Training Flu Chicken & Rice Soup

Everything in my 4th term was 7-fold intensified, even my flu. This chicken soup was something simple and therapeutic I could whip up in my feverish, dizzy, hallucinating state.

1/4 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic
kosher salt
1/2 bag of baby carrots, chopped (1/4 C)
1/3? C (a handful) of jasmine rice
Cooked chicken breast (pre-cooked slices from F&E)

Heat up a pan with a little oil on high heat. Then saute the onion and carrots until the onion is softened, then the rice and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and the chicken. Then add enough water to cover it all and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.

Easy Sickie Soup

Boil up 3+ thin slices of ginger, 2 talks of green onion, and lots and lots of garlic. My housemates said it smells funny but it's loaded with potent superhero-like powers that can knock out your cold with a one punch pot!...Besides, I think it tastes good.

Apple Cinnamon Granola Bars

Recipe from Sue Huang who got it from another sister. So tasty, moist, hearty! Let it cool completely if you don't want to eat it with a spoon. It will harden up. Almost like an apple pie bar or crumble (depending on how much it falls apart on you when you serve it). But not that sweet yet sweet enough. Priscilla Yap said they were some of the best granola bar thingies she's had! YAY!

2 eggs
1 C brown sugar
2 Tbsp sugar
3 C rolled oats
1/4 C oat bran
1/4 C wheat germ or wheat bran
1/4 C flax seed
1 1/2 apples (granny smith, preferred)
1/4 C pecans, chopped
1 C milk
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C oil
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease up a 9x13" pan. Mix all the ingredients together and bake at 375 degrees for the first 30 minutes, then 350 for last 10-15 minutes. It will give it a less gray color yet still cook it without drying it out too much.

About 7-10 servings

Grandma's Dill

This is a great recipe for those times when I only need 1 T of dill for a sauce or garnish and am left with a whole bunch of it. Who would have thought dill could be so tasty on its own?? Ah, Grandma...

"Inside is more fresh."

From Vicky's Facebook:

Dill promotes good digestion and sleep. It is also prescribed for reducing flatulence and in cases of nausea. A tea made of the dill infusion can benefit little babies for lessening gases and improving digestion. Some people believe that the smell of dill will cure hiccups.

Due to several unique qualities of the dill, it is very beneficial to our health. The benefits of dill are the flavonoids, which includes vicenin and kaempferol; and the monoterpenes, which includes anethofuran, limonene and carvone.

The oils found in the dill plant have a beneficial quality that is described as a "chemoprotective" herb. This quality can benefit most cigarette smokers. It is a proven fact that it can neutralize certain parts of not only cigarette smoke, but also charcoal smoke, and the smoke produced by burning trash which are harmful to our health.

In conclusion, she says, "Well, it's just tasty. Enjoy dill today =)". Ok, Dr. Chang!

1 T Black Sesame oil
1/2" ginger, sliced or julienned
1 bunch of dill
1 T rice wine
1 T soy sauce

After washing the dill, cut into 2" segments down through the whole stem of the bunch. Heat a pan with the oil until hot then add the ginger. After 1-2 minutes, add the dill and cook until tender. Near the end, make a well in the pan and pour in the wine, cook a little longer and then add the soy sauce.

Serves 1-2

Oven Baked Fries w/Fennel & Garlic

According to Chinese Medicine & Vicky, fennel is good for alleviating the pain in the stomach due to indigestion, overeating, eating spicy food, and for potato wedges.

1 potato cut into thin wedges
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp parsley, minced
1 tsp fennel
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss the potato wedges, olive oil half of the garlic, parsley and fennel until the potatoes are coated evenly. Spread out on a pan and bake for 10 minutes checking occasionally to see if browned and crisp. Turn potatoes and bake again until both sides are browned. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Serves 1-2

Garlic Shrimp and Saffron Rice

From a health magazine Shua brought home.
35 min prep time

1 lb shelled, deveined, large shrimp, thawed if frozen (and raw). If cooking for 2, use 15 shrimp and use the same amount of seasoning
3 T olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley (I used cilantro)
1 tsp dried tarragon, crumbled (I omitted)

1 ¼ tsp fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (I cracked the fresh lemon pepper stuff from TJ’s)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 ½ C long-grain white or brown rice (I used basmati)
½ tsp saffron threads, steeped in 1 Tbsp hot water

Toss the shrimp, 4 Tbsp (if doing the whole pound) or 1 T if doing just a few shrimp and add lemon juice, herbs and salt and pepper. Arrange shrimp in a shallow baking dish if doing the whole pound or keep in bowl to pan fry later. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 2 T olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium low heat until oil shimmers. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it softens and turns translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the rice, stirring well to coat grains. Add saffron mixture, 2 ¾ C hot water, and remaining ¾ tsp of salt. Bring to boil. Cover pan, reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, about 17 minutes. Cooking time may need to be longer if using brown rice.) Remove from heat, fluff with fork, partially cover pan and let sit until shrimp are ready.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees or heat a skillet on stove until really hot. Bake shrimp until opaque and cooked through, about 10 minutes, or in pan for about 4 minutes. Taking care to turn once or twice only. Serve with rice, spooning juices on top if there are any.

Serves 4, served with mustard greens and garlic.

Apricot Almond Bread

“Moist and tart with apricots and crunchy with almonds, this bread is ideal for brunches and teas. It’s also good as a mid evening semi-dessert, when you want something sweet but not too sweet.” True that.

It suggested 1 ½ hours but when I checked on it after 1 hour, it was done and the apricots on top were a little burnt. Bready, not cakey. Dense and hearty, but moist. There’s something about the apricots that really bring out the creaminess of butter without the fat and without too much buttery mouthfeel. I agree—would be perfect paired with a cup of coffee or hot tea.

40 min to prep
1 to 1 ½ hours to bake

1 ½ C thinly sliced dried apricots
1 ½ C water

2 ½ C flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter
½ C real maple syrup or honey
1 egg beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 tsp orange rind (I omitted)
1 C finely chopped almonds (I used some slightly crushed sliced almonds)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray oil the loaf pan or butter it.

Place apricots and water in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium sized bowl (I just removed from the stove yet kept it in the pot), and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift together dry ingredients except for almonds in a separate bowl.

Stir in the butter plus honey/syrup into the apricot mixture. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients, orange, and almonds. Mix minimally but well.

Spread into the prepared pan (the batter will look dry) and bake about 1 to 1 ½ hours or until a probe inserted all the way down comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then rap the pan firmly a few times on its sides and bottom. The bread should slip right out. Cool at least 15 minutes more before attempting to slice it. (Although I was really impatient and simply used a good serrated knife to go at it and it worked just fine.)

Yield: 1 large loaf, Moosewood Cookbook

May’s Date Cookies

May Wang is always coming up with crazy and delicious and healthy desserts. I first tried this one at her own FTTA graduation. "Wait a minute...aren't I supposed to be baking you treats for your graduation??" My roommates and I instantly fell in love. These have a nice chew in the dates and a biscuit like crunch in the crust department.

This was my first attempt at it by myself. I started out halving the recipe, but my crust turned out really wet, so I added more flour. Maybe next time I’ll add more almond meal. Maybe my dates were a little dried out because they had trouble sticking to anything. It made it really easy to roll out and work with, but makes the end result cookie more like paste and a side of crust. I baked it until the dates were slightly darker and bubbling a little. Cutting was also easy because of my oldie dates.

Here's a good brand for the dates that are delicious when properly stored:

2 1/2 cup buckwheat flour, or whole wheat flour (2 C whole wheat flour + ¼ C almond meal)
1/2 cup water (1/4 c)
1/2 cup safflower oil, or any other oil (1/4 C canola oil)
1/2 tsp salt (1/4 tsp)

one block date paste
4 sheets of parchment paper

Preheat oven 350 degrees
Cut open plastic around date block and unwrap; place on some parchment paper and heat in oven to make soft, easier to roll out
(about 5 min-don’t leave in too long or it will get hard on top).

In bowl, mix ingredients together. Knead into dough, may be a little crumbly, it’s okay. Between two parchment papers, roll out dough thinly (less than 1/4 inch thick). Fold parchment over on each side and roll out in order to make dough edges straight.

Slightly oil two more parchment papers and roll out heated date block thinly. Fold parchment paper over on each side to make the edges straight: match the size of the dough. Take off top parchment of date and flip date paste onto dough, match up edges as much as possible--once it touches, it will stick, you get one shot ☺ (←look how cute May is with her little emoticon.) You can cut off the extra material on the sides and piece together the dough and dates to get maximum surface area. With a knife, cut the sheet into squares,
It may help to have a wet towel handy to wipe edges of knife periodically so the dates won’t stick. No need to separate the squares, it will easily break apart after being baked.

Place the parchment paper on cookie sheet and bake 10-15 minutes. Let cool and break into squares.

My version made 16 squares

Peanut Butter Zimbabwe Stew

Soooo good! Smokey, creamy, a tad sweet.

14 oz. package of firm tofu (used 10 oz)
2 T olive oil
1 ½ C chopped green bell peppers (red ones would be nice to look at)
1 ½ C chopped yellow onions (about ¾ of a medium sized one)
1 T minced fresh garlic (about 4-5 cloves)

14.5 oz. can of whole tomatoes (I drained it, which didn’t make quite a stew, but more of a thicker curry)
1/3 C crunchy peanut butter
½ tsp salt
½ tsp chili powder (can be replaced with cayenne or more adobo sauce)
dash cayenne
1 tsp ground red chipotle (I used 2 chipotle peppers that were canned and 2 T of the adobo sauce)

1 ½ C frozen chopped collard greens (used mustard greens)

Drain and rinse the tofu. Pat dry, and cut into ½ to ¾ inch cubes.

Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the onions and sauté till softened, then add the garlic and bell peppers. Cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cut up using the spoon. Add the peanut butter, salt, chili powder, cayenne and chipotle and cook for approximately 10 minutes again.

Add the collard greens and tofu and simmer until greens are tender or until flavors have blended, at least 15 minutes. Season with salt to taste. I salted a little more and then served with lavosh bread.

Serves 4-5

Shua’s Israeli Salad

Light and refreshing! Oh, Shualita...Shu-ninja...Shoe-ah!

Cucumber, peeled and diced
Cherry tomatoes
Red bell pepper, diced
Orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
Red onion, minced
Fresh dill, minced
Lemon juice
Salt & pepper
Olive oil

Toss and serve!

Lemon-Nut Torte with Summer Berries

The base of this gluten free cake is almonds and is very moist and tasty. I actually didn't like the berry sauce--I thought it was a bit excessive on the vanilla so in the ingredients below, I cut it down in half for next time. Maybe next time, I would just top it with the berries and a little dollop of whipped cream. In the original recipe, the sauce called for 1/3 C honey, 2 T lemon juice, 2 tsp vanilla. Definitely tastes better the next day.

Torte
Parchment paper
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 cup granulated sugar, divided (When measuring, use a little less than 1/3 for each portion if you don't like your cakes too sweet)
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon almond flour (found at health food stores, TJ's or you can food process your own)
1/3 cup corn flour (finely ground cornmeal) Didn't have any so used oat bran which gave it more of a bite and texture. Wish I had cornmeal.
4 large eggs, yolks and whites divided
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping
Agave nectar to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries or any combination, I used blueberries)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Heat oven to 350°. Line an 8" or 9" springform pan with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray.

Combine 1/3 cup sugar and flours in a bowl.

Whip 1/3 cup sugar and egg yolks in another bowl with an electric mixer about 5 minutes. Beat in zest, oil, lemon juice, and orange juice. Fold in dry ingredients.

Beat egg whites and salt in a third bowl with an electric mixer until frothy. Beat in remaining 1/3 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of egg-white mixture into batter. Fold in remaining egg white mixture in two parts, mixing well.

Pour batter into pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven; cool. Invert pan, remove parchment, and turn cake right side up onto a plate. (This was weird because if you use a springform pan, once it's cooled you can just release the pan...but whatever rocks your world.)

Topping
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Spoon topping on cake, dust with sugar, and slice into eighths. (Or, I recommend, slicing the cake and plating, then spooning the sauce right before serving.)

Serves 8-12, adapted from Self, July 2009

Simple White Fish

I don't remember the type of fish, but I've seen my dad cook in this style for salmon and all sorts of other types. Basically, you heat the pan with oil until almost smoking, then you throw in your fish, cover and cook for a couple minutes. Uncover, and flip, then cover. When the fish meat flakes, then it's done. Drizzle with a little soy sauce.

My Favorite Veggies as a Kid

I forget the name of this vegetable, but it's not bitter, the stalks are little thin straws and the top is dark and leafy...Whatever it is, you can buy it in a bunch in all the asian supermarkets. My dad and I washed the whole thing, cut it up in 2" segments. Heat a large pot with a little oil, add the smashed garlic (used 3-4 cloves) and heated until fragrant. Add the stems of the vegetable first to soften until bright green and almost ready to eat (i.e. soft yet with some crunch) and then added the rest of the vegetable. Add a little bit of water (my dad adds a lot to make a soup/sauce). Cover and allow to steam down. Season with salt.

Dad's Pickles

When learning how to cook with family, there always lacks measurements. Everything is to color, to taste, to smell. I will come back to this one day and actually measure out the ingredients for the recipe.

1 cucumber, peeled and halved then sliced
salt
sugar
soy sauce
rice vinegar (optional)

With the cucumbers in a bowl, generously sprinkle salt all over and toss. After allowing it to sit for at least 10 minutes, rinse one cucumber to try. Does it give a little resistance when you bite only to release with a dense crunch? Then it's ready! Rinse the rest and add the other ingredients to taste. My dad likes it slightly sweet with very little saltiness from the soy and just a little acidity. If it's still soft like a raw cucumber, sprinkle more salt and let it set an additional 5-10 minutes.

Easy Roasted Garlic

Honestly, the easiest way to make roasted garlic, yet takes a lot of time. You take the whole head of garlic and place it in a small cake pan. I roasted almost 5 heads a time so if you do just one, you may not have to bake it as long. I then let it sit in a 325 degree oven for almost 2 hours, checking on it to make sure it didn't burn or get too dry. When you have an oven mitt on and squeeze it, it should give and be soft, maybe even a few cloves will fall apart a little. After you let it cool, you can peel each clove and use it in any potato dish, sandwich, salad or spread on toasted bread like above with olive oil drizzled on top. SO GOOD.

Easy Healthy Apple Crumble

6 medium apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
½ C unsweetened applesauce

¾ C rolled oats
3 Tbsp toasted wheat germ, or flax seeds
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Vanilla ice Cream

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Coat a 13x9” baking dish with cooking spray. Combine the apples and applesauce directly in a 13x9” baking dish.

In a bowl, combine oats, wheat germ/flax, brown sugar, cinnamon, then add oil and butter. Mix with fingers to form crumbs, the sprinkle the oat mixture evenly over apples.

Bake at for 30 minutes until top is golden and bubbly. Serve hot with ice cream.

Serves 4-6

Shua’s Broccoli Slaw with Toasted Almonds & Cranberries

Simple, elegant and fresh.

Broccoli slaw (from TJ’s or Fresh & Easy)
Gala apples, chopped
Toasted almonds
Dried cranberries

She mixed together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt and pepper and then tossed in. An alternative would be a light, sweet poppy seed dressing.

Serves 5-6

Vegetarian Egg Drop Soup

Judy Chao’s specialty for her dad’s birthday. Reminds me of shark fin soup without the shark fin. I think it might have been the stock she used…Big asian can of something.

4 C vegetable stock
2 eggs, beaten lightly
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp water
optional: ½ C canned/fresh corn

Heat stock and add soy sauce, white pepper, sesame oil. Add cornstarch mixture and raise heat until soup begins to slightly boil.

Remove from heat and slowly drizzle the beaten egg over the top of the hot soup with one hand while gently stirring with the other. The egg will cook when it comes into contact with the soup. Add the green onions and heat a little more back on the stove.

Serves 5-6

Chocolate Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

My second attempt making these type of biscottis. More airy and crisp (probably due to the eggs), not as dense as my previous recipe. I will attempt my old recipe again and post it when I get the chance. No matter which recipe you use, it's still a great combination--chocolate and hazelnut!!

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 C whole wheat flour
1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda

1 (if you like it a little on the sweeter, add 1/2 C. Personally, I will use 1 1/4 C next time) cups granulated sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) blanched hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
12 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chunks
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt.

Beat the whole eggs, and granulated sugar until the mixture holds a ribbon-like trail on the surface for a few seconds when you raise the whisk. Add the flour mixture and fold in. When it's well combined, add in the nuts and chocolate using a large spatula.

Using the spatula as a guide, drop the dough by spoonful into a 4-inches wide and 18-inches long log directly onto the parchment paper. Slightly flatten it to 1/2-inch thick. Repeat. Leave 2 inches space between logs because they will puff up. Please note that wherever the batter falls, it will stay. This stuff is super sticky and thick!

Bake. If using a pan for each log, rotate pan halfway through, until logs are just firm to the touch, 20-25 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.

When the logs are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to cut biscotti log on the diagonal, into 1/4-inch thick, up to 3/4-inch thick.

Place a wire rack on a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange slices, cut sides down on the rack. Bake until biscottis are firm to the touch and completely dry. They may look wet, but they will be done probably 10 to 15 minutes. They will also dry out as they cool so don't worry about them looking or feeling too moist when you take them out.

Remove pans from the oven. Let biscottis cool completely on the rack. They can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Tzatziki Sauce

5.11.08 Part of the Adamo Feast. The garlic really infuses flavor the longer it sits, so this ends up tasting better and better as the hours go on. Susanne and I made it maybe 6 hours before it was served.

2.4.09 Fresh dill is so important and really worth it. At Von's it's either a jar of dried dill for $7-8 or a package of fresh dill for $1-2. Hmm...it wasn't that hard to choose. I made it for my Wednesday family again. This time, it included the girls up there in the photo. That's Claire, Amber, Cici and Rachel munch munch munching away and pretending to study German. Later that night we did learn a few words like "fart". Amber says that means to go. Yes. Yes it does.

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced (let sit for 15 minutes before adding to yogurt)
4 T minced fresh dill
1 medium cucumber
16 oz labne OR yogurt cheese OR plain greek yogurt OR plain yogurt, strained in a cheesecloth overnight or at least 4 hours
1 t olive oil
1 t lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Peel cucumber, and seed with a spoon, then chop. In a colander, sprinkle cucumber with salt and let sit 15 minutes to drain. Squeeze excess liquid out a few times during the 15 minutes.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate at least a couple hours. Serve with falafel, pita, naan, tortillas, chicken, etc.