Toast Pizza

I saw this Pizza using bread in someone blog before, but couldn't really remember where (Maybe Tigerfish?).  I have also seen pizza using tortilla and pita bread.  It just so many lazy and easy variation out there these days, and some even made dessert pizza.  I made this for my girls' school lunchbox.  I wanted to give them a different variety of lunch boxes instead of the same old thing.  So, I toast it and make it looks like mini pizza instead of making it into a sandwich.  

This was made in a different day without the spinach and cooked chicken breast.  All packed in their lunch box.  They preferred it this way instead of wrapping it in foil.  I would add a cutie into their lunch box too.

Arugula Elk Garlic Pasta

I love the Sweet & Spicy Tuna Arugula Pasta that I made earlier.  But this time I wanted to try it with ground elk meat ( of course you can use any ground meat of you choice as a substitute) that I bought at Sprouts.  Got to say, this combination tasted better with the sweet and spicy tuna, but it was not too bad either.

2 Ingredients Pancake!

When I first read about this 2 eggs and 1 banana pancake, it was shared on a health website on my Facebook page.  They called it Paleo pancake.  I was like okay it was interesting.  And then I saw it again on a Chinese cooking page on my Facebook and I got really interested then because I like simple and easy recipe, furthermore I have frozen banana in my freezer calling me to use it.  So, this time I thaw one banana in the refrigerator and set up to give this recipe a try because I was quite skeptical.  In my mind, I was like would it really work?

I wish I can trace it back to the original creator and give him/her the well reserved credit, but it's just too much work.  So, I just want to say that this idea was not created by me.

Korean Style Cold Tofu Banchan

There is a reason why I like to eat at a Korean restaurant, I will get to sample their banchan/ side dishes and then discover new banchan to cook at home.  There are some Korean restaurants that serve up non-traditional banchan that use mayonnaise, fruit salad and salad.  But I like the traditional banchan more especially those that I am not familiar with.  I find it great to sample food that I have never eaten before from another culture.  My husband is the least adventurous of all as he won't touch some of the banchan such as kimchi.  Luckily I have exposed my girls to kimchi early on and they all love kimchi now and three of us will finish the kimchi in the restaurant.

This spicy cold tofu dish is the replica of what I had recently.  I am not sure whether this is the right way of doing it but this is my way of making it and I think it turned out pretty good.  I think it make a quick and easy banchan.  My hubby didn't like it, he didn't even want to try it at first but took a tiny bite after I asked him. Oh well... more for me then!

PURO Fairtrade Coffee

I am a coffee drinker and love my morning cup of coffee to kick start my day.  So, imagine the joy I felt when I read that 2 cups of coffee a day is actually good for us.  Sometimes I would have another cup in the afternoon or evening but not more than 2 cups a day.  Not long ago, I was contacted by Puro Fairtrade Coffee to give their coffee a try and write a honest review about it. Frankly, I have not heard of Puro Fairtrade Coffee (of course because they are not in the U.S. market yet, but quite popular in Europe) so I just ignored it.  But luckily she was persistent and wrote to me again so I thought why not and decided to try their coffee.

As I becoming more health and environmental conscious, I favor organic farming, sustainability and fairtrade practices.  We need to give back to the earth so that the earth can provide.  So, I like what Puro Fairtrade Coffee stands,  they understand that people and planet are just as important as profit so they want to give back and also help to preserve the rainforest.  Some history behind Puro. Puro was created by Miko in 2004.  Miko is family owned and Belgian born in 1801 and is one of the oldest coffee roasters in the world. This is a brand dedicated to sourcing ethical shade grown Fairtrade coffee that also addresses environmental issues.  A percentage of global Puro coffee sales is strategically directing into the purchase and protection of rainforest in coffee producing countries.  Watch this documentary that they proudly made last year to learn about who they are and what they do to give back to the environment.

Puro has four types of coffee.  Puro Organic- made with 100% finest organic Arabica beans.  Medium roast combining with notes of sweet chocolate with tangy cirtus.  Puro Noble and Puro Noble Decaf- 80% finest Arabica + 20% premium robusta content.  Rich and lively medium roast, with hints of fruit and hazelnut. Lastly, their Puro Fuerte- 50% finest Arabica + 50% premium robusta content. Fragrant dark roast with a touch of spice and a full body.  I tried the Puro Noble first and the coffee was smooth with a hint of fruit.  I couldn't tell whether I could taste the hazelnut since I am not a coffee expert.  If you support what this company do to the environment, give them a try!  As of now, you can only buy it online but they are also currently looking for a US distributor, if you like what they do and want to be a distributor, please visit this link for more information and see more short films.

Disclaimer:  I received free products in exchange for a honest review.  This post was written with my own opinion.

Chewy Rice Paper Pan-fried Nian Gao

This inspiration came about when I was watching a Korean Variety Show called "Happy Together".  There was a winning dish that used the rice paper to wrap leftover and pan-fried it.  Just so happen that I still have a small piece of nian gao/ steamed glutinous rice cake in the refrigerator, so I thought rice paper and nian gao would go well together and quickly set out to give it a try.  We all loved this chewy variation of eating the nian gao too.  Now I have a new way to enjoy the leftover nian gao from Chinese New Year!  I bet you all have some nian gao laying around your house too right?  Give this a try!! *wink*

Soft and chewy bite with melted nian gao/ tikoy/ steamed glutinous rice cake with a slight crispiness from the skin, simply divine!  If you don't like it chewy, you can also try my Crispy Springroll Fried Nian Gao.  You can omit other filling and just wrap it with the nian gao alone, crispy and delicious!