Oatmeal Pancakes

Saturdays are usually Pancake Days. It's the only time of the week I prepare breakfast, because during the week it's my husband who makes breakfast. He likes chocolate chips with his pancakes while our son likes them plain. Recently, I discovered this recipe from Laurel's Kitchen. Our son does not like oatmeal so this (as well as Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies) is a good way of getting him to eat more fibre.

Here's what happened after I added the oil and egg. I was amazed and had to take a photo.



1 cup milk
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine the milk and rolled oats in a bowl and let stand at least 5 minutes.

Add the oil and beaten eggs, mixing well; stir in the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Bake on a hot, lightly oiled griddle, using 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Turn them when the top is bubbly and the edges are slightly dry.

Makes 10-12 four-inch pancakes.

Spaghetti Squash

I finally baked the spaghetti squash today and was thrilled when I saw how it turned out after baking it for half an hour. The strands are crunchy. We were suppose to have it for dinner tonight, but my mother-in-law already prepared enough food, so we'll eat it for lunch tomorrow. I plan to toss it with onions, garlic, feta cheese, tomatoes and some herbs.

Update: The spaghetti squash recipe was a hit. Even my husband liked it. It went well with the Baked Salmon with Pan Asian sauce I prepared. And for dessert, we had a bar of York Peppermint Wafer Bars.

Minestrone

Minestrone is one of my favorite soups and is one of the easiest to make. You can put almost anything in it, such as leftover vegetables and pasta.

I got this recipe from The New Laurel's Kitchen cookbook. I first got a copy of this book when I was in high school, but most of the ingredients were not available where I lived so I don't remember trying any of the recipes. Whole foods cooking was very new at that time. I'm glad to note that this book has been updated and seems more practical than its first edition.

1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic
1-1/2 cups chopped celery
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chopped tomatoes with juice, or 1 six-oz can tomato paste and 3 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons basil
pinch fennel seed

2 cups or more, chopped: carrot, zucchini, potato, broccoli, green beans, green pepper, cabbage, peas, corn, sauteed mushrooms

1 cup cooked beans: lima, kidney, pinto, black, or garbanzo

handful of raw or cooked whole wheat pasta

(1/2 cup cooked grain)
salt to taste
plenty of pepper

(tender greens, cut up)
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Saute onion, garlic and celery in oil until soft. Crush garlic. Add tomatoes, or tomato paste and stock, and herbs. Simmer the soup gently while you prepare whatever vegetables, beans, or grains you wish to add.

At least 30 minutes before serving soup, add beans, noodles, and/or the grain.

Minestrone welcomes leftover steamed vegetables, but if you are cooking them fresh, we suggest steaming or simmering them before adding to the soup because vegetables cooked with tomato will lose their color. Incorporate the vegetable cooking water into the soup. Parsley and tender greens will keep their color and not be overcooked if you add them just a few minutes before serving. Don't count them as part of the 2 cups of vegetables because they cook down so much; just add them as extras.

After combining all the ingredients, bring the soup to a boil, simmer briefly, and correct the seasonings. If you like, garnish each bowl with a spoonful of Parmesan cheese.

Makes about 10 cups - all to the good because it's even better the next day. Serves 6 generously.

Peeling Peaches

I bought a couple of white peaches yesterday, just because I wanted to eat more fresh fruits. Peeling peaches is a bit tricky because you might end up bruising the fruit and getting juice all over your hands so I had to go on the internet to see how to do it properly. It's a lot like peeling tomatoes and apricots. Dunk the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds, transfer to a bowl of ice water then pull the skin off with your hands. It was so easy! I didn't realize though that peeled peaches, like apples, discolor easily. My son suggested I put them in the refrigerator first because they're best eaten cold. When I took them out a few hours later, they were a bit browned, but they still tasted good.

Salad

My husband fell in love with this salad he first tried at Nordstrom Cafe when we lived in Chicago. He talks about it every time we have salad and finally got to recreate it yesterday. He prepared everything, including the caramelized walnuts, but drizzled it with bottled vinaigrette. Maybe one of these days, he will even get to make the dressing himself!

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Pork and Chillies

This dish is called Moo Pad Prik Sai Tua Fak Yao in Thailand.

500 g (1-1/4 lb) green beans
12-16 garlic cloves
6-9 fresh hot green or red chillies
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
275 g (10 oz) lean pork, minced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce or salt

Wash and trim the beans. Cut them crossways into 5-7 mm (1/4-1/3 inch) rounds. Peel the garlic and chop it finely. Cut the chillies crossways into very thin slices.

Put the oil in a wok and set it over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the garlic and green chillies. Stir and fry until the garlic turns golden, then add the pork. Stir and fry, breaking up any lumps, until the pork has lost its raw look. Put in the beans, paprika, sugar, fish sauce or salt and 300 ml (10 fl oz) water. Stir and cook on a medium-high heat for about 8-10 minutes or until the beans are tender and most of the water has been absorbed.

Bulgogi

This is one of my son's favorites. He said I should include it as one of our family's favorites. This recipe came from Madhur Jaffrey's Far Eastern Cookery.

500 g (1-1/4 lb) lean tender beef steak
1/2 medium-sized hard pear
4-5 garlic cloves
5 cm (2-inch) cube fresh ginger
4 tablespoons soy sauce (shoyu)
5 medium-sized mushrooms
120 g (4-1/2 oz) onions
3 spring onions
1 medium-sized carrot
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
2-1/2 tablespoons sugar

Cut the meat against the grain into 7.5 x 5 cm (3 x 2 inch) rectangles that are about 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick.

Peel and core the pear half and chop it coarsely. Peel the garlic and ginger and chop coarsely. Blend the pear, garlic, ginger and soy sauce in an electric blender until smooth.

Cut the mushrooms into 3 mm (1/8 inch) slices. Peel and thickly slice the onions. Cut the spring onions into 6 cm (2-1/2 inch) lengths. Peel the carrot and then cut it into 6 cm (2-1/2 inch) chunks. Then cut each chunk lengthways into 3 mm (1/8) inch slices. Put the meat in a bowl. Add the paste from the blender, the mushrooms, onions, spring onions, carrot, sesame oil, sesame seeds and sugar. Mix well. Cover and marinate for 1-24 hours.

Set a large cast-iron frying pan on a high heat. Let it get almost white=hot. Put in as many of the meat slices as will fit in one layer. Cook, turning the meat pieces over as soon as they brown a little. (You could also cook the meat, spread out, under a very hot grill.) You may leave the meat rare if yo like. Remove the meat as soon as it is ready. Cook all the meat this way. Then put in the vegetables and the marinade. Cook on a high heat for a minute or so. Then spoon the mixture over or beside the meat. Serve immediately.

Cooking Day

Today is cooking day. We went to the grocery this morning and I got some round steak, chicken breasts and drumsticks, and ground pork. With the round steak I was able to make tapa and bulgogi (both are still marinating overnight) and I was about to make beef bourguignon when we realized that we didn't have a corkscrew to open the bottle of red wine. Bitin! I already prepared the other ingredients which will now have to be stored until we buy the corkscrew tomorrow.

It's my son's first time to see ground pork. He calls it worm meat because they look like worms and he's curious to see how it will look when it's cooked.

Another purchase I made was spaghetti squash. I wanted crookneck squash, but the grocery didn't have any. I've been curious about spaghetti squash, which looks like ordinary squash when raw, but when cooked the flesh falls away like ribbons or strands, hence the name. I've been looking at several recipes and haven't decided how to prepare it. I do know that I would like to roast/toast the seeds (http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/snacks/r/pumpkinseeds.htm) . I've been craving for "butong pakwan" that the other day I bought a small bag of trail mix, but discarded the almonds. Got mostly pumpkin and sunflower seeds and cranberries.

Aside from cooking, I made my usual chocolate chip-oatmeal cookies, but added some slivered almonds this time, which made the cookies taste even better. Whenever I make a batch, my son always reminds me of the comment one of his classmates said about the cookies (the best chocolate chip cookies he's tasted). I used my Kitchen-Aid mixer, which has been idle for over a year. Maybe even two. I hope to use it more often this time.

Glazed Gingery Spareribs

It's been more than a year since I cooked, hence the paucity of recipes from this blog. Since we moved to our apartment last month, I've been cooking everyday, mostly recipes from my collection. Lately, I've been trying out some new recipes. This is one I cooked yesterday. It's very similar to the Asian-Style Pork Chops that I've tried several times. Instead of baking though, this one is braised. It's from Madhur Jaffrey's Far Eastern Cookery. The recipe calls for pork ribs, but I used pork loin chops.

1 kg (2 lb) pork spareribs or pork loin chops
6 tablespoons dark soy sauce
6 tablespoons sugar
1-inch cubes fresh ginger (I used minced ginger)
3 spring onions (I didn't have this ingredient)
3 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry

Separate the spareribs individually and then cut them into 3-inch lengths. (Use a cleaver of heavy knife to cut through the bone or persuade your butcher to do this for you if possible.)

Put the spareribs in a wide, preferably non-stick pan. Add the soy sauce and sugar. Peel and lightly crush the ginger cubes and add them to the pan. Add the whole spring onions also. Pour in the rice wine or sherry and 1 litre (1-3/4 pints) water. Bring to the boil. Cover, turn the heat to medium-low and simmer fairly vigorously for 45 minutes. Turn the meat around every 10 minutes or so to allow even colouring. Remove the lid from the pan and turn the heat to high. Remove and discard the ginger and spring onions. Cook for another 20 minutes or so or until the liquid is thick and syrupy. It should coat the ribs with an even, dark glaze. You may need to stir the ribs around a few times during this period.