How to Wilt Swiss Chard | 快炒瑞士甜菜

Stir frying is the easiest and quickest way to prepare Swiss chard and the taste is never disappointing.

There are a few things to note to give the dish a freshly green look:

1. Add sufficient oil

2. Add Swiss chard in batches and don't over crowd it during cooking

3. Cook over high heat and remove it when it just starts to wilt

The nutmeg I added in the recipe is to subtly enhance the flavour and it should not be tasted in the dish.

In the demonstration, I didn't use the stems (I saved them for another dish).  If you are going to cook the whole Swiss chard, you may want to cook the stems for 1-2 minutes before adding the leaves since the stems take longer to cook through.

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

How to Wilt Swiss Chard | 快炒瑞士甜菜

Ingredients:

1 bundle Swiss Chard

3-4 Garlic Cloves

1.5 tablespoons Olive Oil

A small pinch Freshly Ground Nutmeg

Black Pepper to taste

Salt to taste

材料：

1 束   瑞士甜菜

3-4 粒   蒜頭

1.5 湯匙   橄欖油

少許   荳蔻粉

少許   黑胡椒碎

少許   鹽

DIRECTION:

Crispy Ginger Snaps | 香脆薑餅

Christmas can't be without ginger snaps!  Can you imagine sitting around the table, nibbling on a plate of these gingery cookies with a cup of hot tea.  It is awesome!

You may find the dough is a bit soft after mixing.  Some people prefer refrigerating it for a while until it is firm enough to cut out a perfect shape with a cookie cutter.  If you are like me and prefer the rustic look, you can work on the dough directly.

Crispy Ginger Snaps | 香脆薑餅

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup Butter, room temperature

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 Egg, large

1/2 cup Dark Molasses

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1.5 tablespoons Ground Ginger (adjust the amount according to your preference)

1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg, freshly ground 

Pinch of Black Pepper, freshly ground

Pinch of Sea Salt

DIRECTION:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine butter and brown sugar.  Whisk it with a folk until it is fluffy and the colour turns pale.

2. Add egg and molasses.  Whisk until it is well incorporated.

3. Add flour, baking powder, nutmeg, ground ginger, black pepper, salt.  Gently mix it together and form it into dough with a hand. 

4. The dough should be very soft at this point.

5. Spoon out a portion of dough and roll it into a ball.  Press it down on a piece of parchment paper into a 1/2 cm piece.  Keep about 1 cm distance between each piece.

6. Decorate the cookies by sprinkling a pinch of sugar on each cookie dough if desire.

7. Bake them in the pre-heat oven at 360 F for 12 minutes.  Allow them to cool on the rack before transferring them into an air-tight container.

If you want the cookies to be firmer and harder, increase the baking time to 15 minutes instead of 12 minutes.  Keep in mind that the cookies will harden a lot more as they cool.

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

Purple Sweet Potato Cookies | 紫薯曲奇

Purple Sweet Potato Cookies | 紫薯曲奇  

Ingredients: (yields about 2 dozens)

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Mashed Purple Sweet Potato

140 gram Unsalted Butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Sugar

1.5 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1/8 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt

材料：(約做2打曲奇)

2 杯   麵粉

1/2 杯   紫薯蓉

140 克   無鹽牛油，室溫

1/2 杯   糖

1.5 茶匙   雲呢拿香油

1/8 茶匙   肉荳蔻

1/8 茶匙   海鹽

DIRECTION:

How to Preserved Pears in Syrup | 糖漬梨

How to Preserved Pears in Syrup | 糖漬梨

Ingredients:

8 Pears

2.5 cups Water

1/4 Brown Sugar

1/2 Lemon of Juice

2 teaspoons Vanilla Paste

1.5 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

材料：

8 個   梨

2.5 杯   水

1/4 杯   黑糖 

1/2 個   檸檬   

2 茶匙   雲呢拿醬

1.5 茶匙 肉桂粉

1/8 茶匙   荳蔻粉

DIRECTION:

Peel off the skin of the pears, and cut them in half lengthwise.  With a baller, remove their cores and stems.

In a large, shallow non-sticking pan, add the pears with the flat surfaces facing downward.  Add water, brown sugar, vanilla paste, spices, and lemon juice.  Bring it to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat to simmer.  Let it cook until the liquid reduces in half.

Gently turn each pear over with a spatula.  Let them cook until the liquid reduces half again.  Turn off the heat.  Transfer the pears and the syrup in a bowl.  Allow them to cool completely.

To store, you can place the pears with the syrup in a mason jar or any clean glass container.  The pears can be kept up to six months in the fridge.