Wheat-Bean Bread

Since I have owned an automatic bread machine, I have made many kinds of breads. It is a remarkable kitchen appliance that takes the kneading, proofing, and frustration out of baking bread. Last week, when my family visited me, they were so impressed with my baking talent. Even though I showed them exactly that I was assisted by a bread machine, they were still overwhelmed that I could make so many fresh loaves of breads every day – from simple white bread to whole grain, vegetable, and fruit bread as well as dinner rolls, all of which are preservative-free and healthy with different choices of flour. I created this recipe for my family, and they enjoyed this type of bread very much.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 egg
2 tbs coconut oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
1 cup wheat flour
2 ¼ cups bread flour
2 tsp active yeast
1/4 cup cooked corn
1/4 cup cooked beans (Navy beans used here)

Directions:
Place all the ingredients up to the yeast into a bread machine pan. Select the dough function and press start. In the last 10 minutes before the kneading is done, add corn and beans. When the dough has risen long enough, the machine will beep. Turn off bread machine and remove the dough in the bread pan. Place dough onto a lightly floured countertop. Spray some oil onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with some flour. Cut dough into 6 equal portions and form them into round or square shapes (your choice).

Cover dough with towel and let rise  for anther hour or until double in size.

 

 

 

 Preheat oven to 350° and bake bread for 30 minutes.

Crispy Shrimp Cakes

I have to admit that I dislike waiting for anything. I love to cook, but I do not like to wait in supermarket checkout lines. Most of my recipes are always very simple with a short list of the ingredients, most of which are already in the pantry or refrigerator. I learned to develop my cooking skills in various ways – from my mom, from cookbooks, and from many trusted websites or food bloggers. I realize that modern cooking skills are often the better way now because our society now is more impatient. Finally, we are moving toward healthier choices of food, cutting back some from fat and red meat, and adding more beans and vegetables. The crispy shrimp cakes recipe here will speak volumes to the aforementioned.

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup cooked beans (your choice of beans)
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 chopped red and green bell pepper (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup white onion
2 green onions
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp old bay seasoning
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 ½ cups panko bread crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs)
Vegetable oil for pan frying the cakes
Serve with sweet soy dipping sauce, grilled cherry tomatoes, and zucchini.

Directions:
In a sauté pan, add 1 tbs oil. When oil is hot, add white onion and garlic (stir until fragrant). Stir in red and green bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted. Let cool.
In a food processor, combine shrimp, egg, beans, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, horseradish, sour cream, salt, pepper, cayenne and 1 cup of panko. Pulse a few times to chop the shrimp. Remove and place onto a mixing bowl. Add the cooked vegetables with shrimp mixture and mix well.
Wash your hands and form into 10 cakes. Roll each cake completely into the remaining panko bread crumbs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in skillet and fry each cake on each side about 3 minutes or until done.
While the shrimp cake is being cooked, grill cherry tomatoes in another sauté pan with oil. Serve with dipping sauce.

Quick sweet soy dipping sauce:
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs vinegar
2 tbs hot water
1 tsp sugar
fresh chili and garlic
Mix well

Apple-Pear Sour Cream Cake

I have made this cake dozens of times for breakfast, brunches, a gift to welcome a new neighbor, or simply get together with friends. This simple cake is very moist because it has apples, pears, and sour cream. Nuts are another ingredient that can be added for more flavor. The cake mix is very helpful for this recipe because it saves time. This kind of cake served as breakfast after a long walk is a perfect choice, accompanied with fresh fruits in season, and a cup of Latte is heaven.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 cup melted coconut oil and cooled
1/4 cup butter melted and cooled
1 cup total of finely diced apples and pears
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
Crumb topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 tbs butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9 inch tube or Bundt cake pan.

First prepare the crumb topping: in a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, walnuts, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, allspice, and nutmeg.

 

 In another small bowl, combine melted oil, butter, eggs and sour cream and mix until they all well

combined. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir the butter mixture into the well. Stir until the batter is just smooth and velvety.

 Stir in diced apples and pears.

 Spread cake batter in the prepared pan.

 Sprinkle with crumb topping.

Bake cake for 1 hour or until the crumbs are lightly browned and the cake tester comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes. Invert the cake pan and remove the cake over a serving plate.

 

Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

More than ever, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gives energy for the whole day even if lunch can be forgotten. To keep a waistline in good shape, it is  always important to have a good breakfast. Recently studies have shown that a sweet potato is very nutritious and helps to fill an empty stomach fast and stay full for hours. This recipe can be 50% completed at night. Then in the morning, the assembled ingredients can be baked in the oven for 15 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato, washed and cut into big chunks
1/2 cup chopped white onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 tabs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs coconut oil

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add potato and cook for 5 minutes. Drain potato.
In a cast iron pan, add oil. Stir in rosemary and cook for a couple of minutes. Add white onions and garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add potato and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Cook for another 2 minutes. At this point, if this dish is to be finished in the morning, remove the ingredients from the pan and refrigerate. In the morning, preheat oven to 375°. Return the refrigerated ingredients to the cast iron pan and place it into the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes.

Chocolate Cocoa Truffles

I know that a truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean fungus and as such is not very appealing to many, and some truffle species are quite rare and highly prized as a food in many countries. However, the chocolate cocoa truffle recipe presented here has nothing to do with a fungus or mushroom. Chocolate truffles, whose appearance resemble the black Périgord truffles fungi, are one of foods that I enjoy to satisfy my cravings for chocolate – either as a snack or even dessert. These chocolate truffles also make ideal Christmas presents in a nice gift box and not many can say no to these wonderful, delicious, easy to make, chocolate cocoa truffles.

Ingredients:
1 can of chocolate frosting (your choice of brand name)
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup dried fruits (such as raisins, cranberries, blueberries, etc.)
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup roasted nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts or combination)

Directions:
Bring a small pot of water to boil. Place the unsweetened chocolate in a stainless steal bowl over boiling water to melt the chocolate.

In a small food processor, combine the nuts and dried fruit and chop to small pieces.

When the chocolate is melted, blend frosting and the fruit-nut mixture into the melted chocolate. Mix well and chill until thick and workable.

 

 

 

Form into 1 inch balls and roll in cocoa powder. Refrigerate until the truffles are ready to place into box or put on a plate decorated with fresh fruits and served.

Cherry Tomatoes Salad

Nothing is more refreshing than a bowl of fresh cherry tomatoes salad in summer. This year, my garden produced lots of cherry tomatoes. Unfortunately, I had to compete with hungry deer that keep eating my tomatoes. I did not have this dear problem last year, but since there has been a shortage of rain recently and the deer’s habitat near my home is being destroyed to construct new homes, the deer have been forced to find other sources of food and water, such as my new rosebuds, strawberry plant leaves, and a large quantity of my newly ripened tomatoes. Although I was initially disappointed with the deer’s consumption of my bountiful crop, the feeling was immediately replaced by sympathy for the hungry deer were just trying to survive.

This recipe for the cherry tomatoes salad is simply to use a large volume of tomatoes. It makes me feel good when I eat this salad because it is healthy and tasty. This salad can be served alone as a meal or as an appetizer with cheese and toast.

Ingredients:
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 cup English cucumbers, diced
1 cup watercress, cut up
1/4 cup chopped sweet white onions
1/2 cup herbs – basil, cilantro, and parsley
3 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
Dressing
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
1/3 cup good olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:
Combine cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and herbs in a mixing bowl.
In a glass jar with lid, add all the dressing ingredients and shake well. Pour dressing over the tomatoes and let chill for an hour. Then add watercress and green onions. Toss well before serving.

Chocolate Sponge Cake

This week, my family from California visited me. As requested from my niece, I made this chocolate sponge cake for her. She really enjoyed it. Now, I want to share this recipe. From this cake recipe, I can prepare a breakfast parfait for her, and the rest can be served as dessert with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:
1 cup cake flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup granulated sugar for egg white
1/4 cup granulated sugar for egg yolk
7 eggs (with egg yolks separated from egg whites)
1/4 cup skim milk

Directions:
In a bowl, combine cake flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Sift 3 times.
Let eggs assume room temperature before using.
Using the larger bowl of an electric stand mixer at medium speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in 1/3 cup granulated sugar, beating after each addition. Continue beating until stiff peaks form when beater is slowly raised.
Using the small bowl of the same electric stand mixer, use the same beaters at high speed, beat egg yolks until very thick with a pale yellow appearance (about 5 minutes). Gradually beat in 1/4 cup sugar; continue beating until smooth. Do not under beat. At low speed, blend flour and milk alternately into egg yolks mixture. Use a spatula to scrape the batter off the sides of the bowl.
With a whisk or rubber spatula using an under and over motion, gently fold yolk mixture into beaten whites mixture in larger bowl.
Pour batter into an ungreased 9” x 4.5” round pan without a removable bottom. Bake in a preheated oven set to 350° for 40 minutes or until cake springs back when pressed with finger. Invert and let cool completely.