How to make our homemade Strawberry Wine in a jar | 如何釀造我們的草莓酒

INGREDIENTS A:

1 kg Strawberries, cubed (please do use good quality ones)

1.5 cups Sugar

2 litre Water

INGREDIENTS B: 

1 Sachet of Wine Yeast EC-1118 (about 5 gram)

3/4 teaspoon Sugar

1/2 cup Warm Water

材料 A：

1 公斤   新鮮草莓 (切粒後計算)

1.5 杯   糖

2 公升   水

材料B：

1 包   釀酒酵母 EC-1118 (約5克)

3/4 茶匙   糖

1/2 杯   暖水

DIRECTION 做法:

Soy Sauce Braised Black Bean | 鹵黑豆

Braised black bean is a great side dish, and my family most likes to enjoy it with a bowl of warm steamed rice.

Making braised black bean is very straightforward and real simple.  The only thing it requires is patience. (My husband laughed when I said it to him because he knows just how little patience I have.  Though, I do have lots of patience when it comes to cooking).

Make sure to use good quality soy sauce and black beans in this recipe since they are the main ingredients to determine the flavour.  To keep the gorgeous black colour of the beans, some people suggest to use cast iron or put a piece of iron in the pot during cooking.  However, I never cook the beans with iron and they are just as beautiful.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

Soy Sauce Braised Black Bean

鹵黑豆

Ingredients:

Black Beans, dried

Marinade:

4 Star Anises

2 Cinnamon Sticks

1/2 cup Light Soy Sauce

1 cup Brown Sugar

5 cups Water, plus more through the cooking process

材料：

乾黑豆

鹵料：

4 粒  八角

2 支  肉桂條

1/2 杯  淡豉油

1 杯  黑糖

5 杯  水，可加多一些

Direction:

1. Prior to cooking, soak the black beans in water for at least 3 hours; rinse and drain the beans.

2. In a pot, combine all the ingredients along the beans.  Mix it well.  Bring the mixture to a boil, cover the lid, and then simmer the mixture for another 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  Leave the mixture in the pot overnight.

3. The next day, stir the mixture and then bring it to a boil again.  Then, reduce the heat to a simmer and continuously cook the beans for 15 minutes.  Cover the lid and leave the mixture to cool in the pot.

4. Repeat this boil-and-cool process for seven times, or until the beans are soft enough to chew on and the marinade becomes sticky.  Store the beans in an air-tight container in the fridge and it can kept up to three months.

做法：

1. 用水浸黑豆3小時；倒掉水，沖淨。

2. 在深鍋內加入所有材料；拌勻。用大火煲滾。蓋上鍋蓋，再以小火煮15分鐘。離火；讓黑豆浸過夜。

3. 第二日，以豆用大火翻滾。轉小火，再煮15分鐘。蓋上鍋蓋，由黑豆放涼。

4. 重覆此步驟七次，或直至黑豆變得軟身和汁變滾調。將豆倒入密封玻璃器皿並存放至雪櫃；可保存最少3個月。

My son was telling me how much he enjoyed eating these black beans.

Chocolate Cookie Pie | 巧克力曲奇派

I made this pie as a Valentine's surprise for my husband and my son.  This dessert looks so impressive and it is easy to make.  Basically, you just need to mix all ingredients together and pour the mixture into a big pan.  It is even more convenient than making cookies.

You can substitute the cashews for any types of nuts or seeds you enjoy, or go without them.  When the pie comes out from the oven, it will feel relatively soft, but it will firm up when it cools.

One thing I like about this pie is that it has the crispy cookie texture for the topping but it contains a cake texture underneath.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe.  Happy Valentine's Day.

Chocolate Cookie Pie | 巧克力曲奇派

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Butter, softened

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 cup Raw Cashews

1 cup Chocolate Chips, semi-sweet

2 tablespoons Baking Powder

pinch of Sea Salt

材料：

1 杯  牛油，放軟

1 杯  黃糖

2 隻  雞蛋

2 湯匙  雲呢拿香油

2 杯  多用途麵粉

1 杯  全麥麵粉

1/2 杯  生腰果

1 杯  巧克力粒

2 湯匙  泡打粉

小撮海鹽

DIRECTION:

1. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and salt together until well incorporated.

2. Add eggs, vanilla extract; mix well.

3. Add the remaining ingredients into the bowl.  Mix and form it into a dough.

4. Transfer the dough into a heat-proof container and flatten the dough with a spatula.

5. Bake it at 350F for about 25-30 minutes, or until it is golden brown and crispy.

One thing to note about this recipe is that the baking time can be 10-20 minutes different depending on the thickness of the dough.  I flattened my dough into 2 cm thick and it took me 30 minutes baking time.

做法：

1. 把牛油、糖和鹽加入大碗；用攪拌器拌勻。

2. 加入雞蛋和雲呢拿油；拌勻。

3. 加入剩餘材料；拌勻並捏成麵糰。

4. 糰糰放入派盤壓平。

5. 用350F焗若25-30分鐘，或至表面金黃。

注意因麵糰厚度，烤焗時間可有10-20分鐘差異。我用了30分鐘焗了我派；麵糰是2cm厚。

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies ｜巧克力裂紋曲奇

One of the best parts about Christmas is that we can go Christmas tree hunting.  It is a tradition for my husband's side of the family.  Usually in early December, the whole family including lots of Uncles, Aunts, and cousins will go to a tree farm far outside town to look for a perfect pine tree for the merry season.

According to the tradition, we need to have our picks disapproved by the others a few times before deciding on our final tree.  Sometimes it is funny to see them find a tree they really like but they "need to" give up and move on.  Of course, we always go back to cut the tree we like at the end.

Ethan always remembers to bring his toy tool set to "help" everyone cut down the trees and "fix" the tree stumps.

Then the staff in the tree farm will put the tree in a machine to shake out most of the pine cones and dead needles, and then wrap the tree in a net for people to bring home.

My husband and I didn't get a real pine tree.  We have a beautiful artificial one we can use every year.  But we do enjoy joining the family to look for theirs.  My in-laws love spruce pine and they always like to get one that has more space among the branches to fit all their ornaments.

After tying up their tree to the car, we will sit around the wood fire, sharing hot cocoa and some cookies.  This year, I brought these chocolate crinkle cookies there and everyone loved them.  Instead of using butter, I used coconut oil in this recipe.  Not because I suddenly became health conscious, it's just because I have lot of it in my cupboard and I need to clear some out.  However, coconut oil  does make the cookies taste more soft and delicate and emphasizes the cocoa flavour.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies ｜巧克力裂紋曲奇

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

2 cups Sugar

1/2 cup Coconut Oil

4 Eggs

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Confectioners' Sugar (for dusting)

材料：

2 杯  多用途麵粉

1 杯  巧克力粉，無糖

2 杯  糖

1/2 杯  椰油

4 隻  雞蛋

1 湯匙  雲呢拿香油

2 茶匙  泡打粉

1/2 茶匙  鹽

1/2 糖粉 （裝飾用）

DIRECTION:

1. Whisk the eggs and melted coconut oil together.

1. 攪打蛋至打勻；拌入椰油。

2. Add vanilla; mix well.

2. 下雲呢拿油；拌勻。

3. Add sugar and salt.  Mix until it is totally incorporated.

3. 下糖和鹽；拌勻至無顆粒。

4. Add flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.  Gently mix everything together until the mixture becomes similar to mashed potato.

4. 下麵粉、巧克力粉和泡打粉。拌勻至其接近薯蓉的質地。

You can refrigerate the batter for later use or work on it immediately.

You may see there are some white dots in the photo here.  That is from the coconut oil.

如選擇稍後才焗曲奇，可把麵糰包好放入雪櫃。

5. Scoop equal portions on the parchment paper, and gently press down each portion with a spoon.

6. Bake them in the pre-heated oven at 360 F for 10 minutes.  Remove them out of the oven and allow them to cool completely before moving them.

5. 用大匙把麵糰分成小份；放到舖上焗紙的焗盤上。用匙輕壓平麵糰。

6. 放入預熱焗爐。以 360F 焗若10分鐘。將其放涼。

7. Dust them with icing sugar as desired.

Keep them in an air-tight container and enjoy them within three days.

7. 灑上糖粉。

把曲奇存放在密封器皿內並在三日內食用。

Conch, Lotus Root, and Pork Bone Soup | 螺頭年藕排骨湯

Last time when my parents came visit, they brought us a bag of dried conche from Hong Kong.  Compared to fresh conches, dried conches have a stronger umami flavour, and they are saltier and chewier.  People generally use them only to flavour soups.  Fresh conches are much tender and sweeter, so people like to add them to the soup along with the dried conches to boost the flavour.

In this recipe, I didn't use fresh conch.  However, I added pork bones and extra carrots to bring up the richness.

I try to keep up with making soup at least once a week for my family, and this soup is the best choice for this bitterly cold Sunday. 

INGREDIERNTS:

6 Conches, dried

1  Lotus Root, about 200 gram

4 Carrots

6 Pork Bone

4 Dates

2 tablespoons Apricot Kernels

7 cups Water

Salt to taste

材料：

6 隻  乾螺頭

1 節  年藕，約200克

4 條  甘筍

6 塊  豬骨

4 粒  蜜棗

2 湯匙  南北杏

7 杯  水

鹽  調味

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse the pork bones under running water to remove the small bone pieces; drain.

2. Peel off the skin of the lotus root and cut the root until bite size.

3. Rinse apricot kernels and conches.

4. In a pot, add all ingredients except salt.  Fill the pot with enough water to cover all ingredients; about 7 cups.  Add more water if needed.

5. Bring the water to a boil, and then continuously boil it over medium-high heat for 45 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  Season the soup with salt to taste.

步驟：

1. 洗淨豬骨。

2. 年藕去皮，切小件。

3. 南北杏和乾螺頭沖水。

4. 除卻鹽，將所有材料放進湯窩。 把水用大火燒滾後轉中大火，再繼續煲45分鐘。關火，下鹽調味。