新年快樂
Happy New Year!!
年夜飯 Chinese New Year Eve Dinner:
Chinese New Year Dinner
Chinese New Year Dinner
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Healthy tips for buying and preparing food for Chinese New Year
Gong Xi Fa Cai! It's time to ring in another Chinese New Year! Now that 2009 has passed, it is time to look towards the future to find good fortune that will awaits us in 2010, the year of the Tiger. A new year also encourages us to reflect on the past and to set goals for the future such as eating healthy as well as exercise to maintain a healthy life style.
An important part of the Chinese New Year is spending time with the family, visiting relatives and friends. During this time, we like to entertain friends and family by throwing parties and making festive foods. These festive foods can be high in sugar, salt or fat but low in nutrition values. To jumpstart a healthy lifestyle for the new year, here are some healthy tips for purchasing and preparing food for your Chinese New Year celebration:
· Avoid buying processed and preserved foods instead use fresh and wholesome ingredients.
· When buying pre-packaged food, check for expiration dates and make sure the package are intact. If the product is non-packaged and sold by the pound, pay attention to the hygiene of the store, if the containers are covered and whether the staff use clean utensils to handle foods. If you have doubts about the source of the product, do not buy them.
· Avoid buying traditional snacks that is sugary or fried. Try healthier alternatives snacks such as dried fruits, bake goods, and unsalted nuts.
· Use healthier cooking methods like steaming, grilling and baking. If you must fry, use healthier oils like canola and corn oil.
· Prepare food using less sugar, salt and sauces. Flavor your dish with garlic, onion, shallots and ginger. Add the sauce on the side so you can have control over how much or little you want on your dish.
An important part of the Chinese New Year is spending time with the family, visiting relatives and friends. During this time, we like to entertain friends and family by throwing parties and making festive foods. These festive foods can be high in sugar, salt or fat but low in nutrition values. To jumpstart a healthy lifestyle for the new year, here are some healthy tips for purchasing and preparing food for your Chinese New Year celebration:
· Avoid buying processed and preserved foods instead use fresh and wholesome ingredients.
· When buying pre-packaged food, check for expiration dates and make sure the package are intact. If the product is non-packaged and sold by the pound, pay attention to the hygiene of the store, if the containers are covered and whether the staff use clean utensils to handle foods. If you have doubts about the source of the product, do not buy them.
· Avoid buying traditional snacks that is sugary or fried. Try healthier alternatives snacks such as dried fruits, bake goods, and unsalted nuts.
· Use healthier cooking methods like steaming, grilling and baking. If you must fry, use healthier oils like canola and corn oil.
· Prepare food using less sugar, salt and sauces. Flavor your dish with garlic, onion, shallots and ginger. Add the sauce on the side so you can have control over how much or little you want on your dish.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Banana Cream Pie
Ingredients:- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk
- 3 egg yolks, beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
- 4 bananas, sliced
- In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner.
- Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes; remember to keep stirring. Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.
- Slice bananas into the cooled baked pastry shell. Top with pudding mixture.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes. Chill for an hour.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Cooking Demonstration: Chicken and Fruit Salad
Today for our health center's event, I did a workshop on healthy eating and salad making demonstration. This recipes is taken from the Center for Disease Control Website. This website is great! They have a lot of really easy and healthy recipes. What I love about this site is that you can search recipes by certain ingredients. You can choose a few ingredients and see what kind of recipes they have for certain types of meal.
Chicken and Fruit Salad
Number of servings: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cups of Fruits/Vegetables Per Person 2
Ingredients:
1 lb roasted chicken breast
1 medium-size bunch spinach
2 medium-size pink/white grapefruit
2 medium-size red delicious apples
3/4 lb seedless green grapes
1/2 cup fat– free Dijon salad dressing
Directions:
1) Remove and discard skin from chicken; tear chicken into bite size pieces.
2) Chop 1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves; set remaining leaves aside.
3) Cut peel from grapefruit; remove sections with knife. Cut unpeeled apples into 3/4 inch chunks.
4) In large bowl, combine chicken, chopped spinach, fruit and salad dressing; toss to coat. To serve, arrange remaining spinach leaves on platter; spoon chicken salad over spinach leaves.
Chicken and Fruit Salad
Number of servings: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cups of Fruits/Vegetables Per Person 2
Ingredients:
1 lb roasted chicken breast
1 medium-size bunch spinach
2 medium-size pink/white grapefruit
2 medium-size red delicious apples
3/4 lb seedless green grapes
1/2 cup fat– free Dijon salad dressing
Directions:
1) Remove and discard skin from chicken; tear chicken into bite size pieces.
2) Chop 1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves; set remaining leaves aside.
3) Cut peel from grapefruit; remove sections with knife. Cut unpeeled apples into 3/4 inch chunks.
4) In large bowl, combine chicken, chopped spinach, fruit and salad dressing; toss to coat. To serve, arrange remaining spinach leaves on platter; spoon chicken salad over spinach leaves.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New 2010! Last meal of 2009....
Sorry, no time to update but I will finish blogging and put the recipe out soon!! The ham was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! One of the best ham I've ever made! Stay tuned.....
Glazed Pineapple Cupcake
I used the Duncan Hines Pineapple Cake Mix. I chopped up some pineapples from the can and stuffed it into the batter after I put the batter into each individual cupcake paper cups. I wanted to make sure that each bite of the cupcake there is also a bite of pineapple. One tip is to use the pineapple that is in heavy syrup. I tried to be healthy and used the the other one but the pineapple turned out to be a bit too sour.
I thought the cupcake was too plain and sour so I decide to put a glazed on it. I used some condense milk with the pineapple syrup from the can and cooked it for a little bit. Thanks Andy for the idea! The glazed turned out creamy with a bit of pineapple taste which was really good!
I thought the cupcake was too plain and sour so I decide to put a glazed on it. I used some condense milk with the pineapple syrup from the can and cooked it for a little bit. Thanks Andy for the idea! The glazed turned out creamy with a bit of pineapple taste which was really good!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Coconut Cream Pie
After Thanksgiving I got into a baking mood. Since my crab quiche, a savory pie, came out so well I wanted to make another pie but this time a sweet one. I attempted one of my favorites, coconut custard pie!
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt over a medium heat; gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from heat.
2. Separate the egg yolks from whites. Beat the egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into yolks. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and bring the entire mixture to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes before removing the pan from heat.
3. Stir butter, vanilla, and coconut into the hot mixture. Pour the hot filling into the baked pie crust. Cool. Cover and chill to store the pie if not serving immediately. (I actually baked it for 15 minutes.)
The consistency was a bit too soft, next time I would bake it longer. The pie filling was so good and creamy! The coconut milk gave it a lot of coconut taste. It wasn't too sweet but I think I could have use less sugar because the milk is already very sweet. I will definitely make this again!
Coconut Cream Pie
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar (I used only 3/4)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk (I used 3 cups of coconut milk)
4 eggs
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar (I used only 3/4)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk (I used 3 cups of coconut milk)
4 eggs
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt over a medium heat; gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes more. Remove the pan from heat.
2. Separate the egg yolks from whites. Beat the egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into yolks. Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and bring the entire mixture to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes before removing the pan from heat.
3. Stir butter, vanilla, and coconut into the hot mixture. Pour the hot filling into the baked pie crust. Cool. Cover and chill to store the pie if not serving immediately. (I actually baked it for 15 minutes.)
Ta-daaaa, my first coconut cream pie:
The consistency was a bit too soft, next time I would bake it longer. The pie filling was so good and creamy! The coconut milk gave it a lot of coconut taste. It wasn't too sweet but I think I could have use less sugar because the milk is already very sweet. I will definitely make this again!
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