Monthly Archives: April 2014

Easter eggs… cabinorganic style

19 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by in Chinese, cook, Easter

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soy sauce eggsOur son, Chayton, is just going on nine months and so I didn’t feel the need to decorate fancy eggs or prepare many Easter treats. In fact, at his play group Easter party last Tuesday, Chayton was more interested in the paper bag holding his treats than the actual treats (and yes, he ate a few pieces of the bag!) However, I still needed something special for us to enjoy Easter morning. After all, it is Chayton’s first Easter. So I decided to make soy sauce eggs.

These are simple to make and taste wonderful. Usually, you make the soy sauce chicken marinade and cook your chicken in it first. Then you throw in a few hard boiled eggs (shelled) to soak up the sauce. At that point the sauce is diluted with juices from the chicken and so you have to marinate the eggs for a few hours to get dark, salty eggs. I found that I didn’t have to soak these eggs very long at all before the eggs got real dark- almost chocolate brown. To get solid dark eggs, peel all of the shell. For the marble look, crack the shell all over and soak them in the marinade with the shell still on. Marinate for half an hour or until your desired color. If you’ve cooked chicken in the marinade first, marinate for an hour or two.

soy sauce eggs

Soy Sauce Chicken & Eggs

I recommend using one-quarter of this marinade if you’re only making soy sauce eggs.

4 cups mushroom soy sauce

3 cups water

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup sugar

5 thin slices fresh ginger

4 star anise

3-pound whole broiler-fryer chicken

spring onion

parsley

Heat soy sauce, water, wine, sugar, ginger root and star anise to boiling in Dutch oven. Add the chicken; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low.; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until done, turning the chicken and stirring the mixture 2 or 3 times.

Remove chicken from soy sauce mixture; let chicken stand for 20 minutes. Chop chicken with cleaver into 2 -1 inch pieces. Arrange pieces on serving platter in the shape of a chicken and garnish with spring onions and/or parsley.

Once sauce has cooled a bit, place hard boiled eggs (shelled) in the mixture and allow to marinade until desired intensity. Enjoy!

Resource:

Tlusty, L. (1981). Betty Crocker’s New Chinese Cookbook. New York,NY: Prentice Hall General Reference.

 

Lucy’s ‘twin brother’ in California

10 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by in Lucy

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Lucy and DelenaI received a few unexpected reader comments regarding Lucy back in late January. First, Vicky commented on how much Lucy reminded her of her own border collie, only that her coloring was different. Around the same time, Whitney in California wrote…

 I was searching the web for currants to plant in our California front yard when I came across your pictures of Lucy. She looks EXACTLY like our dog Austin who we adopted from a local rescue group. Austin – like Lucy – is a gorgeous silky brindle and whenever we take him on walks people ask what breed he is. We just say Big Hairy Dog because we have no idea his lineage. We were told Australian Shepherd and Chow – but we can’t believe there’s any Chow in him. We had him tested and nothing definitive came up. I’m writing to ask if you know Lucy’s makeup. Austin and Lucy look like they could be from the same litter!

We exchanged pictures and yes, Lucy and Austin look like they could be brother and sister! What makes this so surprising is that we both get constant comments on how beautiful our dogs are due to their unusual brindle coat. Whitney, her husband and Austin live in California but one never knows.  I’ve often heard it said that we all have a twin, or ‘doppelganger’ somewhere in the world. It appears that Lucy’s twin has found her! I’ll post the pics below. See if you can tell these two gorgeous dogs apart:

 AustinLucyAustinLucyAustinLucyAustinLucy

Whitney also has a blog called Burbette’s Feast and I am dying to ask her a few questions, such as:

Is your blog named after Babette’s Feast (my favorite movie of all time)? and

Do you keep bees? I’d love to hear more about it!

And of course, more posts on Austin, please!

black bean brownies

07 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by in cakes and brownies, cook, gluten-free, sweets, wheat-free

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black bean brownies

These are everything a brownie should be: moist, ‘fudgy’ and full of flavor! There is no flour in this recipe, which makes them both wheat-free and gluten-free and you can’t even taste the beans as they hide in among the chocolate chips. I’ve used both black beans and adzuki beans, which I soak over night and then cook up in a slow cooker here at home. My young friends gobble these up and I have to admit,  these don’t last long here at our home!

Black Bean Brownies

2 cups black beans or adzuki beans (canned or freshly cooked at home)

2 eggs

3 tablespoons canola oil

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup raw cane sugar (or natural sweetener of your choice)

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use 1 cup to make this extra ‘chocolate-y’)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Blend all ingredients, except the chocolate chips, together in a mixer or blender. Stir on the chocolate chips. Transfer to a greased 8 x 8 baking pan (I also line it with parchment paper). Bake for 30 minutes and allow brownies to cool before serving. Enjoy!

black bean brownies

potato and pea curry

04 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by in cook, curry, Indian

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potato and pea curry

A very simple and quick curry for every day. I served this on a bed of coconut rice and garnished it with caramelized onions.

Potato and Pea Curry

4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds

2 tablespoons ghee or canola oil

2 onions, sliced

2 closed garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons ginger, grated

1 teaspoons turmeric

salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup frozen or fresh peas

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

Heat the mustard seeds in a large dry pan until they start popping. Add the ghee (or oil), onions, garlic, ginger and cook, stirring, until soft. Add the turmeric, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin garam masala and potatoes. Stir until coated.

Add the water and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are just tender. Add the peas and stir; simmer, covered for 3-5 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked and the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the mint and serve hot or warm. Enjoy!

Resource:

Stephen, W. & al. (1996). The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook. NSW, Australia: Murdoch Books.

potato and pea curry