Warm Sun in Los Angeles

It's been a week since my last post and I am happy to report that I was on vacation! I saw my oldest friend, Susan, who I had not seen for twenty years. We had a lot of catching up to do and we did much of that over delicious meals. She was such a gracious host to take me all around town and being a tourist with me. Rather than filling up this post with pictures, I've created a short movie of my stay in LA instead.

Happy Monday!

Homemade Kale Chips

I have been absolutely obsessed with kale in the last few months. I love its flavor AND it's good for you! I try to keep some kale in my refrigerator for moments when I want to make a quick and healthy snack. Guilt-free snacks are the best kind! I usually buy pre-washed and pre-cut organic kale sold by the package. A 10oz bag usually makes two medium-sized bowls of chips and that costs $2.99 at Trader Joe's. You can buy by the bunch, but I like the convenience of making the kale chips on a fly. In just a few simple steps, you can be making your own healthy snack for you and your family too!

Ingredients:

• 10oz bag of pre-washed and pre-cut kale (If buying by the bunch: wash and dry thoroughly before cutting into 1" pieces.)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Lay the kale pieces on a large sheet pan or cookie sheet and drizzle just enough oil olive to coat them. Toss the kale pieces until they are evenly coated. Spread the pieces out evenly.
• Add a couple dashes of salt and pepper to taste.
• Bake for ten minutes and remove from the oven. Toss the pieces again, so that they can cook evenly. Bake for another ten minutes.

The next time you reach for a package of popcorn to make for a movie night, reach for that bag of kale in your fridge instead. Warning: These are highly addictive and you will wish you made more! Be prepared to make a second batch if necessary.

I also use kale to make a hearty soup that is great in warming me up on the coldest days. Check back soon for my kale and sausage recipe!

What is your favorite kale recipe? I'd love to hear how you are using kale, so please comment away!

Have a great week everyone :)

Shrimp Spring Rolls and Peanut Sauce

I LOVE Vietnamese food and spring rolls are probably one of my favorite Vietnamese foods to eat. The best part is that it is actually super easy to make! Aside from boiling a few items together, there isn't a whole lot of cooking involved. I usually prefer this with a peanut sauce, but you can eat this with prepared fish sauce too. I absolutely love how light the meal is but yet filling at the same time. I was able to make about twenty spring rolls with this recipe, but this can vary depending on how small or big you make it. I think that this is the perfect meal to get the whole family involved in making.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package of a 14 oz bag of vermicelli noodles
• 1 package of rice paper
• 3/4-1 lb shrimp, cooked
• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 long cucumber or 2 short cucumbers, peeled
• 2 C mint leaves
• 1 C hoisin sauce
• 2 tbs creamy peanut butter
• 1 C crushed peanuts
• chili garlic oil sauce (optional)
• 1 bunch of scallions, cut in halves (optional)

Instructions:

• Start by washing and preparing the veggies and letting it drain while you prepare the peanut sauce.
• For the cucumber: cut off the ends, cut in half (long cucumbers only), then cut in half again length wise like the picture above.
• Scope out the seeds in and cut into long thin pieces.

• Boil just a little over 1 quart of water and add noodles when it comes to a boil. I typically end up cooking the noodles longer than the package states. Do a strand test to be sure the noodle is just soft enough but not soggy.
• When the noodles are cooked, drain them but do not dump the starchy water! I like to use this for the sauce because it creates a thicker consistency than water.
• Rinse the noodles with cold water and set aside.
• Pour 4 C of the noodle water in a pot and bring to a boil.
• Add the hoisin sauce and peanut butter. Stir well and add hot sauce if desired.
• Let cool and it will thicken a little more.

Now, get a large bowl of hot water ready and set up the assembly line like this:

(Use a round plate slightly bigger than the size of the rice paper)

• Let the water cool enough so that it is hot but will not burn. Dip the rice paper in the water and place on the plate. The trick is to dip quickly, rotate the rice paper, and continue until it is mostly wet. You do not want it to be too wet and soggy because it will stick together and become difficult to work with. Once it is on the plate, you can use your fingers to spread the wet dry areas.
• Start by laying down a piece of lettuce towards the bottom of the paper (closest to you). Then, add noodles, cucumbers, and mint.

• Fold the lettuce in half to encase the other ingredients and place it about 2/3 down the rice paper.

• Fold the bottom of the paper up over the veggies, then fold in both sides neatly.

• Lay 3-4 shrimps in a row above the veggies. By doing this, you get to showcase the shrimp. This is a better presentation in my opinion. I have also noticed that this keeps the shrimp from dropping out when you dip it in the sauce.
• Add a piece of green onion between the shrimp and veggies, if desired.

Roll it up as snuggly as you can and there you have it!

Get your peanut sauce, toss in some crushed peanuts, and enjoy!

Chinese Egg Custard Dessert

I've loved all different kinds of custards ever since I was little. When I was a child in Vietnam, my grandpa would always give me a piggyback ride to my English school and never failed to treat me to a custard sandwich along the way. Oh, how I miss those days! Life was simple and full of piggyback rides and sweets. I've never seen sandwiches like that in the U.S. When we came to U.S., my grandma started making me steamed egg custards when she cooked rice and I fell in love it that too. I got a steamer a couple weeks ago and I've been hooked on steamed egg custards ever since (Walmart's Mainstay 8 qt multi-purpose pot with a large and small steaming basket for $25, not available online). Just subtly sweet and so smooth. It's also so simple to make! Here's how...

Ingredients:

• 1.25 C of milk
• 3.5 tbs sugar (My family back in Vietnam uses a little bit of condensed milk instead, but I didn't have any around.)
• 2 eggs

Instructions:

• Heat the milk and sugar in a pot and stir constantly.
• Be sure that all the sugar has dissolved and remove from heat to cool.

• Once the milk has cooled, start boiling the water for the steamer.
• Break the eggs in a small bowl and beat well.
• Slowly pour the milk into the eggs and mix as you do so.

If you don't care about the presentation, start steaming per steps below.

I prefer my custard without the foam on top AND

without misc bits of egg that didn't mix well into milk (see in the image above)...

...so, I pour the egg/milk mixture back into the pot. Then, I pour it into the small bowl through a mesh strainer.

Steaming:

• Place the bowl into the steamer basket when the water is ready.
• Cover it with a plate and steam at medium heat for about 15 mins.
• The longer it cooks, the firmer and less smooth it gets.

I got distracted and steamed it for a couple minutes longer than I should have.

It was still pretty smooth, but just firmer than I prefer. Still loved it though!

Make Garlic Herb Croutons In Just Minutes

I've been guilty of pigging out and over snacking and just eating bad in general. One thing that I've been trying to eat more of recently is salad. I ended up running out of croutons last time and was too lazy to go to the store, so I decided to try and make my own. I was afraid that it wouldn't turn out right, because I didn't have bread that had been sitting out. I found that this isn't necessary at all. Here's how to make croutons in a pinch.

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of toast, cut into cubes
• 3 tbs butter, melted
• 1 tbs garlic
• 1 tbs Italian herbs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Instructions:

• Mix all the spices into the melt butter.
• Put the mixture and bread into a ziplock bag and shake well.
• Let the mixture sit aside for a couple of minutes, so the bread can absorb the flavor.

• Toast the bread on low heat until crispy. Alternatively, you could toast in the oven at 350 degrees for a couple of minutes. (I ended reheating in the oven since I ate it much later in the evening.)

I ended up eating a chicken salad with homemade Italian dressing, feta, and cranberries.

I also baked a portabello mushroom stuffed with sauteed Canjun sausage, onions, and peppers. Mmmmmm I heart mushrooms!

Seafood and Veggie Noodle Soup

Yesterday I made a really easy and healthy noodle soup with seafood and veggies. I was craving some sort of hot seafood noodle soup, so I just threw together somethings that I thought I might like. It turned out pretty yummy, so I thought I'd share with it you. Prep time was minimal and it only took about 5 minutes to cook. I made about 3 servings with my ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 6 C of chicken broth
• 1/2 C of imitation or real crab meat (cooked)
• 1/2 lb of shrimp (uncooked)
• 3-4 big slices of ginger
• 1/2 C snow peas
• 1/2 C carrots
• 1/2 bunch of chopped scallions
• 2-3 bunches of chinese broccoli, leaves seperated (I also chopped up the stems)
• 3-4 servings of noodles of your choice (yellow or vermicelli)
• 1 tsp black pepper
• soy sauce to taste

*The picture depicts twice the amount of scallions than what I listed. I get very scallion happy.

Instructions:

• Start cooking your noodles per instructions on the package. At the same time, heat the chicken broth until it comes to a boil.
• When the noodles are done, put aside to drain. When the chicken broth reaches a boil, add the shrimp and let cook until the shrimp is almost done (~2 mins, depends on size of the shrimp).
• Add the crab, carrots, and snow peas. Cook for 2 mins and remove from the heat.
• Remove the ginger from the soup and add the scallions, chinese broccoli, and soy sauce to taste. Let sit for 1-2 minutes, then serve with the noodles.