Pizza Bread

The weather has been super cold here in Vancouver ... and believe it or not, it has started to snow too !!! You would normally find a very mild pacific winter weather here in Vancouver. Those kind of weathers ask for comfy food you can whip up in no minutes. Sometimes I call them pantry food as I will make sure all my fridge, freezer and pantry are stocked up as there is no way, I will be going out in snow unless I really have to or have cabin fever.

One of my kids favourite pantry food is their all time favourite Pizza bread. You can basically use any kind of bread but if you happen to have a whole loaf of garlic bread in your freezer that would be even more ideal. Most of the time I would just use regular french bread or sweet Italian bread. I get my kids involved in this, as they love to be mommy's little helper and I find that it is a good family activity.

Pizza Bread

1 loaf sweet Italian bread
pizza sauce (from a can)
pepperoni (or toppings of choice)
shredded cheese – mozzarella, cheddar, American, provolone – it’s all good

Step 1:
Slice the bread in half length-wise.

Step 2:

Spread with pizza sauce (use as much as you like).

Step 3:

Layer on the pepperoni or whatever other toppings you may like.

Step 4:

Top with lots of shredded cheese.

Step5:

Bake for 8 - max. 15 minutes until cheese is melted and the bread is heated through @ 350 degrees.

Step 6:

Sprinkle with green stuff (basil, oregano, parsley) if you want to feel healthful.

Enjoy !!

Green Beans with Mushrooms & Almonds !

I remember having this dish as a side dish at my girlfriend's house in Berlin. It was just divine. I loved it every time I ate it. I would always bug Kerstin's mom to cook it for me whenever I went over for a play date when we were little. Mrs. Meyer gave me her recipe just before I left Berlin, and now it's time for me to pass it on to YOU !! I always make this dish with some steaks or roasted chicken ... you will see, you will end up loving it - just like me !!!

Green Beans with Mushrooms & Almonds

1 pound green beans, trimmed
6 slices bacon
2 cloves minced garlic
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Step 1:
In a large saute pan, cover the green beans with water. Boil for 5 or so minutes. You still want them to have a little crunch. Drain and set aside.

Step 2:
In the same pan, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain most of the fat and add the onions and mushroom.

Step 3:
Cook the onions and mushrooms until soft.

Step 4:
Add the almonds, salt. pepper, and oregano.

Step 5:
Toss in the green beans and cook until heated through. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Step 6:
Top with the shaved Parmesan.

Enjoy !

German Apple Almond Cake

I love the smell of baked apple in my house especially when it's cold outside. I bake all sort of apple cakes. I've made this cake at least 100 times. It always comes out perfect and delicious. It is one of my family's favourites and I made this one for my girlfriend, Joleen, who came by for dinner with her little son, George. This cake is wonderful with a hot cup of coffee or tea.


German Apple Almond Cake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup almonds, sliced
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9 inch springform pan.

2. In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, beat eggs. Stir into the eggs, yogurt, butter and almond extract.

4. Stir wet ingredients into the flour mixture just until combined.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Arrange apples over the batter.

6. For the topping; combine almonds, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the topping over apples.

7. Bake for 1 hour or until cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy !

Spiderweb Brownie Cake

Wherever you are, I hope you are able to enjoy the day. This weekend has been big for parties galore-for both grown-ups and children alike. I’ve definitely done my fair share of celebrating this year already. But now I’m looking forward to spending the afternoon today with my boys, Ethan & Timothy and their friends. What are YOU dressing up as this year?

This Spiderweb Brownie Cake came at the perfect time. I had originally planned to make some red velvet bleeding heart cupcakes for one of the parties, but my schedule at home last week was incredibly hectic. I wasn’t able to devote as much time to it (who does, really?) as I wanted to, so I scratched the whole idea all together…and then I saw this. Simple, but still festive. Not too much preparation needed. Not too much creativity, endless frosting colors, or crazy ingredients. In fact, I had all that I needed. I wanted it to look festive….but I really wanted it to taste even better. In fact, if you want….you still have time to make this today in time for your Trick or Treaters!

So, from me to you…. Happy Halloween!


Spiderweb Brownie Cake

Ingredients

For the Brownie:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 and 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 and 1/4 cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups chocolate chips

For the cream cheese “web”:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring (optional)


For the brownies:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan, or 9″ springform pan. (You can also use 2 8-inch cake pans.)

2. In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine.

3. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it’s hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it’ll become shiny looking as you stir it.

4. While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.

5. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

6. Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth.

7. Spoon the batter into pan.

For the spiderweb:

1. Combine the cream cheese, sugar and flour in a small bowl, and mix until smooth.

2. Add the egg yolk and almond flavoring (if using), mixing until smooth once again.

3. Transfer the mixture to a disposable pastry bag fitted with a standard piping tip (I used Wilton #1).

4.Place a small pool of the mixture in the center of the brownie batter. Draw circles around this pool, about 1 inch apart, moving out from the center each time.

5. Once the circles are drawn, take a table knife, wet the tip, and draw it back and forth through the circle.

6. Use the remaining filling to trace the path where the knife travelled, to create the spokes of the web.

7. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, until the brownies just barely pull away from the edge of the pan. The center will rise while baking, but will sink back level once the brownies are cool. Remove them from the oven and cool before cutting.Decorate with fake plastic spiders from the Halloween store (since you don’t have time to make cute ones by hand…….) and pretend it’s scary!

Enjoy !!!

Halloween Cheddar Crackers !

Is it really Halloween already? I have been so busy ever since Damian's aunt from Singapore came to visit us and Ethan started Grade 1. Things just get out of hand. To all my dear ones following my blog, I apologize for not having post anything in the last few months. Please forgive me !!!

Halloween is creeping up and I suppose it’s time for some Halloween treats. Making crackers at home is like magic and these are the most magic of all as you watch them puff up into cute little Halloween shapes. Cut this recipe into any shape you prefer to enjoy homemade crackers year round.

Halloween Cheddar Crackers

1 1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
6 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
8 ounce package shredded triple cheddar cheese, or cheddar of choice
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons water

1. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a food processor pulse together the flour, salt, paprika and onion powder. Add the butter and process until combined. Add the cheddar and pulse until finely chopped. Process in the egg yolk and water until the mixture forms a ball.

3. Remove the dough and knead in your hands for a few turns. Divide in half and roll one part between two pieces of wax paper to 3/8 inch thick. Peel off the wax paper and stamp dough with cookie stamps or cut with cookie cutters. Place the crackers on cookie sheets.

4. Freeze the crackers on the cookie sheets for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Move the cookie sheets to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Cool crackers on cooling racks. Store in an airtight container.

Yields 54 3/8 ounce cookies. Prep time 30 minutes. Baking time 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Mentaiko Spaghetti (明太子スパゲッティ)

Mentaiko Spaghetti (tarako spaghetti) is a very common and popular Japanese yoshoku dish or in other words a Western-influenced dish. It's simple preparation and full flavour makes it a very easy weekday supper. The preparation is very simple and hard to mess up, with pollock roe adding a wonderfully salty and savory flavor, butter doing its usual thing of making everything taste good, and spaghetti serving as the carrier.
I use spaghettini instead of spaghetti since it's thinner and picks up the flavors better. You can typically find pollock roe in the frozen section of Asian grocery stores - it comes in several flavors (mild, spicy, etc) - experiment and see what you like best.

Mentaiko Spaghetti (明太子スパゲッティ)

300 grams of spaghettini, or about 2/3 of a box of spaghetti
2-3 sacs of pollock roe, or mentaiko (明太子)
4 tbsp of dashi (optional)
3-4 tbsp of butter
1/2 lemon
10 shiso leaves (紫蘇)
1 sheet of roasted seaweed, sliced into thin strips (or you can use the precut kind)

Recipe Steps:

•Cook the spaghettini al dente.
•Split the sacs of roe down the middle, then slice in half. Take a teaspoon and scoop out the eggs, leaving the sac. Chop the shiso leaves into thin strips, and also chop the roasted seaweed similarly (unless you are using the pre-chopped strips).
•Melt the butter on low heat in a large wok or saucepan. Turn off the heat. Add the roe into the pan and stir thoroughly.
•When the spaghettini is done, strain and add immediately to the pan with butter. Add the dashi (or if you don't have dashi handy, then use 4 tbsp of the water that the spaghettini was boiling in). Mix well so that the roe is evenly distributed. Taste and add salt if needed. (I tend to like things pretty salty to I actually used salted butter). Squeeze the lemon over the and toss again well.
•Split into serving size portions, then garnish with shiso and seaweed -- serve immediately so the seaweed strips don't get soggy.

Enjoy !

Strawberry Jogurt Popsicles

With this weather finally getting warmer, it is very natural that my boys want ice cream or popsicles. One is very tempted with the heat getting higher and higher. Why bother buying some popsicles filled with tons of sugar and weird colours, when you can do it yourself !! I had bought some very sweet strawberries from Costco, so I decided to make some strawberry yogurt popsicles. Ethan and Timothy both were part of this project and loved adding things like watermelons into it. Since they are the one eating it, I thought: Why not ? No harm right ?? Honestly, you could add anything to it ... as long as you enjoy it.

I don't own any fancy popsicle molds and I remember, how my dad always made mine in a loaf pan. It works out just perfect and honestly, I think it looks way nicer. Kids don't really care what form it is as long as they get to eat something icy and kind of sweet. This recipe is perfect for some parent-kid-project .... and you will be very surprised, how healthy it is !!!

Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles

2 cups vanilla yogurt (not non-fat)
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Watermelon cubes (about 20 cubes, 1/2-inch each)
8 to 10 wooden popsicle sticks

Step 1:

Prepare a loaf pan by lining it with plastic wrap. Have your popsicle sticks on hand.

Step 2:

In a blender combine the yogurt, strawberries, lime juice and zest. Puree until well combined. Pour the yogurt blend into your prepared pan. Drop the watermelon cubes into the mixture, making sure there are a few cubes in each pop. Place the popsicle sticks into the pan, spacing them evenly. Freeze for about 6 hours, until the pops are completely frozen.

Step 3:

When you want to serve your pops, take the pan and run warm water over it to loosen the edges. Take the plastic wrap and lift the frozen "loaf" out of the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut in between the popsicle sticks. There you have it, Strawberry-Watermelon Yogurt Ice Popsicles!

Note: If you use a yogurt with a low-fat content the popsicles will be a bit icy and have a tendency to break easily. They're just as good, just a bit fragile.

Enjoy !!!!

Oven-Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Does it scare you when you buy frozen meat packages ?? It totally freaks me out as I have no idea what they put inside. Most items contain such high salt content in them, it turns me off right away. So what do I do when kids scream for chicken tenders ?? You whip up some of your own. Here is a simple recipe, you can follow even on work nights. If you double the batch or happen to have too many, freeze them unbaked on baking trays layered with some parchment papers. Once they are frozen, you can transfer them into zip-lock bags.

Oven-Baked Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

For the Chicken Fingers:
1/2 pound chicken breast fillet strips
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko

1/4 teaspoon paprika powder

1/2 teaspoon Parmesan cheese powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

For the Honey Mustard:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp honey

For the Chicken Fingers:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the beaten egg with all the seasoning powder on one plate for breading, and the panko on another plate. For each chicken tenders, dip it first in the egg, and then in the panko, and place it on a wire rack over a baking sheet (like what you would use to cool cookies). If you don’t have a rack, just place the chicken directly on a baking sheet, but you will need to turn them halfway through baking.

Bake the chicken tenders for about 10 minutes, and then increase the heat to 450 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve warm, with honey mustard dipping sauce.

For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard and honey, and serve immediately or chill until ready to use.

Enjoy !!!

Birthday Dirt Cake !!

As you all know, Ethan celebrated his 6 year old birthday the past Saturday. Today, he is going to celebrate his birthday at his daycare with all his little friends. He requested an Oreo cookie cake and since he already had his Oreo cookie ice cream cake on his actual birthday, I am not going to buy one more. Instead, I found this super cute recipe for a birthday dirt cake made of Oreo cookies. Even better, something homemade and something really cute to enjoy. This birthday dirt cake requires no baking at all and was assembled within 30 minutes. Super easy and fool proof. So if you are looking for a simple and yet cute kids birthday idea, here is one for you !!!!

Birthday Dirt Cake, adjusted & adapted by Dianasaur Dishes

1 box Oreo Cookies
2 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small package instant Oreo pudding
2 cups milk
Gummy worms
Fresh herbs or flowers

Step 1:

Place the cookies in a food processor and grind until finely crumbled and looking like dirt.

Step 2:
In a mixer bowl, whip the heavy cream with sugar and vanilla until thick. Remove to another bowl and chill while you make the pudding. Use the same mixer bowl and whisk again to whisk the milk and pudding. Chill for 5 minutes.

Step 3:

Fold the cream into the pudding gently.

Step 4:

Assemble the cake: Put a layer of cookie mixture in the bottom of the flower pot or beach bucket, add the cream mixture, and then another layer of cookie crumbs. Repeat the same with your remaining flower pot or beach bucket.

Step 5:
Chill for a few hours. Decorate with gummy worms, herbs and/or flowers and serve with a shovel if you decide to use beach buckets.

Enjoy !

Rainbow Jello Cake

Today is Ethan's Birthday celebration at his Kindergarten glass, I made a beautiful Rainbow Jello Cake, however, when transporting it into my husband's car, we managed to completely brake it !! What a disaster ... you should have seen my face, tears were running down my cheeks as I have slaved 9 hours in total for this. Ethan still insisted of bringing it to his class, even though I refused as I would never let anything BUT a perfect homemade item leave my house. But what can I do ???? I had nothing else prepared and another one would take another 9 hours to make. At least I was able to take a beautiful picture before the big disaster ......

Rainbow Jello Cake, adapted by Rachel Perlow

8-3/4 c Boiling Water
7 pkg flavored Gelatin, 1 each of the 6 different colors of the rainbow, plus one extra, either red or purple*
1-1/4 c Vanilla Yogurt (smooth and creamy works best), or sour cream, or cool whip

Line up your boxes of gelatin in rainbow order, next to 5 large cups, and one quart sized bowl. Put each flavor of gelatin in its own bowl or cup, use the larger one for the double batch. Stir 1.25 cups boiling water into each flavor at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved (do one at a time, to make sure each is completely dissolved), use 2.5 cups for the double batch.

Lightly spray a 10 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray, wipe out excess with a paper towel. Beginning with your first color, either red or purple, whichever you DID NOT buy two packages of (I start with purple), pour 3/4 cup of the dissolved gelatin into the bundt pan. Refrigerate about 15-20 minutes or until set but not firm (gelatin should feel tacky and stick to finger when touched).

Meanwhile, stir 2 Tbsp. of the yogurt into the 1/2 cup of dissolved gelatin remaining in the cup, use a small whisk or fork to get out all the lumps. Leave the rest of the flavors at room temperature, lightly covered with plastic wrap.

Spoon the creamy gelatin over the set, but still tacky gelatin in pan. Refrigerate about 40-45 minutes or until gelatin is set but not firm (gelatin should stick to finger when touched).

Repeat this with each remaining gelatin flavor. If the gelatin waiting to be used sets at room temperature, fill a bowl the cup will fit into with hot water and stir to loosen it up again. Refrigerate gelatin as directed to create a total of 12 alternating clear and creamy gelatin layers. See tips below.

Refrigerate overnight until firm. Unmold & Enjoy !!!!

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

When making all the gelatin at once, instead of using bowls, the gelatin can be made in large, individual, plastic cups (facilitates cleanup). Mark each cup with its flavor and line the cups up in the order they are going into the mold. Put each color of gelatin in its own cup. This saves having to reboil water every 1/2 hour. Leave the gelatin waiting to be layered on the counter, at room temperature, lightly covered with plastic wrap.

Mold type and size: This is a versatile recipe, and special molds aren’t needed, but a bundt cake pan makes a beautiful mold. To calculate the mold's volume, fill it with water to measure it. Plan on 1-2/3 cup of gelatin per box. For a 10-cup mold, seven boxes of gelatin work well. If you are using a smaller mold, use less of each flavor, fewer colors, or make a second "sampler" serving. Even for a large mold, making a small sampler in a clear glass will hit the spot after taking 3 hours to make this and not being able to have any until the next day.

Order: For a nice look the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet) are most commonly used, but variations can be beautiful. For example, school colors for a school banquet or bake sale, or colors appropriate to a holiday, i.e. red and green at Christmas.

Setting: To set properly, the gelatin must be cold and not warm when it is put in the mold. It is also important that the layers are tacky to the touch and not solidly firm, as each successive layer is added. Otherwise the layers may not stick to each other. To prevent the layers from cracking as each layer is added, pour the gelatin over a spoon to break the fall, close down to the set gelatin. Each time the mold is put into the refrigerator to set, give it a quarter turn. This will keep the layers even. It takes less time for each progressive layer to set.

Unmolding: For best results, unmold just before serving. Fill a larger container or clean sink with warm water, not too hot (otherwise it will melt). Rub a few drops of water onto the serving plate, this will facilitate adjusting the mold after unmolding, if necessary. Either use a plate with a large lip and just a little bit bigger than the diameter of the mold, or use a larger platter, at least 2-3 inches larger than the mold, because it will spread when unmolded and cut. Dip the mold almost to the edge into the warm water for just a few seconds. Wipe off with a towel and check the edges to see if they are loose, if not, repeat the dip for just a few seconds. Invert serving plate on top and flip quickly. Having a spotter brings peace of mind!

Homemade Swedish Meatballs with German Egg-Noodles

Who does not love the Swedish Meatballs at IKEA ??? We all do, don't we ? I have found an awesome and simple recipe by Rachal Ray, so now we can all make this dish at home from scratch. I am not a big fan of buying frozen meat products, I can't trust it these days anymore. Who knows what they have put in, right ? Today, I decided to tackle this recipe and I must say, it tastes delicious !!! I was really surprised on how easy it is. Really !!! As you all know, I am busy in the kitchen these few days preparing for Ethan's birthday party treats, that just means for me as little effort as possible for Dinner meals - this whole meal just took me 30 minutes !!!!

Homemade Swedish Meatballs with German Egg-Noodles, adapted by Rachal Ray

1 3/4 pounds ground sirloin
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 small onion chopped
A healthy grating of Nutmeg, nothing beats freshly grated Nutmeg
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley (3 handfuls) chopped
Freshly ground Black Pepper
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
2 cups Beef Stock
1 TBSP Red Currant or Grape Jelly
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 lb. wide egg noodles
Salt
2 TBSP Butter
8 cornichons or 6 baby gherkins(sweet pickles) for garnish

Place ground sirloin in a large mixing bowl and punch a well into the center. Fill the well with the egg, bread crumbs, onion, nutmeg, half of the chopped parsley, and a little salt and pepper. Mix up the meatball ingredients until well combined, yet not over mixed. Divide the mix into 4 equal parts. Roll each part into 6 balls, (I actually like smaller meatballs so I made 8 for each part). Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes, giving the pan a good shake now and then. Add the stock, jelly, and heavy cream or sour cream. Bring it up to a bubble, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

Place a large pot of water on to boil. Add the noodles and season the water with salt. Cook until just tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the egg noodles and shake dry. Put the noodles back in the hot pot and add the remaining chopped parsley and the butter and season with salt and pepper. Stir until butter has melted. Top the noodles with the meatballs, their sauce and the pickles.

Enjoy !!!

Mini Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Ethan has an outdoor picnic at a local park tomorrow with his Kindergarten class. Every student needs to bring a snack to share with his friends. Something small and cute. I figured that most parent would give their child something sweet, so I decided to make some mini pepperoni pizza puffs. It is so easy to make and extremely tasty. No fancy machine required. I will be so busy the next few days, as Ethan's turning 6 on Saturday. I need to prepare so many birthday goodie bags and treats, it's not even funny. Add another picnic snack, that just throws me off my daily routine.

Mini Pepperoni Pizza Puffs, adapted by Noble Pig

3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup milk (I used homo milk)
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 oz. pepperoni, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought)
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely diced.

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 375o. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and oregano; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Step 2:
Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Step 3:
Warm the pizza sauce, then stir in 1 tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Enjoy !!!!

Chinese Prawn Cakes With Long Beans (豆角蝦餅)

What happened to our month of June ? It's supposed to be nice and warm !! June is also the month, I started working out. It's true, I have been working out every day. I am slowly starting to see some sort of result and it feels good. 3 - 4 times a week, I would do a 30 minute fat burning program on an elliptical machine, followed by 30 swimming in a heated outdoor pool. The other days of the week, I would do some well needed stretching exercise on a ballet bar. This is what I have been busy with ... other than my daily mommy + wife duties. Honestly, it feels very good. I sleep much earlier and so much better too.

Today, I have tried a new recipe. Fooling around with some fresh prawns. My boys love eating

prawns, so I decided to pamper them all with some Chinese Prawn Cakes ... hope you will enjoy it as much as they do !!!

Chinese Prawn Cakes With Long Beans (豆角蝦餅), adapted by So Sze Wong (苏施黄)

1.5 lbs Fresh Prawns
6 pieces Chinese Long beans
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Black Sesame Oil
Oil for frying.

Step 1:
Shell and Devin prawns.

Step 2:
Use the back of a cleaver, slap down on the prawns to flatten and chop to mince.

Step 3:
Place minced prawns in a large deep bowl. Add salt, sugar, pepper and sesame oil to season. Stir well with chopsticks until a little pasty. Set aside for 20 minutes to marinate.

Step 4:
Dice the long beans.

Step 5:
Scoop marinated prawns with palm of hand and throw it vigorously back into the bowl. 'Slam' the minced prawns a few times until the minced prawns become pasty and gluey.

Step 6:
Mix diced long beans with minced prawns. Shape into small patties.

Step 7:
Fry patties until golden brown. If time allows, fry the patties over strong fire again just before serving.

Enjoy !!

Stir-Fried Rice Noodle with Beef (乾炒牛河)

One of my boys most favourite dishes is this traditional stir-fried rice noodles with beef. I rarely make it, as I find it very greasy - even though I use as little oil as possible. What can I do ? My three boys are bugging me like crazy about it. I finally gave in and made it for them. As hard as I try, I can't quite do it like my dad. His is a killer .... so good. *Sigh*, it's been a while since my dad made it for me too. Sometimes, I wish, we could live in the same country as there is way too many dishes I miss. This has to just do it for now.

Stir-Fried Rice Noodle with Beef (乾炒牛河)

500 gm flat rice noodles (河粉)
150 gm beef
1/2 onion, shredded
120 gm bean sprouts, trimmed
shredded ginger, to taste
1 stalk spring onion, chopped

Marinade:
2 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon water
black sesame oil, to taste

Seasonings:
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, or to taste
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon Sugar

Step 1:
Rinse beef and wrap dry with kitchen papers. Thinly slide across the grain. Mix with marinade for 15 minutes. Set aside.

Step 2:
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Place beef on a single layer and fry both sides, until they are 70% cooked. (Note: Don’t need to stir the beef. The yummy meat juice inside will leak if the heat is down otherwise. This frying method helps the surface of your beef to be cooked quickly and seal the juice inside.) Set aside.

Step 3:
Heat more oil in pan. Add onion and stir fry until truculent and fragrant. Be sure not to burn them. Add ginger and bean sprouts. When the bean sprouts are softened, push the onion and bean sprouts to the sides of pan if it’s big enough, or dish them up if your pan is too small. Increase heat to high. Toss in flat noodles and stir fry until it’s really heated up. Add seasoning. Taste it as everyone has a different taste bud. Add more light soy sauce if needed, bit by bit at a time. If you find the colour of flat noodles is not dark enough, you can add more dark soy sauce if you like. Mind you that if too much dark soy sauce is added, your noodles will taste bitter.

Step 4:
Toss back the beef, onion and bean sprouts, combine all ingredients. Add spring onion and mix. Serve hot.

Enjoy !!