Cracker + tuna salad + tomato and avocado

Some cracker were on sale at Copps. I about 3 different brands of crackers. They are whole wheat Ritz, hint of salt Wheat Thins, and brown rice baked with red beans Triscuit. I had Ritz before so I opened the Wheat Thins cracker. They taste pretty good but I was surprise that it taste a bit sweet. Well I saw on the Ritz box a topping recipe, it made me remember the tuna salad I made in the Agrace Kitchen. I also had fresh tomato grown in our mini garden and avocado at hand.

Tuna Salad
1 can (6oz) tuna, drained
about 1/4 cup mayonnaise (I didn't have any mayo so I subbed it with ranch)

At first I sliced the tomato and then sliced it in 1/4. For avocado I sliced it in half and then used the knife to slice horizontal and vertical in it's shell, I shouldn't have done that... When I opened the Wheat Thins they were about 1 inch square, small. My tomato slices were larger than the crackers and the avocado were random shape and size, so I just dice them smaller.

Veggie Quinoa and soft egg

LINK: http://www.reclaimingprovincial.com/2013/03/06/veggie-quinoa-breakfast-bowl/

I thought this looks like fried rice but no its quinoa.

Pasta with Broccoli Recipe

Spicy tofu with celery stir fry, simple

Adapt/modify from Tastehongkong
I made this for dinner. I didn't have carrot. I was tempted to use my roommates carrot but I didn't so I subbed it with 2 very small onion. I also added shrimp at the last minute so I dice it smaller for it to cook faster. The pepper paste I had wasn't as spicy as I wanted it to be.

Ingredients

~300g firm tofu
4 celery stems
a handful of shrimp, diced
1/2 carrot
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Onion
cooking oil

Seasonings
2 tsp chili sauce, I used Korean type
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp water
salt and chicken granule bouillon

Method
Wash celery stems, peel and trim away the aged fibrous skin as we did for this dish. Cut into about 1 cm cubes. Peel and cut carrots into similar dices.

Prepare your seasonings, mix items except salt and cgb. Mix until paste dissolve.

First pan-fried the tofu with both sides golden color then slice into about 1 cm cubes.

Heat oil in wok or pan over medium heat, sauté garlic and onion and shrimp until fragrant  Toss in celery and carrot, stir fry it. Pour in seasoned mixture and add tofu. Sitr a bit and cover the pan for about 2 minutes or until the sauce clings to the foods. If you want the vegetables to be more tender, cover and lower heat to simmer another minute or two (add more water if required). Sprinkle in salt and cgb according to taste. Stir well, dish up and serve hot.

Homemade Pickled Swatow Mustard Green

BY: tastehongkong

I love this snack. When I vacation to china, I go and buy a jar of pickled swatow. It's crunchy, juice and sour the way I like it. It's awesome. I would  eat it plain like that or it is usually a side dish for rice porridge.

Ingredients:
1 swatow mustard green, ~500g
1 tsp sea salt

Solution for pickling:
100g rock sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp sea salt
2 cups water


Method:
Soak the vegetable in a basin of water for about half an hour. Cut the vegetable vertically into two equal portions (trim away any brown spots) and wash it under running water until clean. Make sure the areas in-between stems are also washed.

Massage the mustard green (especially on its cut surfaces) with 1/2 tea spoon of salt and let it stand for about an hour. This helps draw out bitterness from the veggie.

Mix salt, sugar and water for pickling in a pot, swirl over heat to melt them down completely. Remove from heat, let cool and mix in vinegar.

Bring about 3 to 4 cups of water in a pot to the boil; put the salted mustard green (but discard any juice) in the pot to blanch. The water shall stop bubbling as soon as it is loaded with the vegetable. Wait till the water boils up again, about 1 to 2 minutes, then dish up the mustard green. Drain excess water, let cool and cut each half vertically into two equal portions.

Get a sterilized bottle or jar (with cover) which is large enough to contain both the solution and vegetable (mine is about 1 liter in volume). Plunge in the cooled mustard green into the bottle, and pour in the solution. Make sure the vegetable is fully submerged in liquid. Cover.

The mustard green shall turn yellowish the next day. Wait another 2 to 3 days at room temperature for the flavors to develop further before serving (see below). For storage, transfer to fridge.

Tip:
Make sure every thing used to handle the boiled vegetable is cleaned, or you may found molds growing with the pickle.

You may check the taste of the pickling solution before filling it into the bottle to see if it suits your taste.

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

LINK:
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/10/ham-and-potato-soup.html

The creaminess of this picture looks so good too. ugh! I really want some. It's so dejecting to look at all these food pictures and can't eat them.

6 servings
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup carrot, diced (optional)
1 cup diced cooked ham (buy a ham steak in the deli section)
3 1/4 chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Instructions:
1.Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, carrot, ham and chicken broth in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper.

2.In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk so that lumps don’t form and until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

3.Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through.

4. Top with cheddar cheese, chives, and bacon if desired. Serve immediately.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

LINK:
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/02/creamy-chicken-soup-for-soul.html

This looks so good too. I want something creamy! I just ran out of potatoes and I don't have chicken of any form

by Beth Goodman

LIST:
6 carrots-peeled and diced
6 potatoes-peeled and diced
1 onion-diced
4 celery stalks-diced
12 c. water
12 chicken bouillon cubes
1-2 c. diced chicken-Beth shreds hers. ( I used a rotisserie chicken from Costco. I was just that lazy today )
2 sticks of butter-she said remember it makes A LOT
1 c. flour
8 oz jar cheez whiz- her secret weapon:)
2 c. egg noodles-cooked

DIRECTION:
Bring water and bouillon to boil. Add vegetables, partially cook them. In separate pan melt butter and flour on medium heat. When smooth, add to vegetables. Turn heat to medium low. Add cheez whiz and chicken. Simmer 30 min or until vegetables are cooked. Add egg noodles and serve.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

LINK:
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/11/broccoli-cheese-soup.html

The picture looks so good. I am drooling for some.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 small onion, diced finely
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, preferably sharp or extra sharp
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
3 cups chopped, lightly steamed or blanched broccoli (I left mine in pretty big chunks)

Instructions:
Note: I used Mel’s tip of cooking the broccoli in a glass bowl covered in saran wrap in the microwave for 3-4 minutes while you prepare the rest of the soup. The broccoli comes out perfect.

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes.

In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour, salt and pepper. Cook together, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium heat until soup starts to thicken, about 5-8 minutes. Add warmed chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended.

Add cheeses and stir until completely melted. Stir in cooked broccoli. Add more salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Mine was really thick because I think I added more broccoli than it calls for but that’s how I like it. If you need to thin it out you can whisk in some more milk or chicken broth. If it’s too thin, you can simmer it a bit longer to thicken it up.

Serve immediately in bowls or bread bowls. Makes 4 servings.

Curry recipe with Okra

Okay I felt like eating curry today, and I still have some okra left and I thought it might be good to add orka, well, I wasn't think deeply and didn't expect the sauce to be thinker and sticky/slimy kind of like texture. This is my second time making curry so I'm not sure how is taste different other than it's a bit slimy, but curry overall.


Ingredient:
pork (or any meat or omit), dice
shrimp
1 large/medium shape carrot, rotate cut
1 onion, dice
1 large/medium potato, dice
2 celery rib, sliced
2 garlic clove, diced (I should have mince it)
4 okra, slice
(or any veggie you like or have in hand)
S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix 3.5oz
2.5 cups of water/broth
cooked/warm rice
oil

Procedure:
I just boiled my diced potatoes until tender  and drain them and then I semi follow the direction on the curry mix.

Let the oil heat up on a large pan, get ready to put the meat, shrimp, onion, and garlic and stir fry for a few minutes until smells nice and looks ready to add the veggies and stir a bit than add the liquid. Let the liquid boil and then lower the heat to medium for 10 minutes. Then add the curry mix, let it dissolve by stirring occasionally. Wala! You're done.

I warm up my left over rice and spoon the curry over it. You can also spread it over noodles, pasta, bread, biscuits or something.