Fried rice is one of our favourites, be it for lunch or dinner, either cooked at home or when dining at Chinese restaurants. This week, at Cook The Book Fridays, the selected recipe from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook, Everyday Dorie, is Ginger Fried Rice. Any vegetables can be used, but I've followed the recipe, using cabbage, bok choy and carrots. For the add-ins, I've used Chinese sausages, which I've pan-fry lightly and added to the stir-fry later. I've used more ginger than the recipe calls for, about 1/4 cup, we love ginger, and more garlic, of course. Did not have ponzu sauce, so I've use ..read more

I love the ease of sheet pan suppers. Dorie's Sheet-Pan Supper is simple, easy, quick to put together, with just a few ingredients for flavour ; garlic cloves, rosemary and thyme, salt, black pepper, and balsamic vinegar. The main ingredients are, of course chicken, potatoes, onion and mushroom. But I could not find any brown or white button mushroom on the day that I plan to make this dish for dinner, so I grab a couple of carrots instead. I did not use thyme, using only rosemary, from my garden pot. And instead of using only 4 garlic cloves, I use all the cloves from one large bulb.  An ..read more

Chickpea-Tahini Salad is the recipe selected at Cook The Book Fridays. This very easy and quick salad recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook, Everyday Dorie. I've used about less than 2 cups of cooked chickpeas which I had frozen a couple of months ago. Thawed them and refresh in simmering water for a few minutes and they are ready to be used. Time to use up my homemade tahini too. To make the salad dressing, whisk the tahini with a little warm water until smooth, then stir in lemon zest and lemon juice, finely minced garlic, grated ginger, ground cumin, smoked paprika, chili powde ..read more

This is the second pasta recipe selected this month at Cook The Book Fridays, from Everyday Dorie cookbook.  The main ingredients are winter squash, green cabbage, dried cranberries, walnuts and pasta. Flavour from this pasta dish comes from cider vinegar. I've used regular pumpkin and napa cabbage. The squash is first cooked in a little oil, season with salt and pepper until tender, then stir in the vinegar followed by the honey. Dish out and keep aside. The pasta is boiled in salted water, and the dried cranberries are thrown in during the last one minute of the pasta cooking time. Dr ..read more

The first recipe selected in this new year 2020 at Cook The Book Fridays, from Everyday Dorie is Pasta With Shrimp, Squash, Lemon And Lots of Herbs.  A delicious and colourful bowl of pasta. I like everything about this pasta; the shrimp which gives a delicious umami taste, the fresh citrus taste of the lemons, the bright colours from the yellow and green squash (delicious too!), and that burst of sweetness from the ripe raw tomatoes. Chopped fresh dill and spring onion greens sprinkled over, makes it complete. And I love Dorie's take on using the squeezed lemon half, dropping it in the pot ..read more

These buns are soft and delicious, with a delicious filling made with dried apricots. I love dried apricots, they are my favourite dried fruits, great for snacking or used in baked goods. And also delicious made into jam. There's milk and sour cream used for the dough, which makes for a nice soft tender crumb. I've used vanilla extract instead of almond extract for the dough. To make the filling, bring dried apricots and water to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes until the apricots are softened. Drain apricots, reserve some of the cooking liquid. Process the softened a ..read more

Gingered-Turkey Meatball Soup is one of the recipe selected for this month, from Everyday Dorie, at Cook The Book Fridays. Ground turkey is not an easy ingredient to find, so I have used ground chicken meat instead. This is a fairly easy dish to prepare. To make the meatballs, mix together egg, yoghurt (I've used sour cream), chopped onion, fresh cilantro, dry bread crumbs, chopped garlic, grated fresh ginger, lemon zest, salt and pepper. This mixture is then scooped (I used a heaping tablespoon )and shape into round meatballs. Drop them into the pot of boiling broth, and add veggies of you ..read more

December Cuisine Spotlight : Holidays Around The World, is the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs. I've made Tessa Kiros's, Afelia, a traditional Cypriot dish, which I think is perfect for any festive holidays or simply anytime of the year.  Pork is marinated, soaked in red wine for a few hours, then braised with garlic, generous amount of cracked coriander seeds, bay leaf, and seasoned with salt and pepper.  Tessa says Afelia is usually served with fried potatoes, bulgur wheat or a simple white pilaf.  I wanted to eat the Afelia with rice, so I've made a simple rice p ..read more

It is potluck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We have 19 chefs featured at IHCC, and Ina Garten, one of the chefs featured, whose recipe Ginger Shortbread, I've made for this week's potluck. I love shortbread, and shortbread usually contain lots of butter, so I did not make them as often as I want. It has been too long since I've eaten or made any shortbread, it's time to indulge in some buttery shortbread! There's 3 whole sticks (about 375gm) of butter used! Butter in Malaysia are mostly packed in 250gm bars. I've used one bar and the balance from an opened bar, which comes to ..read more

This week, the theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is, I Am Thankful For...! Which ingredients that I am most thankful for? Potatoes comes to mind instantly! We love potatoes, cooked in any way!  I've made Nigel Slater's, Pan-fried Potatoes with Browned Onions and Garam Masala. So easy and simple yet so good. Just 3 ingredients ; potatoes, onion and garam masala. Whole potatoes are cleaned and boil till tender, then drain and peel off the skins. Either break up the potatoes in chunks or slice them, I've cut them up in cubes. Recipe uses 1 small onion, but I've used one big onion. Next time I will ..read more