Weisswurst sausage - the Bavarian meat that almost made me barbaric !

I had to clear my fridge and pantry before going away for a week and not much time to very much COOK anything either. So, back to assembling some food with some Weisswurst sausage, spinach and sweet potato. Hey, I am still getting my carbo, proteins and fiber! :P


Weisswurst sausage is a traditional white meat sausage(also called white sausage) and traditionally in Bavaria, Germany, the meat in Weisswurst sausage is not smoked and made fresh every day. I bought these Weisswurst sausages which do NOT contain nitrites and boiled them in water (to cook them) before consuming them. I boiled them because that is the easiest way to cook it and did not know that BY ACCIDENT, it was the correct way to cook it. What do you think?

It was only after I ate the sausage that I found - I might have eaten it the wrong way! To know the right way, here is "How to cook and eat the bavarian sausage " - check this out!


Tag: sausage, Weisswurst

Kai Lan in Butter and Shallots

The truth is, I am too lazy to stir fry my vegetables (because it ends up with an oily pan to wash). I still do but not all the time. How do I eat my leafy greens, you ask? Short of eating them raw, I consumed blanched or steamed greens most of the times. I am not too sure about greens but some vegetables actually need heat and oil to bring out additional benefits. Examples? Tomatoes. Carrots.


What is a simple stir fry vegetable dish? How I would do it - oil, garlic, oyster sauce, salt and pepper to taste, and of course, the greens.

Then, I decided to try something different. Not out of the world but without any much sauce perhaps. Pantry staples (shallots and garlic) with fresh produce (Kai Lan) and definitely less than 15 minutes.

Kai Lan in Butter and Shallots (serves 2)
Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 shallots, finely sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon water
1 bunch of Kai Lan, slightly blanched

Directions:
Add butter to heated pan and when butter melts, add in shallots and fry till slightly soft and caramelized, followed by garlic and fry till fragrant. Add Kai Lan and mix well. Add water, salt and pepper, cover pan and let it simmer for 1 minute. Done!

The butter definitely gives more flavor and body though it may not be the best cooking oil to use compared to extra-virgin olive oil and other vegetable oil. So it's up to you to do that variation.

Do you have a favorite all-time fall-back recipe when it comes to Going Green? You should take part in NTTC #4. This is my second time participating (I've taken part before here).



Tag: chinese vegetables, kai lan, stir fry

Food with a view or a kill + California Redwood road trip

It was no surprise where were we,
How tiny can we be in the light of trees,
Not just any but these giant trees,
Redwood in California, we love thee.

Avenue of the Giants, Humboldt Redwood State Park, 6 June 2009

Does every decision need a reason? "Give me TEN GOOD REASONS why I should move back to California" - that needs (tons of) reasons, especially when it comes to convincing my dear parents who refuse to "let me go". Can anyone out there give 10 or even 20 good reasons to help me, please ? ...even before I convey this wild (valid) thought of mine to them.

Does every decision need a reason? "Where is the place for lunch?" - that needs just one reason. The right place at the right time, sometimes. Cliff House at Fort Bragg,CA was there when we decided we could take a break and pull out the car keys.

With the view it offers from the theatrical-setting of the restaurant tables and chairs, it was not a bad place after all. Food wise...here you go...


Appetizers (to share): Two miserably tiny crab cakes (supposed to be award winning) for US$15. Hmmm... the crab cakes deserved to be bigGER. There were four (and the half) of us, so imagine we had to break those crab cakes into smaller bits.


This is Tigerfish's order. I was supposed to order seafood because we are near the coast! Yes. I know. The pasta has shrimps in it at least. Their early-bird specials had only few items to choose from.


Mr. TF's order of fish and chips. At least, I got other seafood from his order.


This is D (the half I was talking about, A&S's boy) and S's order. Mom and son usually share the food. :D


And finally A's order of vegetarian pasta.

Tag: redwood, fort bragg

Stewed Pork Belly with Potato Cubes and more...at 3 guys' house

A delicious meal prepared by 3 guys - Mr. M, Mr. F and Mr. A; and shared among 4 guys (3 of them + hubby) and a gal(me!). Guys from China, typically from Shanghai can do the "wokking", some said. I have witnessed, and tasted many successes to-date. This is one of them.


A typical home-cooked meal - meat, seafood and vegetables - all done simple and delicious. What more could we ask for, other than the next invitation... maybe? ^o^


Stewed Pork Belly with Potato Cubes - 红烧肉. Perfect execution in almost an hour's braising/stewing. Needless to say "only time will tell".


Stir Fry Shrimps with Ginger and Green Onions. The heads are on! So, this dish can't be anything bad on taste (but on cholesterol and impact on health - don't really care as we don't feast like that everyday).


Sauteed Kai Lan with Dried Shrimps. Awesome! I do not like overcooked vegetables and this is definitely NOT. Treat vegetables with TLC and they will turn out the way you want and meant to be.


Are you hungry? The food was completely wiped out and there were just five of us. You do the Maths.

Once again, we would like to thank Mr. M, Mr. F and Mr. A for inviting us to their home, and to such a fabulous lunch.

Tag: stewed pork

Pumpkin Seeds - roast your own with green tea powder? Will it work?

STACKS means "...heaps of something..." hmmm...here...heaps of roasted pumpkin seeds - green tea flavor.



Store-bought, pre-shelled flat, dark green pumpkin seeds are called pepitas. Some are encased in a yellow-white husk, although some varieties of pumpkins produce seeds without shells.

Pumpkin seeds, a delicious and nutritious snack, contain vitamins and minerals such as amino acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, zinc, vitamin E, and vitamins B.

Here is an idea for you - the next time you roast your own pumpkin seeds, maybe you can do it together with matcha powder and create a very special flavor.

Roast Chicken with Spices

Fancy some lazy tasty chicken? The chicken is not lazy. I am.


Marinate the chicken with some butter and good-quality poultry spices rub (I bought mine from Costco Taiwan last year - and brought it back with me to Singapore). You need to check out the really good-quality poultry spices rub to make this a hit. Look out for spices and herbs in the ingredients list, and not artificially-flavored chemicals.

Roast it in the oven 175degC/350F for about 25 minutes, and increase temperature to ~375F in the last five minutes for extra crispiness.

TADA! Crispy on the outside...


Moist and juicy on the inside...


With a squeeze of lemon, it makes a delicious tasty day without too much effort.

Tag: roast chicken, poultry spices

DORA alMOND - the Cat and Food Blog, not Cat Food!

My friend - DORA alMOND - the cat lover, is one of the top 10 finalists for the Best Laugh-Out-Loud Blog category in Omy's Singapore Blog Awards 2009.

Vote for her and YOU, will stand a chance to win attractive prizes. How does a Creative Vado (worth S$169) or a ST701 Portable External Hard Disk (250GB) sound?

(1) To vote, register for an Omy.sg account. Registration is free.

(2) Once registered, visit Omy.sg and click Best Laugh-Out-Loud Blog.

(3) Vote for DORA alMOND by clicking this icon:







Voting period is 15th June to 31st July 2009. You can vote for her everyday but only once per day.

Do give her some support, ya ? I thank you on her behalf. ^0^

Japanese sake and the Ninja

I simply love this glass bottle that I had to keep the empty bottle, after dinner one day.

As it is Japanese sake, the link goes to feudal Japan and ninja 忍者 (literally, "one who is concealed" or "one that endures"). When writing as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write the first character - 忍 (pronounced REN in Mandarin, 3rd tone in Hanyu Pinyin). This is the first character of "Ninja" meaning, to beat, to endure, or to tolerate - "to tolerate and endure" which is what I have been "practising" for the past 6-8 months.


I also like the "anatomy" of this single character. If you can read Mandarin, I hope you like it. Even if you can't read Mandarin, don't you think the strokes in that character are so amazing?


Tag: sake

Summer Soba Delight + Spring Onion on Scale of Pungency

Get ready for summer with this soba delight.


It's Spring. Head down to get your seasonal produce - will it include Spring Onions? Spring Onions, Green Onions - some call it Scallions. Are they the same? Remember my Scale of Pungency? You got to know their difference somehow though they are termed interchangeably.

Summer Soba Delight
Ingredients: soba, cooked according to instructions; some blanched spinach, green onion dressing.

Directions: Toss the soba noodles in the green onion dressing and serve with spinach.

This light refreshing noodle dish goes to Ruth for Presto Pasta Night. Ruth, I was almost going to give this round a miss because I am so busy these days. But how can I miss it when it's Ruth - the creator of PPN, hosting this round? ^0^

Meanwhile, I will be taking a one-week break... to... ...*you know where?* You will know when you read my postings soon.



Tag: soba, green onion,spring onion

M&M chocolates - Las Vegas memories

M&M Chocolates!

This was taken in Dec 2008 - Las Vegas.

Been extremely busy and not been writing much for my blog. I have been cooking but too bad...no time to create a full food post (which includes cooking, photography, uploading, downloading, writing etc.).

I will "visit" you soon!