Roasted Beet Root and Blood Orange Salad | 紅菜頭血橙沙律

The other day I found some blood oranges at the supermarket. Without hesitation, I got a couple of them. They were sweet and beautiful. Adding them into a salad gave an exotic looking and certainly brought some colour to the ordinary green.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Blood Orange, medium

2 Beets, small

1/8 Red Onion

2 cups Baby Arugula

DRESSING:

2 tablespoon Whole Grain Dijon Mustard

4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 teaspoon White Vinegar

1 tablespoon Raw Honey

small pinch of Sea Salt

材料：

2 個  血橙，中型

2 個  紅菜頭，小型

1/8 個  紅洋蔥

2 杯  芝麻菜

汁料：

2 湯匙  全粒芥末籽醬

4 湯匙  初榨橄欖油

1 茶匙  白醋

1 湯匙  純蜜糖

少撮  海鹽

INSTRUCTIONS：

1. Pre-heat an oven to 450F.  Clean beets with a brush; pat dry.  Wrap the beets with foil and roast the in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until they are soften.

(Roasting time vary.  It depends on the size of the beets)

2. Remove the skins of the blood oranges; cut the oranges into rounds or semi-circles; set aside.

3. Thinly slice the onion.

4. Arrange the vegetable ingredients on a serving plate.

5. In a mixing bowl, mix the dressing together until well blended, and then spoon it evenly over the vegetables.  Serve immediately.

做法：

1. 預熱焗爐至450F。擦洗紅菜頭、抹乾，用剔紙包好。放進焗爐烤若20分鐘或至其變軟身。

(烤焗時間會因紅菜頭大小會有明顯出入)

2. 切去橙皮；將橙切成圓片狀或半圓形。

3. 洋蔥切幼絲。

4. 蔬菜排盤。

5. 在一只碗內，把汁料拌勻；用匙把其平均舀上蔬菜上。即成。

Vegetable Pancake

These pancakes are packed with vegetables.  They are healthy to serve as a full meal.  In our family, we eat them as breakfast and also dinner.  The dipping sauce is essential for the addition of the flavour.  But if you are in a rush like my husband, you can always substitute the delicious dipping sauce for ketchup.

INGREDIENTS:

6 Green Onions, thinly sliced

5-6 Garlic Scrape, thinly sliced

2 White Potatoes, cut into sticks

1 Purple Yam, peeled and cut into sticks

1 pack of Seafood Mushrooms, roughly chopped

3/4 cup All Purpose Flour

3 Eggs

3/4 cup Water

1 teaspoon Salt

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

DIPPING SAUCE:

2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar

1 teaspoon Mirin

DIRECTION:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the vegetables.  Add eggs, water and oil; mix throughly.

2. Add flour; gently mix until the vegetables are well coated with batter.

3. Add about 2 tablespoons of oil in a non stick pan.  Spoon the mixture in the pan evenly.  You can make a large pancake, or many small ones.  I like mine are pancake size.  It is easier to handle when eating.

4. Fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until it is golden brown.  Turn it over; fry the other side for another 5 minutes.  Transfer the pancake to a serving plate.  Repeat this process until finishing up the batter.

5. To serve, combine the dipping sauce ingredients.  Serve it with the pancakes.

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup ｜壓力煲雞肉麵條湯

There is a flu around the house.  My husband was hugging boxes of Kleenex wherever he goes and my little boy was coughing here and there.  Luckily I stayed healthy so I was able to make something comforting for them to eat.  Hope their cold will go away along with the bitter cold weather after this weekend.

Making chicken noodle soup in an instant pot does not short change the flavours.  The broth is actually rich and fragrant, and the chicken is even moister.

I added light soy sauce in this recipe to season the soup instead of salt.  I found soy sauce enhances chicken flavour while eliminating the "blank salty taste".  It keeps a depth to the broth.

My husband ate three bowls of this soup in a row and showed me a face of comfort and appreciation. It is so worth it.

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

壓力煲雞肉麵條湯

INGREDIENTS:

1 Whole Chicken, giblets removed (so it fits inside an instant pot)

4 Carrots

4 stalks Celery

1 White Onion, small

4 Garlic Cloves, peeled

1 bunch Flat Leaf Parsley, leaves only

5 cups Water

1 cup Pasta of your choice

4 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce (optional)

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons (for frying)

DIRECTION:

1. Cut the celery, carrot, and onion into bite sizes.  Cut the garlic into rounds.

2. Roughly chop the parsley; set it aside.

3. In the instant pot, add the vegetable oil, carrots, onion, celery, and garlic cloves.  Press the "Sauté" button and stir fry the vegetables until they are fragrant and slightly soft; it's about 5 minutes.  Press the "Cancel" button to turn off the heat.

4. Add chicken and pour in water.  The water is not necessary cover the whole chicken.

5. Close the lid and turn the venting knob to seal.  Press the "Manual" button once, and then press the "Pressure" button to adjust the pressure to high and press the "+" or "-" button to set the time to 15 minutes.

6. When the cooking process is finished, allow the pressure to release naturally and the floating valve goes down.  Open the lid.

7. Remove the chicken from the pot.

8. Add pasta.

9. Add Soy Sauce if you are using.

10. Press the "Sauté" button and allow the soup to come to a boil and the pasta to cook through.

11. Meanwhile, shred the chicken and remove all the bones.

12. Add the shredded chicken back into the instant pot.

13. Turn off the heat.  Stir in the parsley before serving.  Add salt if desired.