Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast

I love slow cooking because I can come home with a delicious meal waiting for me. CC and I and some friends shared a pastured grass-fed cow again this year and I got a quarter cow from this local farmer.

This is what my second freezer look like with a quarter of beef.

Tonight, I made a recipe that is similar to a recipe that I made before, but this time I used less ingredients and the flavor is as good as that recipe.


Ingredients
*3-4 pound boneless chuck roast
*1-2 T steak rub
*black pepper to taste
*1-2 T olive oil
*1/4 cup water
*2-3 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
*1 cup homemade beef stock
*1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
*1/2 cup tomato sauce (You can substitute one can diced tomatoes, drained well)


Direction
1) Trim the fat from the roast. Rub meat well with steak seasoning and black pepper. Heat heavy pan with small amount of olive oil and brown roast well on both sides. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup water and add to sauce mixture.

2) Bring 1 cup beef broth to a boil and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, then let cool slightly and mix in balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce.

3) Place onions in bottom of slow cooker. Put meat on top of onions and pour beef stock mixture over. Set slow cooker to low and cook 6-8 hours, until beef is tender.

4) Remove meat from slow cooker and cover with foil to keep warm. Drain liquid from slow cooker and remove as much of the fat as you can with fat separator or skimmer. Cook down liquid by about 1/3, and serve sauce with meat and onions.

Cream Cheese Walnut Cookies

I have been very busy with work lately so I was thinking of an easy cookie recipe to bring to the cookies exchange party tonight. This recipe allows you to make the dough a couple days in advance and bake it on the day of the party.

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Ingredients
*4 cups all-purpose flour
*1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
*2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
*6 ounces cream cheese (not whipped), room temperature
*1 1/4 cups sugar
*2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
*2 1/2 cups walnut halves (1 1/2 cups toasted and coarsely chopped and 1 cup finely chopped)

Directions
1) Whisk together flour and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in sugar and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix until just combined (do not overmix). Mix in toasted walnuts.
2) Transfer dough to a work surface. Divide in half; shape each half into an 8 1/2-inch long log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in parchment paper; freeze until firm, about 30 minutes or up to 2 weeks.
3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Unwrap 1 log, and roll in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, coating completely. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
4) Bake cookies, rotating halfway through, until golden around edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Repeat with remaining log and remaining 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

Bacon Wrapped Dates with Cream Cheese and Almond

My friend KW made bacon wrapped dates one time at her party and I thought it was the best idea ever. Today, I am invited to go to a cookie exchange party and decided to make the bacon wrapped dates with a twist. I added cream cheese and almond to increase the flavor.


serve 30
Ingredients
*30 (1 by 1/4-inch) pieces cream cheese
*30 pitted dates (preferably Medjool)
*30 salted and roasted whole almonds
*10 slices bacon cut crosswise into thirds
*30 wooden picks

Directions
1)Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2) Stuff 1 piece of cheese and 1 almond into each date, then wrap one piece of bacon around each date and secure bacon with a toothpick if desired. Arrange dates, bacon seam down and 1 inch apart in a shallow baking pan.
3) Bake 5 minutes, then turn dates over with tongs and bake until bacon is crisp, 5 to 6 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel or parchment. Serve immediately.

Moussaka

Mr. S and I went to Taverna Mazi the other night with some friends. I am new to Greek food so everything on the menu looked foreign to me. We discovered Moussaka and ordered it to try and ended up loving it!  I immediately looked for the recipe and I have to admit, it is not easy to make, but it was so delicious.

Ingredients

*3-4 eggplants, about 4 lbs. total

*1 lb. potatoes

*1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (or lamb)

*2 large onions, finely diced

*2 cloves garlic, minced

*1/2 cup red wine

*1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

*1 tsp. ground cinnamon

*1/4 tsp. ground allspice

*1 cup tomato puree (or crushed tomatoes)

*2 tbsp. tomato paste

*1 tsp. sugar

*Salt and pepper to taste

*2 cups plain breadcrumbs

*8 egg whites, lightly beaten (reserve yolks for bechamel)

*1 cup grated Kefalotyri or Parmesan cheese

Bechamel Sauce:

*1 cup salted butter (2 sticks)

*1 cup flour

*4 cups milk, warmed

*8 egg yolks, lightly beaten

*Pinch of ground nutmeg

Directions

1) Prep the Vegetables:  Using a sharp peeler, partially peel the eggplants, leaving strips of peel about 1 inch wide around the eggplant. Slice the eggplant in to 1/2 inch slices. Place the eggplant slices in a colander and salt them liberally. Cover them with an inverted plate that is weighted down by a heavy can or jar. Place the colander in the sink so that excess moisture can be drawn out. They will need to sit for at least 15-20 minutes, preferably an hour. The salt also helps to remove some of the bitterness of the eggplant.

2) Peel the potatoes and boil them whole until they are just done. They should not get too soft, just cooked enough so that they no longer crunch. Drain, cool and slice them in 1/4 inch slices. Set aside.

3) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil and lightly grease. Add a splash of water to the egg whites and beat them lightly with a fork. Add breadcrumbs to a flat plate.

4) Rinse the eggplant slices and dry with paper towels. Dip the eggplant slices in the beaten egg whites and then dredge them in the breadcrumbs, coating both sides. Place breaded eggplant slices on baking sheets and bake at 400 degrees for 1/2 an hour, turning them over once during cooking.

5) When eggplant is finished cooking, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Make the Meat Filling:

6) In a large sauté pan, brown the ground beef (or lamb) until the pink color disappears. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

7) Add wine to pan and allow it to simmer and reduce a bit before adding cinnamon, allspice, parsley, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and sugar. Allow the sauce to simmer uncovered for approximately 15 minutes so that excess liquid can evaporate. It should be a drier, chunkier, tomato sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

8) Make the Béchamel Sauce:

a- Melt butter over low heat. Using a whisk, add flour to melted butter whisking continuously to make a smooth paste. Allow the flour to cook for a minute but do not allow it to brown. 

b- Add warmed milk to mixture in a steady stream, whisking continuously.  Simmer over low heat until it thickens a bit but does not boil. 

c- Remove from heat, and stir in beaten egg yolks and pinch of nutmeg. Return to heat and stir until sauce thickens.

 9)Assemble the Moussaka:

Lightly grease a large deep baking pan (lasagna pan). Sprinkle the bottom of pan with breadcrumbs. Leaving a 1/4 inch space around the edges of the pan, place a layer of potatoes on the bottom. Top with a layer of eggplant slices.

10) Add meat sauce on top of eggplant layer and sprinkle with 1/4 of the grated cheese. Top with another layer of eggplant slices and sprinkle once again with 1/4 of the grated cheese.

11) Pour the béchamel sauce over the eggplant and be sure to allow sauce to fill the sides and corners of the pan. Smooth the béchamel on top with a spatula and sprinkle with remaining grated cheese. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes or until béchamel sauce is a nice golden brown color. Allow to cool for 15 – 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

You can make this dish ahead up until the béchamel sauce and refrigerate. Make the béchamel sauce right before you intend to bake it.

Shrimp and Chive Dumplings

When I look at cook books, I never thought it is possible to make dim sum at home. It always seems like dim sum is very hard to make, until I come across this recipe, which I can use wonton wraps instead of making the wrapping from scratch. And I am surprise how well it turned out.

I have left over chives after making the dumplings, so I used the rest of it to make egg scramble.

Also, we ate the dumplings and egg scramble with some cold soba noodles. What you need to do is to cook the soba noodles in hot water. Drained the noodles and add to ice cold water. At the dinner table, you will have a soba noodle dipping sauce so you can grab the noodles from the ice cold water to dip in the sauce.

Ingredients

*12 oz. peeled and deveined shrimps (medium to big size)

*1 oz. chives (cut into very short pieces)

*1 teaspoon egg white

*1/2 teaspoon tapioca starch

*1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder

*1/4 teaspoon salt

*1/4 teaspoon fish sauce

*1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

*3 dashes white pepper powder

*1/2 teaspoon sugar

*1 teaspoon oil

*Wonton skin

*Some cooking oil for pan-frying

Soy-Vinegar Dipping Sauce:

*1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

*1 1/2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar

Directions

1) Clean and rinse the shrimps with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Mix the soy-vinegar dipping sauce and set aside.

2) Cut the shrimps into small pieces (about 3-4 pieces per shrimp), add chives and mix well. Marinate the filling with the rest of the ingredients for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

3) Lay a wonton skin on a flat surface. Dab your index finger with some water and trace it along the four outer edges of the wonton skin. Add a teaspoon of the filling and fold the wonton skin towards the middle. Dab some water to the wonton skin to seal tight. The dumplings should look somewhat round. Repeat the same until the filling is used up.

4) Heat up a pan on medium to low heat and add some oil. Transfer all dumplings into the pan and cover it with its lid. Pan-fry the dumplings on one site until golden brown and then turn over to pan-fry the other site. (Add more oil to the pan if required.) Repeat to make sure that both sites are equally done. Dish out and serve immediately with soy-vinegar dipping sauce.

Indonesian Fried Noodles

Everybody that knows me would know how much I LOVE noodles. When I am doing my research on South East Asian meals, I asked one of my co-workers who is from Indonesia. She suggested me to make this dish because it has my favorite tofu, shrimp, hot sauce and NOODLES! She gave me a more complicated recipe and I simplified it a little bit to fit into the ingredients that I have in my pantry.

Ingredients

*1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth or water

*3 tablespoons ketjap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)

*1 1/2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

*1 tablespoon sambal oelek or Sriracha (Southeast Asian chile sauce)

*1/2 teaspoon black pepper

*3/4 teaspoon salt

*4 large eggs

*2 large onions, halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices

*2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

*1/4 teaspoon minced fresh red or green Thai or serrano chile, including seeds

*1 package firm tofu, cut into small cubes

*1/2 pound of shrimp

*6 ounce snow peas, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces

*6 ounce Chinese long beans or haricots verts, cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces

*1 pound spaghetti noodles, cooked

*2 scallions, cut diagonally into very thin slices

Directions

1) In a small bowl, stir together broth, ketjap manis, fish sauce, sambal oelek, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

2) In another bowl, beat together eggs and a pinch of salt. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in wok at high heat, then add eggs, swirling in wok, and cook until barely set in center, about 2 minutes. Gently slide egg crêpe out onto a cutting board, then roll into a loose cylinder and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (do not unroll).

3) Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in wok over high heat, add onions with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt until deep golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and chile and stir-fry 1 minute, then add tofu and shrimp and stir-fry 3 minutes. Add snow peas and long beans and stir-fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add sauce and bring to a boil, then add noodles and stir-fry (use 2 spatulas to stir if necessary) until noodles are hot. Transfer to a large platter and arrange egg over noodles. Sprinkle with scallions.

Claypot Chicken with Rice

In continuation of my Chinese/Southeast Asian food week, today I am making Claypot Chicken with Rice. The dish normally is serve during winter time because the Claypot can keep the food warm during the meal and the Chinese Sausage has a little more fat so it will keep you warm during winter. I cheated making this dish with a rice cooker instead of a claypot because its easy! But I wrote this recipe for you to use on a stove top.


Ingredients
*1 pound chicken meat, deboned and sliced into 2-inch pieces
*1 tablespoon cornstarch
*3 teaspoons Chinese rice wine
*3 teaspoons sesame oil
*A pinch of salt
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil
*3 cloves of garlic, minced
*A 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
*1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in hot water and sliced
*3 pieces of dried Chinese sausage (Lap Cheong), sliced
*2 cups white rice, rinsed in cold water until the water runs clear and drained
*2 teaspoons light soy sauce
*2 teaspoons sesame oil
*¾ cup of water, at room temperature
*1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
*1 teaspoon sesame oil

Direction
1) Whisk the cornstarch, rice wine, sesame oil and salt in a bowl, then pour it over the chicken pieces, mixing well to coat. Set aside for 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2) Heat the oil in a wok or a deep frying pan, then add the garlic and ginger, frying until fragrant. Add the marinated chicken and stir. When the meat starts to brown, add the mushrooms and chinese sausage, stirring for a minute to mix well.
3) Add the rice to the wok and turn the heat to high, mixing as you go to allow the rice to fully absorb the flavor of the other ingredients. Add the light soy sauce and sesame oil to the wok and keep stirring and mixing for another 2 minutes.
5) Turn off the heat and transfer the contents of the wok to the saucepot or claypot. Add the water, then cover and increase the heat to medium.
6) Leave the ingredients to cook for about an hour, checking-in every 15 minutes and giving the rice a stir or two.
8) When the rice is done, drizzle the dark soy sauce and sesame oil over the rice.

General Tsos Chicken

I resumed my Chinese/Southeast Asian week today. I am making the most popular Chinese dish, General Tsos Chicken. I don't remember if I have had this dish before when I was living in Hong Kong, but the sweet and sour, plus a little spiciness increased my appetite. Instead of deep frying the chicken, I breaded it and baked it.


Ingredients
*10 oz boneless skinless chicken meat (thigh or breast), cut into bite-sized pieces
*1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
*Pinch of salt
*1/3 cup cornstarch
*1 1/2 tablespoons oil
*3 slices peeled ginger, finely minced
*1 clove garlic, finely minced
*4-5 dried red chiles, rinsed and deseeded
*2 stalks scallion, white-part only, cut into 1-inch lengths

Sauce:
*2 1/2 tablespoons Chinese rice vinegar
*2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
*1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
*1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
*1/4 cup water
*2 tablespoons sugar
*1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing Wine
*1 scant tablespoon corn starch

Direction
1) Marinate the chicken meat with the Shaoxing wine and salt for 15 minutes.
2) Mix all the ingredients for the Sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.
3) Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Coat the chicken generously with the 1/3 cup cornstarch. Bake the chicken of 10 minutes and turn to the other side, and bake 10 more minutes.
4) Heat up a wok with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Add the minced ginger, garlic, and dried chilies into the wok, stir-fry until you smell the spicy aroma of the chilies. Pour the sauce into the wok. When the sauce boils and thickens, add the chicken, stir to combine well with the sauce. Add the scallion and stir a few times, dish out and serve immediately.

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

I am not sure if I have mentioned, Mr. S and I just bought our first house! We are(or just I am) enjoying the kitchen a lot because the house has a gourmet kitchen. This weekend, Mr. S's parents came to visit us, so I decided to make a very good meal to impress them.

Making buttermilk chicken is very easy. I got this pastured chicken from a farm a while ago. The hardest part is to cut the whole chicken into pieces. I just used my creativity to cut the whole chicken into 10 pieces and then marinated it in buttermilk in the morning and then cooked it in the evening. The chicken was very juicy and tender. The skin was crispy despite baking instead of deep frying it.


Ingredients
* 2 cups buttermilk
* Juice of 1/2 lemon
* 1 tablespoon hot sauce
* 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
* 5 sprigs fresh thyme
* 3 cloves garlic, smashed
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 (3 pound) chicken cut into 10 pieces, rinsed and patted dry
* 2 cups crushed corn flakes
* 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Directions
1) Mix together buttermilk, lemon juice, hot sauce, onion, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Add chicken and coat with mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 12 hours.
2) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Fit a sheet tray with a wire rack and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
3) Mix corn flakes, Parmesan cheese, and thyme together. Season with salt and pepper.
4) Remove chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and dredge through the corn flake-Parmesan mixture, pressing to help it adhere.
5) Place on the wire rack-fitted sheet tray and bake for 45 minutes until golden and crisp.

Black Bean Spare Ribs

I was in a mood again to cook a week of Chinese/South East Asian food. I was checking out different recipe websites to get some ideas and I decided to make some of my all time favorite dishes for a week. Today we had black bean spear ribs. Safeway had natural pork ribs on sale so it was perfect timing to make this dish!


Ingredients
*1 tablespoon oil
*1 1/2 pounds pork spare ribs, cut to 1-inch pieces
*1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
*2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
*1 medium-sized leek, thinly sliced
*Thinly sliced scallions, optional

Sauce
*3 tablespoons spicy black bean sauce
*2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
*1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
*1 teaspoon brown sugar
*1 teaspoon cornstarch
*1/2 cup water

Direction
1) Mix together ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
2) In a wok or frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spare ribs and stir-fry until brown on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and leeks and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Pour in sauce mixture. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes. Sauce should be reduced enough to coat the spare ribs. Transfer to serving plate, garnish with scallions, and serve with rice.

Quinoa with Chard and Bacon

Mr. S and I went to the Ballard Farmer's Market on Sunday and got a big butch of chard. Mr. S was hesitant to try chard, so I wanted to cook it as deliciously as possible. I saw the recipe of Red Chard and Rice on foodnetwork.com from Rachael Ray and thought Mr. S would like it because it has BACON in it.

I changed the rice to quinoa to increase the fiber and protein of this dish.


Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 to 4 slices bacon, or 1 (1/8-inch thick) slice of speck, finely chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, grated
* 1 small bunch red chard, stemmed and chopped
* Freshly grated nutmeg
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika or sweet paprika
* 1 cup quinoa
* 1 3/4 cups chicken stock or water

Directions
Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a saucepot over medium heat. Add the bacon, cook 2 minutes, then add the garlic and stir 1 minute. Add the chard and season with a little nutmeg, salt, pepper, and paprika. When the chard is wilted add the quinoa and stir 1 minute more. Add the stock or water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook 15 to 18 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Fluff with a fork and serve.

*Recipe from food network.



We had the quinoa dish with tri-tip steak from the grass fed cow share that we ordered last year. I bought a bottle of steak marinate from the store and marinated it over night. Then I baked it for around 30 minutes and seared it on a grill pan. It was very tasty, but next time I will try to make the marinade myself.

Homemade Sauerkraut Part II

It is time to report the progress of the Sauerkraut. I started the fermentation about 1 and a half weeks ago, you can find the recipe here. Due to the cold weather in Seattle, my house's temperature has been probably around 60 degrees, so the fermentation took a little longer than most of the books recommended. Honestly, I think the best way to know if the kraut is done is to taste it yourself. Also, some people might like it more sour and some people might like it more mild. I have my in home tasting judge Mr. S to ensure the quality meets our standards before bottling it.

I put a pot filled with water on top of a plate as a weight to create a brine.


The color of the brine and the cabbage got darker. It turned into light dark yellow.

I put some of the kraut juice into the bottle as well. Enjoy the delicious natural probiotics!

Kombucha Part II

After waiting for 10 days, finally the Kombucha is ready to enjoy. You can check out here to read how I started brewing Kombucha.

The weather in Seattle has been cold, so it took a longer time than the Sally Fallon's recommendation to wait for 7 days. I tasted it on Day 7 and it tasted sweet. So I waiting a couple more days and today, is the day that the Kombucha tasted like Synergy drinks(A Kombucha brand that you buy from the store).


You will see yeast in the tea. My friend used a cheese cloth to filter the Kombucha. I used a colander to drain the tea, and the tea is somewhat filtered. Then I bottled them into swing top bottles. I stored the bottle in a cool area of my house. When I am ready to drink them I will put them in the refrigerator.

Homemade Sauerkraut

I have been in a ‘homemade’ mood lately. First, it was the Kombucha, then the u-pick organic strawberries and waiting to make jam, and now, I am making sauerkraut. Last year, I attempted to make my own sauerkraut but it ended up too salty. This year, I want to try it again. I was waiting for the summer to come, so I could get some in season organic cabbage from the local farm. I got a box of Full Circle produce this week and it included cabbage.
Recipe is modified from Nourishing Tradition

Ingredients
1 medium cabbage, cored and shredded
1 tablespoon sea salt (I use Redmond Real Salt)

Tools
a meat hammer

Directions
1) In a bowl, mix cabbage with sea salt. Pound with a meat hammer for about 10 minutes to release juices.



2) Place the cabbage in a mixing bowl and press down using a weight on a plate until juices come to the top of the cabbage. Keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.

I will report on how it turned out in 3 days. So excited!

Kombucha

Have you ever have Kombucha? Kombucha is a fermented tea drink using a Kombucha culture, SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). When you add sugar in the tea, the SOCBY acts on sugar and tea to produce some acid, including gluceronic acid. According to Nourishing Tradition by Sally Fallon, Glucuronic acid is a potent detoxifying substance. This drink is originally from the Ural mountain region of Russia.

The one that you get from the store usually comes with different fruit flavors and it would cost around $3-4 per bottle. But brewing Kombucha is very easy and cheap! First, you will need a jar. I bought a one gallon jar off craigslist. Then I got my SCOBY from a friend. You can get the rest of the ingredients very easily. The last thing you need is a warm safe place, where you can put the Kombucha and forget about it for a week.

Sally Fallon also mentioned, it is best to use white sugar instead of honey or Repadura. Use organic black tea, instead of flavored tea, because it has the highest amount of glycuronic acid and non-organic teas are high in fluoride.



Recipe from Nourishing Tradition.

Ingredients
3 quarts filtered water
1 cup sugar
4 tea bags of organic black tea
1/2 cup kombucha from previous culture
1 kombucha SCOBY

Directions
1) Bring 3 quarts filtered water to boil. Add sugar and simmer until dissolved. Remove from heat, add the tea bags and allow the tea too steep until water has completely cooled.
2) Remove tea bags. Pour cooled liquid into a gallon jar and add 1/2 cup kombucha from the previous batch. Place the SCOBY on top of the liquid. Cover loosely with a cloth or towel and transfer to a warm, dark place away from contaminants and insects.
3) In about 7-10 days, the kombucha will be ready, depending on the temperature. It should be rather sour and possibly fizzy, with no taste of tea remaining. Transfer to covered glass containers and store in the refrigerator.
4) When the kombucha is ready, your SCOBY will have grown a second spongy pancake. This can be used to make other batches or given away to friends. Store the SCOBY in a glass or stainless steel container, never plastic. The SCOBY can be used dozens of times. But if the kombucha doesn't sour probably, or if there is mold growing on top, discard the SCOBY and the kombucha and order a new clean one.


I will report on the Kombucha end results.

Spiced Roasted Chicken

QFC had organic chicken on sale so I decided to make a roasted chicken. This time, I added some Asian inspiration to the recipe. I added paprika, ginger, coriander, and cumin, but you can add five spice to give a kick to the flavor of the chicken.


Ingredients
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), rinsed and patted dry, legs tied
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 medium potatoes, halved crosswise, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 orange, unpeeled, cut into 8 wedges

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, combine spices. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then rub all over with spice mixture. Place in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid. Arrange vegetables and orange wedges around chicken and add 1/2 cup water. Cover and roast 30 minutes.

2) Remove lid and roast until skin is golden brown and juices run clear when chicken is pierced between breast and leg, about 30 minutes or temperature reach 165F. Let rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with vegetables and orange wedges.

Spinach Smoked Mac and Cheese

I got a bunch of organic spinach from the Full Circle Farm delivery and I was thinking what I can do with it outside of preparing it as a salad. Finally I thought I can put it into mac and cheese.

So I went to Trader Joes, and was looking at their cheeses, and I was impressed that they carry raw milk cheese and grass fed cow cheese.
I decided to make this mac and cheese with a twist, so I used a smoked Gouda as part of the cheese mix. You can also add goat cheese if you like.


Ingredients
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely minced sweet onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 cups spinach leaves, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 cup shredded Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
1 cup shredded Smoked Gouda
3/4 pound penne, cooked

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in flour until mixture is golden. Add the milk, whisking constantly. Raise heat to medium-high, bring to a boil and continue to whisk until sauce is smooth and thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

2. Add spinach to sauce; give it a few stirs until spinach is wilted. Stir in cheeses until melted and well combined. Add cooked pasta and stir. Taste and add more salt and/or pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Buttery Shrimp and Radish Pasta

It’s finally summer in Seattle! Well, what I mean is, our summer has been hidden and finally the weather is getting a little warmer (The temperature is getting up to 60-70F with the sun hanging out during the day). I got my first box of produce from Full Circle Farm. You can change out the box contents in advance so you get what you want. But I think it is fun to open a box and be surprised, so I can try out different fruits and vegetables. This time my surprise was RADISHES! I have tried radishes before and I never really liked them. I think it is because I had it raw and it tasted like mud.... I think I over exaggerated.

The next thing I did was to search for a recipe for a food that I don't usually cook with. I chose a Martha Stewart recipe, but I adjusted it a bit to add more herbs to increase the flavor of this dish.


Ingredients
3/4 pound pasta, cooked
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 large bunch radishes, thinly sliced, greens rinsed well and roughly chopped
1 pound frozen large shrimp (peeled and deveined), thawed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dry parsley

Directions
1) In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until radishes are crisp-tender, 3 minutes. Add radish greens and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper, then add to pasta and stir to combine.

2) In skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add shrimp, season with herbs, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until opaque throughout, 4 minutes. Add shrimp to pasta and toss, adding enough pasta water to create a light sauce that coats pasta.

Pan fried Breaded Cod

The flavor of cod is very different from salmon or any other fish. It is a very bland fish, so we usually deep fry it and dip with a very flavorful tartar sauce. This time, I added more salt to marinate the fish to increase its flavor. I have been using Redmond all natural sea salt for all my cooking. The grocery store had wild cod for sale for $4 a pound, so I immediately bought some and cooked it for dinner.


Ingredients
* 2 pieces wild cod fillet
* salt and pepper
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 cup bread crumbs

Directions
1) Pat dry the fish. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides. Dust the fillets with flour, then dip in the beaten egg and coat with bread crumbs.
2) Heat saucepan with olive oil. Gently put the breaded fillets in the saucepan. Cook for 2-4 minutes or until golden, turn to the other side and cook for another 2-4 minutes.

Tofu and Egg Donburi

It is Donburi again! This time I used tofu instead of meat. Also, instead of deep frying the tofu(see Chicken Donburi recipe here), I pan fried them. The sweet soy sauce broth is soaked up by the rice and definitely increases your appetite!


Ingredients
* 3 cups short grain rice
* 1 cup dashi broth
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 2 tablspoons sugar
* 2 tablespoons mirin
* 1 block of tofu, cut into cubes
* 1 cup onion, thin sliced
* 4 eggs, beaten

Directions
1) Mix dashi broth, soy sauce, sugar and mirin in a bowl. Heat broth in a skillet until the sugar dissolves. Under low heat, add the tofu and onion. Cook for 3-5 minutes, then add in beaten egg, stir in.
2) In the meantime, have read steamed rice in a deep bow. When the egg has set, in about 50 seconds, slip the mixture over the rice.

Chinese-style Stuffed Pepper

When I was still living with my parents, they would make this stuffed pepper all the time. You can find them at Dim Sum restaurants and at street food venders. The peppers are stuffed with minced fish and shrimp, then pan fried. This time, I used minced fish, which I got from the Asian grocery store. It is very easy to make. You can buy some white fish and put into the food processor to minced to paste, then add salt.



Ingredients
* 3 pepper (yellow, red, and orange each)
* 1 cup minced fish paste
* 3 tablespoon oil
* 3 tablespoon oyster sauce
* 2 teaspoon sugar
* 1/4 cup water
* 2 teaspoon corn starch

Directions
1) Wash and dry the peppers, cut into half, remove seeds and the white lining inside. Cut the pepper into pieces, square or rectangular shapes as desired.
2) Using a knife, spread the fish paste on the pepper.
3) Heat a skillet with oil in medium heat. Gently lay the stuffed peppers on the pan with the paste facing down for 2-3 minutes until light yellow brown. Turn the peppers to the other side and fry for another 2 mins or turn brown.
4) Transfer the cooked stuffed peppers onto large flat plates lined with kitchen paper to absorb the oil.
5) To prepare the sauce, mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Pour the oyster sauce mix into the skillet, stir well till thicken. Pour sauce on pepper.

Chicken Donburi

Outside of eating sushi, I love to have donburi, Japanese rice bowl. This dish is usually served with crispy pork cutlets and a flavorful broth. This time, I used chicken tenders instead of pork and baked the breaded chicken instead of deep frying them. It was equally delicious.


Ingredients
* 3 cups cooked short grain rice
* 8 piece chicken tender
* salt and pepper
* 1 medium onion, sliced thin
* 3-4 eggs, beaten

Coating
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 cup panko bread crumbs

Broth
*1 cup dashi broth or water
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup mirin

Directions
1) Turn oven to 375F.
2) Trim off excess fat from the chicken tenden, pat dry, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Dust the fillets first with flour, then dip in the beaten egg, and coat evenly with breadcrumbs. Bake breaded chicken in oven for 20 mins or internal temperature to 165F.
3) Mix the broth ingredients in a bowl. Heat the broth in a skillet and bring to boil. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until tender. Pour the beaten eggs into the skillet and stir gently. Pour steamed rice in a deep bowl, then pour the egg broth mix over the rice. Put the crusted chicken tender on top of rice. Serve hot.

Irish Beef and Stout Stew

I bought a 6-pack of Guinness to make a St. Patrick’s day dinner and decided to look for more recipes to use Guinness as an ingredient. I found this recipe from Martha Stewart. It was perfect since I have a grass fed beef roast sitting in my freezer from the 1/16th of a cow I purchased. I changed a little bit of the recipe. Instead of using store bought broth, I used my homemade beef broth. Also, I used my slow cooker to make this dish so I would have food ready when I got home from work.


Ingredients
* 2 cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste
* 4 cup homemade beef broth
* 4 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
* 2 1/2 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed
* 2 medium onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 10 garlic cloves, sliced
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 1/2 pound baby carrots
* 1 bottle Guinness

Directions
1) Mix the tomato paste and broth. Put the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Then add the broth mix. Turn slow cooker on and use high setting to cook for 5-6 hours or use low setting to cook for 8-9 hours.
2) Serve hot and season with salt and pepper.

Lasagna with Spinach

I was craving lasagna since Monday when my co-worker, Baller V brought Lasagna in to work. Making lasagna is very easy and it is the perfect dish to make with your kids. I was going to make a vegetarian version so I added spinach, but I saw some grass-fed ground beef in my freezer, and I decided to use some to make this lasagna.


Ingredients
*1 pound ground beef
*Salt and pepper
*1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
*3 large farm eggs
* 2 bottles pasta sauce
*1 pound whole wheat lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
*2 packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
*3 cups shredded mozzarella
*1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2) In a nonstick sauce pan, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
3) In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4) Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 cup tomato sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of half of the ricotta mixture, a layer of half(1 package) of the spinach, a layer of half of the ground beef, a layer of a bottle of tomato sauce and at last, a layer of mozzarella. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and repeat previous procedure. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
5) Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.

Vietamese Fresh Spring Rolls - repeat

It has been a while I have made Vietnamese Spring Rolls, so I decided to make it again.


Click here to see recipe.

St. Patrick’s day celebration: Slow cook brisket with vegetables

A couple of days before St. Patrick’s day, asked around to find out what I should cook to honor the Irish holiday. Corned beef and cabbage was the hands down winner. I was looking all over the internet to see how I can make corned beef from scratch. From Martha Stewart Corned Beef recipe, I would need to cured the meat for about 3-6 days before the day of cooking. I didn’t want to buy store-bought high nitrate cured meat, so I decided to make uncured brisket instead and added some Irish stout to the recipe. The Irish Stout added sweetness into the brisket.

Now that I know I need time to cured the meat, I will plan ahead of time next year to make this Irish tradition on St. Patrick’s day.


Ingredients
*2 pound brisket
*2 tablespoon peppercorn
*2 bay leafs
*10 cloves garlic
*12-14 oz stout(I used Guinness draught)
*2 homemade beef broth
* ½ cabbage
*1/2 pound carrots
*3 cups potatoes
*salt

Directions
1) In a slow cooker, add brisket, peppercorn, bay leafs, garlic, stout and beef broth. Cook in high heat for 3 hours or low heat for 5 hours.
2) Add vegetables, and cook for high heat for 3 more hours or low heat for 4 more hours.
3) Serve hot. Add salt to taste.

The Walrus and the Carpenter restaurant review

Mr. S and I love to try out new restaurants.  He came across this new restaurant located in Ballard called The Walrus and the Carpenter which was featured in the January issue of GQ (Read article here).  If you enter through Ballard Ave, you will walk through a little ally way by the bike shop to get the petit restaurant.  The decor is pain and the staff are very nice.  I really liked their open kitchen which allows you to see the staff cracking the oysters.  This lets you know they are very fresh!

We ordered:
* Half dozen oysters
* Butter and bread
* Steak tartare, farm egg yolk & toast



Yes, steak tartare.  It was our first time trying raw ground beef.  I have had Ahi tuna or Salmon tartare many times, but have never tried steak tartare.  I thought the flavor wasn't as good as tuna tartare, but the texture was similar, so on the whole, I thought it was pretty good.

The oysters tasted fresh and sweet.  They came with 3 different sauces to try the oysters with; garlic vinegar, horseradish, and lemon.  I prefer lemon!

My overall review is 4.5 stars out of 5. The -0.5 is the price of food.

Mr. S weekend special -Dutch baby with Cinnamon-Apple sauce

Mr. S weekend special -Dutch baby with Cinnamon-Apple sauce

A couple of Saturday mornings ago, Mr. S told me he wanted to make breakfast. I was very surprised, because he never wants to cook. Apparently he saw a Dutch baby recipe in GQ where they occasionally list easy recipes for guys. The Dutch baby turned out very good but what made it better was the Cinnamon-Apple sauce. If you don’t want the Cinnamon-Apple sauce, you can add lemon juice with powdered sugar for the original taste.


Dutch baby
Ingredients
* 2 eggs
* 3 tablespoons of butter
* ½ cup flour
*1/2 cup milk
*1 teaspoon sugar
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*apple cinnamon sauce(recipe follows)

Directions
1) Turn the oven to 375F.
2) Melt the butter in a saucepan. At the mean time, mix the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3) When butter is melted, pour the batter onto the saucepan and put the saucepan into the oven. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, add apple cinnamon sauce, put the saucepan back to the oven and back for 5 to 10 minutes more or until brown on the edges.
4) Serve hot.


Cinnamin Apple Sauce
Ingredients
*1/4 cup brown sugar
*1 teaspoon cinnamon
*2 teaspoon corn starch
*2 apple, peeled sliced
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*1 tablespoon butter

Directions
1) Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and corn starch in a small bowl.
2) Heat saucepan in medium heat, add brown sugar mix to heated saucepan then stir for 2 minutes. Add apple, vanilla, butter. Stir well, simmer for about 5 minutes.

Singapore Stir-fry Noodles

I was in the mood for curry, and if you like curry then you will want to try this dish. It is a light curry dish and it is fairly easy to make, but it involves quite a bit of ingredients.


Ingredients
*2 tablespoon of oil
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 tablespoon minced ginger
*2 stalks celery, sliced thin
*1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
*4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced thin
*1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
*8 green onions, root end trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
*8 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, sliced
*1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
*1 pound Chinese barbecue pork cut into matchsticks
*12 ounces of fine dry rice vermicelli, soaked for 10-20mins in hot water
*3 tablespoons oyster sauce

Sauce:
*1 tablespoon oil
*3 tablespoons curry powder
*1 tablespoon minced ginger
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 cup chicken broth
*4 tablespoons soy sauce
*4 teaspoons sugar
*2 teaspoons hot chili paste


Directions
3) To make the sauce, heat up 1 tablespoons of oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the curry powder, the ginger, and the minced garlic, and saute until fragrant. Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, and chili paste. Stir to combine and then cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
4) Heat 1 tablespoons of oil in a large wok over high heat. Add in garlic and ginger, and stir-fry until the garlic starts to become golden. Add in the celery, onion, pepper, sprouts, green onions, and mushrooms. Stir-fry for 3 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften. Set the vegetables aside in a bowl.
5) Heat 1 tablespoons of oil in the wok over high heat. Add in the shrimp and stir-fry until they start to turn pink on both sides. Add the barbecue pork and toss to combine.
6) Add in the noodles and the vegetables. Pour on the sauce and also add the oyster sauce. Mix the ingredients thoroughly to coat all the noodles and incorporate all the vegetables.
7) Serve hot.

3 Cups Chicken

QFC had a whole organic chicken on sale so I got one and wanted to try de-boning a chicken! I saw a couple of YouTube videos to how to de-bone a chicken, and it looked a lot harder than I thought it would be. But still, it only took me about 10 mins to get all of the bones out and I used the leftover bones to make chicken broth.

I use the meat of the chicken on this recipe. If you’ve had Taiwanese food, then you would have heard of 3 Cups Chicken. It’s probably one of the most popular dishes from Taiwan. The ‘3 cups’ means 1 cup of soy sauce, 1cup of rice wine and 1 cup of sesame oil. In this recipe, I used less soy sauce because I didn’t want the food to be too salty. I also reduced oil and added water for a more contemporary taste.



Ingredients
*2 cups water
*1 cup Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
*1/3 cup regular soy sauce
*1/3 cup dark soy sauce
*2 tablespoons Warcestershire sauce
* 4 oz rock sugar or ½ cup granulated sugar
*3 green onion, cut in half
*1 whole star anise
*½ teaspoon Chinese five spice
*1 tablespoon cooking oil
*1 whole chicken, de-boned, cubed
*6 slices ginger
*4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
*3 small dried red chilies

Directions
1)Combine first 9 ingredients from water to five spice in a bowl to make the braising sauce.
2)Place a deep frying pan over medium heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat side. Place chicken in pan and brown lightly on all sides, 4 to 5 mins total. Remove chicken from pan.
3)Increase heat to high. Add ginger, garlic, and chilis; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Return chicken to pan and add braising sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat near bone is not longer pint when cut, 25 to 30mins.
4)Lift chicken from sauce and arrange on a serving platter. Strain sauce. Pass a bowl of sauce at the table. Reserve remaining sauce from other uses.

Honey Balsamic Green Beans

I was never a big fan of green beans but I got a bag of organic green beans from a friend so I had to come up with some way to make them tasty. I opened up my pantry and found honey and balsamic that I could use to make a sauce to cook the green beans in. The green beans ended up tasting very good and I would recommend you to try this recipe if you’re a green bean first timer, or just don't like green beans.


Ingredients
* 16 ounces green beans
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 1 teaspoon honey
* 1 teaspoon onion powder
* Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and blanch them for 2 minutes. Immediately remove the beans from the water and add them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain.

2) In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and green beans. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, then stir in the vinegar, honey, onion powder, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook to desired degree of doneness, about 4 to 6 minutes.

Potato Croquettes

A couple days ago, I went to a Japanese restaurant and saw potato croquettes on their menu. I thought that I could easily make these at home so I got some organic potatoes and some curry powder for this recipe.




Ingredients
*2 tablespoons milk
*Salt
*1/2 teaspoon pepper
*1/2 teaspoon chopped green onion
*2 egg yolks, beaten
*3 tablespoons organic whole wheat flour
*4 cups mashed potatoes
*1 egg, beaten
*Panko bread crumbs

Directions
1) Pre-heat oven at 375F

2) Add milk, salt, pepper, chopped onion, beaten egg yolks and flour to mashed potatoes. Chill and then shape using an ice cream scoop. Dip in the beaten egg, then roll through bread crumbs.

3) Spray oil on baking sheet. Put potato patties on baking sheet and bake for 15mins or until brown.

Chicken Breast Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Spinach, and Pine nuts

A couple of days ago, Mr. S and I went out for dinner and I saw this entree on the menu that sounded like it would be fun to make at home. I had a lot of fun pounding the chicken! My 2 cents on pounding chicken breast is to put plastic wrap under and on top of the chicken before pounding. It will be easier to flip and roll the flattened chicken breast and the meat will not get to everywhere in your kitchen.



Ingredients
*4 (10 ounce) Chicken Breast with skin
*1/4 cup Sun-dried Tomatoes
*2 tablespoons Pine nuts
*1 cup Frozen Chopped Spinach
*1/2 cup Shredded Fontina cheese
*2 cups Bread Crumbs
*1 tablespoon Melted Butter
*1 tablespoon Chopped Italian Parsley
*1 teaspoon Salt
*1/4 teaspoon Black Ground Pepper

Directions
1) Mix stuffing ingredients together in a bowl.
2) Place chicken breast on a cutting board remove the tenderloins and cover with plastic wrap. With a mallet slightly flatten the breast out.
3) Form the stuffing into a ball and place in center of the chicken. Wrap the breast around the stuffing starting with one side roll the breast tucking the opposite side underneath. Season the top of the chicken (skin side) with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400° oven for 30-40 minutes or until chicken reaches 165° internal temperature.

Crab Stuffed Devil Potatoes

Today is Superbowl day and on top of being a football fan, I also wanted to create some creative snacks for the Superbowl party. Instead of using high fat or sodium ingredients, such as bacon, BBQ sauce, cream cheese, etc. I went fancy this year to use crab to make twice baked potatoes. 1 cup of crab meat only has 160kcal.


Ingredients
* 6 large baking potatoes
* 2 medium shallots, thin slice
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
* 2 cups cooked crabmeat, preferably Alaska king crab
* 1 to 2 cups grated provolone cheese
* 1/2 cup organic light sour cream
* 1 tablespoon freshly chopped Italian parsley leaves
* Salt
* Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2) Prick holes in the potatoes with a fork and place directly on the oven rack. Roast until cooked through, about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the potato.

3) While the potatoes are cooking prepare the crab. Heat a frying pan to medium high, add the shallots and cook until translucent. Next add the minced garlic and saute in the frying pan to gently brown the shallots and garlic. Add the thyme and crab and cook until heated through. Then set aside.

4) Once the potatoes are cooked and cool enough to handle cut, off a small portion of the top making an opening in the potato. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F.

5) Take a spoon and scoop the pulp into a bowl. Place the potato skins on a cookie sheet and put in a 350 degree F oven for about 5 minutes to dry them out and ensure they will be crispy when done.

6) To the potato pulp, add the shallot/crab mixture, cheese and sour cream and mix. Then add parsley, salt and pepper, to taste. Fill the potato shells with the potato/crab mixture. Bake until cheese has melted around 35 to 45 minutes.

French Onion Soup

I love French Onion Soup and people always say how easy it is to make on your own. I saw the grocery store had sale on onions and decided to try this recipe I found on the Food Network. I changed the recipe a little bit to make it lower in fat and I cooked it a little longer to bring out the flavor of the onion.

The end product tasted very good. It was really easy to make. The only hard part was cutting all the onions with tears coming out from my eyes. Also, I was a little surprised how many onion were needed in this recipe.


Ingredients
* 8 onions, sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 8 cups beef stock
* 1/4 cup dry white wine
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 bay leaf
* Salt and pepper
* 1 loaf French bread
* 2 cups grated Gruyere

Directions

1) Saute onions and garlic in oil over low heat until tender and golden yellow. Sprinkle flour over onions, cook a few minutes more, browning the flour well. Add stock and wine and bring to a boil, add thyme and bay leaf. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 60 minutes or so. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

2) Meanwhile, slice French bread into 3/4-inch slices and butter both sides. Toast slices on griddle until golden brown. Ladle soup into an ovenproof bowl, add toasted bread and cover with cheese. Place ovenproof bowl on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Bake at 350 degrees F or 5 minutes under a hot broiler.

Original recipe from food network.

Mr. S Birthday Feast -- Bread Pudding

I had only 3 hours to make the Mr. S’s birthday feast so I decided to use the slow cooker that I got during Christmas to make bread pudding. I think this recipe doesn’t taste as good as the baking version of bread pudding that I made before, but it is easy to make.


Ingredients
*8 fresh farm eggs, beaten
*4 cups milk
*2/3 cup sugar
*1 teaspoon cinnamon
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*6 cups dry French bread cubes
*2/3 cup raisins

Sauce
For the sauce:
*1 cup granulated sugar
*1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
*1 egg, beaten
*½ cup milk
*2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
*1/4 cup rum

Directions
1) In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Place the dry bread cubes and raisins in the slow cooker. Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Cover; cook on High for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
2) Whisk all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Pour sauce on cooked bread pudding.

Mr. S Birthday Feast -- Braised Lamb Chop

Since I was young I have never liked lamb. I am not sure if it was because the lamb didn’t taste good or if it was because I was very picky. The first time I made lamb was last year before our trip to Egypt and Jordon. I wanted to get used to the taste of lamb before the trip so I wouldn’t be surprised by the flavor. After a couple of attempts at home, I think the most important thing is to have fresh lamb meat. Lamb is very easy to cook. The cooking time is less than other meat and it tasted very good without a lot of seasoning. Since this is a special occasion, I made 2 different kinds of lamb dishes for Mr. S’s birthday.


Ingredients
*1 tablespoon olive oil
*1 lemon, zested (about 1/2 teaspoon)
*1 lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
*2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
*2 tablespoons minced garlic
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
*8 (4-ounce) lamb loin chops, trimmed of all visible fat

Directions
1) In a small bowl stir together the first 7 ingredients. Put the lamb chops in a sealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over them. Move the chops around in the bag so the marinade coats them well. Marinate for 1 hour.
2) Broil the chops for 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare.

Mr. S Birthday Feast -- Rack of Lamb with Mint-Basil Pesto

The last time I made the herb crusted lamb I loved it. So I’ve wanted to make lamb again for some time. Lamb is a pretty expensive meat so I have been waiting for a special occasion to make it again. Lamb has to grow up eating grass and raised in a pasture, so the meat are pretty healthy to eat. I would recommend getting lamb meat from a local source because most of them are from Iceland or New Zealand.

*The left over pesto can mix with pasta.



Ingredients
*1 1/2 cups lightly packed fresh mint leaves
*3/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
*1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
*2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
*2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
*2 garlic cloves
*3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
*1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
*1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
*3 (1 1/2-pounds each) racks of lamb, trimmed and frenched

Directions
1)Blend the mint, basil, nuts, cheese, lemon juice, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in a food processor until the herbs are finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually blend in 1/3 cup of oil until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

2)Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

3)Enerously sprinkle the lamb racks with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a grill pan or heavy large skillet over high heat. Place 1 lamb rack in the skillet and cook just until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the lamb rack meat side up on a heavy large baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 2 lamb racks.

4)Roast the lamb in the oven until cooked to desired doneness, about 20 minutes for medium-rare and internal temperature reach 120F. Transfer the lamb racks to a work surface. Set aside for 10 minutes. Cut the lamb between the bones into single chops. Spread the pesto over 1 cut side of each chop. Arrange the chops, pesto side up, on plates or a platter, and serve.