Potato leek soup

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As it's getting chilly. Naturally, we cook stew and soup more often these days. This potato and leek soup has been my family's favorite for a long time. Especially my mom LOVES it with some broccoli florets on top as it makes her feel like she's eating healthier. Haha Leek gives such nice flavor to the dish, yet it's mild. And I like the texture of sauted leek with the smooth soup, that's why I save some for garnish. 

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It makes good 3 portions for adults, so I had a little leftover in the fridge. The next day, I was looking for some snack as I was suddenly starving and little bit of chilled potato leek soup just hit the spot. People serve chilled potato leek soup shooter as appetizer anyway. My tot is a huge fan of variety of soups, I served this creamy soup without heavy cream and chicken wings for lunch and it was a huge hit. I cooked the wings with our newest addition to the kitchen, electric pressure cooker and I am absolutely loving it. Whatever I used to do with slow cooker for 6hours can be done in 30 minutes with the same result! Maybe next time I have a chance to post stew or something, I'll write more about it. By that time, I'll probably experiment more recipes with it. 

Potato leek soup

Printable recipe 

*Makes about 3 bowls
 
Ingredients :

2 leeks - white and light green part, chopped

3 medium sized potatoes, sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

3 cups chicken or veggie stock or water

1 cup low fat milk

Shredded cheddar for garnish(optional)

Directions :

1. In a pot, heat up the olive oil and saute chopped leek. When softened a little, set aside 2-3 Tbsp of leek for garnish.

2. Add potato, salt, pepper and stock/water and bring it to boil. Cook on medium heat with the lid open, until potato's fork tender. Using immersion blender(or regular blender) puree until smooth. 

3. Stir in milk and simmer for a few minutes. Scoop in the bowl and garnish with sauted leek and cheese if desired.

Butternut squash & Israeli couscous salad

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Yesterday was my tot's Halloween party at school. He went to school in Darth Vader costume with a mask as well. What a big difference a year makes. Last year, I had to beg and bribe him to wear his Mickey mouse costume. This year, I asked him not to wear the mask as he won't be comfortable in class but he insisted. 

When I went to pick him up, he was all hyped up with sugar. Teachers thought it's so funny how he's running around the classroom which he never does. According to them, he's usually mellow. That's a bit of a surprise. Well, he's not overly wild anyway, so I guess outside of home, it makes sense that he's a little more calm.

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When it was his nap time, it took him FOREVER to fall asleep. He just couldn't settle. I blamed all the sugar he took especially because he usually doesn't get to eat any candy at all. But he had a hard time today too. I still wanted to blame the sugar but I think I have to face the reality. Maybe he's getting ready to ditch the nap. If I'm right, this is absolutely tragic. His nap time is just too precious to me!! Well, anyway, I will face it when I really have to but until then, I am going to deny it. So this kid took a very short nap today, and even though he's still tired, of course he wanted to help cooking dinner. He basically made this dish. And..ate half of the butternut squash that was roasted while waiting for the couscous. This is a great side for roast chicken. I love the color combination of yellow, red and green too. It's totally fall. =)

Butternut squash & Israeli couscous salad

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

1 cup Israeli couscous(pearl couscous)

1 1/4 cup water or stock

3 tsp olive oil

1 shallot, diced

2 cups butternut squash, cubed

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 lemon

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Directions :

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Toss butternut squash, 1 tsp olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder together and spread in a single layer on a sheet pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tender.

2. In a skillet or a deep sauce pot, heat 1 tsp olive oil and saute the shallot. Add couscous to it and stir until lightly toasted. Add water and salt. Bring it to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. When done, uncover, fluff with a fork, and let it cool for a few minutes.

3. Add 1 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper, juice of 1/2 lemon, pine nuts, dried cranberries to couscous and toss it together. Add butternut squash and parsley and toss gently. Serve.

Spicy pork belly and baby octopus stirfry

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I have been craving Korean food a lot lately. And last weekend, Steve and I watched the movie 'Chef'. The scene where Jon Favreau cooks all kinds of food in the middle of the night, they briefly show baby octopus stirfry - Nakjibokkeum in Korean. Cravings and seeing that scene late at night, I have been suffering. Wanted this dish so so bad.

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I know both pork belly and baby octopus are not the most familiar ingredients to most people. In Korea though, they're very commonly used. If you cook them right, they're absolutely delicious. You just need to be careful not to overcook the octopus as it cooks very fast and when overdone, it's very tough. Above picture is how I like to eat this dish. Add a little rice and wrap it with lettuce. Or you can just serve it over rice and smear the spicy goodness on the warm rice. Oh boy..my mouth is watering again.

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It's not easy to find certain Korean ingredients such as gochujang and gochugaru at a local supermarket but I think I saw them at wholefoods. In NY, NJ area, there are plenty of Korean supermarkets that are easy to get to, and you can order online too. Or..if you're not sure about buying the whole ingredients when you don't cook Korean food so often, ask a Korean friend for a few spoonful of gochujang! Haha. This is great with ice cold beer and I also like it a lot with Riesling. Pair with what you like or what you can drink, even if it's just sparkling water to cool off the heat. Actually, beer or ice cold water doesn't really help cooling off your burning mouth. It just tastes nice with them. What really works is, milk, honey, sugar, etc. Alcohol does break down capsaicin(the chemical compound that makes chili spicy) but beer has too low of an alcohol content, it doesn't help and capsaicin is oil based, cold water won't help. ANYWAY...Don't be afraid though, it's not THAT spicy. If you can handle a little bit of sriracha, you can handle this!

Spicy pork belly and baby octopus stirfry

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

1/2 lbs pork belly, sliced thin and cut to bite-size

1/2 lbs baby octopus, cut into strips

1 small onion, sliced

1/2 medium carrots, sliced thin(optional)

1 cup cabbage, cut into small pieces(optional)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 scallion, chopped

sesame seeds, for garnish

Sauce

4 Tbsp Korean chili flakes(gochugaru)

2 Tbsp Korean red pepper paste(gochujang)

1 Tbsp cooking wine

2 Tbsp agave syrup

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions :

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a skillet. Saute the onions and vegetables if using- high heat. 

3. Add pork belly and cook for 3-4 minutes each side. 

4. Add baby octopus and sauce. Stirfry for 3-4 minutes and add half of chopped scallion.

5. Plate on a serving dish and garnish with rest of the chopped scallion and sesame seeds. 

Parmesan wonton crisps

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My tot goes nuts over anything crispy. When I make him toast, he loves the crust. When he eats pizza, he loves the crust. Roasted chicken, he likes the crispy skin. So this snack is definitely right up his alley. Super quick to make and so tasty. We almost always have wonton wrapper at home as I like to make homemade wonton and pot stickers. And of course a block of Parmesan is a staple in a half Italian household. I actually used Asiago one time and it was so good. 

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I usually end up eating more than I intend to every time I make these. I make a batch and snack on a few, place them in a container but it's basically pointless to even put them in the container, as my tot's little hands would go for it, Steve would walk by it for a "taste test" and of course I join him. By that time it's usually all gone. When you want a quick snack that is not fried, yet so tasty you can even serve as part of your appetizers for your guests, this will be a great fit.

Parmesan wonton crisp

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

1/2 pack wonton wrapper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped - or 2 Tbsp dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Directions :

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Cut the wonton wrappers(triangles or rectangles) and spread on a baking sheet in a single layer.

3. Brush the olive oil on each wonton wrappers and sprinkle salt, pepper, cheese and parsley. (Go easy on the salt as cheese is salty. I didn't use any salt and it was fine.)

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes and enjoy. 

*Recipe from Life as a strawberry

Telepan local, Tribeca, NYC

It was my good friend MB's birthday a few weeks ago. Actually, it has been a month! Can't believe how fast time flies. To celebrate her birthday, we got together for dinner. Double date. =)

This birthday girl is a true food expert. When I say expert, I mean, she is a trained chef who works at the network everybody knows and makes these shows happen! She chose where to have the birthday dinner, without knowing where she chose, I was already getting psyched! 

I had grilled octopus to start with which was fabulous. Nice and tender, dressed perfectly.

Birthday girl ordered radish and bacon over toast. She said it was very good. Now, here's the funny part.

What her husband ordered. Foie gras jammer. A single bite. The look on his face was priceless.  

 Salad my husband ordered. They're both way over 6' tall, big guys. Okay, salad portion is pretty much normal. One bite of foie gras was totally unexpected. We ended up ordering some more stuff.

Steak that melts in your mouth.

 

Grilled beef short rib with Kimchi-like fermented cabbage. A little on the dry side but very tasty. Cabbage had Kimchi flavor but not overwhelming like traditional Kimchi. Very well balanced.

 

Half roasted catskill chicken. Super tender, almost creamy.

We also ordered fries and red pepper spaetzle. Both very good. Super crispy fries, surprisingly plenty - given the portion of all the other menu items. 

Overall, GREAT choice MB! Food was lovely, though portion is a little on the smaller side. Service was pretty good. We loved urban barn like decor of the place and the casual atmosphere. Farm to table type of place is always our favorite. Unlike Telepan upper west side, this place is more like a great spot for casual and laid back hang out with good friends. Downtown restaurants always have this different feel to it.

Xteve rating : 4.0 *****

Website : Telepan local

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

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Columbus day didn't affect us as Steve still went to work and my tot's school wasn't off. But this week felt so short. Even then, I am so glad weekend is here! Steve was out of town for a few days this week and he's back today. These cookies are his all time favorite amongst my baked goods. Also family favorite too. It's the first thing I baked for my nephews when I first met them and ever since then, they always give me the same reaction when they see these. Very sweet. 

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These are not chewy type of cookies. If I feel like making it a little on the chewy side, I use brown sugar instead of regular sugar but I think crusty texture goes nicely with this flavor. Mixing half brown and half regular sugar works too. Cookies don't have to be exact like other type of baked goods, so change up depending on your taste. I've been baking these for a long time and over time, I changed here and there and settled with this ratio. 

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I would recommend regular sized chocolate chips rather than larger ones. I usually use them but this time this was all I had and I don't know if I like it. I mean of course, again, depending on your preference. I find that when I scoop the dough on the pan, big chunk of chocolate chip falls off and it annoyed me. Well, I am a person with a little patience. =P Either way, these are super easy and quick to bake. When I crave some freshly baked cookies, this is the go to recipe for me. 

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 large egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips

 

Directions :

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter. Add in sugar. When mixed in, add the egg and mix until well incorporated.

2. Add flour and baking soda to the butter mixture. 

3. Add chocolate chips and mix gently.

4. Scoop the cookies on a lined pan and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes and move them to a cooling rack. And enjoy!

 

Chia seed pudding

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My tot has always been a cheese and yogurt lover like any kids. At one point, I thought he's taking too much dairy in his diet as he eats yogurt and cheese many times a day. So I switched him to almond milk instead of cow's milk. Well, he still drinks 2% milk too but mainly he drinks almond milk. I love the nutty taste of it and the fact that it's non dairy, it makes me feel healthier. 

 

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Since we add chia seeds in our yogurt all the time, I knew chia seeds strangely become gelatinous but never thought to use it for pudding until I found this recipe months ago. I didn't find extra maple syrup was necessary for the strawberries as the ones we had was very sweet and tasty. And we usually only have unsweetened almond milk at home and with maple syrup added to it, it was the perfect sweetness for us. I personally don't like sweetened milk, so I didn't go out of my way to buy vanilla flavored almond milk. This is a great breakfast or a perfect after nap snack for my tot.

Chia seed pudding

Printable recipe 

Ingredients :

1 cup vanilla flavored almond milk(unsweetened was fine for me though)

1 cup plain low fat Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp maple syrup(plus 4 Tbsp for serving if you prefer)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 pint strawberries, halled and chopped

1/4 cup sliced almond, toasted

Directions :

1. In a medium bowl, whisk almond milk, yogurt, maple syrup, salt and vanilla extract.

2. Add in chia seeds and let it stand for 30 minutes. Place it in the fridge over night.

3. When ready to serve, toss strawberries with 4 Tbsp maple syrup and mix with almond slices. 

4. Spoon the pudding to serving cups and top with strawberry-almond mixture. 

*Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis