Ice Cream Sandwiches With Goodies!

What can beat ice cream sandwiched in the best cookies?

The answer is, a lighter ice cream sandwich, lower in calories but just every bite as delicious!

A treat like this is the best way to engage young children in learning how to eat healthier by trying new combinations.

Well, I've fooled you in the title as I would use frozen Greek yogurt to replace ice cream, but I can guarantee it's every bit as gratifying!

Ingredients:

• Frozen Greek yogurt - your pick of flavor.
• Ginger Snaps, Graham crackers, or thin wafers or cookies like Pepperidge Genevas for extra nuttiness
• Sliced fruits, banas, strawberries, cherries, kiwis, raspberries, even pomegranates, papaya dices, mango dices, you name it.
• Roasted and chopped nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, almonds
• Dark Chocolate nibs chopped up in the same size of chopped nuts

Directions:

1. It's an open buffet. You are the boss of your crackers or cookies. Layer your pick with fruits and frozen Greek yogurt, sandwich up and roll the side in chopped nuts, chocolate nibs.
2. I think that's good enough but if you desire, you can drizzle chocolate syrup over the top.
3. If you can wait, place on flatware and freeze for 20-30 min to firm up.
4. Dig in.

Ginkgo Barley Tonic Soup.

This soup is mildly sweet and is nourishing, soothing, relaxing while improving blood flow to brain.

(Questions about the ingredients? Check out Chinese herbs and Asian Ingredients .)


Ingredients (yield 6-8 servings):

• Fifteen Ginkgo nuts
• Pearl barley 40g
• Yu Zhu (Solomon's Seal Rhizome) 15g
• Lady Bell Root 15g
• Five dried shiitake mushrooms
• 20 cups of water

Directions:

1. Wash all ingredients. Soak pearl barley for 2 hours before cooking.
2. Boil 20 cups of water in a big pot.
3. Put all ingredients in boiling water and bring to boil.
4. Cook on medium high for 20 min and then turn heat to low. Cover and simmer 3 hours.
5. Serve.

Walnut Chestnut and Lotus Root Tonic Soup.

Walnut can improve appetite, enhance body energy and blood circulation. Note that if you cannot bear the slight bitterness from Jujube pit, you have to remove the pit from Jujube.

There is a bitter germ inside the lotus seed that is usually removed before sold. If you are preparing this for young children or people who could not stand bitterness, check and remove them if you see any remaining green embryo in the center.

(Questions about the ingredients? Check out Lotus Seeds / Chinese herbs and Asian Ingredients .)

Ingredients (yield 6-8 servings):

• Walnut 80g
• Lotus Root 600g
• Lotus Seeds 80g
• Chestnuts 300g
• Ten seeded red dates
• One dried orange peel
• 20 cups of water

Directions:

1. Wash all ingredients. Cut lotus root into chunks. Check lotus seeds to remove the green germs. 
2. Place one dried orange peel in big pot with 20 cups of water and bring to boil. 
3. Add all ingredients into the boiling water. Cook on medium heat for 20 min. 
4. Turn heat to low. Cover and simmer 3 hours. 
5. Serve. 

Lotus and Longan Tonic Soup.

This soup is mildly sweet and is calming, soothing, quenching and relaxing after a long day.

(Questions about the ingredients? Check out Lotus Seeds / Chinese herbs and Asian Ingredients .)


Ingredients (yield 6-8 servings):

• Lotus Seeds 80g
• Lotus Root 600g
• Dried lily bulbs 15g
• Longan pulp 15g (about 8-10 longan with pit)
• 20 cups of water

Directions:

1. Wash all ingredients. Cut lotus root into chunks.
2. Boil 20 cups of water in a big pot.
3. Put all ingredients in boiling water and bring to boil.
4. Cook on medium high for 20 min and then turn heat to low. Cover and simmer 3 hours.
5. Serve.

Strawberry and Adzuki Bean Mochi.

Ingredients (yield 12-15 servings):

• ¾ cup shiratamako* (100 g) or Mochiko* (115 g) (sweet rice or glutinous rice flour)
• ¾ cup water (about 180 ml)
• 3 tablespoon sugar (40 g, necessary to keep the starch from hardening)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or coconut oil
• 20g of canned red bean (adzuki bean) paste or homemade red bean paste
• two strawberries, diced to bite size
• some corn starch for powdering, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup

Directions:

1. Combine glutinous rice flour with water, sugar, oil, and mix well. Cover the bowl and microwave on high (1200W) for 1 minute. Remove from oven and stir well. Repeat and cover to microwave on high for another minute. Take out and stir again. Cover and microwave lastly for about 30 second. The flour should be cooked and the mixture should turn translucent.
2. Dust the working surface well with corn starch and roll out the rice dough. Cut into 3 to 4 pieces. Roll each piece into small ball. Press to flatten it into disk-shape.
3. To make it easier, you can put a plastic wrap on a plate. Then place the flat skin on the wrap.
4. Put some red bean paste and 2-3 pieces of strawberry dices in the center of the mochi skin. Wrap up with the plastic wrap film.  
   

Note: 

1. Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and one more tablespoon of sugar into the mochiko (sweet rice flour) to make a chocolate flavor skin.

2. You can steam the rice flour mixture for 15 min on cheese clothes. Stir halfway through (about 7-8 min after steaming).

3. You can skip the strawberries if it's out of season.

4. You can put frozen Greek yogurt or ice cream as filling. Freeze 30 min to firm up after wrapping and before serving.

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.

Best Chili Recipe.

Ingredients (yield 6 servings): 

• 2 pounds ground beef
• One 15-ounce can pinto beans or white beans, drained and rinsed, or homemade beans.
• One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup masa harina (corn flour or corn meal)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Shredded Cheddar
• Chopped onions
• 6 Lemon wedges

Directions:

1. Heat up the large pot on medium and add a tablespoon olive oil. Cook garlic for 1 min. Put the ground beef in and cook over medium heat until browned. 
2. Drain off the excess fat, and then pour in the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and cayenne. Stir together well, cover, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 2 hour, stirring occasionally. If the mixture becomes overly dry, add a ladle or 100ml water at a time to prevent burning.
3. After two hour, place the corn flour in a small bowl and mix with 1/2 cup water. Dump the corn meal mixture into the chili for more corn flavor. Stir together well, and adjust the seasonings. 
4. Add more corn meal mixture or water to adjust the consistency.
5. Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes. 
6. Serve with shredded Cheddar, chopped onions, tortilla chips and lime wedges.