Weekend Brunch Idea: Pancakes w/ Blueberry Sauce

See earlier post for pancake recipe: http://moussiekitchen.blogspot.ca/2013/02/puffy-pancake.html

Custom Frozen Berry Sauce
Ingredient:

-Frozen Berries
-Icing Sugar

How-to:
1) In a small sauce pan, add desired amount of frozen berries and turn on medium heat
2) Cook the berries until there's enough liquid to make the sauce
3) Thicken the sauce with icing sugar by adding 1 tsp at a time till the sauce appear to be slightly thickened (the sauce will become thicker when cooled)
4) Pour the gooey deliciousness onto your pancakes or waffles~Enjoy

Lazy FRiDaY Brunch: Curry Omelette

A tasty brunch to kick start a sunny weekend! Love the exotic curry flavor combined with the tasty freshness of the vegetables. 

Ingredients (make 1 omelette):

• 1 Egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Curry Sauce (I used leftover curry sauce from yesterday), OR 1/4 tbsp curry powder
• 1/3 Cup Thinly Chopped Fresh Vegetables (I used zucchini and celery) 
• Salt (Optional)

How to:

• Whisk egg till slightly foamy
• Add sugar and whisk, whisk and whisk till you get lots of foams (this will help to make the omelette  tender and fluffy)
• Stir in curry and mix well (no need to whisk too much at this point, as long as it's evenly mixed into the egg)
• Use med heat, add egg mixture into a non-stick pan. Do not stir
• Top vegetables on the the cooking egg
• Tilt the pan occasionally to evenly cook the egg
• When the top of the omelette is cooked (no liquid), add salt to taste if desired, and fold the omelette in half 
• Decorate and serve :)

*Sweet Valentine’s Treat* Coconut Marshmallow Fudge

Ingredients (Yield: 12 bite-size pieces)

1 cup Mini Marshmallows

1 cup Desiccated Coconut, Unsweetened

3 tbsp Milk

1 tbsp Butter, or Soft Margarine

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

¼ tsp Cocoa Powder

    Red Food Coloring

3 tbsp Sugar (Optional)

How To

     1.      Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray.

    2.      Heat milk in a small sauce pan on med-low heat till warm (add sugar at this point if preferred). Stir in marshmallows. Whisk constantly to avoid sticking to the bottom.

    3.      When all the marshmallows are melted, add the desiccated coconut and vanilla extract. Turn off the heat. Whisk till well blended.

    4.      Divide the mixture into two equal parts and tint half with cocoa powder and the other half with red food coloring. Make sure to add a drop at a time to reach the desired shade. I used about 2 drops of my gel food color to produce the color in the pictures. Gel food colors tend to give more vibrant colors than liquid food colors. Paste food colors are give the most intense colors and should be use with caution.

    5.      Pack the colored mixtures into the loaf pan. Layer one color at a time.

    6.      Be creative and decorate as you wish! (heart sprinkles would be cute)

    7.      Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set.

8. Remove from the pan. Cut into bite-size pieces with your favorite cutter.

9.    Pack into cute treat bags/gift boxes for your sweetheart~

This “fudge” recipe is quick and simple. If you skip the sugar, these are not too sweet. Great for health-conscious sweethearts. I’m sure Valentine’s treats need not to be too sweet because your thoughtful hearts are the sweetest gift after all. Have a wonderful Valentine's~xoxo

*Baked* Crispy Chicken Drumsticks

Ingredients:

5 Chicken drumsticks, Skin-on, Bone-in (the mixture can easily make double my test batch)

1 cup flour, All-Purpose or Whole Wheat

1 tbsp Montreal Steak Spice 

1 tsp Chilli Powder

1tsp Onion Powder

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Salt

½ tsp Pepper

1 can (approx 2 cups) Coconut Milk, Butter Milk or Whole Milk

2 tbsp Butter, or Margarine (for baking the chicken)

1 tsp Butter, or Margarine (for dipping)

1 tbsp Sugar (for dipping)

How-To:

    1.  Soak chicken in coconut milk (salted with ½ tsp salt) for about 15min.

    2.  Mix all spices with 1 cup of whole wheat flour.

        3. Preheat oven to 400F (200C)

    4.  Line the baking sheet, covering all the depth and add 2 tbsp butter (mine has basil in it J) and melt it in the  preheating oven.

    5. Take chicken out of coconut milk and coat evenly with the flour/spice mixture. Do not discard the milk.

   6.    Place chicken 5 cm apart onto the baking sheet.

   7.   Bake each side for about 15-20min.

8. Coconut Dipping: Heat coconut milk (left from soaking the chicken) to a boil, reduce heat to low, thicken with the left-over flour/spice mixture (adding approx. 1tsp at a time), sugar and  butter. Make sure to whisk, whisk, and whisk to prevent the sauce sticking to the bottom of the pan.

9. Make it look pretty and yummy. Enjoy~

The chicken has a wonderful combination of flavors. The sweet and spicy coconut sauce reduce the heat and feels refreshing for the taste buds. I think it can be even healthier with the chicken skin removed. Boneless chicken breasts would be ideal. Next time I want to play with the texture by substituting whole-wheat flour with panko~

Rice Rolls with Homemade Peanut Sauce

     This recipe is so addictive but healthy and nutritious at the same time. It will give you an energy boost because of the iron and protein you are getting. No guilt to indulge.

      1. Dice the vegetables of your choice into equal size pieces

What are these? The magic to create tasty and nutritious peanut sauce. From left to right:
Oyster Sauce, Sesame Paste, Honey and Creamy PB

2.   Add 2 tbsp of creamy peanut butter, 1 tbsp of  oyster sauce, 1/2 tbsp of sesame paste, and about 1 tsp of honey into a measuring cup, whisk together and dilute with water till the sauce reach about 1 cup volume

    3. Preheat 2 tbsp olive oil in the pan and cook the rice rolls on med heat for about 3-5 min and pour in the sauce, cover and simmer on low heat (my stove setting between 2-3) for about 10 min

  4. Mix in the vegetables and cook for another 5 min till all the sauce is absorbed and vegetables become tender

  5. Decorate as you wish and enjoy~

Quick and Healthy Yam Dessert

Craving for sweets? These cute yam bears are perfect for a healthy snack, light dessert or lunch boxes~

Ingredients (yield about 5 bite-size bears):

1 Medium purple yam (or sweet potato)

1 tbsp Butter (or soft margarine spread)

1 tsp Honey (optional)

How-to:

1.      Clean and skin your yam or sweet potato, cut into equal size pieces, steam for about 15-20min till thoroughly cooked (when you can poke through the largest chunk easily).

2.      While hot, add 1 tbsp of butter or soft margarine spread, mash all the pieces till they become a creamy paste consistency. You can add some honey at this point if you prefer sweeter bears. Honey will make the paste stickier so they hold shape better.

3.      Fun Part. Shape the paste with any moulding tool you have. I made them into bears, but they can might as well be bunnies or hearts or anything you want them to be J

4.      There you have it! Cute desserts that might be too cute to eat~

Puffy Pancake

Ingredients (Yield 4 med pancakes):

1 cup  Flour, Whole Wheat or All-Purpose
11/2 tsp Baking Powder (use slightly less if use all-purpose flour)
1 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 egg
1/2 cup Milk
2 tbsp Butter or Soft Margarine

How-To:

• Shift together dry ingredients
• Whisk in egg and milk mixture (mix till all chunks disappear, do no over mix)
• Melt 1 tbsp of butter and swirl to coat the pan evenly
• Portion about 1/4 of the batter at a time
• Cook each side on med-low heat (my stove setting at "3-4") for about 4 min till each side turns golden-brown