Cinnamon-Apple Quick Bread

This quick bread with a combination of apple and dry fruits certainly is a good way for brightening a day. Pack a few slices for and afternoon snack without feeling guilty.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups apples, peeled, cored, and shredded
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dry cranberries
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

Directions:
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
Combine shredded apples, raisins, and cranberries in another bowl and mix well.
In a medium bowl, beat well the sugar, egg, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the sugar-egg mixture. Fold in the apple-dry fruit mixture.
Transfer the batter into an 8" x 4" loaf pan. Coat with cooking spray. Bake in a preheated oven set to 350° for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing the bread from the loaf pan onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Vietnamese Carrot and Daikon Pickle Dish

My mother created this simple pickle dish to accompany many other dishes in our family's Vietnam Little Home restaurant. I remember that every time we made this pickle dish, it always needed a large quantity of carrots and daikons so that this pickle dish could then last for a few months. I think that a simple way to cut the carrots and daikons is to julienne them into the shape of a matchstick, and the best equipment to help for faster cutting is having a mandoline. After enjoying the sweet-sour crunchiness of this pickle , some other Asian dishes will not be complete without using it. I cut down the quantity of ingredients for the recipe here so that it will be easier to prepare in the home kitchen.
Ingredients:
1 lb. carrots, julienned (2 inches long and 1/8 inch wide)
1 lb. daikons, julienned (2 inches long and 1/8 inch wide)
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup salt

Directions:
In a large colander, place the julienned carrots and daikons and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of salt. Let carrots and daikons soak with salt for 1 hour.
In a saucepan, combine water, vinegar, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let the vinegar cool off.
After 1 hour, wash the soaked carrots and daikons. Squeeze out the excess water and place them in a clean jar. Pour the vinegar over them and close the lid. The pickle dish will be ready the next day.

Sweet Memory Recipe- Fish with Pineapple And Tomato

When I lived in Chicago, my family used to own a restaurant, the Vietnam Little Home, and it was a beginning of my journey when I first arrived in the United States in July of 1984 from Vietnam. I have so many sweet memories from our family's restaurant from the beginning when all of us were working together trying to create a business in the new country where everything was so unfamiliar to us – the people, the language and the culture. My father worked the early shift as a line cook at the St. Francis Hospital in Evanston and used the remaining hours of his day to shop for all the groceries for the restaurant. My mother was the primary chef in a tiny kitchen but she created so many wonderful dishes. Some of the dishes were from our family traditions but most of them were created during the time we owned the restaurant to suit the tastes of our predominantly Westerner customers. Thinking back at those years, I always feel that those were the best memories that I shared with my family because we all pulled together as a family to make the Vietnam Little Home successful. Working together generated enough income to help pay for the educational expenses of all my brothers and sisters. I will never forget the smile on my father's face when I reported to him that the sales went up on a Friday night. I knew at that moment, our restaurant would have a chance to be successful despite the fact that I did not speak a work of English at that time. The customers continued to support our restaurant because of my mother's recipes, and possibly the unconventional hostess with all her charms – me :-). I will now share one of the recipes for one of the dishes on the menu of the Vietnam Little Home so you can be the judge. Additional VLH recipes will be revealed later.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb white fish fillets, such as catfish, cod, or tilapia
2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 ripe tomato, wedged
2 cups bean sprouts
2 cups celery (use traditional fresh Taro stems)
2 cups fresh okra, sliced diagonally
1 cup white onions, wedged
Broth:
4 cups seafood or chicken stock
2 cups water
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs lemon juice or tamarind powder
1 tbs tom yum paste
Garnish:
Fresh julienned mint leaves, chopped green onions, and sliced hot chili peppers
Directions:
Cut fish fillets into 4 inch chunks.
In a large pot, place broth and all the seasonings. Bring to a boil. Add fish and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add all the vegetables except the bean sprouts. Bring soup back to a boil and continue cooking for 5 minutes. In a serving bowl, place bean sprouts and ladle soup over them. Sprinkle with mint leaves, green onions, and hot chili peppers.
We served this soup as an appetizer in our restaurant, but it can be served as a main meal as the photo shows with a plate of vegetables and a bowl of cooked rice noodles

Moroccan Chicken In Crockpot

What’s nice about this recipe is how simple the ingredients are and how having total control of the spices used can change this dish to represent any country's cuisine. My recipe here uses a combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, garlic, and cumin, which is typical of the Moroccan cuisine. I love to use a crockpot on a lazy, relaxing day. Browning the chicken before placing them into the crockpot will create more flavor and the aroma is wonderful!
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs, bone in, skin removed
2 tbs coconut oil
1 medium sweet white onion, cut into wedges
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped
1 tsp fresh garlic, chopped
1 tbs honey
2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 can of 14.50 oz stewed tomatoes, puréed'
1/2 cup black or green olives
1/4 cup raisins
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs fresh thyme (optional)

Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Directions:
In a nonstick saucepan, add coconut oil. Put chicken in hot oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper until all sides are golden brown. Remove chicken and set aside.

In the same saucepan, add a little more oil. Add onions, ginger, garlic and cook until fragrant.

Stir in cinnamon, cumin, fresh thyme, and honey and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato puree' and bring to a boil.

Place the browned chicken and carrots into a crockpot and pour the tomato mixture on top.

Turn to high for 3 hours. In the last hour, add olives and raisins. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Easy Healthy Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
 1 cup cake mix
2 tbs coconut oil
1/3 cup skim milk

1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven set to 350°. Fill muffin tins with paper muffin liners.
Add chia seeds into the milk and let chia seeds gel for 15 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, whisk egg, sugar, and coconut oil until fluffy. Add the milk-chia seeds gel and mix well. Stir in cake mix, vanilla and whisk until combined. Add blueberries into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper muffin liners up to 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Sweet & Sour Fillet of Fish

Everyday, I try to improve my way of cooking by introducing new recipes from myself or that I have been collected from friends or famous chefs. However, most cooks like me will always tweak the recipes a little for our own tastes yet still remain true to the authenticity of the cuisines. The sweet and sour fish recipe presented here is guaranteed to make everyone happy.
Ingredients:
Two 6 oz. salmon or cod fillets
Marinade sauce:
2 tbs cooking wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Cooking sauce:
1/2 cup water
2 tbs ketchup
2 tbs rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tbs wine
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tsp cornstarch
Accompany with:
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet white onions
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs minced fresh gingers
1 tbs hot chili paste

Garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro

Directions:
Combine the marinade sauce ingredients in a bowl and add the fish. Let fish marinate for 30 minutes
In another bowl, combine the cooking sauce ingredients and mix well.
Spray fish with cooking oil and bake in preheated oven set to 400° for 15 minutes. While the fish is baking, heat 2 tbs coconut oil and stir-fry the accompany with ingredients until fragrant (about 5 inutes). Add the cooking sauce. Cook until thickened. Pour over fish. Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro.

Chia-Fruit Juice Jello

The natural fruit juice and gelatin make this jello 100% foolproof and an excellent dessert for either adults or kids. After making this jello at home, you will never buy an already prepared fruit gelatin packet in the market again.
Ingredients:
4 cups of a combination of unsweetened juices (your choice)*
1 tbs chia seeds
1 tbs honey
1 tbs gelatin powder (for firm jello, add another 1/2 tbs)

Garnish with fresh fruit, such as strawberries, grape and blueberries

Directions:
Place chia seeds in 1 cup of unsweetened juice and let it sit for 15 minutes to create a gel. Add the rest of the juice and honey into a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in gelatin powder and the chia seeds gel in a cup of juice. Bring it back to a simmer or until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and pour the gelatin mixture into a serving cup. Let chill for few hours. Serve fruit jello with fresh fruit.

* I use 2 cups of red ruby grapefruit juice and 2 cups of cranberry juice.