Easy European Sponge Cake (Genoise)

 If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

 Lan

 A long time ago, I went to Goodwill and found an old cook book with the title "100 year old cook book".  I was curious back then when technology was not yet advanced like today. We did not have good ovens like Kitchen Aid to make a cake. However, our great grandmothers still found a way to bake a good cake or create good recipes to serve her family. Today, I came across this easy sponge cake or its other name Genoise, which is an Italian sponge cake named after the city of Genoa.  It surely is an easy cake, and also it can be the basic cake to create different cakes using this basic recipe. I share this recipe today without icing, but, you can use your creativity to wow your friends and family.

Ingredients:

6 to 7 eggs room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup self-rising flour* 

Pinch of salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat eggs for 2 minutes. Then gradually add sugar and continue to beat the egg for another 10 minutes. Do not skip this process. At this time you can add lemon zest and lemon juice (1 tablespoon), if using or any flavor that suits your taste.

Sift the flour into the egg mixture one third at the time. Fold flour with a spatula with each addition, until just incorporated. Scrape the spatula down to the bottom to catch any pockets of flour. Do not overmix the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the pan and let cool. Enjoy!

*To make your own, simply take 1 cup of all-purpose flour and mix it with 2 tsp. of baking powder.

Stir-fried Eggplant with Ground Turkey

If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

 Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

Lan

Stir-fried eggplant with ground turkey or chicken is a dish for which I used for making Mapo tofu. Instead of tofu, I used eggplant because eggplant has tremendous benefits, such as increased brain function, preventing anemia, improving bone health, etc... The Mapo sauce did not change much in terms of ingredients. However, each cook needs to add one or more ingredients to suit their taste buds. 

Ingredients:

1 eggplant (medium size)

1 lb. Ground turkey

1 tbs cooking wine

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbs fresh minced ginger (1 inch )

1 tbs salt

2 tbs oil

Sauce ingredients:

1 tsp miso paste

1 tsp chilli sauce, such as shiracha

2 tbs mirin

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 tsp honey or sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbs soy sauce

1/2 cup chicken stock

Thickening ingredients: 

1 tbs cornstarch

4 tbs water

Other ingredients:

4 green onions, sliced

Cilantro, chopped

Steamed rice

Directions:

Cut eggplant into bite-size pieces. Soak eggplant in water with salt for 30 minutes and then drain.

In a mixing bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients and mix well.

In another small bowl, mix thickening ingredients and set aside.

In a bowl, add ground turkey and marinate with soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, black pepper, and half of the minced garlic and minced ginger.

Heat a deep sauté pan or wok with oil. Stir in the other half of the minced ginger and minced garlic. Cook until fragrant.

Add ground turkey. Cook for 2 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in eggplant, cook for 5 minutes or until soft when pierced with a fork and lightly browned.

Stir in sauce and bring to boil. Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the thickening mixture and cook until the sauce is thickened.

Add sliced green onions and cilantro. Turn the heat off.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

Garlic Butter Baked Salmon

Salmon has always been a fish rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. It is also high in B vitamins and a good source of potassium. Other benefits of consuming salmon daily or weekly are that it may reduce the risk of heart disease and assist weight loss. There are many easy recipes to cook salmon. Today, I will share with my bloggers the fastest way to bake salmon with very few ingredients, but the result is fantastic.

Ingredients:

Two -6 oz. Boneless, skinless salmon fillets

1 tbs fresh, minced garlic

1 tsp honey

2 tsp melted butter

2 tsp lemon juice or lime juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup sliced sweet onions

Equiptment: baking dish 

Directions:

Place sweet onions on the bottom of the baking dish.

Place salmon on top of the onions.

Combine garlic, honey, melted butter, lemon juice, and salt, and then pour over the salmon.

Preheat oven to 350° and bake the salmon for 10 to 15 minutes.

Sprinkle fresh chopped parley on top of salmon after baking.

Do not ask "Why?"

Zen Master Suzuki has countless students from all over the world who come looking for instruction. With his lectures, they often ask a question, "Why?".

Suzuki says that, in Japan, hardly anyone thinks of the word "Why?" when you say something. Although he admires his students' curiosity and sincerity, he tells them that sometimes always asking "Why" will hinder each person's improvement.

Because, when our mind is still wondering and questioning too many things, it will be difficult to focus on learning. According to Suzuki, once believing in his teacher, the student's job is to diligently follow his teacher's instructions. At some point, when they have had enough experience, they will probably find the answer on their own.

Suzuki often told his students, "In the first five years, don't turn down any job. Just do it".

Conclusion: There are many stories in life that have no answers. We just need to accept as is, that's all.

Easy Pigs In a Blanket

According to the American Heritage dictionary, pigs in a blanket are made with hot dogs, Vienna sausages, or sausage links. Typically, the sausage or hot dog is wrapped in croissant dough or biscuits. This recipe is for a quick breakfast or appetizer at a party. This is also a finger food, so sometimes they are made in a small size to be eaten by using one’s fingers rather than using a knife and fork. They can be made ahead of time and frozen until needed, so it is commonly served at many parties or potlucks. I will introduce this recipe using store-bought biscuits.

Ingredients:

1 can of jumbo biscuit dough (any brand that you prefer)

8 hot dogs

1 cup grated cheese (I use the 5 Mexican Fiesta Blend cheese)

2 tbs melted butter

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Rollout the biscuit dough in oval shapes and flatten each of them.

Add 2 tbs grated cheese onto the biscuit dough and then top with a hot dog. 

Roll dough around each hot dog, pinching to seal and place seam side down on the prepared baking sheet.

Brush each with melted butter and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Serve warm.

Flourless Coconut Cookies

If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

 Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

 Lan

My favorite snack is coconut cookies. Some recipes are called coconut macaroons. They have identical ingredients or many other recipes will add chocolate. A crispy outside and crunchiness inside will be the result of this recipe presented today.  I like this recipe because it has only a few ingredients and does not use flour. I think this recipe is a winner for a healthy snack when substituting honey for sugar. However, the texture of these coconut cookies will be less crunchy without sugar. 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups coconut flakes 

2 tbs coconut oil

1/4 cup honey or 1/4 cup sugar

1 egg or 2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place egg, oil, and honey in a blender and blend for a few seconds.

Add the coconut flakes into the blender with the egg mixture and pulse a few times.

Using a spatula, scrape the mixture from the blender into a bowl.

Use a small ice scream scoop to remove the mixture and to form each cookie. 

Place the formed cookies onto the prepared baking sheet, flatten each formed cookie, and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.

Easy Quick Kimchi

Enjoyasimplelife

 If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

 Lan

 

Kimchi is considered a national food of Korea. This is a side dish often served in every Korean restaurant. The common ingredient for Kimchi is fermented Napa cabbage, but other ingredients such as daikon, carrots, and onions can be added. The world of making Korean Kimchi has a long history. Kimchi is a good side dish to accompany other dishes like fish or meat to make a complete satisfying meal. The fermenting process used to make Kimchi gives this nutritious side dish a stamp of approval by a health fanatical world. However, this is not my place to go on and on about the benefit of consuming Kimchi. I will now introduce a quick and easy way to make Kimchi at home with only a few ingredients.

Ingredients:

1/2 head of Napa cabage

2 tbs salt (Korean salt for making Kimchi)

Sauce ingredients:

3 tbs fish sauce

3 tbs sugar

3 tbs vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

Other ingredients:

1 carrot, julienned

1/2 small white onion, sliced

1 small bunch of chives, cut in 2 inch lengths

Spices:

4 garlic cloves

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled

2 hot chili peppers

2 tbs Korean red chili flakes

Directions:

Cut Napa cabbage into bite-size pieces. Place Napa cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle with 2 tbs salt. Leave it for 2 hours.

Combine all the spices in a mini food processor and blend into a paste.

To make sauce:

Combine all the sauce ingredients with the spice paste and mix well and then set aside.

After two hours, wash Napa cabbage and squeeze out all the excess water. 

Place the Napa cabbage, sliced onions, carrots and chives in a mixing bowl. Pour the spice mixture on top and toss to combine.

Taste to your family’s liking with more sugar, fish sauce, and vinegar.

Put the Kimchi in a clean glass jar with lid. It will be ready in a few hours. It can be refrigerated for weeks. The flavor will actually improve in just a day.

This is a quick and easy Kimchi, which does not contain salted shrimp and rice sauce as among the traditional Kimchi ingredients. 

Pad Kee Mao --Drunken Noodles

If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

 Lan

Pad Kee Mao, also known as drunken noodles, is a Thai stir-fry dish. The name of this dish can be confusing, which means that there must be a lot of alcohol in this dish to make us drunk after eating. However, that is just the way the Thai people want to name this recipe. Some Thai cooks explain that this dish is very spicy and that only a drunk person who does not know anymore can consume it. I think this explanation is funny. However, I am Vietnamese, so I do not fully understand the name of the dish, but I do know that it's a very easy stir-fry dish that doesn't have to follow any hard rules like many other stir-fry dishes. The ingredients used can also vary according to the taste of each family. The sauce of this stir-fry dish is very simple and commonly used for all the stir-fry dishes in Asian recipes. The only ingredient that I think makes this dish truly authentic Pad Kee Mao are the thick fresh rice noodles. I use pad Thai noodles for this dish, and it is always easy to find in many Asian markets.  With my style of cooking, I will introduce an easy Pad Kee Mao or drunken noodles dish that everyone can prepare at home.

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast, sliced (2 oz. meat per person)

1 tbs cornstarch

8 oz. Pad Thai noodles

2 tbs canola oil

2 shallots or 1/2 red onions, chopped

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 piece fresh ginger, minced (1 tsp )

3 red hot Thai chili peppers

Vegetables:

1 green bell pepper, julienned

1 zucchini, julienned

3 green onions, chopped

2 roma tomato, sliced

Thai basil (use as much as you like)

Sauce ingredients:

1/4 cup oyster sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbs dark soy sauce (I use black molasses)

1 tbs fish sauce

1 /2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tbs sugar or honey

1 tbs sriracha sauce

Directions:

Soak the Pad Thai noodles for 15 minutes; then drain well. If you use different noodles, then cook noodles according to the package instructions.

In a bowl, mix sauce ingredients and set aside.

Place chicken in a bowl with 2 tbs of sauce and cornstarch to mix together well. Let chicken marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Heat 1 tbs of oil in deep sauté pan; then add onions. Cook onions until wilted and add chicken. 

Add garlic and ginger and cook for a minute. Add hot chili, if using

Add bell pepper, zucchini, and tomato and cook for 3 minutes.

Add noodles and pour sauce over noodles. Toss and cook further for the sauce to coat the chicken well for a few minutes. 

Add chopped basil and green onion and serve hot.

 

Tip : the amount of the sauce is more than necessary for this recipe. Save it for another dish. 

If life gives you a choice, don't hesitate to choose an honest life

The Sahara desert has always been considered a dead land, and it is difficult for people who go to this desert to find a way back alive. But in 1814, an archeology team broke it. At that time, seeing many white bones appearing everywhere in the desert, the team leader asked his members to bury the unfortunate dead people, then use branches or anything outstanding to make graves for them.

However, because the number of people dying in the desert was so many, they didn't have much time to bury each skeleton, so one of the crew members immediately said, "We are here to study, not to bury human bones."

The team leader was still very determined to say: "These skeletons may have been our colleagues; would you mercilessly watch them lie alone on the sand?".

A week later, the archaeological team discovered ancient fossils, these discoveries may shock the whole world, the archeology team decided to leave in glee, but a sandstorm emerged, the sun was obstructed, and the compass stopped working.

The archeology team was completely disoriented, the food and water that was brought with them was also about to run out; now they understood why their previous colleagues could not return. In the urgent situation, the suddenly team leader said, "Don't despair, do you remember we left a lot of signs on the way while burying all the skeletons?"

And so they followed the tombstones they had placed and finally found their way out. When responding to interviews, many members of the archeology team said: "It is thanks to our kind hearts that helped us get out of the desert!".

In the sandy and windy desert, they made the choice to do good, and it is the same good deed that helped them find their way home.

In our life, kindness should be the compass in each person's heart, because when we use our good hearts, we will not go wrong forever.

Tilapia with Lemon Butter Sauce

If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

 Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

 Lan

Lemon butter sauce is another word for francaise sauce. This is a synthetic sauce made from butter, lemon juice, olive oil, and shallots or onions. It is a sauce that is made very quickly, so it is very suitable for people who have busy lives. Traditionally, this dish is cooked with very thinly sliced chicken, but, because of my family's way of dieting, I use tilapia fish. This sauce also can go well with shrimp or other seafood. 

Ingredients:

2 tilapia fillets

2 tbs flour

1/4 tsp salt 

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 egg

Sauce ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 red onion, chopped or 1/2 cup total

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 roma tomato, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

To make the sauce:

In a sauce pan, add butter and oil. Heat until hot and stir in garlic and onions. Cook for 3 minutes. Add wine and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the sauce is reduced by half. Add lemon juice and zest; then add the roma tomatoes. Let cook for another 2 minutes. Turn the heat off and stir in fresh chopped parsley.

To prepare the fish:

Thaw fish if frozen

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and pepper.

In another bowl, beat egg; then flavor egg with salt and pepper as well.

Cover the fish on both sides with flour; shake the excess flour off the fish; then dip the fish in the egg mixture.

Heat about 1 tbs olive oil in a sauté pan; then add fish. Cook each side of the fish for 2 minutes over medium temperature.

Place fish on a serving plate and pour sauce over them.

Serve with noodles of your choice.

Malaysian Chicken Curry

If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

 Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

 Lan

When I speak of curry, everyone knows that I mean Asian food. Throughout Asia and much of the world too, curry is very popular. The recipes are very similar except that each region will use slightly different spices to make it authentic. However, there will never be curry dishes without coconut milk, potatoes, and other vegetables depending on the region. Today, I will introduce a curry from Malaysia. I will make this recipe very simple, and the only hard part is the spices used. Even though I said it is hard, most Asian family kitchens already have all the necessary ingredients to make spices for curry at home.  Nowadays, curry spices are made available and sold in Asian food markets and in some American grocery stores. So, if you don't want to create your own curry seasoning, you can purchase a ready-made curry spice pack.

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into bite-size pieces

4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 shallots, peeled and minced

One 14.5 oz. Can of coconut milk

1 cup chicken broth

2 cups green beans

1 small white onion, sliced

3 tbs curry powder (see at bottom how to create homemade Malaysian curry powder)

1/4 cup oil

Season with:

Fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and black pepper to taste

Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro

Serve with rice or bread

Directions:

Add diced chicken in a bowl with lid. Add 1 tbs curry powder; equal of 1 tsp fish sauce, sugar, salt and mix well. Cover and marinate the chicken for a few hours.

Heat oil in a deep sauté pan. Add garlic, ginger, onions and the remaining of the curry powder. Stir and cook until fragrant about 3 minutes. Add chicken; stir and cook until chicken coat with the curry powder mixture.

Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Season with some salt at this time.

Cook for 15 minutes; then add the coconut milk and green beans. Bring back to boil for 10 minutes

At this time, start to season again with fish sauce, sugar, and salt to your liking.

Cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, and add green onions and cilantro. Serve with rice or bread. 

How to make homemade Malaysian curry powder:

Combine and mix well the following and store in a glass jar with lid:

2 tablespoons turmeric

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon powder

1 tablespoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon cloves powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon ginger powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 tablespoon cayenne chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika powder

 

The Perfect Heart

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said "Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine."

The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing. The people stared - how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought? The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state and laughed.

"You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."

"Yes," said the old man, "Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart. But, because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges - giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people, I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side. How sad it must be to go through life with a whole heart.

 

Author unknown

Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops

If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

 Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

 Lan

During this Covid-19 lockdown, I would like to share an easy recipe for preparing pork chops by grilling in a pan. Even though it is a quick recipe, it is not less flavorful than the pork chops that are served in the Vietnamese restaurants. There are so many recipes for marinating pork chops. The best are those that result in the pork chops being soft, moist and flavorful. This easy recipe will satisfy most of the hard food critics.

Ingredients:

2 pork chops

Marinate sauce ingredients:

1 stalk of lemongrass (the white part)

3 garlic cloves

2 shallots

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs fish sauce

2 tbs orange marmalade or honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tbs ruou mai que lo (Vietnamese herbal liquor for marinating – optional or you can use sake)

2 tbs peanut oil

Serve with rice.

Garnish with green onions and cilantro

Vietnamese dipping sauce (see directions at bottom)

Directions:

Wash the pork chops with water, salt, and vinegar. Drain and dry well.

In a blender or food processor, combine all the marinate ingredients and blend into a paste.

Place the pork chops in a Zip Loc bag and pour the marinade ingredients over them. Seal the bag and coat well. 

Let the pork marinade for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator is even better.

Let the pork chops sit out at the room temperature for 1 hour to reduce the cold before grilling.

Heat a nonstick pan with a little oil. Grill the pork chops for 4 minutes on each side over medium heat, turning frequently until cooked through.

Serve with rice and dipping sauce on the side.

To make Vietnamese dipping sauce:

1 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs sugar

2 tbs water

1 tbs lemon juice 

Other ingredients: minced garlic and hot fresh chili, chopped

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Easy Semi-Homemade Chicken Fajita

If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

 Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

 Lan

A fajita is a type of Mexican cuisine that uses meat to grill or cook in cast-iron pan. It is usually served on a flour or corn tortilla. I am Asian, and rice traditionally accompanies Asian meals. I think fajita served with rice is healthier than corn or flour tortilla. Although, the other side dishes that come with fajita, such as shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream salsa, or guacamole are very good, but it is not necessary to serve it over rice. For this easy recipe, I like to use the fajita seasoning that is sold in most grocery stores with any brand that suits your taste. This method will save time, especially if your kitchen does not have the necessary spices to make fajita. I add fresh garlic to the marinade because it will enhance the flavor for this dish..

 Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips

1 sweet red bell pepper or a combination of green and yellow peppers, julienned

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 small red onion, peeled and sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Spices:

1 package fajita seasoning

1/4 cup avocado oil

1 tbs lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Serve with steamed rice

Chopped cilantro

Directions:

In two medium bowls, place chicken in one bowl and sweet pepper in the other bowl. Divide the seasoning equally and add to both of them. Add 1/2 of the oil, minced garlic, and lime juice to the chicken and mix well.

Heat the cast-iron stick skillet with the rest of the oil until hot.

Add chicken strips and cook until the turned chicken is no longer pink (about 5 minutes).

Add red onions and bell pepper.

Season with some salt and black pepper to suit your taste.

I use soy sauce to season my fajita (your choice).

Cook until bell pepper and red onions are wilted. Turn the heat off and add green onions and cilantro.

Now the fajita is ready to serve.

Tip: if you do not want to use ready-made fajita seasoning, here are the spices to make your own:

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Semi-homemade Swedish Meatballs

If you are viewing my cooking and baking blog, enjoyasimplelife.blogspot.com, for the first time or are a frequent viewer, I have not made many additional entries to the blog for quite some time.  The reason for this is that I have made a move to a new home in a different state, and the cooking arrangements are not quite ideal at this time. There are additional reasons that should be resolved soon. When this happens, I will gladly post additional easy-to-follow, photo-illustrated entries that I am certain you will enjoy preparing for yourself and others. In the meantime, I have already published more than 1300 recipes on this website that you can have access to now at no cost to you except for your time and your own desire to try something new. To search for something of your liking, simply enter a word or group of words, such as shrimp, chicken, egg rolls, or dipping sauce, etc., in the search box in the upper left-hand corner or the Search This Blog at the very bottom of this page. Then click the magnifying glass search symbol or the word Search to the right of the word(s). Immediately, all the recipes I have in my blog that contain the word or words just entered will appear in the order they were posted.

 Occasionally, depending on the search engine, such as Google, other websites will appear before my blog address. You may need to look for the words, Enjoy Life, when looking for my blog as you scroll down the entries that appear first. Good luck! And thanks for visiting my blog.

 Lan

I heard so often that every American family will have its own meatballs recipe that is passed down to family generations. This post will introduce the Swedish meatballs .The common meatballs are served in a tangy, often chunky, tomato sauce or marinara sauce. Usually, Swedish meatballs are cooked in a rich, roux-based gravy sauce. The sauce can be made with beef broth, but in my recipe, I use chicken broth instead. I call this semi-homemade Swedish  meatballs because  the meatballs that are sold at Ikea or other grocers are very good. Also, this will cut the time of making meatballs, and in the busy world now, this recipe is very helpful. The Swedish meatballs are good because of the creamy gravy sauce and can be served with egg noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes. 

Ingredients:

2 lbs. turkey meatballs

Sauce ingredients:

3 tbs butter

1 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat a sauté pan with butter, oil, and flour, and then whisk until it turns brown; stir in minced garlic. Slowly stir in chicken broth and cream. Add Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. Bring to a boil; add the meatballs, and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over egg noodles or rice.

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Chocolate Cookies Cake

A friend of mine sent me this recipe that she learned during the Covid-19 lockdown. The ingredients are so simple: there are cookies, milk, and baking powder. I feel a little skeptical about this recipe, but today after making this cake, I am confident enough to post this recipe for all my blog fans who frequently visit my blog. My friend uses the regular cookies with chocolate. I use the Oreo cookies. I remove the filling from the cookies and add some of chocolate to make a frosting for this cake. I can share the easy chocolate frosting recipe as well.

Ingredients:

1 package of chocolate cookies or Oreo cookies (your choice) about 450 gr

1 ½ cups of milk, skim or whole milk

1 tbs baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Line an 8” x 8” cake pan with parchment paper.

Place the cookies in a blender and blend until fine crumbs.

Pour the cookies crumbs in a large mixing bowl.

Add baking powder. Mix well.

Pour milk into the cookie crumbs. I use a handheld blender and blend until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let it cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate frosting for this cake:

1 stick softened butter

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup milk

Whip butter and cocoa together until smooth in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar; stir in milk slowly because you might not need all of the 1/4 cup milk.

If you use Oreo cookies, the filling of the cookies can be used with the frosting. Melt the Oreo cookies filling and add into the frosting.

This is an easy cake to create in no time. Experience for yourself and make changes as you go.

 

Asian Grilled or Baked Chicken

The Asian marinade for meat is a combination of Asian spices, such as lemongrass, garlic, and shallot. This grilled or baked chicken is easy to create using most ingredients that people can easily find in American supermarkets. This recipe is fantastic because it can be cooked on the stove, on the outdoor grill, or baked in the oven. The Vietnamese people use dipping sauce for this recipe when served over rice; the Thai people will serve a cucumber salad on the side. The chicken is good by itself, but I will include the recipes for making the Vietnamese dipping sauce and Thai cucumber salad, as well. 

Ingredients:

3 lbs. chicken thighs, bone in (you can use the skinless and boneless)

The marinade ingredients:

2 stalks lemongrass, white part only and finely chopped

3 green onions, white part only, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced (about 1/4 cup)

2 tbs equal parts fish sauce, soy sauce, and dry sherry cooking wine

1 tsp salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbs corn syrup or honey

1/3 cup oil

1 fresh chilli, chopped (optional) 

Other ingredients:

Cilantro

Steamed rice

Cucumber salad (see recipe below)

Directions:

Wash and dry the chicken.

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well. You can place them in a blender and blend well. Adjust the taste to your family’s liking.

In a container with a lid, place the chicken inside and pour the marinade on top. Cover the container with the lid and marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

For outdoor grilling, follow the instructions that come with with your grill.

For the stove top, heat a cast-iron pan. (I prefer the cast-iron pan, but you can use any pan that you have). Add the chicken (skin side down). Cook each side for 4 minutes or until it cooks through. 

For using the oven:

Preheat the oven to 400°.  Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil (it makes for easy clean up later). Place chicken (skin side up) on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, and then turn the chicken over to bake the other side for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

The marinade sauce remaining can be used to bake the chicken during grilling or baking. For the stove top, pour in the marinade sauce and cook alongside with the chicken halfway through the cooking time.

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro before serving.

To make the cucumber salad, you will need the following: 1 English cucumber, 3 shallots or red onion (about 1 cup), 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 cup sugar.

Cook vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Let t cool.

You either can slice, dice, or quarter the cucumber (it is your preference). 

Slice or dice the red onions.

Add the cucumber, red onions, and red pepper flakes to the cool vinegar. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes before serving.

To make Vietnamese dipping sauce, I use the ratio of 1-1-1-2, which means 1 tbs fish sauce, 1 tbs sugar, 1 tbs lemon juice, and 2 tbs water. Ajdust the seasoning to your liking.  You can add 1 minced garlic clove and fresh chili to the dipping sauce.

HINT: when using the stove top or outdoor grilling, place the green part of lemongrass beneath the chicken.

A Smiling Spouse is Your Ticket to a Healthier, Longer Life

 

New York: Having a happy, smiling partner can keep you healthy and fit as you enter middle age and move towards the golden years, say researchers, adding that simply having a happy partner may enhance health as much as striving to be happy oneself.

 “A smiling spouse is your ticket to a healthier, longer life". This finding significantly broadens assumptions about the relationship between happiness and health, suggesting a unique social link," said William Chopik, assistant Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University.

In the study of 1,981 middle-age couples, researchers found that people with happy spouses were much more likely to report better health over time.

Previous research suggests happy people are generally healthy people but Chopik wanted to take it one step further by exploring the health effects of interpersonal relationships.

According to him, happy partners likely provide stronger social support, such as care-taking, as compared to unhappy partners who are more likely to be focused on their own stressors.

"Happy partners may get unhappy people involved with activities and environments that promote good health, such as maintaining regular sleep cycles, eating nutritious food, and exercising," Chopik added.

Being with a happy partner should make a person's life easier even if not explicitly happier.

"Simply knowing that one's partner is satisfied with his or her individual circumstances may temper a person's need to seek self-destructive outlets, such as drinking or drugs, and may more generally offer contentment in ways that afford health benefits down the road," Chopik pointed out.

The study examined the survey information of couples age 50 to 94, including happiness, self-rated health, and physical activity over a six-year period.

The results showed no difference between husbands and wives in the study.

The study was published by the American Psychological Association in the journal, Health Psychology.

The New Indian Express