Links I Like

These are a few recipe links that I’ve made recently and love! I adapted them slightly because, if you know me, you know I can never strictly follow a recipe. Recipes are just a starting place for me.

I took out the sugar from the tacos and lettuce wraps cause we don’t like our meat sweet. I used Sutchi filets instead of Tilapia for the tacos and made extra of the seasoning blend and really coated the fish with it because we’re flavor junkies. I used Bragg’s Liquid Amino for the soy sauce in the lettuce wraps because I have Celiac and can’t use regular soy sauce. I added chopped walnuts to the oatmeal and sprinkled sugar over the top before baking to give it a nice crust.

I made all of these in Singapore. We bring in our corn tortillas from the US but you can order them from Belmonte I believe.

Enjoy!!

PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps

Blackened Tilapia Baja Tacos

Baked Oatmeal

I also made this dip to pour over our fish tacos. We love this stuff!!

Chuy’s Creamy Jalapeno Dip

Flourless Nutella Cake

Flourless Nutella Cake – submitted by Andrea
via http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/2011/02/05/flourless-nutella-chocolate-cake-recipe-for-world-nutella-day-2011/

This cake is really really good! Now that I’m eating gluten free it’s a great dessert that I can make to take to gatherings or when I host a gathering that I can enjoy as well as others. They won’t even know it’s gluten free so don’t tell them!

My notes:
*Don’t add anything extra. I’ve tried adding extra chocolate but it’s too creamy. Stick to the measurements in the recipe.
*You can also make it in an 8″ cake pan and even double the recipe for a 13×9 but it takes a little longer to cook so turn the temp down a bit so it doesn’t burn the outside.
*One more thing, I used the Starbucks Via instant coffee.

FLOURLESS NUTELLA CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE

Note: Below the recipe is a pic showing how the batter looked during various points of preparration. Getting an electronic scale is one of the best investments you can make for your kitchen. In case you don’t have one, you can convert the grams in this recipe to ounces with Google. Credit where credit’s due: David Lebovitz’s Chocolate Cake heavily inspired me.

200g unsalted butter, cut into chunks
100g dark chocolate (I used Venchi 56%)
200g Nutella (just under 1 cup)
100g white sugar (just under 1/2 cup)
6 eggs, separated
1 t. instant coffee or espresso powder

1. Butter and lightly coat a 9″ springform pan with cocoa powder. Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C, and move your baking rack to the lowest rung / place in the oven.
2. Cut the butter into chunks and the dark chocolate as well, and melt in a double boiler or in the microwave until smooth. If melting in a microwave, take out to stir every 30 seconds or so until smooth.
3. Remove from heat/microwave and add the Nutella to the still-warm chocolate mix and mix well, until incorporated completely with a small whisk or fork. Add the instant coffee / espresso powder as well and mix.
4. Separate the egg whites and egg yolks into two separate bowls. Add the white sugar to the yolks and beat for a minute or two with a hand mixer or a whisk.
5. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and mix thoroughly.
6. In the bowl where the egg whites are separated out, whisk / beat them until peaks start to form, tending toward stiffer peaks rather than just soft peaks.
7. Add the beaten egg whites back to the chocolate mixture, mixing by hand until fully incorporated (this may take a few minutes) with a whisk.
8. Pour the mixture into the springform pan and place into the oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes (mine was done closer to 30 minutes). Test after 20 minutes how jiggly the center of the cake still is – you don’t want the cake to be completely solid when finished but the center should not sway when moved. Stick a toothpick in a few places to make sure it’s cooked through and the toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let cool (the cake will probably deflate quite a bit) at least 30 minutes before serving, and garnish with chopped hazelnuts or hazelnut halves.

You can click on msadventure’s link above for the photo. If I get a good photo of mine when I make it next I’ll add one.

 

Vietnamese Purple Cabbage & Chicken Salad

Vietnamees Purple Cabbage & Chicken Salad (submitted by Andrea from Chef Kay’s cooking class)

This is a recipe we made at a Vietnamese cooking class I hosted. We made several other delicious recipes but I found this one very easy to replicate and it makes a very fast salad dinner. I’ve tweaked it a little because the dressing is a  bit too sweet for us and we like a lot of chicken, especially when we’re having it for our meal.

*1 lb (500grams) bonesless skinless chicken breasts or more if you like a lot of chicken.
Cook chicken thoroughly in a covered pan of water with salt and pepper on a slow simmer. Do not overcook. You can do this in advance and let it sit in the broth water to keep it moist.

*1 large or 2 small purple onions (yellow onion is ok)
Peel and slice onion very thin. Put about 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar into a ziploc with the sliced onions. Massage the salt and sugar into the onions until the onions are moist. Set this aside for now.

*Dressing (I like to double this recipe. Mix it to taste and adjust as you like.)

3-4 tsp Thai fish sauce (a little of this goes a long way)
2 tsp lime juice
3-4 tsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
1 tsp white vinegar

*1 small(ish) head of purple cabbage rinsed and sliced into thin slivers.

*1 bunch cilantro (coriander) leaves, rinsed and chopped
*1 cup rinsed, chopped mint leaves

Toss it all together and chill for about an hour before serving.

Since cabbage doesn’t wilt like lettuce, this salad will still be good the next day.

Tom Kha Gai

Tom Kha Gai (chicken and coconut soup)

submitted by: Andrea Stunz from Jenny M.

I got this Thai recipe from a friend from South Africa who I met in Singapore who lives in Vietnam. How’s that for breaking cultural barriers? It’s “zero spicy” as they say here in Singapore, if you don’t add the chilies, that is.

It’s really easy and has the Thai flavor that I love so much without the heat. You just HAVE to try it!

5 cm fresh ginger (cut into largish pieces so you can remove before serving). Can use ginger powder in a pinch.

4-5 kaffir lime leaves (better with but fine without if you can’t find them in the US)

2 cups coconut milk or cream

3 Maggi chicken stock cubes (or bouillon cubes in the US)

2 cups water

3 large (or 4 if you want it more meaty) boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks

1-2 tsp finely chopped red chilies (if desired)

2 Tbs fish sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves

2 stalks lemongrass (cut into largish pieces so that you can remove before serving)

lime juice (juice of about 3 of the baby limes)

1. Combine ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk and stock cubes in a pan, bring slowly to the boil and simmer uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2.  Add chicken pieces and chilies and simmer until chicken is done, about 15 minutes.

3.  Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice.

4. Taste. If it needs a little something, add a little bit more fish sauce or maybe another chicken stock cube. That’ll probably do the trick.

4.  Remove lemongrass and ginger if desired.

5.  Sprinkle with coriander leaves.

Serve immediately, with Thai Fragrant Rice.

I LOVE Coffee Creamer!

I love coffee creamer! Probably even more than the coffee itself. My husband jokingly asks me if I want coffee with my cream.

For the first year and a half we lived in Singapore I tried various ways to enjoy my beloved morning coffee without having to buy my favorite liquid at the store. Black is just not an option. I’ve tried. It’s gross. At $11sgd for a small bottle of Coffee Mate liquid creamer, it puts a hurtin’ on our grocery budget. I used up all of my flavored powders that we had brought over with us, or threw them out because the humidity took it’s toll. I bought flavored syrups, also expensive, and added milk. I bought flavored powder from a local coffee shop. Nothing was as satisfying as my $11/bottle Coffee Mate Vanilla or Hazelnut liquid creamer. I actually requested a bottle of it for my birthday the first year we were here. It was a luxury!

After all of that time of not really enjoying my coffee, I broke down and just decided it was worth it. So, when I could find the creamer, I’d buy as much as I could carry. The expiration dates are unusually months out so it lasts for a while. Which probably is perfect example of how packed with preservatives it is. Vanilla is my favorite and it seems to be the one that always hides from me. I’m sure someone else in Singapore shares my love for it and buys them all before I can get to them.

Well, they can have it because I FINALLY, after 2.5 years of searching have found a homemade creamer I can live with and one that won’t break our budget. It’ll be like we’re getting a raise!!

Play around with the recipe. I had to use regular sweetened condensed milk because I had it but I will be on the lookout for non fat. Hey, every little bit helps. But add more SCM or less depending on how sweet you like it. Add more or less vanilla or another flavor. When vanilla and hazelnut or that awful amaretto are the only pricey options we have here in Singapore, with this recipe, the options are endless!

I love that it’s SO easy!! I love that all of the THREE ingredients are readily available pretty much anywhere in the world. I also love that it’s real dairy because I know I don’t drink enough milk. But you could make it with soy milk or almond milk or whatever milk substitute you like and have access to.

$11 sgd

$3 or $4 sgd

So here’s the recipe (taken from Food.com)

Homemade Coffee Creamer 
(submitted by Andrea)

1 (300 ml) can low fat or regular sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk or whatever milk or milk substitute you like

1 tablespoon vanilla (I added more of my yummy Mexican vanilla!)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in  jar or whatever you will use to store it in. Then put lid on it and shake like crazy! Store in the fridge. Shake before use. Will keep for approximately two weeks or as long as your milk is good for. (You can see from my photo that I used my tupperware shaker. Works great!!)

Variations:

a) Add 1 Tbsp cocoa and 1 tsp almond extract for a chocolate almond flavor.

b) Add 1 tsp almond extract and 1/2 tsp orange extract for cappuccino.

c) Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp almond extract for amaretto.

d) Add specialty flavor syrups (from specialty coffee shops and the like) as needed for additional flavors.

Please note that so far I’ve only tried the vanilla – and it’s wonderful!

Enjoy!

Lamb Shanks

Lamb Shanks

submitted by Andrea

The lady who does my nails in Singapore gave me this recipe while she was doing my nails one day. I typed in the ingredients into my phone and may have forgotten a thing or two. This recipe is adapted from what she told me. I got pretty close and it was delicious!

Part 1
4 lamb shanks  (Size of a big turkey leg for you County Fair goin’ Texans) – purchased from QB Foods

6 finely chopped garlic cloves

1 finely chopped onion

McCormick Italian Seasoning (or combination of seasonings that are similar)

salt

Part 2
Chicken Stock

Red Wine

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

4-6 fresh tomatoes (in large chunks)

Bay Leaf

Part 3

2 cups diced celery

4 medium peeled, chunked sweet potatoes

1 can garbanzo beans (chic peas)

Part 1 – Sear the shanks in a large frying pan with the chopped garlic, onion and olive oil. Sprinkle salt to taste and Italian Seasoning on the shank. Sear on each side until browned to seal in the juices. About 15 minutes total time.

Part 2 – Place the shanks in a large crock pot or stock pot. Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Pour in chicken stock and about 1 cup of red wine to cover. Cook on high in a crock pot or on medium flame in stock pot for about 2 hours.

Part 3 – Add in the sweet potatoes, celery and garbanzo beans. Cook until the meat is tender and sweet potatoes are cooked. Another 2 hours or so.

It sounds like a process but it’s really easy, just takes a while to cook. Lamb has to cook long and slow for it to be tender. Don’t rush it or it won’t be as good.

It’s good all by itself but you could serve with rice and of course some yummy, warm rolls. Enjoy!

Candied Yams (Sweet Potatoes)

Candied Yams (Sweet Potatoes)

Submitted by Andrea Stunz, recipe from Anita Stunz

This is definitely the easiest thing I make for our Thanksgiving dinner. It’s one of those dishes where you either like it or you dislike it but I happen to like it. A lot! Only you can’t eat a lot and you’ll see why when you read the ingredients, so I don’t make too much of it.

Ingredients:

About 8 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 sticks (1 cup) or 250grams of butter/margarine, cut up in chunks

A ton of brown sugar J – about 2-3 cups

3 or so cups of miniature marshmallows

*Place peeled/cubed sweet potatoes in a saucepan, large enough to leave a little room for the butter and sugar.

*Cube up the butter and put on top of the sweet potatoes.

*Pile in the brown sugar and stir as best you can just to get a little bit of it down to the bottom.

*Put the lid on the pan and simmer on low to medium, stirring occasionally, for about 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are cooked soft.

*Mash with either a fork or a potato masher.

*At this point you can either leave in the saucepan or put into a baking dish.

*Place miniature marshmallows on top to generously cover.

If you put into a baking dish put it in the oven until the marshmallows brown. If you’re leaving it in the saucepan, the marshmallows will just melt.

This is a typical part of our meal but it’s sweet enough to be a dessert.

Now eat and enjoy!

I think it’s funny that the categories for this are both vegetable and dessert.