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!

Almond Milk Pancakes

My girls wanted some pancakes but when I looked through my old keepsake pancake recipes, it called for milk.  Since I don't buy milk anymore, I had to use my alternative almond milk and had to experiment with it.   I told them they had to eat all the pancakes even though it didn't turn out soft and fluffy since this was an experiment.  They agreed and so I gave it a try.  Luckily, the pancake turned out just as delicious and it was also soft and fluffy!!  My girls really enjoyed the almond milk pancakes.

Korean Boneless Spicy Chicken

I once made a Korean style spicy chicken wings  and really loved it.  However, I never make it again because I don't buy chicken wings (the fattest part of a chicken so I want to eat less of it), but my husband loved chicken wings so sometimes he would buy a bucket of buffalo wings to eat.

The other day, we ordered a spicy fried chicken dish in a Korean restaurant and I thought it would be wings and drumettes and was pleasantly surprised that it was actually chicken thigh.   I wonder why I never thought of using the skinless and boneless thigh to make this before!  It gave me such a great idea that I wanted to make this dish again.  Now I can enjoy this dish more often but wondering would it be as good without deep-frying the chicken first?

Adapted from Korean style spicy chicken wings.

Ingredients:

2-3 skinless and boneless chicken thigh meat, cut into pieces
Sweet potato starch/ or cornstarch
Toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:
2 Tbsp. gochujang/ Korean chili paste
1 Tbsp. raw honey
1 Tbsp. mirin
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped scallion

Method:

1.  In a bowl, add in all the sauce ingredients, mix until combined.  Set aside.

2.  Heat up your wok with oil.  Coat the chicken thigh with sweet potato starch.  Deep-fry until golden brown or cooked.  Drain on paper towel.  Set aside.

3.  Pour away the oil.  In the same wok, add in the sauce, stir to warm.  Add in the fried chicken thigh and mix and coat each piece with the sauce.  Dish out and serve on a plate.  Garnish with toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Stir-Fried Arugula

Since I was introduced to arugula by mistake a while back, we learned that we actually like this veggie, even my girls liked it (even though it is slightly bitter and lemony). However, this veggie can be kind of fibrous, so I like to cut each leaf into half before stir-frying.  We really loved the Spicy and Sweet Tuna Arugula Pasta and I hope you will get a chance to try it too.  Because my girls like it so organic arugula has been in my vegetable rotation for my family.  I have since added organic arugula and organic baby kale into our vegetables of choice.  I tried to incorporate as much variety of vegetable and fruit into our diet each week as possible.  Sharing with you this easy stir-fried arugula recipe!

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

This is one SUPER DUPER easy slow cooker whole chicken recipe.  All you need are two ingredients, one whole chicken and a packet of Emperor Chicken spice mix.  In your slow cooker, add in the washed whole chicken, pour the Emperor Chicken spice mix on top of the chicken and give it a good rub to cover all sides of the chicken.  Put it breast side up and turn it to High for 5 hours.  When the internal temperature register as 180'F, it is done.  Soft and tender that it will be easily tear off with your hand.

A tip I learned from my friend's mom, to prevent the cover from moving, stick a piece of white paper in between the cover and the crock pot as shown.  It prevents the moving and  thus the noise and the sprinkling of water on the countertop.