Pumpkin Macaroni

I had an idea of making mac and cheese, but I wanted to make it healthy. That’s why I came up with the pumpkin idea because it has an awesome yellow colour much like cheddar cheese. All components are light, but it has a creamy texture from the pumpkin. I sauteed diced pumpkin with garlic and white wine and chicken stock, then I pureed it for a smooth texture. In the same pan, when the pumpkin is off to the blender, I sweated sliced shallots in olive oil with salt and pepper. I then added lemon thyme (from my little herb pot). After the shallots became translucent, I poured the pureed pumpkin back into the pan and added low fat milk to thin the sauce. Macaroni was added into the sauce and mixed together. The final touch is julient basil and freshly grated parmesan cheese to top. TA..DA…no guilt eating this healthy pumpkin macaroni.

New Era Falafel

My version of falafel was inspired by the taste of falafel with a twist of health consciousness. So, I made open face falafel in baked potato skin. I know it sounds strange, but I didn’t use pita bread. I also used peeled monk bean instead of chick peas because they are less starchy. I made my falafel in bite sizes because of my previous experience in having falafel that didn’t look very nice with the filling falling out upon taking a bite. With this, I found out how to enjoy eating falafel without a mess on my face and table.

Craving Heroes

I truly made this dessert from a craving my husband was having. Basically, I thought about something crunchy with ice cream because my husband loves accessories to his ice cream. I baked wonton wrappers in a muffin tray as the dessert containers and let them cool completely. I then mixed sliced banana and chocolate spread ( Nutella) and toasted hazelnuts for the topping. I scooped strawberry & vanilla ice cream, and mixed the banana slices into the wonton cups. Then I topped it with toasted hazelnuts. The combination of ice cream, chocolate and nuts made my husband flip. This dessert is well worth a try for your loved one.

Banana Walnut Pancakes with Chocolate Chips

I know when people talk about pancakes, it seems so easy and standard for people around here. I come from a place where people eat rice daily — even in the morning. So making pancakes has become a new experiment for me. I picked the ingredients that I enjoy eating such as: banana, walnuts and chocolate chips. It sounds simple, but my lemon cinnamon syrup is the special surprise twist for these pancakes. The recipe is very basic : equal parts of lemon juice and sugar and one small cinnamon stick. Bring it to boil and it’s ready to go with your pancakes. Woohoo!

Gorgonzola Rosemary Crackers

1/2 cup Gorgonzola

1/2 cup Butter ( room temperature)

2 Tablespoons Finely chopped rosemary

4 Tablespoons Water

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Pepper

1 1/4 Cups All purposed flour

I recently bought some gorgonzola cheese. I had so much that I had to think of a variety of different uses for it. I came up with the idea of crackers because I’d like to make unsweetened cookies. I left the butter and cheese out in room temperature for a few hours, so the cheese developed a full flavour before I mixed it into the batter. I also added chopped rosemary to perfume the dough. After the dough was ready, I rolled it in an inch size and flattened it at a quarter inch thick.  Bake at 350F for 22 minutes. Let it cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Coq Au Vin

I experimented with Coq Au Vin because my grandmother-in-law always says she makes French dinner for my husband and me. For some reason it looks different from what I expect. That little thing inspired me to attempt this dish. It came out nicely even though it was my first attempt. Thank you Ina Garten for the recipe from Food Network.

Taco

Friday is usually Taco night. We celebrate the beginning of the weekend (at least, for our little family) because it’s fun to assemble them yourself. My first taco cracked because I stuffed too much of everything. After that, I learned from observations that smaller sized ingredients are less messy and easier to eat.

Summer Rolls

Summer Rolls are healthy and fortunately easy to make. I have learned to make summer rolls from working in a restaurant watching cooks make them repeatedly. The trick is when you soak rice paper, you MUST use cold water. Hot or warm water makes rice paper soften quicker, but the rice paper will crack after you finish rolling them within 10-15 minutes. The filling is all fresh vegetables and cooked shrimp or hand made pork balls (optional). Basic filling is green leaf lettuce, cucumber, carrot, basil, vermicelli noodle). There are two kinds of dipping sauce that is usually served with summer rolls. One is a clear sauce that made from fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and chilli flakes (optional). Another is made from the combination of hoisin sauce, cooked carrots, pineapple and Sriracha (hot sauce). Personally, I prefer the second sauce because the it enhances the flavour of the vegetables and shrimp more.

Salted Fish Fried Rice

On his last visit, my father brought me salted fish from Thailand. Preserved food is very common in Thailand and people use it to enhance the flavour of the food. Some examples are preserved garlic, plum and seafood products. Salted fish fried rice is the perfect way to balance the saltiness from the fish with rice and vegetables. I prefer using Chinese broccoli. The first thing is infusing oil with salted fish and adding cooked jasmin rice. Don’t rush to add vegetables. Cook rice and salted fish together until you smell the rice, then add soy sauce (the amount depends on how salty your salted fish is) and vegetables.  Sprinkle chilli flakes for the finishing touches and you will have an authentic Thai version of the dish.

Larb Pork (Thai Spicy Pork Salad)

Larb is a spicy meat salad that people know in this country. It is very well-known dish in Thailand that you can find it in Som Tum (papaya salad) places. Larb is papaya salad’s cousin. It’s a warm meat salad. I normally use grilled meat or ground meat (pork, chicken or beef), but in Thailand you will also find duck and catfish available for this dish as well. Larb has one crucial ingredient that enhances the texture and fragrance the dish. It is by toasting rice with galanga, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves together, then grinding them.