Water - can it get any more basic than this!?

We all know water is essential. It's vital to the survival of all living things on Earth. However odd, many people don't drink enough of it.

Dehydration is often the reason for headache and fatigue. Furthermore, do you know water also helps weight loss and prevents weight gain? How?

Stop drinking so much juices, sugar added liquids and caffeinated beverages! Drink two glasses (16 lq. oz. or 500 ml) of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner! It's recommended to drink two liters of water each day, so that's a total of one-and-a-half liter of water (three-fourth of the recommended daily amount). Leaving only 500 ml to go, and keeps you from over eating (prevents weight gain)! It also cleanses your internal organs (detox & helps weight loss), prevents kidney stones, etc. One stone, many birds!

Paprika - excellent source of vitamin C & a wonderful addition to any meals!

I learned it from my Hungarian friends to have a raw paprika (or bell pepper) for breakfast, lunch and dinner! It might feel strange at first eating it for breakfast, but it tastes great and it really makes me feel good & energized!

Paprika contains almost double the amount of vitamin C than orange. Orange is acidic (and so as all fruits except lemon & lime), so it's not as healthy anyway. Paprika may even be cheaper!

Vitamin C boosts iron absorption from leafy greens, so it's a great addition to salad!

Paprika comes in many different shapes, sizes and colors. A few is spicy, many are sweet. I think it's good to eat something a little spicy from time to time, so try mixing them up!

It's so easy to prepare! Wash it, cut it in half (or into more pieces), take out the stem and the seeds. Serve!

For a healthy & tasty salad dressing recipe: click here

Brown Rice instead of White Rice - part 3

for 2-4 people

Hello friends, the long awaited alternative way to cook brown rice is finally ready! Now you can cook it on stove top instead of oven. Not only eliminate using an oven, but also the amount of rice you may cook isn't limited by the size of a baking pan anymore.

The what's:
1 cup long-grain brown rice
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 cups water

The how's:
Rinse rice until water runs quite clear, which takes at least 3-4 times of rinsing. Drain out as much water as possible. Heat a frying pan with oil on high. Once heated, put rice into pan and fry. Keep stirring until water pretty much dried. Then transfer rice into a small/medium size pot. Add water. First cook on medium high. When water starts to boil (bubbles start to form), then turn down heat to low. Put on a lid and cook for one hour. Then turn off heat and leave for 5-15 minutes before serving.

Attention!
(1) Do not stir or disturb the rice in any way when cooking!
(2) If water is already boiling before turning down heat, put a pair of chopsticks on the pot before putting on the lid. This helps to prevent water from boiling over the pot.

Tip:
May refrigerate or freeze the cooked rice for later use.

Link to "Brown Rice instead of White Rice - part 1": click here
Link to "Brown Rice instead of White Rice - part 2": click here

Breakfast Burrito - let's start the day healthily!

for 1 person

I've written a post about 10-grain rice. Perhaps eating rice or porridge for breakfast is not so appetizing. Lately I started to use the 10-grain rice (instead of potato or Mexican rice which is usually made with long grain white rice) for making breakfast burritos. It's simple, filling and yummy.

Part 1 - the what's:

1 piece tortilla

1 tbsp or more 10-Grain Rice

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp water

1 or 2 slices cold cuts

1/2 tbsp cooking oil

green/spring onion (optional)

salt & pepper, to taste

Part 2 - the how's:

Heat up a small frying pan with cooking oil in it. While waiting, add water, salt & pepper to egg and mix well. Heat up a large frying pan to get it ready for warming up a tortilla. Once the small frying pan is ready, add egg mixture and fry. When egg is half way done, add rice and continue cooking until egg is done and rice is warm enough.

Once everything is ready including tortilla, put cold cuts on the tortilla and put the rice & egg on top of it. Roll tortilla to make it into a burrito. Serve!

Alternative 1: Use milk instead of water if preferred. This is basically scrambled eggs. Adding milk or water makes the eggs more fluffy instead of rubbery.

Alternative 2: Cut up the cold cuts and add to the rice & egg mixture when frying or heat it up separately.

Option: Add cheese or any additional ingredients as preferred. Please pay attention to how much can fit into a tortilla.

Pico de Gallo - very versatile!

Both pico de gallo and salsa are Mexican side dishes. However pico de gallo is often mistakenly called salsa. The basic difference is that pico de gallo is chunky and not blended. It can be used as a garnish for grilled steaks, a side dish for BBQ, a dip for tortilla chips, a topping for tacos, and be added into burritos. Mixing a few tablespoons of it into some mashed avocado, you have guacamole! Mmmh...

4-6 tomatos, diced
yellow onion, diced
cilantro, chopped
1/2-2 serrano or jalapeño chillies, seeded for less spicy and finely chopped
1-2 lemon or lime
salt

Note: I prefer to use roma tomato, because I think it tastes more flovarful.

Origin of Stir Fries

Stir fry is a typical Cantonese cuisine. Canton has a mild climate all year round due to it's located on the southestern coast of China, where an abundant of fresh food is available in general. Therefore Cantonese cuisine emphasizes on preservation of freshness and natural flavors.

The main idea of stir fries is to put food into a preheated cookware at high temperture and cook quickly (by stiring). Each ingredient is added in a strategic manner so nothing is overcooked, and whenever necessary, each ingredient is cooked separately then mix together at the end.

Related recipes:

Stir fried meat with vegetable

Stir fried zucchini

Blackened Salmon

for 2 people

You'll need the previous blog Blacken Spices to use this recipe. Not only it's flavorful, but it also perserves the original flavor of the meat within it. It looks very presentable too! Mmmmh...

The what's:

400-500 g (0.88-1.1 Lb / 14-17.6 oz) salmon filet, skinless or not depends on your personal perference

blacken spices

olive oil

The how's:

Cover salmon with oil. Rub spices on both sides of fish. Preheat frying pan on high heat, and pour remaining oil in pan. Add more oil as needed. Once it's hot, place fish in it. Cook each side until surface of fish is sealed and browned.  Turn heat to low and cook until fish is thoroughly cooked.

Suggestion: Great with a fresh salad! Please see my blog "All Natural Salad Dressing" for something healthy & refreshing to balance out the grease!

Blacken Spices

I keep a small bottle of this mix of spices to use for making a quick presentable meal. It's so helpful when I don't feel like going through the trouble of marinating. It tastes salty, spicy and a little garlicky. Here is a list of ingredients, and please see the next blog Backened Salmon for an example of how to use it!

The what's:

4 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp while pepper

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp salt

Pumkin Soup - cozy!

I probably should have posted this 2 months ago when pumpkin season began. Well, better late then never! It's more convenient to use a kabocha pumkin, since no peeling is necessary. However, I don't think it affects the flavor much if using a regular pumpkin. Then this would be one way to use that scraping from the Halloween pumpkin!

Part 1 - the soup:

1.5 kg pumpkin, peeled & cubed

or kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), cubed & no peeling needed

50 g butter

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled

a pinch cumin

1 L chicken stock

1 L water

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp crème fraîche

salt & pepper

Put butter into a large deep pan at medium high heat. Cook (sweat) onion for 5 mins or until onion becomes transparent. Add garlic, cumin, chicken stock and water. Turn heat to medium. Once boiling, simmer at low heat for 20-30 mins. Add crème fraîche and maple syrup. Use a handheld blender to blend the soup, so all ingredients become liquidity.  Finally, salt & pepper to taste. Serve!

Alternative 1: Instead of using 1 L chicken stock and 1 L water, I cook a chicken with 2 L water for 2 hrs at low heat (first at medium high, then turn it down once water is boiling) the night before. Skim off the fat the following day, before use.

Alternative 2: If a handheld blender is not accessible to you, use a regular blender.  You'll need to do it in batches, since the blender is probably not large enough.

Part 2 - the croutons (optional):

2 slices whole wheat bread, cut into small cubes

a pinch nutmeg

a pinch cinnamon

1 tsp white sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven at 350°F (180°C or gas mark 4).  Prepare the baking tray by covering the tray with a sheet of aluminum foil and brush a thin layer of oil.  Spread the bread on the tray.  Sprinkle all ingredients one by one.  Gently mix them.  Bake for 7 mins or until slightly golden brown.

Garnish: mint (optional)

My favorite mix of peppercorns - just in case you don't already know about it...

I found this in the French & Belgium supermarkets.  Maybe it's actually very common, but it's new to us.  My husband and I are loving it! I use it in almost every recipe that calls for pepper.

In addition to the usual black & white peppercorns (poivre noir & poivre blanc), there're also:

green peppercorn (poivre vert)

pink peppercorn (baies roses)

allspice (poivre de la Jamaïque)