Easy Stir-Fry with Egg Tofu

Egg tofu is similar to a regular tofu but with whole egg added to give creamy and silky texture. It comes in tube and can be found in Asian grocery stores. My mother usually adds them in stir-fries and Indonesian-style spicy dish with preserved soybean paste called tauco. Traditionally, egg tofu is deep fried to create a crispy-brown skin. However, I improvise the cooking method to pan-fry with little oil. Tofu contains a lot of moisture and deep frying it is one messy business, trust me and you don't want to do that. I pan-fry the egg tofu slices in a non-stick frying pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. The result? Still the same crisp-brown skin texture.
 
The beauty of a stir-fry is that you can use up whatever left-over vegetables in your fridge and still able to turn them into a beautiful dish with a robust-flavoured sauce. This dish is one of the examples. 









Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 to 5 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups snow peas (about 60 pieces)
• 1 medium sized carrots, sliced 
• 2 packets (245 g each) of egg tofu, sliced into 1 cm thick
• 1 cup cabbage 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
  

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp oyster flavoured sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 dashes of fish sauce (optional)
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) water
• 1/4 tbsp corn starch

METHOD: 

1. In a non-stick frying pan, spray cooking oil evenly. Heat up the pan and once hot, add egg tofu slices and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Gently, flip the egg tofu slices and pan-fry the other side until golden brown as well.Scoop and place on a plate
2. Trim the ends of snow peas and tear cabbage leaves with your hand. Rinse well 
3. In a bowl, combine all sauce ingredients and mix well 
4. Heat up a wok on high heat and add in the cooking oil. Once hot, sauté minced garlic for 30 seconds or until golden yellow
5. Add in sliced carrots, snow peas and cabbage. Stir for 3 or 4 minutes and pour in the sauce
6. Cook for another minute or so or to your preferred texture. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste
7. Add in the pan-fried egg tofu slices and stir gently not to break the tofu
8. Serve with warm rice

Anna Olson's Blueberry Buckle

I'm a lousy baker, I mean really. As one says, you can either be a great baker or a great cook. I fall into the later category. Baking requires science and precision, on the other hand, you can cook delicious dishes with adding a dash of this and that.

My blog partner, Sonia, and I will be going out to lunch at my favourite restaurant, Seoul House, located in Mississauga. My husband and I have been frequent customers to that restaurant since 2010, the time when we were newlyweds with no children. Fast forward, the restaurant owner and staff know us by heart and love our children to the bits. Besides serving great food, they are very attentive to our needs. Whenever we dine in that restaurant, they will try their best to give us a private booth so that I can nurse my baby.When my son, A, was a few months old, the waitress offered to take care of him so that my husband and I could eat in peace. Really, where can you find such a service? The last time we went there after baby E's doctor appointment, the kitchen staff and waitress packed us kimchi and Korean fish cake side dish to take home so that I would not have to worry feeding my husband and my son. They know that my husband loves their kimchi while my son is addicted to their fish cake banchan (side dish).

While baby E is sleeping, I had a chance to browse Anna Olson's recipes and decided to make this delicious blueberry buckle for the staff at Seoul House. I had all ingredients available right here at home. I substituted the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour as I did not have it. No credits to me...it's all to Anna Olson :) 

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS:

Cake:

• 1/2cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups all purpose flour (I use whole wheat)
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups blueberries (I use frozen)

Streussel Topping: 

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour (I use whole wheat)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter

METHOD: 

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit
2. Cream together butter and sugar until pale yellow and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat in
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add alternately with milk until incorporated. Scrape batter into cake pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle blueberries on top of batter.

Streussel Topping:

1. In a small bowl, blend sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter with your fingers until crumbly and no large bits of butter are visible. Sprinkle on top of berries
2. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. 
   

SAVOURY VEGGIE LOAF

My mission this morning was to make something savoury for breakfast that did not involve eggs. Of course there are hundreds of options if you are Indian but I wanted something that was not labour intensive and quick. I saw this recipe on Pinterest recently on "Tickling Palates" and changed it based on veggies I had on hand. It was better than I hoped and I enjoyed it with a bowl of yogurt. I'm curious to see if this can be gluten free so I have a pot of quinoa cooking as I write. Look on our facebook page for results and a picture of the quinoa version if it works out. 

I am sure you can change this around based on what you have in your fridge; try peppers, mushrooms, kale, spinach or grated beets. The loaf was moist, flavourful and easy to make. Do not exceed 1 cup of loosely packed zucchini because it will make the loaf too moist and difficult to cut without crumbling. This would be great as a mini muffins which would make it more portable. I'd love to hear back if anyone tries this. 

SKILL: EASY
SERVES: 4 - 6


INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup semolina (cream of wheat)
• 1 cup of yogurt (I used 2% fat)
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 2 green onions finely chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 green chili deseeded and chopped finely
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

TEMPERING INGREDIENTS

• 3 Tbsps coconut oil (or any cooking oil)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped curry leaves (optional)

METHOD

1. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Add the semolina and yogurt to a bowl, mix well
3. Grate or finely cut vegetables and add to the yogurt mixture. Add the chili, ginger and seasoning. DO NOT ADD BAKING SODA YET
4. Add oil to a saute pan. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds; after it pops, add the cumin  and allow it to sizzle then take the pan off the heat. Add the curry leaves if using. Allow this to cool slightly before adding it to the semolina mixture
5. Stir well. Mixture will be thick depending on the moisture in the vegetables used
6. Add the baking soda and mix well. Pour into the batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 30 -35 minutes
7. Allow to cool completely before cutting
8. Serve warm 

BIG BROTHER CAKE

This morning I baked a Big Brother cake (aka Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting). Why a Big Brother Cake ? Well, Ju my blog partner and her husband recently welcomed baby number two - an adorable little girl. As per the Chinese culture, a one month celebration was held this afternoon and yes, the new mum was up at 8:00 am making traditional foods served for this special occasion. My favourite dish was the turmeric sticky rice with chicken curry (which I hope will make it to the blog sometime. No pressure Ju). Big boy A got to celebrate his new role with a candle on his Big Brother cake.

I have to confess that this is a first for me, mostly because I've eaten some terrific carrot cakes and had long decided to leave it to the experts. But this was a special day that called for the little man's favourite cake so I decided to give it a shot. In the course of searching for a good recipe I found variations with crushed pineapple and with nuts and then, to my surprise, my father mentioned that his 'go to' recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook! For those of you who know my father, baking is the last thing you would associate him with, but ma confirmed that he had indeed made it a few times. 
So here is my adaptation of that recipe but with two changes. I used 1/2 a cup of canola oil and 1/2 a cup of apple sauce instead of the 1 cup of oil as suggested. As always, I reduced the sugar, using 1 3/4 cup instead of 2 cups. 

Congratulations to the new parents and big brother. Welcome to our world baby E.

SKILL : EASY
SERVES : 10-12

INGREDIENTS
CAKE

• 4 eggs (room temperature)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 1/2 cup apple sauce

FROSTING

• 6 oz. cream cheese (3/4 cup) softened at room tempera
• 1/2 cup butter softened at room temperature
• 3 cups finely powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

1. Grease and flour a 9 x 3 inch round baking pan
2. Preheat oven to 350 degree F
3. In a mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients and stir together
4. Add eggs, carrots, oil, apple sauce to the dry ingredients and using an electric beater mix until combined
5. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the baking pan
7. To make the frosting beat the butter and cream cheese until it has no lumps 
8. Add vanilla extract and sugar one cup at a time and beat well
9. Cool the cake completely before frosting

MIXED BEAN AND KALE SOUP

The weather the last few days has been up and down, just when you think you can pack away your winter stuff, it's chilly again. And of course the quickest way to bring on snow has got to be by packing up your winter boots. That's precicely what happened over the Easter weekend. I put away our heavy winter boots on Friday and Saturday night it snowed with a fair amount of accumulation. There is our dog running around the deck confused after all these snow free days. Maybe it was not packing away the boots as much as it was using our BBQ for the first time this year a few days ago. 

Cold weather begs for a warm bowl of soup and what better choice than protein and nurient dense legumes and kale. This one pot, ok really two pot meal because I sauteed onions, garlic and ginger before adding it to my instant pot (electric pressure cooker) was ready in half an hour. 

This tastes even better the next day. So make a pot and maybe the soup can chase away the cold days



SKILL: EASY
SERVES : 3 - 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of bean and barley soup mix soaked for 3 hours (what I used looked like in this picture, you can also mix up your own)
• 1 large onion sliced
• 2 cups of chopped kale
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 - 12 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 2 inch piece of ginger chopped
• 1 vegetable boullion cube
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• lemon juice to taste
• 4 - 5 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups water

METHOD

1. Saute onions and ginger to 2 Tbsp of olive oil to a hot pan. Add bay leaves
2. Drain soaking water from the soup mix and add it to the onions and stir
3. Season with pepper, salt, cayenne and add vegetable bouillon cube
4. Add finely chopped kale to the pan and pour in 4 cups of boiling water
5. Transfer to the instant pot if using or reduce the heat, cover and simmer till the barley and beans have been cooked. I have used a pressure cooker as well for two whistles.
6. While the soup is boiling, heat the remaining olive oil in a saute pan; add the chopped garlic and turmeric and fry until slightly dark and fragrant
7. Garnish with fried garlic and add lemon juice to taste 

CRAZY ABOUT CRANBERRY CAKE

Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten is one of the many shows I enjoy watching on the Food Network. Her recipes, both sweet and savoury are a no fail and as I found out recently, quite good even if you forget an ingredient! This is a personal favourite because it has a lovely balance of sweet and tart. It's easy to make, lovely to look at and really an ideal hostess gift especially if you pick up a pretty pie plate that can be used to make this and other sweet treats. 

I always buy bags of cranberries when I see them on sale, use what I need and toss the rest in the freezer. They are such a great addition to cakes and muffins. The recipe as Ina Garten makes it  can be found on foodnetwork.com - Easy Cranberry and Apple Cake. This is my version because, I ran out of green apples and oranges and substituted with Fuji apple and grapefruit and completely forgot about the sour cream until after the cake was in the oven!

Here in Canada, schools had March break last week and our friend N came over with her two kids. We had a lovely Indian lunch at Tandoori Flame and then came home to bake. Nothing makes one realize how fast time flies as when looking at kids you knew as newborns who are now delightful youngsters. 8 year old D was my efficient sous chef while her 11 year old brother kept us chuckling in the kitchen as he periodically burst into laughter while watching something on his iPad with head phones on.

This one is for D with love and thanks : >

Skill Level : Easy

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 bag (12 oz.) fresh cranberries   
• 1 Fuji apple peeled, and diced 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed 
• 1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
• juice of half a grapefruit (1/4 cup)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (plus 1 tsp reserved for topping)
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar (plus 1 Tbsp sugar reserved for topping) 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 113 g (1 stick) butter melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup all purpose flour

METHOD: 

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
2. Rinse and pick out stems from cranberries and keep aside in a colander
3. In a deep pie plate or round/oval oven proof dish combine apples, cranberries, brown sugar, lemon zest, grapefruit juice and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Set aside
4. Beat eggs on medium - high for 2 minutes, reduce speed and add 1 cup of sugar, slightly cooled butter, salt and vanilla. Mix until combined
5. Pat down the fruit to ensure the base of the dish is evenly covered
6. Pour the (thick) mixture over the apple cranberry mix and cover fruit completely 
7. Sprinkle the top with the reserved sugar and cinnamon
8. Bake for 55 - 60 minutes until a tooth pick inserted into the centre comes out clean
9. Serve warm or at room temperature

CARROT POMEGRANATE SALAD

And as promised here is the recipe for this very simple but delicious salad. Stay vibrant, eat colourfully :)

Skill : Easy
Serves : 2-3
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup carrot grated
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
• 2 Tbsp dessicated coconut
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• salt to taste

METHOD

1. Add carrots, coriander, coconut and lemon juice to a bowl and mix 
2. Toss with pomegranate seeds and season to taste

BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN CURRY

I am blessed to have my parents visiting right now and love it when Ma cooks old favourites. My constant request is that she not deviate at all from my childhood memory of the dish; even the addition of cilantro where there is none alters the end result from what I remember. Yes, I know, I am a little wierd but who among us does not have a quirk or two or three ?
This is one of my favourite curries. It is fiery hot because of black pepper which I like a lot more than the heat from chili. This was made using a pressure cooker but can just as easily be made in a pot. For those of you that I still have not succeeded in convincing about a pressure cooker, I will keep on trying : ) 
Just a few ingredients and a delicious result. Please go to our facebook page Spice Divas and let us know what you think. Ma served this with white basmati rice and a delicious carrot salad (pictured below). 

Skill Level: Easy 

Serves: 5-6

INGREDIENTS: 

• 8 chicken thighs (skinless, bone in)  
• 1 large tomato chopped 
• 2 medium white potatoes cut in half
• 3 medium onions sliced
• 1" piece of ginger chopped 
• 10 curry leaves (available at most Indian & Chinese supermarkets)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp black pepper powder (use less if you prefer a milder curry)
• 1 tsp salt

METHOD: 

1. Wash and pat the chicken dry
2. In a large bowl add all the ingredients to the chicken and mix well
3. Allow chicken to marinate for 15 minutes 
4. Put into a pressure cooker for three whistles (about 5 minutes)
5. Put cut potatoes on the top, do not mix it in or it will overcook in the pressure cooker
6. If not using a pressure cooker, add the chicken to a pot with a tight fitting lid and cook on high for 2-4 minutes. Add potatoes and mix in with the chicken. Stir, reduce the heat and cook for 20 -25 minutes
7. The only liquid in this is from the tomato and the chicken. 
8. Serve with rice and a salad. Ma made this colourful pomegranate and carrot salad which tastes every bit as good as it looks

Kimchi Fried Rice with Smoked Ham

 

If I have to name one dish that I must eat before I die, this must be the dish! Kimchi is a national dish of South Korea. It's a pickle made of Chinese cabbage, garlic, ginger, hot pepper flakes and fish sauce. It is then fermented and can last indefinitely.

At my house, we frequently have leftover cooked rice in the fridge and chances are, we also never run out of kimchi. This is a dish that I whip up quickly for a busy weeknight family dinner. You can either use a homemade kimchi or store bought kimchi for this dish. The rice is perfectly seasoned with gochujang, a Korean fermented hot pepper paste, which you can find easily in Asian grocery stores.

Skill Level: Easy 

Serves: 5-6

INGREDIENTS: 

• 5 cups cooked long grain white rice, overnight in fridge 
• 1 cup chopped smoked ham 
• 1.5 cups kimchi
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans) 
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean fermented hot pepper paste)
• 2 springs of green onions, finely chopped
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced 
• 5 tbsp cooking oil
• black pepper, to tast

METHODS: 

1. In a wok or cooking pan, heat up cooking oil till medium hot
2. Add in sliced onions and garlic. Saute till translucent
3. Stir in chopped ham, cook over high heat till slightly brown
4. Add in frozen mixed vegetables and kimchi. Cook for 2 minutes
5. Add in cooked rice, gochujang paste, soy sauce and black pepper
6. Stir all ingredients till the rice is uniformly coated with all wet ingredients with no white granules left. Cook under high heat for another 5 minutes or until you hear some "toasted popping" sounds
7. Stir in chopped green onions, saute for another minute and turn off the heat
8. Serve hot with sunny side-up eggs

HEARTY SOUP WITH SAVOURY SPIRALS

Soup became a regular feature in my diet when I lived in Europe where it was consumed daily, and I certainly did not appreciate it at the time. Of course, today I get a real thrill at the endless possibilities with soup and one cannot deny that the long Canadian winters provide the ideal opportunity to serve soup as a meal. My mother-in-law makes some of the best soups I have ever tasted; I am more adventerous while she remains traditional in her creations. 

As winter seems to have made an early appearance this year, with snow flurries on Halloween and a light dusting yesterday, soup seemed like the perfect choice for a Sunday lunch. Murphy's Law at it's finest, the sun shone brightly and laughed at my choice but I enjoyed putting this vegetarian soup together for lunch. A big batch of soup, the kitchen warm from the sun, the smell of olive spirals baking and friends around the table made for a beautiful Sunday afternoon. 

This is really easy and contrary to my usual routine of soaking legumes, I used canned chickpeas which really sped up the cooking process. Soup's on. Enjoy!

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 leeks thinly sliced
• 4 medium zucchini chopped
• 2 1/2 cups finely chopped spinach
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 x 796 mL can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning 
• 1 x 456 g can chickpeas
• 1 x 398 mL can corn
• 2 L vegetable stock (I added three vegetable cubes to hot water)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp herbes de provence
• 2 tsp red chili flakes 
• 3/4 tbsp hot Hungarian paprika powder
• 8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• serve with crusty bread or olive spirals (recipe below)

METHOD:

1.Heat oil in a saucepan. Add bay leaves, garlic, leeks, zucchini and corn and saute for 5 minutes

2. Add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, chickpeas, spices and the vegetable stock. cook for 5-7 minutes  

3. Add the shredded spinach and heat for 2 minutes 
4. Remove the bay leaf and serve hot with crusty bread or better yet with olive spirals (recipe below) 

SAVOURY SPIRALS

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 tsp (7g) dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 cups plain white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 250 g pitted black olives 
• 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
• 3 cloves chopped garlic

METHOD:

1. Mix sugar, yeast and 1/2 a cup of warm water in a bowl. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes or until frothy
2. Sift flour and salt into a bowl, make a well in the centre and add 1 Tbsp oil, frothy yeast and the remaining cup of warm water. Mix into a smooth dough ball. Turn onto a board and knead until smooth
3. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour
4. Process the olives, parmesan and garlic in the food processor, with the motor still running, add the remaining Tbsp of olive oil and mix till you get a smooth paste
5. Once the dough has risen, punch down and knead for 1 minute. Roll out to a rectangle, spread the olive paste on the dough leaving a strip along one of the sides
6. Roll up lengthways until you have a log. Cut into 14 slices and place close together on a greased baking sheet. 
7. Cover with a dampl tea towel and set aside for another 30 minutes until well risen
8. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown