Easy Fruit Salad 夏日雜果沙律

INGREDIENTS:

2 Mexican Mangoes, unripe

2 Kiwis, unripe

2 Bananas

1 big handful of Brazilian Nuts

1 tablespoon Chia Seeds

3 tablespoons Agava Syrup

DIRECTION:

1. Peel the mango; cut it into sticks.

2. Peel the kiwis; cut them into small pieces.

3. Peel the bananas; cut them into thick slices.

4. Roast the Brazilian nuts.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Gently mix them together. Serve immediately.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad 菠菜草莓沙律

INGREDIENTS:

Baby Spinach

Strawberries

Cashews

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Agave Syrup

DIRECTION:

1. Cut the strawberries into quarter.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and agave syrup. Add strawberries and spinach. Mix well.

3. Plate the serving plates. Sprinkle the cashews on top. Serve immediately.

Zucchini Chocolate Bread | 義大利青瓜巧克力麵包

In Summer, we always try to include zucchini in the menu since it is abundant and inexpensive.  Most of the the time we put zucchini in salad, eating it raw like cucumber with balsamic vinaigrette.  But we also enjoy sautéing it with lots of garlic as a warm salad.

This week, I tried something new, using zucchini to make this quick bread for our breakfast.  It turned out very moist and filled with cocoa aroma.  Although you will not taste any zucchini in the bread, you will still see strings of zucchini in the bread that makes you feel good about including vegetable in your breakfast.

  

INGREDIENTS:

1 Zucchini, shredded (about 2 cups)

4 Eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Milk, 2%

2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup Bread Flour

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons Baking Powder

1 handful of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

2 tablespoons Poppy Seeds (optional)

pinch of Salt

材料：

1 條  義大利青瓜，刨絲 (約兩杯)

4 隻  雞蛋，打勻

1/2 杯  牛奶，2%

2 湯匙  雲呢拿香油

2 杯  全麵麵粉

1 杯  高筋麵粉

1 杯  棕糖

2 湯匙  泡打粉

少量  牛奶巧克力粒

2 湯匙  罌粟籽 (可省略)

少撮  鹽

DIRECTION 做法:

1. Pre-heat oven to 360C.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and milk.  Add shredded zucchini; mix again.

3. Sift in whole wheat flour, bread flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add poppy seeds.  Mix until the mixture becomes batter and it is well incorporated.

4. Lay parchment paper in a baking container.  Pour in the batter and slightly drop the container on the counter a few times to get rid of the air bubbles.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips.  Bake it in the oven for about 30 minutes.

To check the doneness, insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread.  If it comes out clean, the bread is ready.  Allow the bread to cool before slicing it.

1. 預熱焗爐至360F。

2. 在一只碗內，加入雞蛋、棕糖、雲呢拿香油、和牛奶；攪打至均勻。下義大利青瓜絲；拌勻。

3. 全麵粉、高筋粉、泡打粉、和鹽。下罌粟籽；拌勻至變成麵糊。

4. 焗模內舖上焗紙，把麵糊倒入。把焗模在臺面上敲打數下以去取麵糊內的氣泡。灑上巧克力粒。放入焗爐，焗若30分鐘。

要測試麵包焗好與否，可把一支牙簽插入麵包中間再取出，如沒麵漿黏著便是焗好。

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。

Easy Coffee Jelly | 簡易咖啡啫喱

Easy Coffee Jelly | 簡易咖啡啫喱

Ingredients: (yield 1 serving)

1.5 tablespoons Instant Coffee Powder (no sugar and milk powder)

1.5 tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Gelatine Powder

3 tablespoons 5 % Cream (for serving)

材料：(一人份)

1.5 湯匙   即溶咖啡粉 (無糖和奶粉)

1.5 湯匙   黑糖

1 茶匙   魚膠粉

3 湯匙   5﹪忌廉 (伴食用)

DIRECTION: