everydays Kitchen.

Honey ginger ale

2012-04-29T21:40:00.000-10:00

All natural ginger ale. If you try homemade ginger ale, you can't go back to commercial one and no need to pay $3 at farmers market!

Ingredients
Ginger, peeled and sliced
Honey
Sparkling water
Lemon

Directions

Put peeled and thinly sliced ginger and honey into a glass jar
Let it sit in the fridge for couple of hours until ginger releases its juice
Mix ginger syrup and sparkiling water in the glass, add lemon juice to your taste

You can mix this syrup with black tea or sprinkle over yogurt.

Tabouleh

2012-03-24T17:34:00.001-10:00

Tabouleh that Emre made last night was soo good, so I decided to post the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 bunches of fresh parsley (finely chopped)
Half bunches of fresh mint (finely chopped)
Half bunches of green onion (finely chopped)
3 small tomates (chopped)
1/2 cup Bulgur
1 Lemmon
2 table spoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Soak bulgur in hot water for 1 to 1.5 hours until soft, then squeeze out excess water
2. Combine lemmon juice and olive oil in a bowl
3. Add parsley, mint, green onion, tomates, and bulgur to the bowl and toss
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper

He also made Humus from scrach, so I made pita sandwich with Tabouleh, Humus, and chiken. That was also DEH-LI-CIOUS!!

Bulgur Wheat

2012-03-23T19:15:00.004-10:00

Emre will make Tabouleh tonight. Tabouleh is a salad made of bulgur, tomato, parsley and mint. This salad originates in Lebantin cuisine and widely eaten in Mediterranean area.

I didn't know about Bulgur wheat. It looks very much similar to couscous　but it is totally different, he claims.

Bulgur is a whole wheat that has been cleaned, parboiled, dried and ground. It is very nutritious; high in fiber, calcium, vitamin B, and folic acid, but LOW fat and LOW calories!! Whereas, couscous is a small form of pasta made from semolina.

In Turkey, best known as an ingredient in salad, bulgur is also a tasty ingredient in rice pilaf, bakery, soup, or stuffing.　

If he succeeds in making Tabouleh salad tonight, I will put the recipe tomorrow.

Cream cheese and white chocolate truffles

2012-03-18T20:09:00.007-10:00

I made cream cheese and white chocolate truffles for this year's valentine's day. Chocolate truffles? Sounds complicated? No, the recipe is super simple!!

Ingredients:
1box Philadelphia cream cheese
40g white chocolate (melted)
3 table spoon sugar
1 tea spoon rum
1 table spoon dried fruits　
1 table spoon walnuts (roughly chopped)
Unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:
1. Mix well all ingredients but cocoa.
2. Cover and refrigerate the mixture until firm, at least 2 hours.
3. Using a small spoon, roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and roll each ball into the coco powder. Ready to serve!!

Hawaii Symphony Orchestra

2012-03-07T20:06:00.004-10:00

We went to Hawaii Symphony Orchestra last night.

Hawaii Symphony Orchestra is used to be called Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, which filed for chapter 11 in October 2009 and silenced its 110 years history. But finally, they've come back after two years absence!

Last night's performance was exciting and touching. Since the old musicians stay and perform at Hawaii Symphony orchestra, they seemed to perform with happiness and joy that they made a magnificent return!

The conductor was Mr. Naoto Ooki, and they performed Weber Overture to “Oberon”, Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20, and Beethoven Symphony No. 5. The Symphony No.5 started with dramatic opening with its suspenseful pause, followed by the melodious second and mysterious third movement, and finished with the powerful and delighted finale, which, I think, represented the story of closing Honolulu Symphony and the birth of Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.

I believe, even though the size of the orchestra is small, the role that Hawaii Symphony plays in Hawaii is culturally important. I hope the orchestra will be well supported to create rich and matured culture here in Hawaii.

Hawaii Symphony Orchestra:
http://hawaiisymphonyorchestra.org/

Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Oven Method

2012-03-04T16:37:00.006-10:00

Ingredients:

Tomatoes (cherry or Roma)
salt to taste
4 or 5 cloves garlic (roasted and cut in quarter)
Fresh basil
Dried oregano
1 Table spoon vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 100-150 degrees F (50-65 degrees C).
Wash and halve tomatoes. Place the tomatoes on a non-stick cookie sheet, and sprinkle with salt to taste.
Bake until tomatoes take on a leathery texture. This could literally take all day; smaller pieces will require less oven time.
Mix with dried tomatoes, herbs, vinegar, and roasted garlic in a bowl
Put tomato mixture in a glass jar
Add extra virgin olive oil to cover and let it sit at room temperature for couple of hours

Old-Fashioned Pancakes

2012-03-01T18:29:00.007-10:00

I bought coconuts oil yesterday, so I wanna substitute it for butter. It's gonna be tropical pancakes!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cups soy milk (or milk)
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, shift well together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar
2. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth
3.Heat a lightly oiled flying pan over medium heat. Pour the batter and turn when bubbles on the pancake; cook until second side is golden brown

Valentine's day special: Roasted rack of lamb

2012-02-25T17:30:00.005-10:00

Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:
Rack of lamb (frenched)
Half Onion
Two tomatoes
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon cumin
half cup olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
1. Stir the olive oil and herbs and rub the herb mixture over each side of the rack. Set aside.
2. Puree tomatoes and onions in a blender.
3. Pour the marinade over the rack of lamb, cover and refrigerated it at least 3 hours and up to overnight.
4. Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and allow it to sit for 30 minutes. (A piece of meat at room temperature will roast more evenly.) Preheat the oven to 160C (325F).
5. Sprinkle both side of the lamb with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and sear the lamb for 1 to 2 minutes on all sides.
6. Roast the lamb with the marinade in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes.
7. Remove the lamb from the oven, place a foil tent loosely over it, let it rest for about 15 minutes, and serve it with the marinade.

Grilling, roasting, or broiling?

2012-02-24T13:38:00.005-10:00

What's the difference? I thought they were all the same. But my boyfriend claims that they are all different cooking methods.

He explains:

Grilling is to cook food over strong direct heat, like BBQ.
Roasting is to cook food, such as meat, in an oven.
Broiling is to cook food under strong direct heat for a short period of time.

Grilling and broiling involve cooking the food with direct and radiant heat while roasting mainly relies on convective heating. understand?? >(￣＾￣)<

I see, it's new to me! ...but why on earth does he know this!?

Şiş Kebap - Turkish Shish Kebab part II

2011-07-23T22:25:00.011-10:00

This recipe is from my Turkish boy friend, so this must be an authentic kebab!!

Ingredients for Marinade:
1/2 cup Milk
1/3 cup Olive Oil
2/3 cup Tomato Paste (or 1 cup Tomato sauce)
1/4 onion, minced or grated
1 clove garlic, minced or grated
Dried herb (Oregano, Rosemary, Basil)
Salt
Black pepper

Ingredients:
Beef or Lamb, cut into bite size cube
1 Green bell pepper, sliced
4 Roma Tomatoes, sliced

Preparation:

Mix well all the marinade ingredients
Sprinkle salt & pepper on the beef
Pour the marinade over the beef cubes and toss
Cover it with plastic wrap and allow to marinate overnight in the fridge

Wooden bamboo skewers must be soaked at least 30 minutes in water prior to use, this prevents the bamboo skewers from burning (I always forget to do this)

Place the marinated beef cubes on skewer, alternate with sliced tomatoes and green peppers

Place the beef and veggies over the grill and roast them until the beef becomes brown

Moisten the beef and veggies with marinade while roasting

*Kebabs can be grilled, broiled or baked

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My place doesn't have an outside BBQ space so I was planning to bake the kebab in the oven. However, one of my Thai friend who has a BBQ area invited me to her place. I was able to grill the kebab!

She also made Summer roll with homemade peanut sauce for appetizer

BBQ Chicken

and berry smoothie for desert!! (So cutieee)

On top of that, we enjoyed watching fire works from her place!! Thank you sooo much!! :))

Let's plan another BBQ!!

Şiş Kebap - Turkish Shish Kebab part I

2011-07-21T22:49:00.008-10:00

I am marinating beef to cook Sis Kebab. Will grill it (& update this post) tomorrow!

Good night and see you tomorrow!!

Homemade Condensed Milk

2011-07-19T14:16:00.006-10:00

Every time I try to buy canned condensed milk, I hesitate to buy it because I don't use a whole can at a time and the expiration date has passed before I know it. So, I have decided to stop buying it and make my own condensed milk.

Many recipes, however, call for butter and powdered milk. Noooo, no,no,no! I don't want to use butter because I want to be healthy as much as I can. Also, I usually don't have powdered milk in my kitchen. So I need a recipe without buying any special ingredients and finally I found this one!!

Ingredients:
1cup of Milk (Will reduce to 1/2 cup in the end)
1/5 cup of Sugar (1/5 of milk)

Preparation:

1. Add milk and sugar into a sauce pan
2. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally
3. It is okay if the milk boils, but do not let it stick to the bottom of the pan
4. Cook the mixture down until it reaches your desired consistency. If the milk is thick enough that you can draw a line in it and see the bottom of the pan, that is the signal to finish cooking. (With this amount, it took about 30 minutes)

5. Strain it into a jar and keep it in the fridge

That's it! Simple and easy!!

Get free starbucks coffee!!

2011-07-16T21:07:00.001-10:00

If you buy any pack of Starbucks VIA® iced coffee from 7/14 to 7/17 (ends tomorrow!!), you can get a free tall drink (12 fl oz) of your choice!

Starbucks VIA iced coffee is medium roasted instant coffee. I don't usually drink instant coffee, but I sometime use instant coffee when I really don't have time to make coffee or espresso in the morning. This coffee is micro ground and slightly sweetened with sugar cane. ( I wish it wasn't sweetened). What you need to make this ice coffee is that you mix this coffee and 16 oz water in your cup. That's it! You can also add ice or milk for your preference. So if you are interested in instant coffee offered by Starbucks, give it a try! This offer ends tomorrow!!!

5servings, $5.95

Ingredients: Sugar and 100% Arabica Coffee

How do you preserve egg white?

2011-07-06T23:34:00.001-10:00

Many recipes call for yolk only. Then, you will keep the leftover egg whites in the refrigerator and by the time you figure out what to do with them, they've gone bad. This is an easy way to freeze the egg whites.

Spread wrap over a small cup.
Break and separate the egg one at a time and poor into the cup.

Wrap and tie it tightly with a rubber band.
Place the wrapped egg whites in the freezer.

Thaw it out in the fridge whenever you need one!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T17:02:00.001-10:00

Have a great Independence day!!!

Baumkuchen

2011-07-01T23:33:00.036-10:00

Do you like online shopping? I LOVE it!! My favorite online shopping site is a Japanese online mall called "Rakuten Ichiba". http://www.rakuten.co.jp/

I like amazon.com but Rakuten has more diversified pastries (very important) than amazon. However, sad to say, international shipping cost (at least $20 to the U.S.) will be charged..So I hadn't shopped at rakuten for more than 1 year.

But, miracle happened last month!! Rakuten had a one day free-shipping sale!!! How could I miss it?? Yess, I bought a Baumkuchen (photo above) and it was delivered a couple days ago!!

Baumkuchen (‘tree cake’ in German) is a traditional dessert in many countries throughout Europe and is also popular in Japan. Traditionally, bakers place a spit over woodfire (or heat source) and brush batter over it. When the layer turns golden brown, the process is repeated until the cake is done.

Anywayyyy, let's open it!! (can't wait!!)
ohhhhhhh, ladies and gentlemen, there is a knife in the box!! haha, How thoughtful! :D

Ho-ho-ho!
Hello Baumkuchen, welcome to my place :)
B・・・beautiful layers!!

It's difficult to see but the outermost layer is covered with chocolate.

Slice the Baum, put it on a plate, and bon appétit!

oishiiiii!! Yummmm!! It is soft and has a mellow sweetness, yet flavorful! I can have couple of cups of tea with only one bite!! Sooo rich but not greasy at all.

I am hoping that Rakuten has a free-shipping sale more often!

All natural, No artificial flavor
Chocolate Covered Baumkuchen 1,575 yen
Available at Rakuten Ichiba
Click↓

無添加で美味しい焼チョココーティング　バウムクーヘン夢のと　M（15×4.5cm）
価格：1,575円（税込、送料別）

Strawberry Sorbet

2011-06-26T00:37:00.011-10:00

Ingredients:

1/2 lb/ about 220g strawberries, washed and stemmed
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation:

Puree the strawberries, sugar, milk, yogurt and lemon juice together in a blender until smooth.

Strain the strawberry puree into a square cake pan or baking dish and freeze until the puree is icy around the edges about 1 hour.

Stir the icy parts of the puree into the middle of the pan every 40 minutes until the mixture is frozen, about 3 - 4 hours. You can also use a blender here, the more you mix, the softer.

Bon appetite!

******************************************************************
Make ice cream in 10 mins??
I saw a recipe saying that you can make ice cream in 10 mins. Is that true?? I have decided to try it!

First, you need two different size bowls. Add ice and salt into a bigger bowl and strain the strawberry puree into a smaller bowl. Then, put the small bowl on the bigger one and stir it until it freezes!
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30 mins later, nothing changed.

It seems like there is too much puree in the bowl so I take it out from the plastic bowl and pour small amount into a glass which has better thermal conductivity. Stir it until it freezes (I hope!).
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20 mins later, there is sorbet!!

Zoom in!

Lesson learned: You can make a very small amount of ice cream in 20 mins!!