Milo Chia Seed Pudding

Chia seed is so popular these days because of its high omega-3 fat and long shelve life.  Also, it doesn't have to be crushed (unlike flaxseed) to get the full benefits.  I have been added it in bread, waffle, pancake and muffin. But I also like to try new thing and chia seed pudding caught my eyes.  It seem easy enough, just add liquid and chia seeds and see it transform into a pudding like consistency.

I made a small batch to test it out and luckily my girls loved it too.  Just that we have to add more syrup to make it tasty.  Next time I would probably mix the syrup with the milk first before adding the chia seeds so that the pudding would be sweet.  I think it would be delicious in the Asian style sweet soy bean milk too.

Flaxseed Pumpkin Cake

After seeing all the delicious cakes baked by fellow bloggers, it made me realized that I haven't been baking cake in a while.  But I wanted something that was easy and not too troublesome to make, like my one whisk and one bowl cake recipe.  I finally decided on this pumpkin cake recipe because I have some organic pumpkin puree stock up in my pantry.  This time I added ground flaxseed just to make it healthier, no harm in getting an extra omega-3 right?

This cake is best eaten the next day.  The texture doesn't look like the usual pumpkin cake yet it is dense, soft and moist and so good with my morning cup of coffee.  I could taste the flaxseed, pumpkin and spices in the cake. Delicious!

Easy Stir-fried Leeks with Beef

Cooking doesn't have to be difficult, this super easy stir-fried leeks with beef is an example.  Minimal ingredients used yet super delicious.  I used leftover beef here but you can use a small piece of beef and thinly slice it and marinate it to make this a quick stir-fry.

Leek is in the Allium family, together with onion and garlic.  Not only it is low in calories, anti-oxidant but it also provides lots of health benefits and vitamins and minerals.  I don't buy leek all the times because lots of veggies that we eat are also very nutritious but I certainly include leeks occasionally into our diet.  I am thriving for a variety of vegetables that have different health benefits and try to mix and match them every week.

Spicy Miso Buckwheat Noodle Soup

I loved this Taiwanese cooking show called "食在有健康", not only it teaches us what food to eat to make us healthier, it also uses that food and teaches us how to cook it.  I think the featured food here is mushroom.  I like that the chefs in that show always managed to create yummy food with easy cooking method.  I also like their theme 食在有健康, 吃出好健康!  Meaning eat healthy food so that you will have good health.  I agreed with it whole heartedly that's why I am a big fan of that show.

Pina Colada Yonana

It has been almost a year since I owned my Yonana maker and I am still loving it.  It is always cool to have a new recipe to try.  When I saw the Pina Colada recipe posted at Yonana's Facebook page, I just wanted to try it.  This recipe was posted by Gerry Quesinberry and thanks Gerry for sharing this fantastic recipe.  I made one quart (more than the recipe stated) to freeze so that I can have few scoops a day.  I always like to make a big batch so that I can freeze for later, also I don't have to wash the Yonana maker every time I feel like eating some.  *wink*

Seasoned Burdock Root

 

Chinese health guru said root vegetables are good for us, so I am trying to eat more.  Root vegetable such as nagaimo (山药), burdock root/ gobo, lotus root, ginger, turmeric, etc.  Nagaimo is really good for us but I have not bought it often as I still have no idea how to incorporate it into our family meal besides making a dessert.  I bought burdock root occasionally to make soup;  even tried it in stir-frying once, but I found it to be quite fibrous and my family members didn't like it.  But I was glad to found this Ueong Jorim (seasoned burdock root) recipe on Pinterest one day.  This is surely a keeper for me, I guess by stir-frying and simmering, it makes it less fibrous that even my little girl likes it. 

Herbal Grass Jelly with Soy Milk

 

Feeling a little heaty lately so I made myself a glass of herbal gelatine grass jelly with soy milk and palm sugar syrup.  We have this drink in Malaysia and it is also known as Micheal Jackson drink.  Herbal grass jelly drink is very common in Malaysia, usually they just cut it into smaller pieces and simmer it with water and sweeten it with sugar.  Because my soy milk is less sweet and the grass jelly is unsweeten hence I sweeten it with Gula Melaka syrup/palm sugar syrup.  As you can see my soy milk is brownish in color.  This grass jelly has cooling properties and very popular in hot weather.  Other than making drink with it, you can also make dessert.  Just cut it into cubes and mix it with cut fruit, sago, red beans, cendol, coconut flesh, sea coconut and syrup.  Or whatever you can think of that would make a good match.

Samgak Kimbap Lunch Box

Samgak kimbap or triangle kimbap is the Korean version of rice balls.  This is another easy to make lunch box idea for your kids at school.  I used the same recipe as my post in making onigiri.  You can either buy the samgak kimbap seaweed wrap (it came with seaweed in a plastic wrap with sticker) at the Korean store or supermarket (I read that 40 pieces is about $10+) or you can use the ordinary kimbap seaweed and do as what I did below to keep the seaweed dry and crisp (and save some money).  My girl loves the extra hand on approach in wrapping the rice balls herself.  It is like she makes it herself and showing off to her friends at the same time.  :-)
 

Three Seed Bread

I always make our bread from scratch via the bread maker at home.  I am also happy to try out any healthy bread recipe for my family.  Recently, I am into flaxseed and chia seed, so I bought a packet of Bob's Red Mill flaxseed and at the back packet of the flaxseed, it included two recipes and one of it is this Three Seed Bread.  I decided to try this recipe because I have all the ingredients and it sounded great.  This bread indeed turned out delicious and soft and we loved it.  Hence, I decided to share it here with all of you. 

Flaxseed and Chia Seeds Waffles

You know I make my own bread/buns for breakfast right?  Sometimes I will make muffins or waffles as they freezes well.  My old waffle recipes used oatmeal and since I no longer buy oatmeal, I tried out a new recipe here.  I added flax and chia seeds simply because I have some in my pantry.  Next time I would buy the ground flaxseed  instead of  the whole flaxseed since it is easier for our bodies to digest.  (Update: I grounded my flaxseeds using a food processor and store it in a Ziploc bag in the freezer.)

I served my waffle with butter and Malacca palm sugar syrup and it was so delicious.  My girls asked me to make another batch of waffles after we are finished with this because they loved it a lot.  I used chocolate chips for them and raisins for us.

Onigiri Lunch Box

This lunch box is super easy to make since most of us have some leftover rice in the refrigerator or from the night before.  I stock up on pouch tuna when it goes on sales and that comes in handy.  If you have these two main ingredients, you can make onigiri!  Onigiri is Japanese rice balls and you can eat it with a piece of roasted seaweed too.  Korean have their own version and it is called samgak kimbap (triangle rice balls) and it is wrapped in seaweed (will do a post on this later).  Both of these make easy lunch box or picnic food and kids love them.

Samples Lunch Box 2

White rice with stir-fried kailan and braised A1 emperor chicken spices with boneless and skinless chicken thighs

For me, making lunch box for my girl used to be saving money.  But now it is to ensure that she gets a healthy and balance meal.  She used to envy her classmates who get to eat in the cafeteria, but now she loves bringing her lunch box to school as her classmates would come and check on her lunch box (they are curious) and say things like it looks good, it smells great, oh are you eating spring rolls, that's the best thing ever, some even want to exchange her lunch box.  She gets compliments on her lunch box and I guess that changed her attitude towards it.  I do let her eat in the cafeteria when they are serving special meal such as Thanksgiving meal and Christmas special.

Bibim Naengmyun (Spicy Mixed Cold Noodle)

Bibim naengmyun or Korean mixed spicy cold noodle is so economical to cook at home.  Furthermore, we can add whatever ingredients we like.  The one sold in the restaurant mostly has cucumber, radish and boiled egg and they charge $9 for a bowl.  I would rather spend my $9 on some chicken/meat and side dishes.  A plus is this cold noodle dish is so easy to make and I calculated the cost to be less than $6 for 2 bowls.

If you have a craving for spicy mixed cold noodle, why not make it yourself?  One thing though, you got to be able to take the heat, as this is a SPICY noodle dish.  Those that cannot take spicy food, can try the naengmyeon, is a cold noodle dish serves in cold radish kimchi broth or clear beef broth (with crushed ice), suitable for hot summer days.

Chinese Watercress Soup

I made this soup occasionally so I thought I had posted the recipe in my blog, but when I went to search for it, I couldn't find it.  Only then I realized I haven't posted the recipe.  So, I shared it here for my record so that next time if my girls want to make it, they would know where to look for the recipe.

The health benefit of watercress is plenty and it has been dated since ancient time.  It is high in calcium, iron, Vitamin C, beta-carotene, folic acid, potassium, phosphorous and rich in fiber, iodine and anti-oxidants.  You can read more about it here.  It is also a cooling food for Chinese.

Black Porridge Dessert

According to the Chinese, black food is a golden food for the kidney.  And taking care of your kidney is very important as it can reverse aging and makes you look vibrant and younger.  A good kidney can erase the sign of aging, black spots and blemishes on your face, and even turn white hair into black hair.  If you maintain a strong healthy kidney, you will have strong bone and bone marrow, articulate, hear well, clear face and jet black hair. Other black foods that need to be noted are black fungus, black mushroom, kelp, seaweed, fermented black beans, black chicken, black lentils, blackberries, black grapes and etc.  Are you impressed?

So, I made a quick and fuss free black porridge for us, using a slow cooker (the idea came from a Chinese source).  I finally found another way to enjoy some black beans besides cooking it in soup.  Since this is sweet, it is enjoy by everyone, even my girls loved it.  Not only this is delicious, fuss free to cook but also extremely healthy.  For the real benefit, it was recommended to have a bowl everyday and you will see result in week 3 +.  I am not sure whether I want to eat it every day though, but probably once a week (good enough for 3 days) as I do cook with black sesame seeds, seaweed, mushroom and black fungus often during the week.

All ingredients can be found at the Asian supermarkets except walnuts.  If you don't see the black slab sugar, feel free to buy the brown slab sugar.  Dried lily bulbs can be found at the herbal aisle in the Asian store.

Samples of Evy's Lunch Boxes

Kimchi Fried Rice with Roasted Seaweed to wrap the rice

Turmeric Brown Rice with Stir-Fried Spinach and Chicken with Wood Ear Fungus and Tofu Knot

Turkey Meatballs Spaghetti

An easy dinner with the baked turkey meatballs that I made earlier.  I liked the whole wheat angel hair pasta because it cooked fairly quickly.  Since this was a quick and easy dinner, I used the Target brand traditional spaghetti sauce, added some chopped red onion and button mushrooms and lastly some spinach to make it more nutrition.

If you look closely, you can see a dollop amount of red chili paste on top of my pasta.  That was my extremely spicy chili paste (that's why a small amount was sufficient) to increase the appetite of this dish.  If you haven't tried eating it this way, try it next time, it's really delicious (given that you can take the heat to begin with).

Vietnamese Shrimps Spring Rolls

I think I wrote about the Vietnamese spring rolls or summer rolls before but never really provided the method of making it.  Since I make this quite often now and have been playing with variety of fillings, I am definitely getting better.  I will show you a picture of my ingredients and guide you along in my next page (if you are a newbie of course).  As for my ever popular peanut hoisin dipping sauce, you can get the recipe here.  I have perfected the recipe, so you don't have to go else where for the recipe, just get it here!

This is definitely an appetizer or snack or lunch (it's great for picnic too) that you can make ahead of time.  It also becomes one of the food that I prepare for Evy's school lunchbox.  I cut the veggie, par-boil the vermicelli and shrimps and make the hoisin peanut sauce the night before.  Then, on the next day, I just have to wrap it with a rice paper and enclose it with a cling wrap individually (so that it won't dry out and easier for her to eat) .  I also pack a small container of peanut sauce for her to dip.

Green Cabbage Kimchi

This green cabbage kimchi came about because I haven't been to the Asian market for a while and I was so out of napa cabbage or any Asian greens for that matter.  I am not even a Korean but I just had to have a big jar of kimchi in my refrigerator these days.  I used to dislike kimchi because of its pungent smell and taste, but while reading about the benefits of probiotic and kimchi, slowly I became to like kimchi especially the homemade ones as I can adjust the taste according to my liking (mostly towards a sweeter taste).

After it is fermented, it doesn't taste much different from the napa cabbage kimchi, except perhaps crisper.  Loved it in the instant ramen and the soup was just sourish delicious!  Read that there is a lot of probiotic in the juice of the kimchi so don't throw it away. Besides the beneficial bacteria for your gut, kimchi is also a great source of beta-carotene, calcium, iron and Vitamins A, C, B1 and B2.

Salad for Lunch

Our lazy and healthy lunch (minus the fried chicken tender)!  These days when I made my Asian Peanut Sesame Salad Dressing, I would double the recipe and keep it in a glass bottle in the refrigerator.  Then, I would pack the salad with dressing on the side for Evy to bring to her school for lunch.  Edda and I would eat that for lunch as well and that's the best way for us to have some raw food into our diet.  As in our Chinese culture, we hardly consume any raw food, it has to be quickly blanch in hot water or in a quick stir-fry.

For this salad, I was trying to incorporate as much nutrients as possible so I added fruit (banana, dried cranberries), seeds and nuts.  Not to forget the cilantro (can remove toxic chemicals from the body).  I forgot to add tomato and Hijiki seaweed.  I finally thought of another way to eat the Hijiki seaweed but on that day itself I forgot to use it.

Brown Rice Kimbap/Gimbap (Korean Rice Rolls)

I am loving kimbap/gimbap because you can basically put everything you desired as fillings.  I loved to make kimbap using my leftover turmeric barley brown rice (hence the yellow color) or brown rice .  These days, I would keep some nori seaweed wrapper in my pantry so that when I feel like making some kimbap, I can.  I made the above for my girl's school lunch, she loved eating it and there was no mess.  I would make another for Edda as well when she comes home from school. 

Close up of my fillings above:  Fried eggs, imitation crab meat, spicy tuna, carrot, pickled radish and blanched bean sprouts (I wish I have some cucumber though for extra crunch).  The filling is very versatile, if you can think it, you can make it.  In fact, I like to make kimbap using leftover. 

This would make a great picnic lunch as well.  I can't wait for summer to arrive so that I can go picnic with my girls.  Well, if the weather turns nice like in the 70s, that's a good reason to go picnic, doesn't have to wait until summer. :-P

Baked Turkey Meatballs

Do you love the convenience of frozen meatballs that sell in the supermarkets?  I do!  But as I am becoming more aware and more educated about food such as whole food vs processed food, I couldn't bring myself to buy it.  As I flipped to the back and read the ingredients list, I had to sigh and put the frozen meatballs back in the freezer.  I told myself, if I want some meatballs, I just have to make it myself and freeze it!

I chose turkey because I bought a small turkey breast during the Christmas sales.  I removed the turkey bone and hand minced the turkey breast with a cleaver.  Then, just added the seasonings and baked.  Since my turkey breast was small, it didn't yield much meatballs, next time I would have to make more to freeze.  These turkey meatballs were delicious as it.  Or you can add it in spaghetti sauce, or make a BBQ meatballs sauce, or an Asian style sauce to coat the meatballs.  I even sandwiched it in a bun with a slice of cheese for Evy to bring in as her lunchbox to school.

Avocado Milkshake with Gula Melaka

Gula Melaka as we said it in Malaysia or palm sugar is made by extracting the sap from the flower bud of a coconut tree.  It is very fragrant and has the deep dark brown color and used in many Malaysian dessert.  I made the avocado milkshake before using the chocolate sauce and my readers commented that I can substitute the chocolate sauce with Gula Melaka which I thought was brilliant.  Finally the avocado was on sales again and I couldn't wait to try this.  It was indeed delicious but I think you need to like avocado to really enjoy this dessert.

Chicken Wonton Mee

I loved my noodle and can't leave without it.  These days I would cook noodle for dinner at least once a week.  When I shop at the Asian market and see some fresh wonton noodle, I would buy 2 to freeze it at home.  So whenever I feel like eating some wonton noodle (or egg noodle), I can thaw it a night before in the refrigerator.  My husband brought back some Hawaii BBQ chicken for supper one night, but I don't eat supper and thus the leftover.  So, this was what I did with the chicken!

Par-boiled some chai-hsin (Chinese greens), boiled some frozen homemade chicken dumplings, microwave the leftover Hawaiian BBQ chicken and sliced it, chopped some scallions to serve.  I also concocted a yummy sauce for my wonton noodle which I will keep it a secret.  :-P

Easy Pocket Bread /Pita Bread Lunch

I was searching for pita bread to buy but strangely I couldn't find it in any of the supermarkets that I frequent.  Then, I saw an ad. at Sprout and saw that they have whole wheat pocket bread!  That's just like the pita bread that I was searching for.  I bought those and made a quick lunch for Edda and me and also for Evy to bring to her school.  For Evy, I put half of the pocket bread in a Ziploc bag with a spoon and a packet of ketchup.  And then fried the smoked fish ham with 2 eggs in the morning and packed it in a thermos so that it would keep warm until her lunch time.  She was having fun stuffing her pocket bread and enjoyed eating it as well.

See my salad above, I added strawberry and dried cranberries and it was so delicious.  Now I must eat my salad with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds (would add some walnuts next time).  Click here for my peanut sesame salad dressing.  Now I double the recipe and keep it in a glass container in the refrigerator and stock up on organic romaine lettuce hearts for my quick lunch.  The dressing is good as a dipping sauce for Vietnamese spring rolls too.

Oyster Sauce Topokki

As I mentioned earlier, Topokki or Dukbokki is a popular Korean street snack made of rice cake sticks and fish cakes.  This is my sweet and salty oyster sauce version of topokki.  I added Korean smoked fish ham, rice cake sticks, onion and fish cakes.

I sliced the rice cake sticks into half for faster cooking time.  This dish is more suitable for children or those who can't seem to take spicy food.

Angel Hair Pasta with Clams

If you are my avid blog reader, you should know that I loved to watch healthy Chinese cooking shows from Taiwan.  And clams have always been brought up as a healthy food to eat.  It is high in vitamins and minerals especially B12 (prevents Alzheimer disease) , iron (prevents anemia) and selenium (helps fight arthritis), protein, manganese, Vit. C, copper, riboflavin, zinc, and potassium.  You can read more about the health benefits here. 

Since the clam meats that I bought were frozen and cooked, I made a pasta dish with it.  If I have some fresh and live clams, I would cook Kam Heong clam/ lala or steam it with homemade sweet rice wine with gingers and scallion.

Anyway, I read that wild clams or any seafood might have some mercury in it, so I paired it with cilantro!  Oh yes, as cilantro can remove heavy metal like mercury from the body through elimination process.  Hence, it's a great idea to pair cilantro with any seafood that you cook.

Fish Maw Soup (鱼肚汤)

I don't know why but during the Chinese New Year, I always want to cook a pot of fish maw soup or bamboo fungus soup (竹笙).  I added bean curd sticks, shrimps, mushrooms and eggs into the soup.  I did not thicken the soup with starches but tried it with beaten eggs instead.

Is there any benefits of eating fish maw?  I did a search and it said fish maw is an excellent source of collagen.  Just like what the Chinese believe the collagen of chicken feet and pig trotter would give you a beautiful skin.  It is said to help with blood circulation and improve your skin.  Do you know any other benefits besides what I had mentioned?

Easy Guacamole

When avocado is on sales, I like to buy some to make guacamole, milk shake, or add in salad.  Guacamole is very easy to make and I would prefer to make it myself rather than buy it at the store.  I think it is very versatile as you can also add red or color bell pepper, jelepeno (for a spicy kick), roasted garlic and white onion.  Basically just whatever to your fancy or just keep it plain.  It makes a great appetizer or party snack!

I served my guacamole with Sprout's multi-grain tortilla chips, loved that chips!  It is a great way to add shallot, cilantro and tomato for my girls as usually they are kind of picky with those.

Deep-Fried Nian Gao with Seaweed and Sweet Potatoes

Nian Gao/ sticky rice cake (年糕), a must have for every Chinese New Year (CNY) because of its' symbolic meanings.  Eating nian gao is said to bring you good luck in the new year.  Also "nian nian gao sheng",  年年高升 means whether in your career, money wise or studies or whatever you do, you will get better each and every year.  Eating something sticky also means your family will stick together.  The above nian gao is made with my Super Easy Steamed Nian Gao recipe that I devised for people who want to make homemade nian gao the easy way.

I fell in love with deep-fried spring roll nian gao 2-3 years ago.  This year I tried it with a piece of seaweed and the seaweed imparted an extra fragrant to the fried nian gao with sweet potatoes.  This is super crispy and irresistible!  Try it with your leftover nian gao from the CNY and enjoy this delicious snack!!

Orange Marmalade

You all know how much I adored the mandarin/ clementine marmalade, but for some reasons the cuties clementines were not on sales at this time of the year unlike previous years.  What is on sales is the California navel oranges, so this year my house is fulled of navel oranges instead of clementines. 

This marmalade had everything in it including the juice, pulp and zest so it looked more like apple sauce.  The color was off as I burnt some at the bottom of my pot.  It would be brighter orange in color instead of this darker color as I didn't even know I burnt the bottom, so when I stir the marmalade, the burnt bit got mixed in resulted in darker color (hence, I put a warning at method below) .  Anyway, I managed to savage about 3.5 bottles before throwing away the burnt part.

It's hard to ask a woman not to multitasking right?  I was multitasking at that time and thus the result.

Chicken Lor Bak (Chicken Bean Curd Rolls)

Most of the lor baks (meat bean curd rolls) we are familiar with are the ones made with ground pork or ground pork plus shrimps.  But there are also lor baks that were made with pork strips or chicken strips.  To me, anything that was wrapped in the bean curd sheet and deep-fried was delicious as long as the seasonings were right on.  You have to be generous with the salt and yet not to make it too salty.  If you found yourself under salt it, just serve it with a chili dipping sauce.  However, if you over salt this, the only thing you can do is to eat it with lots of rice.

* I am also submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover and Aspiring Bakers #28: Chicken Feast (February 2013) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.

Vegetarian Delights

Mixed vegetables symbolizes family harmony for the Chinese New Year celebration.  So, this dish is often served during the CNY.  I have no idea since when that I have also started cooking the vegetarian delights during the CNY.  I used to add bean paste into this dish but this year I omitted it.  I think I prefer it without the bean paste and strangely I didn't hear any complaint from my daughters.  Even, the picky eater Evy didn't complaint of the mushroom and weird looking stuff in this dish and finished everything I gave her on her plate of rice.  Yeah that was strange as she would always be the first to complain.  Not many American born Chinese little girls can stomach this dish okay, so I am really proud of her and Edda.

Lobster Heads Porridge

We were invited to a Chinese New Year reunion dinner on CNY eve.  The owners and their relatives were all Chinese restaurant's owners themselves so for sure we were having a great feast that night.  They cooked a lot so it was a night of abundance of delicious authentic Chinese food.  I forgot to sample the roasted duck, white chicken and another chicken dish (can you believe that?).  The owner even gave me a big tray of food to bring back which I was very thankful.  Her uncle (also a restaurant owner) told me how to cook this lobster heads porridge, the only thing I did different was I added 2 dried scallops in it.  The resulted porridge was so sweet and flavorful and no additional seasoning was required.  Thank him for sharing his delicious porridge recipe with me.

Certified Steak & Seafood Company [$25 off Coupon]

*This sponsorship is brought to you by Certified Steak & Seafood Company who we have partnered with for this promotion.*

Our commitment to our customers is simple: Offer the highest quality products at the best price and back it with a 100% guarantee. We source directly with no 'middle man' making our supply chain the shortest in the industry. This allows us to maintain the highest quality standards all the way to your plate. On top of this, we sample all products at the moment of final packaging and have a world-renowned laboratory test for various types of adulteration or contamination. This ensures that the food you purchase from us is pure and safe.

Certified Steak and Seafood Company was formed by the three Frisch boys, Mark, Adam, and Steven; all of whom thought that everyone should be able to buy the highest quality steaks and seafood direct. The brothers experience comes from a three generation family owned wholesale company that is one of the largest seafood importers in America.

They have vast experience in sourcing and selling high quality seafood and meat products to the commercial trade — and bring you the same grade of products fine restaurants, resorts, hotels, and high-end retail stores demand – and at a direct price that gives you tremendous value for every purchase.

Buttery Prime Angus Filet Mignon

If there was ever a steak that you will believe can “melt in your mouth” the Certified Steak and Seafood Prime angus Filet Mignon is it. With a delectable almost sweet beef flavor, and a strong buttery undertone that only Prime angus offers, it has to be tasted to be believed. Each Prime angus filet is slow aged, custom cut and trimmed for consistency in color and quality. It is a flavor you will remember long after your meal is over. Great accompanied by grilled root vegetables and horseradish mashed potatoes.
 
 
Chilean Sea Bass

A popular favorite in restaurants across America, the best Chilean Sea Bass now comes to your table courtesy Certified Steak and Seafood. Harvested and processed under close inspection of the National Marine Fishery Service, this soft, tender and smooth fish is a smart and healthy purchase. Impress your family or give as a memorable gift. Facts: Easy to Cook, Wild Caught, 3rd Party Certified, Product of Chile.

Visit the Certified Steak & Seafood website! Use coupon FBR125D to get $25 off your order.

 

Lemon Sables and Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Valentine's Day in advance!  I am killing two birds with one stone here by incorporating one of my Chinese New Year cookies into a Valentine's day cookie!  I am posting this early just in case someone might want to make this for his/her valentine.

Sables is a classic French's butter cookies originating in Normandy France.  The texture is crisp, sandy and crumbly with the fragrant of butter.  For my lemon sables, it is fragrant with lemon of course but it still has the buttery taste in it.  I think it looks sweet for Valentine's day, what do you think?

* I am also submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover* 

Crispy Fried Peanut Rolls & Gong Xi Fa Cai!

This was my failed first attempt at making the crispy fried peanut rolls.   It looked good on the outside but failed on the inside.  The spring roll was too thick resulted the tough middle part.  I have learned from my mistake and now I understood why people have to make this small.  I would probably challenge myself with this recipe again and will share the recipe if I am successful.

My eldest wrote that Chinese character 福 (happiness) in her Chinese class, she did a few and I placed those around my house.  :)  When we turned the word 福 outside down, it means 福到. Meaning happiness is here.     

祝大家健康,幸福和快乐!  Wishing everyone good health, wealth and happiness! Gong Xi Fa Cai!