Do you know what your child eats at school?

Saw this amazing and quite fascinating talk by Ann Cooper about children's nutrition and school lunches. I never went through the American school system in the States until I was enrolled into a college there so was unaware of how unhealthy the food kids get in public/private schools are over there. I'm glad that someone is trying to change this for a brighter and healthier future for our kids. I was fortunate enough to have gone to school where we were fed cooked meals, not from plastic wrappers or microwavable packaging! Take a look....

THAI FOOD!!!

I love Thailand and I love Thai food. Of course when I go out to Thai restaurants I have my usual favorites. These include chicken satay, fish cakes, phad thai, chicken curry (preferably in green curry), and pineapple fried rice! Yum. The other night I made three Thai dishes and to my surprise it was a success! I always thought Thai food was difficult to make but actually if you have the right spices it's not that bad at all. The guests received the dishes well and here are the recipes for the dishes I made. 

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

(Satay Gai)

Ingredients:

1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast cut into cubes

3 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs cornstarch

2 garlic cloves

1 tbs fresh ginger peeled and chopped

cucumber chopped

12 bamboo skewers

Peanut Sauce:

2 tbs peanut oil

1/2 medium onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove finely chopped

4 tbs peanut butter

5 tbs water

Procedure:

1. Marinate the chicken in soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic, and ginger and refrigerate for 2 hrs

2. Soak twelve bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 30 min

3. Preheat the oven to 375F, divide the chicken cubes between the bamboo skewers, place the skewers on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 min, make sure you flip it after 5 min

4. For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan, then add the onion, garlic, and stir for about 3 min

5. Add the peanut butter, and water and simmer for 3 min, if needed add more water to make it more saucy

6. Serve the skewers with the peanut sauce and the cucumber

Stir Fried Shrimp

(Guan ga tiem)

Ingredients:

2 tbs grapeseed oil

2 garlic cloves

1/2 medium onion chopped

2 scallions roughly chopped

pinch of salt

1 pound raw jumbo shrimp

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs fish sauce

handful of cilantro

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a wok add the garlic, scallions, then stir fry over medium heat until golden brown

2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir fry until the shrimp has turned pink

Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad

(Yum dokralam metmamuang)

Ingredients:

2 tbs grapeseed oil

2 red onions, cut into wedges

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 small head broccoli, cut into florets

2 tbs yellow curry paste or red curry paste

1 3/4 cups canned coconut milk

1 tsp Thai fish sauce

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted cashews

Procedure:

1. Heat the oil in a wok, add the onions and stir fry until golden brown

2. Add the cauliflower and broccoli and curry paste and stir fry for about 2 min

3. Pour the coconut milk, fish sauce, and salt and gently bring to a boil stirring occasionally, let it simmer until vegetables are tender

4. Top the dish off with the cashews (you can toast the cashews if you desire)

Garlic: wonder drug!

Having bad breath when consuming garlic is probably not the way to go when trying to impress someone. But, it’s comforting to know that garlic is beneficial for our health. Garlic is one of the oldest medicinal herbs and commonly known as the “wonder drug”.  It was used during WWI as bandages to prevent infections. In addition raw garlic has been used as mosquito repellent, assist high cholesterol and treat acne. Garlic belongs in the herbal family that contains sulfur (the alliaceous family) and these herbs (including shallots, leeks, chives, onions) are also known to help regulate blood sugar levels. So, despite the fact that garlic gives us stinky breath I think the good outweighs the bad in this situation! Next time when someone tells you that you have bad garlic breath you should tell him or her the benefits of eating garlic despite your breath. Maybe a fresh mint afterwards will change the course of the conversation!

Petite Oat Cookies

These are yummy petite oat cookies with almond slices. If you want to make another variation of oatmeal cookies try this one out.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tbs wheat flour

pinch of salt

1 egg beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup of nuts (I used almond slices, you can use walnuts, pecans)

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, sugar, flour and salt

4. Add the butter, the egg and vanilla extract into the dry mixture

5. Mix until blended, then stir in the chopped nuts

6. Drop rounded tablespoons on a baking sheet and bake for about 8min until golden brown. Leave to cool for 2min and then transfer to a wire

Oyster Mushroom with Potatoes!

Ingredients:

5 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1 inch  

2 medium sized oyster mushroom sliced about 1 inch

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 garlic clove chopped

1 tbs chopped parsley 

Procedure: 

1. Heat 2 tbs olive oil and garlic in a saute pan then add the potatoes, stirring for about 5 min

2. Add the remaining 3 tbs olive oil and oyster mushrooms, stirring for about 5 min

3. Mix in the pepper and salt and saute until the potatoes are well cooked

4. Sprinkle the chopped parsley as a finishing touch

things you don't see everyday....

In Chinese tradition long noodles = long life. A relative went to the temple to pray for Dad's quick recovery and sent us this huge noodle statue with the Chinese character 寿 which means longevity. A very thoughtful gesture, and when it was delivered I couldn't help but take a picture to share with everyone. We have still yet to open it up and make a meal out of it to feed Dad!

Great way to reuse and recycle tea pots, grow plants in them! Saw this decoration along the path of a restaurant the other day and thought it was a very creative idea to make use of old tea kettles. You don't see this in cities very often and if we did it probably would be a kind of "public art" of some sort as people say nowadays. Regardless, it makes us think of ways to reuse our things at home doesn't it?

Eggplant Curry!

Great curry dish to go with rice or noodles!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions diced

4 garlic cloves minced

1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 medium tomatoes chopped

1/2 cup water

1 large eggplant peeled and diced

2 medium pepper (green or yellow) diced

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Procedure:

1. In a saute pan heat the oil over medium heat, add onions, garlic, ginger and cook for 5 min

2. Add tomatoes and cook for 3 min

3. Add the water, eggplant, peppers, salt, tumeric, coriander, and cumin and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for an hour

(Recipe adapted from The Candle Cafe Cookbook)

Are you a Locavore?

Are you a locavore? Meaning, do you eat food grown or produced locally? The locavore movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers' markets or even to produce their own food, with the argument that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locally grown food is an environmentally friendly means of obtaining food, since supermarkets that import their food use more fossil fuels and non-renewable resource (from wiki). We can further understand the locavore movement by watching this funny and entertaining talk by New York Times food writer,  Mark Bittman. He shares with us his knowledge about why the food we eat is putting the entire planet at risk. 

Salmon with Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:

1 fresh salmon fillet

5 slices of lemon

1 cup cherry/grape tomatoes cut in half

1/2 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tbs parsley

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley in a small bowl

3. Place the salmon in a pan and pour the liquid mixture (from the small bowl) into the pan marinating the salmon in the fridge for about an hour

4. Place the lemon slices on top of the salmon and sprinkle the tomatoes and pine nuts over the salmon

5. Put the pan in the oven for about 15 minutes or until there is a golden texture 

got guac?

Globalization has supposedly allowed us to have access to all sorts of produce, products, knowledge etc. So, why is it so difficult for me to find avocado in Taiwan? When I was in NYC I could buy tons of avocados whenever I wanted and make guacamole at any given time. Mm...but of course I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing since I am pretty sure avocados aren't produced in NYC, they probably traveled thousands of miles from Mexico or wherever to reach the local store down the street of my apartment. Regardless, I have to say that when I moved back to Taipei I was so sad I couldn't find avocados in any supermarket or our Asian version farmers markets. These kind farmers usually get confused when I ask about avocados since they are supposedly a fruit not a vegetable....and I was informed that currently its not the season and when it is they usually only last a few weeks. But, I'm happy to say that they are finally coming in!!! I used to hate avocados as a kid but maybe my diet has changed or something because I absolutely love them now. I got so excited that I was able to make guacamole again...haha...yay! I'm going to enjoy these avocados while the season lasts in Taiwan.....

Got Guac?

Ingredients:

2 riped avocados

1 medium tomato diced

1/2 medium onion (red or green) diced

2 tsp lemon juice

* Add one jalapeno diced for more kick if needed

Procedure: 

1. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mash until it turns into a puree texture

2. Serve with chips!

summer lovin

Ok, so yes its still spring but this past weekend it felt like summer in Taipei and then it started to rain! Regardless, I wanted to share how I made watermelon juice to drink and it was refreshing. Can't wait for summer to come .....

Ingredients:

3 cups of fresh cut watermelon

1 cup water

1 tbs honey

Lemon slices

Procedure:

1. Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend! 

2. Serve at room temperature or blend with ice cubes if you want it chilled

3. Make a slit in the lemon slices and place it on the side of the cup as a decorating piece

Spicy Miso Peanut Noodles

Found this recipe in "The Cancer Lifeline Cookbook" and it makes a very tasty, light and easy meal. If you are short on time and can't think of what to make for a meal this is a great dish to make!

Ingredients:

Noodles

1 pound dried spaghetti or other noodles, such as buchwheat noodles

2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

6 green onions, both green and white parts, thinly slices

2 medium red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch slivers

3 tbs sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish (optional) you can add seaweed too

Peanut Sauce

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup white miso

1/4 cup honey

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tbs grated fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp cayenne, 

3/4 cup hot water

Procedure:

Noodles

1. Cook the pasta or other noodles in rapidly boiling water to the desired tenderness. Drain well. Rinse with cold water and drain again

2. Reserving a small amount of each vegetable for garnish, toss the carrots, green onions, and red bell peppers with the noodles and sauce. Garnish with the reserved vegetables and sesame seeds

Peanut Sauce

1. For the peanut sauce, in a medium bowl whisk together the peanut butter, miso, honey, vinegar, ginger, garlic, garlic, cayenne, and hot water until well combined and the mixture has taken on a glossy sheen

Country of Origin

Should we care where our food originates from? According to this video clip I watched on the WSJ online, starting from October 1, 2009 certain foods sold in the United States will have the country of origin label on them. Which then triggers the question do consumers really care where their produce comes from? This short clip suggests that people don't really think much about where their produce originates from. 

Mini French Toast Cupcakes!

I found this recipe on bigoven and thought it was kind of creative, I've never heard of french toast cupcakes and have had my fair share of various cupcakes. Since the recipe called for white flour and other ingredients I kind of tweaked the recipe....

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter (I substituted this for olive oil or you can use applesauce)

2 eggs

2 tsp maple syrup 

1/4 cup soy milk

Icing

1/2 package cream cheese

1/4 stick (2tbs) butter (used oil instead)

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp maple syrup

Raisins to top off the icing on the cupcakes

Procedure:

Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl

2. In a large bowl mix the oil, sugar and eggs until smooth

3. Mix the maple syrup and soy milk slowly into the mixture

4. Add the dry ingredients from the medium bowl into the large bowl, beat until smooth

5. Place the mixture into cupcake tins

Icing

1. Place all the ingredients for the icing except raisins in a bowl and mix

2. Let the mixed icing sit in the fridge for about half an hour

3. Once the cupcakes are cooled spread the icing on top then add a raisin as a finishing touch

oishii oishii ...

We made sushi at home the other night and had lots of fun trying to make sure we didn't make ugly formed sushi. I think the pictures speak for themselves and we did a pretty good job. Making sushi at home is a great way to get everyone together at the table (chat and have a good time). Below are some of the dishes we made for our Japanese dinner night at home...

Magical Miso Soup

(from The Candle Cafe Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced

3 carrots, peeled and julienned

1/8 sheet of wakame, soaked and chopped

1 cup sweet white miso

1 pound tofu, cubed

Procedure:

1. In a large soup pot, combine 6 cups of water, the onion, carrots, and wakame. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30minutes

2. Mix together the miso and 1 cup of water. Add the miso mixture to the soup and heat through, being careful not to bring to a boil. Stir the tofu cubes, if desired, into the soup and serve at once

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Sushi Rice

(A very helpful video from "Howcast" that teaches you how to make sushi rice)

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Inari Sushi

Ingredients:

1 package premade inari (bean curd) skin (this can be found in Asian supermarkets)

Sushi Rice

Procedure:
1. Stuff the inari skin with sushi rice and serve!

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Various Nigiri

For the nigiri we made several different kinds. Tamago (egg), abalone, tuna salad, egg salad, scallops, lobster salad, uni (sea urchin), seared beef with asparagus, and salmon roe. Most of these ingredients were bought premade and just topped onto the sushi rice after wrapping the rice with seaweed.

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Uni (Sea Urchin) Noodles

Ingredients:

1 cup of fresh sea urchin

1 package of soba noodles

1/2 cup seaweed pieces

1 tbs soy sauce

Procedure:

1. Boil a pot of water and cook the noodles

2. Once the noodles are well done rinse it under cold water and drain

3. Place about a hand full of noodles on 4-6 plates

4. Place 2 tbs of sea urchin ontop of the noodles, drizzle the some soy sauce and top it off with a dash of seaweed

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We had some leftover ingredients and no sushi rice left so we wrapped the ingredients in lettuce! Great way to clean up any leftovers....

Mysteries of American Chinese Food ...

Came across this really entertaining talk by Jennifer 8 Lee about American Chinese Food on TED today. Who knew that fortune cookies actually originated from Japan, and that there are more Chinese fast food chains than McDonalds in America.

Veggie Medley Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown rice

1 cup white rice

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 head medium red cabbage chopped

1/2 cup minced onions

1/4 cup minced garlic

2 eggs 

1 cup enoki mushroom

2 tbs soy sauce (I used mushroom soy sauce paste)

Procedure:

1. Cook the rice together and let it cool and sit in the fridge for a few hours (its best to use leftover rice to make fried rice)

2. Put the olive oil in a wok under medium heat, place the onion and garlic and stir until golden brown

3. Beat the eggs then pour it into the wok and mix until scrambled 

4. Mix the red cabbage and enoki mushroom in the wok until well done

5. Place the rice and soy sauce into the mixture and continue to stir until color is golden brown

** Fried rice is always fun to make because you can always mix in any kind of ingredients you want!

Grilled Peanut Butter Tofu

Grilled Peanut Butter Tofu

So, the recipe called this Peanut tofu skewers (tofu tua barbecue), from a cookbook "thai: a culinary journey of discovery" by Judy Williams. But then I couldn't find skewers at home when I started making it so I kind of took the ingredients and made something else with it! I call it the "grilled peanut butter tofu" dish and it was very tasty...

Ingredients:

1 cup firm tofu cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tbs peanut or vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

5 tbs soy sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tbs crunchy peanut butter

1 cup chopped asparagus

1 cup chopped mushroom

Aluminum foil

Olive oil to drizzle

Procedure:

1. Pat the tofu cubes dry with paper towels

2. Put the oil, soy sauce, garlic, peanut butter in a food processor and process to a paste

3. Transfer to a bowl and stir the tofu cubes into the marinade

4. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour

5. Create a box with the aluminum foil

6. Place the mushroom, asparagus and the tofu in the aluminum foil and drizzle some olive oil over the top

7. Place the ingredients in the oven and grill for 10 minutes

Brighten Up Your Space...

Calalillies I bought for the dinning room

with fresh FLOWERS! Few days ago I went to the flower shop to purchase some flowers for our family living room. Spring is here (despite the strange weather forecast across the globe), and it's refreshing to smell the aroma of fresh cut flowers in the house. I use to think it was wasteful to buy or give flowers to people because they often die after a few days or weeks. But, the older I get the more I appreciate these colorful plants that brings more life to its surroundings. Go to a farmers market this weekend or your local florist and buy some flowers for your own space! 

tofu.tofu.tofu

One of my all time favorite part of any meal is dessert! Probably most girls would agree that they always have space for dessert after a meal. Of course there are those occasional individuals that refuse to eat any sort of sugar, butter, flour, related goods. Why? Well, I don't really know but lately I discovered making healthy desserts that doesn't include butter or sugar but with TOFU. 

Growing up in Asia I've had the luxury of eating lots of tofu and tofu related goodies. Desserts made of out tofu is quite deceiving because it tastes just like ordinary bakery goods, but of course healthier. For those that have been in New York City and have tried Kyotofu, it is possible to recreate those delicacies at home!  

Try making some Chocolate & Green Tea Pudding or Chocolate Tofu Pudding at home. Thanks to 101cookbooks and vegcooking for their recipes. I top the pudding off with some fresh bananas and maple syrup.

Next on my list is making tofu ice cream. Bought these miniature tofu ice cream at Mitsukoshi today flavors are sesame, chestnut, red bean and original.

Detoxing Your Kitchen

Detoxing your kitchen is part of reinventing your lifestyle. It's about cleansing the most important space in your living area (besides your bathroom and bedroom I think), and of course your body. We need to create a clean and healthy environment in our kitchen in order to make nutritious meals for our bodies. Here are some four simple steps that John Ang (a yoga instructor and vegetarian chef in Taipei) has suggested ...  

1. Always use wooden cutting board
2. Use purified water to wash your produce and cook your meals
3. Use stainless steel products to cook your meals with
4. Use organic dish soap to wash your dishware (there are so many organic products out there now, it's hard to know which one to choose, fun article to read about the CEO of Ecover, Mick Bremans voted as one of the Heroes of the Environment 2008)

 

Cabbage Delight

A light and healthy soup to compliment your meal. Mom wanted me to use up the cabbage in the fridge so I came up with an idea to make soup with it!

Serves: 6-10

Ingredients:

1/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium sized onion sliced
5 cups water
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 medium sized Chinese cabbage finely chopped
1/2 medium sized red cabbage finely chopped
1/2 chopped "san yao" (white sticky yam)

6 chopped mushrooms of your liking
1/2 cup wakamame
Pinch of dried seaweed

Procedure:

1. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot then add the sliced onion until golden brown
2. Add the water and salt and let it sit for 10 minutes
3. Place the Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, san yao, and mushrooms in the pot and let it sit under low heat for 30 minutes
4. Add the wakamame into the mixture and let it sit for another 5 minutes
5. Turn the heat off and let the pot cool
   
6. Pour the mixture into a blender (or use a puree mixture) and mix until the texture has turned into puree
7. Sprinkle the top with a pinch of dried seaweed and serve

** I tend to make everything impromptu style so feel free to add more salt or more water etc to your liking **

it's never too late....

to learn to cook

Open untouched worlds,
new sensations and cultures.
Become an entertainer.
Learn and make special recipes for special friends.
Stimulate your creative juices.
Invent your own recipes.
Be a culinary explorer.

"Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are."
-Anthelme Brillat - Savarin