Vincent and I used to work together. Often when we were sitting in our cubicles looking at spreadsheets of numbers and graphs, we have another window open with pictures of beautiful food on them. We would trade recipes, tips on the newest and hottest restaurants, and our current cravings. Anyway, this year Vincent invited me to guest blog and I am going to start it with one of my favorite dishes.

In fact, if I had a last meal, it'll certainly include this as an entree: Miso-glazed black cod. Everytime I order this in a restaurant, I close my eyes and go "mmmmm" (at least in mind I do). The succulent buttery tender fish is indescribably good. Once you've had cod, all the other fishes taste like overcooked dry pieces of chicken.

Unfortunately, it took me a while to realize how easy it is to make it yourself! It's far cheaper, way easier, and no one will care if you want to lick the plate clean afterwards.

Here is the recipe I used from TheKitchn. All the Nobu inspired miso-glazed black cod recipes online are pretty much the same.

Ingredients for two:

1 black cod fillet (half a pound)

2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons white miso paste
1.5 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

• Two to three days beforehand, make the Nobu-style Saikyo Miso marinade and marinate the fish.

• Bring the sake and the mirin to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil for 20 seconds to evaporate the alcohol. Turn the heat down to low and add the miso paste, mixing with a wooden spoon. When the miso has dissolved completely, turn the heat up to high again and add the sugar, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon to ensure that the bottom of the pan doesn’t burn. Remove from heat once the sugar is fully dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

• Pat the black cod fillets thoroughly dry with paper towels. Slather the fish with the miso marinade and place in a non-reactive dish or bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave to steep in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. If you don't have enough time, marinating it for 24 hours is okay too, but 3 days yields a much tastier result.

To cook the fish:

• Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C, gas 6). Preheat a grill or broiler. Use "high" for broiler. Lightly wipe off any excess miso clinging to the fillets but don't rinse it off.
• Place the fish on the grill, or in a broiler pan, and grill or broil until the surface of the fish turns brown and the marinate starts to bubble. Then bake for 10 minutes.

To serve with rice and bok choy:

• Serve with Japanese rice. For bok choy, you can put them in the oven along with the cod. Drizzle them with olive oil and a little salt. Roast for about 5-7 minutes.

Ham & Pea Barley Soup

Brrrr... it's been pretty cold in San Francisco in the past few days, I felt that we needed something warm, soupy and more substantial for dinner besides salad. To keep it somewhat healthy, I made this ham & pea barley soup utilizing the ingredients that I had in my freezer and pantry using Whole Foods' Root Vegetable Stew with Beef and Barley recipe as a guideline.


Ingredients:
1 cup of medium diced ham
2 carrots, small diced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup sliced crimini mushroom
1 cup pearled barley
1 bay leaf
2 cups of chicken stock
1/4 cup of flour
2 green onions, finely chopped (or 1/4 cup of parsley)
salt & pepper

Directions:

• In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, heat 1 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat and cook the ham cubes for about 5 minutes or so until a bit browned, set aside.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and stir in the chopped onion and carrots, scrapping the brown ham bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook the vegetables for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the barley and continue to cook, stirring for an additional minute.
• Add in the bay leaf, chicken broth and ham back into the pot, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Continue cooking, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, mix the flour and 1/2 cup of the cooking broth. Add the flour mixture and the sliced mushroom into the pot and cook for another 30 minutes until barley is cooked and stew is thickened.
• Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper and add in the frozen pea and cooked for another 5 minutes.
• Garnish with parsley or green onion.

Pesto alla Trapanese

Tada... a relevation! Today I learned that I don't need meat sauce with my pasta to have a hearty delicious meal. I saw this Pasta with Tomato and Almond Pesto (Pesto alla Trapanese) recipe on America's Test Kitchen's Saucy Italian Favorites episode. I thought it was very clever of the Sicilians to use fresh tomatoes and almonds instead of pine nuts as the main ingredients for their pesto. I like the fact that you can make this dish in less than 20 minutes and still end up with a fantastic satisfying meal. The only thing that I would change if you decide to make this, is to double up the portion because you might find yourself in a similar situation where you can't stop eating because it's so delicious!


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1 small pepperoncini (hot peppers in vinegar), stemmed, seeded, and minced (about 1/2 teaspoon) - I substituted this with 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes soaked with 1/2 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
• salt
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound pasta, preferably linguine or spaghetti
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup), plus extra for serving

Directions:

• Toast almonds in small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pale golden and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Cool almonds to room temperature.
• Process cooled almonds, tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperoncini (or red pepper flakes with vinegar), and 1 teaspoon salt in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, slowly drizzle in oil, about 30 seconds.
• Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.
• Add pesto and 1/2 cup Parmesan to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with reserved pasta cooking water so that pesto coats pasta. Serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

Sometimes I think Arthur is just like Brussels sprouts – they are both bitter on the first bite when you first know them and definitely not for everybody but after spending more time with them, you can finally understand, appreciate and love them. Arthur is a handful, at times a bit too much such that he got returned several times before and believes me that we have thought about it before. But we decided to toughen up and stick with him, it’s a continuous process and we are hoping that he will realize that we really love him and are committed to him.

I love making this roasted Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms dish because they are simple to make, healthy and very delicious. Perfect for a side-dish of a meat or pasta course.


Ingredients:
1 lb Brussels Sprouts
1 lb mixed mushroom (I used a mix of Shiitake and King Trumpet mushroom)
olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels Sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves.
• Clean the mushroom by wiping it using a dry paper towel. Do not wash them. Cut into halves if they are big.
• Spread the sprouts and mushroom on a baking pan and drizzle with a couple tablespoon of olive oil.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 35-40 minutes until crisp on the outside.
• Shake the pan a couple of time to brown the sprouts and mushrooms evenly.
• Sprinkle with some more salt and pepper if needed.

Hearty Tuscan Bean Soup

This year is definitely one of those roller-coaster years with lots of ups and downs. The day after I did my previous post, Arthur had a major setback in his separation anxiety training so we had to start somewhat from the beginning all over again, then Porgy had a horrible sore throat for 2 weeks and now I have cold with major sore throat (possibly strep throat) combo and lost my voice since Christmas eve.

While I was resting over the Christmas weekend, I saw an episode of America’s Test Kitchen where they shared a tip on how to make a delicious & hearty Tuscan Bean soup without having the beans fall apart at the end. (The secret is to brine the beans with salt water for overnight, rinse them well, cook them without salt over low heat in a 250F oven for a couple of hours!) I thought that it’s an appropriate dish to make since it’s been cold and rainy in the past few days in San Francisco and that it would make my throat feel somewhat better. Since I'm not a member of America's Test Kitchen, I followed a similar recipe that's available at Food.com.



Ingredients:
Salt
1 lb dried cannellini beans, rinsed and picked over (I used red kidney beans instead)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
6 ounces pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (I used Merquez - spicy Moroccan style lamb sausage)
1 large onion, chopped medium
2 medium celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
1 bay leaves
1 bunch of kale, stems trimmed and leaves chopped into medium-sized pieces
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
1 sprig fresh rosemary
ground black pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 250F.
• Add 1/4 cup of salt to 4 qt water and stir until dissolved. Add the picked over, rinsed beans and leave them to soak overnight at room temperature.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat until hot and add the sausage (or pancetta/bacon) and cook 6-10 minutes, until the edges are crisp and browned. Remove the sausages.
  
• In the same pan, add onion, celery and carrots and cook until very soft and a little browned, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minutes.
• Drain water from beans and discard. Rinse well and add beans to the pot. Add broth, water and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to a preheated 250°F oven and cook for 60 minutes.
• Add kale, tomatoes and sausages to the pot. Re-cover and cook until beans are tender, about another 30 minutes.
  
• Add rosemary sprig and submerge it in the soup. Let stand off heat for 15 minutes, then remove and discard rosemary and bay leaves.
  
• Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and serve with a nice pain epi or sliced baguette.
  

Greek Zuchini and Herb Pie

Continuing my urge to bake this weekend, I made this Greek Zucchini and Herb Pie (another recipe from NYTimes!) using some leftover frozen phyllo dough and zucchini that I bought earlier in the week. To add extra flavor into the pie and to make it not too healthy, I added the leftover ham cubes that I used in Savory Ham and Gruyere Bread earlier.


Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds zucchini, ends trimmed
salt to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for brushing the phyllo dough
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped ham
2 teaspoons dried dill
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped scallion
1 cup crumbled feta
3 eggs, beaten
freshly ground pepper
14 sheets phyllo dough

Directions:

• Grate the zucchini using a food processor or a hand grater. Place in a large colander, salt generously and let drain for 1 hour, pressing down on it occasionally to squeeze out liquid. After an hour, take up a couple handfuls and squeeze out moisture. Place in a bowl.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender about five minutes, then add the garlic and chopped ham. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about one minute. Add in the dill, parsley and scallion and cook for a few more minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the zucchini. Stir in the feta, eggs and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 10-inch pie pan. Line the pie dish with seven pieces of phyllo, lightly brushing each piece with oil and turning the dish after each addition so that the edges of the phyllo drape evenly over the pan.
  
• Fill with the zucchini mixture. Fold the draped edges in over the filling, lightly brushing the folded sheets of phyllo, then layer the remaining pieces on top, brushing each piece with olive oil. Stuff the edges into the sides of the pan.
• Make a few slashed in the top crust so that steam can escape as the pie bakes. Score in a few places with the tip of a knife, and brush with olive oil. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for 15 to 30 minutes or to room temperature. Slice in wedges and serve.
  

Otsu Soba

A couple weeks ago, I made this cold buckwheat soba salad with lightly fried tofu and ginger dressing called Otsu Soba because Porgy and I were craving for something light, refreshing and delicious. I used these two sites, WeHeartFood and DinnerWithJulie for my recipe source and according to one of you they are based on Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks (thanks for letting me know of another wonderful site!) Otsu Soba is a perfect left-over food for us since you don't need to warm it up and you can just eat it cold out of the fridge.

It was my first time cooking with Soba so I was pretty excited about that and now I can't wait to cook another Soba dish... wonder what's next. Maybe Zaru Soba – cold soba noodles with tsuyu dipping sauce?


Ingredients:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

12 ounces dried soba noodles
12 ounces extra-firm tofu
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 small handful of cilantro sprigs
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup shredded toasted Nori

Directions:

• Drain and press the tofu for 30 minutes or so, pat it dry, and cut it into 1-inch rectangles.
  
• Make the dressing by combining the rice vinegar, soy sauce, cayenne, salt, grape seed oil, sesame oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, and ginger in a jar and shake vigorously until it's mixed well.
  
• Cook the soba in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water just until tender according to the package direction then drain and rinse well under cold running water.
• In a well-oiled saute pan, brown the tofu on all sides over medium high heat. It took me about 3-4 minutes of each side. Toss gently once and continue cooking for another minute or so until the tofu is firm, golden brown, and bouncy.
  
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, tofu, 1/4 cup cilantro, green onions, cucumber and about half of the dressing. Toss gently until well combined.
• Serve on individual serving bowls (or plates), garnish with more cilantro, toasted sesame seeds and shredded Nori. Add more dressing if needed.
  

White House Fruit and Oat Bars

Continuing my attempt to eat and snack healthier, I decided to make White House Fruit and Oat bars. They are perfect for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks and definitely are better than opening up a bag of chips or candies.


Ingredients:
9 tablespoons grapeseed oil, plus extra for brushing pan
3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup mixed seeds, such as pumpkin, sunflower and sesame
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
pinch of salt
2 cups mixed dried fruit, such as raisins, cranberries, apricots, etc.
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon or cardamom

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 F, line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil, letting a few inches hang over side of pan. Brush with oil.
• Spread oats and sees on another baking pan and toast in oven just until golden and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes, shaking pan once.
• In a saucepan, combine oil, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup and salt. Stir over medium heat until smooth and hot.
• In a mixing bowl, toss together toasted oats and seeds, dried fruit and cinnamon (or cardamom. Pour hot sugar mixture over and stir until well combined.
• While mixture is warm, transfer to prepared pan, pressing into pan evenly with an offset spatula.
• Bake until brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack and let cool completely. Using the overhanging foil or paper, lift out of pan and place on a work surface. Cut into bars, about 1.5 inches by 3 inches.
  

Pasta and Asparagus in Mustard Sauce

I got the idea for this mustard sauce from a Julia Child's show where she made a simple salad dressing using mustard. After watching, I thought to myself that it probably make sense to tweak her mustard salad dressing to become a pasta sauce by adding some heavy cream. Since I didn't have any heavy cream, I had to use corn starch dissolved in water. Although it still tasted good, I think it would be so much better if I had used heavy cream.


Ingredients:
1 package of dry Penne pasta
1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 1.5-inch sections
2 shallots, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 links of sausage, sliced
1/2 cup pitted French black olives, cut in halves
1/2 cup of dry white wine or Vermouth
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of corn starch dissolved in 3/4 cup of water
(or 3/4 cup heavy cream)
salt & pepper

Directions:

• Cook the Penne pasta according to the package's direction.
• Two minutes before the pasta is cooked, add in the asparagus into the boiling water.
• Drain well and rinse over cold water.
• In a large pan, saute the minced shallot and garlic with olive oil until fragrant.
• Add in the sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add in the black olive and the dry white wine and cook for another 3 minutes until the alcohol is cooked through.
• Mix the mustard and the corn starch solution (or the heavy cream) in a small bowl and add it to the pan, cook until it boils again.
• Return the pasta and asparagus to the pan and add in the chopped green onion.
• Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
  

Asparagus and Chopped Eggs

In addition to the farm fresh eggs, I also got these asparagus at the Castro Farmers' Market to make a simple roasted asparagus and crumbled some chopped boiled eggs on top.


Ingredients:
1 lb asparagus tips
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper
2 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Wash and dry the asparagus
• Toss with olive oil, spread on a baking sheet on a single layer, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake for 15 minutes, turn once while baking.
• Sprinkle the chopped eggs on top and serve.

Asparagus

Farm Fresh Eggs

One of the reasons I love living in San Francisco is the almost-daily Farmers' Market somewhere in the city. Yesterday, I went to the Castro Farmers' Market to get some vegetables and, while browsing the vendors, made an impulse purchase of Farm Fresh Eggs at Shelly's Garden.


I love the taste of fresh eggs... they are so much more delicious and sweeter (if that even makes sense) than eggs from those big grocery stores. Since these eggs were laid just a couple days ago, I woke up a little bit earlier this morning to make a simple breakfast – a couple of sunny side up eggs with a side of hashbrowns using my new Scanpan pan. Delicious!

Vegetable and Tofu Soup

After eating plenty of cupcakes in the past few days, we both felt that we should eat better so I made this light yet very tasty Vegetable and Tofu Soup. It is another fantastic recipe from Periplus' Homestyle Chinese Cooking cookbook – I'm loving this cookbook more and more!


Ingredients:
6 cups of water
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 lb fresh Shiitake mushrooms (or 8-10 dried Shiitake mushrooms)
1/2 lb of fresh bok choy or similar Chinese vegetables
1 package of firm or soft tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 slices ginger, cut into thin strips
2 teaspoons white pepper
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
1 teaspoon Mirin
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onions, finely chopped

Directions:

• If using dried Shiitake mushrooms, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes and drain.
• Bring water to a boil in a large pot and then add salt.
• Cut the mushroom stems and then cut each mushroom in half.
• Wash and rinse the vegetables, removing any dirt, any tough or wilted stems, and separate the leaves.
• Add the mushroom to the boiling water, and let the water return to boil, then add the tofu, ginger, white pepper, soy sauce, Shaoxing cooking wine and Mirin. Return to boil on medium flame, cover with lid and simmer for about 15 minutes (or 20 minutes if using dried mushrooms).
• Add the vegetables and stir, let water return to boil and simmer for 1 more minutes.
• Sprinkle chopped parsley and green onion prior to serving.
  

Chard and Feta Quiche

I made this Chard and Feta Quiche after getting tired of eating Roasted Leg of Lamb for both lunch and dinner for 3 days in a row. This recipe was similar to my other quiche recipes except that I used a couple bunched of rainbow chard and feta cheese. Since I used quite a bit of vegetables, I added one more egg and heavy cream and baked the whole thing in a deep gratin dish instead of a round pie dish.

We had a difficult time going back eating the lamb again after having this dish. It was a wonderful light(-ish compared to the lamb) dish to have with a side arugula salad and a glass of Pinot Gris because the weather was so nice last week. Now I need to figure out what to do with the rest of the roasted lamb meat.


Ingredients:

1 frozen puff pastry sheet
2 tablespoons oil

1 onion, cut into half and thinly sliced
2 bunches of Rainbow Chard, washed and roughly chopped
4 eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
Fresh ground pepper
Fresh ground nutmeg
1 package of feta cheese

Directions:

• Roll the puff pastry dough to fit the gratin dish and bake for 15 minutes at 400°F. After it's done, lower the oven temperature to 375°F and place the pie pan on a wire rack to cool.
  
• Saute the onion and the chopped chard stem with olive oil over a medium heat for about 8 minutes or so until the onion is soft and starting to caramelize.
  
• Add the chopped chard leaves, cook for 8 more minutes over a medium high heat until the liquid is evaporated.
• Add a third of the cheese on the bottom of crust until it's all covered, top with the vegetable mixture and then cover with the remaining cheese.
  
• Mix together the eggs with the heavy cream and season with freshly ground pepper and nutmeg.
• Pour over the vegetable mixture and cheese.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes and cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Spaghetti with Broccolini and Peas in Pesto Sauce

Ah... the intention of cooking healthy food can sometimes be derailed because of last minute improvisation (like adding too much cheese...). I'm not sure if this is a healthy and nutritious dish or not but I'd like to think so, specially since Porgy said that it's a very 'green' dish.

It's all started when I read this Recipe for Health article on NYTimes. I thought to myself 'Hey, that's a good idea to make simple, healthy and delicious vegetarian dish!' so I decided to make it over the weekend. Since I didn't have any parsley and edamame, I substituted spinach, arugula and dandelions for parsley and frozen shelled peas for edamame. And since I wanted to make extra 'pesto sauce' to use for pizza topping later on, I tripled the amounts of the olive oil and added extra Parmesan cheese to the sauce.


Ingredients:
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 packed cup of spinach
1 packed cup of arugula
1 packed cup of dandelion
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 package of dried spaghetti
1 cup of frozen peas
1 handful of Broccolini
1/2 cup of dry white wine

Directions:

• In a food processor, pulse-chop the garlic for a few seconds. Add in the spinach, arugula, dandelion and Parmesan cheese and then pulse-chop some more until finely chopped. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil. Taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly.
• In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the dried spaghetti pasta according to the direction in the package.
  
• About 5 minutes before the spaghetti is done cooking, add the frozen peas and Broccolini into the pot. Drain well.
• Using the same pot, cook the 'pesto sauce' with the dry white wine for a couple of minutes until it boils and then add in the spaghetti, peas and Broccolini.
  
• Toss the mixture together, add grated Parmesan cheese, salt or pepper if necessary.
  

Asparagus, Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Quiche

Oh boy... the past few weeks have been very stressful and tiring for us as Arthur, our Terrier mix, had been limping. We brought him to the vet a couple weeks ago but they couldn't find anything wrong with his foot. Yesterday we went back to the vet for further examinations and they found several 'foreign objects' including a small broken glass in his paw. They were able to take out most of the objects except one... so after spending $500+ for the visit, Arthur is still not 100%. I really hope that 'foreign object' will come out by itself some time soon so he can be back to his cheery self and we don't have to stress out about him too much anymore.

So anyway... tonight I decided to catch up with my blog starting with this Asparagus, Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Quiche. Continuing with my effort to eat more vegetables and less meat, I made this quiche a couple weekends ago. It's an easy, hearty and healthy(ish) dish that can be eaten with a side salad for a light lunch or dinner. It is similar to what I did before, I just modified the recipe based on what I had in my fridge.


Ingredients:

1 frozen puff pastry sheet
2 tablespoons ghee (or butter)

1 onion, cut into half and thinly sliced
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup of sliced Crimini mushroom
1/2 cup milk (preferably half-and-half, but I didn't have any)
3 large eggs
Fresh ground pepper
Fresh ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• Roll the puff pastry dough to fit a pie pan and bake for 15 minutes at 400°F. After it's done, lower the oven temperature to 375°F and place the pie pan on a wire rack to cool.
  
• Saute the onion with the ghee over a medium heat for about 8 minutes or so until the onion is soft and starting to caramelize.
  
• Add the mushroom, cook for 5 more minutes over a medium high heat until the mushroom's juices are evaporated.
• Add in the asparagus and cook for another 3 minutes or so until the asparagus are just cooked.
  
• Add half of the cheese on the bottom of crust until it's all covered, top with the vegetable mixture and then cover with the remaining cheese.
  
• Mix together the eggs with the milk and season with freshly ground pepper and nutmeg.
• Pour over the vegetable mixture and cheese.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes and cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Eggplant and Tofu Braised in Fragrant Sauce

One of my 'ambitious' goals this year is to eat less meat. This is a hard one for me because 1) I love love love meat and 2) I'm somewhat clueless when cooking vegetables. I usually put at least a little bit of meat in my vegetable dishes but tonight I decided to go all vegetarian by adding tofu to substitute for the meat. This dish was inspired by one of the recipes in Periplus' Homestyle Chinese Cooking cookbook and has a similar taste as the Spicy Eggplant Balado that I made a few months ago.


Ingredients:
5 medium Chinese eggplants
1 package of cooked fried (yellow) tofu
3 tablespoons oil
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 slices ginger, finely chopped
2 leeks, well washed and chopped
1 stalk lemon grass (white part only), sliced in half and bruised
4 green onions, finely chopped
1.5 tablespoons chili paste (I used Sambal Oelek)
3/8 cup water
1/2 cup fried shallots (optional)

Sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1.5 tablespoons Shaoxing cooking wine
1.5 tablespoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons vinegar
1.5 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon mirin
3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• Cut eggplants length wise and then cut each half into 2-inch pieces.
• Combine all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
• Stir fry garlic, ginger, leek, lemon grass and eggplants over medium heat in a heavy bottom pan or a wok for 4 minutes until the eggplants absorb the oil and begin to soften.
  
• Add in tofu, green onion and the chili paste and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add the sauce and mix carefully to combine all the ingredients.
• Add the water and cover the pan with a lid, lower the heat and simmer for 6 minutes.
• Sprinkle with fried shallots on top, stir one more time and serve.