A quick holiday treat… less than 30min.

Materials:

• 1 cups salted butter softened
• 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon/cardamom
• 2 cups pastry flour

Steps:

1. pre-heated oven to 350 degree
2. cream butter with sugar and everything but flour
3. mix in flour until just mixed
4. smooth onto a silicon baking sheet with a spatula. about 1/4 inch thick in a single rectangle
5. stab repeated with fork to make holed pattern, this prevents bubbles and rising.
6. pop into a pre-heated 350 degree oven
7. bake 12-15 minute until just barely browning on the edge. check often with good lighting
8. remove and immediate slide silicon baking mat onto wire rack
9. cut into 1 inch by 2 inch rectangles and allow to cool.
10. Server and enjoy!

Bonus:

• mix fresh sliced strawberries, yogurts, one spoon of icecream, and blueberries in a bowl to serve with biscuits for a Strawberry Shortcake Surprise !

Background: watch Aaron and Claire on YouTube for a full fried rice rundown with increasing complexity and varies usage of egg. I’ll describe here the simpler of their techniques.

Ingredients:

• 2cups rice. Cooled or dried if sticky
• 2 eggs. Mixed with rice.
• Seasonings, paprika
• 1/2 onion. Fried in 2tbsp of oil.
• 1tbsp. Soy sauce
• 1tbsp. Fish Sauce
• Mushrooms and Broccoli diced.
• Frozen shrimp. Boiled.

Cook rice and egg mixture in onion oil. Add sauces. Add mushroom and broccoli on side. Cover and let cook. Add water if too dry.. once veg cooked. Add shrimp. Serve and Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 packet instant old meal
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon & cardamom
• 1 cup unsalted butter melted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups chocolate chips use your favorite kind
• 2 cups chopped walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place oats in a medium sized bowl and whisk in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Stir together melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. (No mixer needed – just use a wooden spoon or spatula!) Stir in vanilla, lemon juice, and eggs. Stir until smooth, then stir in flour mixture. Mixture may be slightly lumpy because of the ground oats. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
3. Line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Scoop ¼ cupfuls of the dough into balls and place on the cookie sheet. You do not need to space them; this is just for chilling. Cover well with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours or overnight before baking.
4. Freeze balls for later
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cookies well spaced on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Slightly depress each ball with the palm of your hand.
6. Bake for 13-17 minutes.

Do not over bake –

these are best a bit goooey

Boil water and cook pappardelle al dente.

Saute 2x small onion w 1 cup sliced mushrooms.

After onions are clear, add 1 cup chopped broccolini

Add cooked salmon, chili flakes, and pesto.

once hot, add 1/2 cup white wine. Stir, cover, and bring to boil.

Add cooked pasta and mix thoroughly.

serve and enjoy!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups of lukewarm water (100 degrees f)

2 packets of yeast

2 teaspoons of salt

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup of honey

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons of pandan extract

7 cups of all-purpose flour

egg wash – 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water mixed

Making the dough

Mix the yeast, butter, salt, eggs, honey and pandan extract, with the lukewarm water in a large glass bowl.

Add the flour cup by cup and mix with a spoon / spatula.

Once the 7 cups are mixed in, knead for about 6-8 minutes until dough becomes a round ball, add flour as necessary.

First rise

Cover bowl with a damp cloth and leave to rise until double the size for at least an hour – 2 hours.

Once risen, punch down and cut dough into 4 portions and put into air tight bags if not planning to use immediately.

The dough is ready for immediate use / refrigeration / freezing. Freezing is recommended over refrigeration as dough will rise again in the fridge.

Braiding the loaf

Divide the dough into 3 or 6 equal pieces, depending on the type of braid you’d like to do.

Roll each piece of dough into a long rope about 16 inches long.

If the ropes shrink as you try to roll them, let them rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten and then try again.

For 6 braids, I like this technique:

• merge the 6 ropes and fan them out
• take the right most rope and place it over the next to left adjacent ropes
• thread it under the third rope then over the last two left ropes until reaching the leftmost side
• tldr: from right – over 2 – under 1 – over 2
• repeat this until you reach the ends
• merge all the ropes and tuck under
• tuck the top under as well

Second rise

Line a baking sheet / tray with parchment paper or use baking mat.

Place the braided loaf on top and sprinkle with a little flour.

Cover with a cloth again.

Let the challah rise in a warm place away from drafts until puffed, for about 1 hour.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Once risen, brush with egg wash.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, rotating half way.

Cool, slice and enjoy!

 

taking inspiration from having 3x cabbage and a ginger in the frig. i started with this recipe:  https://www.centercutcook.com/indian-fried-cabbage/

Materials:

1 ginger root blended

1 tablespoon nice oil

1 tablespoon tumeric , paprika, sambar, spices

all heated

1/2 sliced cabbage,

whole zuchinni

carrots on top.

medium to high heat cover and add water

serve and enjoy

 

Materials:

1.5 lb chicken thighs

1 block firm tofu

onion,

fresh shiitake (or dry and moistened)

carrots

chives, garlic, ginger, coriander

Steps:

Mince and stir fry onions, garlic, ginger til brown.

Add carrots and mushrooms

Remove and add to minced chicken xor tofu

Add corriander and chives.

Add seasame oil soy sauce, rice wine, etc to taste

Refer to the next post for folding and cooking details

Materials:

 

vegg filling:

2 cup minced and drained cabbage

2 cups rehydrated, minced and drained mushrooms

1 1/2 cups sheets of tofu skins, also minced

one box of spinach, microwaved, then minced and drained

 

seasoning filling:

5 stalks chives

4 cloves garlic

6 tps ginger

2 tsp sichuan peppercorn

2tps soysauce

2 tps sesameseed oil

chilli to tasted

 

meet filling:

3 chicken thighs minced

1lb prawns (cooked, tailed, deskinned) minced

Steps:

1. mince seasoning filling with veggie filling parts
2. mix together meet parts in separate dish
3. add meet and optionally meet filling to dumpling wrapper
4. press and fold real nice. (external reference)
5. keep going until a plate is full, about 10-15
6. place tightly in hot pan with oil
7. brown.
8. add boiling water to half cover dumpling
9. cover pan
10. remove and fill onto plate once water has gone

 

Materials:

1 egg

2 tsp tapioca flour

1/2 cup of soft tofu

1/2 cup of black bean

brocolli to taste

hot sauce to taste

1 tsp olive oil

 

Steps:

scramble egg,  brocolli, and tofu in pan.

heat some water and add to tapioca flour.

add tapioca to pan along with all other ingredients

set on low heat for 10 min or until set.

it will set further as it cools.

slice into patties

 

 

 

 

Materials:

1 box Cake Mix

1/3 cup Oil/Butter

3/4 cup Coconut Milk : the unsweetened milk alternative one

3 eggs

1 can pineapple chunks

 

Steps:

preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

beat eggs by hand

add oil

beat more.

add mix

beat more

drain pineapple juice into fluid measuring cup (about 1/4 cup)

add coconut milk to measuring cup until you have 1 cup of fluid

add fluid to batter

beat more

add pineapple chunks

 

tips:

i over heated the oven a bit because I was making mini-cupcakes and was in a hurry. I knew i’ dbe opening it a lot as each set were poured or ready.

don’t over work the batter. beat by hand just enough to get each addition mixed. the order i choose starts very thick and hard to mix, but avoid lumps.

kitties and hackers love cupcakes!