Bok Choy Juice....whhhhaaatttt?????

Yes you read it right...Today's juice is bok choy juice...of course with some other vegetables and fruits as well... A warning though, bok choy is a vegetable that has a taste and smell that is hard to mask...but over time, you'll get used to it.. ;)

Although very cheap, it has plenty of benefits...So take this opportunity to get all the nutrients for the fraction of the cost!

Bok choy contains Vitamins A, B6, C and K. They are also rich in potasium, magnesium, calcium, manganese and iron. So let's juice!


Here's today juice recipe:

2 Bok Choy
4 carrots
2 red apples
1/2 lemon (with skin)


Wash all the vegetables and fruits well and run them through a juicer and reap the benefits!

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream

Never in a million years I thought I would make coconut cupcakes! :0   Coconut is not something I can't live without...I try to avoid them, but if it's on a plate, I'll eat it.. So back to the cupcakes, a friend, over a conversation mentioned how she loves coconut....and when she was organising her baby shower, I thought I'll make Coconut cupcakes! Don't know what I'll do without google... I googled away and lime buttercream seemed like a good choice to go with the cupcakes...

I usually do not use artificial ingredients and make everything from scratch... I guess, the only 'artificial' thing I use is red colouring when I make red velvet. I am hopeless at using fondant and I don't find the taste pleasant. So the next option was to decorate the cupcakes with flags! I got this recipe from click here and tweaked it a little...

So here's the recipe for 12 coconut cupcakes:

Cupcake

1 can                      reduced fat coconut milk (simmered until reduced to 1/2 cup stirring occasionally and cooled)

1 cup                      self-raising flour
1 1/8 tsp                 baking powder
1/4 tsp                    himalayan rock salt
1/2 cup                   caster sugar
2 large                    eggs
1/2 cup                   reduced coconut milk
1 tsp                       organic vanilla extract
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp     butter


Frosting

1/2 cup                     softened butter
1 1/4 cup                  powdered sugar
1 tsp                         organic vanilla extract
finely grated zest from 1 lime
juice from 1 lime


Method:

1. Turn oven on at 170 degree C
2. Line cupcake tray with paper liners.
3. Using a cake mixer, beat at medium speed butter and sugar for approximately 2-3 minutes.
4. Add eggs one by one and beat at medium speed.

5. Add salt and vanilla extract and mix well.
6. Into the batter, pour in half of the cooled coconut milk.
7. Sift half of the flour into the batter and mix on the lowest settings until just combined.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 with the remaining coconut milk and flour and sift baking powder into the batter.
9. Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter into the lined cupcake tin.
10. Bake for 18 minutes. Insert tester into the cupcakes and if it comes out clean, remove cupcakes from the oven and let cool on a rack.

Please excuse my stained cupcake tray....shows how often I use it...:P

Now for the frosting...

11. Into a clean mixer bowl, add softened butter and sift powdered sugar. Turn mixer on medium and beat well.
12. Add vanilla extract and lime juice and beat until smooth. Ensure that you do not beat too long as the butter will split. If the mixture if too soft, add more powdered sugar.
13. Fill piping bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with lime zest.



Happy trying!

Brinjal, Asparagus and Tofu Sambal

Need a quick fix dinner? This might just be your solution! In a pot, cook some brown rice..and at the same time, in a wok, get stir-frying!

This right here is magic...

But beware, this packet does contain msg..therefore, I wouldn't recommended using this regularly...

Today, I made Brinjal, asparagus and tofu sambal. You can use long(snake) or French beans, snap peas, also add some prawns and squid.. In Malaysia, one famous vegetable we use is petai or some call it stink beans.

 

I love love petai but V wouldn't be in the same room with me if I were to eat them. Petai is very good especially for the urinary tract and if it is petai season in Malaysia, you would NOT  want to visit a public toilet!

For a vegetarian version, I'd recommend using this sambal paste instead.

This can be bought from Asian grocers that carry a range of Malaysian  products. I get mine from Soon Seng grocer at Flemington. This paste is extremely versatile, add one tablespoon when frying rice of stir-frying any other vegetables.

Brinjal, Asparagus & Tofu Sambal Tumis

Ingredients:

1/2 cup tofu, cubed

1 small brinjal or aubergine, cubed

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 2 inches

3 garlic cloves, grated

6 tbsp olive oil

1 packet sambal tumis paste

Method:

1. Shallow fry tofu in 4 tbsp oil and drain on a kitchen towel.

2. Shallow fry brinjal in the same oil and drain on a kitchen towel.

3. Fry grated garlic in 2 tbsp of oil and add asparagus.

4. Empty sambal tumis packet content into wok and stir well to mix.

5. Add fried tofu and brinjal and stir.

6. If it gets too dry, add 3-4 tbsp water and cook for 3-4 minutes. 

7. Dish up and serve with brown rice...

Beetroot Kale Goodness

Since I started drinking green smoothies, somehow, there was a nagging thirst for vege juice at the back of my throat...Imagine my joy when V told me one day,"You are not going to believe this!I am craving green juice!"

So off I went, to the grocer, to get whatever, vegetables I could rest my hands on and brought my breville juicer down and off it went! Extracting the juicy goodness of the vegetables.

Whenever I juice, I always prefer to add celery, carrots and lemon for that added touch of sweetness and tartness.

I never used to like celery because of the strong smell and taste it has, but over the years, my palate has gotten used to it. I also know that celery helps with arthritis and since I've been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, I've been more than happy to drink celery juice. My grandmother had osteoarthritis when she was in her late 80's and her fingers couldn't move. watching her suffer in pain was difficult. Poor lady, god bless her soul, but living with 2 ailing grandparents, taught me a lot about looking after one's health.

Reading the benefits of celery further strengthened my reasons for adding them into my juice. Some of the benefits include lowering LDL, relief for all inflammation including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, asthma and bronchitis, aids in weight loss by helping to curb cravings for sweets and fights cancer to name a few. Click here to read more.

Carrots, besides helping our with eyesight, there is a whole list of benefits. Boosts immune system, helps in dispelling mucus, balances blood acidity and blood sugar levels are some of the many benefits. Click here for more information. 

Lemons, we know how they help with weight control, but here are a few more benefits we can reap from them:- relieves cold and sore throat due to their 'antibiotic' effect, relieves constipation, aids in digestion. Click here for more information.

Kale! The latest celebrity vegetable....The benefits of kale seem to be pretty endless! They are not cheap too! Some benefits of kale include lowering cholesterol, increasing bone density, detoxifying, increasing Hb levels and many more! Click here for a full list of benefits.

Beetroot..Some people shudder at the thought of it. I LOVE IT!!! That earthy taste is so so comforting! What are the benefits? 

Helps in combating acidosis, helps maintain elasticity of arteries, normalises blood pressure, heals liver toxicity and bile ailments and many more!

Below is the recipe for the juice I made a few days ago.

1  bundle Kale

4 carrots

6 celery ribs

1/2 lemon, peel and all (seeds removed)

1 small beetroot, leaves, skin and all

Wash all the vegetables well and run it all through the juicer and enjoy it fresh!

When we drank this after 2 weeks without, both V and I heaved a loud AAAAAHHHHHH...just like in the Schweppes advertisement in our growing up  years... Such a relief....One thing for sure is we will continue juicing for as long as we can...:)

Easy Breezy Late Night Coffee Cake

Last week, a friend had her baby shower and I made red velvet cupcakes (this recipe works every single time - will blog this soon) and coconut cupcakes with lime buttercream. V wanted to eat one but I had to stop him. Poor thing. I then promised him I'll make him some cupcakes and we can ice those with the leftover icing.  Came Saturday, and I was at work the whole day and we went out to dinner with a friend. And then came Sunday, and I totally forgot...At about 9.30 pm, i myself felt like eating cake. So i picked up my humble "padmini" (iPad) and googled for a simple vanilla cupcake recipe. When I found Nigella's recipe, I was like a happy child, prancing around (in my mind of course!) and went to the fridge to take some butter and eggs out. Then came that dreadful thought! I'll have to wash up a whole load of stuff! The cake mixer, the ladles and spatulas, the mixer bowl and the list goes on! So I made some modifications. And wait for it......No cake mixer involved! Just 1 bowl, 1 spatula, 1 tbsp, 1 balloon whisk, 2 measuring cups, sieve and some elbow grease!


Ingredients:


1  cup / 125 g    self-raising flour
9 tbsp  /  125g   very soft butter (softened in the microwave for 20-30 seconds)
1/4 cup              soft brown sugar (might want to add more for those who have a sweet tooth) (Nigella's recipe called for 2/3 cup / 125g caster sugar)
2                        eggs
1 tsp                  instant coffee mixed in 2 tbsp warm water
1 tsp                  vanilla extract
4 tbsp                milk




Method:

1. Turn oven on at 200 degrees C.
2.Add softened butter and sugar and whisk well until combined.
3. Add eggs one by one and whisk again.
4. Follow with vanilla extract and coffee.
5. Sift flour into butter and sugar mixture and mix with a spoon. Add milk and mix well. Do not over mix.
6. Pour batter into cake tin (I used 2 15cm by 5cm loaf tin; You can also make cupcakes)
7. Bake for 23 minutes. If making cupcakes, bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

Note: Please note that different ovens will require different baking times. After baking for a while, you will get the hang of it. My oven for instance, if the recipe calls to bake for 15-20 minutes, I would set my timer for 18 mins.

Sardine Curry

A can of sardine in the pantry is always a good thing to have. And since V loves sardines, I occasionally make sardine curry. We usually eat this with rice, thosai (indian lentil and  rice crepe), prata and sometimes even with chapati.

Recipe:

1  tsp         fenugreek
2  tsp         cumin
1  tsp         fennel seeds
4  tbsp      Baba's fish curry powder
1  can       Sardine in tomato sauce - remove bones from sardine
1  sprig    curry leaves
3  cloves garlic - grated
1  tsp       grated ginger
2  tbsp     olive oil
1.5 cup   magnetised water
1/4 cup   tamarind diluted in water, drained

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wok. Add spices and once they pop, cut curry leaves with scissors straight into the wok, grated ginger and garlic and fry until aroma arises.
2. Then add curry powder and water and allow to boil.
3. Once it comes to a boil, add sardine with the tomato sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes.

4. Followed by the tamarind water. Boil for 5 minutes.
5. Add salt to taste and dish out.

15 Minute Brunch

It's another lazy Sunday today. V and I slept in after a long week...and I thought we deserved a power-packed, flour-less, oil-less,heart-friendly brunch without much fuss and most importantly of all, quick to make... I've not had my dose of pottasium for a while, so I thought I'd include some bananas this time...

3 Ingredient pancake with berry compote...

Ingredients:

Pancake  

2 ripe bananas, roughly mashed

1/2 cup organic quick oats, ground 

2 xl free range eggs

Berry compote

1 cup frozen berries

1/4 cup soft brown sugar OR agave OR maple syrup OR palm sugar

Mint leaves for garnishing

Method:

1. Mix ground oats, eggs and mashed bananas into a bowl and mix well.

2. Using a hand blender, roughly blend the ingredients until evenly mixed.

3. Spoon batter onto hot pan and cook each side for 2-3 minutes.

4. In another pot, add frozen berries and brown sugar. Heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Plate up pancakes and pour berry compote on the pancakes.

6. Garnish with some fresh mint leaves and serve warm.

7. You may also serve with lightly whipped cream.

Berry Kiwi Carrot Concoction

Today's green smoothie... Berry Kiwi Carrot Concoction

Ingredients:

4               Kiwis, peeled
6 stalks     Bok Choy
1/2            carrot, sliced
1/2 cup     frozen berries
1 cup        oat milk
1.5 tsp      spirulina powder



Method:

1. Blend Bok Choy, carrots and oat milk until smooth.
2. Add other ingredients and blend for 3-4 minutes.
3. Serve immediately.

Choy Sum Berry Minty Goodness

Here we go..Another green smoothie! I forgot to take a picture, but based on other smoothies, today's smoothie doesn't look any different... :p


Ingredients:

6 Stalks      Choy Sum
3 Sprigs     Mint leaves
1 cup         frozen orange juice from a freshly squeezed orange
1 cup         frozen berries
1 cup         Oat milk
1.5 tsp       Spirulina powder

Method:

1. Blend leafy veggie i.e choy sum and mint with oat milk until smooth.
2. Add other ingredients and blend for 3-4 minutes.
3. If the smoothie is too thick to your liking, add some magnetised water to dilute.

Kuih Kasturi (Mung bean fritters), another Malaysian delight

Insomnia...that's what lead me into stumbling upon this recipe on my iPad...I have the habit of taking a screen shot of interesting recipes only to be ignoring them for a whole year! While looking through my photos, I thought I'd make this, especially so when Pravina gave me 500g of dried mung beans...Yay!

Ingredients:

250g                 Mung beans, soaked in water for 5 hours
50g                   Jaggary OR palm sugar (gula melaka) OR brown sugar
1/2 cup             desiccated coconut
2 + 1/2 cup       water (magnetised)
100g                 Rice flour
To taste            salt
1 cup                Light Olive Oil for frying



Method:

1. Boil mung beans in 2 cups water and season water with salt (after soaking for 5 hours). Halfway trough, add jaggary (diluted in 5 Tbsp water and filtered to remove any impurities) and desiccated coconut and stir well.

 

Desiccated coconut

Jaggary (diluted with water and filtered)

2. Once all the water has been absorbed, let it cool.
3. Add 1/2 cup water to rice flour and season with salt.

4. Heat 1 cup oil in a wok.
5. Roll mung beans into a ball and press down to form a patty.
6. Coat with rice flour batter and fry until golden brown.
7. I managed to get 15 medium sized patties with this recipe. I fried 6 pieces and froze the rest for when I have unexpected visitors... :P

Veggo Fish Briyani

While shopping at Pyramid Spice Shop in Homebush one day, Pravina mentioned that her cousin, Indira once made veggo tuna puffs and tasted amazing! Pravina said that she couldn't tell that the tuna puffs were made using veggo tuna! Indira also made fish briyani with a special mix that she recommended...

While we were there, we dug the freezer for the specific brand of veggo tuna and Shan's Fish Briyani mix with very high hopes of replicating what her cousin had made before.

And lo and behold, Jay made the briyani for our new year fireworks campout .YUM!!! Especially when we were starving!! DOUBLE YYUUMM!!

As I am on "clean out my fridge and pantry" spree, I decided to make it for dinner today. The instructions were on the briyani mix packet, but I tweaked it a little as I cooked the rice in the rice cooker. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was...

This is how the 'tuna' looks like out from the packet.

And here's the recipe...


Ingredients:

 A
400g             Vegetarian tuna, cut into cubes
2.5 Tbsp       lemon juice
25g               Shan's fish briyani mix
3 cloves       garlic, finely grated


3 cups          Basmathi rice
1/4 cup        dill
2                  Spanish onions, sliced thinly
1 cup           No fat yoghurt
6 Tbsp         olive oil
water to cook rice

Method:

1. Add all ingredients A and marinate fish pieces for 30 mins.

2. Wash basmathi rice and soak for 30 mins.
3. In a rice cooker, heat some oil and fry the dill and add rice and water and cook rice as normal.
4. Heat 4 Tbsp olive oil and fry 1 onion in a wok. Then add the marinated fish. Cook for a couple of minutes.
5. Add yoghurt to the fish and cook until the oil separates.
6. While the rice is half cooked, take half the rice out of the rice cooker.
7. Spread the fish on the balance rice in the rice cooker and top up with the remaining rice and allow to cook in the rice cooker.

8. In another pan, fry the remaining onions until caramelised. Then spread it onto the cooked rice.

9. Mix well, plate up and enjoy with a good white wine...We're having some tonight with chilled Gerwuztraminer wine from Ernest Hill Winery at Hunter Valley... ;)

The end result!

Down Memory lane - Mummy's Konlow Noodles

As we were growing up, konlow mee (noodles) was one of the staple food we had..for a quick fix...This was one of the first dishes that I learnt to cook.

Konlow noodles are dried noodles blanched in water and tossed with a combination of soy sauces. At home, we would usually use instant noodles like below.

But me, being me, I've consciously tried to reduce eating instant noodles, especially after a bout of messages on facebook on how these noodles are coated with plastic or plastic-like ingredients. So for this recipe, I've used Soba noodles. I sometimes add chilli sauce as well. I sometimes also add a pan-fried egg too! (for some protein..;p)

Ingredients:

1 "ring"        Soba noodles
1 pot            Water, boiling on the stove
2-3 Stalks    Mustard Leaves
1 Tbsp         dark soy sauce OR cooking caramel
1.5 tsp         light soy sauce
1.5 tsp         extra virgin olive oil
A dash        black or white pepper
A dash        sesame oil



Method:

1. Once water is boiling in the pot, blanch mustard leaves and stem for 1 minute and drain.
2. In the same boiling water, put soba noodles in and cook for 2 minutes OR cook as per instructions on packet.
3. While waiting for the noodles cook, in a bowl, mix all other ingredients except sesame oil.
4. Drain noodles once cooked and add to bowl with the sauces.
5. Mix well and top with blanched veggies.
6. Finally, drizzle sesame oil right on top of the noodles and veggies.
7. Eat immediately or the noodles will harden.

Note: Cooking caramel is available at Asian grocers.

Breakfast from remnants in the fridge and pantry!

2nd Sunday of the year! Boy, does time fly! Unlike any other Sunday of the year, yesterday was one of the very rare ones both V and I get to sleep in...Then came the most difficult thought I'm sure almost every wife or mother dreads...What TO Cook??!!! In a bid to empty my fridge and freezer(only to allow me to restock them again ;p) , I started ransacking them to see what ingredients I had that could make a decent breakfast..and the result is (may sound extremely normal, but i did tweak a few things and it was good!) Scrambled eggs with garlic bread, green smoothie and Italian coffee brewed in a french press with oatmilk. The Italian coffee was  a gift from a very good friend from Malaysia. The taste and smell of the coffee lasted to this day and tasted very fresh!

Dill Broccoli  Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:

3               Free Range eggs
1/2            chopped spanish onion
1 tsp         finely grated ginger
2 cloves    garlic (grated)
1/2 cup     brocolli (cut into small pieces)
2 Tbsp      finely grated carrot
2 Tbsp      chopped dill
1/2 tsp       fish sauce
To taste     black pepper
2 Tbsp      milk
1 Tbsp      olive oil


Method:

1. Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk well. Add fish sauce, milk and pepper and mix well.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan and add onion, garlic and ginger and saute until the onions soften.
3. Add broccoli and cook for 3 minutes and add grated carrot.
4. Spread all the ingredients around the pan evenly and pour the whisked eggs and ensure the egg fills up the entire pan.
5. Add the chopped dill as evenly as possible on the egg mixture.
6. Allow to cook for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.

7. Turn the egg over to cook the other side for another minute.
8. Cut into 4 quarters and serve warm with toasted garlic bread and coffee!

Scrumptious Nectarine Mustard Leaves Smoothie

Day 4....and green smoothie challenge is still going strong...

Ingredients:

6 Stalks      Mustard Leaves (also known as choy sum)
3                nectarines (stone removed)
1/2 cup      frozen freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup         oat milk
1.5 tsp       Spirulina powder



Method:

1. Add oat milk and mustard leaves and blend until as sooth as possible.
2. Add nectarines, frozen orange juice and spirulina powder and continue blending.
3. Serve in mugs and drink with a straw.

Mint Mustard Leaves Lemon Delectation

Sunday's green smoothie...another result of randomly mixing fruits and vegetables..

Ingredients:
6-7 Stalks       mustard leaves (also known as Choy sum in Cantonese)
2 sprigs          Mint leaves
1 cup              Oat milk
1/2 cup           Frozen berries
2                     Kiwi
1 handful        Finely grated carrot
1/2                  Lemon with rind
1.5 tsp            Spirulina powder
1.5 tsp            LSA (ground linseed, almond and sunflower seed; available at health food stores)
1.5Tbsp         Agave




Method:-1. Mix mustard leaves and stem, mint leaves and oat milk in blender and whiz up until all leaves are no longer visible.2. Add all other ingredients and continue blending for a good 3-4 minutes until mixed well.


Note: If the mixture is too thick, dilute with some filtered and magnetised water.