Mushroom Potato Soup, Mushroom Potage

As one of the participating blogs to help create Recipe Advent Calendar, I am sharing a festive-inspired recipe today, which will be part of the calendar. Each day in December, one new yummy recipe will be unveiled. So make sure to check this calendar daily!

Not that it was my first time making Mushroom Soup but I never had it so chunky and mushroomy at home. And I was inspired to make this thick and chunky soup which is timely for this holiday season, especially when it gets cold down here in the United States.

Without brown or white crimini mushrooms that particular day, I made do with the fresh shitake and portobello mushrooms. Mushrooms, to me, is all-seasonal; and easily available where you are.


And how to make mushroom soup chunkier, and better still, a one-dish meal? Add potatoes! Nothing new, but inspired from Campbell's Mushroom Potage. That's canned and mine is not. Plus, mine is surely more fresh, natural, healthy, nutritious and delicious.

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Winter Veggies Pasta

A dish made from those fall/winter seasonal vegetables, errrrrrrr... though you can get them all year round.

Not giving the recipe today but just what went in there: 2-3 stalks kale, 1/4 head cabbage , bell peppers, 6-8 crimini mushrooms, 3 broccoli stems, 1/2 medium carrot, 1/2 tomato,  green onion, cilantro, garlic, ginger, cumin, fennel, curry powder...all into the wok finally!!

YEssss! Cooking them in the wok! Surprised?


This is for Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast, round up 3 Dec. next Friday. This is also for My Meatless Mondays and Hearth and Soul.

Tag: kale, cabbage, wok

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Cabbage with Green Onions, Scallions, Spring Onions - whatever you call it

Hey, I think I get along pretty well with those in the Cruciferous family. I love kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage. Cabbage is so versatile and becomes my savior when it comes to whipping up a variety in my kitchen.

Other than enjoying it as a simple tasty stir-fry, I also enjoy making soups with cabbage, adding cabbage in my noodle and rice dishes. The texture is welcomely tender in either soups or stir-frys; and taste-wise, cabbage naturally sweetens up a dish, if you cook it properly.


Following my recent cabbage post on Rice Cooker "Stir-Fried" Cabbage, today's dish can also be made in the rice cooker or over the stove-top, your wish. Today's post is short because the recipe itself is easy (and short)

Caramelized Green Onions and Cabbage
Ingredients: 2-3 stalks of green onions, rinsed and finely diced; few thin slices or "matchsticks" of ginger;1/4 wedge of cabbage, finely diced; salt and white pepper to taste.

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Golden Pumpkin Dishes + more Golden Deals

My Golden Fries is featured at Yellow Pages, as part of its Scrumptious Pumpkin Dishes gallery! Thank you for the mention. ^o^

How about getting more "golden" at Gold Box Deals? Lightning Deals?

I recalled going for the lightning deal last Thanksgiving for items in Kitchen Deals but could not match up the lightning speed of some "professional" online shoppers. Professional? They are quick! If you are wondering what is today's deal -Check Deals now! Also, Black Friday Event (22-27 Nov) with savings up to 50% on a wide selection of products for the home from kitchen knives to appliances.has already started!

Take the opportunity to buy gifts for your loved ones! Ever since buying gifts became a chore for me many years ago, I turn to Gift Cards. Hey, I hear ya. It lacks sincerity. (And ok, I am also not talking about buying gifts and toys for kids). Hoo...ha! But it's practical. Your loved ones get to choose what they want and how they want to shop. Now, when your buddy asks you "hey budd, I wanna to get you a gift this holiday, give me some ideas?". What would you say?


Which one are you?

(1) Tell the person the gift you want and he/she buys them for you
(2) Tell the person "I will like it as long as it's a gift from you. It's the thoughts that count"- (errrr, are you sure?)
(3) A gift card is good. Makes it easy for the giver and receiver
(4) Next closest to gift card is money but is it really a good idea to give money? Some argue that to give a gift card is equivalent to giving money - what do you think?

Personally, I have been using the Amazon Gift Card to shop at Amazon and love it. It is so easy. Go check it out!

The FoodNetwork Store

There are not many cooking shows I watched at Food Network nowadays, other than Chopped, The Next Iron Chef and Good Eats. But there is a range of cookware I want from the Food Network store! Are you into stocking stuffing? I used to enjoy stuffing Christmas stockings with candies then present those as gifts to a few good friends. Oh, how uncreative I was then! I could have done so with the stocking stuffer ideas from FoodNetworkStore.com. But again, I was not that into food when I was a kid. Cooking was something that gradually developed as I grew up!

I know some of you adore Le Creuset, so you can get some special values from Le Creuset at the Food Network Store too Are you into one of Le Creuset's best-sellers too? The FoodNetworkStore.com is quite an easy shopping site, listing items by category, subcategory, size of pots or pans (where applicable), by color, by price etc. All that makes shopping an ease!

Also, how about shopping by Food Network Host, or Show? You know I have been following some nifty gadgets used by Alton Brown, and of course, you can get his series of books at the site too. Quite uniquely, the FoodNetworkStore.com is a good site to follow your favorite host's authored books and DVDs! Not forgetting to discover some tools of the trade of your favorite host or show if you are inquisitive enough. Want to know more about that Balsamic Vinegar of Modena by Giada de Laurentiis? Now you know where to find that information. Who is your favorite host? Alton Brown, Rachael Ray, bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten?

If you are into some good quality cookware in the coming months, a pan or pot worth more than $99 will entitle you to free shipping! Just remember to get the related coupon code at their site before you check out your item.

Happy Shopping!

Simply Tomatoes Pasta

We often like to complicate matters, and lose the simplicity of being...simple.

So here, no sardines, no mushrooms, no ground meat. No Bok Choy, no bell peppers, no greens beans. I serve you...simply tomatoes. The "simply tomatoes" linguine - garlic and onions included, salt and pepper not forgotten.

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Hijiki Seaweed, Nori, Wakame - Healthful!

WHAaat? I made it to Foodbuzz Top 9, November 17, 2010! Rather, my Parchment-Baked Superfruity Chicken Wings "flew" right there. Thanks, Foodbuzz. :)

Have you caught the festive joyous mood yet? I have started "kitchen shopping". Just ordered the Pizza Cutter - one of Alton Brown's fav. gadgets from Amazon!

So, here is the deal: Enjoy the Black Friday Event (22-27 Nov) with savings up to 50% on a wide selection of products for the home from kitchen knives to appliances. THEN, also the Cyber Monday Event (28-29 Nov) with savings up to 50% on products including kitchen appliances. It's online shopping. No 4am-queuing at the departmental stores or gate crashing. Get your deals at the comfort of your home, in your PJs. Ha!

I digress.

Wanted to tell you how it started with Wakame, then Nori and now Hijiki. All the seaweeds! Counting to that, I have tried three different seaweeds altogether. Not much, considering it is super-nutrition food! I should eat more. Specifically, Hijiki contains dietary fiber and minerals such as iron, calcium, and magnesium (with a good calcium and magnesium balance, ratio of Ca:Mg ~ 2:1). Do you know Magnesium helps our body absorb and retain Calcium? Now you know.

Which is the type of seaweed, most often appearing in your kitchen and why did you choose that?

My recent encounter with Hijiki was kinda noob. Walking the aisle of the Japanese grocery store, with so many different seaweed(s) appearing right in front of me. The shiny. The long and curvy. The black and mysterious. Finally, I picked one which read a relatively higher iron content. The point goes - for the same kind of food, why not choose the most nutrient-dense?  So I picked Hijiki with the slightest idea what I wanted to do with it. But all these Japanese dishes came to me, and of course the first being...MISO SOUP! Well, I don't think Hijiki is traditionally used for miso soup but What The H***! Buy first! We'll talk about that later.

Kind of wormy looking right? Crunchy texture. Oh no, suitable for soup?

Hijiki, after rehydrating in cold water for 15-20 mins. 

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Pomegranate-Infused Toasted Anchovies

Oh al'mighty!

Too much tartness typical of the pomegranate fruit? I don't think so. Rather, it's not overly sweet and a good balance of tartness and sweetness. I enjoy drinking this on its own. But if asked to challenge the secret ingredient - Pomegranate Juice - what would you do? I am day-dreaming of this scenario in Iron Chef America!

Then he got angry...

...really angry.

No way am I going to lose sleep over the "secret ingredient challenge" and the offended anchovies. While enjoying the POMWonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice* as a drink, I got wacky and appease the anchovies by "feeding" them with what I was drinking. Share the love, right?

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Parchment-Baked Mango Chicken Wings, with other superfruits

Hey lady, how lady-like you are, lying down so gracefully...

Bathed in golden delicious gravy...

What is golden: mango
What is golden: golden kiwi
What is golden: curry power and turmeric
What is golden: honey


To the base marinade, I added the "remnants" (leftover) of a mango (including the seed) and kiwi (citrus-sweet); with some gojiberries (sweet) to jazz up the otherwise savory-spicy roasted chicken wings.

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Sambar - Vegetable Soup, South Indian Cusine

Sambar* and Rasam** often got me confused. I developed a liking for this hearty vegetable soup ...quite recently. Why not earlier? Cos' I never had it in the past. To me, this is like Minestrone, Indian-style.

Today I am making Sambar. I learn this homemade version from my friend who learn it from her mother-in-law who is Indian. Anything delicious needs passing down right?

And gawd, I did not even know there are peeled-split-mung-beans in this soup. I always thought they were chickpeas(garbanzo) disintegrated/broken down to powdery texture when cooked in soup, which I believe will work for Sambar too, just like how yellow lentils may work. Peeled and Split Mung Beans are known as Moong Dal, so now I know. And that is similar stuff used in making Chinese dessert - Tau Suan. I believe any one of these legumes mentioned above is key to making Sambar.

Note: Another key ingredient to making this soup, is onions. LOTS of ONIONS.

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Steamed Salmon with Zucchini

Welcome! Zucchini. You are now part of my vegetable family.

It began with a strange story about zucchini (and maybe eggplants?). Remember I told you I am not a fan of eggplants? I am also not a fan of zucchini. You can look at the list of ingredients tags by the right column and no surprise...no zucchini (till the tag to this post).

The story was weird. I started to dislike zucchini because of how it was prepared - typically served as "roasted vegetables" as sides to an entree of grilled fish, chicken or beef steak. Almost always, the roasted zucchini turns out "bad". Soggy. Bland. Nah...it should not taste and feel like ROASTED WATERY CUCUMBER but it does.

The story took a twist and turn. I changed. It took a change of preparation method to change me. This time I had it all tender (and soft)...but I did not roast it tender (and soft), so don't punish me. I steam them (with salmon) and I like it!


From strange to weird. But hopefully not totally unacceptable. Yes, dearies. I steam salmon occasionally. I actually find steamed salmon with zucchini one of the easiest yet nutritious dish to cook on a lazy day (Note: You can oven-bake this combination, too).

The final dish does not smell smoky or taste charred. And the salmon usually turns out moist and cooked perfect. Oh and that zucchini ? Subtly sweet with taste of vegetable freshness. The salmon must have lend a helping hand. The zucchini also helped in keeping the salmon moist.

The chemistry that sends sparks remains unexplainable. They live happily ever after. Even with "a third party" -

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Butter and Pepper King Oyster Mushrooms

King Trumpet Mushrooms was on sale in the Asian Supermarket few weeks ago, and there I was...succumbed to impulsive shopping... ...again (Well, King Trumpet Mushrooms was not specifically in my shopping list!)...so you see ?

This recipe is super duper easy using the "pan-grill" method. You need butter, salt and freshly ground black pepper. That's it.

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Alton Brown's "Pizza Cutter" + Essential Kitchen Gadgets

In life, most of us move forward. We are encouraged to move forward while learning from life's many history lessons. So I am weird and decided to go backwards. Whenever I hit the gym's stepper machine, I go backwards.

Also, I am turning back the clock and sharing with you a few of my old favorites (which still...ARE MY FAVS!) in these coming months. One of them is Alton Brown - he was my favorite years ago till I "lost touch with him" when I could not find FoodNetwork while I was away from the US. And now when I am able to watch him again on TV - I want to share with you HIS favorite things. Yes, of all places, I read Alton Brown's Essential Kitchen Gadgets on Fastcompany (it's NOT a food mag!) which I subscribed to.


Yes. This pizza cutter is one of his favorites and I'm tellin' ya - I AM BUYING THAT!

Go read Alton Brown's Essential Kitchen Gadgets and maybe you will embrace Fastcompany magazine like I do. Seriously, I DO NOT like to read magazines online - I prefer the actual copies. And being able to get 1 year's supply (12 issues) just for $5...is a quality steal for me.

For those not able to catch Alton Brown's Good Eats on TV, here is an opportunity to buy a 18 DVD SET of 54 EPISODES! Plus we should all be having a good read too, - his latest book Good Eats 2: The Middle Years.

Have enough of Alton Brown yet? ^o^


Tag: alton brown, fast company

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Rice Cooker "Stir-Fried" Cabbage

Cooking "stir-fry" cabbage in a rice cooker is technically not a stir-fry if you define stir-fry as brisk-frying with some definitive moments of "wok hei". So I call it un-creatively Rice Cooker Cabbage here, which is the same as my cookbook 's Stir-Fried Cabbage (Pg. 248), just naming it differently.


1) Add 1tbsp of vegetable oil in the rice cooker, cover rice cooker, set to "Cook". After about a minute, the oil gets hot, throw in some thinly sliced shallots and minced garlic, and fry briskly (Note: use a wooden ladle that does NOT scratch the bottom surface of rice cooker pot). Then add thin shreds of cabbage, combine with shallots and garlic.


2) Cover the rice cooker, continue set to "Cook", let the cabbage cook till they turn tender and reduce. Note that the shallots have also caramelized a little.

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See's Candies

I used to buy See's Candies from the store. Back then, I will pick a few of my favorite flavors. If you know me, anything "Dark Chocolate" suits me. Their peanut brittle (also one of their best sellers) is quite popular too. I usually don't buy a lot when I am in the store. Just pick five or six pieces of each variety, then go back another time for more. Now that I don't frequent the store anymore, getting See's candies online is also a good (much more convenient) idea. I was just browsing the online store and the Premium Extra Dark Chocolate Bar Gift Pack is alluring. Yes, of course. Extra. Dark. Chocolate. My ex-co-workers on the other hand, love their Krispy.

Frankly, even if I don't buy, I am having hell of a good time browsing and staring at chocolates. Their Christmas gift collection is so christmasy and Thanksgiving gifts are so fall (and orange!).If you order soon and have your order delivered by 15 Nov 2010, you get a FREE $5.00 Gift Card with $35.00 Purchase. Ok. I am not waiting. I am signing up with my email at their website to be entered for $200 gift card.

Garlic Spinach with Fresh Orange

You know how it is said that a little squeeze of Vitamin-C lemon into a dish of spinach, help us absorb the iron in spinach better? That is because spinach also contains oxalate/oxalic acid that bind with iron and inhibit iron absorption in our body. So by sneaking iron absorption enhancers such as lemon and orange into spinach at the same time, we extract iron from spinach more effectively.

I also thought it was a great idea for color and contrast when I saw razor-thin lemon slices being added as garnish to Noobcook's Stir-Fried Baby Kailan. So I added orange to my spinach when I had "no bag of lemons to make lemonade"  ^o^

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Festive Entertaining with Niman Ranch

The last time I had burgers raised with tender loving care was three years ago in Burgermeister , Daly City, CA. Huh? Burgers with TLC? Yes. That is because the burger patties (beef, particularly) are from Niman Ranch and these are Natural Meat - humanely and sustainably raised on farms and family-owned ranches in the US, never given antibiotics and added hormones, and are fed vegetarian feeds. If you are eating "something" which do not know what it is eating, then you do not know what you are eating either. Fair enough?

With good quality meat, all you need is a basic sauce, or stew prepared with the simplest seasonings, and let the meat become the star of the meal. And it is really a classic meal this coming festive season.

Check out if your nearest retailer is carrying Niman Ranch products. If not, you can also order Niman Ranch products online. Niman Ranch is making it much easier for you: just choose your favorite cut and it will be delivered to you. Once portioned, your order is vacuum sealed, flash-frozen and shipped in insulated, reusable packaging. You can also check out its website for Care and Storage, Preparation Guide, Recipes and Wine Pairing. What a complete package!

Online Wholesale Coffee Store

Fancy an online wholesale coffee store? Coffee.org offers a wide variety of choices from coffee beans to K-Cups and to Coffee Pods. There is a wide range of coffee beans and gosh, I may spend months trying each variety. But for coffee, I usually prefer light-medium roasted (nothing over-roasted and too bold) which goes well without sugar. So I may just limit myself this way.

If you are wondering what are K-Cups. Well, I am as fascinated as you but thanks to the recent commercials I have been watching on TV - some of them are the Keurig K-Cups. And there are so many brands for you to pick: Wolfgang Puck, Timothy's Coffee etc. How ignorant I was in the past  confused between K-Cups and Pods. Now I know what is the difference. This online coffee store also offers Pod Brewers and sells Pod Variety by the case.

Being wholesale, the club also Office Coffee special service, perfect for the office pantry. And what are holidays without Gift Baskets? There are Coffee K-Cup Gift Baskets, Tea K-Cup and Coffee Cake Gift Baskets, Birthday Gift Baskets, Thank you Gift Baskets etc. If you are a bargain hunter, click on the Sale link and you will have today's clearance items for your consideration.

CSN review: Calphalon Contemporary Stainless Steel 10" Everyday Pan

Look what's at my door! My new pan, courtesy of CSNStores.

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Chicken Daikon Soup 白萝卜鸡汤

There are some popular Chinese sayings: 秋天 萝卜是人参,十月萝卜小人参 - meaning the Radish (Daikon) harvest during Autumn/Fall season is equivalent to Ginseng, heightening the nutritious benefit of radish (daikon). Daikon is sometimes known as Oriental Radish or Chinese Radish. If you have never thought so highly of Daikon, perhaps you should do so..and EAT MORE!

I love pairing chicken and daikon in a soup. How do I make it my "special" soup:

(1) I add tomatoes for the "X-factor" (try it and you will know what I am talking about). Tomatoes are known to elevate the "umami" (savory/deliciousness) taste in many dishes. No doubt the Vitamin C might be partially lost in the boiling but anti-oxidative property of lycopene is retained. In fact - Note - lycopene is insoluble in water, so you need to have organic solvents or oil to tap the benefit - meaning if you eat raw tomatoes, you are not extracting the benefit of lycopene. Cooked tomatoes (in a little oil) release more digestible lycopene than raw ones.

(2) I also add turmeric for anti-inflammatory benefit (other benefits) and that little mild color.

(3) And can you see the leaves in the soup? Those are from the daikon (daikon leaves, yay!) and I only discovered quite recently that these leaves packed a power! Leaves: Vitamin A is 3x more than green veggies, calcium is 4x more, Vitamin C is 10x more than lemon. Also the leaves contain iron, beta-caroten, vitamin B. Super, right? :)

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Indian-Style Vegetarian Fried Noodles

Oh I so love this kind of "new" noodle dish I am frying up at home. Indian spices and lots of vegetables! Yum yum! Other than a warm hearty bowl of soup, spices also work for me, warming me up in the colder months.

I have tried different green vegetables in the same dish. What works? Kale. Baby Bok Choy. Baby Choi Sum.

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Buy Sustainable Seafood online - i Love Blue Sea

Mark Bittman had two questions for i Love Blue Sea in an interview* earlier this year. First, he asked how do consumers know what they're buying? When consumers buy seafood online, they should know that i Love Blue Sea use third party standards, such as those of Greenpeace and the Monterey Bay Aquarium to ensure sustainability of seafood; and quality of seafood that can be traced individually via bills of lading and bar codes. Then, when asked about cost, consumers are ensured that fresh seafood shipped are quite fairly priced taking into consideration that the source is known, and selection is good. Borrowing the tag-line from Red Lobster, we should all "...discover a whole new way to love seafood...", just like how you can order fresh seafood from Red Lobster's site and have the fresh seafood delivered to your door.

There are also daily specials offered to consumers in i Love Blue Sea. For a sardines lover like me who has not tried flash frozen whole sardines, I was glad to find sardines, which are being wild-caught by trawl net in the United States, being sold at i Love Blue Sea. Being flash frozen at sea keeps sardines' high oil content and these sardines will be delivered whole. Indeed, it will be great taste and texture at a better price!

*To read the interview, you can go to NY Times for more.