Vegetable Fried Rice

I love Rice. I REALLY love Fried Rice!!!! I grew up eating Fried Rice. I have strived to try to make a Fried Rice like the one I have had so many times at Ron of Japan in Chicago.

I have never come close to their recipe. Every time we are in Chicago, we eat at Ron of Japan. Everyone in my family watched closely at how the cook their Fried Rice but still it is not the same.

This is close but not the same. Delicious but not the same... Most importantly MINE is HEALTHIER!!!!

The Ingredients:

7 spears of asparagus, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1/4 - 1/2 cup of frozen peas

1/2 cup broccoli (fresh or frozen), cut into pieces

1/2 onion, chopped

2 scramble eggs

Soy sauce

Sesame Seeds

Garlic Salt

Salt and Pepper

The Directions:

Combine your rice and all the water called for in the recipe with 1-2 Tbsp of acid medium and let soak for 7 hours. I combine these ingredients in the rice cooker. When ready, simply turn it on and cook as usual. My recipe is to soak 1 cup brown rice to 2 1/4 cup water, with 2 Tbsp of kefir. Then plug in the rice cooker and begin to cook. If you are using stovetop following the directions. Should take about 45 minutes on a low simmer.

(- Brown rice is not have as high of phytate content and thus need only be soaked for 7 hours (this is a great last minute grains if you forget to soak, won’t be a big problem – also recommend purchasing brown rice pasta for this reason as well)

Once the rice is done, unplug the rice cooker or take off the heat, begin to saute the vegetables in Coconut Oil. Start off with the carrots and broccoli. If you are using frozen vegetables, add those. After a couple of minutes and the rest of the vegetables. Mix in the seasonings.

If you haven't done so, in a separate pan, scramble the 2 eggs.

Add the cooled rice and scrambled egg to the vegetables. Cook for a minute or two.

This is great for leftovers! :)

MUMU Grill: All-You-Can-Eat Ribfest, Crows Nest (22 Sept 2010)

70 Alexander Street, Crows Nest NSW 2065
http://www.mumugrill.com.au

Ribfest Jenga

I arrive for my 8 pm booking with an entourage of 7 carnivores to MUMU Grill's fully booked Ribfest night. After a short wait we're seated outside with a menu list of 3 courses including lamb, pork and beef ribs with chips and salad all for $40. A nice tasting hand crafted 4 Pines Kolsch ($8) wets my appetite for the protein overload ahead. Course 1 is my favourite of the night with smokey tasting Lamb Ribs with Black Pepper full of flavour, and the sweeter Lamb Ribs cooked in honey and soy. For me there's the right balance of meat, grizzle, char factor and flavour I've been hoping to find. Course 2 is a higher stack of Pork Spare Ribs Cajun spiced with orange cola marinade which don't really have any bones and is more a large cut of pork with a considerable amount of fat attached while the long USA Pork Baby Back Ribs in MUMU BBQ Sauce could have been more smokey char for my liking but the flavour was quite nice.

The final Course 3 of Beef Short Ribs with coriander garlic and chilli was the most disappointing because it was more like a large chunk of meat with no bone and we couldn't really taste the coriander, garlic and chilli. The Beef Short Ribs with MUMU BBQ Sauce didn't have enough smokey char factor and unfortunately had a fair amount of fat and grizzle compared to meat on the large bone. The chips and salad were good but it was all about the ribs tonight. Wanting to end on a good note we order another plate of the course 1 lamb ribs which hit the spot once again. Our final height of bone jenga was close between the 2 teams of 4 people and thankfully no one left home hungry that's for sure.

Other visits to MUMU Grill:
• 29 Mar 2011 - Porkestra The Encore

• 22 Sept 2010 - Ribfest (Lamb, Pork and Beef ribs)

• 31 Aug 2010 - Lambageddon Dinner

• 3 Feb 2010 - Beer Tasting Dinner

• 15 Aug 2009 - Lunch Express Menu, Pumpkin Gnocchi, Eye Fillet, Zucchini Flowers

• 30 April 2009 - Take It Slow Wine Dinner, Mr Riggs Wines, Jamon, Saltbush lamb, Double roasted duck, Brown sugar pavlova

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: All you can eat so you won't leave hungry, Nice decor and seating, Hand crafted beers available

CONS: Event books out quickly, Can get very noisy inside

MUST TRY: Lamb Ribs with Black Pepper

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Ribfest menu of ribs, salad and chips ($40)

Course 1: Lamb Ribs with Black Pepper, Lamb Ribs cooked in honey and soy

Lamb Ribs with Black Pepper

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Lamb Ribs cooked in honey and soy

Course 2: Pork Spare Ribs Cajun spiced with orange cola marinade, USA Pork Baby Back Ribs in MUMU BBQ Sauce

USA Pork Baby Back Ribs in MUMU BBQ Sauce

Pork Spare Ribs Cajun spiced with orange cola marinade

Course 3: Beef Short Ribs with coriander garlic and chilli, Beef Short Ribs with MUMU BBQ Sauce

Beef Short Ribs with MUMU BBQ Sauce

Beef Short Ribs with coriander garlic and chilli

Chips

Salad

Rib carnage left over bones by 8 rib lovers

4 Pines Kolsch ($8)

Chef Craig Macindoe

Ribs cooking in the kitchen

Inside dining

Outside dining

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Quinoa and Black beans

I am extremely thankful for my meat guy! I feel I need to give him a shout out... His sole mission is to provide clean meat that EVERYONE can afford. He is so dedicated and affordable he has to work 2 jobs just to do so!

KUDDOS J&J KUDDOS!!!!

Do not worry I did not eat all that meat. My darling husband made my plate and ended up eating off it!

This meal is almost completely local. Quinoa and Blackbeans - NOT LOCAL but SOAKED!

Quinoa and Black beans.

The Ingredients:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa (Mine was already prepared in my fridge!)
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (I made a homemade batch in the crockpot)

Zucchini and yellow squash, chopped into small pieces

The Directions:

Soaking Step Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a strainer. Allow to sit in strainer over a large bowl and add warm filtered water to cover sufficiently. Add 1 Tbsp of an acid medium (whey, kefir, yogurt, or cultured buttermilk). Cover with plate or towel. Soak 12-24 hours. Rinse once again and add 1 cup broth, and proceed. I use less than the recipe calls for if soaking, because it absorbed water in the soaking stage, and will not need as much to cook. 1 cup was perfect.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.

I cook my quinoa in my rice cooker! This time I cooked it in vegetable broth and added cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper right into the water.

(Thoroughly rinse quinoa. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.)

Saute zucchini and yellow squash in RAW butter and season with salt and pepper and Italian seasoning. Add into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans.

One Lovely Blog Award - Part 2

A couple of weeks ago I posted that Be Joyful Always for nominated my blog, Enjoying Healthy Foods for One Lovely Blog.

I originally posted my top 9 blogs and forgot until now to add the final 6 of my nominations.

Since I've received this award, I've been given the opportunity to nominate more blogs for this award. And there are guidelines for accepting this award:

1. Accept the award, by posting it on your blog with the name of the person's blog (and his/her blog link) who granted you with the award.
2. Nominate fifteen blogs that you have newly discovered, and contact those bloggers to let them know.

My favorite 15 newly (and not so newly) discovered are:

1. Life on Purpose

2. The Nourishing Cook

3.Veggie by Season

4. Gluten -Free Goddess

5. Gluten Free Mommy

6. The Pioneer Woman

7. Good Things Catered

8. Passionate Homemaking
9.MckMama

10. Heather Eats Almond Butter

11. Pantry Bites

12. How to Cook Like Your Grandmother

13. Heavenly Homemaker

14. For the Love of Cooking

15. 365 Days of Kale

Pamela's Products

Pancakes!!!!

I have not yet mastered a homemade (gluten-free) pancake. I have tried a couple of recipes but ended in a FLOP so I have put my search on hold. For now.

But until then, I have found Pamela's Products. It is a gluten-free mix. You can make pancakes, cookies, biscuits, bread, waffles and so much more.

I found this baking & pancake mix at Whole Foods. I have only made the pancakes and I am excited to try the cookies! and much more!

Singapore Shiok!*: Chicken Rice, Haymarket (29 Sept 2010)

Eating World Harbour Plaza food court
Shop 213, 25-29 Dixon Street, Haymarket NSW 2000

My NEW favourite Chicken Rice

If shiok means 'an expression of satisfaction' then Singapore Shiok is a gem waiting to be discovered by all Singaporean and Malaysian food lovers in Sydney.

One of the joys of having a food blog is you sometimes get recommendations from readers which lead to great finds. Thanks to Eve who commented on my Malacca Straits post in recommending Singapore Shiok!*. Tucked away in the same food court that brings you one of Sydney's most blogged ramens from Gumshara is the basic and unassuming looking Singapore Shiok!* which looks like it might be closed but it's not. It's been open since April 2010 and takes up the position of where KL Kopitiam used to be. Currently they serve only 9 classic dishes which are cooked to order and that's why the bain-marie is all empty and not used. Less is more as they say and in this case it seems to be true. I'm hoping they might introduce some entrees like Chicken Satay or the elusive Popiah.

The Chicken Rice ($8.80) decorated with cucumber and tomato slices is wonderfully silky and moist as one would hope to find in Sydney, but rarely does. I order the thigh which is thankfully boneless — a rare treat to find from city eateries which usually leave the bones and more often than not will be splintered. The accompanying rice is flavoursome enough with chicken stock and ginger notes to my liking — better than many places which serve plain rice or less flavoursome versions. The thick sweet kecap manis is quite strong in flavour so I use it sparingly and the chill sauce with fresh ginger goes well with the dish. The cloudy looking side soup is the only let down for me which is overly spiced with white pepper and I wish it was more a clear style soup with chinese vegetable like

Jaya Malaysian — one can only hope. The best chicken rice in the city I've had to date is at

Sayong Curry & Laksa Malaysian Cuisine but Singapore Shiok!* is now my preferred leader. I look forward to trying their other dishes — the hor fun I spotted looked generous and very promising.

Other visits to Singapore Shiok!*:

• 6 Oct 2010 - Har Mee

• 30 Sept 2010 - Hor Fun with Seafood

• 29 Sept 2010 - Chicken Rice

Other places tried for Chicken Rice:

• Singapore Shiok!* - 29 Sept 2010

• Malacca Straits - 23 Jan 2010

• Yummy Chinese - 20 Jan 2010

• Laksa House - 24 Sept 2009

• Laksa King - 16 Sept 2009

• Malaysian Food House - 18 Aug 2009

• Malay-Chinese Takeaway - 6 Aug 2009

• Mc Lucksa - 5 Aug 2009

• Jaya Malaysian - 29 July 2009

• Sayong Curry & Laksa Malaysian Cuisine - 22 July 2009

• KL Kopitiam Malaysian Cuisine - 19 Oct 2009

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Silky and moist chicken, No bones, Decent flavoured rice, Reasonable prices

CONS: Side soup has too much white pepper taste for my liking, Need to wait for orders to be cooked, Food court tables aren't cleaned as regularly as hoped when busy

MUST TRY: Chicken rice and all other dishes on the menu to compare especially the Hor Fun, Laksa, Char Kway Teow and Har Mee.

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Hainanese Chicken Rice ($8.80)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Sweet kecap manis and chill sauce with fresh ginger

Side soup

Moist chicken with no bones — thigh ordered.

Bone factor — only a small knuckle grizzle found

Menu — 9 dishes

Service counter

Food court seating

Entrance to Eating World food court


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Soaking Grains Part 2

Check out Sally Fallon’s article, Be Kind to Your Grains . It is very helpful in understanding why this is such an important process to do. But here is a quote that contains the most helpful part.

I am still learning about soaking grains. So far, I have learned why we soak grains, posted here.

What does soaking grains accomplish?

The soaking breaks down some of the hard-to-digest proteins, making assimilation much easier, and neutralizes phytic acid, which is an anti-nutrient that prevents absorption of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, and copper.

Because grains are seeds, they also contain enzyme inhibitors, which protect the seed from germinating until the conditions are proper for growth. If ingested, these inhibitors can prevent the body's enzymes from working properly, and digestion will be hindered. Soaking grains neutralizes these inhibitors and stimulates the production of beneficial enzymes and increases vitamin content, because the seed is being activated toward growth. This active, live seed is nutritionally superior to one that is "closed up".


How do you do it?

It’s quite simple. You can soak grains like rice, millet, quinoa, wheat, 12 to 24 hours at room temperature in some water with 1-2 tablespoons of whey, lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt, or kefir (this gives it an acidic medium which helps neutralize anti-nutrients). You can then rinse the grains to remove any acidic taste to them, and then cook in fresh water.

Or you can sprout your grains.

For baked goods, you can soak your flour in buttermilk, yogurt or kefir 12 to 24 hours and then add the rest of the ingredients right before baking. This makes the fluffiest whole wheat pancakes!

meet fresh: Taiwanese Dessert House, Haymarket (29 Sept 2010)

13 Goulburn Street, Haymarket NSW 2000
http://www.meetfresh.net

Fresh place in Chinatown

What should I try?

I don't think I've ever tried Taiwanese dessert before and with all the people waiting for their orders it might be a while longer before I do. I've hear the lines for this place have been as long as Mamak's. Firstly, I notice all the people waiting around the entrance where the service counter is which makes it very difficult if not impossible to view the menu — this place is so badly designed in terms of customer traffic. I caught a glimpse of the menu items over peoples head but it's all Taiwanese to me so I've got no idea what I would order. After perusing the menu online I've still got no idea what I would order so I need recommendations — there's so many choices. Perhaps I'll just need to start with menu item 1 of Taro Balls Dessert 1? The name of the place is very odd to me, reminds me of Fresh Meat aka Meat Market as in bars where you meet people. Also I'm not sure if it's 'meet fresh', 'Meetfresh' or 'Meet Fresh' which doesn't seem to be consistent on their website — I've gone for 'fresh meet' as per their store signage. I wonder if this place will be competition for LNC Dessert House.

Other visits to Meet Fresh:
• 15 July 2011 - Introduction to Taiwanese desserts

• 29 Sept 2010 – Just passing by

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Something different to try, Seating available

CONS: Chaotic service counter area when busy

MUST TRY: Working out what to order and if it's worth trying

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