I'm starving at 4am!

What do I do when I'm bored and can't fall asleep at 4am? I search for food blogs. Found a few new delightful ones, including "Framed", which has phenomenal salad recipes, and "Honest Fare" has a great recipe for cherry clafouti that I'll change to mixed berries (I have a healthy cherry version from England, to be posted later). 6 Bittersweets is pretty much a cupcake blog (includes vegan recipes) with the most tasty-sounding cupcakes you'll ever see. Like tiramisu cupcake or bananas foster cupcake . "Brownies for Dinner" loves her desserts (could you guess?). Just explore. I'd list everything for you but I'm making myself drool...

I don't call myself hungry girl for nuttin', ya know...

Too many recipes! Too little time and energy!

I made fabulous veg enchiladas and chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight. It's been my dish of all dishes for about more than a year now. Simple in ingredients but full of flavor. I'll post them up soon.

Healthy Cranberry Walnut Muffins

The parents wanted muffins... the siblings wanted breakfast food... so given the usual fare of butter-laden, sugary muffins, I wanted to make a "healthy" muffins. I came across a recipe for Cranberry Walnut Muffins on Ezine @rticles. I made small adjustments.

Here's the thing... I trust my food blogs (see right column) and my usual All Recipes, Simply Recipes, Epicurious, Gourmet, and Food Network websites. But I was curious... and I was a bit disappointed. The muffins were good. Not stellar. The family reviews were mixed. My mother adored them. The younger siblings complained (but mostly because they don't like anything without chocolate?). I think it's a solid (metaphorically speaking), good muffin. I straddle the line and can't tell. On days when I want a pastry without the guilt, I can make this. Tasty enough to satisfy a craving. Healthy to make you feel great!

The muffins are incredibly low in fat. The changes are subtle, though the one thing I would change is the orange-y taste of the muffins. Even when cutting out the orange peel, I felt like the orange flavor was too strong. But that's just me. I don't like orange-y desserts. I'll eat orange chocolate, for example, but I never want or love it. (Sacriligious! I know!) The combo of oats, whole wheat flour, walnuts and applesauce are a delightful combo for a healthy muffin. If you're diabetic or cutting out sugar from your diet, you can use splenda. Also, use no sugar added applesauce!

Pros:

- Healthy, guilt-free!

- Super easy and quick to throw together

- Very moist muffins

- Love the walnuts

Cons:

- Orange-y

- Felt like there were too many cranberries

- Doesn't have butter (I'm starting to sound like Paula Deen now)

- Batter came out very wet... good moist muffins but had to bake longer than expected

Whole Wheat Cranberry Walnut Muffins

• 3/4 cup APF (if you're forgetting my lingo, refer to earlier post)
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 TB baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar (I wonder how brown sugar would change the flavor...)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (I would also consider adding 1/2 - 1 tsp of all spice? I wanted more flavor!)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup orange juice (I would reduce to a little more than 3/4... 1 cup seemed too much)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 dried cranberries (based on personal preference, I'd reduce to 1/3)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix both flours, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon.

2. In a separate bowl, beat egg, orange juice, and applesauce until combined. Add mixture to flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Do NOT overmix the batter. Batter will have a lumpy appearance.

3. Fold in cranberries and walnuts. Fill in your muffin tins.

4. Made about 14 smaller muffins (or 12 big ones) for me, depending on how you fill your tins. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. I personally preferred that the muffins baked longer, because the batter was very wet and I wanted to make sure everything was cooked all the way through. 25 minutes gave me a nice crunchy top and maintained the very moist inside. These babies were pretty dense muffins!

Chocolate Chip Cookies a la Olive Oil

From today onward, Chocolate Chip Cookies shall henceforth be called CCC. One of my favorite (nerdy) classes in college was physics, and while the inner scientist in me has never manifested herself, I do love myself a good read through Scientific American and Science Magazine. Maybe I loved physics so much because the professor used CCC analogies for everything. Yes, CCC = explanation of life.

I've baked a lot of different recipes. The differences are typically subtle, unpronounced, and delicious regardless (I mean, how can you really mess up sugar, eggs, butter, chocolate?!... okay don't answer. I just jinxed myself.)

I found a recipe for CCC made with olive oil from The Crepes of Wrath, whose author was inspired by Slice of Feist. I love how small the cooking world is now that everything's online. Olive oil?! Really?! Yeah... I was curious.

Here are my thoughts:

- The cookies are much fluffier and lighter than I expected.

- Baking cookies with olive oil still smells great... but when my brother came downstairs his first response was "it smells like pasta". I disagree, but whatevs.

- If you can, beat/mix by machine not by hand. It's a lot of hard work! But I think that goes for baking in general... I was too lazy to use the machine. (Yeah yeah, I know it doesn't make sense since machines are supposed to make your life easier but don't judge me).

-I found the batter very sticky... so I personally would not use my hands to roll balls. I just took a spoon and dropped them by a giant, heaping spoonful.

I feel healthier eating these (compared to eating regular CCC made from butter, of course). Cookies are cookies. But made with olive oil, I feel like I've cut down on my saturated and trans fat, mom! Whenever I cook healthier, I like to change the fat contents a bit (either using a butter+oliveoil mixture for dishes or using half applesauce for baked dishes)... but I'm not a big fan of baking with fake sugar. Splenda in my coffee? Sure, but in moderation. I'd take 2 TB of real sugar over 10 lbs of fake sugar anytime. I say enjoy life at its fullest.... just eat well and live well.

BUT, at the end of the day, taste-wise I still prefer traditional butter with my CCC. These cookies are fluffy and delicious, but you can definitely taste a hint of olive oil. I wonder what would happen to the flavors if I did 1/8 c EVOO and 1/8 c apple sauce? Okay, getting too complicated. Anyway, if you want something tasty and "healthier", give this a try. It's good... but I'll be experimenting with more CCC recipes. Coming up!

UPDATE: These cookies are even better the next day! No one would ever know that you used Olive Oil. No hint at all. They are still soft, chewy, and delicious. IGNORE my last comment above.

Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Olive Oil

• 2 1/4 cups APF (All purpose flour)
  
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cups EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 or 2 TB of milk
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I like the big chocolate chunks from Nestle)

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, mix sugars, vanilla, and oil. Beat in eggs one at a time. Slowly mix in the flour mixture, making sure it's well incorporated.

3. Add a TB of milk to make the dough a bit softer... if you think it's still too dry, add another teaspoon to tablespoon if necessary. In my personal experience, the dough was still a bit sticky when I added a grand total of 2 TB of milk, but no worries. The cookies still came out great.

4. You can roll dough balls with your hands, but I just used a big spoon. The dough balls don't need to be perfectly round. They flatten out nicely anyway.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes. I ended up with about 12-14 big cookies, so I baked the full 12-12 1/2 minutes to make sure they were baked all the way through.

6. Allow them to cool before you indulge. I greedily tried to pick up a cookie while it was still piping hot, and ripped out its innards as it was soft and therefore stuck on the lined baking sheet. =)

Potato Leek Soup

Without school or a job, you'd think I'd be more productive by posting more often, particularly since I've been cooking up a storm. Wrong. My laziness overcomes me. (Just kidding... it's been quite a crazy year) But I digress.

As the cold Californian winter sets in at a chilly 70some degrees, I decided soup was to be made. I do love my soup. I love potato leek soup, but my biggest concern is the amount of fat in traditional recipes. Most recipes call for heavy cream or half and half, but I found that substituting milk (even skim milk, dare I say!) works perfectly well depending on your taste buds. The taste of fresh leeks and potatoes were incredible. However, if you prefer creamier soup (as my family did), you can substitute heavy cream or half and half (or go 50% milk, 50% half and half if you feel creative).

(Sorry no pictures today. My camera fails me.... and the state of my kitchen is currently unfit for photographing)

Potato Leek Soup

• 3 TB butter (or 2 TB butter + 1-2 TB olive oil to cut down on saturated fat)
  
• 3 leeks, thinly sliced
• 1 medium or large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3-4 large russet or 6-8 yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced (using a food processor is great, skin optional)
• 3-4 cups chicken broth (enough to barely cover potatoes)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt to taste
• fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in a pot over medium heat and add your onions, garlic, and leeks. Cook and stir frequently until you've caramelized everything (translucent, almost browned).

2. Add the potatoes and pour in the chicken broth to just cover the potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender (usually 15+ minutes). Remember to scrape the bottom of the pan to prevent burning... the brown potato bits are delicious!

3. Using a hand blender or a potato masher, mash and stir potatoes until you get a thick, chunky soup. Blend to your desired consistency. Continue stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot.

4. Add your cup of milk (you can add more, depending on your preferences), salt, and pepper. Continue cooking for 5 minutes until the milk is well incorporated.

Serve hot, preferably with freshly baked bread on the side. (Recipe for honey whole wheat coming up soon?)

Chicken Noodle Soup for your soul (and stomach)

Alas, I have been remiss in my duties. Exams and travel have gotten in the way of my blogging. But fear no more! Recipes, pictures, and restaurant reviews are on their way!

I've been in the mood for soups lately. Unfortunately you can't tell as I've only posted a handful of recipes. Fortunately for you the list will expand, and you'll see that my soup recipes take up a hefty proportion! Maybe it's the unpredictable English weather that wavers from sunny and warm to drizzly and numbing. Or maybe it's just because 

soup is AWESOME. 

One of my favorites, and the easiest to make, is Chicken Noodle Soup. Growing up with non-Western parents, I didn't grow up eating this when sick. So the first time I made it, I played around and came up with a chicken noodle soup heartier than I imagined. I made two versions. The first, and my favorite, one is posted below. The second followed the same recipe, except I did not have celery and added spinach instead. The spinach dulled the flavor a bit, but the soup was still amazing. For the extra nutritional bonus, I'm definitely keeping it in future recipes but perhaps in smaller doses. 

Loaded with lean protein (if you use chicken breast) and vitamins and minerals from all of vegetables, the soup is also very low in fat. Just google the nutritional values of the sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, garlic and onions, and you'll see why this soup is a winner, especially if you're under the weather. I teamed it up with orange juice for good measure, the first time. I particularly love adding sweet potatoes (or yams). It's untraditional but adds a nice creamy sweetness to the broth and infinitely more flavorful than regular potatoes. I would just skip regular potatoes if you don't have sweet potatoes. But it's up to you!

Note that I never follow a precise recipe for this soup. I generally throw in whatever I have and add or subtract based on how it tastes. You really can't go wrong with a broth-based soup. Preparation and cooking time are about 1-1.5 hours, depending on how quick you are. Yum!

(Soup with orange juice. Double the power...)

(Soup with spinach experiment)

Chicken Noodle Soup (Services 6-8)

• Diced Chicken Breast or Thigh (3-4 cups or about 4-5 breasts)
• 1-1.5 Large Carrots, diced
• 2 Stalks of Celery, diced
• 2 Sweet Potatoes, skinned and diced
• 1 Large Onion, diced
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 6-8 cups of chicken stock (add water to flavor to your liking)
• Salt and Pepper to your liking (optional, I don't add any)
  
• 2 tspn Thyme
• 1-2 tspn Ground Ginger (or use 1 TB fresh ginger preferably)
• 2-3 cups Egg Noodles, Linguine, or Pasta (your preference) 

1. If you are using stock cubes, then add 450ml of boiling water to each cube. I use 4 cubes to make this soup. If you are using broth, bring all of it to a boil. Add thyme, ginger, garlic and onions. Let it boil for a minute or two so all the flavors are incorporated into the broth. 

2. Add everything else, except for the noodles. Reduce to a simmer.  Allow to cook for 35-40 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through and potatoes are soft.  (If you are using spinach, add it in the last 10 minutes. Let it wilt all the way and turn a dark green.)

3. Add your choice of noodles. Cook it in the soup for as long as the package instructs. When I used fusilli, I cooked it for 10 minutes in simmering soup. 

4. Add any salt, pepper, or herbs to your liking. Once you see that the chicken is cooked all the way, the vegetables practically melt in your mouth, and the noodles are well cooked (I would recommend soft noodles, not al dente).... Enjoy!

UPDATE: The soup tastes every better the next day. If I had kids, this would be a great way to get them to eat their spinach. I simply added spinach to the soup and simmered it until the leaves became wilted and soft and dark green. Delicious. And healthy!

Thumprint Jam Cookies

Life's too short. Have dessert first. Okay, maybe that's bad advice... but that's certainly what I do! Just ask my friends. My family loves thumbprint cookies (or jam cookies, as we call them becaues we had no idea what thumbprint cookies were until a recipe was found!). Popular and simple as can be, these cookies are great for afternoon tea or just... gobbling up while waiting for dinner to cook. No, bad. Don't do that. Really. You'll have angry dinner guests. 

The first time I made these, the dough gave me a bit of trouble. The dough seemed too dry at first, and I ended up giving it a few splashes of milk. I'm not sure if any food guru would lecture me about basic food chemistry, but hey they turned out just great. And look how pretty they are!

There are quite a few variations of this cookie. You can add vanilla extract or finely chopped hazelnuts, almonds, or walnuts (Joy of Baking)...  I went with a simple recipe. You can compare my photo with a beautiful one from Simply Recipes that shows the cookies with the nuts alternative.

Thumprint Jam Cookies (Makes 3-3.5 dozen cookies)

• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces), room temperature
  
• 1/2 cup of sugar
  
• 2 egg yolks, room temperature (keep whites if you decide to use nuts)
  
• 1 TB lemon juice
  
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)
  
• Pinch of salt
  
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
  
• 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
  
• ~6 TB of your favorite jam
  
• Parchment paper (or aluminum foil)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter two baking sheets or just use aluminum foil (the environmentally un-friendly but easy solution). 

2. Beat the butter and sugar. Cream on high for 3 minutes... or beat by hand until smooth.

3. Beat in the yolks, lemon, and salt. [If using nuts, put the egg whites in a shallow dish on the side and whisk until bubbly and frothy. These will be used to keep the nuts on the cookies. Otherwise ignore this step.]

4. Add flour gradually. Mix until moist clumps form. Place dough into the fridge for 30 minutes. (I skipped this step, which made it very difficult to deal with the dough. But again, it worked out just fine!)

5. Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. If using nuts, dip the balls into the whites and roll them in the nuts. Place on lined/buttered/covered cookie sheets.

6. Use thumb to make indents or "thumbprints" in the center of the cookie. (Don't get too excited. Just make a well big enough for the jam!). Fill with 1/2 tspn of jam. 

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes (really depends on how "golden brown" and biscuity you like them and how big your cookies were. I made mine a bit too big, so I put them in for an extra five.. but keep an eye on them!)

8. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

 

Warm Quinoa Salad

As promised, the lovely quinoa salad that I paired with my split pea soup! For those of you on low-carb or high-fiber (or low fat, as long as you use tofu in the place of cheese) diets, this is the salad for you. It's better than any "packaged" salad you'd find in a supermarket or those naked, boring salads that you make when dieting (yes, I know, I know). The combination of roasted cherry tomatoes with quinoa and paneer cheese (I prefer cheese over tofu, as recommended by 101 Cookbooks) is mouthwatering. This was my first experiment with quinoa, and I can officially say I'm in love! Easy.

Warm Quinoa Salad (Serves 4-6) - from 101 Cookbooks

• a splash of extra-virgin olive oil
  
• a pinch of fine grain sea salt
  
• 1 shallot, minced
  
• 3 cups cooked quinoa
  
• 1 cup corn, fresh, frozen, or canned
  
• 1 1/2 cups kale, spinach or other hearty green, finely chopped
  
• 2 cups extra-firm nigari tofu, browned (or halloumi cheese or paneer cheese)
  
• 1/3 cup good pesto
  
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted (or you can use a mixed seed mix)
  
• 1/4 cup roasted cherry tomatoes (or chopped sun-dried tomatoes)
  

1. To roast cherry tomatoes: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Halve the tomatoes and arrange on a baking tray. Mix with splash of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), brown sugar, and pinches of salt. Facing cut-side up, place in the oven and bake for 45 mintutes or until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.

2. Rinse about 2 cups quinoa in strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring the quinoa and 4 cups water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain and has a tender crunch (or "pop" in your mouth). Drain.

3. Sweat the shallots or onions for a minute or two over the stove in EVOO. Stir in the quinoa and corn and cook until hot and sizzling. Stir in the spinach and then the cheese, cooking until heated through. Stir in the pesto and pumpkin seeds well and top with the cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy.

Split Pea and Barley Soup

Ah, the inaugural post. Like a prologue to a novel, this should be the salacious introduction to my blog. Alas, I have no words of wisdom for you, but welcome and pull up a chair! This is my foray into the gastronomical world of food, drink, and good company. From recipes I've created (or adopted as my own... with credits, of course!), to restaurant reviews, to travelling adventures, I hope that you can take a piece of my world with you. I'm young and stupid. But with every recipe posted I promise satisfaction (and notes of caution with tales of culinary failures from the past) and happiness. I hope you love food the way I do, and you'll see that slaving over the stove is worth every bite!

So today, my friends, I'll keep it simple. I bring you.... SOUP! As the sun begins to shine in England (a rarity, indeed), I find that a comforting soup and salad (salad recipe to come) is the perfect light and fulfilling dinner meal. The recipes is adopted from California Pizza Kitchen and can be found on multiple websites, including one that claims to have the secret recipes of all restaurants.

I apologize for my camera. It's 6 years old... which is lightyears ago, in technology age. I've put it side by side with a picture from CPK (Credit to Chowhound), so you have a better idea of what it looks like. Vegetarian and Vegan friendly.

Split Pea Soup with Barley (Serves 8-10)

• 2 cups split peas (dried) - Use yellow or green (Note photos above). Equally yum.
• 6 cups water
• 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. granulated white sugar
• 1/4 tsp. dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• salt and pepper to taste

This split pea soup recipe is a nutritional powerhouse. It packs a whopping 12 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein per serving. Per serving: 201 calories, 1 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 282 mg sodium, 37 g carbohydrate, 12 g fiber, 13 g protein, 45% Vitamin A, 9% Vitamin C, 4% calcium, 13% iron a (Healthy Cooking)

1. Rinse and drain peas in a colander. Then put them in a nice, large pot for soup with the next nine ingredients (through lemon juice). Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium low and simmer for 60-75 minutes or until peas are cooked. (I would stir often, as the peas WILL stick to the bottom of your pot as they cook. Poor lost peas, you don't want to lose them to the dark side of your pot, now would you?)

2. Meanwhile, put barley and water in a large pot over high heat. Boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until most of the water is absorbed, approximately 60-70 minutes. (Trust me you'll notice. If you feel that it's getting too dry and the barley is not as soft as you'd like it, feel free to add water. You can always...) Drain.

3. Either transfer pea mixture to blender in batches and puree. Or find a magical hand blender and blend in the pot to the consistency of your liking. Once all of the mixture is pureed, return it to a large pot. Add the barley, carrots and celery to the soup. Heat on medium low until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Other notes: I like my soup chunkier, so play with the water measurements to get the soup as thin or as chunky as you'd like it. I've also exchanged shallots for onions or have gone skim with the lemon juice. I also add a teaspoon of thyme, simply because it's wonderful. Lastly, if you are a meat eater, you can add bacon... but I like mine simple. It tastes just as hearty as the traditional pea soup with bacon.