Three Day Cook

Tuesday. New Year, so time to clean the pantry.  Who bought all these pastas? Two sizes of penne? Hmmm... Six boxes of crackers. Need to have another party and throw some cream cheese onto a plate. White beans. Huge purple beans. Are these split peas or green lentils? Whew, got all that stuff off the top of the pantry in. Well except that bag of peas/lentils. And today it's a little cold, so, soups on!

How to fix? Well, i'll start by soaking them. You do that with dried  beans, right? So into a bowl at 8. Tic tok out to walk.  (Which, by the way, was great.).  Into a pot at 3:30.  Six cups of water. Seems like too much. Oh well, I'll fix that later. Throw in some garlic. And what? Thyme? I'm thinking of cooking it down and then throwing into the blender [sadly, I don't have an immersion blender though I am coveting a Cuisinart Smart Stick CSB-76. Hint hint.]  5:00 and Nat's homework is done. Whoohoo! Check the pot. Have to add more water? Another two cups of broth. What's up with that? Still has a lot of bite. Too crunchy to whiz in the blender so hit the heat. Fixing up the tacos we are having for dinner and realize we wont be having soup any day soon.  Cooked until 6:00. Cost another cup of broth. At 7:30, I give up for the day. Into the fridge the pot goes...

Wednesday. Ignoring the pot of half cooked soup in the fridge.  Drag it onto the fire at 3:00.  Here we go again. Added another cup of broth. We're at 10 cups people! Still tastes like 3-minute Captain Crunch [don't make me explain that]. Chinese for dinner with no side of soup. One more cup of water. No broth, not wasting good broth on stone soup. At 6:00 pm it seemed to almost taste cooked. A bit of crunch, but edible. A little dente. Cook 10 minutes. Stir. Taste. Texture tastes like something thay would be awesome with warm naan. So, I add some some curry stuff. One more cup of water. I may this bag of peas/lentils into something! At 7:30 I have to get Natalie out of the bath and start putting in her dreadlocks. Long story. Phone rings, landlord selling villa may continue to interfere with our life. Surprise. 8:30. Done with mommy stuff. Night babycakes!

I head downstairs and think that my downstairs smells like a construction site. But there is a construction site next door so this is familiar. As I descend to the bottom step, I try to think back to the moment when I turned off the soup. Of course I would do that before I headed upstairs, right? Yes. Sure I did. As I enter the kitchen I see/smell that in fact I DID NOT turn off the stove. My pea/lentil soup is now a baked pea/lentil cake with a burned bottom. And it smells like burnt hair which might indicate that maybe it wasn't peas or lentils? I am too depressed to even clean out the pan. I toss it into the sink and add hot water half way up. I think I am chuckling as I close the door to the small kitchen, but I don't remember as I have worked hard to eliminate this particular memory out of the banks of my brain.

Next morning after Natalie goes to school, I open the door to the small kitchen. The pea/lentil bread has actually turned back into some sort of soup. I tossed it out for the cats.

So, after 12 cups of liquid, 7 1/2 hours of soaking before cooking, 10 hours soaking partially cooked in the fridge, 9 1/2 hours of cooking, and a final 12 hours of soaking in the sink, Soup's On!

I think I will stick with sandwiches for the rest of the winter.

Recipe: Pork with Sesame Mustard Sauce

I am slowly adding in my recipes to the blog. Here is one from a while ago!

Pork with Sesame Mustard Sauce

1/4 kg Pork Cutlets (Pork Loin)

2 tsp Sesame Oil

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

3 tsp Soy Sauce

2 tsp olive oil

4-5 cloves garlic, crushed

Trip any extra fat from pork and slice into 1/4" strips.  Prepare marinade: mix sesame oil, mustard, soy sauce, and olive oil.  Whisk in garlic.  Mix pork into marinade and set aside (up to 2 hours).

Heat some more olive oil in a pan (use wok if you have one).  Heat until not quite smoking.  Place pork into pan, seperating the strips.  Stir pork as it cooks.  Cook until done, 3-5 minutes.  Serve with lots of hot rice. 

Serves 2

Notes: As the first official meal I cooked with all chinese ingredients, except for the dijon, I was pleased with the results.  I tried again with chicken and also added veggies.  Also good.  The soy will carmelize slightly so you really get a good color on the meat.  I used the dijon to give it a kick, but vinegar would probably have the same effect.

Recipe: Roasted Tomato Soup with Cheddar "Hats"

Time for SOUP!  I stole the original recipe from one of my blogs, but of course I had to modify a bit! Sort of ended up with an French Onion Soup, but without onions, or beef broth, and changed the cheese. But you get the idea. I used the word "hat" thinking that made it more appealing to anyone under 10. it did. Hard to find plum tomatoes, but smaller grape tomatoes are easier. These pictures actually show larger tomatoes, but those seemed very bitter. Better to stick with a tomato that is sweet, whatever that means in your market.  However,substitution means there might not be as much “juice” in the tomatoes. I also think you can use this as a base to add whatever other herbs or ingredients sound good. I want to try again and add a roasted beet or maybe even some roasted carrots. 


This version calls for quite a bit of cheese. You can cut that back if you want. But I needed all of it to entice the rest of the family to eat!

ingredients:

Soup

3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large or 4 small cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried

1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried crushed red pepper

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Lid

4 1-inch slices from a large loaf of rye bread, whole wheat sourdough or bread of your choice (or 16 1-inch slices from a baguette), toasted until hard and lightly buttered on one side

1 tablespoon grated raw onion (Don't add if the kids/hubbies don't appreciate!)

1 cup coarsely grated cheddar (or more to taste)

preparation:

Serves 4 

Make soup: Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper (I used 1 full teaspoon of Kosher salt). Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add foil packet of garlic to tray. Roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Unwrap garlic packet and peel cloves. Transfer cloves, tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a blender or food processor and pulse machine on and off until tomatoes are a chunky puree. Transfer tomatoes to medium pot and add thyme, crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.

Create cheddar lid: Preheat oven to 350. Arrange four ovenproof soup bowls, crocks or large mugs on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Stir grated onion into the warm soup. (I love this last-minute suggestion of onion.) Float toast slice(s) in each bowl, buttered side up and divide grated cheese generously over top. (If you’re using a wide bowl, you might find that you want more cheese to create a thick, broiled lid.) Bake soups on tray for 15 to 20 minutes, until cheese on top is bubbling and brown at the edges. If you’d like it even more bronzed on top, preheat your broiler and finish soups for a minute or two under it. Serve immediately.

Do ahead: Soup can be prepared one day ahead, and kept covered in the fridge. Rewarm before serving, or before finishing with cheddar crouton.

Recipe: Roasted tomato soup With Cheddar Hat

It is a bit cooler in the evenings now and so got the hankering for some soup! I stole the original recipe from one of my blogs, but of course I had to modify a bit! I called it a Cheddar Hat to make it a bit more appealing to the nine-year old in the family, but basically it is just a crouton with cheese. Hard to find plum tomatoes, but smaller grape tomatoes are always available and usually sweet even if not completely ripe. However, this substitution means there won’t be as much “juice” in the tomatoes. I also think you can use this as a base to add whatever other herbs or ingredients sound good. I want to try again and add a roasted beet or maybe even some carrot. No pictures from last time, maybe next time!

Recipe - Mexican Tortilla Casserole

 As a celebration of getting my refrigerator fixed, I decided to make some comfort food for dinner this week. Being American with no true cuisine classification, our family has comfort dishes from all over the map, literally. But I had extra tortillas (rare occurring situation in Shanghai) and needed to get rid of them. So of course we chose an old favorite, Mexican Tortilla Casserole. This recipe is not light by any means! Though this version is lighter on a few ingredients than the original.

This recipe was actually one of the first recipes I ever learned by taking a cooking class. That had to be 12 years ago? The class was specifically targeted at "casseroles". But not the French "take all day to prepare and cook a dish that is filled with delicate flavors". More of the American "make a recipe that can be turned into mass produced dishes that will go into the freezer". Since Tom and I never seemed to have time to actually cook a meal once we got home, I though this would be a good way for us to have a home cooked meal once in a while. So, about once a quarter on a Sunday, you could find me preparing two or three different casseroles for future eating! I have just recently started doing that here in Shanghai. Freezer space is usually a premium. But since I cleaned everything out, I now have plenty of space.

The recipe can be doubled or tripled. I like to use aluminum pans for freezing casseroles. Reduces the mess and usually takes up less space in the freezer. The downside is the expansion of your green footprint! Either way, make sure you wrap the casserole well. I use a cut piece of waxed paper over the top layer. Keeps the cheese from getting freezer burnt if you can eliminate as much air from your container as possible! When you are ready to cook the frozen casserole, I usually take out of freezer and put into the fridge for the day. Then put into the oven 35-40 minutes before dinner. IF you forget, I have found you can still cook by reducing the heat to 325 and extending the cooking time to closer to 60 minutes. Oh, and I have used this recipe as an appetizer served with tortilla chips!

Enjoy!

Fresh Veggies in November

One of what I consider a major benefit of living in China is access to fresh vegetables. Yes, you read right. Access to fresh vegetables. We eat a large variety of veggies here than we did in the U.S. Eggplant, full size carrots (when is the last time you ate a non "baby" carrot???), bok choy, daikon, sweet potatoes (best on the street!), green beans as long as my leg, and all sorts of yummy greens.  I have been buying most of my veggies from the Vizcaya Market each Wednesday, or a small local grocery a block away. And I buy organic about half the time. Not so much that I am a "green" freak, but because a lot of the organic items are really fresh or seem to be anyway. This week I decided to order some items from an organic place here in Shanghai, Fields. You have been able to buy their items in a few places in town. They have been pusing their online ordering, so thought I would give it a try.

The ordering process was simple once I had registered. And I find the prices for most items about the same as the organics I buy elsewhere. And maybe a bit cheaper than City Shop for some items. I ordered the kinds of stuff I usually buy each week. Thought I would order, cook, eat, assess.  Here was my order.

IELDS Order

Item No. Name(EN) Name(CH) Price Qty Total V-001-0062 Baby Swiss Chard CNY15 1 CNY15 V-001-0034 Organic Avocados 牛油果 CNY36 1 CNY36 V-001-0036 Broccoli 西兰花 CNY15 1 CNY15 V-001-0013 Large Carrot 大胡萝卜 CNY18 2 CNY36 V-001-0043 Shiitake Mushrooms 香菇 CNY12 1 CNY12 V-002-0002 Cilantro (Coriander) 香菜 CNY10 1 CNY10 F-021-0007 Lemons 柠檬 CNY10 1 CNY10 F-022-0011 Australian Mango 芒果 CNY50 1 CNY50 F-021-0027 Limes 绿柠檬 CNY15 1 CNY15 F-021-0030 Clementines 砂糖桔 CNY10 1 CNY10 D-062-0002 Free Range Eggs 鸡蛋 CNY25 1 CNY25       Shipping and Handling Fee : CNY0    Cash On Delivery Total: CNY234

Not sure why I ordered an Australian Mango for 50RMB. Who pays $8 for a single piece of fruit? So the total was about $36. Not bad, not great. By the way, the quantities are not necessarily individual items, meaning the order was not 2 carrots, it was 2 500 gram units. About 4 big carrots. Placed the order for a scheduled time. Received confirmation. So, now wait...

The order arrived right on time in a cool cardboard box (we get excited like children with good boxes!).

All of the food was individually wrapped and clearly identified. Some were in pre-measured containers, but most were individually measured, probably right before they went into the box.

Below is the picture of all my stuff out of the box. Does it look like 234RMB of stuff???

Now came the fun part. Unwrapping. Smelling. Tasting. Clocwise from noon position, oranges, broccoli, lemons, limes, Australian Mango, avacodos, baby Swiss Chard, eggs, carrots, mushrooms, cilantro. All 11 items accounted for!

First taste was the Clementine orange. They promised seedless. And they were!!! Next, I snipped a bite of cilantro. Wow, tasted like cilantro. And the bunch was big, not the limp stuff we have been getting at other markets. Ok, now a nibble of carrot. Yum. And let;s try the baby Swiss Chard. Wow. This might be the best green I have eaten in a long time. Hard to explain the taste, but maybe a bit nutty? Definitely not going to cook them like I thought I would. This is going into a salad tomorrow! 

So, I give Fields a great big A. Convenient, good, not too badly priced. And I can make out a menu the night before and have the delivery the afternoon I want to cook.  Now I gotta check go check out the pine sprouts (what the ...?) and fresh spinach!

Recipe - Applesauce Cake

Next week Natalie's 3/4 Grade classes are hosting a Giving Thanks lunch carry-in. Mer. Gerlach's class drew dessert at their dish to carry-in. Definitely not my best cooking area! So I decided to find a few recipes to try out so I might be able to produce something other than the Betty Crocker Brownie Mix standby dish.


I ran across a recipe for apple cake, but I am not a big fan of cooked apples. Then I found another which called for applesauce rather than apples. That seemed like a better option in terms of texture. Plus the recipe compared it to Zucchini Bread, which I have not posted, but is my favorite dessert. It just has a lot of sugar in it. So I decided to try to produce a similar taste, but with less sugar.  I am not really much of a baker, as anything that requires you to, well, follow the recipe, is usually a challenge for me! I started with a basic recipe, I think from allrecipes.com, but modified slightly. I changed to the applesauce to a version without added sugar. And I eliminated the 1/4 white sugar as I was already adding 1 cup of brown sugar and that seemed like plenty. I also slightly reduced the ground ginger as I was not really wanting to make a cake that tasted like gingerbread. If I wanted that, I would use a gingerbread recipe.

Result? Very good! Almost as moist as the Zucchini bread. Healthy enough to eat a slice for breakfast. After I made the frosting, I had husband and kid taste as it tasted a bit  strong (sour?) to me. I decided I could serve it on the side if needed! But, it turned out to really complement the cake well. It cut down the sweetness even more. But, it is basically sugar and butter, so we sort of undo the healthiness. So I only put 2/3 of the frosting I made on the cake. Seemed to be a happy compromise.  So I will try this again next Thursday. And will make it the way I wrote it below. I promise.

ingredients:

For cake

2 cups (8 3/4 ounces or 250 grams) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) baking soda

1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) salt

3/4 teaspoon (2 grams) cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon (1 gram) ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 stick (4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup (7 3/4 ounces or 218 grams) packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups (about 13 ounces or 365 grams) unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup (about 1 3/4 ounces or 50 grams) walnuts (optional), toasted, cooled, and chopped

For frosting

5 ounces (142 grams) cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces or 42 grams) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (4 ounces or 120 grams) confectioners sugar

1/2 (1 teaspoon) teaspoon cinnamon

preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square cake pan. I lined the bottom with parchment paper and buttered that too. But my pan is not great!

Make cake: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined, then stir in walnuts (if using). The batter will look a little curdly and uneven but don’t worry, it will all bake up perfectly in the end.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Reinvert cake onto a rack to cool completely. You can speed this up, as I always do, in the fridge.

Make frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Sift confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon over cream cheese mixture, then beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread frosting over top of cooled cake.

Eggplant Salad Toasts

We invited one of the Student Ambassadors from the US Pavilion to dinner last night. The Ambassadors are all finished with the work at the Expo and are preparing to go home. Jane, who's family is from Shanghai, lives in Pennsylvania. I gave her the option of lunch at the IFC Mall or a home-cooked meal. She quickly chose the home-cooked meal! She has been living in the dorm for more than three months now and was really looking for something that was not ordered off of a menu. 

I had already promised Natalie that we would have spaghetti. So then I promised the Ayi we would make the spaghetti sauce together. We had made together one other time, but she felt she needed to practice together once more before she tried it on her own. Western spices like oregano and basil throw her way off! As we browned the meat, started the tomatoes, and added the spices, I realized that cooking for me is definitely not a science. She commented that I was NOT following the exact instructions I had given her the first time. For example, instead of two large cans of whole tomatoes, I used one small whole can, one small can chopped, and a jar of tomato pulp. I had not been able to buy the large cans so had to improvise. I tried to explain that the type was not as important as the total VOLUME. That explanation did not go well. Apparently there is a not specific Mandarin character(s) for volume!

Since I had just a consulting role in making the main dish, I decided to try out a new recipe for Eggplant Salad. I did not like eggplant before moving here to China. I am amazed at the different types and tastes that the different eggplants have. This week I was able to get some round eggplant for use in this recipe. The original recipe originally called this a salad, but I thought it would better to serve as a bruschetta-like dish since I already planned to saute spinach as a side dish. 

The dish turned out awesome, and I will make again! Though I did burn two of my toasts as I was gabbing while cooking. Other than that, this was a simple dish to turn out. I could definitely see this as a cold dish, though I served warm on the toasts. I ate the extra two toasts after cleaning up and they tasted great at room temp! I think this would also make a nice side dish, served warm. I would double or triple the recipe though to ensure you have more than enough.

ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, about 3/4 pound, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for oiling baking sheet
1/4 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup crumbled crumbled feta
1 scallion, thinly sliced
8 1/2-inch slices of baguette, brushed with olive oil (too think might not be good in this dish!)
1 small clove garlic, peeled and halved

preparation:

Broil or toast baguette slices first if you are going to serve this warm. It makes it easier to finish once you have prepared the eggplant salad. Rub the toasts with the sliced garlic after toasting.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet or roasting pan. Toss eggplant, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and a generous amount of black pepper together in a medium bowl until evenly coated. Spread on prepared baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, moving pieces around occasional so they evenly brown. For a warm salad where the feta glues itself to the eggplant a bit, toss the vinegar, feta and scallion together when the eggplant just comes out of the oven. You’ll want to eat the warm salad quickly. For a cold salad, let the eggplant cool a bit before mixing it with red wine vinegar, feta and scallion. You can assemble the cooled/refrigerated ingredients before serving.

Makes about 8 toasts; double the recipe if you’d like to eat the salad straight.

Favorite Infographic Ever

Thanks to designer Ben Gibson and book editor Patrick Mulligan for creating such a fabulous infographic.  I am printing this in 11x7 and placing on the fridge.

BBQ Cabbage Slaw Recipe

Made slaw for a party yesterday and realized my old standby recipe for a good dressing had actually not been a recipe at all, it was the Marzeti Slaw Dressing you could buy in the states. No good for me here in Shanghai! So, I adapted a few recipes I use for other summer salads into one that could enhance the slaw. 

Nothing fancy here. Simple slaw and a sweet sour mayo dressing. But as I was putting it together, I spent some time thinking about what this slaw could become, if you made some minor modifications! So, I spent today playing with it and appreciate the versatility of a simple side dish like slaw. You know me, I rarely use a recipe as is, especially if it was not mine to begin with! So this is a perfect one to play with. The cayenne adds just a tiny kick. If you are worried about spice, leave it out, but I assure you, there is so little used here you will not taste spice!

The addition of raisins added another texture and really added some sweetness. That was probably my favorite variation. Adding the sesame oil and cilantro transformed it into the Asian style slaw that I normally serve alongside my Soy Lime chicken. Well, almost. I add peanuts to the slaw, but didn't like that as much with this version, so I left them out. This slaw would also be great on top of pulled pork sandwiches. Didn't try that yesterday, but I think it would be great. If you use it that way, I would go with more of a chop to the slaw to ensure you can easily consume from inside of a bun!

By the way, did you know that China produces 36,335,000 tonnes of cabbage each year? And there are so many types to choose for! Today I used simple green and purple cabbage, but there were lots of other choices. I think I will try a few others with this recipe. 

But some other day. I think I have had enough slaw for now!

Avocado Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

It's summer. And that means salads. Ran across this one looking at an old Goop newsletter. I love avocados and this carrot ginger dressing sounded fabulous. Of course, I am the only one in the house which will like this, but I am rarely deterred by that small issue! I did make the Ayi try a small plate of this salad. She said the dressing was good, but she can usually barely choke down any raw lettuce! Also, it was the first time she had eaten avocado. Her description was that it was "not sweet, not sour, buttery". I think that is a marvelous description of an avocado!

The major changes I made to the recipe were to decrease the miso and used olive oil (not EVO) instead of grapeseed. Plus I upped the amount of avocado (the original called for a single one). Note that different miso varieties will give a slightly different taste. The original called for white or sweet miso, but I had only some red that I had purchased in Tokyo. I reduced the amount accordingly as the red is really salty. This recipe has a real bite to it from the fresh ginger and the shallot. If you don’t want quite the same level of ginger taste, use one tablespoon instead of two. 

This recipe makes more than enough dressing for these four salads, but you can use the extra as a dip for vegetables. I even got Natalie to eat some with celery. Tonight I am going to try some on top of fried potatoes. I think the pairing of dressing with the starchiness and bit of crunch will be fantastic!

Recipe - Cranberry – Sweet Potato Bars

Finally got around to baking these yummy bars again. Haven't made them since moving to China. The recipe calls for Sweet Potato baby food, and that is not always so easy to find! I made these for Natalie when she was a toddler, she loved them. It tastes a bit like cobbler, though without the extra fruit. They are also pretty good as an ice-cream topper too! You can throw one into the micro for 10-15 seconds and then onto a big bowl of vanilla ice cream.


I used to make these with a mixture of dried fruit and fresh fruit. The ones I made today, I threw in about a cup of fresh cranberries. But remember that plain, fresh cranberries are really sour! If you only use fresh, you may need to add a bit more sugar. And there are lots of other dried fruit you can use, such as apricots, mango, peach, etc. Whatever you like!

Also, I don't worry too much about using exact measures for this recipe. It is pretty forgiving. I am careful about how the dry/wet ratio so that they are not too dry or too moist.

Recipe - Fennel and Celery Salad

So, I finally have time to get back to trying some new recipes and tastes. Last night, I tried a recipe from Bon Appetite, though of course I modified to adjust to our tastes a bit. Natalie didn't love it, but she didn't hate it! I take that as a good sign. Oh, and got to use my favorite red bowl for serving it!


Fennel and Celery Salad
This is a nice salad that is easy and kid-friendly. You can substitute Italian parsley for the cilantro if you prefer the taste.


ingredients:
3 celery stalks, cut crosswise into paper-thin slices
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, halved vertically, sliced paper-thin
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup toasted salted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2 tablespoons olive oil, preferrably good extra-virgin
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese shavings (about 1 1/2 ounces)


preparation:
Combine celery, fennel, parsley, and pumpkin seeds in large bowl. Whisk oil and lemon juice in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper; toss with vegetables. Toss in most of cheese; top with remaining cheese. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Recipe: Oven Roasted Cauliflower

This recipe is very simple and low in calories. It is a quick way to prepare a side vegetable for your lunch or dinner. Also, it tastes good room temperature or even chilled. You can add the leftovers to your salad the next day! The parmesan and chives or spring onions are essential to achieving wonderful taste in this recipe. And be sure to keep your oven hot to get the nice golden brown color!


_________________________________________________________
Oven Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients:
5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (from 1 medium cauliflower)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Chopped chives or Spring Onions, 2-3 tablespoons

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the cauliflower florets in a roasting pan or a glass baking dish. Whisk the olive oil with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Drizzle over cauliflower and mix well. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until fork tender, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting. Don’t over cook! You want the cauliflower to be a bit firm. Remove from the oven pour onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately while still warm.

New recipe: Shelly's Shanghai Pork

Well, I have been spending a lot of time playing with recipes here in Shanghai. Due to some miscalculations cooking a different recipe, I came up with this recipe. I had to tweak it a few times to get it to come out right. I know some of you have misgivings about deep frying, buy trust me, if the temperature on the oil is right and you use fresh corn or vegetable oil, it primarily gives the pork a beautiful sheen and cooks it fast so it is extremely tender. I use this for group dinners as you can make quite a few pieces in a good size pork roast. I use the roast as it is slightly larger in circumference and the slices end up being a nicer size. But if you buy tenderloins, they will work too!
===============================================
SHELLY'S SHANGHAI PORK
1 lb Pork Loin or Pork roast, whole, unlaced
1/4 cup corn starch
cooking oil
Marinade:
3 TBS Lime Juice
1/4 Cup Dark Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Coriander
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp Sichuan oil (can substitute 1/4 tsp cayenne powder)


Slice pork into very thin slices, like you were slicing a roast. Slices will be rectangular in shape and only 1/8# thick. The trick is to use thin slices so they are very tender and cook quickly. After slicing, mix marinade together. Pour over pork and let marinade in fridge for at least two hours. Can leave overnight. An hour before ready to cook, mix wet pork mixture with corn starch. Use hands to mix thoroughly. When ready to cook, heat cooking oil in wok or pan. You should have at least an inch on the bottom. Heat to medium high. When ready, place pork slices into hot oil and cook quickly, about a minute for each slice, turning once. Adjust oil so that it doesn't cook too fast and brown too much. Place cooked pork slices on paper towels for draining. Can be served with rice or with bread for sandwiches. Enjoy!

Hosting Our First Dinner Party

Last night we hosted our first dinner party. The invitees included our Mandarin teacher Sammie, and three of her friends. Her room mate Sarah, Sammie's friend Annie, and Annie's boyfriend Jared. In the picture at the table, from left to right around the table are: Annie, Jared, Natalie, me, Zhong Cai Zhen (our Ayi), Sammie, and Sarah. There were many "firsts" for the Bramer's during this party: the guests brought 95% of the food, the guests did ALL of the cooking, and oh, we were the only native English speakers in attendance! Jared and Annie did all of the cooking for us. All I had to do was provide the drinks and some fruit for dessert. What a deal! They are all from other parts of China other than Shanghai. Sammie and Sarah are from Fujian province and Annie and Jared are from the Sichuan province. Sichuan is home to Szechuan cuisine and since that was the home of our cooks, some of the dishes were a bit spicy (yummy). The menu changed a bit after they arrived as they realized that a few ingredients were missing, but we had a total of 10 dishes! They got to our house around 5 and we ate around 7. So in two hours they did all of the prep and all of the cooking. I had no idea what types of dishes would be needed, but we got by with the few Chinese serving ware I had. I asked the Ayi to come and help and so we invited her to join our meal as well. I think she really enjoyed that! That included some small rice bowls, some Chinese style soup spoons, and lots of serving dishes. Here is the menu:

1. Jing Jiang Rou Si (Pork with Leeks)
2. Tu Dou Niu Rou (Beef with potatoes)
3. Ma Po Dou Fu (Literally translates to Freckled Grandmother To Fu!)
4. Shou Si Juan Xin Cai (Water Spinach with Pork)
5. Hui Guo Rou (Twice cooked pork)
6. Dou Fu Yu Pian (Fish with ToFu)
7. Rou Yuan Tang (Pork Ball soup)
8. Hong Jiao Rou Si (Pork with Peppers)
9. Liang Ban Xi Heng Shi (Tomatoes with Sugar)
10. Qing Jiao Tu Dou Si (Potatoes with Green Peppers)

Everyone had their own favorites. Personally I enjoyed the Jing Jiang Rou Si (Pork with Leeks) and the Qing Jiao Tu Dou Si (Potatoes with Green Peppers). I took the leftover potatoes and fried them up like hash browns this morning. Very spicy and tasty!!! At the end of the meal, I made everyone try my home brewed pijiu (beer) which I am not sure was received with the same enthusiasm as the rest of the dinner. Regardless, a great time was had by all, and no one was hungry! And we had plenty of leftovers Sunday. We also captured some good videos (Natalie did most of the recording so beware of low camera angles!), you can find them on our main china page. Unfortunately I did not complete all of the recipes, but will post as I fine-tune the details with our guests via email.

Making Zongsi with the Ayi

I have really been cooking up a storm these past few weeks, but seem to not be able to find the extra time to put the results out here! So, today I will put a few posts out specifically targeted at the recipes and cooking here in Shanghai.

A few weeks ago was the Chinese Dragon Boat festival which, as most holidays in China, has a rich history associated with it. This festival is in commemoration of Qu Yuan (340-278 BC). Qu Yuan was minister of the State of Chu and one of China's earliest poets. Long story short, he died in a river and people threw Zongzi (pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves) and eggs into the water to divert possible fish or shrimp from attacking his body. So, the Chinese make and consume the Zongzi during the festival. Sort of like making Christmas cookies for Santa I guess! I had never really tried them, so I asked the Ayi to show me how to make them. So we did! The recipe for the dumplings is actually quite straight forward. Note that I didn't really give good measures here, I think it depends a lot on the number you are making. The amounts I listed made the 10 or so that we finished. I uploaded some videos of her wrapping and I think you can see how complicated it is to wrap. It is generally in a shape of a tetrahedron, which means it is a four-faced triangle. For the engineers reading, got take a look and go for it! The Ayi told me that it took many years for her to wrap on her own. She was 30 before she could do well. So, I guess I have to make these for another 18 years until I can do it on my own (she was 12 when she first helped her mother make them!). They actually do taste quite good. There are dessert versions as well, with dates or other dried fruit in them. I didn't like the sweet ones as well as the savory, they seemed too sweet.

Oh, and one final lesson I learned. I learned to use my rice cooker for something other than cooking plain rice! We used it to steam the ZongZi. We placed the Zonzi into the metal bowl where the rice and water usually go and filled it with water. Cool. Also, the Ayi saw that I was going to hard boil an egg and talked me into adding the raw eggs (in the shell) to the cooker too. The eggs were cooked along with the ZongZi and the flavor that the bamboo leaves imparted on the eggs was really good. I recommend everyone trying their rice cooker for more than just rice! I think of it as a Chinese crock pot!

Enjoy!
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Pork ZongZi (Steamed Rice Dumplings)

1 1/2 Cup Glutenous Rice (also known as "sticky rice")

1/2 Cup Dark Soy Sauce

1/2 lb Pork (should be something fatty to ensure it is moist when cooked, we used Pork Butt)

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp Chicken granules

Bamboo Leaves for wrapping (takes at least four leaves per dumpling)

- Before using bamboo leaves, they will need to be washed 2-3 times. Let them soak in the sink in clean water and use your fingers to wipe off any dirt. After washing, let them dry. You can do this before you start the rest of the recipe to ensure the moisture is dry before folding into ZongZi.

Wash and drain rice well. Add enough soy sauce to ensure that all grains are well coated. Slice the pork into 1/2 inch cubes, distributing the fat! Pour remaining soy sauce onto cubed pork. Let the the rice and pork soak separately in this sauce for a couple of hours. Add sugar to rice and stir. Add chicken stock granules to rice and mix. Pour off excess soy sauce from pork into the rice mixture. Mix rice well. Now for the wrapping...

Not sure what to say here as it was pretty complicated. Start with three leaves placed in overlapping style. Place a fourth leaf directly in the middle. Fold the first corner of the tetrahedral being sure to keep it closed at the point so that the filling does not ooze out. Then place in a tablespoon or so of of the rice mixture into the cup that is formed. Place a piece of pork on top in the middle and then more rice to the top of the rim of the leaves. press down to ensure that it is firm and then fold the leaves over the top and around to complete the tetrahedral. Then use some string to tie it. There. Doesn't that sound easy? Moving on...

Once you have made them you can cook them in a steamer or a rice cooker. We used our rice cooker. She cooked them for about an hour in the "cook" position, turned them over, and then cooked them for another hour in the "cook" position. Then she turned the cooker to "warm" and left them until we were ready to eat. They were very moist and the pork had really cooked perfectly. The taste of the rice was not bland at all which is what I had expected. So, except for the wrapping, I would love to do these again!

Chinese Cooking Class - Crispy Beef

I took a Chinese cooking a few weeks ago at a local Chinese restaurant. Some girlfriends here told me about it. For 100 RMB you get an hour of cooking and 2 hours of eating! Best deal is Shanghai. The restaurant is Hong Qiao Ren Jia Restaurant, and they serve what is known is Shanghaise style food. It is located at 406 Wulumuqi Nan Lu which is way over in the French Concession. In fact, very close to the U.S. Consulate building. The cooking menu was spicy beef and an almond dessert. The dessert was not so good, so I did not even try to cook. It was basically a simple flan with almond flavoring, but they serve it in sprite with fruit floating in it. Weird. But the beef was good. The chef spoke only Chinese so there was a translator who helped those of who are Mandarin-impaired. But again I observed the strange phenomena of many Chinese words (sometimes a couple of minutes worth) being boiled down into a few simple sentences by the translator. This is one of the main reasons I want to learn mandarin: what are all of the extra words for???? Anyway, the cooking was interesting. The lunch they served us afterwards was unbelievable. It was not the best food I have ever had (that award is still with Emeril's Delmonico restaurant in New Orleans!), but there were at least 25 different dishes on our zhuan pan (that lazy susan thing in the middle of the table). I tried some new things: sheep stomach (not good), rice with whole crabs in it (good), sweet and sour water chestnuts (very good) among others. It would have been nice if there was a list of what we ate so I could mark it. Some things I would recognize in a picture menu, but not all. It was a really good way to try to a lot of different things. There were lots of people who knew Chinese food at our table, so they could help me out with what I might be tasting. I tried everything on the table and other then the sheep stomach, all was pretty good.

So, it took me a while, but I finally made the recipe for the spicy beef they made. I couldn't find the bread crumbs they used and that took me a few days. And yes, this is a fried dish, so you wouldn't want to fix it a lot, but it was different and pretty good. The one thing that is a bit hard is the ingredient referred to as the crispy dried Chile. The ingredient that they used in the restaurant came in a small container and they told us that we had to buy it from this restaurant because we would have a hard time buying somewhere else. It is one of their signature dishes and I guess using hard to find ingredients makes is unique! Surprisingly enough, they had a whole box of these containers available for all of us to buy. I think that you can substitute pretty easily with a small mixture I have noted in the notes. Enjoy!
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Zi Ran Xiang Cui - Crispy Beef with Cumin
1/2 lb Beef Fillet (can use traditional fillet or thigh meat)
3 1/2 Tbs. Breadcrumbs
1 tsp chicken stock granules
2 Tbs crispy Dried Chili (see notes on substitution)
1 Tbs cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Peanut oil for frying
Marinade:
1 egg white
2 tsp Oyster Sauce
2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Black Soy Sauce (this is a lot less saltier!)
1 tsp Chinese Wine (Shoaxing Jiu or similar)

Slice beef into square slices, 1"x 2". Make marinade. Mix beef with marinade and place in fridge for 6 hours or overnight. If using really tender fillet, less time is needed! Heat peanut oil in pan to medium temperature. Coat beef slices with bread crumbs. Deep fry, for 30-45 seconds per side. Do not brown too much! If oil is too warm, cook for less time. Remove beef from oil and drain will on paper. When beef is finished frying, add dried chili, chicken stock, cumin, salt, and pepper to a heated wok or pan. Put heat on medium flame and add beef. Mix beef thoroughly with dry ingredients. Serve warm.

Notes:
If you don't know where to find the "crispy dried chili", and frankly, I can't even find it here, try this simple mix: rice crackers (the pretzel rod slices looking one), sesame seeds, peanuts, chili oil or just olive oil with lots of red pepper. Mix to your liking, you only need a few tablespoons. When I made it for Tom and Natalie, I just mixed in some sesame seeds with a little bit of red pepper, and it was fine. You just will miss the extra crunchiness from the dried chile's. But, if you can find plain dried chile's, try soaking them in some oil (olive would be fine) with the other ingredients. I think this might come close.

As I said, I made a special non-peanut none-spicy for 2/3 of the family. I ate mine with my special spicy stuff on it. It was interesting to take really expensive (well, here it is cheap) meat and deep fry it, but it was pretty good. I served with rice of course!