Red Lentils & Sweet Potatoes Dahl

I hope you love Indian food as much as I do. I always feel very excited when I smell the spice and herbs tossing in the pan. This dahl is ideal to serve with curry and rice with roti as I like to substitute some plant protein for animal protein these days. Sweet potato is low GI and turmeric is good for preventing cancer so this is a meal for anyone looking for good health.

It's long weekend of Queen's Birthday in Australia. Have a lovely weekend!

Red Lentils & Sweet Potatoes Dahl

Ingredients:
3 cups water
1 small sweet potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 tomato, diced
1/4 small onion
1/3 cup red lentils
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste

Method:

1. Rinse and drain the lentils. 
2. Add a little oil and add the onion and turmeric. Then add water and the remaining ingredients. Simmer until the lentil and sweet potatoes are cooked.
3. When the water evaporate and the dahl starts to thicken, seasoned with salt.  Serve with roti or rice.

Agar Agar Jelly Cake with Coconut and Pandan

Chinese New Year is coming up on 19 February. This year my in-laws from Malaysia is coming to spend CNY with us making it extra special. As usual for any Chinese celebration, there will be lots of cooking and eating. Agar Agar jelly is a popular sweet you would see in any Malaysian party. It is made from sea vegetable which is a good substitute for gelatine for vegetarian.  It also helps to create many colourful and healthy dessert. It is a great last minute dessert that is very simple to prepare.

I finally find the frozen pandan leaves from Yuen's Market at Sunnybank in Brisbane. I usually use the pandan essence which is very bright green in colour and taste not as good as the real one. I normally make this dessert using coconut milk, evaporated milk and mung bean.  As I don't want to over power the taste of the pandan, I have omitted the evaporate milk here. After discovering this Asian vanilla essence, surely there will be more pandan recipes to come. If mung bean is not your thing, you can omit it as well.

Have a great Chinese New Year!

Agar Agar Jelly Cake with Coconut and Panda

Ingredients:

A:
1/4 cup split mung beans or yellow split peas
1 cup water

B:
3 pandan leaves
1 cup boiled water at room temperature

C:
20g agar agar leaves
2 litres water
1 3/4 cup sugar or more to taste
1 1/2 cup coconut cream

Method:

1. A: Cook mung beans with water till boil, turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the beans are cooked. Strain and put the bean aside.
2. B: Cut the pandan leaves into pieces. Add into the blender with water and blend till the juice is green. Strain and preserve the water and discard the leaves.
3. Place agar agar into boiling water and let it dissolves. Add sugar and stir till sugar dissolves.
4. Pour about 1/3 of the agar agar sugar mixture into a large baking tray (25cmx30cm). Keep in fridge for about 15 minutes.
5. Add coconut cream and pandan juice to the remaining agar agar sugar mixture. ( If not using pandan juice, you can add 1/4 cup evaporated milk here) Spread mung bean over the 1st layer of the cake. Then use a ladle to pour the coconut mixture into the tray.  Keep in fridge for at least 1 hour before cutting into slices. It is best to consume the jelly slices within one or two days.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Homemade Fruity Ice Blocks

Although summer is not my favourite season, I do love summer fruit the most. We had lots of cherries, berries and mango during Christmas. Followed by lychees and stone fruit over the rest of the  summer holidays. Not to mention the watermelon and the all year rounded banana and strawberries making you living in the paradise of fruit. My Malaysian hubby would probably say it's not good enough without Durian, the King of the Fruit. LOL!

The best way to keep seasoned fruit is to freeze them for later use. These homemade ice blocks are  truly healthy for a summer treat. The summer holiday is finishing soon and I hope everyone has a good break and ready for the fresh start of the school.

Have a great Australian Day!

Homemade Fruity Ice Blockes

Ingredients:

Apricot Nectars
Strawberries, sliced
Peaches or mango, cubed

Place the cut up fruit at the bottom of the ice block moulds. Fill with the apricot nectars then keep into the freezer till ready to eat.

Place the ready to eat ice blocks within the mould under running warm water will make it easier to remove the ice blocks from the mould.

Merry Christmas - Tomato & Sweet Chilli Relish

Merry Christmas, my friend!

We have just come back from a holiday in Melbourne.  It was only a four days trip but we had a good look around of the CBD and tried many Melbourne specialities food including Malaysian, Vietnamese, Japanese, American, French, chocolates and the most highlight was visiting the Queen Victoria Markets twice for the fresh fruit and gourmet food. We also did a lot of shopping from European department store to discounted outlet centres and I would have to say we hadn't done such a good shopping for a long time. It really is a gastronomic trip and we just love everywhere we go in Melbourne!

Gourmet burger has been a big hit in Melbourne, there are many burger eateries in the cities. As BBQ is one of the tradition way to celebrate Christmas and New Year in Australia, this recipe of tomato relish could give your burger another level of satisfaction than the good old tomato sauce.

Enjoy a great time with your family and friends and will see you next year!

Tomato & Sweet Chilli Relish

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
400g ripe tomato, chopped
1/4 cup Thai sweet chilli sauce
1/4 cup raw sugar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

Method:
Put oil into pan and saute onion till brown, add remaining ingredients. Boil, turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Strawberry Smoothie and Raw Cacao Hot Chocolate (Dairy Free)

These are the cold and warm beverages that I make up using almond butter from my previous post. My daughter is the advocate to try out my new beverage recipes.  I have been giving this strawberry smoothie to her every morning during her exam period to boost up her immune system.  While my husband and my son both get sick from the cold, she has been strong sailing through her study.

I love the raw cacao hot chocolate during cold winter days.  The almond butter has given it an extra creamy texture. I prefer to add raw sugar than honey as raw sugar make it tastes closer to the traditional hot chocolate.  After traveling to France and drinking hot chocolate from a soup bowl, my daughter prefers the traditional hot chocolate than the raw cacao one.  Surely, I understand the reason, it is very hard to beat the taste of traditional hot chocolate!

Spring is already arrived and school holiday is commencing, life is good!

Strawberry Smoothie
(serve 1)

10 small or 5 large strawberries
1 heap teaspoon chia seeds
1 small banana
1 cup sweetened almond milk
1 heap teaspoon almond butter

Put all ingredients into the blender and blend till smooth. Enjoy!

Note: You can add half of a mango and a small handful of blueberries to enhance the flavour

Raw Cacao Hot Chocolate
(serve 1)

1 cup sweetened almond milk
1 heap teaspoon raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon raw sugar or honey
1 heap teaspoon almond butter
a little cold water

Put the cacao powder, sugar and almond butter into a glass, make a smooth paste with a little water.  Heat up milk in a saucepan and pour over the mixture.

Alternatively, you can froth the milk and pour over the mixture. Enjoy!

Homemade Almond Butter

My frist time making almond butter was more liked making a coarse paste as I really didn't know what "oil comes out" meant.  After reading detoxinista step-by-step instructions, I finally get a success making smooth almond butter.  I was only using an old model of blender and it worked well even I was a little worry when steam came out after 20 minutes of blending.  It's a stage of the heat generated cooking the almonds and the whole process takes about 30 minutes. So be patients and the final product  is delicious as a dip for crackers or put into beverages.

Almond Butter

Ingredient:

2 cups raw almond kernels

Method:

Put the kernels into the blender with the S blade, blend until the oil comes out and smooth. You may stop the blender in between to scope down the side and let the blender has a little rest.

Getting ready

Pour almonds into the blender

After 15 seconds, coarse almond meal formed

5 minutes later, almond meal starts to form into a rough paste

10 minutes later, a thick paste is formed, you also notice the butter is heated with little steam

10 more minutes, the butter is nearly ready to form a smooth, light texture

5 more minutes, the butter is ready

Homemade Cumquat Marmalade

There is this very cute 90 years old lady selling jam and homegrown fruit for the church every week.  The fruit of the jam is donated by local farmers and made by volunteers with lots of love and kindness.  Their specialities are rosella jam in March, strawberry jam and cumquat marmalade in August, mango chutney in December. The day I went to visit her, her little store was full with bottles of cumquat marmalade and she was saying delightfully, "there is cumquat everywhere!"

I bought a bottle of marmalade and 1 kg of cumquat from her.  I didn't expect there would so many seeds in cumquat so it took me a while to cut up the fruit.  But it really worth the effort because the jam is tasty (as good as the one I bought) and I am pleased that I finally make jam without using the bread machine. And now, I have jam everywhere in my fridge and pantry!

Cumquat Marmalade
(make about 5x500g bottles)

Ingredients:
1 kg cumquats
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1.25L water
6 cups raw sugar
1 tablespoon jam setta (optional)

Method:

1. Wash cumquats, drain.  Quarter cumquats with knife but not cutting all the way through. Remove seeds and cut off the hard pitt from the centre if needed.  Don't worry if you do not remove all the seeds, it would float out later. 
2. Process cumquats in a blender then combine the cumquats mixture, lemon juice and water in a large saucepan.  Stand for at least 2 hours.
3. Bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Spoon out any seeds if you see them floating at the surface.
4. Add sugar to the mixture and boil for another 30 minutes. Skim scum with a metal spoon if necessary. 
5. The jam should turn thick and bubbling. Test the jam if it is set by dropping 1 tablespoon of hot jam onto a chilled plate, move it with finger after 40 seconds.  If it crinkles and thicken, its done.  If not, add 1 tablespoon jam setta and boil for another 5-10 minutes and repeat the test until the jam is set. 
6. Pour hot jam into sterilised jars, covered with transparent papers that have been dashed with lemon juice then tighten the jars with lids and rubber bands.

Adopted and modified from the cookbook "Classic Preserves Jams Chutneys Relishes" from the Australian Women's Weekly.

Green Smoothie (Dairy Free)

After making the green juice, I want to make a recipe for green smoothie. Looking around at my fruit tray and the fridge, picking up all the seasonal green fruit and vegetable, this is my new addition of a healthy drink! It involves the juicer and the blender so there is a bit of washing to do, maybe a dishwasher can be my best friend after all!

Green Smoothie
(serve 1)

1 stalk of celery
1 green apple
couple of lettuce
1 kiwi fruit
1/2 small avocado
squeeze of lemon juice

Method:

1. Cut and core the apple, skin the kiwi fruit, wash the vegetable.
2. Put the first 3 ingredients into a juicer. 
3. Pour the green juice into a blender, then add the rest of the ingredients and blend till smooth. Enjoy!

Overnight Oats with Strawberry (dairy free)

What would be the perfect breakfast for you? My husband and son would put their hands up and say "Bacon and Egg!" and my daughter would be happy to have French toast with a tub of yoghurt. And for me, this overnight oats with strawberry is my perfect breakfast that keep me going for at least a few hours till lunch time. It provides a good start of the day with fibre, protein, anti-oxidents and calcium....and the best thing is that it is ready to serve in a jar with only a little of work to do the night before.

Overnight oats with strawberry

Ingredients:
1 cup sweetened almond milk
6 tablespoons rolled oats
1 tablespoon chia seeds
few goji berries
4-5 fresh strawberries, halves

Method:
Pour milk into a medium size glass jar, add the rolled oats, chia seeds and goji berries. Give it a stir, then add in strawberries. Tighten the jar with a lid. Place into the fridge overnight. Add some toasted muesli and more fresh fruit if needed when serve.

Tip: I usually leave it at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. If you want to warm it up, leave the strawberries and add it in the morning instead. You can also sprinkle more nuts and goji berries before serving to suit your taste.

Papaya Chia Seeds Smoothie and Chocolate Banana Shake (dairy free)

It is in the middle of winter and it is a bit cold to have smoothie and shake using frozen fruit.  These two drinks use fresh fruit and needless to say they are packed with goodness!  In Taiwan, papaya smoothie is a very popular drink and this is my version of a dairy free one.  It is also my first time making shake with avocado, it gives a thick shake texture and very filling as well. Raw cacao powder has more anti-oxidents than cocoa powder that you must give it a try! You are allowed to get addicted to it without guilt!

Papaya Chia Seeds Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 cup sweetened almond milk
1x 2cm thick wedge of red papaya
1 teaspoon chia seeds, soaked with 1/4 water till transparent

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth. Enjoy!

Chocolate Banana Shake

Ingredients:
1 cup sweetened almond milk
1 banana
1/4 large avocado
1 teaspoon chia seeds, soaked with 1/4 water till transparent
1 heap tablespoon raw cacao powder

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend till smooth. Enjoy!

Chocolate Bliss Balls

These bliss balls are packed with nutritions and I can pop three or four into my mouth without guilt.  And yet, they are so easy to make, just blend everything and roll it into the coconut.  It keeps very well for a few days.

Chocolate Bliss Balls
(make about 18-20)

Ingredients:

1 cup medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup organic cacao powder
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon organic extra virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon goji berries
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
desiccated coconut for coating

1. Blend almonds and walnuts until starting to become paste, add chopped date, cacao power, chai seeds, salt and coconut oil.  
2. Blend until it becomes sticky to shape.  Put into a bowl, add goji berries. 
3. Use hand to shape into ball shape, roll into coconut.

Roasted Capsicum and Pumpkin Soup

After having a warm autumn, winter finally comes. I learnt about this soup from my son's friend, his mother was a very good cook and I enjoyed this soup a lot. The aroma of the garlic and the sweetness of the roasted capsicum enhance the flavour of this soup, making it a perfect winter warmer.  Pumpkin soup is one of the most versatile kind of soup, I have done a Thai style pumpkin soup before and now I've added this soup to my favourite soup list.

Pumpkin soup also has a very special meaning to me. During my course of chemo, my neighbour cooked me a big pot of pumpkin soup as a nice gesture of helping. From her Italian background, she put parsley into her soup and I would never forget how tasty her soup was.

I really think pumpkin can bring magic!


Roasted Capsicum and Pumpkin Soup
(serve 4)

800g pumpkin
2 medium potatoes
1/2 small onion
1 red capsicum
1 garlic gloves, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
water

Method:

1. Peel potatoes, chop pumpkin and onion into chucks.  Place enough water to cover the vegetable in a saucepan and cook until vegetable are cooked. Leave to cool.
2. Meanwhile, cut capsicum into half.  With the cut size facing down, sprinkle oil and garlic.  Bake in a moderate oven until the skin are wrinkled, about 20 minutes. If the garlic burns, spoon it under the capsicum. 
3. Place the capsicum into a zip bag and let cool.  When it is cooled, peel off the skin from the capsicum and chop into chuck.
4. Pour the vegetable into a blender, reserve the water.  Blend all ingredients until smooth.
5. Return the puree into a saucepan and heat up the soup.  Add enough reserved water till you have a nice consistency.  Seasoned with salt and pepper.

Berry Smoothies (Dairy free)

This is another of my favourite drink in the morning, it's especially good to have after the morning walk.  Coming home with sweat and feeling thirsty, the coldness of the smoothies melt you down with goodness. I enjoy looking at the ingredients blending into thick shake and using the spoon to eat the frozen fruit.  I couldn't ask for a better life to sit down on the sofa and enjoying this!

Berry Smoothies

Ingredients:

1 kale leaf

few lettuce leaves

1 frozen banana

1 handful of frozen organic berries

1 tablespoon goji berries

1 cup organic coconut water

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  Serve straight away.

Spiced Chia Seeds Bubble Shake

This is my favourite breakfast drink which is full of goodies. It's liked the Taiwanese bubble tea but I use chai seeds instead of the tapioca balls.  I keep the left over into the fridge and drink it whenever I want it.

In cold weather, you can heat up the milk to serve warm!


Spiced Chia Seeds Bubble Shake

Ingredients:

2 cups almond milk (sweetened)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon chia seeds (soaked with 1/3 cup water until transparent)
1-2 tablespoon maple syrup

Pour all ingredients into a jar, shake well.  Keep in the fridge to keep fresh.
If you're using unsweetened almond milk, add more maple syrup.

Good Morning Green Juice

The fun of juicing and blending smoothies is that they are so colourful, the awesome green, red, purple or orange and you know that it provides you with loads of goodies! Having one in the morning helps to cleanse your body and give it a kick start. These days I don't buy bottled juice as making your own is healthier and you can be creative to create your own favourite! This is what I call FRESH!


Green Juice
(make 1 tall glass)

Ingredients:
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 cup lettuce
2 celery stalks
1/3 continental cucumber
1 green apple, cored
1 piece ginger

Method:
Process all ingredients in a juicer and drink right away.

Banana & Walnuts Bread (Lactose Free)

Gluten free baking has been popular at cafe these days but there are hardly any lactose free baking available. My son is lactose intolerance so every time when he goes to camp with the school, he has to supply his own milk and request a special diet. He just miss out all the fancy shakes and milk based beverage when we are out dining. Most of the time he can tolerate cheese, ice-cream and chocolate but when his stomach is not well, these special treats are out of the question.

One of my friend's son has very bad reaction to dairy product so all her baking would be dairy free by using lactose free product. You can find lactose free milk, yoghurt and cheese easily these days so it is not a problem if your kids don't like soy or other milk substitution. I come across this recipe from Coles website of Curtis Stone's recipe and decide to making it a lactose free version. Usually my son doesn't like baking contain banana or walnut but he has been eating a few pieces and I guess I can call it a success!


Banana & Walnuts Bread (Lactose Free)

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons Lactose Free yoghurt
3 bananas, mashed
1 2/3 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted and chopped (leave 3 whole walnuts for garnish)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Sift flour into a mixing bowl, add sugar, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. 
2. Add the oil, beaten eggs, vanilla essence, yoghurt and banana to the dry ingredients, then add the toasted walnuts until it is well combined.
3. Pour the mixture into a paper lined loaf pan and top with 3 whole walnuts for garnish.
4. Bake for 1 1/4 hours at 180c or until the skewer comes out clean when insert into the cake.

Thai Style King Crab Salad

One year we went to Japan, our tour guide helped us to order some snow crab from Hokkaido express down to Tokyo.  We had watched many travel shows talking about how tasty the crab was so we didn't want to miss the chance while we were in Japan.  The crab was cooked and came with a pair of scissor to help cutting the shell.  It was one of the unforgettable moment we had in our trip.

I'd seen live Australian king crab in some Asian restaurants or in the aquarium but I'd never tasted it.  
The first time I saw it selling at Coles, I was wondering it would taste as good as the snow crab as both of them live in the cold region.  This crab salad hadn't disappointed us, the meat was not as strong as the mud crab but had more flavour than sand crab, it's flaky and sweet.  I like to serve mud crab as a hot dish and king crab is better to serve cold.

The importance of cooking Thai food is to balance the sweet and sour flavour, I do not have an exact measurement for this recipe as it's all up to your taste buds to tell you what to put in.

Thai Style King Crab Salad

King Crab claws (cooked)
cucumber
onion
chilli
coriander
mint
lime
salt & pepper
fish sauce

Method:
Remove crab meat from the shell.  Finely cut cucumber and onion, marinate with salt, then rinse and drain.  Squeeze out juice and add to the crab meat.  Add the chopped up the coriander, mint and chilli, seasoned with fish sauce, pepper, lime juice and sugar.  Serve cold.


   

Lamb Kebabs for the Australia Day

It wouldn't go wrong to celebrate Australia Day with this lamb kebabs on the BBQ.  One time I asked a visiting student from China who has spent a few days with the Australian family that what was the most memorable time she had in Australia.  Her answer was the BBQ!  The great thing of BBQ is that you throw in all sort of different things such as sausages, chops or prawns onto the BBQ and you talk and drink while cooking the food.  The atmosphere is relaxing and food are cooked to your liking.  And lamb, I would say it's the number one red meat that Aussie love!

Have a lovely Australia Day!

Lamb Kebabs
(make about 10)

500g trimmed lamb, cubed
mushroom, halves
onions, cubed
skewers

Marinade:
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic mince
cracked black pepper

Method:
Marinate the meat with the marinade for at least an hour.  Spike each piece of meat alternatively with onion and mushroom (or capsicum). Pan fry it in the grill pan or on the BBQ, turing regularly till you get a nicely charred meat on the outside with juicy pink on the inside.

Source: adopted & modified rom the cookbook "jamie's kitchen" from Jamie Oliver.

Beetroot Chutney

After making several bottles of jam a few months ago, I want to try making chutney and preserve.  Beetroot is one of my favourite purple vegetable, however it does stain your hand after handling.  So if I only get my hands dirty for once and enjoy the chutney for a few months in a bottle, that's not a bad idea! It's also a nice gift for Christmas.

I serve it with turkey minced burger and it is tasty enough that you can skip the tomato sauce!

Beetroot Chutney
(make 2 bottles, about 3 cups)

3 beetroot (500g)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 cardamon pods, bruised
2 green apples (400g), chopped
1/2 red onion (85g), finely chopped
1 cm ginger, chopped
1 garlic glove, finely chopped
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Keep the skin on the beetroot and cook with boiling water in pan or microwave till cook.  Use a fork to poke into the beetroot, if it gets in then it's ready.  Drain.
2. Cool then peel the skin off.  You can wear gloves to prevent the juice stain on you hands.
3. Chop half the beetroot into fine dice, blend the remaining beetroot till smooth.
4. Put the beetroot puree, apple, onion, ginger, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice and salt in a saucepan.  Add in spices (you can tie spices in muslin bag), make it to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.  Add chopped beetroot and simmer for 10 minutes more.
5. Store chutney in sterilised jar and it can keep in the fridge for 3 months.

Source: modified and adopted from the cookbook, "The Australian Women's Weekly: Classic Preserves Jams Chutneys Relishes"

  

Thai Style Pumpkin Soup

There is no other time I would eat pumpkin so often except in winter!  I bake it with vegetable in roast, putting it as topping for pizza or as a filling for tart...and my favourite is pumpkin soup!  There are many recipes for different pumpkin soup putting in bacon, curry or turmeric powder, adding sweet potato etc.  And this Thai Style is my new favourite.  I had this recipe last year from a magazine and finally got the chance to make it.  The coconut milk makes such a difference and I love the spice from the curry paste.  The original recipe require blending pesto with coriander roots, lemon zest and juice but I have omitted this process by adding coriander powder instead.  That's the way to do it when you don't want to get out to the garden on a cold night to pick up the coriander root!

Thai Style Pumpkin Soup
(serve 2-4)

1 cereal bowl of cut pumpkin
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp Thai red curry paste (put less if you don't want it too spicy)
1 cup water
1/2 cup lite coconut milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
coriander to garnish

Method:

1. Heat a little oil in the saucepan, saute onion and stir for a minute.  Add ginger, coriander powder and curry paste, stir through.  
2. Add in pumpkin and water, reduce heat and let it simmer till pumpkin is cooked.  Cool slightly.
3. Blend the pumpkin mixture till smooth in a blender.  Return to pan and add coconut milk and lemon juice then warm through.  Seasoned with salt and garnish with coriander leaves.