So…Chris and I have been so blessed lately.  We moved back to California from China a few weeks ago.  2 days after we arrived, Chris found a job -and not just any job, a good one, one that he will grow from.  We needed to [...]]]>

So…Chris and I have been so blessed lately.  We moved back to California from China a few weeks ago.  2 days after we arrived, Chris found a job -and not just any job, a good one, one that he will grow from.  We needed to buy a second car, and the perfect one came up on Craigslist for a great price, a bargain price.  We went up to the Central Coast to look for an apartment before Chris officially starts work next week, and on our first day of looking, we got approved for a lease at a nice, quiet apartment complex, where the price is right.

Everything is going our way, and one part of me is afraid that some catastrophe is going to come back and bite me in the butt in compensation for our string of good fortune, and another part of me is just grateful.

Another thing I’m grateful for?  My parents-in-laws’ kitchen, where I’ve been exploring and cooking all the things I couldn’t cook in my tiny little closet of a kitchen in China.  Take this, for example.  Throw some red peppers on the broiler, 5 minutes later, stick them in a sandwich, and you’ve got a delicious, gourmet-tasting meal for next to no effort.  I love it.  I love that I can get proscuitto and salami here.  I love that you can go to the grocery store and pick from giant shining mounds of produce, and that I don’t have to stockpile pasta and pasta sauce, because…I’m not in China anymore!

I’m sure it’ll hit me and I’ll start missing our old life eventually, but for now I’m so excited for the future and so grateful for the many, many blessings we’ve received.

Roasted Red Pepper Sandwiches

These Mediterranean style sandwiches are super easy but surprisingly impressive.  Cut them into quarters to serve as an appetizer, or leave them whole for an elegant lunch.  Roasting the red peppers brings out their sweetness, a nice contrast to the salty charcuterie and cheese.  Feel free to add some arugula for some extra freshness.

4 slices whole wheat sandwich bread
1 HUGE red pepper, or 2 normal sized ones
2 slices proscuitto
4 slices salami
4 slices hard cheese (I used Kerrigold Dubliner cheese, an aged cheese from Ireland that has little crunchy crystals in it.  Thank you, Costco.)
2 tbsp prepared pesto
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1.  Preheat broiler.  Wash and cut the red pepper into eighths (or for normal sized peppers, quarters).  Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place on a baking sheet, skin up.

2.  When broiler is hot, place 3-4 inches from heat and cook for 4-5 minutes, until skin is blistered and charred.  Remove from broiler and let cool slightly.  The skin should now peel off easily, or you can leave some skin on if you like some extra flavor.

3.  Assemble sandwiches.  Toast bread lightly.  Spread 2 slices bread with pesto, and lay cheese and meat over top.  Lay warm slices of red pepper over top.  Spread remaining bread with mustard and place on top.  Cut into triangles and serve!

Growing up, my mom often made stir-fried Napa cabbage as part of our meals. In my mind, Napa cabbage always came cooked, as part of a Chinese family-style meal, with rice and the works. And it IS really good cooked, simply stir-fried with [...]]]>

Growing up, my mom often made stir-fried Napa cabbage as part of our meals. In my mind, Napa cabbage always came cooked, as part of a Chinese family-style meal, with rice and the works. And it IS really good cooked, simply stir-fried with some minced garlic. It has a slight sweetness to it, and doesn’t make you as gassy as normal cabbage (oops, did I just say “gassy” on a food blog? That’s gotta be a big no-no).

It took a trip to California to visit the in-laws for me to learn about this simple, no-brainer, and absolutely delicious way to prepare Napa cabbage. IN A SALAD!!! Hello, light sweet flavor? Crisp, refreshing texture? Wrinkly leaves perfect for catching and holding the flavor of a light sesame dressing? Napa cabbage salad, where have you been all my life? Thank you, thank you, mother-in-law!

It’s so easy to make. Just slice up a whole cabbage with a big knife (discarding the bottom 2 inches or so which are mainly stem), then rinse the leaves and spin them dry. Chop up a cucumber and a yellow pepper – oh how I love the crunch of this salad – and add some soy candied walnuts for extra crunch and sweetness (you can get these pre-made at your local Asian supermarket). A slightly sweet honey-sesame dressing rounds out the flavors and makes this salad distinctly Asian.

Asian Napa Cabbage Salad

1 medium head Napa Cabbage
½ English cucumber, sliced thinly
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup candied walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp olive oil

Slice the whole head of cabbage crosswise into ½ to ¾ inch sections, discarding the bottom two inches of the cabbage. Rinse the cabbage and spin the leaves dry in a salad spinner. Toss cucumber, pepper, and walnuts with cabbage.

Whisk together vinegar, honey, sesame oil and olive oil. Toss with salad. Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more vinegar if needed.

Fresh shiitake mushrooms are one of my recent discoveries since we’ve been living in China. They’re relatively cheap and plentiful here, and they’ve got a great flavour – savory and soft. Yum! They are so different from the dried kind [...]]]>

Fresh shiitake mushrooms are one of my recent discoveries since we’ve been living in China. They’re relatively cheap and plentiful here, and they’ve got a great flavour – savory and soft. Yum! They are so different from the dried kind that is used often in Chinese cooking (which is what I grew up with). Not that I don’t like the dried kind – they have a pungent, intense aroma that is essential for some dishes – but the fresh ones go so well with cheese. And butter. And garlic. Ummm.

So here’s an easy meal that requires next to no active time (though the potatoes do have to roast for an hour in the oven) that’s delicious and will impress even the kids. For mushroom-haters (I am aware that there are some of you out there), you can substitute bacon, ham, olives, or pretty much anything else and I bet these would still taste fabulous.

By the way, go ahead and eat the skins. Potato skins are high in fiber and potassium, and the flesh just under the skin is high in vitamin C. They’re also low in calories. So don’t feel guilty about going off your diet – potatoes are healthy after all.  Just substitute plain yogurt for the butter and cut down on the cheese if you’re concerned about the fat content.  Oh, and since we’re eating the skins, buy organic potatoes if you can.  The last thing you want is to be ingesting a bunch of pesticides along with your healthy fiber and potassium.

So without further ado, Twice-Baked Potatoes with Shiitake Mushrooms!

Twice-Baked Potatoes with Shiitake Mushrooms

4 medium-large baking potatoes (I only have the yellow Chinese kind, so that’s what I used)
3 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp softened butter
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
100g semi-soft cheese (I had Gouda, so that’s what I used), diced small or shredded
10-12 medium fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 slices of mozzarella (optional)

Scrub the potatoes, making sure you remove all dirt. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork, and then roast them in a 200 C oven (400 F) for about an hour, or until the skins are wrinkled and flesh is soft.

Meanwhile, cut or rip the stems off the mushrooms and wipe them with a damp cloth. Slice them about 1/3 inch thin.

Heat the oil in a skillet set over medium-high heat, and add the diced onion and garlic. Stir around and let them brown for 2-3 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms are tender, another minute or two. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

When potatoes are done, slice them in half, and using a teaspoon, scoop out the potato flesh, leaving a 1/3 inch border around the potato skins. Mash the potato flesh in a bowl with the milk and butter. Fold in the onion/garlic/mushroom mixture, as well as the diced cheese. Taste for seasoning and add salt/pepper if needed.

Spoon the mashed potato mixture back into the potato skins, and top each with a slice of mozzarella (optional). Place on a cookie sheet or shallow pan. Bake at 175 C (350 F) for 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and potatoes are heated through. Set under broiler for a minute or two if you want the tops browner. Let cool a minute or two, then serve.

Add a big green salad and a bottle of white wine, and you’ve got an easy and delicious vegetarian meal for 4. Yummilicious!

Don’t get me started on sandwich bread in China.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s not necessarily bad…  It’s just…not good.

Most sandwich bread sold in our city (Xiamen, in case you weren’t paying attention) is the really soft, somewhat oily kind, with an unmistakably [...]]]>

Don’t get me started on sandwich bread in China.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s not necessarily bad…  It’s just…not good.

Most sandwich bread sold in our city (Xiamen, in case you weren’t paying attention) is the really soft, somewhat oily kind, with an unmistakably sweet flavor that kind of makes you go “huh” and really, really miss home, where the bread aisle (a whole aisle for bread, hallelujah!) is filled with hundreds of kinds of bread: whole wheat, whole grain, multi-grain, oatmeal, rye, country, Texas toast, Italian, pumpernickel…  Oh my, do we miss the bread at home.

So what do you do when the only thing available is Chinese sandwich bread, and your husband is something of a sandwich connoisseur, and you have nothing with which to make him a lunch sandwich?

Why, you make your own of course!  Which is how I came to make this deliciously fantastic rosemary focaccia bread, which is just the thing for your ravenous sandwich-loving hubby at lunchtime.

Rosemary Focaccia
Cobbled together from a few recipes

When you live in China, anything resembling a real oven is difficult to come by, and all of our baked goods are baked in a tiny little Chinese toaster oven.  Therefore, the measurements for this recipe are for a small focaccia (about 8 x 12), just enough for two or three people for lunch.  If you want to make a bigger focaccia, just double everything except the yeast, and let it rise for an hour instead of ½ hour.

1 pkg (about 2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
salt
sea salt
warm water
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for greasing

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in ½ cup of warm water (about 40-45 degrees C…which I figure is about the temperature of a hot Jacuzzi).  Let stand till foamy, 5-10 min.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and ½ tsp salt.  Add the yeast mixture and stir to combine.  Gradually add water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough is moistened enough to pull together and form a ball.  In the same bowl, knead dough about 1 minute, until smooth.

Remove dough, and oil the same bowl with some olive oil (see, a one-bowl recipe!).  Put the ball of dough back into the bowl, turn to coat, and then cover with a damp cloth.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about ½ hour.

Preheat oven to 245 degrees C or 470 F.

Punch down the dough, and (in the same bowl of course) knead briefly.  Press into an 8 x 12” baking pan (no need to grease it).  Keep in mind that the focaccia won’t rise much, so don’t press it much thinner than you want the final product to be.  Let it rise for 5 minutes or so until it is about the height you want.

Mix the rosemary with the olive oil and brush it over the top of the bread.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake for about 10 minutes (it should sound hollow when you tap the top), or a little longer if you want it to be a bit crustier.  Cut into squares and serve.

Recipe notes: I used to be really intimidated by yeast breads, but once you get the hang of it, it’s as easy as cake!  The only hard part is proofing the yeast – make sure your water isn’t too hot, or it will kill the yeast, and not too cool, or the yeast won’t activate. Also, if you’re having issues with the bread being too flat, just let it rise a tiny bit more before popping it in the oven.

It was with much chagrin that I realized yesterday morning that I had just three more tiny slices of plum cake left, and after those were gone, I was left jonesin’ for more tastes of late summer/autumn (even though in Xiamen, the weather [...]]]>

It was with much chagrin that I realized yesterday morning that I had just three more tiny slices of plum cake left, and after those were gone, I was left jonesin’ for more tastes of late summer/autumn (even though in Xiamen, the weather is still as hot as a Canadian summer).

Usually, fall in Toronto means going apple picking with all the aunties and uncles from church, apple cider, brisk weather and maybe a few hayrides, apple pies, and piles of dried leaves to jump in.  Last year we were in Toronto for our October wedding, so we were able to partake of the autumnal goodness (at least, the leaf pile-jumping part).  Alas – who knows when we will next be in Toronto in the fall?

So today, when I had half a Chinese pumpkin in the fridge (actually more similar to a butternut squash than a pumpkin), and a few apples, I thought I would try my hand at making soup.  It was so easy, and the natural sugars from the apple and squash made it a not-just-any-old-soup kind of soup.  Smooth and creamy, it was slightly sweet with a hint of autumnal spice (even though, strangely, I didn’t add any spices).  Even Chris, notorious soup-hater that he is, said it was the best soup he had ever had, and finished a WHOLE BOWL.  Will miracles never cease?

Apple-Butternut Squash Soup

1 small red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced (preferably a tart one, but I only had Fuji apples, so that is what I used)
1L water
1 tablespoon MSG-free vegetable bouillon
1 tablespoon oil
salt and pepper

In a stockpot on medium heat, heat the oil.  Throw in the onion and garlic, and cook a few minutes just till softened.  Add the butternut squash and apple slices; stir around a bit to brown slightly.

Add the water and turn the heat up to medium-high until water boils, then turn heat down to a simmer.  Add vegetable bouillon.  Simmer about 25 minutes, until squash and apple are soft.

Puree soup in batches in a blender, or use an immersion blender (be careful when blending hot liquids and don’t fill the blender more than 2/3 in case it splashes).  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.  Serves 4.

Recipe Notes:  This soup is creamy enough that you don’t need to add anything, but I liked how it looked with a swirl of plain yogurt.  You could also experiment with adding a pinch of ground ginger, nutmeg, or other spice, though we thought it was nice just as it was.  Also, if you’re a better person than me, use 1L of homemade vegetable stock and omit the water and vegetable bouillon.