Let's Dish!

My mother's day celebration started on Saturday May 12. In stead of the usual celebration meal at some restaurant, my husband suggested to try the meal assembly centers found in town and maybe pack for a whole weeks of meals, so I can have a weekend off from preparing and cooking lunches and dinners. Loves this idea as I can take a break from spinning my head trying to figure out what's for dinner. Besides, we also started our summer home maintenance project - re-staining the fence and windows fixing, we may not have any time to cook this weekend as my hubby will be spending most of the time outdoor washing and painting.

Before the weekend, hubby has been doing some research for menu and details about the meal assembly center information. There are plenty of centers near by our house: Social Suppers, Let's Dish!, Meal Makers and Super Suppers. Since we are new this thing, we didn't know that we have to sign up for a certain session to prepare the meal. After all the last minutes of scrambling due to the fact that the center that we planed to attend was closed for the whole month of May, we managed to find an open spot at Let's Dish!.
Wasted no time, we hopped into to car and headed to the center. My son Aidan fell asleep in the car while we trying to figure the location of the center. Made a couple phone calls and finally we arrived in the center. We registered the 4 meals menu. According to them, each full size meal can serve up to 6 individual and we can split them into half if we like. We decided to take the split version and start dishing.

The process begin by selecting a recipe we would like to dish then go to the station with the recipe displayed on the counter.

All the ingredient were cut and clean (I assume) and all I have to do was pack them according to the instruction listed on the recipe.
Once all the ingredients are mixed, pack them into a freezer bag or aluminum bowl depends on the dish you order. Label them with you name and the cooking instruction and put them into the designated fridge and continue to the next menu.
It took me about 1 hour to finish 4 dishes + 1 free dish with an online coupon. Total cost $90 + tax. Overall, it was a pleasant experience and I was having fun packaging the food as you can see below.

Mommy's day Gifts

My first mother's day gifts from my family.A lovely pictures card that showcase all my son's picture from birth to 8th month, a hand print we did together at his school (day care) and a birthstone bracelet from my son's birthstone - Peridot. Roman call this stone as Peridot mean "Evening Emerald" because it's green color did not darken at night but was still visible by the lamplight. Some people believe that wearing this stone will bring success, peace and good luck to the wearer.

Coming up next... the series of my first mother's day celebration.

Cranberries Pistachios Biscotti

This is another keeper from my old baking collection. This recipe comes from Giada De Laurentiis - one of my favorite foodnetwork stars. The red color from the berries and the green color from the nut make this a perfect backing for Christmas. I made this as my Christmas gifts to my friends 2 years back and they all love it. I know that we are not even close to holiday's season but I think this biscotti taste good with a cup of cappuccino at anytime of the year.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl to blend.
• Beat the sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt in a large bowl to blend.
• Beat in the eggs 1 at a time.
• Add the flour mixture and beat just until blended.
• Stir in the pistachios and cranberries.
• Form the dough into a 13-inch long, 3-inch wide log on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake until light golden, about 40 minutes.
• Cool for 30 minutes.
• Place the log on the cutting board.
• Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 1/2 to 3/4-inch-thick slices.
• Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti until they are pale golden, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

Recipe provide by FoodNetwork

Silk Tofu in Brown Sauce

Another simple recipe from old my recipe collection. All you need is a block of silk tofu and 30 minutes to spare.

Ingredients:

• 1 block Soft Silk Tofu
• 1 clove of garlic - chopped
• 1/4 tbsp soy bean paste
• 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/4 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/2 tsp corn starch diluted with 1 tbsp of water
• Salt and sugar to taste

Method:

• Place Tofu in the steamer and steam for approx. 3 minutes
• Remove Tofu from the steamer and cut into cube size
  
• Mix all soy sauces and water in the bowl
• Heat 1 1/2 tbsp of oil and sauté garlic and bean paste until fragrant
• Add tofu and soy sauce mixture
• Let is simmer for 20 minute or until the sauce reduces
  
• Add in cornstarch mixture to thicken
• Garnish with some scallion and coriander

Nutella Frosted Cupcakes

I love cup cake. They are so cute and I think they are perfect for kids' birthday party. As plan for my son's 1st birthday party this August, I decided to bake some cupcakes as his birthday cake. I have never bake cup cakes before, with my baking skill, I think it is probably a good idea to practice now.

Here it goes.. My first cup cake creation Nutella Frosted Cupcakes from BakingBites


The cup cakes looks overflow to me. According to the recipe, I should able to make 12 cup cakes from this measurement, and here it goes 12 overflow cupcakes :( I am quite disappointed with the look of the cake but the cake does taste good. The cake is very Soft and light, very rich buttery flavor with a touch of nutty flavor. Yummmm no wonder for those who tried this recipe gave it a thumbs up.

I guess it's going to be a Cupcakes Summer for me this year. Stay tune for more Cupcakes adventure.

Malaysian Style Steam Sponge Cake (Ma Lai Kao)

Malaysian steam sponge cake is one my favorite dim sum. I have to order it every time we went for a dim sum brunch. But here in USA, you can find all different kind of Ma Lai Kao, depends on which dim sum restaurant you went. Most of them taste like a regular steam sponge cake rather than the Malaysian style.

I found this steam cake from Kuali that taste pretty close to Malaysia Ma Lai Kao that I made last week and would like to share.



Ingredients:

• 150g self raising flour (if use all purpose flour add 3/4 tsp baking powder and 1/8 tsp salt)
• 1/2 tbsp custard powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 50g margarine
• 137.5g soft brown sugar
• 70g canola oil
• 2.5 eggs
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3/8 tsp vanilla essence
• Some walnut ( Use melon seed you can you get)
  

Method:

• Sift flour and custard powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl.
• In a mixer bowl, cream margarine, sugar and oil until light and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
• Stir in honey and essence. Add in sifted flour mixture to blend into a smooth batter.
• Pour batter into greased pan and sprinkle over some walnut. Steam over rapidly boiling water for 30 minutes or until it's done.
• Use a toothpick to check when the cake is done. The toothpick should come out clear.

7up Pork

I got this recipe from my ex-housemate back when we were study in college. This is a very simple and easy recipe; all you need is a can of 7up and some pork. The original recipe does not call for chilies pepper flake, I like my food a little spicy so I sprinkled some chilies pepper flakes at the end to kick it up a notch and I think it taste wonderful with a little spicy flavor in it.

Ingredients:

• 2.5lb of pork cut into bite size
• 8 fl.oz of 7UP
• Light soy sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp of oil to brown the meat
• Salt and chilies pepper flakes to taste

Method:

• Mix all soy sauces and meat together and let it marinate for 30 minutes
• Heat the pot with oil and brown the meat
• After the meat turned brown but not filly cooked, remove the access oil and add the 7up
• Turn the heat to medium and let it simmer until the sauce is thicken
• Add salt and chilies flakes to taste

Farewell Potluck

A friend of mine is moving to Colorado this month and we decided to through a potluck farewell gathering for her. She and her husband was originally from Colorado, moving back to Colorado is like returning home to her plus she is planning stay home with her 9 months old son for a while.How envy is it..I wish I have the options, staying close with my family and stay home with my son so can have more time to blog.
Anyway, Today I would like to share some of the foods we prepared for the gathering.

My creation #1: Chipotle Shrimp Kabob

Before grilling

Ready to eat

My creation #2: Mayonnaise Grill Salmon

Bryan's signature potluck dish: Devil Eggs

Karin's Assorted Pepperidge Farm cookies (I love it!)

Veggie Platter from Karin

A colorful yet refreshing dish Eric and Josephine: Mix Fruit salad

Last but not least, the grilling in progress pictures

It was a great get together before they leave and i wish them all the best and i am sure they will enjoy the nice city and accompany from all the family remember.. and hope we can visit them sometime in the future.

Tofu Fa - Take 3

Third time's a charm. That's right.. Look at my Tofu fa. Aren't they looks good? Smooth and silky texture, even my 8 month old son loves it. hmm..

Alright, here's the truth. I cheated. I made this from the instant Tofu mix I bought from an Asian store. This mix was recommended from a blogger. Thanks to little corner of mine shared her secret recipe for tofu fa.


I am very excited that the tofu fa turns out great. While I was cooking, I was so afraid that I will screw up again so I carefully review the instruction to make sure I done everything correctly. The cooking process was very simple and the whole process probably takes less then 1 hour from unpacking the mix to ready to serve. Even though I can get this ready mix from the store but I am still interested in learning the original way of cooking tofu Fa. Since my husband and son love it so much, I am planning to try again the original recipe in the future. Until then, instant ready mix definitely can satisfy my craving for it.

Croissant with Hazelnut Spread

Have you ever feel like 24hours a day is too short? I don't mean to be a slacker for my blog but I just can't squeeze anytime to post anything yesterday.



Enough for my whining, here comes the my last weekend breakfast menu. Freshly toasted croissant with hazelnut spread. If you love Ferrero Rocher( who don't) you will love this nutty chocolate flavor spread on your bread.This reminded my trip to Italy where they serve Nutella with pastries on every breakfast.I think this is the "peanut butter and jelly" equivalents in European country but not so much in Asian and US. In fact, I never had this before I came to USA.This is also an alternative choice for peanut butter if you allergic to peanut.