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.