Pork Bone Soup with Chayote, Carrot and Corn 合掌瓜蘿蔔粟米豬骨湯

It's the season of the year, many people seem to either get a cold or a bad cough. A pot of vegetables and pork soup certainly helps relief the dryness of our throats and even skins.

The almond seeds and apricot seeds have great benefit to our body.  They can be easily found in Chinese stores.  These two seeds share a nearly identical apparence, though their flavours are different.  Keep in mind that apricot seeds contains trace of cyanid, we should be caution on the amount of the use.

INGREDIENTS:

8 Pork Bones, rinsed

3 Chayotes, cut into big pieces

2 Carrot, chunked

3 Corn, cut into segment

3 tablespoons Almond Seeds

2 tablespoons Apricot Seeds

2 Chinese Honey Dates

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. In a soup pot, place the pork bone on the bottom.  Then add the rest of the ingredients on top.  Fill the pot with water until the water is enough to cover the ingredients.  Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Skim off the foam on top. 

2. Reduce the heat to medium heat and boil for another 1 hour.  Season the soup with salt to taste.

Healthy Shrimp Rice 營養蝦飯

INGREDIENTS:

12 Shrimps, shelled and deveined

2 Green onions, roughly chopped

1 cup Corn Kernels

2 Eggs

1/2 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Garlic Powder

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

2 tablespoons Mayonnaise

4 bowls Cooked Rice

DIRECTION:

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。

Asian Moon Scallop, Chinese Yam and Corn Soup | 日月魚淮山煲粟米蘿蔔湯

Before my mom told me those dried Chinese yam slices she brought me from Hong Kong were unbleached, I didn't know that some were bleached.  I always thought their white colour was natural.  Actually, the unbleached yams are a little off-white colour and are almost light grey.

Today it was a rather warm day so I decided to make some soup that was light and sweet.  The corn was in season.  four ears of corn sold for only one dollar.  Although they were small, it was good enough just to make soup.  I throw in the half bag of carrots that were left from the last weeks grocery, and a handful of lotus seeds and goji berries I always have on hand.  But when it came to the Asian moon scallops and Chinese Yam, I counted them like counting pearls before I put them into the soup pot.  Those were from my Mom who brought them from Hong Kong on her last visit.  They were memories and they are also expensive, I didn't want to finish them all too quickly.

Particularly the Asian moon scallops.  Mom said the taste of them are strong and the use of one bunch is already sufficient.  More than one is called a waste.  But I don't use them often, so I told myself two bunches was fine.  Since I didn't put any pork bone into the soup, the two bunches of scallops just brought the right taste to the soup.

You can always serve the soup with the ingredients inside.  Nothing should go to waste.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you enjoy the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 bundles Asian Moon Scallops, about 10 pcs

7 pcs Chinese Yam, dried

3 Corn

4 Carrots

15-20 Lotus Seeds, dried, core removed

2 tablespoons Goji Berries

8 cups Water

Salt to taste

材料：

2 束  日月魚，若10條

7 塊  乾淮山

3 條  粟米

4 條  蘿蔔

15-20 粒  乾蓮子，去芯

2 湯匙  杞子

8 杯  水

鹽  調味

DIRECTION 做法:

1. Rinse all the ingredients.

2. In a deep pot, add all the ingredients and 8 cups of water.  Bring it to a boil over high heat. Then, reduce the heat to medium-high and continue to boil for another 40 minutes.  During the cooking process, add 1-2 cups of water if needed.  Season the soup with salt to taste.

1. 材料沖淨，加入湯鍋。

2. 加入8 杯水。用大火煮滾後再調至中大火，繼續煲若40分鐘。中途如需要可加1-2 杯水。最後下鹽調味。

Coconut Corn Rice Pudding | 椰香粟米米布甸

Coconut Corn Rice Pudding | 椰香粟米米布甸

Ingredients: (6 servings)

3 cups Coconut Milk

1.5 cups Water

1/2 cup Soaked White Rice (soaked in water for about 2 hours and then rinsed)

1/2 cup Corn Kernel (Don't use the canned corn!)

1/2 Brown Sugar

材料：(6人份)

3 杯   椰奶

1.5 杯   水

1/2 杯   浸過白米 (用水浸2小時)

1/2 杯   粟米粒 (不要用罐頭的！)

1/2 杯   黑糖

DIRECTION:

Baked Polenta Fries + Vegan Mayonnaise | 香焗玉米糕條 ＋素食美乃滋

This vegan mayo is absolutely healthy and simple enough to make at home often.  The silken tofu does a good job to provide lots of protein while forming a substantial texture.  It is the mayo I don't worry about my son having so much of.  The polenta fries have a slightly chewy texture and are as good as the traditional fries.  If you are looking for the substitute for the yam fries, polenta fries will not disappoint you.

Baked Polenta Fries + Vegan Mayonnaise

香焗玉米糕條 ＋素食美乃滋  

Ingredients for Polenta Fries: (yield about 1 portion)

100 gram Polenta

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

2 tablespoon Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Ground Black Pepper

Ingredients for Mayonnaise: (yield about 2 cups)

250 gram Silken Tofu

3/4 cup Canola Oil

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice

2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

Sea Salt to taste

焗玉米糕條材料： (1人份)

100 克   玉米糕

1/2 茶匙   甜紅椒粉

2 湯匙   橄欖油

海鹽

黑胡椒碎

素食美乃滋材料: (約2杯)

250 克   滑豆腐

3/4 杯   芥花籽油

1/4 杯   初榨橄欖油

2 湯匙   鮮榨檸檬汁

2 湯匙   芥辣醬

少許   海鹽

DIRECTION:

Elm Samara - wild edible in the city

                  Foraging sometimes doesn't need to be far.  

Slippery Elm is a type of ornamental tree that is commonly planted along road sides or in parks in the cities.  Starting from mid spring, elm trees will be loaded with clusters of samaras, the papery green fruits.

To harvest the samaras, you just need to gently hold down the branches and slide the fruits towards the end of the branch.  The papery fruits usually have a brown tip at the end.  If you bother to remove them for a better texture, just like I do, please go ahead.  Otherwise, they taste the same with or without the brown tips.

The papery looking skin has a texture similar to white potato skin.

Elm samaras can be eaten raw, and they taste like raw sweet peas.  I use them for salad a lot, since I can get them just outside my building.  On the way home from work, I usually get a handful of them to sprinkle on my creamy corn salad, that I name "April elm salad"

April Elm Salad

(Ingredients):

1 handful of Elm Samaras

1 cup Fresh Sweet Corn kernels

2 Crab Sticks

2 tablespoons Japanese Mayo

Salt to taste

How to make:

1. Rinse the elm samaras; remove the brown tips if you want.

2. Blanch crab sticks in boiling water for two minutes; drain.  Cut it into bite size.  Set aside.

3. Add the corn kernels in the boiling water and boil them until cooked; it's about 4-5 minutes.  Drain the corn well.

4. In a mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients including the elm samaras.  Season with salt.  Serve.

The young elm leaves are also edible raw and are delicious to add into sushi with other vegetables.

Elm Vegetarian Sushi

 

Ingredients:

1 pc Nori Sheet

1 bowl Cooked Rice, warm

A hand of elm samara and young leaves

Carrot, cut in long sticks

Japanese Mayonnaise

How to make:

1. On one end of the nori, add a half portion of rice.  Place carrot, elm, and mayonnaise on top of the rice.  Roll up the nori, then firmly squeeze to shape into a solid round roll.  Cut it into equal size pieces and serve.