Pastrami Wraps with Cherry Tomato Salsa

This is a simple dinner or appetizer. I used soft but crunchy butterhead lettuce for the wraps, but you could use pitta bread or flatbread. The pastrami and cherry tomato salsa would also make an intriguing sandwich filling.

But I encourage you to try these pastrami wraps without the bread. I feel passionately about helping people eat more vegetables. This is the perfect time to try it! Since you're going to eat with your hands anyway, get in there and make some lettuce wraps. If your lettuce leaves are pretty small like mine, you will end up making about twice as many lettuce wraps as you would with bigger bread wraps.

Pork Ribs with Tomato Marinade

Thanks to this week's Wednesdays with Donna Hay challenge I have got over a long standing fear: cooking pork ribs. It turns out they are easy! All I did was mix together a marinade and leave the ribs overnight. Then bake for 40 minutes and they are done. Wow, what was I so worried about?

I changed the marinade recipe. I could not believe it called for one cup of brown sugar. That would sure make the ribs sticky, but it is too much sugar for me. I would rather sacrifice some stickiness in order to not get a sugar high from my main meal.

Weekend Links #28

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--This lengthy and thorough article (from the New York Times) examines why junk food is so addictive and how it is marketed. Eye-opening.
--Twelve best food movies (chosen by Serious Eats). Which ones have you seen? (The comments on this post are brimming with controversy about which films should have been included.)
--The Guardian explains that sales of horsemeat in restaurants and butchers in the UK has risen dramatically. It's healthy and tasty, too.
--Can you train yourself to love healthy food? The Guardian gives thoughts.

Chickpea and Chorizo Flatbread

I wrote recently about how I was out of ideas. Not just for blogging, but for cooking as well. Thanks to all of you for your sympathy in the comments on that post and on Facebook. A few days later I was frustrated and feeling like chucking stuff out. I attacked a messy kitchen cupboard and ditched some old, expired flours. I consolidated three bags of almond flour into a canister. Foods I am trying to avoid eating (mostly wheat-based) were put out of reach. And I discovered I had a big container of chickpea flour that I had forgotten about. I was determined to make something interesting out of it.

Carrot Salad with Spiced Bacon Topping

Here's the easy kind of food I like to make and eat. This is just some chopped vegetables and a bacon topping. But it tastes special because the bacon is fried with garlic and a few aromatic spices in butter.

Carrots and courgettes (zucchini) are such simple and cheap vegetables, but I really love finding ways to make them seem new again. I chopped them into tiny pieces in my food processor, and made this little bacon topping to go with them. There's just enough butter to coat the vegetables very lightly; you may like a bit more butter or olive oil. I ate the whole lot for lunch one afternoon.

Girl Hunter by Georgia Pellegrini - and Turkey Meatballs with Gravy

Georgia Pellegrini's book, Girl Hunter, chronicles her journey to hunt her own meat. It was our Kitchen Reader book club pick this month, chosen by Julie of Savvy Eats. Pellegrini says that hunting helped her enjoy her food more because of "the pleasures of knowing what occurred on the journey from the field to the table". She eloquently describes the craft of hunting and preparing game meat. Her book covers many different (North American) hunted animals, including wild turkey, dove, partridge, elk, pheasant, duck, boar, and many more.

Beef Chilli

This is the dinner meal that is on rotation at my house more than any other. We eat it year-round; though I know some people who think chilli is a winter dish. Allow me to explain.

Living Room Picnic

Anthony and I have a favourite dinner date place: our living room floor. Sometimes it's so nice to stay at home and enjoy each other's company than go out to a restaurant. We have a meal that has turned into a tradition: the living room picnic.

We spread out a blanket and lay out our finger foods. We usually choose some special cheeses, sliced meats, veggies, and some dip. Sometimes we eat focaccia, crackers, or hunks of fresh bread. I like olives and he likes hummus.

The Daring Cooks - Recipes with Tea

I have been a proud Daring Cook for several years and it is my absolute pleasure to host the group this month! This month I challenged the Daring Cooks to make a savoury recipe with tea.

I have always enjoyed learning new skills and trying new recipes with the Daring Cooks. They are always so inventive, so I gave them free rein to make one of my three recipes (below) or cook any other recipe with tea. They were able to choose to use black, green, or herbal tea. And there were so many great ideas! I am very grateful for the chance to host the Cooks and thrilled to enjoy what they came up with.

Weekend Links #23

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:

--I would definitely get these glass food storage boxes if I lived near Crate & Barrel. Glass is better for your food (no plastics leaching into your lunch).

--All about quinoa, which I learned is actually a seed and not a grain (from Peru Delights).

--Sarah Wilson has written a book about her journey to quitting sugar, which includes an eight week program to do it yourself. This might be the final push for me, hmm. Trouble is, every time I get close to doing it, I go on a sugar binge.

--I started eating sardines recently. (So far it's been just the canned version.) They are high in omega 3 fatty acids. Here's a list of the omega 3 fishes (from Readers Digest). By the way, sardine recipes will be gratefully received. :)

--An article about cultured meat and the environmental, health, and welfare issues behind meat eating (from Small Bites).

weekend links #19

Weekend Links is a way of sharing all the engrossing things I see around the internet. I publish Weekend Links approximately every two weeks. As usual, I welcome your ideas and feedback.

food reading links:
--All about the quest to improve airline meals (from the Guardian). I'm eating a lot of these this month.
--Criteria when shopping for props for food photography (from Still Life With). Prop shopping has become a favourite hobby, much to my husband's consternation.
--Nathan Myhrvold's TED talk about his cookbook Modernist Cuisine. It's the only cookbook I've ever heard of with differential equations. It illustrates and explains the physics and chemistry behind types of cooking, with photographs of food in the act of being cooked.

recipe links:
--I am utterly taken with the idea of a peanut butter beef burger. This is actually a link to a restaurant review, so now I need to find the recipe for such a thing (from Suzie the Foodie).


--I am seeing bacon recipes everywhere at the moment, both sweet and savoury. For instance, bacon slices dipped in balsamic reduction and chocolate (from My Cup of Creativi-tea), a bacon swizzle stick for Bloody Mary cocktails (from Tastes Better with Friends), and bacon cinnamon rolls (from Jam Hands). The picture above of bacon swizzle sticks is used with permission from Tastes Better with Friends.
--There is a chance I might like avocado made into a dessert, since, you know I do like beetroot brownies. I think this avocado and grapefruit cream sounds interesting, or how about this chocolate avocado mousse? (Both from Cooking Books.)

off-topic links:
--I fancy me some Ctl-Alt-Del coffee mugs (from Shareables).

What engrossing things have you seen around the internet?

Or tell me... What is your favourite blog post (of your own or someone else) these last two weeks?

lamb kebabs and pitta bread

These minted lamb kebabs convinced me that if I have to choose cuisine from just one region of the world to live on, it would have to be Middle Eastern. When Asha (from Fork Spoon Knife) announced that this month's Velveteers challenge was to make Middle Eastern street food, I was extremely happy. The fresh mint with lamb, on a soft, fresh pitta, with fresh cucumber salad and juicy tomato, topped with yogurt--it's all so fresh!

Peruvian dishes: ceviche and papa rellenas

The best part about taking part in food blogging events is all the new things I am pushed to try. Take, for example, the Daring Cooks. Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks’ March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenged us to make two classic Peruvian dishes: Ceviche de Pescado from “Peruvian Cooking – Basic Recipes” by Annik Franco Barreau, and Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn’s Spanish teacher, Mayra.

I have never made or eaten any Peruvian food before, but fortunately we have close friends who lived in Peru. They were very willing indeed to come over for dinner, assist in the assembly of the food, and comment on its authenticity.

Leon's Moroccan meatballs

Meatballs: the bloke pleasing food! Forgive my sweeping generalisation, but it seems to me that all men love meatballs. My husband is the perfect example; he is a meatball fiend. He could devour the whole platter of sauce-drenched meatballs as a meal--no side dishes required. (I prefer a few balls daintily arranged alongside fragrant green beans, spinach, and rice.)

Whether you like your meatballs as part of a balanced menu, or if you think dinner equals meatballs plus fork, you're bound to love the Leon restaurant version. It's easy to make at home and tastes stunning with lots of fresh herbs and a spicy tomato sauce. Loved by blokes (and ladies)!

Vietnamese summer rolls

Rice papers are available at my local grocery store, and at your local Asian shop. They are opaque and rigid when dry and flexible and almost translucent when moist. To use them, fill a bowl with hot water. Then dip each rice paper into the water for about 10 seconds. Place it on a clean tea towel while you dip two or three more. Then place the fillings on each one and fold over one side. Tuck the top and bottom in and roll closed. Place the roll on a plate with the seam side down while you make the rest of the rolls. In the same way glutinous rice is sticky, the rice paper is tacky to touch and rolls up perfectly into tight packets. A collection of Vietnamese rolls make a refreshing summer dinner, served with rice or salad. Or a very impressive appetiser.

sweet potato stew: using meat wisely

After my recent reading of Mark Bittman's Food Matters, I have realised that one huge way for me to impact climate change is to eat less meat. I was amazed to learn that more greenhouse gasses are produced by livestock than by transportation or anything else except energy production. So Bittman gave some advice about eating meat: eat less, and "rely on meat for its flavor, not heft". Meat is no longer the star of a meal, but a supporting ingredient that adds flavour or texture.

flowering broccoli with angel hair pasta and ground pork

I love the new vegetables I am trying here in Hong Kong. One of my favourites so far is flowering broccoli. I see from some web searching that other countries call this "Chinese broccoli". I think I will have to avoid names like that because otherwise every vegetable I meet will be called "Chinese". These broccoli stalks are tender and they also have soft leaves that are similar in taste to mild spinach.


Flowering broccoli needs very little preparation: just a quick steam, or in this case, a dip in the pasta's boiling water while it is just finishing cooking. The ground pork is fried separately with a couple of not too spicy chillies and then tossed with the hot pasta. Easy and delicious.


You can easily use normal broccoli in this dish: just add it to the cooking pasta a minute or two earlier.

Flowering Broccoli with Angel Hair Pasta and Ground Pork
serves 2

250 g ground pork
1 red chilli
1 green chilli
2 cloves garlic
125 g whole wheat angel hair pasta
200 g flowering broccoli
sprinkle of parmesan cheese (optional)

Scramble fry the ground pork in a non-stick frying pan until no pink remains.
Add the chillies and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes until they are aromatic.
Meanwhile, add the pasta to a pan of boiling water. Consult the package directions; one minute before pasta is finished cooking, add the broccoli to the pan.
Drain pasta and broccoli and toss with pork mixture.
Season to taste with pepper and parmesan cheese (if desired).

beef bourguignon

It was a quiet Saturday afternoon staying in, smelling the stew bubbling in the pot while I tidied around the flat. Red wine, the deep smell of beef, thyme, and bay leaves drifted to me every few minutes. I knew that I could turn that casserole beef into juicy, tender stew with the help of I Know How to Cook. It's an easy recipe that just simmers away for several hours on low heat.


We had friends coming around that evening, so we would be a party of four (and the recipe is meant to serve six). But it only calls for 600 mL of liquid in total, so I was a bit concerned it might bubble away to nothing. So I put the lid mostly on, and since I was nearby, I looked in on the stew every half hour. I'm glad I did, since by the time two hours rolled around I just had to add a splash of water. Things were beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan. And it just barely served four adults.

But, as I'm coming to expect from this cookbook, the recipe produced delicious results. There was a very rich flavour that was very warming and hearty. This stew was comfort food at its best.

Beef Bourguignon
adapted from I Know How to Cook
serves 6, allegedly

60 g button onions or shallots, peeled, whole or halved
100 g bacon lardons
700 g stewing beef, cut into pieces
30 g (1/4 c) flour
300 mL any stock, hot
300 mL red wine
1 bouquet garni
salt and pepper
100 g (about 5) mushrooms, quartered

In a heavy pan, fry the onions and bacon until light brown.
Remove from the pan and add the beef and fry until brown. Sprinkle the flour over the beef, stir for a minute, then add the stock, wine, bouquet garni, salt and pepper, and onion and bacon.
Simmer on a low heat for two hours.
Add the mushrooms and simmer for a further 30 minutes.

happy Chinese new year - ginger noodle soup

I wish I could say that I have a large Chinese food repertoire. In fact, the opposite it true. I doubt I know how to cook even one authentic Chinese dish. But I like Chinese flavours, and I enjoyed when Jeff, Mum and Dad's Chinese boarder, cooked for us over Christmas.

But I can offer this noodle soup for this weekend's festivities. It's one of my favourite soups--I've been making it for ten years since I ripped it out of one of Mum's magazines. It's not authentic Chinese, but it is tasty, easy, and warming for a winter celebration.

Ginger Noodle Soup
serves 4

500 g ground pork or ground beef
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/3 c (75 mL) hoisin sauce
2 T chopped ginger root
2 T soy sauce
4 c (1 L) stock or water
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 c sliced mushrooms
150 g noodles
1/2 c (125 mL) bean sprouts

In a large pot, brown meat for 5 to 7 minutes and then add onion, garlic, hoisin sauce, ginger, and soy sauce. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the stock or water and bring to a boil. Add the carrot and mushrooms. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the noodles and cook for 4 more minutes (or longer if directed on the packet). Garnish with bean sprouts.

lamb salad with twice tomato sauce

Leftover roast lamb, a tomato, and a few salad leaves. I looked around the kitchen, wondering how I could possibly turn this into a meal. Ant is much more likely than me to turn to take-away food when the cupboards are looking bare. But I was determined. Surely there's a meal here somewhere, I thought. I had one small onion, which I sauteed with one carrot. Then I added the lamb pieces to warm them through. In the end, though, it was the sauce that turned this into a meal--a meal that felt like a real main dish.


I spread thick drops of dark red sauce generously over the warm salad. By using the one fresh tomato and a few sun-dried tomatoes, the sauce had a deep tomatoey flavour that brought the salad together.

Twice Tomato Sauce (or Dressing)
makes 1 1/2 cups

1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped
4 sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 c chopped fresh basil (or 2 t dried basil)
1/2 t salt
1/4 c to 1/2 c (75 mL to 125 mL) water

Combine all the ingredients except the water in a food processor and puree until smooth.
Add the water, a few tablespoons at a time, until a thick, but pourable, sauce is formed.

It would be easy to make this a bit more thin for use as a more conventional salad dressing. Just add a little more water (or some olive oil) in the last step.