Simmered Buttery Kabocha 黑糖味醂南瓜

Ingredients:

1 Kabocha

4 tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 tablespoon Mirin

2 tablespoons Butter

1/4 teaspoon Salt

Direction:

1. Cut the Kabocha in half and scoop out the seeds.

2. Cut off some of the thick skins. 

3. Cut the Kabocha into large cubes. 

4. In a medium pot, melt the butter over high heat.

5. Add Kabocha cubes and stir fry them until they are coated with butter.

6. Add brown sugar, marin and salt; stir well.

7. With the lid on, cook them over medium-low heat for about 13-15 minutes.  Gently stir them half way through to prevent them from burning.  Serve with steamed rice.  Store them in the fridge up to one week. 

Oven Roasted Sweet Corn with Cilantro Parmesan Dressing ｜焗甜粟米配莞茜帕馬森乾酪醬

Farmers' markets have been featuring Ontario corns lately.  They are so sweet and juicy that the kernels just burst in the mouth.  I heard about GMO and know about it, but we won't touch on that topic today.  Today, we are talking about how to cook the sweet corn other than just boiling or throwing it on the barbecue.

Many people love barbecue corn, us too! Though sometimes we can get pretty lazy to think of turning on the barbecue, especially on a hot day after work.  What about roasting corn in an oven? Although the flavour of this oven roasted corn is not as good as the barbecue, the texture is just as perfect.  Since it takes nearly half an hour to roast in the oven, you can even go take a shower in the mean time.

I added cilantro and parmesan cheese here to bring some new flavour to our dining table.  If you simply want to enjoy the sweet corn, just skip the dressing and season the corn with sea salt.

INGREDIENTS:

4 ears Corn, husked and removed silks

1/3 cup Butter, soften

A handful of Cilantro, leaves and stems, finely chopped

1 teaspoon Paprika

2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese Powder

材料：

4 條  粟米，去皮

1/3 杯  牛油，室溫

1小束  莞茜，葉和莖，切碎

1 茶匙  甜紅椒粉

2 湯匙  帕馬森乾酪粉

DIRECTION 做法:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F.  Brush a layer of butter on each corn and then lay them on a foiled roasting pan.

1. 預熱焗爐至400F。在粟米上平均擦上一層牛油；把粟米一字排好在已舖好錫紙的焗盤上。

2. Roast them in the oven until slightly brown; about 25 minutes.

2. 把粟米焗至微金黃；若25 分鐘。

3. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients with the remaining butter; mix well.  Set it aside.

3. 同時間，在一只碗內加入所有剩餘材料和剩下的牛油；拌勻靜置。

4. When the corn is ready, remove it from the oven and brush a generous amount of butter mixture on each corn.  Serve immediately.

4. 當粟米焗好後，趁熱擦上牛油汁料；上桌。

Easy Glazed Carrot | 蜜甘筍

Ingredients:

2 Carrot, medium size

30 gram Sugar

20 gram Butter

1/3 cup Water (adjust it amount if needed)

1/8 teaspoon Salt

Ground Nutmeg, to taste (you will need only a hint of the flavour and not overpower the flavour of the carrots)

Roasted Almond, roughly chopped (optional)

材料：

2 條   甘筍

30 克   糖

20 克   牛油

1/3 杯   水 (調較合適份量)

1/8 茶匙   鹽

荳蔻   調味 (切忌用太多)

焗杏仁，切碎 (隨意)

DIRECTION:

Blackberry Crumble | 黑草莓奶酥

Blackberry Crumble

黑草莓奶酥  

Ingredients:

1 cup Blackberries, fresh

4 tablespoons Brown Sugar

Topping:

1/3 cup All Purpose Flour

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

20 gram Melted Butter, unsalted

材料：

1 杯   黑草梅

4 湯匙   黑糖

奶酥層：

1/3 杯   麵粉

1/3 杯   黑糖

20 克   溶牛油, 無鹽

DIRECTION:

Really Easy Creamy Shrimp Linguine | 超易忌廉蝦闊條意粉

Really Easy Creamy Shrimp Linguine

超易忌廉蝦闊條意粉

Ingredients:

450 gram Linguine

600 gram Shrimp, peeled and veined

5 Shallots, finely chopped

2 cups  35﹪Whipping Cream

1 Red Bell Pepper

1/4 cup Dried Basil

20 gram Corn Starch

30 gram Butter

Salt to taste

材料：

450 克   闊條意粉

600 克   蝦，剝殼，去腸

5 個   紅蔥頭

2 杯   35﹪忌廉

1 個   紅椒

1/4 杯   乾羅勒

20 克   粟粉

30 克   牛油

DIRECTION:

Buttery Snowman Cookies | 牛油雪人曲奇食譜

Buttery Snowman Cookies

牛油雪人曲奇食譜

Ingredients:

200 gram All Purpose Flour

90 gram Corn Starch

1 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature

1 cup Sugar

90 gram Corn Starch

Food Colorant (red, brown)

材料：

200 克   麵粉

90 克   粟粉

1 杯   無鹽牛油，室溫

1 杯   白砂糖

食用色素 (紅色，棕色)

DIRECTION:

Creamy Mini Potatoes | 奶油小薯球

Creamy Mini Potatoes | 奶油小薯球  

Ingredients:

7-8 White Mini Potatoes

7-8 Red Mini Potatoes

7-8 Purple Mini Potatoes

1 bunch Fresh Chives

40 gram Unsalted Butter

Black Pepper to taste

Salt to taste

材料：

7-8 個   迷理白薯

7-8 個   迷理紅薯

7-8 個   迷理紫薯

1 束   細香蔥

40 克   無鹽牛油

黑胡椒   調味

鹽   調味

DIRECTION:

Cinnamon Bread Sticks | 肉桂麵包脆條

Cinnamon Bread Sticks | 肉桂麵包脆條

Ingredients:

4-5 pieces Light Rye Bread

1/3 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature

1/3 cup Sugar

1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

材料：

4-5 塊   裸麥麵包

1/3 杯   無鹽牛油，室溫放軟

1/3 杯   糖

1 湯匙   肉桂粉

DIRECTION:

How to make Herb Butter | 香草牛油

How to make Herb Butter | 香草牛油  :

Ingredients:

1 stick Unsalted Butter, softened

4-6 sprigs Tarragon

4-6 sprigs Thyme

2 sprigs Rosemary

2 bunches Flat Leaf Parsley

材料：

1 條   無鹽牛油

4-6 支   龍蒿草

4-6 支   百里香

2 支   迷迭香

2 棵   莞茜

DIRECTION:

How to make Leaf Cookies (without cookie cutter) | 秋葉曲奇 (免曲奇模)

These leaf cookies is a fun craft project and I make it every year in the Fall.  With a teaspoon and a ruler, you and the kids can create many different shapes and sizes of beautiful bites to celebrate the fall.

How to make Leaf Cookies (without cookie cutter)

秋葉曲奇 (免曲奇模)

Ingredients: (24's)

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

150 gram Unsalted Butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

1/4 teaspoon Salt

Food Colorant (red, orange, green)

材料：(24塊)

2 杯   麵粉

1/2 杯   糖 

150 克   無鹽牛油，室溫

1 湯匙   雲呢拿香油

1 隻   雞蛋

1/4 茶匙   鹽

食用色素 (紅，橙，綠)

DIRECTION:

Hickory Nuts Cookies (wild edible) ｜ 山胡桃曲奇

Late October is a good time for foraging nuts.  Not only for squirrels and chipmunk, but for us too.  We've picked acorns to make cookies, but our favourite nut is hickory.  Hickory nuts contain a high amount of "good fat" and their taste resembles something between a pecan and a walnut.  When it is freshly cracked and baked into cookies, it is an enjoyable moment to just sit and savour the flavour.  You will be amazed how nutty it actually tastes.  I would say it is even better than peanut.

You can buy hickory nuts at the store, but they usually lose the profound flavour and some of the good fat content after the prolonged period of storage.

Picking hickory nuts in the wood and sensing the small animals watching me.

Hickory Nut has two layers of hard shell to protect the delicious flesh.  The outer layer is green, but later it will turn into a deep brown colour, and then it will crack open to expose the second layer of the shell.

The second shell has a much lighter brown colour and it is the layer we need to work on if you want to get to the flesh.

  

In the woods, most of the hickory nuts I found were already out of the outer shell so all I needed to do was just to pick them up and put them in the backpack.

Hickory nuts in their shells.

Hickory Nuts Cookies

山胡桃曲奇

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Hickory Nuts

1/2 cup Butter, softened

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

a pinch of Sea Salt

How to make it:

1. Rinse the hickory nuts a few times to remove the dirt that sticks to the shells.

2. With a nut cracker, crack open the hickory nuts.

3. Use a sharp tool to take out the flesh.

Or you can use any method that works best for you.  A hammer, perhaps?

It was the result after I worked for three hours.  Eating wild edibles is not always easy, but the fresh nuts was a wonderful trade off.

4. Place the nuts on a foiled tray, roast it in the pre-heated oven at 360 F for about 10 minutes, or until they are nicely browned and fragrant.  Be careful not to burn it.  They burn fast because of the high fat content.

5. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, and vanilla extract.

6. With a fork, mix the ingredients until well combined.

7. Add flour.  Combine and roll it into a dough by hand.  If the dough is too dry, add a few drops of water.

8. Add hickory nuts.  Continuously knead the dough until it is well combined.

9. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper.  Roll it out into a 1 cm sheet.

10. Cut out the shape with a cookie cutter and transfer it onto a lined baking tray.

11. If you're not up for shaping the dough, just simply roll the dough into many small balls and press them down with a fork.  (my favourite way to make cookies)

12. Bake the cookies in the pre-heated oven at 360 F for 12-15 minutes and they are ready.