Steamed Winter Melon

If you are ever cooking for little kids or old people who can't use their teeth to its full use, this is a great dish to serve them. It's delicious over rice and very watery too!

Ingredients:
1 winter melon, shaved and sliced into rings take out the seeds to create a donut shape
1/4 cup chopped red bell peppers
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup ground pork
1/2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1/2 tbs corn startch

Procedure:
1. Mix the bell peppers, mushrooms, pork, soy sauce, seame oil, and corn startch in a bowl, until the consistency allows you to create little meat balls
2. Stuff the middle of each winter melon that you have cut out with the mixed ingredients
3. Place the stuffed winter melons in a bowl/plate (stack them if needed) and then put it in a steamer with about 1 cup of water
4. Once steamed it is ready to be served!

Veggie Quesadilla

Ok, so I did not take a fabulous picture of this since we were in a rush to serve it to our guests. But, let me assure you that the inside is very colorful and with the toasty tortilla this appetizer was tasty.

Ingredients:

1 cup black bean

1 1-inch kombu

1 minced garlic

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh lime juice

2 tbs chopped cilantro

2 large mushrooms (preferably portobello) thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper thinly sliced

1 tbs olive oil

sea salt

ground pepper

2 12-inch whole wheat tortilla

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Procedure:

1. Prepare the puree by rinsing the beans and putting them in a bowl with a piece of kombu, add enough water to cover by about 2 inches and let it it soak overnight

2. Drain beans and reserve the kombu and transfer them both to a soup pot and bowl. Let the water simmer for about an hour until just tender. Drain and set aside...instead of slow cooking the beans in a pot I steamed them (much faster)

3. Transfer the beans to a food processor and blend, add the garlic, sea salt, lime juice, and cilantro, a bit of cooking oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning, the puree can be made a few days before hand and refrigerate

4. Preheat the oven to 350F

5. Toss the mushrooms and pepper in olive oil and salt, place on baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 30-45 min, set aside

6. Spread a thing layer of the bean puree onto a tortilla, top with half roasted mushroom-pepper mix and half the onion slices. Fold the tortilla in half and bake for about 15 min or until warm