Granola Bar Variations!

Chewy Trail Mix:

• Rolled whole grain mix (hard red wheat, oats, rye, triticale, barley)
• Rosted salted almonds
• Brown Rice syrup, evaporated cane juice syrup, honey, molasses
• Soy protein isolate, whey protein isolate
• Oat fiber
• Evaporated cane juice crystals, 
• Soy grits, corn flour
• Chicory root fiber
• Raisins, dried cranberries
• Sunflower seeds
• Evaporated cane juice syrup
• Vegetable glycerin, canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil
• Corn flour, rice starch, buckwheat flour, 
• Sesame flour, peanut flour
• Sea salt, soy lecithin

Chocolate Bar:

• Grain mix (wheat, oats, rye, triticale, barley)
• Soy protein crisps (soy flour, Tapioca starch, soy fiber
• Brown Rice syrup, evaporated cane juice syrup, honey, molasses, invert cane syrup
• Roasted almonds
• Chocolate chips, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, vanilla bean, soy lecithin
• Acacia gum
• Chia seeds
• skim milk, rosemary extract
• Xanthan gum

Avocado Mouse.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned beef consommé or chicken stock.
• 4-5 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 3 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded and chopped.
• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• juice of 1 lemon
• some edible flowers for garnish (borage or citrus)

Directions:

1. Heat 1/2 cup of consommé over medium high heat and remove from the heat.
2. Sprinkle the gelatin in and let it stand for 5 minutes until the gelatin is soft.
3. Return to heat and stir for 2 minutes until the gelatin is dissolved.
4. Combine avocado, the remaining 1/2 cup of consommé and cream cheese in a food processor and puree until smooth.
5. Add the gelatin mixture to blend and transfer the mixture into demitasse cups or glasses. Chill to set for at least 4 hours or up to 1 day.
6. You can also pour the mixture into greased mold and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until set.
7. Pit, peel and chop fresh avocado and dip briefly in the lemon juice to prevent them from darkening. Server as garnish on the set mouse with the edible flowers.

Creole Ratatouille with Okra and Tomatoes.

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3/4 cup chopped red or green sweet bell pepper
• 1 pound fresh small okra, sliced
• 4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, peeled, chopped (or one 28-oz canned Italian plum tomatoes)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• ground cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sweet bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Stir frequently.
2. Add the okra and cook for 15 minutes until tender.
3. Add the tomatoes, thyme, sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cover and cook 20 minutes on low heat. Simmer until the liquid is gone and thickened.
4. Cool to room temperature and chill for 2 days before serving.

Basil Dressing.

Ingredients (yield 1/2 cup):

• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp apple or orange juice
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 100 grams Silken Tofu

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Cover and refrigerate. Use within one week.

A Simple Cole Slaw to Whip Up!

This is a quick side dish to prep for more vegetables in our daily diet. This crisp, tangy and refreshing slaw will surprise you because it has nothing to do with the aged, drenched, soupy, over-sweetened and over-mayo-dressed store-bought version.

Use it to top your sandwiches or as a side dish. Try this and you would not want to buy another commercial cole slaw ever again.

Ingredients (yield 4 servings): 

• 1/4 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 small carrots, thinly julienned
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise (easily homemade)
• 2 teaspoons of vinegar (red wine, white wine, rice vinegar or cider)
• 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, optional
• Pickled Jalapenos, optional

Directions: 

1. Combine mustard, mayonnaise and vinegar and mix evenly. Slowly drizzle the oil and whisk in. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Combine the cabbages, carrots, fennel seeds, jalapenos and dressing in a large bowl. Toss to coat evenly. Adjust taste with salt and pepper.
3. Keep refrigerated if not ready to serve immediately. 

Minestrone Soup!

When you have leftover vegetables in the refrigerator, the best way to get rid of them is to make a soup. Make sure you cut up the vegetables that can be easily scooped up with the spoon so you don't have to reach for your fork.

You can boil the tomato lightly, peel and seed to make a tomato concasse if you are serving this for guests and you want the presentation to look more appealing without the tomato skins and seeds floating around. Certainly you can use canned diced tomato to save time.

Ingredients (yield 2 - 3 servings):

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 cup cut Swiss chard, (or thinly sliced)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1/2 cup button mushroom, diced
• 1/2 cup cooked beans
• 1/4 cup green beans, cut into inch-long pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped basil
• 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups of water or stock
• parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat a pan and add olive oil. Add onions, carrots and saute for 3 minutes until they browns. Add garlic to saute for 1 minute. Add the mushroom and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add tomato and cook for 2 minutes until they soften. Add zucchini and water or stock. Bring to boil on high.
3. Add half of chopped parsley, half of basil, and Swiss chard.
4. Next you will add cooked beans. You don't add them at the beginning because they are already tender and you want them to remain a little crunchy. Adding them too soon will overcook them and make them mushy. 
5. When it boils again, turn the heat off and add salt, pepper to taste.
6. Serve with parmesan cheese, the rest of chopped parsley and basil.

Note: 

• I often add cooked pasta, brown rice or cooked beans to make it into a meal. Add these before you add the cooked green beans.
• You can also serve it with toasted rustic bread or baguette slices. 
• Feel free to throw in celery, corns, potato or peas. 

Garlic Detox Tofu Soup!

Ingredients (yielding one serving):

• 1 1/2 cup of water
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper sliced (about 1/2 bell pepper)
• 1/4 cup sliced shiitake mushroom from one mushroom
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced daikon turnip
• 1/3 cup diced tofu (about 1/8 of a block from the box, or 30 grams)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water to make slurry

Directions:

1. Thinly slice green bell pepper, daikon turnip and shiitake mushroom. Dice tofu.
2. Mix 1 teaspoon in 1 tablespoon of water. 
3. Place shiitake mushrooms, tofu, daikon, soy sauce, garlic and water in small soup pot and bring to a boil.
4. Cook for 10 min, and add the green bell pepper. Add the cornstarch mixture to thicken. Bring back to boil again, stir to mix evenly and turn the heat off. 
5. Serve with some ground white pepper. 
6. Season with more salt if desired.

Miso Detox Soup!

Ginger is great to warm you up and promote circulation.

Ingredients (yield one serving):

• 1 cup onion (about 30g), sliced
• 1 cup cabbabe leave (about 50g) cut up
• two shiitake mushrooms (about 40g) sliced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
• 1/2 tbsp miso (preferably white miso)
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• chopped scallions or green onions (optional)

Directions:

1. Put ginger, vegetables and water in a small soup pan. Bring to a boil and turn to low heat. Simmer 4~5 min until the vegetables are softened.
2. Add soy milk or almond milk, miso and keep stirring until all are mixed evenly. 
3. Turn the heat off. Serve with chopped green onions.

Note:

• Feel free to add tofu dices (about 1/4 cup).
• Feel free to add some wakame seaweed.

Basic Detox Soup!

This soup is high in potassium and fibers that can help reduce water retention and alleviate constipation problems.

Ingredients:

• equal part of the following vegetables:
• 1 cup of cut or diced daikon or white turnip
• 1 cup of cut or diced shiitake mushrooms
• 1 cup of cut or diced tomatoes
• 1 cup of cut or diced onions
• 1 cup of cut or diced cabbage
• 5 cups of water
• salt to season (optional)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a soup pot with water. Bring to boil and cook for 10-15 minute if you prefer the vegetables to remain crunchy, or cook for 30-40 min if you prefer them tender.
2. Use salt sparingly especially if you try to reduce water retention.

Homemade Chicken Breast for Sandwiches.

I like buying chicken or pork with bones because the bones are the flavor bombs. They are the reasons for broth and stock to be the flavor foundation for every savory dish. Foodies know the meat next to bones are the tastiest part of the whole.

I buy the bone-in skin-in chicken and cook them with bones and skin for the flavor. Then I remove the skin and separate the bones from the flesh. Collect those bones and make broth with vegetables. Here is how.

I placed a 8 3/4 inch chopstick along each side of the chicken in the picture. The left piece is around 18 ounces and the piece on the right is 15 ounces, just to give you an idea.

Ingredients:

• Chicken breasts about 17 to 18 ounces and 2 inch thick each piece with skin on and rib cage bones. (To save time, you can use boneless and skinless chicken breast but the cooking time needs to cut back 4-8 min.)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 quart of water to cook chicken
• Formula for brine (for 1 days):
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 quart (4 cups) of water

Directions:

1. If you choose to brine, use the formula above and brine in the refrigerator for at least one day, up to two days. Mix salt and sugar in water and submerge chicken breasts in it. Leave in the refrigerator for 24 hours. 
2. Take the chicken breasts out of refrigerator and drain the brine liquid. Rinse the chicken breasts. If you don't want to cook with the skin, you can remove it. 
3. Heat up 1 quart of water with 1 1/2 tablespoon sea salt, 2 teaspoons sugar and bring to a boil.
4. Put the chicken breasts in. For 1 quart of water, you can fit 2 pieces. Bring to a boil on high. Turn to low heat as soon as it starts to boil. Cover and simmer for 16 minutes and turn the heat off. If you have an electric stovetop, make sure to turn heat off early, around 14 to 15 min as it will take sometime for the stove to respond and to cool. I turn my electric stove off around 15 min. (If you find your chicken breasts on the grainy side, adjust the cooking time and turn the heat off earlier next time.)

5. Put the lid on and keep it covered. Let it sit there in the hot water for 10 min to 12 min. Check after 10 min with one chopstick or a fork. You need to be able to stick it through the cooked flesh with a little resistance. If you can't stick it pass the center, let it sit there covered for another 5 to 10 minutes and check with fork again.
6. Transfer the chicken breasts to the plate and let it cool completely before cutting. 
7. At this point, if I cook more, I'll freeze some pieces after removing the skin and bones for later use. This will effect the texture a little but saves me time.
8. Remove skin and bones. Toss away skin but keep the bones to cook in soups.
9. Slice chicken into slices for sandwiches or soups.

Note:

• Why do I make my own while it's so convenient to get it from the supermarket? I don't like what they add in there to prolong the shelf life, neither the amount of sugar they use in it. I like my chicken to taste like chicken with just enough salt.
• Chicken breasts can be really dry and grainy when overcooked. The solution is to brine them to keep them moist at the cost of some flavor. Use less salt (2 teaspoons) if you are to leave it for 2 days.
• I don't brine my chicken as I like full chicken flavor but I watch the cooking time closely to make sure it's not overcooked.
• You can choose to dry-brine (aka extended salting). Rub one to two teaspoons of salt all over chicken breast and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Rinse when you're ready to cook it.
• Cook time is about 7-8 min per inch of meat in simmering water plus 10 min leaving in hot water after the heat is turned off. 
• For a 16 ounce skinless boneless chicken breast, cook 8 minutes per inch and leave it in hot water covered for 10 minute.
• Always let cooked meat rest before cutting or the juice will run out and the meat will be dry.

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches.

These make a nice hors d'oeuvre as well as light snack or lunch on a hot day.

Ingredients (yield 4 dozens): 

• 24 thin slices whole wheat sandwich bread
• 1 cup arugula or watercress or both, rinsed, drained
• one cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup olive oil mayonnaise or homemade mayonnaise (Try my Homemade Mayonnaise or my Herb Mayonnaise)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or roasted seaweed.
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt 
• ground black pepper to season

Directions:

1. Rinse arugula or watercress and drain. Remove the tough stems.
2. Season the cucumber slices with salt and pepper and toss to coat evenly.
3. Spread a layer of mayonnaise on one side of each sandwich bread and arrange the cucumber slices in one even layer on two-thirds of the bread. Place the arugula or watercress on top of the cucumbers. 
4. Beginning from the side with cucumbers and roll up. Seal with mayonnaise and use toothpick to hold the roll. Or wrap with plastic wrapper and tighten on both ends. Let it set in the refrigerator for 20 min before slicing at an angle.
5. Spread a small amount of mayonnaise along the cut side and dip the edges of that side into the chopped parsley or seaweed.
6. Transfer to a platter. Serve immediately or cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. Finish in 1 hour for best flavor.

Note:

Sandwich variations for appetizers: 

• Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato (BLT) with avocado and watercress (or arugula).
• Salami, butter and aged Gouda.
• Smoked salmon, cucumbers and plain Greek yogurt (or creme fraiche, or cream cheese).
• Fresh goat cheese with sun-dried tomatos and arugula.
• Grilled zucchini, fresh mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.
• Smoked turkey or chicken breast with curried mayonnaise on walnut raisin bread.

Cook Your Own Beans.

In a pinch, you may use canned beans, but if you don't like canned food, you should cook your own.

It's pretty easy to cook it if you know the trick.

1. Soak it well

Small beans like adzuki beans or mung beans, soak for at least 2 hours. Bigger beans like white beans, kidney beans or garbanzo beans  (aka chickpeas), soak for 8 hours or overnight.

2. Cook low and slow

It's okay to add ham but to speed up the cooking process, don't add salt or sugar until almost cooked. Then add salt towards the end to add flavor.

3. Simmer, not boiling hard in a big pot

If you want them creamy in the center while not split or burst at the seams ( a sign of overcooking), don't let the beans roll vigorous in the boil. Keep the heat low and gently simmer with just a few bubbles breaking at the surface.

4. Cool in their cooking water

Or the skin will shrivel and crack. Let them cool completely in their liquid, drain them. If not to finish them all at once (I cook for the whole week), keep them refrigerated in their liquid, or marinate them, toss with salt, pepper, olive oil, and herbs.

5. Cook more than one serving

To save the trouble, I always cook more than what I will eat at one meal. They are a great source of plant-based protein and are good in about everything from salads, egg dishes to soups. (Check out my strawberry soup with chickpeas). Refrigerate or freeze the excess beans for later.

Also, check out my bean page to know why it's better to soak longer, to 2 days.

Tofu Tips and Types.

Tofu types are usually categorized by texture, which depends on how much liquid are left in it after being pressed.

Silken (soft,medium or firm) – 

Made without pressing out the liquid. It is very moist and has the smoothest, custard-like texture and is best served out of container without cooking. However, you can use it in dishes like hot pot, soup or you can deep fry it to contrast the uniquely silky texture with crunchiness from other parts of the dish. You can also use it to blend up a smoothie so it helps to thicken up the drink, rather than using soy milk.

Soft Block Tofu –
A bit firmer than silken tofu but softer than Firm tofu. Can be used in soup, stew or even stir fry dish. It holds up better in stew dish as Silken tofu is too soft for that.
Medium – Good for stew, stir fry. It contain less liquid than soft tofu.
Firm – Good for stew, stir fry, or braising dishes. It is pressed to contain even less liquid.

Extra firm – 

The firmest you can get in the grocery market.

Egg tofu – 

Made from egg and soy milk. Check out my recipe for Egg Tofu Recipe.

Tofu By-Products:

Tofu Skin (Yuba in Japanese) – 

During the boiling of soy milk in an open shallow pan, a film or skin forms on the liquid surface. The films are collected and dried into yellowish sheets known as tofu skin. It has many applications in Asian cuisine.

Abura-age

Aburaage (油揚げ ) – 

Japanese food product by cutting tofu into thin slices and deep fry first at 110–120 °C, and then again at 180–200 °C. Aburaage is often used to wrapinari-sushi (稲荷寿司), and is added to miso soup or udon noodle dishes. There is a thicker variety known as atsu-age (厚揚げ) or nama-age (生揚げ) and both can be found in many Asian grocery store.

Atsu-age

Bean Curd – 

Plain or five spice bean curd.

Tofu Tips:

To make mashed tofu – Boil Tofu in salted water for 1 min. Strain and press through a fine-mesh strainer with a spoon. You can get rid of extra liquid by putting the tofu in cheese clothes and press out the excessive liquid with both hands.

Check out my Tofu Recipes.

Egg Tofu

Ingredients: 

1 large egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Whisk up everything until well blended. Strain mixture to get rid of lumps.
2. Pour the egg mixture into a small bowl. Steam for 10-15 min until tooth pick test is clean.  Cool for 10 min.

Note:

1. An egg yolk is basically a bag of concentrated food for the development of a chicken embryo if the egg is fertilized. It doesn’t float around freely inside the clear egg white, but is anchored to the shell by two little twisted ropes called chalazae (pronounced cuh-LAY-zee), and these are the white lumpy things that affect the texture when you make steamed egg custard. One chalaza connects the yolk at the more pointed end of the egg and the other at the rounder end. This tethering ensures that the yolk is protected against hitting the inner walls of the egg if the egg is moved around.
2. To make sure the custard comes out smooth, steam 2 min on high heat and then slightly lift the lid to leave a small crack for steam to release. Continue to steam for 10 min.

Enjoy!

Cold Berry Soup.

Dried Goji Berry

Cold Berry Soup with Chickpeas (yield one serving):

Ingredients:
For soup:

• 1/2 red grapefruit, about 100g, peeled and diced     
• Six strawberries, halved

• 30g raspberries (about 6-8)
• 10 dried Goji berry
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

• Honeydew 50g, cut into bite-size dices
• 2 tbsp cooked chickpeas or beans

Directions:

1. Soak dried goji berries in a little water to soften.
2. Put half of total red grapefruit (50g), half of total strawberries (3 strawberries),  raspberries, 10 dried goji berries, salt black pepper in blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
3. Combine the mixture with honeydew dices, the other half of red grapefruit dices, the other three strawberry halves, and cooked chickpeas. Serve.

Fruit Salad with Berries.

Berry Fruit Salad (yield one serving):

Ingredients: 

Salad:

• Strawberries (cut in halves), blueberries, raspberries about 10-20g of each in equal parts
• Romaine lettuce or any greens 20-30g, cut into 1 inch pieces
• Celery 20g or half stalk, chopped.
• One kiwi sliced
• 1/4 apple sliced or cut into chunks

Dressing:

• Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries in equal part, about 15g of each
• Celery 15g or half stalk, diced
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp honey or sugar

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in dressing in blender and blend until smooth.
2. Combine all fruits and vegetables in a mixing bowl and pour the dressing on the salad. Mix gently and transfer to a plate. Sprinkle chopped celery on top an serve.