Teczcape-An Escape to Food

Chicken Hot Dog Sausage Baguette

It's summer hot dog season, and there is always a "better" hot dog to work on. When I prepared Chicken Hot Dogs with Sauteed Kale last time, I made it a point to use "better" sausages (best is to make your own), "better" hot dog buns (best to bake your own), and "better" sauce (best to have NO sauce).

Out of these, going without sauce was the easiest (to practice). I also chose just-a-few-ingredients baguette bread as the bun and minimal-ingredients-list, low-sodium sausages (True Story Foods Organic Organic Chicken Hot Dogs)

Besides, these brightly colored vegetables of arugula, red bell peppers, red onions, and purple cabbage balance out the guilt in making this hot dog healthier and more nutritious.

Broccoli, Zucchini, Cabbage Quinoa Salad

Protein and fiber packed, quinoa is a super versatile whole grain with endless possibilities - healthy fried "rice", exotic "rice" pilaf, creative sushi, comforting porridge/congee, savory snack-size patties, colorful salads, and wholesome plate meals or bowl meals.

With broccoli, zucchini, green beans and red cabbage, you can easily turn this light vegetarian salad to quick supper. Alternatively, if you are making a seafood entree like this Seafood in a Bag, this salad will be your perfect side-accompaniment.

Spicy Soy Bean Sprouts

Similar to mung bean sprouts (germinated mung beans), soy bean sprouts (germinated soy beans) provide important B Vitamins e.g.thiamin, riboflavin, niacin; and minerals e.g. folate and zinc.

Keeping it simple (and not over-cooking) is the key when it comes to cooking bean sprouts. Personally, mung bean sprouts often have a stronger raw taste, so I usually prefer to stir-fry/saute them quickly as the heat/oil helps in removing its raw taste. On the other hand, soy bean bean retains its crunchy texture much better when blanched in boiling water. Using blanched soy bean sprouts, an easy Spicy Soy Bean Sprouts salad side-dish takes less than 20 minutes to prepare, and pairs well with rice e.g. Easy Healthy Korean Bibimbap, or noodles e.g Kimchi Noodles.