Good Mistake

Sunday breakfast (or brunch) for us is usually made up of the whole shabang -- - bacon, eggs, toast or pancakes, coffee, etc. It is the only time in the week that my husband and I can eat breakfast together, so I make an effort to prepare a good one.

But on this particular Sunday, neither one of us wanted a heavy breakfast. We wanted something simple - waffles. Just waffles. (Thanks to my friend Holly who gave me my Belgian waffle maker, now I can make my very own waffles instead of buying those pre-made ones from the grocery) .

Whenever I make waffles or pancakes, I always add a little bit of cinnamon to the batter as I just love the flavor. And I intended to do this, but I was busy chatting away with my husband and not paying full attention to what I was doing. I grabbed the bottle of what I thought was cinnamon and shook over the batter. Too late, I realized that what I picked up was the anise seeds and not the cinammon! I let out a gasp as I saw those tiny seeds in the batter. Oh boy! Should I fish them out? After only a second of deliberation, I thought.. Nah... Afterall, I add anise seeds to my cookies so it can't be that bad, and there weren't too much of it in there. So, I went ahead and added the cinnamon, as I originally intended.

Surprise, surprise. This little mistake turned out to be a good one as the hint of anise in the background combined with cinnamon is really wonderful. To quote Rachel Ray, "it's the thing that makes you say, hmmmnn, what is it??"...... So from now on, I'm going to be adding a dash of anise seeds to my waffles. Classic Belgian Waffles:
1-1/4 c sifted cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
4 eggs, separated
1-1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c melted butter (or canola oil)
Pinch of salt
Dash of cinnamon (optional)
Dash of anise (optional)
Non-stick spray

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon and anise
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks lightly and add the milk, vanilla and melted butter. Then add the dry ingredients to the mixture and stir just enough to combine.
4. In another bowl, beat egg whites until they are stiff but not dry. Gently fold them into the batter using a rubber spatula. Do not overmix! (Let batter sit for 4-5 mins before baking for better results)
5. Coat waffle iron with non-stick spray and pour batter into iron. Bake waffle until steam stops escaping, or until golden brown.

To serve: dust waffles with confectioner’s sugar and top with whipped cream and slices of fruits (like strawberry). Or, my hubby’s preference – slather waffles with more butter and a pour warm maple syrup on it.

Spicy Cucumber Salad

This salad is one of the easiest you will ever make. It requires only a few ingredients and probably would take you about 10 minutes to make.

The jalapeño pepper added to the mix lends a new twist to this otherwise ordinary salad. I've made this salad before, but not with the spicy pepper. But now that I know that the combination is wonderful, I will be adding the pepper to this salad from this day forth.

Again, I found this recipe in my old Cooking Light magazine, in the same issue where I found the chicken sate with peanut sauce recipe.Spicy Cucumber Salad:
3 cups thinly sliced English cucumber (seedless, approx. 1 pc)
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp minced, seeded jalapeño pepper
1 tsp grated lime rind
Directions:
1. In a bowl combine the rice wine vinegar, sugar, jalapeño pepper and the grated lime rind. Let stand for a few minutes.
2. Thinly slice the cucumber and onion.
3. Toss in the dressing to coat.

I suggest you try this salad with the chicken sate with peanut sauce. (Recipe found in my last post prior to this one). You'll not regret it.

Chicken Satay With Peanut Sauce

By the time I was done cooking, it seemed like the house was on fire. The smoke got so thick in the kitchen that my husband had to open up the windows!

Why? Because I decided to do Chicken Satè (satay) for dinner tonight. And as you know, satès involve grilling (meats are broiled, traditionally). We couldn't grill outside as today was a particularly wet day. It had been raining for the most part of the day until evening. But come rain or shine, we're having chicken satè for dinner; hence I grilled on the stove top -- and our exhaust sucks, that's what it is! LOL...

I was just going through an old issue of my Cooking Light magazine when this recipe caught my attention. I marked it for future reference, but then my hubby wanted to eat a light chicken dish for dinner tonight. And so I decided, now would be a good time as any to have this dish. Most of the ingredients are already in my pantry / fridge, so I only needed to get a couple of things. I made a trip to the Asian store to pick up rice noodles, and to our regular grocery to get the chicken.

Chicken Satè With Peanut Sauce
Sate:
1 lb skinless/boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 tbsp light brown sugar
2-1/2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp bottled ground fresh ginger
1 tsp grated lime rind
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
Cooking spray
Sauce:
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1-1/2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:
1. Prepare grill.
2.To prepare sate, combine chicken and next 6 ingredients in a med bowl. Let stand for 10 mins.
3.To prepare sauce, combine 1 tbsp brown sugar and the next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves.
4. Thread chicken strips onto each of the skewers. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 mins on each side or until chicken is done. Serve chicken with sauce and rice noodles.

For the noodles, just cook according to package directions.

I had to make my own changes of the above recipe due to what I have on hand. First, I used regular soy sauce. Second, I have a natural peanut butter - not chunky but not as creamy as Smucker's for instance. Third, I added the lime juice to the satè marinade as I wanted a stronger lime flavor. Fourth, I used fresh ginger instead of a bottled one.

This was a nice light dinner that my husband really liked. I served it with a Spicy Cucumber Salad, recipe of which you'll find in my next post.

Foodie Blogroll

You may notice that I have this new little icon on my sidebar now... Yep, I just became a member of the Foodie Blogroll.

I'm so excited to meet other foodies, amateurs and professionals alike. I am looking forward to learning from everyone in the foodblog world!!!

If you want to be a member, just click the link found under the icon and it will take you to the registration.

Get Well Soup

There is one go-to soup when I don't feel so well - chicken noodle soup. There is something in this dish that just comforts and makes me feel better when I'm feeling a bit under the weather. Maybe it's the warm soup or the chicken? I don't know. Whatever it is, I somehow craved for it tonight. I'm not sick though, mind you. And I just didn't want to open a packet of ramen noodles. That would have been much easier, but I'm mindful of the sodium content in those little packs. I wanted a good, home-made noodle soup, the way I remember when my mother used to do it.Chicken Noodle Soup:
2 c water (or more)
2 pcs boneless/skinless chicken breast, diced
1/2 med sized onion, diced
2 pcs med sized carrotts,diced
1 large rib of celery,diced
2 small potatoes,diced
1 cup wide egg noodles (yolk-free)
1/4 c hvy whipping cream or milk or half & half (optional)
Directions:
Place your chicken in the pot with 2 cups of water. Season with salt and pepper. Let the water come to a boil, and when it does, reduce the heat to let it simmer until the chickent gets tender. When the chicken is tender, add your carrots and potatoes and noodles. Let it simmer for another 6-7 minutes or till the noodles get done and the veggies are tender. Then add the onion and celery. Adjust seasoning. If desired, add the whipped cream at the end just before turning off the heat.

The noodle absorbs some of the broth so you may need to add more liquid as you cook. I recommend adding either chicken broth or chicken stock if you have those on hand. And of course, you can add any vegetable you like in your soup.

Pasta Sans Sauce

How do you make a light pasta dish? Aside from not eating too much of it (LOL), is to make it without sauce. So this dish is what it is all about, a sauceless pasta.
Linguine With Shrimp And Arugula:
2 cloves minced garlic, 1 small onion, 1/2 lb of fresh linguine, 1 lb of raw shrimps (deviened, tails off), 1 c. of asparagus (cut in 1-inch length), 1 c of baby arugula, 1 c of diced fresh mozzarella, 2 tbsps of chopped fresh parsely, 1 lemon zested and juiced, salt, pepper, 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tbsps for sauteeing.
Directions:
In a bowl pour 1/4 c of olive oil and the zest of the lemon. Add the shrimp. Let the shrimp marinate in the mixture for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, cook your pasta according to direction. Since it's fresh, it will only take about 3 minutes or so. Reserve 1-2 ladles of your pasta water.
Then sautee your shrimp mixture in the pan. When the shrimps have turned pink on both sides, take them off and transfer to a plate. Keep warm. Then add another 2 tbsps of olive oil to your pan. Sautee your onion, garlic and asparagus until they've softened. Then add back the shrimp, followed by the pasta. If the pasta is too dry, add a ladle of your pasta water (or more, you have to eyeball this). Season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice just before you take the pasta off the heat.
In your pasta bowl, place your diced mozarella and arugula in. Pour your cooked pasta into the bowl and toss. The mozzarella will melt from the heat of the pasta, and the arugula will begint to wilt. Serve warm. Garnish with parsely.

This is an easy, quick meal for those days when you want something light but filling. Since this is a sauceless pasta, it is best to use the fresh pasta when you can. In my opinion, the fresh pasta just doesn't get too dry as the regular ones.

I know that for Italians, you're not supposed to add cheese to a seafood dish. But well, I am not an Italian, so I guess I can break this rule. I grated a little bit of parmesan cheese right on the pasta before serving. The parmesan, I believe, rounded up all the flavors in this dish.

Orzo Late

"Orzo" late, like "oh, so late..." Yeah, I know, it's a bit corny.

It was 9pm when we got back home to see our friends- Kevin, Holly and their kids- off at the airport. They left for Capetown, South Africa today, to do missions work. Lord willing, we'll see them again in 3 years-- yes, in 3 years, if they don't decide to stay there.

My husband was surprised that I started preparing this dish as soon as we got home, but I guess, I just wanted to get my mind off from missing my friends. So, late as it was, I decided to do this pasta salad for our lunch the next day. It's really simple, the only cooking involved is the pasta. Orzo is this rice-shaped pasta as you can see in the photo. I've done this salad before, so I made this from memory, but the recipe I got from Foodnetwork's Giada de Laurentiis.

Orzo Salad
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups red and yellow teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
About 3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a heavy large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the orzo.
2. Cover partially and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes.
3. Drain the orzo through a strainer. Transfer to a large wide bowl and toss. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Toss the orzo with the beans, tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature.

Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired.
Yield: 1 3/4 cups

What I did different was adding a basil-infused olive oil to my pasta. It intensified the flavor of basil even more and the combination with mint and basil was fabulous! Also, I didn't use the yellow tear drop tomatoes (as you see in the photo) since they're not available in my grocery store.

I tossed the salad with the dressing just before eating the next day. Uhhhhmmn.. what a nice little lunch. The salad is even better eaten if tossed with grilled chicken or fish (tuna or salmon, maybe).