Apple Pie Crumble

Apple Pie Crumble

Today was another rainy day. And I’ve been craving for a warm apple dessert for AGES!!! So today is the perfect day for it, yes?

I ran a few errands and went grocery shopping, getting stuff for tomorrow (Mother’s Day). We’ll be cooking dinner for my fiance’s mom (a.k.a. mother-in-law-to-be). She loooooooooooooves lamb. So that’s what we’ll be cooking tomorrow! I love lamb too. But I don’t eat it often. Pretty high fat content. And Chinese say that lamb meat will rise  your inner body temperature. So you gotta be careful.

Oh! And like I’ve mentioned before, I’m not confident enough to make my own pie crust. So the crust is a wholewheat pie crust from Whole Foods.

Ingredients
Pie Filling
3 large granny smith apples
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
2 heaping tbs coconut sugar
2 tbs almond flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Crumble
1/4 cup coconut water
1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tbs coconut sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger

serves 6-8
1. Prepare filling: Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Toss with juice, then with dry ingredients. Set aside 30 mins so apples can soften and create juice.

2. Prepare crumble: Place all ingredients except oats into a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut coconut oil into flour mixture until crumbly/like breadcrumbs. Add oats and cut to combine.

3.Preheat oven to 350°. Fill pre-made pie crust (bought from stores or homemade) with apple mixture – making sure to spread fruit evenly and fill any gaps, top with crumble. Place on a baking tray/cookie sheet to catch any juice.

4. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle rack or until crust golden.

5. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve with whipped cream, or ice cream, or creamy dessert stuff of your preference. Or even a cup of coffee!

Bon appétit!

Nutrient count unavailable.

Sunshine & Kitchen Invasion Part II

Sun!!!!! After a few days of rain! Oh! And fiance is home all day~

Which means……… Another kitchen invasion! And a perfect day for barbecue! He was cooking racks of ribs alllll day long!!!! Didn’t really realize how long it takes to create tender meat. Actually the reason why he cooked those ribs was because….

He just bought a smoker! He’s been so excited about it for the entire week. Everyday after work, the first thing he said was, “I’m excited for the smoker!” or “I’m excited for the ribs!” And I would reply, “Honey, it’s still Tuesday!”

The day has finally arrived! Where he released the skill of a true man. BARBECUE!!!

He’s been running around brining his ribs and rubbing it with his “secret spices,” smoked it for about 5-1/2 hours, and making a whole jar of barbecue sauce. *Which he wouldn’t share the recipe…*

So I decided to make lunch for both of us. Vegan Mushroom Oat Risotto.

Ingredients
2-1/4 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp peanut oil
1 leek chopped
1/2 tsp salt
4-5 mushrooms, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp ground dried sage
1/8 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup steel oat
1 tbs nutritional yeast
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

serves 2
1. In medium saucepan with, heat stock over medium heat until simmering, then reduce heat to low and keep covered.

2. Meanwhile, heat peanut oil in a medium size pan over medium-high heat. Add leek and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme and sage; cook 7 to 8 minutes or until mushrooms are very deeply browned, stirring frequently. Add wine, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3. Reduce heat to medium. Add oatmeal; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 2 ladles of hot stock, cook until oats have absorbed almost all of the liquid. Continue adding stock, 1 ladle at a time, and stirring.

**If you run out of stock, add a bit of water**

4. To finish, stir in nutritional yeast. Serve in warm bowls garnished with parsley.

Fiance loved it! I think when I cook, my goal is to be approved by my fiance. He is sooooo picky! And so critical! So if it’s fiance-approved, I think I’ve made a pretty successful dish.

***

Finally it was time for dinner. The time that we’ve been waiting for for almost a week! RIBS TIIIIIIME~

He had the barbecue sauce on the sides, because he was afraid it would overpower the taste. I tried to cut a little piece to taste. The meat fell apart as soon as my knife touched it. Good texture? Yup! So tenderness, checked!

Put a piece into my mouth and yummmmmm!!! I tried another piece with some barbecue sauce. DOUBLE YUMMMM!!! I think this dinner is the whole table approved! So good, so filling, and so much dishes! =p Bon appétit!

 

 

 

Rain & Barley

It’s been such a wet week! And I’ve been wanting to eat barley lately for some reason. So this is the perfect time to have a warm barley porridge!

In the morning, accompanying me with my video edit, was a bowl of warm red bean & barley porridge. I was given this recipe by my mom’s friend. Who, of course, was Chinese.

My mom always told me that barley is good to cool off your inner heat. I think “inner heat” is a very exclusively Asian concept, because whenever I say “inner heat” to non-Asians, they look at me funny. The notion of cooling and heat is related to the balance of yin and yang. I don’t really consume medicines, my parents always taught me to see food as medicine.  We don’t run straight to the doctor’s when we’ve got a tickle in the throat, we drink some tea instead, or maybe have some fruits or soup. These wisdoms have been planted since I was little, and I think they’re pretty useful.

So when I say barley cools your “inner heat”, it means it does not only soothe a sore throat, but all heat-related signs, raging irritability and pimples included. I read that it’s an old style British tonic too, once prescribed for the ill, so I guess it doesn’t matter which school of thought you subscribe to. You can change it up and add a squeeze of lemon for a zesty burst the English way, or add wintermelon for a traditional Chinese detoxifying treat. Or make both since it’s so freaking simple. So in other words, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what school of thought you’re subscribed to, barley = good.

I’ve also prepared a container of Barley Salad with Toasted Pine nuts for lunch at work.

Ingredients
1/4 cup barley
2 tbs pine nuts
1/2 zucchini, deseeded and chopped
1/4 cup shallots
A few cherry tomatoes
1 tsp chopped parsley
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs basil olive oil

serves 1
1. Cook barley as instructed in the package. Meanwhile, heat a non-stick pan. Toast pine nuts on low heat. Shaking the pan every now and then to make sure the nuts don’t burn.

2. Cut zucchini in half, scrape out the seeds, and chop. Heat another pan (or you can re-use the pan) with a drizzle of peanut oil and stir fry the zucchini until it begins to brown. Let it cool.

3. Once barley is cooked, let it cool. Chop up the shallots and assemble!

I like shallots because it gives a milder taste than red onions. But red onions should work perfectly fine too!

I was so excited about eating it at work. To be honest, that was all I could think of in the morning. =p And I think you’ll lots of barley posts in a few days.

Bon appétit!

Nutrient Count:
Calories: 479
Total Fat: 23 g
Protein: 11 g
Carbs: 58 g
Fiber: 9 g

Barley & Red Bean Porridge

Barley & Red Bean Porridge

It’s raining~
It’s pouring~
Time for a bow of porridge~

I know it doesn’t rhyme, but it is time for a bowl porridge. rainy day = warm breakfast. This morning I’m being all Asian! 淮山薏米紅豆粥 (補血益氣粥). It’s basically yam and red bean barley porridge. My mom used to make me drink barley water when I was little. She said it cools your internal temperature, soothes your throat, ladida. And apparently, I read that it’s also a very old British tonic drink. They would prescribe it for the ill. So in other words, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what school of thought you’re subscribed to, barley = good.

Ingredients
2 tbs pearl barley
2 tbs Azuki red beans
1/2 yam, cubed

serves 1
1. Wash barley and red beans thoroughly. Transfer to a pot and cover with water 2 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover and let it stand for 30 minutes.

2. After 30 minutes, the beans will expand, add more water if necessary. Boil again and turn off heat, cover and let stand for another 30 minutes.

3. Add yam cubes and cook until they’re fork tender.

4. Add maple syrup or honey to serve.

Simple enough? Bon appétit!

Nutrient Count:
Calories: 185
Total Fat: 1 g
Protein: 6 g
Carbs: 41 g
Fiber: 8 g

Spring and Kitchen Invasion

This is what Spring is supposed to feel like! The sky is nice and bright, the weather is not too cold, not too hot. I remember a few days ago, or last week, that I still had to wear a coat. I’d have to say this year is the weirdest Spring I’ve ever experienced throughout my years living abroad.

 

So today I was home alone with nothing to do. There was no videos ready for me to edit yet. What else is there to do other than INVADE THE KITCHEN!!!! I pretty much just did my workout and cooked all day long.

My lunch was an easy one. Well… All of them were kinda quick and easy to make. Anyways, lunch was Vegan Creamy Mushroom & Tomato “Pasta”. Why does pasta have quotation marks? Because it isn’t! But my lunch today is low carb, gluten free, high fibre, quick, and easy! Oh! Most importantly, it’s yummy! Spicy. Cause I put TONS of crushed peppers lol. But I love spicy.

Vegan Creamy Mushroom & Tomato “Pasta”

Remember a few days ago, or a week ago, I made a jar of homemade Nutella? Well I haven’t been using it that much. So I figured before it goes bad, and I end up throwing it away, let me just make something out of it. And voila!!! Banana oat muffin with Nutella fillings!!! Soooooo good! I was planning to bring them to work tomorrow and share it with everyone. BUT! It didn’t give me as much as I was hoping it would.

Still in the cocoa category…

It’s been awhile since I wanted to make truffles. I have no idea why I haven’t. Today I finally did! Espresso & oat truffle. It turned out delish! Even my picky fiance liked it! So I considered that as a victory.

Then moving on to dessert. Or tea time! Fruit pizza/tart with too much toppings. To be honest, I should’ve had this for breakfast. But tea works too.

Ingredients
Crust
1 banana, mashed
1/3 cup rolled oats

Sauce
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

serves 1
1. Mix mashed bananas and rolled oats, flatten it, and bake on a baking stone at 350° for about 20-30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile put frozen berries in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 3-4 minutes, or until berries are wilted and juice gushes out.

3. Spread berries on banana-oat crust, top with fruits of choice (kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, etc.)

 

Nutella Filled Banana Oat Muffin

Nutella Filled Banana Oat Muffins

Remember a few days ago, or a week ago, I made a jar of homemade Nutella? Well I haven’t been using it that much. So I figured before it goes bad, and I end up throwing it away, let me just make something out of it. And voila!!! Banana oat muffin with Nutella fillings!!! Soooooo good! I was planning to bring them to work tomorrow and share it with everyone. BUT! It didn’t give me as much as I was hoping it would.

Ingredients
1-3/4 cup oat flour
2 ripe bananas smashed
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs coconut oil
1/4 cup + 1 tbs milk (I used hemp milk)
1/2 tsp salt
Homemade vegan Nutella

makes about 8 muffins
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all the dry ingredients in food processor.

2. Add in all the wet ingredients except the nutella.

3. Spray muffin pan. Spoon a small amount of batter into the bottom of each muffin cup. Spoon about 1-2 tsp  of Nutella on top of that.  Cover the Nutella with muffin batter.  Repeat.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Bon appétit!

Nutrient count unavailable (depends on choice of milk and and amount of Nutella).

Vegan Creamy Mushroom & Tomato “Pasta”

Vegan Creamy Mushroom & Tomato “Pasta”

Pasta is quite a comforting food. But it’s FULL of carbs! This afternoon, I’ve made myself a low-carb “pasta.”

Why does the word pasta have quotation marks? Because it isn’t! But my lunch today is low carb, gluten free, high fibre, quick, and easy! Oh! Most importantly, it’s yummy! Spicy. Cause I put lots of crushed peppers lol. But I love spicy.

Ingredients
3 celery stalks
1 tsp basil olive oil
1/4 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
1 cup canned tomatoes, to taste
2 tbs nutritional yeast, to taste
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

serves 1
1. Wash and cut celery stalks into 2 inches long, and put in boiling salted water. Cook until celery is soft. Test them with a fork.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until translucent.

3. Stir in the sliced mushrooms and diced tomato and cook for another 8-10 minutes or so over medium-high heat, until some of the water cooks off.

4. Stir in nutritional yeast, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes. Add salt to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so and adjust seasonings to taste if desired.

5. Drain celery and stir in the pasta sauce, heat, and serve immediately with garlic bread if you’d like.

Bon appétit!

Nutrient Count:
Calories: 228
Total Fat: 4 g
Protein: 9 g
Carbs: 32 g
Fiber: 10 g