Korean Potato Side Dish

When we went to a Korean restaurant on Cavendish Blvd., I think the only reason why we went back is because of its potato side dish. It was so good that I had to find the recipe online. One recipe that I tried, which was very close to what we've eaten is:

Jason's Blog: Korean Potato Side Dish

Instead of simmering the potatoes for 10 minutes, I did it for 15 ^^

Here are some of the pictures I took:
    <Our main ingredients: potatoes, onion and minced garlic>

    <All three ingredients mixed>

    <After addition of the rest of the ingredients, simmer for 15 mins>

                              <Ready to eat!>

I rate this recipe 4xYUMS! <out of 5 YUMS!>  ^^~

Canadians, beware of your walnuts!

I've been so busy with the MBA, that's I've neglected this blog. Sorry!

I've just stumbled on this article. Please check it out if you are a walnut addict in Canada:

Canada E. coli Outbreak Tied to Walnuts

 

 

 +      E. Coli = Throw it away!!

Beef Pot Roast

I haven't been updating for awhile: I've been gone for a week to the Dominican Republic to get over-stocked on Vitamin D and this whole week I've been doing taxes prep and prep to go to Spain in 2 days. Life is busy but as long as it stays interesting, it's still fun ^^

So, a 2-lb beef meat was on sale for less than $5, and I've decided to try doing pot roast  using this recipe just because I did not have 8 hours to tenderize the meat via slow-cooker:

Beef Pot Roast

The tweaks I've made will be captioned on the photos ^^
    <Browning all sides>
    <I don't have the dutch oven, so I used a regular saucepan pot thing. It came out pretty good ^^>

    <the garlic, onion, pepper and salt in the pan>

    <Oh yes, I actually used about 3 tablespoons of the Raspberry Smirnoff and poured it on the beef for a      
    fruity flavor ^^>

    <At the last half hour, I added 2 fresh tomatoes and cubed potatoes into the saucepan>

The meat turned really good and tender. It's worth a try for sure ^^

I rate this recipe 4.5YUMS! out of 5YUMS! ^^

Apple Pie Delish!

So, using the apple crust recipe, you can make 3 apple crusts, which means you can use one of the crust portions to make the lattice top ^^

I used this recipe for this marvelous pie:
Apple Pie

Tweaks:
- only 4 apples used, cut in 2 cm slices - just because I only have that many apples.
- about 5 large strawberries cut in cubes added.
- 2 handfuls of blueberries added.
 
    <Bottom crust, forked>

    <Half filled with apples, topped with the berries>

    <Cover with more apple slices>

    <Sugar butter mix>      

    <Top lattice done!>

   <Sugary butter sauce over the lattice. Pour slowly to let the sauce get into the holes!! When putting into the oven, please place the pie on a baking sheet; The juices will boil and drip out!!>

    <Woot woot! Let rest for 10 minutes, and consume! It can also be served cold ^^>

    <A peek!>

This is the 4th time I've used this recipe, so of course it's rated 5 x YUMS! ^^~ (out of 5 YUMS!)

Blueberry Muffins

I've used this recipe a long time ago, but now I'm going back to it because blueberries were on sale at Adonis ^0^~

The reason why this recipe is special is because there's the addition of sweet "crumblies" on top of each muffins. Don't forget to use a plate every time you eat one. The crumbs get everywhere, but it's worth every muffin ^^~

Recipe: To Die For Blueberry Muffins

Tweaks:

- I've added 1/4 cup 12 grain cereals into the dry ingredients.

    <Dry ingredients>

    <Blueberries added into the batter>

                              <Batter added into the liners>

    <"Crumblies!">

                              <"Crumblies" set on top of the muffin batter>

                             <Muffins are ready! I leave them for 5 minutes in the pan for them to set>

    <Ready to be eaten! ^^)

I rate this recipe 5 x YUMS! ^^~ (out of 5 YUMS!)

Lemon Meringue Pie!

It's one of Joey's favourite pies, so I decided to give it a try.

Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie

Unfortunately I made it WAY TOO lemony.. because I replaced lemon zest with lemon grind. I will attempt this recipe again next time, I must conquer it!!

But for now, I really do want to share the beautiful pictures I took ^^

    <Cooking the custard filling>

    <All of the sudden, the mixture got really thick!!!> <mix mix mix~>

    <Pour the lemon filling into prepared BAKED pie crust>

    <Build your meringue!>

    <Ready for consumption!>

    <A slice!>

I will rate this recipe when the pie is done properly next time! ^^;

Pie Crust!

Oh, I love making pies. They are super tedious but the end-product is always so rewarding, i.e. PIE.

So, I have used this recipe many many times before to make the pie crust:

French Pastry Pie Crust

I have done lattice work using this pastry recipe. This recipe can make 2 bottom crusts and 1 top crust.

Here are some of my pictures:
    <Ball of dough ready to be rolled>

    <Forked and ready for delicious filling!>

I rate this recipe 5 x YUMS!! ^^~ (out of 5 YUMS!)

Lemon Butterfly Cakes

This is a recipe where I actually have all the ingredients, so I was like, Why Not.

I got this recipe from the same book I mentioned on the post before - Baking; page 76.

I've also found this awesome website for substitutions: Substituting Ingredients - For Dummies.

The recipe makes 6 regular-sized muffins.

MUFFIN

3/4 cup of all purpose flour + 1 tsp baking powder (OR 3/4 cup self-rising flour)

1/2 tsp baking powder

8 tbsp soft margarine

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar + some for dusting

2 eggs, lightly beaten

finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon

2 tbsp milk

1. Set the oven at 375F/ 190C.

2. Put 6 muffin liners in a muffin pan.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl; mix well.

4. Mix margarine, sugar, eggs, lemon rind and milk in a separate bowl using an electric hand whisk.

5. Once the liquid mixture is properly mixed, add flour into it; beat until smooth 

<NOTE: don't over-mix the ingredients as it will affect the rising effect of the muffins>

6. Spoon the batter into the muffin liners, and bake the cupcakes for 15-20 mins until well-risen and golden brown. 

7. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

LEMON FILLING

4 tbsp butter, softened

1 cup of confectioners' sugar + some for dusting

3/4 tbsp lemon juice

1. Put the butter in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Sift the confectioners' sugar, add lemon juice and beat until smooth and creamy.

2. When the cupcakes have cooled, use a serrated knife to cut a circle from the top of each cupcake and then cut each circle in half. Spread/ pipe the buttercream filling into the centre of each cupcake; Press 2 semi-circular halves into it at an angle to resemble butterfly wings. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Now, enjoy some images of my little treats ^^~

    <Muffin's wet ingredients>

    <Wet ingredients mixed into the dry ones>

    <Batter spooned into the liners>

    <Lemon filling ready!>

    <Cupcakes fresh from the oven - waiting to cool>

  <Dusted! I find that it's best served cold - so put them in the fridge for half hour before enjoying them!>

I rate this recipe 3.5 x YUMS! ^^~ (out of 5 YUMS!)

Pizza from scratch!

We made a trip to Burlington, VT just early this week, and I found a cook book (on sale!) with nice recipes - it's called:


Baking - Love Food - an imprint of Parragon Books.

I used the recipe: Cheese & Tomato Pizza (Page 188) + I of course have tweaked the recipe based on the ingredients I already have at home ^^;

The recipe makes 2 8" pizza.

DOUGH
1.5 cups all-purpose flour + extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp instant yeast OR 1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp canola oil + extra for oiling
6 tbsp lukewarm water


1. Sift flour and salt into a bowl and stir in the yeast. Make a well in the center and pour in the oil and water. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the liquid using your hands (the book suggests that if you want, you can use a wooden spoon, but I fond that it took FOREVER....)
2. Set the oven to the lowest temperature. when it's reached the temperature, turn it off.
3. Knead the dough on lightly floured counter for 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Return to clean bowl, cover with clean damp kitchen towel (the book suggests using lightly oiled plastic wrap, but I don't want it to interact with the dough..). Set aside to rise in the oven for about 1 hour, or until double in size.
4. Knock down the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Knead briefly, then cut in half and roll out each piece into a circle about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer to a lightly oiled cookie sheet and push up the edges with your fingers to form a small rim.

TOPPING
2 tomatoes, sliced thinly.
175 g mozzarella cheese, grated
100 g steak or ham or mushroom, sliced
1/3 fresh onion, diced
salt and pepper
2 tsp dry basil (or fresh shredded basil leaves)
2 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp garlic, minced and dried
2 tsp canola oil

1. Set the oven at 450F/ 230 C.
2. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese to cover the dough, and arrange the tomato slices prettily ^^. Season with salt and pepper; sprinkle the other herbs  and your protein (the book suggest that you can also drizzle with oil, but I find the pizza has a nice not-so-oily texture to it without the oil drizzle).
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until the crust is crisp and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Now, enjoy my pictures ^^

    <Ingredients + dough>

    <Ready to be baked!>

    <Almost there!!>

    Voila!

I rate this delicious pizza 5 x YUMS!(out of 5 YUMS!) ^^~

Marinated Beef Flank Steak

We've always bought pre-marinated beef flanks from Akhavan, and they always taste soooooo good.

At the butcher's, they were having a good price on 1.5 lb of the meat for only a little over $8.

I used this awesome recipe:

Marinated Flank Steak


    Instead of using a baking pan to marinate, I used a large Ziploc bag.

    I usually substitute grilling with cooking on the stove, especially because it's winter.

    But the meat was on the rare side, so what I did was: after letting the meat rest for 2-3 minutes after it
    was cooked on the stove -> I slice the flank 1 inch thick -> and cooked the sides on the hot saucepan

   And Voila! I rate this recipe 5 x YUMS! ^^~

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I've changed my Blog title, because I admit I don't always cook 100% healthy foods. I do find joy in making desserts that I never imagined I will ever make; or sometimes just trying out recipes that seem like a challenge to make - that may or may not be fatty ^^;

Anyhoo, I'm still having fun with my blog, and I hope you're having fun reading it too! ^^~