Perfect Summer Dinner

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I would like to think I should appreciate the glorious summer days in Perth. But it’s hard when it has been almost 40 degrees a few days in a row. All I want to do is having air-conditioning on, sipping on cold drinks and watching some movies at home since I’m not a beach person. When it comes to cooking, I do not want to stand in front of hot oven or stove on hot days like this >.< I had my in=laws over for dinner last night and had to come up with something easy to put together, supper healthy, impressive and packed with flavour. I’ve cooked for them a number of times, which means a menu planning is getting harder since I need to introduce new ingredients and new flavours  to them. To me, it is the exciting part of dinner parties coming up with good dishes that guests would enjoy and have good memories on.

Anyways it took me about 1 1/2 hours to prepare trio bruschettas, pumpkin and quinoa salad, balsamic braised red cabbage and orange salad, Spanish chicken and Rice pudding for dessert.

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Balsamic onion jam, roast beef and blue cheese on home-made rosemary bread.
I sealed 300g of lean beef cut in hot pan for about 5 minutes, then transferred to 180 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Take it out of the oven and rest the meat for 20-30 minutes. Meat should be pink in the middle and so tender melting away in your mouth. I used onion jam that I made last week underneath and topped with slices of blue cheese. You can add horseradish cream instead which is also a great combination with roast beef, of course.

Roasted red grapes, brie cheese, walnuts and honey on bread
Sweet grapes and creamy brie cheese goes well here. Drizzle of honey really tops it off. Simply assemble roasted grapes and thyme, slices of brie cheese, toasted walnuts and honey. Easy peasy:)

Grilled mushrooms and brie cheese on bread
Earthy flavour of mushrooms and brie also creates a great combination. I drizzled truffle oil on top as well, which is quite subtle but enhances flavour even more.

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Moving on to salads..

Balsamic braised red cabbage and orange salad
Braise shredded red cabbage in a splash of balsamic until it gets tender (cook less if you want more crunchy salad). Garnish with orange, basil, sunflower seeds and poppy seeds. More balsamic reduction on top if you wish!

Roasted pumpkin and quinoa salad
Mix roasted pumpkin, cooked quinoa, green salads and goji berries. Season and dress with e.v.o.o.

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Hero of the table is Spanish chicken.
Cook one chopped onion and 800g chicken breast in the casserole dish until they are brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic, potato, green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, preserved lemon, tomato passata and smoked paprika. Braise for about 30 minutes in low to medium heat. Garnish with chopped green spring onions.

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Dessert was vanilla rice pudding with mango and toasted coconut.
Cook arborio rice in milk, sugar, vanilla extract for 20-30 minutes until rice is well done. Top with slices of mango and toasted coconut to serve.

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I hope they all enjoyed it x

Posted in: Dinner, My recipes

His and Hers

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Asian flavour in a bowl tonight. Daniel’s had soy braised beef on green tea soba noodles, and mine was tofu patty instead for vegetarian and gluten free. I haven’t had red meat for a long time and white meat sometimes, though I feel totally fine since I’m trying to have more legumes, nuts and tofu.

One of the problem nutrients in some vegetarian diets is Protein. Well.. the other nutrients include iron, vitamin B12, zinc, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids. Protein is vital to many physical functions such as growth and maintenance, digestion (all enzymes are made of protein), production of some hormones, immunity, fluid& electrolyte balance, pH balance and energy. Protein requirements are 56g a day for adult men and 46g a day for adult women.

If you don’t consume animal protein, you need to make sure you have 2-3 serving of lysine foods a day. Examples are…
1/2 cup of cooked lentils, peas, edamame, tofu, tempeh, garbanzo, kidney, pinto
1/4 cup of peanuts or pistachio
3oz of soy meat
1 cup of soy milk or cooked quinoa

Tofu is one of my favorite ingredients. I eat about 3 times a week. Tofu has been found to be a great source of calcium and vitamin E. Consuming tofu regularly helps to lower bad cholesterol, alleviates symptoms related to menopause, and lowers the risk of cancer, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Isoflavones found in products even scavenge free radicals preventing premature aging. So you should eat more tofu! 🙂

You can use tofu as a meat substitute in cooking – steamed, stir-fried, pan-fried, grilled, etc. If you find it a bit blend, obviously add your favorite spices and sauce to it. I personally like it by itself with some vegetables. As to my previous post, you can even use tofu for desserts like cakes and pudding.

Posted in: Dinner, Lunch, Uncategorized

Mushrooms and Brie on Toast with Vegetable Tian

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This recipe would be nice for a light lunch or brunch on the weekend.
It is so perfect flavour combination – creaminess of brie cheese with wild mushrooms. You can make soup, bisque, pizza, risotto, omelet, pie, canape..endless.. You name it! It will work beautifully. On to the vegetable Tian, it is originated in Provence, the south of France. Tian refers to the baking dish and roasted vegetables – the word explains all. It can be topped with some cheese, but I prefer it simple, fresh and clean taste. These two dishes together on the plate look elegant and tastes so good. Every mouthful has a punch of flavour!

Simply arrange alternating layers of slices of sweet potato and zucchini in the baking dish, and bake in the oven with fresh thyme and e.v.o.o until it’s all cooked. You can add eggplant or tomatoes as well. When it comes out of the oven, colours and presentation looks stunning. I reckon it is definitely a wow factor when you have dinner parties.

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Posted in: Breakfast, Lunch, My recipes

Candied Ginger

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Candied Ginger

I remember I disliked my grand parents’ lollies when I was little. They used to have ginseng candies, candied ginger, herb drops, all these non-kids-friendly flavours. I couldn’t stand the smell of them. But now I’ve all grown up. Obviously my taste buds have changed (matured rather) and I really enjoy bitter, earthy, tart and astringent taste.

I had a little bag of dark ginger chocolate from Coco Black, a famous chocolate place in Melbourne, a couple of weeks ago. My obsession starts – when I like something from the restaurants or cafes or shops, I tend to find a healthier way of making it and trialing at home. I tempted to replicate those chocolate balls at home though using candied ginger bought from the supermarket seems to have heaps of sugar and preservatives in them >.< After searching online and visiting a couple of blogs I discovered it is not that hard to make sugar-free and healthy candied ginger at home. Yay! I went down to the shop this morning and got a beautiful young ginger root as big as my hand. I had a big grin on my face, so glad to find it since they sometimes have dry and tough ginger at the shops. It was so soft and juicy inside. I didn’t even have to peel the skin. So I just used the back of the knife to scrap off dirt a little and sliced them up. Put slices of ginger, water and honey (1:1 ratio) in the pot and boil for about 40 minutes. Strained them, coated with coconut flour, baked on the rack for about 20 minutes to dehydrate them. The result is amazing! mmm..the whole house smells like ginger while cooking. Little bites are chewy, gingery and  has subtle sweetness from honey. No sickening sugar taste! Awesome! Only one thing that I’m not happy about? I bought a huge ginger (about 250g) and it ended up a small handful of candied ginger as they shrink a lot. I want more!!!!

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Posted in: Gluten Free, My recipes, Snack, Vegetarian

Grilled Eggplant

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Eggplants are very popular ingredients in Korean food. Mum used to make this little side dish – cooked strips of eggplants in soy garlic sauce. It is so simple but delicious!

Following the previous post on having colourful foods, eggplant is obviously PURPLE – powerful antioxidants. Essential phyto nutrients in eggplants improve your blood circulation and nourish your brain. On top of that, it is low in calories and high in dietary fibre. It fills you up for long and is great for your digestive tract. Ah remember, all these goodness is concentrated in the skin, so do not peel and throw it away! I never really peel my vegetables unless I absolutely have to. You can use any sorts of cooking methods with eggplants – grill, bake, roast, stew, steam.

I sliced the middle section of eggplant about 1 cm thick. I made a crisscross pattern cut on one side, smeared a teaspoon of miso paste and grilled until it’s golden brown. Then garnished with cottage cheese, pink pepper corns and fresh thyme leaves. You will fall in love with this robust grilled eggplant flavour:)

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Posted in: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, My recipes, salads, Vegetarian