Blueberry Yogurt Pancake 藍莓乳酪班㦸

INGREDIENTS:

(make about 10 -15 pancakes)

5 Eggs

1 cup Milk

1 cube Yogurt (I used strawberry, but vanilla or plain is fine)

2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Butter, melted

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

20 Blueberries, flesh

2 cups Flour

DIRECTION:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add in milk, yogurt, vanilla, and melted butter; mix again.

2. Add baking powder and flour. Gently mix until it becomes batter. Do not over mix it; otherwise the pancakes come out too hard.

3. Add the blueberries. Gently mix it again. Leave the batter for about 10 minutes.

4. Heat up a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add a few spoonfuls of the batter. Let it cook until there are some bubbles forming on the surface. Flip the pancake over and cook for another 3 minutes. Transfer it to a plate. Repeat the process until the batter finished. Serve the pancake with the syrup or jams of your choice.

*Since we add the butter to the batter, there is no need to add extra butter when cooking the pancakes. As long as you heat up the pan before adding the batter, the pancakes won't stick to the pan. 

Marinated Sweet Soy Bean in Soy 鹵黃豆

When I was a kids, these soy beans were sold in a small package as a snacks. They are sweet and salty, and they give a satisfying chewiness. For sure, they made a tasty and healthy snacks. Now, I make them as a side dish, accompanying them with steamed rice for lunch or dinner. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Soy Beans

1 cup Light Soy Sauce

1 cup Sugar

2 cups Water

DIRECTION:

1. Rinse soy beans. Soak them for at least 8 hours or overnight. Discard the ones float on the surface. Drain well.

2. In a large pot, add soy beans. Add sugar, soy sauce, and water. Bring it to a boil over high heat. 

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Leave the pot half opened. Continuously boil the beans until the liquid  becomes very sticky; about an hour. Skim out the foam on the surface if necessary.

4. Turn off the heat. Allow the beans to cool. Store them in an air-tight container in the fridge. It can last for about 3 weeks.

Cardamom Cookies 荳蔻曲奇

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Flour

1 Egg

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1 tablespoon Ground Cardamom

1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 Butter, melted

DIRECTION:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar. Add egg, whisk again.

3. Add flour, cinnamon and cardamom. Mix and form it into dough.

4. Divide the dough into equal portions; press each into a 1/2 cm piece.

5. Place them on parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes.

Maple Strawberry Breakfast Oatmeal

My husband and my son prefer sweet thing for breakfast, and oatmeal with fresh fruit is always their top choice. This oatmeal takes less than 15 minutes to make. You can cut the fruit the night before to quicken the cooking time the next morning. I used white sugar in the recipe, but feel free to substitute it for all maple syrup.

INGREDIENTS: 2 servings

1 cup Oatmeal

6-7 Strawberries, hulled and cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Salt

3 tablespoons Maple Syrup

DIRECTION:

1. In a pot, combine oatmeal, milk, sugar, and salt together; stir well.  Bring it to a boil over medium heat; stirring constantly.

2. Add the oatmeal starts bubbling, reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue to cook until the oatmeal is soft and the consistency is thick enough to your liking. Turn off the heat.

3. Stir in maple syrup and add strawberries. Serve immediately.

Chewy Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookie is something that rotates quite often on our breakfast table. It is easy to make and taste great! Two pieces for my son, and double of the amount for my husband; the cookies fill their stomachs and provide them energy. If you have raisins or chocolate chips on hand, don't be hesitate to sprinkle a handful in the dough; they are utterly delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup Butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

1 cup All Purpose Flour

2 cups Rolled Oats

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/3 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTION:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs.  Add vanilla extract and whisk to combine.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, regardless the order; stir to combine.

4. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll each portion into a ball.  Then, press each ball into about 1 inch thick round on the parchment paper.

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Apple Peanut Butter Morning Bar

INGREDIENTS:

1 Apple, peeled and shredded (about 1 cup)

2 Eggs

2 cups Oatmeal

1/4 cup Peanut Butter (I used nature peanut butter)

1/2 cup Honey

1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

DIRECTION:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine.

3. Pour the mixture on a baking tray that lined with parchment paper.

4. Bake it in the oven for 15 minutes. Take it out and cut it into equal portions. Allow them to cool before storing.

Oven Roasted Chestnut

INGREDIENTS:

Chestnuts

DIRECTION:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

2. With a small knife, carefully score an "X" on each chestnut.  It helps the steam in the chestnuts to escape during roasting and to peel them easier.

3. Place the scored chestnuts on a sheet pan, with scored side on top.  Roast them in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the their top parts are opened.

The Fluffiest Vegan Pancake

Vegan pancakes don't have to be tasteless and hard.  These pancakes are super fluffy, and even fluffier than the non-vegan ones.  The key is in the small amount of vinegar and Flaxseed "egg whites".  Try to make your own version by playing around with the seasoning.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1.5 tablespoon Baking Powder

1.5 cups Almond Milk

1/4 cup Coconut Nut Oil (Odourless), melted

4 tablespoons Flaxseed "Egg White" (1 tablespoon Flaxseed + 4 tablespoons Hot Water)

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 teaspoon Apple Cider (or White Vinegar)
1/3 cup Raisin (optional)

1/3 teaspoon Salt

Maple Syrup (to serve)

DIRECTION:

1. Mix 1 tablespoon Flaxseed and 4 tablespoons Hot Water together to create "Egg whites"; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk all wet ingredients together.  Add all dry ingredients into the wet mixture; mix it to combine as batter.  Leave it for about 10 minutes before use.

3. Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add a large spoonful of batter.  Patiently wait until the surface of the batter starts to bubble and slightly firm up.  Flip the pancake over and cook for another 2 minutes.  Turn down the heat if the pancakes brown too fast.

4. Repeat this process until all the batter is finished.  Serve them with maple syrup.

DIY Candied Orange Peel

The key of making bitterness-free orange peels is to remove all the pith that's attached to the outer skin, and making sure to boil them twice before simmering them in syrup.  My son and my husband always love these orange peels, and my son even tried to smuggle some to his best friends in school.  Recently I brought some to my work to share with my colleagues, and they all told me how much they enjoy them.  They didn't think you can make these at home.  Yes, for sure you can, and it is very straightforward.

INGREDIENTS:

Orange Peels (about 10 oranges)

Sugar (equal weight of the pithed orange peels)

Water

DIRECTION:

1. With a small knife, carefully cut off the pith.  This white pith will give the candied orange peels bitterness.

2. Put the pithed peels in a small pot.  Fill the pot with water just enough to cover the peels.  Bring it to a boil and then discard the water.  Repeat the boiling process again; drain well.

3. In the same pot, add sugar of equal volume to the orange peels.  Fill the pot with water just enough to over the peels.  Turn the heat to low and simmer the peels for three hours, or until the peels are bright orange colour and slightly translucent.  Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and leave it over night.

4. The next day, line up the orange peels on parchment paper without overlapping them.  Allow them to totally dry.  Keep them in an air-tight container.  You can snack on them as they are, or sprinkle them on muffins, cookies, or cakes.

How to make simple crepe

Crepes are something that look very elegant on the plate and always gives an impression to people that it's difficult to make.  In fact, making crepes are as easy as making pancakes.

There are so many different recipes out there which claim to make the softest and best crepes.  I will not say mine is one of those, but my crepes are soft and delicate, and still retain the softness after keeping them in fridge for a few days.

The ratio to make my style of crepe is 1:2:1 for 1 cup of flour: 2 cups of milk: 1 egg.  The melted butter is for greasing, so don't need to measure it too carefully.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will try this recipe.

Simple Crepe Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Flour

2 cups Whole Milk

1 Egg

4 tablespoons Butter, melted

1 teaspoon Vinilla Extract (optional)

a pinch of fine sea salt (optional)

DIRECTION:

1. In a bowl, whisk the egg.  Add the milk, butter, and vanilla extract and whisk again until it is well combined.

2. Add flour and salt.  Gently mix until it becomes a thin batter.  The batter should resemble to the texture of melted ice cream.

3. Heat up a small non-stick pan over medium heat.  Add a small ladle of batter in the pan while swirling the pan.  Continuously swirl the pan until the whole surface is covered. 

If you don't swirl the pan, most of the batter likely will just sit in the middle and the crepe ends up becoming uneven, with thin edges but thick centre.

4. Wait for about 1 minute and then shake the pan.  If the crepe is loose it means that it's ready to be flipped over. 

The freshly made crepe
5. Toss the pan to quickly flip the crepe over and then cook the other side for another 30-45 seconds. 

6. Transfer the crepe to a plate and loosely cover it with plastic wrap.  Repeat this process until finishing the batter.

You can make strawberry crepe by adding whip cream, halved strawberries, and icing sugar.  Or, you can add sliced banana and Nutella.

Sometimes I serve it with ham and cheese for brunch.  This crepe is wonderful to pair with both sweet and salty.  I hope you will enjoy it.

My son was excited to have crepe for breakfast, especially with the fresh strawberry he picked the day before. 

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。

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.