MANGO RELISH

This is our favorite food lately.. it's so simple to make, it tastes so good and the ingredients are easy to be found, we can add whatever we like or have in our fridge... the crunchiness of cucumber and jalapeno peppers, the sweetness of pure honey, the tanginess of mango and lemon juice, all in one combined to make a very good appetizer or simply late night snacks

Ingredients: 

- 1 big mango, diced

- 1 cucumber, diced

- 1 jalapeno pepper, diced

- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced

- 1 shallots, finely chopped

- bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

for the juice, mix well 

- 2 tbsp of lemon juice

- 4 tbsp of honey

- 1 tsp of salt

In a big bowl, mix well all the ingredients for the sauce, then add the rest of ingredients, mix well, let it sit in a fridge for a day before serving.. 

HONEY MUSTARD PORK RIBS

We got some back ribs from Sprout's Farmer market.. oh I love that market, the produces are fresh and the prices are good.. the meats are all fresh too, their chickens are fresh, never frozen, they have a big organic section too... we always stopped there when we went visiting my PiLs

The ribs are meaty.. this time I cooked with my own sauce, and it turned out so good, so I'm going to write it down for my future reference

- 1 slab of back ribs ( I prefer pork), trim out the excess fat
- for the sauce: 2 tbsp of Dijon mustard + 2 tbsp of pure honey + 2 tbsp of tomato ketchup + 1 tsp of minced garlic + 1 tsp of grated ginger + 1 tsp of sesame oil + 1 tsp of salt + 1 tsp of black peppers + 1 tsp of chili sauce + 1 tbsp (or less) of brown sugar.. mix well

- generously rub the ribs, both side, place in the foil lining pan, cover with plastic wrap, let it sit for hours in the fridge

- heat the oven, take off the plastic cover, now use aluminum foil to cover the pan, place it in the oven, bake for 1 hour, flip over the ribs, don't forget to brush with the juice that comes out from the ribs... bake for another 30 minutes, take off the foil, bake another 20 minutes, set the oven on broil, broil for 5 minutes.. place the foil back, cover and let it sit for another 5 minutes before serving

PAN FRIED SCALLOPS WITH GINGER AND JALAPENOS

Scallops... I'm not a big fan of it, but my DH loves it, cooked in anyway.. but I know what he likes best.. because every time he saw scallops in the stores, he'd point it to me, but living in our small town, it's hard to get the larger size of scallops, the stores mostly have mini size bay scallops.. and if they have the large/jumbo size, the prices were so high.. so whenever I saw them on special, like.. $15.99/lbs ( regular price $19.99/lbs).. I'd grab them and store them in my freezer and cook them for special occasions, like birthdays, anniversaries or the ordinary days I feel like I want something special on my menu..

This meal is special to us.. it was sold at the first Malaysian restaurant we found on the first year I lived here.. it was quite far from our apartment, about 50 miles one way trip.. at that time, I was still struggling with my new life in US, my homesickness, my not know how to cook, and our tight budget.. yet.. he'd drive me there to have our dinners.. mostly on special occasions.. he would order this meal only and let me ordered my favorites like rendang, kangkung belacan or nasi lemak or nasi hainam .. so on V day this year I tracked down our memory lane.. I cooked this "special meal" for him, to show my appreciation and love as much as his love for me.. Pan fried Scallops with ginger and jalapeno.. 

It was priceless to see his big smile when he realized what was on his plate, I got a big hug and he said that this meal was very much better than dining out at any restaurant... PRICELESS..

 Here is the recipe... as best as I can guess and remember.. I don't think it's originally a Malaysian Food.. I maybe wrong, but anyway the restaurant is gone.. we went back a few years ago and could not find it anymore..  sad

- 8 large or jumbo scallops

- 2 tbsp of lemon juice

- 1 egg, beat well

- 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, add a bit salt and pepper, mix well

- salt and black peppers

- oil for pan frying

- 1 inch of ginger, peel and coarsely chopped

- 1 shallot, finely dhopped

- 1 tbsp of mince garlic

- 1 jalapeno pepper, coarsely chopped

- 2 birdseye chili, finely chopped 

- cilantro, chopped 

- sprinkle scallops with lemon juice, let it sit on a wire rack for 10 minutes
- pat dry scallops with paper towel,  then dip it in egg

- coat it with breadcrumbs.. let it sit on a wire rack again

- heat oil in a nonstick pan, enough to cover the whole pan

- place scallops, cook for 2 minutes, then flip over, cook for another 2 minutes, until golden brown

- drain the excess oil on a paper towel

- in another pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil, add shallot and ginger, cook it until fragrant, add garlic, peppers, stir until the peppers softened, add cilantro, season with salt and black peppers, give it a last stir, turn off the heat

- arrange the pan fried scallops on a plate, pour the ginger peppers mixture on them 

I served it with couscous and steamed green bean 

 

SWEET AND SOUR FISH

It's Chinese New Year Eve in US, but my family in the other side of the globe has already celebrated it. Our tradition is to get together on CNY eve, have dinner on a big table, full of delicious foods.. all special foods are served on the table, some of them are once a year meal or meals for a very special occasion.

It's only us, me and my DH..  I don't want to get too busy in preparing our meals, my DH is on diet,  he won't eat too much and as mush as I love all these delicious foods I don't want to eat that much either.. today I decided to cook fish only, fish is one of the traditional meals for this occasion.. it symbolizes abundant of good fortune.. I got this big Tilapia at the Asian store last Thursdsay, and I thought why not cook it in sweet and sour sauce, I love this meal and I rarely cooked it, and today on this special day I successfully cooked it, the taste was so right, sweet and tangy, all mixed together perfectly

- 1 whole fish, we can use fish nuggets (or fish steak, cut in bite size)
- 1 lemon.. juice it
- mix 1/2 cup of cornstarch, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of blackpepper
- 1 carrot, cut in match sticks size
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of chunck pineapple (canned) with juice
- 1/2 medium onion, sliced
- 1 tsp of minced garlic
- 1 inch of ginger, sliced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp of homemade chili sauce, Sambal Oelek or Sriracha (optional)
- 1/2 cup of tomato ketchup
- 1 cup of lemonade
- salt, black peppers, sugar
- 1 tsp of cornstarch. mix with 2 tbsp of water

Method:
- sprinkle fish with lemon juice, drain the excess juice,
- rub both side of fish or fish nuggets with the flour mixture, place fish on a cookie rack
- let it sit for 10 minutes

Meanwhile heat a skillet, add 2 tbsp of oil, brown ginger and onion for a few minutes, add garlic, stir for a minute, add carrots, bell pepper, stir for a while, add pineapple and the juice, add in lemon juice, tomato ketchup, chili sauce, salt and pepper, sugar, thicken with cornstarch mixture. Cook until the sauce is thickened, set aside

- in a big frying pan, heat oil, about 1 1/2 inches
- carefully add in the fish, fry covered for 3 to 5 minutes, then flip it, cover and cook for another 3 minutes, place fish on the cookie rack, let it sit for 5 minutes
- place fish on a big plate, pour sweet and sour on it
- garnish with green onions
- serve hot with steamed white rice

And 2 more traditional things on this occasion are ORANGES, any kind of them, Kumquats and Pomelo are the favorite choices, but this year we got Honey Tangerine.. the other thing is red envelopes with money tucked inside, usually handed out by older generations to the younger ones.. we ( I and my DH) still get it from my mother, and I still give it to my mom and nieces.. I remember when I was still young, CNY was  a fun occasion, I'd get a lot of red envelopes with so much money in them.. ah sweet memory on happy times..

oh and this.. sweet rice cake, a must eat food on CNY too, in fact it's only available in the stores for this occasion..

Lemon Chiffon Cake

Have I ever said that I hate baking? I mean.. baking cakes, pies or other sweet desserts, but sometime I like the challenges, to try them out, if I'd be very happy if I succeeded, if I failed, I might or might not try again, so today I tried out this Chiffon Cake.. it's not really my favorite cake, I did not care much, but I was willing to try...

Every month, on the first weekend of the months.. our church has a hospitality weekend, after mass we have refreshments at the parish hall.. I've been participated since last year, as I'm not very good in baking, the bests I could make were Banana Bread, Pound cake, brownies or cookies, those went around and around... so for this month I was planning to bring something different, and when I read about Angel Food Cake in a forum, I started to browse around and found this Chiffon cake, I watched the tutorials on Youtube too, so many ways and so many different recipes, finally a nice lady from the cooking forum I join, posted this simple recipe on the forum and I decided to try it out... it's so simple, with her tips I managed to do it smoothly, though I still had hard time in adjusting the heat with my oven, the cake turns out so good.. my DH loves it and I begin to like too 

Here is the copy of her recipe, I modified a bit, because I did not have the ingredients 

8 Lg. Eggs – separated

1 ½ c. Granulated Sugar – divided
1 ¼ c. Cake Flour – sifted, I used AP flour (less 1 Tbsp and added 1 T of cornstarch)
2 T. Cold Water ( I used 2 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice)
½ t. Lemon Extract ( none)
½ t. Cream of Tartar (none)
½ t. Salt

Beat egg whites until frothy. Add ½ t. Cream of Tartar, ½ t. salt. Slowly add 1 c. sugar, beating until stiff glossy peaks form. Set aside.

Beat together egg yolks, ½ c. sugar, 2 T. cold water and ½ t. Lemon extract until very thick. Stir in flour.

Fold egg white mixture gently into yolk mixture until well incorporated. Pour into ungreased 10” tube pan. Bake @ 325 for 1 hour or until done. Remove from oven and invert to cool.

about 20 slices 

BAKED HERB TROUTS

Another easy yet delicious meal for dinner.. I saw those beauties on sale at Safeway's.. I know my DH likes it, so I grabbed 1 of the few packages left. They were cleaned and gutted, too bad they were not deboned, so I tried to debone it myself.. my DH doesn't like to eat fish with bones on.. I tried my best to do it, I used my fillet knife,  I finally took out all the bones (well, most of them), it did not look good though, but I've tried my best.. as for me I like eating whole fish, with the head on..one of  the fun of eating fish is sucking fish meat of their bones, fish head is the best part and ooh.. the belly part, soft and fatty, my favorite parts.

I remember when I first came and lived here, we went to the Asian stores, they sold salmon belly, ooh I thought I found heaven there, I bought it and made soup with it... much later I found out that my DH and people here don't eat fish belly or fish heads, it was nice of him though, did not say anything when I bought those salmon belly haha

So here is my easy recipe for Baked trouts.. I can;t recall where I got this recipe, I know it's from a magazine I read at the library and because it's so easy, I was able to memorize the ingredients, most of them. I used our homegrown herbs.. those herbs survived the freezing winter.

oops.. pardon the fish eyes.. :)

- 2 trouts, clean and pat dry, I like mine whole
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp of roasted garlic oil ( I bought it at Ross, it's good for salad dressing and meat marinating )
- lemon zest from 1 lemon (large)
- lemon juice from 1/2 lemon (large)
- fresh rosemary, chop
- parsley, chop
- salt and black pepper

How:
- mix melted butter + garlic oil and lemon juice
- mix lemon zest + parsley + rosemary in a bowl
- place fishes on a greased baking pan, spread open and season both side with salt
- pour some of the butter mixture all over the fish then sprinkle with herbs mixture, fold fish closed
- bake fish in a preheated oven, 350'F for about 15 minutes, pour some more butter mixture on the fish then broil for a few more minutes
- pour the rest of butter mixture on the fish, garnish with some sliced lemon and parsley

I served it with brown rice and coleslaw, I used my homemade lemon marmalade + lemon juice concentrate for coleslaw dressing, it was good.. today we had very lemon lemony meal.. tangy and yummy

for our late supper tonight, I had cut some papaya, I'd serve it with sprinkle of lemon juice and sugar.. yum2.. oh I still have bunch of lemons left.. wonder what else to do with them

BRAISED PORK CHOPS

I did not like eating pork chops before, esp pork loins, they are too lean for my taste, hard to swallow :) I like the fatty part of pork meat. But last weekend when we were at store I saw some pork chops on sale, it was on a really good price, about $6 for 4 thick cut of pork loin chops, so I grabbed them though I had no idea what to do with them.

Today I knew I was going to sit for a few hours on my couch to watch my new found favorite shows, Castle, started at 2 pm, so I thought about cooking something easy for our supper meal, a meal that I could let it simmer while I was glued in front of my TV... and I chose to do my pork chops, I saw I had some onions, celery, carrots and lots of tomatoes,  I remember I saw a cooking show showing how to braise pork chop, so I decided to give it a try, it turned out so good, tangy and the pork was fork tender, it changes my mind about pork chops.. well a bit, it'd be much better if I used country style pork ribs with more fat on the meat.

Here is the recipe:
- 4 pork chops, pat dry, season with salt on the both sides
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 big carrots, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 big tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup of wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup of tomato ketchup
- 2 cup of water or broth
- black pepper and salt (if needed)
- 1 tsp of sugar

How:
- heat a deep pan with 2 tbsp of oil, sear the chops on both sides, until all brown, set aside
- discard some of the oil, add in onion, saute for 1 minute, add garlic, carrots and celery, stir for 2 minutes, then add in tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, wine vinegar, tomato ketchup, black pepper, cook until fragrant, add in water or broth, bring it to boil, then add the chops back, cover and simmer for 90 minutes, stir and flip the chops occasionally, take off the lid, give it a taste, add salt if needed, add sugar, cook uncovered with medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce reduced, take out the chops with the veggies and sauce, leave some sauce in the pan

- meanwhile, chop 1/4 head of cabbage in thin strips, add into the pan with sauce, saute until cabbage wilted, add in 1 cup of cooked orzo or rice ( I have cooked orzo from making my soup the the day before), stir until all well blended

ready to eat... we ate on a coffee table in front of our TV while enjoying our show... Castle