Mid-2010 resolution -- Eating REAL food

My REAL food journey began back when I was in college. I started to choose whole wheat products (whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, and brown rice). Then when I started working, I became interested in organic foods, because they have no additives, GMOs, colorings and pesticides. I would choose pastured animals instead of conventional animal meat.

I opened my pantry the other day, and thought, most of the seasoning that I have been using are processed and refine. So I decided to start a 'mid-2010 resolution' to find some healthier version seasoning and started with sugar.

Walking into a grocery store baking isle, most of the sugar products are refine and bleached.
* White sugar - bleached evaporated cane sugar.
* Brown sugar - refined white sugar with a molasses syrup mixed in, then dried again.
* Raw sugar - sugar cane juice mix with lime and turned into sugar crystal.
* Honey and maple syrup - most common least refined and most natural sugar.
* Organic sugar - same as white/brown sugar, but without GMO.

I am still in the middle of my research, and I got a lot of support from a very good friends of mine, CC. She is also a dietitian, working in an out-patient setting. CC recommended that I look into rapadura, which is an organic unrefined and unbleached whole cane sugar. I searched through a couple of places and the cost range between $4.4 to $5.99 per 24 oz. I am planning to get some soon and will update my experience with the new find! Stay tuned.

PS. Please do not hesitate to leave comments and suggests!

Pork Marsala

This meal is a perfect $10 meal for 2 (with leftovers) with organic and pastured goodness.

Final bill:
$ 4 Pastured Pork Chop
$1 Marsala wine ($3 per bottle and only used less about a 1/3)
$1.5 Mushroom
$1 Organic whole wheat spaghetti (used 1/2 box)
$2.5 Organic salad
**************************************************
Total $10




Ingredients
* 2 pieces of pork chop
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
* 2/3 cup beef consommé (You can substitute with broth)
* 1/2 cup dry marsala wine
* 1 cup presliced mushrooms
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
1) Dredge pork chop in 3 tablespoons flour. Combine 1 tablespoon flour and consommé, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

2) Add pork chop in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook 3 minutes on each side or until brown. Remove Pork chop from pan and cut pork chop into big bite size.

3) Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add consommé mixture and mushrooms; bring to a boil. Add pork to pan and cook for 5 more minutes. Reduce heat; simmer 3 minutes or until thick. Sprinkle with parsley.

Asian Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers

I was talking with a friend the other night about cooking with ginger. In Chinese cooking, you use a lot of ginger. At my parent's place, they always have ginger in their pantry. For this recipe, I added ginger to add some kick to the normal pepper filling recipe and it turned out really well. I even used less seasoning to increase the flavor of this natural food.


The end product!!



Stuffed pepper filling.


Ingredients
* 20 mini sweet peppers (These peppers come in several sizes so when buying them, try to get the medium size. Remember, you are going to stuff them cut sideways, so you don’t want them to be too small.)
* ½ tbsp olive oil
* ¼ tsp of salt
* ½ lb ground beef
* 3 tbsp soy sauce
* ½ tsp ginger
* 1½ tsp chopped garlic
* 2 cups of cooked brown rice(refrigerated overnight)

Directions
1) Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Rinse all the peppers in cold water. Then cut off the tops, and pull out all of the seeds. Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, 1 tablespoon of soy and ¼ tsp of the ground ginger in a mixing bowl.

3) In a non stick pan mix together olive oil with the chopped garlic. Cook on high until just browned. Once the garlic is browned, add the meat and cook until brown, about 4 minutes. Then mix in the rice. Remove the mixture from the heat.

4) Fill each pepper and place it on a oil coated baking sheet and bake for about 10 mins or until the edges of each pepper turn to brown.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival !!

I wish Dragon Boat Festival was celebrated here in the US so we could have an extra holiday. Since we don't get to have a day off, I am bringing the festive to my kitchen.



Tonight, I made an all Chinese meal with traditional steam fish (recipe to follow). This is my first time steaming fish at home, outside of my parent's home, and it turned out great. Mr. S said he really liked it. I chose to cook pompano fish and true snapper.


I also brought a Chinese food that Mr. S had never tried---sticky rice dumplings! It is a traditional food for Dragon Boat Festival. In the picture below, you will see one made with roast pork and the other made with red bean paste.


Recipe
Stream fish

Ingredients
1 pound whole fish, cleaned (you may use fish fillet)
1 stalk green onion, cut into 3 inch lengths
2″ piece of ginger – finely sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions
1. Clean the fish, pat dry. If you are using fillet, make sure is it not frozen.

2. In a steamer, add 2″ of water in the bottom of the steam pot, cover and boil. When it is boiling, place the fish in the steamer. Steam on a medium heat for about 10 minutes (cooking time listed below).

3. Insert a chopstick gently into the thickest part of the fish. When you can poke through the fish, it is done.

4. Place the fish on a serving dish and garnish with green onion and ginger. Heat oil till sizzling and pour over fish, then add soy sauce. Serve hot.

Fish cooking time
* Whole fish 1 lb: check at 12 minutes, add 2 minutes for every 1/2 lb
* Fillets 1″ and thicker: check at 10 minutes, add 2 minutes for every 1/2″ more thickness
* Fillets less than 1″: check at 7 minutes
* Super thin fillets: check at 5 minutes

Avocado Pesto

I got some avocado to avocado salsa dip but never had a chance to use it because I ran out of tomatoes! So, I decided to make this healthy version of pesto using a little olive oil and avocado. Mix a little lemon with avocado and herbs to make this fabulous dish.

Ingredients
1 pound dried penne
1 bunch basil leaves (about 2½ ounces)
½ cup pine nuts
2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

Directions
1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to package directions. While pasta cooks, in a food processor, blend basil, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add sundried tomatoes and slightly blend into the pesto for 1 second.

2. Drain pasta. In a large serving bowl, toss pesto with hot, freshly cooked pasta and garnish each serving with a basil leaf.

Spaghetti with Creamy Spinach and Tarragon

I got some spinach from the organic farm share and I was tired of eating it as salad or in soup. So I decided to put it in a pasta dish.

Ingredients
* 1 bunch of spinach, chopped
* 3 scallions including green tops, chopped
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon(or basil)
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 pound spaghetti
* 5 ounces cream cheese(low fat or fat free preferred), cut into cubes
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

Preparation
1. Remove any tough stems from the spinach. In a large frying pan, heat over moderately low heat, add the scallions and tarragon and cook for 2 minutes. Add the spinach and salt and stir until wilted. Simmer until the liquid evaporates from the spinach, about 5 minutes.

2. In a large pot of boiling, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the spaghetti and toss with 3/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, the spinach mixture, the cream cheese, parsley, Parmesan, and pepper. If the sauce seems too thick, add more of the reserved pasta water.

Kale and White Bean Soup

Since I was young I have never liked the legumes family. This year I have been telling myself that I am going to reintroduce myself to them and make them into some delicious meals.

A couple of months ago, I tried a white bean soup at Mobile Chow down and I really liked it. So when I saw organic white beans on sale, I got a couple of cans but haven't used them. Since I have some vegetables from the farm share that fit with this recipe, I created this meal that only took me 20 minutes with all the fresh ingredients.

Ingredients
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
3 cups of chicken Broth
2 cups of water
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch of carrots, peeled and sliced
4 cups packed chopped kale
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

Directions
1) In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer.
2) Add broth, water, tomatoes and carrots then cover. Cook for 5 minutes.
3) Add kale and white beans and cook until tender. Serve hot.

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

I found this recipe from Ellen Krieger of the Food Network. I tried it with tofu and it turned out great! The skewer on the left is made with chicken and the right is tofu.

Ingredients
* 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
* 1/2 cup lite coconut milk
* 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
* 1 shallot, sliced thin
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce (or 2 additional teaspoons low sodium soy sauce)
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
* 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast pounded slightly and cut into 1-inch strips (I used 1 chicken breast and 1 carton of tofu instead of following the original recipe)

Directions
8 (8-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked for 20 minutes

* 3/4 cup Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce, recipe below
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil or cilantro leaves
* 1/4 cup chopped toasted peanuts

1) In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the chicken stock, coconut milk, soy sauce, shallot, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, and ginger. Add the chicken strips and marinate for 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.
2) Spray a nonstick grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over a medium-high flame. While pan is heating, thread chicken onto skewers. Grill 2 to 3 minutes per side, until meat is cooked through and has light grill marks.
3) Serve chicken skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce, and garnish with basil or cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Yield: 4 servings (2 skewers and 2 tablespoons peanut sauce per serving)


Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce:
* 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
* 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
* 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
* 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
* 2 tablespoons lime juice
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
* 1 teaspoon red curry paste
* 1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

1) Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
2) Sauce can be made 1 day ahead of time, and will keep 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups

Spaghetti with Shrimp and Snow Peas

This is a perfect week night dinner because it only took me 20 minutes to prepare.

Shrimp is low in fat and contains fish oil which is good for your heart. It is high in cholesterol though, so if you have high cholesterol, you might want to limit the amount of shrimp. I chose wild caught shrimp because I read a research paper that stated wild caught seafood contains more omega-3 fatty acid.

Ingredients
* 3/4 pound whole wheat spaghetti
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 1 pound snow peas
* 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 2 tablespoon sweet chili Thai sauce(substitute: 1 Tbsp sugar and sprinkle of chili flakes)
* 3 Roma tomatoes, cut to cubes
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cup freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley


Directions
1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
2) Meanwhile, heat the non-stick large skillet over a medium-high flame. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
3) Add the shrimp and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
4) Saute the snow peas. Remove the snow peas and set aside.
5) Add the lemon juice, white wine, sweet Thai chili sauce and the reserved cup water to the skillet. Let simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half.
6) Add tomatoes, cook until soften.
7) Return the shrimp and snow peas to the pan and stir in the parsley. Add the drained spaghetti to the shrimp mixture, tossing to combine.
8) Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Another box of deliciousness

Just received another box of organic farm share. Nowadays, you can find farm share for around $30-40 per time and they will deliver to your door step. This is a very good way to try out different fruit and vegetables. One box of veggies can last Mr. S and I for 2 weeks.

This is our last box of organic vegetables because the farmers market that close to home just started this year. Can't wait to go grocery shopping (my weakness!)

Vietamese Fresh Spring Rolls

This is one of my favorites Vietnamese food and I am surprised how easy to make them. One of the tricks is that , when you soak the rice paper, you only need to soak it until its softened but still a little hard before transferring to the work station. If you soak the rice paper for too long, it will become too soft to handle.


Ingredients
* 2 ounces rice vermicelli
* 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
* 8 large cooked shrimp - peeled, deveined and cut in half
* 1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 leaves lettuce, chopped
* 4 teaspoons fish sauce
* 1/4 cup water
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
* 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
* 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts

Directions
1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
2. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
3. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
4. In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
5. Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.

Chicken Cacciatore

I got the idea from Ellie Krieger of food network recipe. Instead of using 4 chicken breasts, I used 1 and sliced it so we would not eat too much meat. And I also put more veggies into the dish, because I got some vegetables from the organic farm share that I needed to finish. Finally, I used my non-stick pan, so I didn't need to use oil!

Here you go!

Ingredients
* 1 skinless chicken breast, sliced
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
* 2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
* 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
* 1/2 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, chopped and juice reserved
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste

Directions
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the pan over moderately-high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides, about 3 minutes. Remove the chicken.
3. Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the onion and pepper, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cucumber and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to brown. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes and juice, oregano, red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and simmer the mixture covered for 10 minutes.
4. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer.

It's fabulous!

Finally, today is the day, I decided to start this blog to talk about food. I always have had a passion about food. It doesn't matter if its eating out or cooking at home.

The story behind the blog is:
I love cooking and trying out different recipes. Late last year, I found myself cooking a lot of Asian meals. I decided that my new year resolution would be to cook American food for the month of January. I got a lot of support from all my American friends and I took pictures of the food that I made to post them on facebook. I got a lot of good feedback, so I started to put pictures of food that I made on facebook more routinely.

So now, 6 months later, with the support from my friends and my husband, Mr. S, I decided to put all the fabulous & delicious dishes that I make onto this blog to share with you.

Hope you all would enjoy!!