Asparagus Meyer Lemon Steamed Fish

This dish was "conceived" or rather inspired via email. It is a virtual world. ya? :P A friend, whom I have lost touch for almost a decade, was talking about how enjoyable home-cooked food can be (don't ask me how we ended up talking about food!), which I totally agreed.

A one-liner "my mom steams the fish with lemon, carrot, tomatoes, asparagus and a splash of white wine" from my friend just popped! And that's it! I want to try that! I never had such a combination for my steamed fish. My go-to combination for steamed dish was usually zucchini, red bell peppers, edamame, broccoli.

From inspiration to execution...

Few days later, I got my groceries (Meyer lemon, organic on-the-vine tomatoes, in-season asparagus, organic carrots, and Dover fillets). Well, I could have done a whole fish such as trout or even salmon fillets but ok, I confess - the Dover fillets were on sale. I bought 2 fillets for just USD1.80. I could not resist.

I know this is going to look different from the original version which I have never seen and probably will never get a chance to see. Amazing how one dish (of the same ingredients) can be so differently interpreted by different individuals, esp. in terms of presentation.

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Glutinous Rice Dumplings - Hokkien,Nyonya, 粽子

I have been eating (Eating?!! Self-delusion!!! "Feasting" to be exact) Rice Dumplings (Zongzi, 粽子) for the past three days. I was in Singapore during the last two weeks of May - catching the early wave of rice dumplings before the actual Duanwu Festival (端午节, 6 June 2011) which usually see rice dumplings as the celebratory centrestage festival food. Clear-minded, rice dumplings should be one of the last few foods to eat during my stay. Why?

Left: Hokkien Bak Chang; right: Nyonya Chinese Dumpling

(1) The lingering heatwave in Singapore and "heaty" glutinous rice used for rice dumplings = more "heat" in the body. Not good.
(2) Too much glutinous rice tend to cause stomach bloatedness. Not good.
(3) I'm not a big fan of rice dumplings and I don't miss it. (In California, rice dumplings are also usually available in the Asian grocery stores - 99Ranch, with flavors such as red bean filling - sweet version; and salted eggs with meat - savory version during the same festival)

However, it is uncommon to find the Nanyang (Singapore/Malaysian) variety, flavors and classics such as the Hokkien Bak Chang and Nyonya Chinese Dumpling.

So I have given in.

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Arugula "some salad greens are more equal than others"

What?? Arugula contains about 8x more calcium; 5x more Vitamin A, C and K; 4x more iron than iceberg lettuce (Source: Livestrong.com). Well, I thought most salad greens are equal. Apparently not. Some salad greens are more equal than others. Arugula as salad green packs power !!

I usually don't care much for salad greens such as lettuce in terms of nutrient density.

Boy am I late! I should have tried arugula (also called rocket, or roquette) much earlier. Well, I mean I may have tried arugula before, in salad bowls; but never have I tried incorporating arugula as part of my meals.

It has a peppery, mustard kick with a slight bitterness. Younger leaves, known as baby arugula, are more tender and less pungent than the more mature greens.

Similar to Kale and Spinach, arugula provides a healthy range of carotenoids - beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, with their roles as antioxidants, in the prevention of diseases such as cancer and muscular degeneration.


Oh boy oh boy am I late! But better late then never.

How do you usually eat your Arugula?

I am sharing Arugula at Weekend Herb Blogging #285 - May 23rd to May 29, hosted by Graziana of Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs)


Tag: arugula, salad

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Baked Sardines Minimalist Recipe (garlic, cilantro, tomatoes)

Can you see I am sardine-crazy? ;p

bottom to top: Brunswick Sardines, Wild Planet Wild Sardines (in BPA-free can), Crown Prince Brisling Sardines


Lots of garlic, fresh tomatoes, sardines* (comes in a tin), bake in the oven, drizzles of extra-virgin olive oil, garnish generously with finely chopped cilantro...

then "everything" on the bread toast. Wait wait wait! You have heard and seen this before?!?!? The toast thingy?

*Rewind*

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Strawberry Pumpkin Seeds Breakfast Oats

Growing up in Singapore, cereals and oats were never part of my breakfast routine. Pampered with fried bee hoon, fish ball noodles etc. Why do I need cereals and oats?



See? I am not a health freak (I eat chicken with the skin-on; and crispy pork lards).

So why do I need cereals and oats?

Absence (of cheap, good, convenience breakfast) makes the heart...well....look for something else.

Cereals and milk. A cold breakfast. Add cereals (or granola) in the bowl, pour milk over, eat it. Fast. Easy

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Brisling Sardines, Swiss Chard on Toast - Nature's Pride Hearty Wheat with Flax

Can Swiss Chard be eaten raw ?


With some sources which state that cooking, rid some nitrates out of them, I tried blanching before using them in my sandwich. Cooking reduces concentration of oxalic acid (some sources state a link between oxalates and kidney stones) in the vegetable, reduces consumption by the body.

Sardines (lemon, tomato, cilantro dressing) and Swiss Chard as filling for the toasted sandwich

After blanching, I squeezed out as much water (moisture) out of them, and julienne them really thin (to a "slaw-state"), worthy of Nature Pride Hearty Wheat with Flax sandwich.

Toasted is much more digestible than un-toasted bread as dry toasting "cooks" the starches in the bread (tip to be shared with  Tip Day Thursday).

The bread is toasted using my George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine GR7BLK that I have already owned for five years and still serving me well as a small, portable, indoor grill.

Nature's Pride - Hearty Wheat with Flax is baked with pure olive oil and is a good wholesome source of fiber and Omega 3-ALA. This sardine sandwich toast will be shared with Souper Sunday.

*This Nature Pride Hearty Wheat with Flax bread was received as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. Thank you Foodbuzz and Nature Pride.

Tag: wheat bread, sandwich, sardines

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Savory Tofu Pudding, Seaweed Steamed Tofu

This dish is almost effortless to prepare and very tasty considering the simplest ingredients being used. Taste is relative and subjective. Some like heavy rich flavors while other prefer mild, fresh, natural flavors. Both can be classified as tasty and delicious. So if you try this dish, I let you decide on the taste. Or try to imagine if you are not cooking it.


Steamed Tofu with Nori Seaweed (Nori Seaweed/Savory Tofu Pudding) - can absolutely be classified as savory tofu pudding/silky custard (豆花，豆腐花 in Mandarin; in Singapore/Malaysia, we call it Tau Huay - in Hokkien dialect).I did not start off with making savory tofu pudding in mind but the dish just turned out to be.

Expect the unexpected!

And for once, I don't have to focus so much and be gentle on slicing soft (silken) tofu! Just scoop the soft (silken) tofu from the package with a tablespoon and lay them in the serving bowl, filling the voids and spaces in the bowl.

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Cleaning and Restoration of a Moldy Apartment

Now that our one-year lease for the apartment is up, we need to consider if we want to extend the lease. Though the apartment is small, we have got used to living in a small space. The only push-factor to move out is the mold observed at the edge of the windows in our apartment. The mold problem was more severe in winter when the outside temperature was relatively lower, and causing condensation on the windows. We may need professional help to remove the mold if it gets more serious. Living in a moldy house will make us sick.

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Swiss Chard - my least favorite vegetable to-date

It must be Friday the 13th, causing Blogger.com and my original post of Kale Somen Noodles to be down and gone respectively. Hope it is back to normal now.

Compared to kale and collard greens, this vegetable is by far my least favorite - Swiss Chard.

What got me into this then? Well, I have to try it to know if I like it.


Plus, it is too naturally colorful to give it up.


Of course, I tried it sometime back but nothing was pushing me to write more about it since it was not my favorite. Oops, practicing favoritism here!

Not only it is chock-full of antioxidants including flavonoid that is also found in broccoli and kale; recent research has shown that chard has blood sugar regulating properties (not really surprising as it belongs to the same family as beets). And colors means pigments and carotenoids that are important to our health as well (Source: Whole Foods Market - Chard).

Seriously, I did not really know what to do with it, creatively. So half of it was dedicated to a pasta dish while portions of it were saved for later use.

I would like to share this at this week's Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Simona of Briciole.

Enjoy!

Tag: swiss chard

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Vegetables Simmered Somen Noodles

Due to Blogger.com issues, I lost my original post. Hope all the precious comments can be recovered  :(

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I thought somen noodles only work well in soups, as noodle soups. Not so. I tried simmering them with Laticino (Dino) kale, cabbage, carrots in a wok of wet "stir-fry" and this Vegetables Simmered Somen Noodles kinda work!


The key step is to pre-fry the onions till they are slightly charred and caramelized; then add the ginger, carrots, garlic and fry to combine. When carrots slightly softened, add the cabbage, combine well with mixture, add 1-2cups water/broth and let it simmer low-medium heat for about 15 minutes or more till flavors develop. Finally add the thin shreds of kale (Note: Use the technique similar to Collard Greens). When kale turn tender, season with sea salt and ground white pepper.

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"Dirt" Shirred Eggs en Cocotte

I need a smaller ramekin.

I need more eggs.

I only have myself to blame for overlooking...the "problem".

The "proportion" problem.

Buttered the entire wall of the ramekin almost to the brim (which I should not have) but only added one egg which barely filled half the height of the ramekin. After baking in the oven, I got "dirt" shirred eggs! (look at the dirty "walls" of the ramekin!).

The recipe, adapted from Denise from Quickies on the Dinner Table's guest post at The Ardent Epicure was perfect - just my execution was not. Such is the kind of recipe I enjoy - making use of fresh and basic wholesome ingredients and voila, a delicious baked egg dish!



And such is the kind of recipe I adore - quick to inspire and nothing too dare-defying that prevents me from adapting and trying almost instantly.


The organic free range egg taste delicious ! What I have done differently: (1) using herbed-butter to butter up the ramekin, (2) use green onions as garnish and flavoring the dish.

Sharing this with My Meatless Mondays, Hearth and Soul.

Tag: egg, baked eggs

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Steamed Fava Beans & Mushrooms

Now that I am exposed!


Double exposed! What should I do?


I need to find somewhere to hide cos I'm shy. Let me ask my friends - garlic, fresh organic tree oyster mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil. We all agreed to a spa hideout - wrapped in a steam-bath for 5-8 minutes (till mushrooms exclaimed: "Woohooo, I'm done!").

Rejuvenated finally. Freshness in the pocket!


Now the real me speaks. There are certainly many simple ways to cook fresh fava beans and I have found my own simple way of enjoying them. This has been my favorite method to cook recently. Parchment-steaming! Yay! Fuss-free, simple, delicious creations always till I find something that do NOT work on parchment-steaming, and sure I will let you know.

Toss the steamed fava and fresh mushrooms into pasta - so delicate and delicious (cooking tip shared at Tip Day Thursday Carnival).





Tag: fava beans, broad beans, beans

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Kale and Meatballs Pasta

I'm back!!! Good to see you again!

And I know. It is May and kale should not be appearing! Right. I should be eating asparagus, artichokes, fava beans. Not kale?!? Well, I can't get enough of kale, can I?

I cooked this sometime ago - end of winter, start of spring, catching that last few bunches of Dino Kale (I definitely prefer Dino Kale to Green Kale!) in Whole Foods Market.

Skipping the long speech of details but giving credits to onions, garlic, spices such as cumin, coriander, turmeric, curry powder, dino kale, red bell peppers, tomatoes (fresh + canned), salt, pepper, red chili flakes. If you feel like a carnivore, add some meatballs - make Kale and Meatballs Pasta!

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