Cold Salsa Pasta Recipe

It is getting good season for cold pasta. I like it for hot day's lunch. It is very light and refreshing.

This time I used left over hand made salsa from the other night's tacos dinner. All I had to do was cook pasta, that's so simple and easy. I used Spaghetti but Capellini may suite better for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound pasta
1 1/2 cups salsa

METHOD:

Boil pasta in the salted boiled water 1 minute longer than the cooking instructions for the pasta.

Drain and wash in the cold water. Drain water well.

In the large bowel, add salsa and pasta, and toss until evenly coated.

Grilled Blue Cheese Hamburger

After several times of blue cheese salad, the left over crumbed blue cheese was in my fridge for a while. When I was making hamburger for weekend lunch I was thinking of the left over blue cheese how to clean up, then I remember the blue cheese hamburger's menu at restaurant that I was curious and never tried. So I grabbed the blue cheese from the fridge and mixed with half of the meat mixture, I kept the other half as plane, just in case when it doesn't work.

For one hamburger meat mixture, added 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons crumbed blue cheese and mixed well. Then grilled as usual about 7-10 minutes. When it out of oven, the cheese was melting out from meat and looked so tasty. Yes, it was tasty! I liked it, and also good to have choices, blue cheese or with American cheese. Actually, I made it smaller than regular size of hamburger, so I could enjoy both!

Kaiser Roll

Kaiser roll is one of the breads that I wanted to bake for long time. The only thing stopping me was that I don't own the kaiser stamp to make the unique shape of the dough. But I've read an article saying that traditionally kaiser roll was shaped by folding. So I realized that I don't need the stamp to make it! Unfortunately the article doesnt' have any illustrations how to do it. I used my imagination, pictured that flower looking round shape in my head and tried to shape it. It turned out OK, pretty close that I imagined, may be little more practice brings nicer shape!

Simple Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe

According to the nutrition facts, 1 table spoon mayonnaise is 100 calories and 99% is fat! If you make it yourself, you'll see it why... In spite of the nutrition facts, I like mayo for cooking, not a lot, it brings mild flavor to fish, meat or salad.

The good thing of handmade mayo is that you can adjust oil as you like. Vegetable oil is basic, olive oil is something special. Once you start eating vegetable sticks with this mayo, you can't stop eating! No need for fancy dip any more.

INGREDIENTS:

1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil or salad oil

METHOD:

In the small bawl, whisk together york, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Add 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice and beat until very think and pale yellow.

Add 1 tablespoon oil slowly, drop by drop, whisking constantly until mixture begins to thicken. Repeat this step until finish remaining oil.

Add remaining 1/2 table spoon lemon juice and whisk to blend.

Cover and refrigerate until needed. Do not keep longer than 1 week.

NOTE:

The egg yolk in this recipe is not cooked, which may be of concern if salmonella is a problem in your area.

Strawberry Bread Recipe

When I found this seasonal recipe online, I was so excited to make it. I found this strawberry bread has to be rested for a day or two days, otherwise you don't get the right texture.　I tasted first, right after the bread came out of oven, it was kind of rough and I didn't like that much. So I wrap with plastic and let it rest for a couple days. Then tried it again. It was amazing! The only thing is the color of strawberries, as you see it, not pretty... like other strawberry pastries.

It is very good with tea in the afternoon.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced.
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until light and fluffy, add oil and beat until blended. Beat in the sugar.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Beat all but about 2 tablespoons of the dry mixture into the egg-oil mixture. Add the strawberries to the remaining dry mixture and toss to coat the berries well. Fold this mixture and the orange rind into the batter.

Spoon batter in the greased loaf pan.

Bake until the loaves are nicely browned and inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks and cool 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pans and carefully remove the loaves. Return loaves to the racks to cool completely.


Recipe Adapted from gingersfoodieblog

Apple Compote Recipe

Apples is a kind of fruits that I always keep some at home. But when seasonal fruits come out, such as strawberry at this moment, suddenly apples are left in the basket untouched for weeks. When I had two apples left and were about going to bad, I found such a easy and simple way to store them.

INGREDIENTS:

2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 cups water
1/3 cup sugar

METHOD:

Place sugar and water in the medium saucepan, heat and bring it to boil.

Add apple slices into boiling water. Cook until tender about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and let it cool. Keep it in the refrigerator.

VARIATION:

Add a few cloves into the boiling water for different flavor.


I had several slices of this apple compote with plain yogurt in the morning, it was really good, fresh and tasty.


Recipe Adapted from Give Recipe

Orange Peel Muffin

It was so flavorful, and tasty. If I made successful orange marmalade jam, this muffin wouldn't come up in my kitchen.

I was making orange marmalade jam as my first try ever. But I could not make it right, the mixture had never got thicken. It turned out like an orange peel candy (with syrup). Orange peel was tasty as it was, but I love jelly of the marmalade jam, not in the syrup... Good thing was that I made it from only three oranges. so it's about 1 1/2 cup. I could find the use of it.

Chopped all the peel and mixed with muffin mixture (much less sugar used) and baked it. While it hot, brushed syrup over the muffins, all of it!

Strawberry Jam Recipe

Strawberry season is arrived (in California). I can't stop myself to grab one or two packages of strawberries whenever I go to super market. I make strawberry jam once or twice during the season. This is very simple and basic, but it's the best!

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb hulled strawberries, wash and dry gently
2 cups sugar (40-50% of strawberries)
1 lemon juice

METHOD:

Place the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepan and leave it for a night or at least 2-3 hours until the sugar dissolves and strawberry's juice coming out.

Heat the sauce pan and boil the mixture rapidly for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally and skim off foam as needed.

Once you think it might be ready, do wrinkle test and remove the sauce pan from heat and pour into the sterilized jars.

NOTE:

"Wrinkle test" is introduced by many cookbooks to see if the jam has set. When you start heating the mixture, set some saucers in the freezer, when you think the jam might be ready, spooning the mixture onto the cold saucer, leave to cool for a minute. Then push the mixture with a finger, the top should wrinkle. If it wrinkles only slightly, heat the sauce pan and cook for a couple minutes more, then test it again.

Meal Diary: April Review