Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Coffee cake is traditionally paired with coffee and served warm at breakfast. The sour cream adds richness and moisture to this cake. I love to enjoy this cake by cutting back the butter and replacing it with coconut oil and chia seeds gel. It is amazing how this recipe turns out!

Ingredients:
2 cups cake mix (recipe follows)
2 eggs
3 tbs butter softened
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 tbs chia seeds gel (1 tsp chia seeds mixed with 1/4 cup water)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
2 apples, Granny Smith and Fuji, peeled, cored, and chopped
Topping:
1/4 cup almond, finely chopped
1/4 cup oat meal, grind  very fine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbs cold butter, cut to small pieces

Directions:
In a bowl combine the topping ingredients and mix well.

Grease and flour a 9" x 9" cake pan.

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a KitchenAid® or other stand mixer, combine sugar, butter, coconut oil, and chia seeds gel.

Beat until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time. Stop and use spatula to scrape down the side of the mixing bowl. Add flour (alternating with sour cream). Beat until well mixed. Stir in apple and vanilla. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan; top with topping.

 Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cake Mix:
10 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup nonfat milk powder
1/2 cup baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cream of tartar

In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk them very well. Pour cake mix into a container, cover with lid, and place in a cool place.

Turkey Soup

The day after Thanksgiving is always a challenge for any cook trying to finish using all the leftovers. I remembered my mom always said "Do not throw out anything; just turn it into different kinds of meals". She was right because we kids didn't know the meals which she fed us used recycled ingredients from earlier meals. Last night we had a big dinner, so making light dinner tonight must be a good choice. I saved the turkey bones after carving the meat and that will make a good basic broth for this recipe. A lot of left over roasted vegetables can add flavor to the soup. I know this will be a good and healthy soup after all.

Ingredients:
Turkey Broth
All bones of roasted Turkey
7 quarts of water
1 white onion quarters
2 carrots cut into 3 inch lengths
2 stalks celery, cut into 3 inch lengths
1/2 lemon slice
A few leaves of cabbage
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ounce rock sugar
 
Directions:
In a stock pot, combine all the ingredients and bring to boil. Skim off the foam and turn the heat to simmer. Simmer the broth for 2 hours. Drain the broth.

Turkey soup:
Ingredients:
8 cups of turkey broth
3 cups roasted turkey cut up
1 cup green beans, diced
1/2 cup white onions, roughly chopped
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch thick coins
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/2 inch wide pieces
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup cauliflower, cut up
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups baby spinach
Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
In a pot, bring the broth to boil. Add turkey, carrots, celery, corn, cauliflower, and green beans. Cook for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Ladle soup into serving bowl. Add spinach and sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of all. This time makes me feel so blessed with all the good things that have happened during the year in my family. Everyone still has a job,, and our family is still intact and enjoying happy lifestyles. However, life is not perfect. Some of my family members were diagnosed with celiac disease, so I have to change some of the traditional side dishes served with the Thanksgiving dinner to be more gluten free. Turkey is a very healthy meat to consume, but the side dishes served with the Thanksgiving dinner always pack on more pounds. This year, I want to make healthier side dishes but still keep the tradition that we all love at the Thanksgiving table. I will replace the heavy bread stuffing with quinoa. The green beans casserole filled with bacon and cheese will be replaced with green beans stir-fried with coconut oil and mushrooms. Last but not least, potatoes ratan will be substituted for heavy, cheesy, mashed potatoes. Of course, I always serve cranberry sauce because no turkey meal would be complete without this sweet-tangy sauce. I think changing from the way we usually eat a big feast at Thanksgiving to eating good-healthy food is another blessing.

Quinoa Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, washed and drained
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1/2 cup red onions, chopped
1/2 cup green peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cooked kidney beans and Navy beans
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbs olive oil

Directions:
In a medium sauté pan, heat oil and stir in onions and garlic. Cook until fragrant (about 3 minutes). Add green peppers and cook until wilted (about 5 minutes). Stir in raisins and cranberries. Season with salt and pepper. Remove and mix in cooked beans. Let cool.
In a rice cooker, add quinoa and vegetable broth . Close lid and turn on to cook. When it is done, mix the beans mixture with the cooked quinoa. Lightly oil a baking dish with coconut oil and pour quinoa stuffing onto the baking dish. Coverwith foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. This dish can be prepared ahead of time. On Thanksgiving Day, preheat oven to 400° and bake for 20 minutes.

 

Green beans with Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 lb fresh green beans, trim removed and washed
1/2 lb or about 3 cups of fresh mushrooms, such as baby portabellas, oyster and white button, thickly sliced
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp chili flakes or Cayenne pepper
3 tbs coconut oil

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add green beans and cook for 5 minutes. Quickly drain and submerge in ice-cold water to stop the cooking. This process maintains the vibrant green color of the beans.
In a large sauté pan, add coconut oil. When the oil is hot, stir in shallot, chili flakes, and garlic.  Sauté for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Add balsamic and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in green beans. Sauté and add salt, soy sauce, and black pepper. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Potatoes Ratan
Ingredients:
1 lb. small red potatoes, washed, thinly sliced
1 cup nonfat milk
1 cup five cheeses–mozzarella, provolone, Romano, asiago, and parmesan
1/2 sweet white onions, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of nutmeg
Fresh chopped parsley
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add 2 tbs salt and add potatoes. Parboil potatoes for 5 minutes (this will help to cut baking time).
Drain.
In a sauté pan, add oil and sauté onions for 5 minutes on low heat. Stir in minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
Combine broth and milk in a mixing cup and set aside. Add salt and pepper. Mix well.
Butter an 8" x 5" ovenproof baking dish. Layer the potatoes and onions. Sprinkle on the cheese, nutmeg, and parsley. Pour the broth and repeat another layer and save some cheese for the top. Pour the rest of the broth and sprinkle with the cheese and parsley.
Preheat oven to 350° . Bake for 40 to 50 minutes uncovered or until the potatoes are completely cooked, and the liquid absorbed. If the top browns too much, cover loosely with foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

 

Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
1 bag 12 oz fresh cranberries
1 stick cinnamon
Zest of orange
1 knob of ginger, peeled and julienned
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cup apricot preserves or raspberry jam
1 cup orange juice
In a medium sauce pan, combine all the ingredients except the apricot preserves. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and add the apricot preserves. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Ladle into a jar with lid . Warm up before serving.

Salmon with Nori Crust

As I write this, I am quite busy preparing for the Thanksgiving meal, which is coming in the next two days with all the food and that makes me feel that I should not eat anything heavy until then. A piece of salmon fillet with a simple nori-sesame seeds crust makes good sense for a light dinner. Nori (seaweed) is always used to wrap around sushi, I learned this recipe from the chef, Roger Mooking, on the Cooking Channel, but I do not quite remember all the details. However, it turns out perfect for me.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz salmon fillets
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp butter
1 tbs oil
Nori crust:
2 nori sheets, toasted

1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbs fresh ginger
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbs sesame seeds
1tbs butter
1 tbs oil

Directions:
Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the salmon fillets. In a nonstick pan, heat butter and oil and seer salmon on both sides to get a light crust (about 2 minutes each side).

To make nori crust:
In a nonstick pan over medium heat, place nori sheet one at a time to lightly toast.

Remove and crush with your hands or use the mortal and pestle to get the job done.

 

In the same pan, heat oil and butter. Add shallot, garlic, and ginger. Stir and cook for 5 minutes or until fragrant.

Stir in sesame seeds and paprika, salt, and black pepper. Remove from heat and mix well with crushed nori.

 Spoon this nori mixture on top of the fish. Press it down.

 Preheat oven to 400° and place salmon in the oven for 10 minutes before removing. I like to garnish with chopped green onions.

Vietnamese Rolls (Bo Bia Chay)

Bo Bia is a popular snack food in Vietnam. It is rice paper filled with Chinese sausage, eggs, dried shrimp and other ingredients, like carrots, jicama, and basil. Even though the word "Bo" means "beef", there is no beef in the rolls. I do not know how this snack food got its name. This roll is a refreshing meal to serve as an appetizer or even as a main course in a family setting. Each person can roll it at the table, and the fillings are kept warm in a cook pan in the middle of the table. I replace the Chinese sausage with tofu to change these rolls for the meatless eaters. By adding dry Shitake mushrooms for more flavor and skipping the dried shrimp as well, no one will miss the Chinese sausages originally called for in this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 block firm tofu
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 jicama, peeled and julienned
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
4 dry shitake mushrooms, soaked and thinly sliced
1 tsp five spices and seasonings
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 leaf of green lettuce
1 cup fresh herbs – basil, cilantro, and mint
1 cup roasted peanut, crushed
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup oil
Dipping Sauce:
1 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
1can Coco Rico® soda
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced

Serve with daikon-carrot pickles (Do Chua)

Vietnamese rice paper wrappers

Directions:
In a deep sauté pan, add 1/2 cup of oil and heat to medium heat. Add shallot and fry until the shallots are crispy.

Remove fried shallots and drain on a paper towel. Reserve 1/4 cup of shallot oil
Cut the tofu block into 1/4 inch thick slices. Fry the tofu in the same oil used to fry the shallots to enhance the flavor. Fry until the tofu is golden brown and then drain on a paper towel.

When the fried tofu cools off, cut into matchsticks the same size as the jicama and carrots.
In a nonstick pan, add 1 tbs shallot-oil. Pour the beaten eggs and make a thin omelet.

Remove and cut into a thin matchstick the same size as the tofu.
In a large sauté pan, Add the 2 tbs reserved oil. When the oil is heated up, stir in the jicama, carrots and mushrooms. Stir and add the five spices, salt, pepper, and sugar.

 Cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables are wilted but still keep their crunchiness. Re-season again with soy sauce and remove from heat.

To make a dipping sauce:
In a small saucepan, add shallot-oil. Stir in minced garlic and cook in low heat until fragrant.

Add the rest of the dipping sauce ingredients and bring to boil. Cook for 5 minutes.

Adjust the taste by adding more salt or soy sauce, if needed. Put this sauce in a jar if it not finished. This sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for days.
To assemble the rolls, wet a sheet of rice paper wrapper. Then lay on a plate.

 Add the filling starting with a piece of lettuce, then follow with egg strips, tofu strips, and the jicama-carrots mixture and herbs. Sprinkle with crushed roasted peanuts.

 Fold the two sides into the center over the filling. Then fold the bottom up and roll over to form a tight roll.

 

 

Divide the dipping sauce into each serving bowl. Add chili sauce or fresh chopped chili pepper. Sprinkle with crushed peanuts and fried shallots.

Quinoa-Okara-Bean Cakes

People who make tofu at home will know exactly what okara is. It is the soybean pulp left from making soy milk. I made tofu yesterday and saved the okara to make this cake recipe. The quinoa will add some crunchiness, and the beans properly contribute protein to this recipe. I found that any cooked beans will work – I have my own personal taste of beans that I use. I like to cook beans in a crockpot the day before as well to save time. Quinoa will cook in a rice cooker with a ratio of 2 to 1 (1 cup quinoa for 2 cups of water). To spice it up, I use steak seasoning, cumin, and cayenne. The steak seasoning can be easily bought in a store or be replaced with any choice of spices that you have on hand.
In summer, fire up the barbecue and get ready for these quinoa-bean burgers. Shape them ahead of time and keep them refrigerated until ready to party.

Ingredients:
1 cup okara
2 cups cooked beans mashed (pinto beans, black beans or chickpeas)
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup finely shredded carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
2 eggs
11/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp steak seasoning
2 cups panko breadcrumbs

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the panko breadcrumbs. Mix well. Shape the mixture into ten 3/4 inch thick patties.
Roll each patty in the panko breadcrumbs to cover completely. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Freeze immediately those not used. In a nonstick sauté pan, add some oil. Place the burgers on the hot pan and pan fry them for 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
If using a barbecue, prepare the outdoor grill as follows. When the charcoals are ready, grease a cold grill rack with nonstick cooking spray and place the rack on a grill. Grill the burgers over medium heat for 3 minutes. Turn and grill the other side for another 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with hamburger buns or enjoy them by themselves.

Sweet Cranberry Bread

My neighbor gave me a jar of cranberry jam that she made herself. I plan to make a sweet bread with this jam to give her on Thanksgiving Day. It would be an appropriate gift for that special day. This bread recipe is so easy using a bread machine to help and using the cranberry jam for the filling, which is a good combination of sweetness and tartness.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup skim milk or whole milk
2 eggs
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbs soft butter
3 cups bread flour
2 tsp active yeast

Filling:
1 cup cranberry jam

Directions:
Pour the water, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, butter, and flour into the bread machine's pan. Make a small indentation in the center of the flour (but not down as far as the liquid) and add the yeast. Select the dough function and press start. Remove the dough at the end of the kneading and rising cycle.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a 14" x 10" rectangle.

 Spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edges.

Roll up the dough starting from one long edge like a Swiss jelly roll and tucking in the edges to seal.

 Place seam side down on a prepared baking pan.

 Cover with lightly oiled clear plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 or 45 minutes, or until double in size.

Preheat the oven to 350° five minutes before the dough is ready to bake. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

 

 

Oatmeal Cookies

I have heard people say that classic traditions never go out of style. To choose what kind of snack that I should have is not a tough choice if I have classic oatmeal cookies in my kitchen.

Ingredients:
Dry ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Others
3 cups oatmeal (Quaker Oats)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup crainberry
Wet ingredients
2 eggs
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°.
In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well
In another bowl, combine oatmeal and raisins, as well
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars using the medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat ingredients until combined. Add the combined dry ingredients. Mix well. Add oats-raisins mixture. Mix well
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store in tightly sealed jar.

 

 

Chicken Egg Foo Young

Asians have different dishes using eggs, and egg foo young is a Chinese dish. I like to prepare this dish because it is a perfect way to enjoy a lazy weekend dinner. It is also up to each cook to prepare this dish as a big pancake or smaller one to serve individually.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Shoaxing wine or dry Sherry
1 cup chopped chicken breast (about 1/2 of chicken breast)
2 tbs vegetable oil or coconut oil
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup Napa cabbage, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup white onions, roughly chopped
White Sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbs Shaoxing wine
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch

Garnish with chopped green onions

Directions:
To make a sauce:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine all the sauce ingredients. Whisk until the cornstarch dissolves. Bring to a boil. Adjust the seasonings and cook until thickened. Keep the sauce warm.

To make egg foo young:
Blanch the bean sprouts and Napa cabbage. Drain and set aside
Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Stir fry chicken until court about 7 minutes. Add white onions, stir briefly, and remove.

In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs with salt, pepper, and rice wine. Add cooked chicken, blanched bean sprouts and Napa cabbage and mix well.

Heat oil. Swirl to spread oil over wok. Pour eggs mixture into wok and quickly stir until mixture slightly solidifies.

 Lightly flatten to form a pancake. Cook in a low- low heat setting to prevent the eggs from burning. Hold wok and move in circular motion until egg pancake is golden brown.

 Pour the warm sauce on top and sprinkle with green onions. Serve.