Recipe: Carrot Ginger Slaw

Carrot Ginger Slaw - Thea Starr

This simple to make slaw makes you want to eat the entire batch.
Sweet tangy & simple. I'm making some for Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Things you'll need:

3 cups of thick shredded carrots (I wasn't counting how many carrots I used 6-7 maybe? It doesn't need to be exact.)
Handful of raisins (about 1/3 cup)
Handful of sweetened dried cranberries (about 1/3 cup)
3 tablespoons of matchstick cut ginger (fresh & finely cut) *You can also used grated ginger or even fine chopped pickled ginger (sushi ginger) but I'd avoid powdered ginger on this one.*
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar)
3 tablespoons of apple juice
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

The most work you'll need to do is the shredding of the carrots.
Once that is done, just toss the remainder of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Allow the slaw to "marinate" for a 15-20 minutes so the sweetness of the sweetened cranberries & raisins to come out. If you're impatient or have a sweet tooth you can add a few pinches of sugar.

Silly me, I put the slaw in a storage container before serving it but I didn't need to because there wasn't any leftovers.

Really super simple and a great way to finish off any extra carrots you might have.

Enjoy!!!

Posted 22nd November 2011 by Thea Starr

Recipe: Bruschetta

Bruchetta is simply wonderful.
It can be a variety of things- tomatoes, peppers, beans, meats & cheeses.
This is just my simple and addictively delicious version. I can eat it all day long and still want more the next day.

Things you'll need:

fresh bread (like a baguette etc)

garlic 6-8 cloves

olive oil

ripe tomatoes cut into medium chunks

red, orange & yellow bell peppers cut into medium chunks

fresh basil 

small onion

salt & pepper

balsamic vinegar

First you'll want to grill your bread. I actually just lightly oiled my bread tossed in some chopped garlic and fried my bread.

In the same pan add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and as much garlic as you can handle.
Add your onions, tomatoes & peppers.

Keep things on a medium heat. Your tomatoes and peppers will start to cook down and create a wonderful "sauce" naturally for you. 

Add a sprinkle of salt & pepper.

(Fresh basil from my garden.)

Roughly cut your basil.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (or more if you like) to your mixture and work it in.

Once the vinegar is absorbed in you can plate it up.

But wait! There's more!!!

I know it looks delicious enough as it is, and you are more than welcome to stop here. But let me sway you this way:

Mmm hmm....

Uh huhhh...

Yummmmmmm! 

I'll be making this for the 4th of July & the following week too for a family gathering its a perfect appetizer for a large bunch.

Enjoy!

xo-Thea

Posted 29th June 2010 by Thea Starr

Recipe - Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancakes)

Okonomiyaki - The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked". -Wikipedia translation. 

It actually translates into hella yummy.

Its a great hearty snack that can include a variety of ingredients.  I've made them with shrimp and kimchee before. But the recipe that I am sharing today is my favorite combination.

Things you'll need:

1/2 head of green cabbage finely shredded

3 green onions chopped

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of water

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of Furiake

4-6 pieces of bacon (cut into 2 inch pieces)

vegetable oil for pan

Toppings:

Kewpie mayonaise

Tonkatsu Sauce (I choose this over the okonomiyaki sauce -see why below)

Shred your cabbage.

Chop your green onions. I cut them "fancy style" on the diagonal.

Prep your batter base. Eggs, flour & water. - Mix them well.

Add about 1 tablespoon of Furiake. (I've included an Amazon link but if you are local or have access to an Asian grocer you can easily find this there. I purchased this atUwajimaya locally.)

Add the cabbage & onions to the batter. Coat your cabbage well.

Cut your bacon into 2 inch pieces.

Prep your pan (I used my trusty cast iron skillet that I love dearly) set onto medium-high heat add a splash of oil.

When the pan is hot scoop in a heaping spoonful of the mixture into the pan.

Place 2-3 pieces of bacon on top of your "heaps".

Flip them over when the batter starts to brown. It takes about 3 minutes or so to cook on each side - depending on your pan. 

Set the cooked pancake on top of a few paper towels for a minute to soak up extra oils.

Serve warm.

Top with Tonkatsu Sauce or Okonomiyaki Sauce (the tonkatsu sauce is less expensive and not as sweet as the okonomiyaki sauce) & Kewpie Mayonaise.

Have fun making these & experimenting with things you can add.

Enjoy!

xo-Thea

Originally posted on August 24, 2010

DIY Mint Extract

DIY Mint Extract

Finally found a use for all my extra mint. DIY mint extract: Bunch of mint, smash it, add vodka, let it chill out for a month, strain, use.  Awesome! I always have way more mint than I can use. Every year when the pineapples or mangos make an appearance in the stores I snatch them up and make my pineapple or mango salsa which has a lot of mint too. 


I have a great picnic rice salad recipe to post. I've been a little swamped with work recently. Story of our lives right? 


I hope this is inspires you to make your own mint extract for holiday cookies or grown up drinks. 
Happy Weekend!


Thea

Recipe - Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough Pancakes Recipe

Can you hear the angelic choir singing "Ahhhhhh!" That epic plate of pancakes is what I made for my kids on the first sleeping in morning of their spring break. (*We're staycationing so I had to make it special.*)

My girls on their first staycation morning. My blonde one doesn't wear glasses - she's my only one that doesn't.

So this recipe will be unique to our blog since you will need an ingredient that you will have to make or attain prior to making this. A little bit more effort than normal.

Sourdough starter is the new black of the baking world. Seems like everyone is making their own.  There seems to be endless methods to making them too. Google "How to make a sourdough starter" and it will land you on a variety of how to's on the topic. Everything from a science projectesque to the uber pretentious methods. Admittedly this is a bit of a science project, but I will give you a simple starter recipe.

Sourdough Starter Recipe:

3 cups of flour (I'd skip the whole wheat flour on this go around)
2 teaspoons of dry active yeast
4 cups of warm water (115 degrees)
4 teaspoons of sugar
A nonmetal bowl

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
Slowly incorporate the flour and sugar while stirring well or using an electric mixer.
Cover loosely and let it stand for about a week or until its bubbly & "sour" smelling.

Voila! - you have sourdough starter. Store in a glass container in the fridge until you are ready to use it. You'll need to feed it every few days to keep it alive.  Simply add and mix in a tablespoon each of warm water and flour.
I let my starter come to room temperature before I do this and mix back in any liquid that separates from the starter.

Okay now onto those pancakes!

Things you'll need:

2 cups of Sourdough Starter (room temperature)

½ cup flour


1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt


¼ cup canola oil

1 egg


1 teaspoon vanilla


*Add a splash of soy milk or warm water to thin if necessary.*

Simply mix everything together in a large bowl.

Heat your pan and grease if necessary.

Serve with maple syrup or fruit preserves - like shown below:

Sourdough Pancakes with Blueberry Preserves

I promise that big pile of blueberry preserves was awesome!

See:

To replenish your starter all you need to do is add back what you used.  For instance if you used 2 cups of starter add 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of warm (115 degrees) water. Replenish your starter at room temperature and let it set out for a couple hours after you do, then you can put it in the refrigerator. 

Also remember not to use all of your starter at once. You need to save about a cup to keep the starter going. 

Share it with your friends make a bunch of waffles with this recipe and freeze them for the kids for weekdays. Just add a smidgen more canola oil if you make waffles. You could always just make bread with your starter too. 

Give it a go friends! 

Thea

Recipes in the Making

As noted on our recipe page, we actually test our recipes.
Sometimes it takes time.

Tester recipe - Blue Cheese Potato Salad

A lot of the times we grow our own ingredients.

Seed Potatoes

We're so hardcore.

Most of the time it's just trial and error. 

Sweet Tea for kombucha

Don't disturb the kombucha!

Just wanted to share the love & effort we put into creating really good recipes to share. :)

Thea

Recipe - Fast Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)

It has been a while since we've posted a recipe here. Honestly, I haven't created any new dishes as of late. Lots of kid activities have been happening on the home front. So I go into survival mode of cooking things I know how to whip up at times like this. This is the most popular recipe I've shared on my personal blog. It's also one of my family's favorites.
--

Originally posted on MAY 04, 2010

Fast Pho Recipe

I am a huge (mega HUGE) fan of Pho.  

It is an uber tasty Vietnamese noodle soup dish.  My friend Jackie introduced me to Pho about 10 years ago on one of our lunch excursions. The tiny bistro was in the Seattle International District - we only worked a couple blocks away from there. I remember that the bistro from the outside smelled of coriander and other wonderful smells. I'm a total dork and I remember every detail of places I've eaten that I ate something wonderful at...anywho-

Traditionally the broth for Pho takes hours to make. Beef or Chicken bones are simmered with whole onions and other spices to achieve that rich flavorful soup base.

I wanted to create a faster version of this soup for me and this is what I came up with.

~Pho Bo~ (Beef)

Things you'll need:

Fresh ginger root - 1 inch chunk peeled

1 32oz carton of beef broth (Chicken or Veggie broth could also be used instead)
4 cups of water
1 large yellow onion finely sliced
3-4 tablespoons of Chinese Five Spice Blend
1 bay leaf
1 small bundle of fresh cilantro tied together
3 tablespoons of Fish Sauce (I use Filipino Fish Sauce but Thai Fish Sauce is readily available in regular grocery stores.)
1 lb of beef finely sliced (chicken can be used instead for Pho Ga)
Lime juice
Salt & pepper to taste
1 package of Rice noodles (Bahn Pho)

Toppings:
Fresh cilantro (chopped)
Sliced radishes
Lime wedges
Mung bean sprouts
Sriracha Sauce aka "Rooster Sauce"
Red onion finely sliced (I actually used chopped green onions because I like them better)


What to do:

In a large pot warm up your sliced onions. Just get them "sweating".

Then add your water, broth, ginger root, bay leaf, cilantro bundle and fish sauce. Cover & simmer for at least 15 minutes on medium heat.

Fresh ginger root.  You'll need to peel it for this recipe.

Simmering ^_^

Two different styles of fish sauce- Filipino style on the left. Thai style on the right.

After about 15 minutes add your Chinese Five Spice blend to the broth and a healthy squeeze of lime juice. Give it a good mixing and do a taste test. If its on the bland side add a bit of salt and pepper to it or add a bit more Five Spice if you like the taste. (I do!) Turn your heat down to medium low and cover and simmer again for about 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile- you can prep your toppings:

I always soak my bean sprouts in very cold water. (Mung Bean Sprouts are the best!) Soaking them in the cold water makes them crunchy. My kids like to snack on them plain :)

Slice your radishes and onions. Wedge your lime (but its okay to use presqueezed lime juice too)

Back to the soup:

This recipe was originally posted on May 24th, 2010 - please disregard the date on the packaging above.

My Asian grocery store has thinly sliced meats readily available so I totally cheat on this step. Maybe you can too? Lots of grocery stores offer thinly sliced meats for stir fry. 

Add your meat to your broth and cover yet again for about 5 minutes.

Prepare your noodles by washing them in cold water. 

Add your washed noodles to the soup 5 minutes after you add your meat.

Give things a good stir and cover one last time and cook till the noodles are soft. (About 5-10 minutes - I didn't time this step very well- sorry!) 

Your toppings!

Don't forget the hot sauce- c'mon be brave.

After the noodles and meat are cooked its time to eat! Be careful not serve your family or yourself that bay leaf and bundle of cilantro.

~Pho Ga (Chicken)~

Enjoy!

xo-Thea