Mmmm Broccoli!

My mom taught me how to make broccoli tasty and not into a bland mushy brown thing (No wonder so many kids hate it!).
The broccoli we cook is simple and it's always get bright green and crunchy =D


First, wash and cut the broccoli, I had just the crowns because they were cheaper, but you can peel the stem as well and slice them up.


Next, add water and some salt into either a wok or a saucepan (fewer dishes to wash using the wok only) and bring to a boil.

I like to grind up some Ginger Infused Sea Salt that Donna gave us for Christmas (YAY fancy salt!)
but regular salt is good too

pour just a little bit of vegetable oil into the water, a few slices of smacked Ginger and then broccoli.


-Blanch the broccoli until desired tenderness and then pour into a colander,
-put the wok back on the burner add a little bit more oil, dump the broccoli back into the wok and fry them until they have just a tiny bit of brown on them and that's it!

My Fool-Proof Cantonese Recipe

This recipe is what I go to when I need to make something for dinner real quick. It's just meat and veggies cooked together.
The ingredients for the marinade rarely change and can be used for any cut of meat. This recipe for me requires very little thinking and everything I need is usually always in the kitchen.

Start with any cut of meat, I had frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and slice them up


(Everything is approximate, I don't measure for this recipe)
Marinade:
~Soy sauce - enough to cover the meat in a bowl
~Sesame Oil - just a little bit...probably half a teaspoon
~a dash of Cooking Wine
~2 cloves of Garlic (smacked with the side of a knife blade)
~2 slices of Ginger (smack this too)
*with chicken, I like to add about a teaspoon of powdered chicken stock
~ a teaspoon of  Cornstarch
mix well and let it sit (the longer the better)


Veggies:
Any kind of Chinese vegetable works, bok choy, nappa etc...
I had the giant bok choy in the fridge 


~Wash the veggies and cut them into reasonable sized pieces 
~have 2 more cloves of smacked garlic ready for when you start cooking


Cooking:

~Make a sauce thickener with a teaspoon of Cornstarch and Cold Water and add a little bit of Soy Sauce - Set aside


~Heat up a Wok 
~add Vegetable Oil, when it is hot, add the cloves of garlic and add salt to the oil
~let the garlic brown up a little bit (but not burnt) then add in the Vegetables
~cook the veggies until they're pretty much done and edible, add cold water to just cover them and mix them around until the water starts to boil down a little bit

~Move the veggies to a metal colander 


~Put the Wok back onto the burner and add a little bit more oil (you don't need to wash the wok off in between)
~Add the meat to the Wok and fry it until all the pieces are cooked

~ Add the veggies back in and fry them together (if there isn't much sauce in the Wok, add a little bit more cold water and wait for it to boil again)
~ Pour in the liquid cornstarch and stir it around until it begins to boil, and the dish is done
~take wok off stove, serve over rice

This cake is Bananas!

After a weekend of Colin and I not being at home, we had 2 very ripe bananas just begging to be put into my baking!
So today I fired up the oven and started making some banana bread.


Have all ingredients at room temperature
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F
Grease a 6-cup loaf pan or line with parchment paper (I have no loaf pan, so I used a cake pan)

Whisk together thoroughly:

1 1/3 cups All-purpose Flour
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Baking Powder








In a large bowl, beat on high speed (or by hand) until lightened in colour and in texture, 2-3 mins:

5 1/3 tbs Unsalted Butter
2/3 cup Sugar














Beat in the flour mixture until blended and the consistency of brown sugar


Gradually beat in:
2 large Eggs, lightly beaten


Fold in until just combined:

1 cup Mashed very ripe bananas (about 2)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Walnuts or Pecans
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (optional)












Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 mins


Cool in the pan on a rack for 5-10 mins before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.

et voilà! With cream cheese icing on top =)

CARROTS!

This post is all about carrots!
I got these recipes from the Joy of Cooking book and they are amazing!

First recipe is for Carrot Muffins:

(makes 12 muffins)

position a rack in the center of the oven
preheat to 400 degrees

grease a 12-muffin pan or line with paper cups

Whisk together thoroughly:

1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Ground  Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

1/4 tsp Ground Allspice

Whisk together in a large bowl:

2 Large Eggs

3/4 cup Sugar

stir in and let stand for 10 mins:

1 1/2 cups Packed Finely Shredded Carrots

Stir in:

1/4 cup Orange Juice

5 tbs Warm Melted Unsalted Butter or Vegetable Oil

1/2 cup Coarsely Chopped Walnuts or Pecans

Add the flour mixture and fold just until the dry ingredients are moistened DO NOT OVERMIX; the batter should NOT be smooth.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups.

Bake for 15-18 mins (until a toothpick inserted in 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean)

let cool for 2-3 mins before removing from pan.

If not serving hot, let cool on a rack.

Next is the Carrot Cake recipe:

Have all ingredients at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

line a 13X9 inch pan or 2 9X2 inch round pans or 2 8X8 inch square pans with parchment paper

Whisk together in a large bowl:

1 1/3 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Ground Allspice

1/2 tsp Salt

Add and stir together will with a rubber spatula:

2/3 cup Vegetable  Oil

3 Large Eggs

Stir in:

1 1/2 cups Finely Grated peeled Carrots

1 cup Finely Chopped Walnuts

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly.

Bake for >> 25-30 mins in round or square pans OR 30-35 mins in a 13X9 inch pan<<

Until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

Let cool in the pan for 10 mins on a rack

Soooo I destroyed my cake and made it into a goopy raw mess....and I'm going to remake it and put Cream Cheese icing on it...but here's the picture of it anyway...

Pinchy Pasta

As an extra birthday present, Rizzo found "Lobster Time Pasta" and got it for me.

Although Colin made this dinner, I wanted to show the end results of the lobster shaped noodles

The pasta was OK but Colin's Bolognese sauce made it taste so much better! Thanks for the pasta Rizzo! Eating mini Mr. Pinchy's is fun hahaha

Saturday Night aka. Bee Cooks Dinner Night

Who doesn't love a plate of ribs and potato wedges???

My ribs are super simple. I basically boil them for about an hour, if it's super cheap meat, maybe 2 hours until they're tender.
After, I put 'Korean BBQ Sauce" on them and bake them at 450 degrees until they're browned.

For the potatoes, I had a hankering for wedges after walking into Loblaws earlier that day and smelling their hot and ready foods =p.

After much searching, I came across an interesting Dijon Oregano Roasted Potato recipe thanks to Superspark

And here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
2 tbs Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbs (1/4 stick or 1/2 ounce) Butter, melted
2 tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
1 tsp Finely Grated Lemon Peel
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tbs Dried Oregano
1 tsp Coarse Salt
3 pounds 1- to 1 1/2-inch-diameter mixed unpeeled red-skinned and white-skinned potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch-wide wedges
1. Position 1 rack in top third of oven and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Spray 2 large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray (Or line with greased Aluminum foil)

2. Whisk mustard, olive oil, butter, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, lemon peel, and salt in large bowl to blend. Add potatoes; sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper and toss to coat.
3. Divide potatoes between prepared baking sheets, leaving any excess mustard mixture behind in bowl. Spread potatoes in single layer. Roast potatoes 20 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and roast until potatoes are crusty outside and tender inside, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes longer.
4. Transfer potatoes to serving bowl and ... NOM NOM NOM!

Mother's Day Baking Madness

On Mother's Day, Colin and I went up to visit my mom and I started baking like crazy!
I went back to the basics and made her favorite 'Chocolate Chocolate Chip" Betty Crocker cake (Yes, the cake mix in a box =p) and it was so moist and delicious!

After, I started on a new recipe I found for Chewy Chocolate White Chocolate Chip cookies. I had a craving for these and was reminded of the gooey cookies we had at our high school cafeteria.
Making the cookies was quite a feat due to the lack of equipment available to me! I ended up breaking one of our many wooden spoons in half when I was mixing the dry ingredients in with the wet ones...oops! But with help from the rubber spatula, I got the batter mixed!!!
So here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease baking sheet or line with parchment paper

Whisk together:
1 3/4 cup Flour
1 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
2 tsps Baking Soda

Cream together until light and fluffy:
1 cup Butter
1 cup White Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar

-2 Eggs (add in one at a time)
Add:
1/4 tsp Salt
1tsp Vanilla

Add the dry ingredients to the wet a little at a time
fold in white chocolate chips
Bake 8-10 mins
let cool on baking sheet for 5 mins, then move to wire rack to cool completely

Pilot

Hi! I'm Bee and I love food.

I love to find new restaurants and try new foods that are reasonably priced.

Baking is what I love to do and have had great success when baking from scratch from what little equipment I own =p

This blog is basically to show what tasty foods I have concocted and share these awesome recipes!

The first recipe is from my boyfriend's grandmother's recipe for Ginger Snaps

2/3 cup Oil

1 cup Sugar

1 large Egg

1/4 cup Molasses

2 cups Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tsps Baking Soda

2 tsps Cinnamon

2 tsps Grated or Zested Ginger (basically don't add the ginger fibers)

1 1/2 tsp assorted spices (all spice, nutmeg etc.)

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Beat oil, sugar, beaten egg and molasses until creamy

2. In separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients

3. Gradually add flour mixture to the wet ingredients

4. Roll into balls

5. Bake for 15 mins*

*cooking times can vary depending on what type of cookie you want*

I made 4 batches of cookies the first went in for 15 mins and the oven door was opened twice, I actually thought this batch was the best. They were a little crunchy on the outside but still soft in the middle.

The second and third went in for 15 mins without the door opening and Colin thought these were the best: Crunchy and a tiny bit soft in the middle.

My last batch went in for 11 mins and were mostly soft but still a little crunchy.

So it's up to you how long you want them in the oven for, more than 15 mins is not good, they burn =p