Baby Spinach and Pear Salad | 菠菜香梨沙律

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Baby Spinach

1 Asian Pear

1/4 cup Walnuts, roasted

Drizzle of Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Agave Syrup (or honey)

Sea Salt to taste

材料：

2 杯  菠菜苗

1 個  啤梨

1/4 杯  合核，烤過

適量  橄欖油

1 湯匙  龍舌蘭蜜 (或蜜糖)

少撮  海鹽

DIRECTION 做法：

1. All all ingredients in a large bowl.  Toss to combine and serve it immediately.

1. 在一只大碗內下所有材料。輕輕拌勻便可食用。

Lemon Spaghetti

Lemon and spaghetti are surprisingly tasty and refreshing.  This pasta is my family's favourite and we love to pair it with roasted chicken.  Good quality olive oil is highly recommended in this recipe because it can change the flavour dramatically.  If you are fond of a little spicy, sprinkle a generous amount of black pepper on top before serving it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 handful of Spaghetti

6 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Lemon of zest and juice

Sea Salt to taste

Freshly ground Black Pepper to taste

DIRECTION:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper; set aside.

2. Bring a big pot of water to a boil over high heat.  Add salt; the water should taste similar to sea water.

3. Add spaghetti and cook according to the package until it is el dente.  Turn off the heat.  Drain well and return the spaghetti back to the pot.  Add the olive oil mixture and gently mix to coat.  Serve with roasted chicken or steak.

Garlicky Tomato Spinach Salad ｜蒜辣車厘茄菠菜沙律

The farmers market near my work has finally opened.  During the morning walk today with the children, we took the opportunity to visit the local farmers and showed the children those beautiful seasonal vegetables.  They were so excited when they saw the yummy fruits and tomatoes they always like.  I bought a small box of mixed cherry tomatoes to make salad for the dinner.  My husband loves to see those colourful vegetables.  To add some kick to the ordinary green salad, I added some minced garlic.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of Cherry tomatoes, halved

3 cups Baby spinach

2 sprigs of Basils, leaves only, thinly sliced

5-7 Garlic Cloves, minced

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

材料：

1 杯  車厘茄，切半

3 杯  菠菜

2 枝  九層塔，菜部份

5-7 顆  蒜頭，切幼粒

3 湯匙  橄欖油

2 湯匙  意大利黑醋

DIRECTION 做法:

1. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients.  Gently toss them with hands until they are evenly mixed.  Serve immediately.

1. 在一只大碗內，加入所有材料。用手小心地拌勻；上桌。

Lemony Barley with Sautéed Swiss Chard and Roasted Golden Beet ｜ 檸檬大麥配瑞士甜菜和金菜頭

This time of the year is the best time to hang around farmer's markets because there are always so many colourful root vegetables sitting on the shelves accompanying the seasonal greens.

At St. Lawrence farmer's market

Today I went to look for golden beets.  Golden beets taste much less earthy than the common red beets, but they have the similar sweetness and jewelry looking beauty.  I just love them.  At the market, I also found some prime seasonal Swiss chard.  A whole bundle of Swiss chard sold only $1.99 and it looked amazingly fresh.  So it was how I pulled my healthy vegan dinner together tonight.

Lemony Barley with Sautéed Swiss Chard and Roasted Golden Beet

檸檬大麥配瑞士甜菜和金菜頭

(Ingredients for roasted beet):

3 Golden Beets (red beets are fine too)

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

(Ingredients for sautéed Swiss Chard):

1 bundle Swiss Chard

5-7 Garlic Cloves

5 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

2 tablespoons Chinese Rice Wine (optional)

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Ingredients for barley:

2 cups Barley

1.5 teaspoons Salt (for boiling barley)

1/3 cup Pine Nut

1/3 cup pumpkin Seeds

1/3 cup Cranberry, dried

4 tablespoons Olive Oil

1/3 Lemon of juice

 How to make it:

Roasting beets takes the longest time, so we can prepare them first.

I enjoy eating the beet greens so I bought the ones with a top.  I would sauté it with the Swiss chard later.  If you just want to use the beet roots, it is totally fine.

1. Remove the green tops from the beets and rinse off the dirt.

2. Place a beet on a piece of foil, and drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt on it.  Repeat the process until you finish the beets.

3. Wrap the beets individually with the foil, and place them on a roasting pan.

4. Roast the beets in the oven at 400F for about 30 minutes.  (Cooking time may vary according to the size of the beets).

5. Remove the beets from the foil and allow to cool slightly.  Remove the skins and cut the beets until chunk size.  Set the beets aside for later use.

6. Rinse the beet greens thoroughly.  Tear the leaves into bite sizes.  Snap the stems into about 3 cm sticks and also peel off the hard fibre along the stems.  

7. Separate the stems and leaves for even cooking later.

8. If you use Swiss chard, repeat the process as you would do for the beet greens.

9. Heat up about 5 tablespoons of vegetable oil over high heat.  Add garlic; fry until it is fragrant and slightly brown.

10. Add the beet greens and Swiss chard stems.  Sauté until the stems slightly give in; about 2 minutes.

11. Add the leaves, and sauté for another 2 minutes.

12. Add rice wine and sugar.

(Wine is optional and you can skip it if you don't have it on hand.  The sugar is to mellow the bitterness of the dark greens; the amount of the sugar should not be tasted in the dish.)

13. Continuously sauté for another 30 seconds.  Remove it from the heat and set it aside until later use.

14. To cook barley, first rinse it in a few changes of water until the water is slightly clean; drain it.

15. Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add salt and barley.

16. Cook the barley over medium-high heat until it is softened; drain it well.

17. Squeeze lemon juice and add olive oil.  Season it with salt if needed.

18. Add pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, and cranberries; mix well.

19. Place the food on a serving plate.  Then, the dinner is ready.

I hope you will like this recipe.  See you next time.

Lemony Spaghetti and Grilled Chicken ｜ 檸汁意麵配烤雞塊

The first time when I made spaghetti with lemon sauce was long ago when I was pregnant.  I still remember how much I craved this citrus flavoured spaghetti and roasted chicken.

We were living on a remote island back then, and button mushrooms and basil, and these types of exotic products somehow were often sold out very quickly due to the high demand.  It brought stress for a pregnant woman whose stomach only accepted lemony spaghetti and nothing else (It was funny when I look back now). 

So, everyday as soon as my husband got off the ferry, I would urge him to buy all the ingredients so that I could cook.   We ate this spaghetti literarily every day through my whole pregnancy, and my husband didn't even complain about it once (he is wonderful).  Years later, he told me he was actually terrified about seeing it served at the table at some point, but love blinded him.

Perhaps my son "ate" a lot of lemony spaghetti in my tummy too, so he also loves it so much.  He claims it is his favourite food ever.  And it is true.  He eats much more than usual whenever we serve him this dish.

For the chicken, I used skin-on chicken thighs.  Not sure about your preference, but we don't like chicken breast and skinless chicken as much as thighs.  There is too much compromise on the taste.  When you can, try to purchase some good quality chicken so that you will not need to load lots of seasoning or herbs to mask the flavour of the freezer taste.

You can slice the mushrooms, but I found chunky mushrooms bring more juice and flavour.  Add the mushrooms into the spaghetti after turning off the heat and allow the mushrooms to cook with the remaining heat.  In this way, the mushrooms won't release water while keeping their intense flavour.

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



 Lemony Spaghetti and Grilled Chicken ｜ 檸汁意麵配烤雞塊
INGREDIENTS:

Spaghetti

Chicken Thighs

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Chilli Pepper (optional)

DRESSING:

1 Lemon of zest

1 Lemon of juice

Olive Oil

Basil Leaves

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

材料：

意大利麵

雞腿肉

海鹽

黑胡椒

辣椒粉 (隨意)

意粉汁：

1 個   檸檬，刨皮和榨汁

橄欖油

九層塔葉

海鹽

黑胡椒



Direction:

Roasted Garlic Tomatoes Mostaccioli (Vegan recipe) | 香蒜蕃茄通心粉 (全素食譜)

Our family practices a vegan diet three times a week, and this savoury dish is on our favourite list.  You can add any kinds of favourite herbs or seasoning in this recipe.

Roasted Garlic Tomatoes Mostaccioli (Vegan recipe)

香蒜蕃茄通心粉 (全素食譜)  

Ingredients: (yield about 3 portions)

4 cup Cherry Tomatoes

1 head Garlic, minced

2 sprigs Basil Leaves

1/3 cup Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Ground Black Pepper

2.5 cups Whole Wheat Mostaccioli

材料：(約3人份)

4 杯   車厘茄

1 頭   蒜頭

2 束   九層塔

1/3 杯   橄欖油

海鹽

黑胡椒碎

2.5 杯   意大利通心粉

DIRECTION:

Egg Wrap Mozzarella Cheese Sticks + Fresh Tomato Dipping Sauce | 白乾酪芝士脆條 + 鮮茄沾汁

These cheese sticks are as good as the ones coated with breadcrumbs or panko, but we don't need to lay out three dishes for the flour, egg, and the seasoned crumbs.  All we need is just to lay out the sheets of egg wraps and roll out some "mozzarella mummies".  For the sauce, you can add some tabasco if you like heat.

Egg Wrap Mozzarella Cheese Sticks + 

Fresh Tomato Dipping Sauce

白乾酪芝士脆條 + 鮮茄沾汁  

Ingredients:

200 gram Mozzarella Cheese, cut into 7 sticks

7 Egg Wraps

Water

2.5 tablespoons Light Cooking Olive Oil (for frying)

Tomato Sauce: (about 1/2 cup)

3 Tomatoes, diced

3 cloves Garlic Gloves, crushed

2.5 tablespoons Light Cooking Olive Oil

1/3 teaspoon Dried Rosemary

1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

1 teaspoon Paprika

1 tablespoon Brown Sugar

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

材料：

200克  白乾酪芝士, 切成7條

7 塊   蛋春卷皮

水

2.5 湯匙   淡味煎煮用橄欖油 (煎春卷用)

蕃茄沾汁: (約1/2 杯)

3 個   蕃茄， 切粒

3 瓣   蒜頭，壓扁

2.5 湯匙   淡味煎煮用橄欖油

1/3 茶匙   乾迷迭香

1 湯匙   紅酒醋

1 茶匙   紅甜椒粉

1 湯匙   黑糖

DIRECTION:

Olive Oil Lemon Poppy Seeds Muffins | 橄欖油檸檬罌粟籽小蛋糕

Olive Oil Lemon Poppy Seeds Muffins

橄欖油檸檬罌粟籽小蛋糕  

Ingredients: (yields a dozen)

2/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

4 Eggs

1.5 tablespoons Poppy Seeds

1 Lemon of Zest

1/2 Lemon of Juice

1.5 teaspoons Vanilla Extra

1.5 cups Flour

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1/3 teaspoon Salt

材料：(做約12 個)

2/3 杯   初榨橄欖油

3/4 杯  黑糖

4 隻   雞蛋

1.5 湯匙   罌粟籽

1 個 檸檬皮

1/2 個   檸檬汁

1.5 茶匙   雲呢拿香油

1.5 杯   麵粉

1湯匙   泡打粉

1/3 茶匙   鹽

DIRECTION:

Homemade Labneh Cheese

Labneh cheese, is also called strained Greek yogurt cheese.  The creation process is just what it describes - strain the yogurt.

It is important that the yogurt be stored in the fridge during the straining process.  A cheesecloth is usually considered essential equipment, but If you have a clean and thin tablecloth it will also work.

You can add fresh herbs and olives in the cheese to create a savoury taste as the video shows here, but you can also add dried fruit and nuts to make a sweet flavour.  Create your own cheese and have some kitchen fun at home.

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

Homemade Labneh Cheese

INGREDIENTS:

Greek Yogurt

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS TO FLAVOUR:

Black Olive

Lemon

Thyme, fresh

Olive Oil

Salt

DIRECTION:

Basic Roasted Sunchoke ｜ 香焗菊芋

Sunchoke is a special root vegetable you will find in farmer's markets around October.  It is the tuber of a plant that belongs to the sunflower family.  Its look resembles a knobby ginger root and its taste somewhat reminds me of ginseng.

Sunchoke has increasingly earned its popularity in many upscale restaurants.  You can easily find sunchoke in salad, roasted side dishes, soup, or even chips on the menus.

Cooking sunchoke is no more complicated than cooking potato.  Basically, you can treat both in the same ways.

Basic Roasted Sunchoke

香焗菊芋

Ingredients:

4 Sunchokes

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Black Pepper, freshly ground

How to make it:

1. Brush off the dirt and sand on the sunchokes under running water.

Sunchoke has thin skin and it is totally edible. It brings extra flavour after roasting.  So it is not necessary to peel off the skin.

2. Slice the sunchokes into about 1.5cm pieces.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients together; mix it well.

4. Roast it in the oven at 400 F for about 25 minutes, or until the skin starts to shrivel and become crisp.

5. Remove it from the oven and serve it as a side dish.

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