Sweet Corn Congee (Chè Bắp)

The Vietnamese cuisine has so many delicious desserts, such as Chè bà ba, chè đậu ván, chè khoai môn, chè đậu xanh, chè trôi nước, and chè bắp. It is not because I am Vietnamese, but when I try some of the desserts from Korea, Thailand, or China, they are nothing compared to the Vietnamese desserts. Cooking dessert is an art in Vietnam. It is similar to baking a cake. It takes time to wash the beans, if making the  beans congee (Các loại chè bằng đậu). Personally, I am not a dessert person, but Vietnamese desserts always bring back fond memories when I was young. I had a group of about four girlfriends, and we created the rule that whoever eats less has to pay for the desserts. Of course, I always ended up of paying, because all they had to do was order another bowl of the dessert. Of all the Các loại chè, I like chè bắp the most, and also it is an easier dessert to make. I learned to prepare this dessert from my sister-in-law, Anh, who is an excellent cook when it comes to preparing Vietnamese desserts. Every summer, where I live has a farmers market that is open from late May through September. The sweetcorn is so sweet and incredibly dirt cheap – 20 cents an ear. Even though the sweetcorn is sweet, it does not replace the taste of chè bắp that sold in Vietnam because the corn in Vietnam is soft and pliable, like sweet sticky rice, and the sweetcorn here is watery-crunchy. Some of the recipes add tapioca pearls or thickening with cornstarch. I like to prepare this dessert using the sweet sticky rice, and it comes close to the taste that I remember. However, when poor and hungry, everything seems to taste better, but the fond memories last forever.

Ingredients:
5 ears of sweetcorn, shredded very thin
1/2 cup sweet sticky rice
3/4 to 1 cup  sugar
1 bag of vanilla sugar
1/4 tsp salt
 8 cups water

Coconut milk topping ingredients:
1 can coconut

1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbs water

Directions:
Peel and remove the corn silk from the corn. Use a peeler to remove the corn kernels from the husks shredded into very fine pieces.

Wash and drain the sticky rice and set aside

Bring a pot of 8 cups of water and place the husks into the water. Bring to boil and cook for 20 minutes.

 Discard the husks and drain the husks water very well. Measure about 6 to 7 cups of the husks water and bring back to boil. Add rice and bring it back to boil.

 Cover and turn the heat off. Let the rice cook in hot water for 20 minutes. Remove lid and add shredded corn kernels.

Bring to boil and simmer for another 15 minutes or until the kernels are cooked. Stir occasionally to prevent the kernels from sticking to the bottom and burning. Add sugar and vanilla.
Meanwhile, follow these directions to make the coconut milk topping:
Combine coconut milk, water, and sugar, and salt and bring to boil. Mix the cornstarch and water and add this mixture to the coconut milk. Stir and add vanilla and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Ladle the chè bắp onto a serving bowl and top with coconut milk. I like to eat this dessert hot, but eating it at room temperature is good too. Enjoy!

Savory Chicken and Vegetables in Clay Pot

With many modern cookery equipment, people forget that the crockery clay pot is a wonderful choice when it comes to a so-called “one pot meal". Baking with it is the same concept as preparing food in slow cookers, but it is a more traditional cooking method. Food prepared this way yields healthy, yet hearty meals and is very attractive when served on the table. Since I have a clay pot, I have toyed with many recipes. The one I am preparing today is quite simple, but flavorful. Don't be fooled with the long list of ingredients because these ingredients are in our fridge. I chose the vegetables which cook in high heat but still hold their shape. I also found that I do not need a lot of fat when using a clay pot. The natural juices from the meat and vegetables are retained in the clay pot rather than boiled away. For that we can have juicy, nutritious dishes.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into big chunks
Spices:
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
Bouquet garni: rosemary, sage, parsley, and marjoram, tied together in a small bunch
3 garlic cloves, smashed
Broth:
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
Vegetables:
1 small onion, chopped
1 tomato, peeled and chopped
2 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into big chunks
1 carrots, thickly sliced
5 white button mushrooms, quartered
1 celery stalk, sliced
Thickening sauce:
1/2 cup sour cream or nonfat yogurt
2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:
Soak the clay pot in water for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400°.
Cut an X on top of the tomato and drop into boiling hot water. Cook for 2 minutes (this method is to remove the skin from the tomato).

After soaking the pot, pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the bottom of the pot.

Place chicken chunks and then scatter the vegetables around the pot and on top of the chicken. Mix in the broth, salt, black peper, paprika, garlic, and bouquet garni.

 Cover clay pot with lid and bake in oven for 1 ½ hours.

After one hour, check for the tenderness of the chicken and vegetables. Dependent on the variety of oven used, more time might be needed to bake.

Discard the bouquet garni. Remove chicken, potatoes, mushrooms and carots and keep warm. Pour the sauce and the left of some cook vegetables into a saucepan. Use the hand held to blend the cook vegetables and bring to simmer. Whisk the nonfat yogurt and cornstarch. Re season with more salt, needed.

Equally divide the meat and vegetables among the serving plate and pour sauce over them. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.

Crockery Sweet Carrot-Coconut Bread

Every time after juicing, I like to use the leftover carrot pulp to create this quick bread. My mom always said that a "good cook will create anything to make an interesting meal from leftover food using alteration techniques". Work some magic on old ordinary recipes to change to new one. Today, I will use the crockery clay pan to bake this quick sweet bread. The newfound baking pan made this quick bread look fantastic and taste wonderful, as well.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup skim milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup raisins and cranberries
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Use 1 tbs coconut oil to spread all over the crockery bottom and all sides.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix well
Combine carrots, coconut flakes, raisin and cranberries in a bowl
Use a handheld mixer to beat eggs, sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla until smooth.

Add flour mixture into the egg mixture with a few strokes.

Add carrots -raisins , cranberries into the batter.

Pour batter into the crockery pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Crockery Potato Chicken Soup

Eating habits and cooking styles have become more and more the interesting topics. The simple reasons are health concerns and busy lifestyles. Many working woman feel that they do not have time to make healthy dinners for their family. Eating in the car or selecting food from a takeout menu does not constitute a healthy eating habit. So, again a slow cooker comes to the rescue. Surprisingly, a slow cooker's recipes are very good. Breakfast can be served in the morning and also dinner will be ready when returning home. Making healthier meals this way will save quite a lot of money. Whether cooking for one, two, or a large family, choosing the correct size slow cooker will deliver a very consistent flavor of meat, seafood, potatoes, or beans. A slow cooker is best used to make stew and hearty soup. Practicing making meals with a slow cooker will fear of preparing meals with not so much available time. Best of all, dinner is always piping hot and simmered to perfection.

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small white onion, chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups roasted chicken (left over from dinner)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 clove garlic, peeled
2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup Swiss cheese or any other kind (optional)

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients, except the chicken and spinach, in a slow cooker. Cover and turn to the low setting and cook for 7 hours.

Use a handheld mixer to blend the potatoes (if you want creamy potato soup, replace one cup chicken broth with cream , right after blending the potatoes).

Add chicken and spinach.

Cover and cook for 10 to 20 minutes.

Season more with salt, if needed. Spoon the hot soup into a serving bowl and top with cheese, if using, and serve.

The Philosophy of Life as Revealed through a Bank Robbery

In a bank robbery believed to be in Guangzhou, China, a robber shouted: "All stand still, keep in mind the money belongs to the Government, but your life belongs to you." Everyone in the bank listened closely and lay down quietly.

     This is called: "The way of initiation - Change the thought trail".

- There is a woman who lay on the table in a suggestive pose. A robber shouted: "Please behave civilized, we are robbers not rapists!"

     This is called "Professional Conduct - Just focus on what you are trained to do!"

- When the older robber turned, a younger robber with an MBA said to the older robber (who only had an average intelligence): "Big Brother, we have to count how much money that we will have robbed!” The older robber raised his voice: "You're stupid! How can we count the money now? Just hold on, the TV tonight will tell us how much money that we are looting!"

     This is called: "Experience - Today, the experience is more important than diplomas or being book smart.”

- After the robbers left, the branch manager was just about to call the police when the Chief Accountant rushed forward, whispered in his ear: "Wait, we still have 5 million that we can embezzle for ourselves, which can be reported to be among what the robbers stole!"

     This is called "Swimming with the river’s current - Conversion of unfavorable circumstances to become favorable"

- The manager said to him: "That's great! It would be even greater if every month there is a robbery!"

     This is called: "Get rid of unpleasant things - Happiness is the most important thing"

- The next day, televisions reported that $100 million was stolen from the bank. The robbers then counted only 20 million. They were angry: "We risked our lives just to get 20 million; they just sat there doing nothing, but easily stole 80 million. It is true that education, a degree, provided the chair upon which they are sitting, and a superior robbery over our money! "

     This explains why: "Knowledge is valuable as gold ..."

Conclusion:

In life there are always things we can quickly look upon; there are not as we see from the outside, and the truth is only relative.

Does the way we choose to look to bring fun and happiness for ourselves determine if we are good or bad?

Crockery Bread

A crockery or clay pot is one of my favorite pieces of equipment for cooking/baking. Dating back hundreds of years ago when we did not have all the modern cookery equipment, clay was the material to create pots and pans. I like to watch pizza baked on an open wood burner oven like the one used in every California Pizza Kitchen restaurant. I felt the warm feeling as I watched and enjoyed the fragrance smells from the baking pizzas. I have felt that this feeling could be relived if I owned a cookery pot. Yesterday, when I visited a flea market, I spotted nearly new crockery sold there. I was so happy because I finally own a clay pot, which will help me to create many meals from baking bread to roasting turkey, chicken, pork, or any other kind of meat. Today, I will make an easy loaf of bread. This recipe is called, "No Knead Beer Bread”, and it was posted on my blog on February 29, 2012. Follow the instructions there.

Ingredients:
The same as the No Knead Beer Bread recipe

Directions:
Turn the oven to 450°. While the oven is heating, soak the cookery in water for 15 minutes.

 After 15 minutes, remove the cookery from water and place on the oven. Bake the cookery for 20 minutes.
Follow the dough making instructions of the No Knead Beer Bread recipe and then place the dough in the preheated cookery, Close the lid and bake for 30 minutes.

 Remove the lid and let dough bake for another 15 minutes. Voila!!

Oatmeal-Blueberry-Banana Pancake

For a simple, healthy breakfast, this pancake deserves 5 stars. It gives the body all the protein, fiber, and antioxidants needed to start each day the right way. Even though I cannot eat yogurt because I am lactose intolerant, mixing yogurt into the batter does not bother me. The baking powder makes the batter a little fluffier. I will definitely keep making this breakfast forever.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oatmeal, ground to a fine powder
1/4 cup nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup blueberries
1 small banana or 1/2 of large one
1 egg
1 tbs honey
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp coconut oil or butter

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients except the oil or butter in a Vitamix or other blender and blend well.

Turn the griddle on to 320° or place a nonstick pan over medium-low heat.

Add butter, oil or both – I like to use both. Wait until the butter starts foaming. Pour the batter into the pan in a circular shape.

 Cover pan with lid for about 3 minutes on each side.

Transfer the pancake onto a serving plate and serve with more fruit, or some maple , strawberry, or blackberry syrup.