Condensed Milk Caramel Recipes

This is one of my husband's recipes. We use it for spreading toast, stuffing for crape. You will find soft and creamy caramel from this recipe that you have never tried. If you like thicker and darker one, boil additional an hour.

INGREDIENT:

sweetened condensed milk can(s)

METHOD:

Remove the label from can(s) and place it in the medium size of pod. Cover with water, so water is 2-3 inch above the can(s). Bring it to boil and boil steadily for 2 hours. Make sure that can(s) are always covered with water. After time is up, remove from water and Let it cool.

NOTE:
Use UNOPENED can, DO NOT OPEN while it hot otherwise it's exploded.

Carrot and Wakame Salad

When you want to one more light side dish, this is very useful. Carrot and dried wakame, I have both ingredients at home most of the time. Mix thin sliced carrots with soaked and drained wakame. Add your favorite sesame dressing and toss to coat.

Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting Recipe

This coconut flavorful light texture cupcake changed my coconut sweets prejudice! I thought coconut sweets such as coconut chocolate, coconut cookies and coconut cake were too sweet but no coconut flavor, or too much stuffed sweetened desiccated coconut and felt like just eating sweetened coconut which was not pleasant. That kind of negative thought made me stay away from coconut sweets cooking. But one day I promised to my husband to make some coconut sweets. As coconut sweets lover, he insisted that we should have more coconut sweets at home. I knew it was unfair of me cooking everything what I wanted to eat and not to make what he liked. So I agreed with his request and started trying to find and develop coconut sweets recipes.

(6 cupcakes)

INGREDIENTS:

--- cupcake ---
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/3 cup canned coconut milk
1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sweetened desiccated coconut

--- frosting ---
1/3 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons sweetened desiccated coconut

METHOD:

--- cupcake ---
Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and cream till light and fluffy again. Add egg, beating for 30 seconds each to ensure mixing.

Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in one bowl.

In another add well shaken coconut milk and a teaspoon of vanilla. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix, then add 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Continue alternating with the wet and dry mixtures, ending with the dry. Stop mixing once just as the ingredients become incorporated; do not over beat.

Fold in the coconut. Scoop into cupcake papers about one half to three-quarters of the way full.

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool for a minute or two in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

--- frosting ---
Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scraped down the sides and bottom.

Slowly add the powdered sugar, taste as you go adding more sugar until you have reached the desired sweetness.

Fold in the coconut. Spread onto cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle on a bit of extra shredded coconut on top and serve.


Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Bartlett Pear, Blue Cheese and Watercress Salad with Maple Dressing

This is a very fruity refreshing tasty salad. I was wondering what to do with two ripe pears. It smelled just good, I could bite and finish it but I wanted to make a savory dish out of it. When I was looking for a pear recipe over the Internet, I found that pear and blue cheese are very popular combination. Then I came across Real Simple's "Arugula and Pear Salad With Maple Vinaigrette". Looking at ingredients gave me already tasty smile, I thought it gotta be good!

I use what I had in my fridge, substitute watercress for arugula, balsamic vinegar for red wine vinegar from original recipe.

(4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

-- dressing ---
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

-- salad ---
1 bunch of watercress
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1-2 Bartlett pears, peeled and thinly sliced

METHOD:

In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients except oil. Whisking constantly, slowly add the oil; set aside.

Arrange the watercress on individual plates and top with the pear and cheese. Drizzle with the dressing.


Recipe adapted from Real Simple

Pig's feet!

This beautiful dish is made by my husband. When he found fresh pig's feet at supermarket, he graved one package and asked me with his shinning eyes, "Do you know how to cook pig's feet?", I said "No". I don't have that much sophisticated meat knowledge. In fact, I never bought meat with bones before, my husband thought me how to cook soup from boned meat which is really tasty and now I do it all the time.

So, he told me how he and his family love pig's feet in Russia. His mom and grand mom make "meat in jelly" out of pig feet. You can just eat the thin sliced jelly with Russian mustard, or place the slice on the brown bread and eat. I imagined it may be something like terrine or pate. But in my mind, it is not the dish you make it at home... I couldn't say that I can make it for him. But he said that he can make it! so we bought one package of pig's feet to try.

He explained me it should be something like this cooking process. Boil pig's feet with water for hours, skim as necessary. Once bones come out easily, it's done. Salt and pepper to taste, add dill weed. Cut pig's feet in small pieces without bones. Pour all of them in the container and cool it in the fridge until it becomes firm. Shave the fat on top of it and ready to serve.

He did almost as he imagined, just we didn't have enough meat, so he added cooked potato and carrot which was very good combination and tasty.

I also love the fact pig's feet contain a lot of collagen which helps body retain moisture. I remember my mother-in-law's face. Yeah she has a beautiful skin as her age, may be this kind of natural collagen helps my skin too!

There is a Japanese soul food restaurant. Most of their menus contain pig's feet, we should go there to check out pig's feet dishes. The restaurant called Hakata Tonton.

Diced Beef and Potato with Soy Sauce Mustard Recipe

I made this dish with left over beef to add one more dish for dinner. Just a quarter pound of beef and two potatoes. It was so good and I found that could be a main. But for now, I note as I made it small potion.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 lb of beef, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 tablespoon butter
*1 teaspoon soy sauce
*1 teaspoon mirin
*1 teaspoon sake
*1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
(optional) dill weed

METHOD:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pan on medium high heat.

In the small bowel, mix * ingredients and set aside.

Place diced beef into the pan and cook half way through and take it out to the plate, set aside.

In the same pan, melt the butter and add diced potato, cook about 6-8 minutes.

After potatoes are cooked, add beef and mixed ingredients. Stir gently about 3 minutes, then add dijon mustard right before finish. Serve immediately.

Bow-Loo

This is the kitchen tool I really want to own. I looked for it over the internet but I couldn't find it in the United States. It's a hot sand maker. When my brother and I was small, my mom made ham and cheese Bow-Loo sand almost every day. It was our favorite. My sister-in-law told me that my brother own one, I'm so jealous! I know there are so many hot sand makers in the market here, but I just want to this particular one... design looks nice and compact.

photo from marve

Meal Diary: March Review

Sesame Ginger Dressing Recipe

This dressing is based on my friend's sesame dressing recipe. Whenever my husband and I went to her place to eat, she prepared salad with the dressing. We loved it so much and we knew that was her handmade, so I asked her to share the recipe and she kindly did. After making it several times, I adjusted the amount of ingredients (to easy to remember) and added ginger which is one of my favorite ingredients and goes really good with soy sauce and sesame.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 piece of ginger (about thumb size), coarsely chopped
1/2 garlic
3 tablespoons sesame
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup vegetable oil


METHOD:

Place dry ingredients in food processor, and process 30 seconds.

Add remaining liquid ingredients and process 30 seconds.