Chicken with roasted carrots

There are times when you prepare a meal for dinner, you just wanted to cook it quicker and at the same time mantain the flavor and keep it on the healthier side. Today's meal was a simple roasted carrots, with some white rice and a piece of chicken breast. How to cook the white rice. use a cup of rice, wash and drain the water 2 times. No detergent needed for this. Just use cold tap water. For a cup of rice, you will need 2 cups of water. Cook tge rice in a pan on medium low heat. Stir occasionally until all the water has been absorb by the rice. Tutn the heat off and cover the pot Next is to roast the carrot. Take one long carrot, clean the skin off and cut both ends off. Slice the carrot at an angle. Sprinkle some salt and ground black pepper. Drizzle some olive oil. Mix well. Bake in the oven at 400 degree F for 20 minutes. Clean, wash and pat dry the chicken breast. Sprinkle some salt and ground black pepper. I like to sprinkle tiny bits if ground turmeric. It will give a kick to the flavor. In a pan, heated some olive oil on medium high heat. Fry each side of tge chicken breadt for at least 5 minutes. Last but not least is to cook beef gravy or any gravy you like. Boil a cup of water to a 3 tablespoons of powdered beef gravy. Stir it until it thickened. Garnish the meal with chopped green onion.

Maryland Blue Crab

Ramadan is here. The first day of fasting in my area was on Saturday, May 27, 2017. It went well for me since I stayed at home and just entertaining my 2 grandchildren. They both are too young to understand what fasting is. I didn’t indulge on food for morning breakfast before the sunrise nor do I cook much for breaking fast. I ate my regular breakfast food like pancake and eggs. I drank milk to give the energy throughout the day. On the first day of Ramadan, I had rice with fried chicken and shrimp egg foo young I bought from the Chinese takeout. The second day of Ramadan, I was invited to my in laws for some crab feast. It was really nice eating with family. The dinner feast was for observing the Memorial Day on Monday.

My vegetable garden is doing very well. Soon, I will be getting salad from the garden. The rainy days we have been getting has helped. The peas are growing faster than anything else. I have started to see the white flowers on the plants. I am growing mostly the sugar snap peas. I do grow some little marvel peas as well as the snow peas. Couple of days ago, I put in more string bean seeds in the ground. If the soil temperature went up above 70 degree, the bean seeds will germinate faster. Otherwise, I will have to wait about 2 weeks to see some growth. I already planted a 30 foot row of string beans when the soil can be worked on.

Murtabak

I love murtabak. There are so many ways how you can make the filling to this murtabak. Basically, murtabak is just some spicy filling with chicken, beef or plain potato wrap in spring roll skin and pan fry until crust.
Today, I am using the left over curry puff pastry filling. All I did was to add 2 eggs to the mixture. It is not necessary to add egg but to me, I just like the taste of murtabak with some egg.
As for the skin to wrap the filling, I am using the Lumpia skin. In the past I did use the spring roll skin. The taste is almost similar.

The side dish to my murtabak is the pickled red onion. This pickled red onion must be made a day before and chill in the refrigerator so that the vinegar is absorbed into the onion and soften the onion. The juice of the pickle should also turned red. To make the pickled onion, use 1 cup of white vinegar, mix in 1/2 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt and 1 cup of water.
Slice the red onion thinly. Marinate the onion in the vinegar.

For the murtabak, put about a tablespoon of filling, spread it nicely in the center of the lumpia skin.
Fold all 4 sides to create a square.
Put in the lightly greased pan with the folded side down first. Let it cook and brown for a few minutes.
Then flip the murtabak to the other side. Let it cook and brown for a few minutes and remove from the pan.
Do the same process until all of the filling is finish.

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Curry Puff Pastry - Karipap

Once in a while I do crave for some spicy and bad for health type of food. One of the culprit food to add up to my bad health is karipap also known as Curry Puff Pastry.
This puff pastry is loaded with good stuff like potato and chicken.
The filling to this puff pastry can vary. Sometimes I like to use sardine, beef of just plain vegetables.

Today, I am making curry puff with potato and chicken.
Ingredients:
For the fillings.
4 Potato - skinned and dice small
1 onion - dice
1 bunch of coriander leaves
1 bunch of flat leaves parsley
1/2 cup of curry powder
2 tablespoons of ground hot pepper
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
1 tablespoon of ground lemongrass
1 can of chicken breast
2 tablespoons of olive oil
pinch of salt

Heat olive oil and fry the onion.
Add all of the powdered ingredients.
Add potato and mix well.
Seasoned to taste.
Cover and let the potato cook.
Add chopped parsley and chopped coriander.
Then add chicken. Mix well.
Let the filling cool before using.

For the pastry:
3 cups of all purpose flour
3 tablespoons of Crisco or any vegetable shortening
6 to 7 tablespoons of milk. Can use water to substitute.
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar

In a big bowl, add flour, salt, sugar and Crisco.
Use your finger to combine this dry mixture.
Add milk one tablespoon at a time.
Knead the dough until manageable to roll flat.
Take a small dough, flat it and use round cookie cutter.
Add a tablespoon of the filling to the center, crimp the dough together.
Fry in deep oil until all sides are golden brown.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 28 - Beef Rendang

Ramadan is not complete without some beef rendang. This spicy beef is delicious eaten with cube rice.

This rendang was easy to cook.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb beef. Slice it thinly.
1 tablespoon of onion powder.
1/2 tablespoon of cumin
1/2 tablespoon of coriander
1/2 tablespoon of hot pepper powder
1/2 tablespoon of ground ginger
1/2 tablespoon of ground lemongrass
1/2 tablespoon of salt
1/2 cup of chopped turmeric leaves, kafir lime leaves
1/2 cup of sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup of beef curry powder
2 tablespoons of olive oil

In a bowl mix all of the dry ingredients with some water to make a paste.
In a big pan, heat olive oil.
Fry the paste.
Once cooked and slightly dry, add the beef.
Mix well.
Add the turmeric leaves, kafir lime and coconut flakes.
Add salt to taste.
Cook until beef is dry.
Enjoy.
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Ramadan 2015 Day 27 - Hot and Spicy Chicken

Breaking fast is not complete without hot and spicy chicken. This is a simple recipe. I am using 4 pieces of chicken thighs.

Cut into 6 pieces 2 potatoes.
Slice some carrots.
Chop some cilantro and parsley.
Chop 1 bell pepper.
Chop 1 onion.
Dice a few cloves of garlic.
1 cup of blended hot peppers.
Salt to taste.

In a big pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Fry onion, garlic and bell pepper.
Add hot pepper and fry until pepper is cooked.
Add chicken. Cover.
Once chicken is cooked, add salt to taste and then add potato. Cover.
Lastly, add chopped cilantro and parsley. Mix well.
Turn off the stove.

Serve warm with white rice or cube rice.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 26 - Sambal Goreng

Sambal goreng is actually a medley of potato, tofu, string beans, carrots, tempe and some dried hot chili peppers. I also added some rice stick noodle or suhun to the dish.

This dish is nice to be eaten with cube white rice or ketupat. It can also be eaten just like that.

Slice the string beans at an angle thinly. Set aside.
Slice carrots thinly. Set aside.
Cut potato thinly. Deep fry and set aside.
Cut extra firm tofu the same size as the potato. Deep fry and set aside.
Cut tempe the same size as the potato. Deep fry and set it aside.
Soak rice noodle or suhun. 1 cup.
1 stick of lemon grass.
1 inch of galangal (lengkuas).
1 tablespoon of dried shrimp.
1 can of lite coconut milk.
1 tablespoon of salt.
3 pieces dried hot pepper. Cut it thinly at an angle.
1 onion. diced.
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic.
2 tablespoon olive oil.
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger.

In a big pan, heat olive oil. Fry onion, garlic, and ginger until brown.
Add dried shrimp. Fry a little bit more and then add coconut milk.
Add salt to taste. Let it bubble.
Add string beans and carrot. Mix well until string beans softer.
Add fried potato, fried tofu, fried tempe, Mix everything well.
Let the coconut milk reduced.
Add sliced red hot pepper.
Lastly add the rice noddle.
Mix everything well and let it cook until all the coconut milk is dry.

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Ramadam 2015 Day 25 - Pizza

I spent about two hours working in the garden this morning. There are so much weeds growing as tall as up to my waist. I had to use the hoe to chop the weeds down. I just lay the weeds on the ground. They will be a nice blanket for me to walk on. I picked the biggest turnip ever. It was as big as my face. It was a turnip from last year's seed. I gave the turnip to the neighbor gardener. She said she loves turnip. I harvested some broccoli and yellow beans. They are tasty cooked in shrimp broth.

Mr. Big called it a lazy to cook day as I was suggesting to have pizza for dinner. I sauté some meat and spread them on the cheese pizza.

Bake the pizza in the oven at 425 degree F for about 15 minutes.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 24 - Break Fasting Party part 4

It was a nice break fasting dinner at a friend's house. I ate too much that I had to stop or else I would not be able to drive home. Everyone are happy and enjoyed the meal. We start the course with some appetizers followed with rice and all kind of side dishes. It was a potluck dinner where everyone brought their own dish and share it at the party.

 One of my favorite appetizer is the spring rolls. The filling of this spring roll is a mixture of eggs and vegetables. Someone brought quesadilla. I am not sure what is the filling. It might be egg and cheese.

 The hostess prepared the fried noddle. It was really tasty. My blood sugar probably went up to the roof after eating this meal. But it was really delicious.

 More main dishes are served. There are biryani rice, pineapple and cucumber salad, fish, bergedil, rice stick noodles, etc.

 We had watermelon and cocktail fruits for the drink.

 One lady brought this delicious tiramisu. I really had a good time enjoying the food and the company.
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Ramadan 2015 Day 23 - French Fries, Fried Fish, Steak and Eggs

Another simple breaking fast dinner today. Mr. Big and I are not a big eater although we both are big. It was weird isn't it...but that's how life is. I am blessed with all the food I have, the health and the wealth.

Today's dinner was fries, fried fish, steak and eggs. Super easy to cook and super delicious. I got too hungry that I ate the fish and the fries...no picture today.

I did take a picture of the steak and eggs.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 22 - Fried Lamb and Breadfruit Cake

Fried lamb is one of my favorite meal. I am using the fish fry flour to coat the lamb. Mr Big wanted some corn on a cob. So, we have fried lamb and corn on a cob for tonight's dinner.

I forgot that I bought breadfruit (buah sukun) last week. The breadfruit turned ripe over the week. So, I decided to cook it like making a bingka. It was a simple recipe using a can of coconut milk, sugar, pinch of salt, 2 cups of flour, vanilla extract, olive oil and 4 eggs.

The cake is a little bit dry that it crack on the top. But the inside is soft.
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Ramadan 2015 Day 21 - Gnocchi and Pea Shoots

A simple meal for tonight's dinner, gnocchi with pea shoots. It was sort of cooking 2 items in one pot.

Firstly, I boil the gnocchi until it float. Fish the gnocchi out.
In a bowl, add the gnocchi, add 1/2 cup of alfredo ready to use sauce, and add 1 tablespoon of salsa.

I used the same water that I boil the gnocchi to blanche pea shoots. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to flavored.

Serve the pea shoots with the gnocchi.
Delicious!
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Ramadan 2015 Day 20 - Coriander Fried Chicken and Tomato Rice

I craved for mom's home cooked meal. This was a simple meal... fried chicken marinated in onion, coriander, ginger, cumin, salt and corn starch.

The chicken was cooked with some oil and on medium heat until cooked through.
For the side, I cooked tomato rice. I used a  can of tomato soup and add some basil and parsley to the rice.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 19 - Pea Shoots

A very tasty meal today came right out from my garden. I picked almost all of the pea plants. They are done as the weather is getting warmer. If left alone in the garden, the plant will turned brown and maybe lots of bugs will eat them too which will never be good. The bugs could lay eggs and the eggs stays in the ground until next year.

 The pea shoots are delicious. They taste just like peas.

For today's meal, I decided to stir fry the pea shoots with some other homegrown vegetables I have. I added string beans and radishes. As for the seasoning, I used anchovies cube. It tasted so delicious.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 18 - Break Fasting Party part 3

Another blessed day today for having to break the fasting at relative's house. There are lots of food to eat and lots of dessert and drinks to enjoy.

 Fried Chicken.

The company was nice. No complain on the weather. It has been nice, breezy and cool all day long. I could turned off the air conditioner at home all day.

 Baked Beans

 Corn

Peanut Reese's Chocolate cake. Delicious.

Early in the morning I was working in the garden. There are lots of peas, beans and lettuce to pick. I had a great time harvesting them since the weather was very nice.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 17 - Break Fasting Party part 2

Another day of feasting on lots of food during iftar or in other word breaking the fast dinner at another friend's house. I wish I could stay much longer after dinner but unfortunately dinner started around 8:40 PM. Before I knew it, the clock was ticking and it was almost 11PM at night. I felt like Cinderella where I need to be home before midnight. Some of the ladies make themselves comfortable at that house. They have been to the friend's house many times over the years. Waiting for the terawih prayer was a challenge for me. I wish I could perform the prayer with the group but like I said earlier, I need to be home by certain hour.

 I brought this store bought triple chocolate cake. This cake is divine.

 The table is serving lots of main food. I just don't know which one I want to eat. I certainly cannot sample each and every dish. They are all look delicious.

 This pineapple and cucumber salad is my number one favorite food. I could eat the whole bowl. The sweetness of the pineapple gives delicious flavor to the cucumber with a hint of hot pepper and onion. This salad is refreshing.

 The dessert table is full with lots of sweetness.

This fish curry is delicious. As a matter of fact there are several different types of fish being served. Some are fried fish dress up in hot and spicy sambal, others are fish in coconut milk and fish in plain soup.
All of the food are delicious.

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Ramadan 2015 Day 16 - Break Fasting Party

Another day is spent at a friend's house for break fasting. There are so much food served. I had a great time tasting each of the food.

 I brought these donuts for everyone to enjoy.

 I just don't know where to start...we have pulut panggang, fish in curry gravy, fried fish with sambal, fried bee hoon(rice stick noodles), fruit salad(rojak), stir fry vegetables, fried noodles, more stir fry vegetables.

 Above is the dessert table. There are curry puff, spring rolls, pulut panggang, fried tempe, onde onde, kuih ketayap, and fermented glutinous rice (tapai pulut).

 The same food as shown before...

 Close up on the tapai pulut. They are delicious.

 Spring rolls.

 The green food is called kuih ketayap.

 The hostess signature cake, pandan chiffon.

The drinks...fruit cocktail and watermelon juice.

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