what for dinner - brandenbears 

cooking with 'Easy Recipe' from Christine Ho,  one of the best cookbook, food blog about cantonese, (hong kong) style cooking and much more. Her recipes are all tested by her and many of her fans.

Her cookbook came out around mid June 2012 in hong kong and already on it 7th printing... 

I have order this book for myself and waited for almost 45 days to get this book on hand. 

now my daughter already want one for her (she is just 7 1/2 years old)...

anyway, while she was flipping this cookbook, one by one, she asked if i can cook this and that for her. 

so i decided to try to cook through this lovely cookbook...well that's mean we will have quite some chinese foods for a while...

so for a harmony.... i have discovered another excellent cookbook....Bernard Loiseau : Cuisine en famille,  one of the greatest chef in france, unfortunately he has left us for some reason, but his love of cooking last.......

so we will be eating 2 extremely chinese cooking and french cuisine.... 

so i will try to cook toward these 2 books

! remember!

 we all 3 are supposed on diet, or at least to say to lose some weight or shouldn't gain anymore !

as i am used to cook with less/no oil in the last 2 years, 

and actually the recipes in this 2 cookbooks are healthy or lighter version, so i hope we can manage to eat delightful, healthy and enhance our cooking experience. 

                                                         sweet & sour spare ribs (Number spare ribs)

                                                          recipe from Christine Ho

Tea smoked game chicken 

recipe from Christine Ho 

one said never fall into sleep when you have a zucchini plant in your garden, may be a little bit exaggerated,  while it is true our  zucchini are keep growing when  we were on vacation.....

les bleues, european lobster that my husband 'caught' in Normandy to conclude our summer vacation, how to cook them.. i did it my way.........

When talking about Jam making, everyone said they have their own recipe and their recipe is the best

for now i can say i have mine.


1.2 kg gardens picked strawberry
1 kg sugar
zest of 1 lemon non-treated
juice of 1/2 lemon
vanille bean 1/2

traditional, people always put 1:1 ratio of fruit and sugar, i am trying to reduce it a bit, and come up to this ratio.
i always keep the pod of the vanilla bean and keep them in the sugar container, by this actually perfumer  the sugar, and always can use it when poaching fruit, pastry cream or vanilla sauce. and always handy to put it in cooking jam.
yet, the use of the bean is not finish yet, dry them in the oven in very low heat, ground them and put in the cookies or cakes.

Didn't write for awhile, too much going on...

Baking is still something to do when i have stress, not only have something sweet to eat afterward, but the process, the result sure can light up my life, my hubby's life, my girl's life a bit...

here are few to share with you :

                                      

2012 rhubarb tartlet

Albert's tart dough :

250gr sugar

500gr flour

250 butter (cold, cut in cube)

2-3 eggs

Albert tart custard (pie filling) :

2 eggs

50gr sugar

200ml cream (or 100 ml milk + 200ml cream)
gains from half of a vanilla bean 

make 13-14 tartlet

                                                                       
                                         

Banana, chocolate and walnut cookies

170gr butter (room temperature)

100gr granulated sugar

100gr brown sugar 

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extrait 

2 ripe banana (meshed)

128 gr flour

64gr wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 baking soda 

1/2 tsp baking powder

85 gr rolled oaks (son d'avoine)

125 gr dark chocolate chip

70 gr walnut (coarsely chopped)

Brandenbears's paella 

Macaron, my daughter love it! that drove me to learn how to make it. there are many many recipes on the internet, cookbooks out there. italian meringue or not? i would say if make a small quantity recipe like 4 egg white, it is simple not worth or not necessary at all.  after trying out different recipe, i have came down my own.

simple ingredients :

125 gr Ground Almond ---------    }
225 gr Icing sugar -----------------   }      T.P.T.



4 Eggs white  (120 gr)
50 gr Sugar

Lately i am interesting to make waffle for snack time, i got a recipe from Christine's cooking page for a yummy hong kong's style waffle (hk : checker cake). and i have also tried a recipe from a french pastry web-site. they both come out great. the hong kong's style one have more character while the french is more airy.

hong kong's style :

2 eggs
20 gr sugar
50 gr butter (melted)
125 ml concentrated milk
120gr flour
4 gr baking powder
vanilla
water or milk (as needed)


french recipe :

3 eggs
150 gr sugar
150 ml milk
125 gr butter (melted)
250 gr flour
1 bag of baking powder (10-11 gr)


beat the eggs a bit
mix the wet ingredients
co-operate the dry ingredients
rest the mix for 5-10 minutes before make the waffle in the waffle maker,
serve with icing sugar or maple syrup like my angel will do

carottes soup, roasted chicken salad

04.02.2012 lunch

8 bio carottes,
2 pieces of celery branch,
half onion.
1 clove of garlic,
1 cube of vegetable bouillon light,
1 lt of mineral water,
salt, pepper, rounded cumin
coriander or basil



                                           faux-filet beef and vegetables on skewer
                                           fine green bean with asian vinaigrette
                                                                  04.02.2012 dinner

faux filet beed 150 gr
1 tablespoon of 0% plain yoghourt,
pinch of curry powder,
1/2 teaspoon of korean chili paste,
1 clove of garlic,
1/2 tsp of light soy sauce,
zucchini 200 gr

fine 'kenya' green bean 100 gr
1/2 clove of garlic,
1 tsp of chopped shallot,
soy sauce, lemon juice
1 tsp of japanese vinegar