Thai roasted chili dip

Tons of flavors in this chili dip! It taste equally sweet and salty, with underlying heat. It is not meant to be extremely hot. It gets along perfectly and always served together with sticky rice and pork cracklings.

Prep Time 30-60 mins / Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
A kilo Anaheim Chiles
8-10 whole shallots
20 cloves of garlic
4-5 cherry tomatoes
Fish Sauce to taste (approximately 4 tbsp). Use soy sauce to make vegan
Palm Sugar to taste (approximately 2 tbsp)
Coarsely-chopped cilantro for garnish. 

Directions:
1. Char Grill chili, garlic, shallot, tomatoes until soft. Set aside.
2. Peel off all skin and discard, shred into strips
3. Pound shallots and garlic in mortar then add tomatoes and chili. Keep pounding until the chili starts to become stringy. .
3. Season with fish sauce (or soy source) and palm sugar.
Ready to serve.

Tips
- Remove chili seed if you don't like spicy taste.

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P.S. it's december 2014

Easy vegan Avocado pesto pasta recipe from chefchloe.com

It's time to put up X'mas decor


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9-day vegan challenge - Day 9

Vegetarian festival: 24 September - 02 October 2014.
Who’s taking the 9-day vegetarian challenge with us?  
A vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making.

Super easy four-ingredient ice cream

… and no ice cream maker needed

My idea of a balanced diet is to eat healthy food and then a bowl of ice cream. 

Day 9: on the last day of the challenge, give yourself a treat with this super easy, stress-free homemade ice cream. 

Just use whatever frozen or fresh fruit you have around the house. 

Strawberry coconut ice cream

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of strawberries (fresh or frozen)

300 ml. of coconut milk

1/2 cup of honey (or more – adjust to taste)

1 vanilla pod

Directions:

Tip all the ingredients into your blender and blend. Pour mixture into popsicle molds, filling 2/3 of the way. 

Freeze for 30 minutes, insert sticks, and continue to chill until the ice cream is fully frozen. It should take around two hours. 

Guaranteed to make you smile!

Enjoy!

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9-day vegan challenge - Day 8

Vegetarian festival: 24 September - 02 October 2014.

Who’s taking the 9-day vegetarian challenge with us?  A vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making.

Day 8: I love air-fried tofu. It is so quick to make and it doesn't dry out the way it does in an oven; it's crispy on the outside and moist on the inside - just the way it should be.

Cut a packet of tofu into big squares, spray or dribble some oil on top, bake for 10-12 mins @ 180C. and serve with sweet chilli sauce and crushed peanuts. Would recommend Philips Airfryer to everyone.

Join the community and get more Philips Airfryer recipes

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9-day vegan challenge - Day 7

Vegetarian festival: 24 September - 02 October 2014.
Who’s taking the 9-day vegetarian challenge with us? 
A vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. 

Day 7: Thai style salad (Larb with vermicelli noodles) 

This is such a healthy, fragrant salad, you'll actually feel healthier after eating it.

Prep Time 10 mins / Serves 2

Ingredients

1. 2 cups. soya granules (textured soy protein - โปรตีนเกษตรเม็ดเล็ก) or firm tofu, finely chopped

2. 2 cups of vermicelli noodles (soaked in water until soft)

3. 2 large peeled garlic cloves, finely sliced

4. 1 bunch of spring onions (scallions), finely chopped

5. dried chili powder

6. 1 tbsp. vegetable oil

7. 3 tbsp. bell peppers (diced)

8. 4 tbsp. of fresh lime juice

9. 3 tbsp. of soy sauce

10. 1 bunch of mint leaves

11. 1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind

12. 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

13. 1/3 cup fresh coriander leaves

14. 2 tbsp. roasted rice powder

15. ½-1 tsp. of sugar

-Soak soya granules in water for 5 minutes or until soft. Squeeze the granules thoroughly, retain them and discard the drained water. 

- Heat half the oil in a pot over medium heat until just smoking. Add the soya granules and vermicelli noodles and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with soy sauce, sugar, lime juice and chilli powder until well combined. 

- Add red onion, coriander, spring onions, grated lime rind, bell peppers and mint. (Keep a few leaves for garnish.) Toss gently. 

-Serving suggestion.Garnish with remaining mint. Sprinkle with roasted rice powder and serve with fresh vegetables.

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9-day vegan challenge - Day-6

Vegetarian festival: 24 September - 02 October 2014 

Who's taking the 9-day vegetarian challenge with us?

A vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making.

Day 6: Baked pineapple rice (Khao Aob Sub Pa Rod)

Whenever I have a slightly over-ripe pineapple, I turn it into a wonderful dish: stir-fried pineapple rice baked in a freshly carved pineapple bowl – it’s a work of art!

For one to two people

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of cooked rice

2. 1 whole pineapple

3. 100 g of diced pineapple

4. 100 g of peas

5. 50 g of fried cashew nuts

6. 50 g. unsalted butter

7. 1 tbsp. garlic (minced)

8. 1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce

9. 1 tbsp. sugar

10. 1/5 tsp. pepper

11. 3 tbsp. onion

12. 3 tbsp. bell peppers (diced)

- Take the pineapple, cut the top off, scoop out the flesh and dice.

- Heat a wok and stir fry butter and onion. Add pineapple pieces; fry until cooked well. Gradually add bell peppers, rice and peas, then season with soy sauce, sugar, and pepper.

- When finished, spoon the fried rice into the pineapple shell. Then, bake at 180 degrees for 10 minutes.

-  Dress with fried cashew nuts and serve. 

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9-day vegan challenge - Day-5

Vegetarian festival: 24 September - 02 October 2014 

Who's taking the 9-day vegetarian challenge with us?

A vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making.

Day 5: Crispy Noodle with Mushroom gravy (Rad Na Hed Hom)

It is another delicious dish by switching from meat to mushroom and vegetable. It's still delicious as the original taste.

For 1-2 person

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
1. 1-2 serving of ready-made crispy noodles 

2. 1 tbsp. of garlic (smashed)
3. 5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms (soak mushroom for 2-3 hours and discard the stems)
4. 1 tbsp. soya bean paste
5. 2 tsp. soy sauce

6. 1 tsp. sugar
7. 1-2 tbsp. tapioca flour
8. 2 cups of vegetable stock or water

9. Use your own mix of cut vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and kale

9. 1 cup of diced firm tofu

9. 1 egg lightly beaten (optional)

- Heat oil in a wok, add garlic, stir-fry for 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Add sliced mushrooms: stir-fry for 2 mins and add vegetable stock. When the broth comes to a boil, lower to a simmer and add vegetables. Stew for 5-10 minutes.

- Pour in the egg and quickly stir 2-3 times. 

- Dissolve tapioca flour with 2 tbsp. of water and add in the wok. Thicken the gravy to desired consistency.

- Season with soy sauce, soya bean paste, and sugar. 

- Serving suggestion. Ladle hot gravy on top of crispy noodle, then sprinkle coriander, pepper, drizzle with sesame oil and pickled chillies to taste.

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9-day vegan challenge - Day-4

Vegetarian festival: 24 September - 02 October 2014 
Who's taking the 9-day vegetarian challenge with us?
A vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making.

Day 4: Healthy omelette crepe
This recipe for a lacy thin crepe—filled with tofu and fresh herbs. Eat well, and enjoy the taste sensations this weekend!

Serve 1, prep 15 mins, cook 10 mins
Ingredients
1 egg
1/4 cups water
pinch of salt and pepper
vegetable oil

Filling
1 cup tofu
1 cup beansprouts
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1 cup cucumber, diced          
1 bunch spring onions (scallions), chopped 
Mint, basil and coriander leaves, to serve

Sweet and sour sauce
1/3 cup vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp water
3 tbsp caster sugar 
1 long fresh red chilli, halved, deseeded, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp of sliced cucumber
1 bunch spring onions (scallions), finely chopped

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir until sugar dissolves. Just before serving, pour the sauce over the vegetables and sprinkle with chopped coriander.

Instructions
-Blanch the beansprouts in boiling water.
-In a frying pan, heat just enough oil to cover the pan (tip off excess). Stir-fry the onion and tofu for a couple of minutes until golden. Set aside. 
-In a large bowl, whisk eggs and water until well combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
-Pour a cup full of egg mixture into the pan. Swirl the pan so that the mixture spreads thinly. When the egg begins to crisp around the edge, add a spoonful of beansprouts, tofu and onion. 

-Fold one half of the crepe over the ingredients and slip onto serving plate. Serve with fresh herbs and the sweet and sour sauce to taste.

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9-day vegan challenge - Day 3

Vegetarian festival: 24 September - 02 October 2014 
Who's taking the 9-day vegetarian challenge with us? 
A vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. 

Day 3: Noodle rolls (Kuay-Tiew-Lord) 

Thai-style noodle rolls are super easy and quick to make!

Prep Time 30 mins / Serves 2

Ingredients

1. Rice paper

2. 1 cup of bean sprouts

3. 1/2 cup of finely shredded cabbage

4. 1/2 cup of cucumber (julienne)

5. 2 tbsp. garlic (smashed)

6. 1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar

7. 1 tbsp. soy sauce 

8. 375 g firm tofu

9. 1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms

10. 2 tbsp. black soy sauce

11. 1 tbsp. sweet radish (optional)

12. Pepper

13. Fried garlic

14. Coriander

- soak dried shiitake mushrooms in boiling water for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid and remove the tough stems. Discard the stems and slice the mushrooms.

- Boil water and cook the cabbage for 3 minutes. Wash in cold water to halt the cooking and drain well.

- Boil water and cook the bean sprouts for 1 minute. Wash in cold water to halt the cooking and drain well.

- Heat oil in a wok, add garlic, stir-fry for 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Add sliced mushrooms: stir-fry for 2 mins and add 1/2 - 1 cup of water. Season with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar.

Stew for 10 minutes, then add tofu. Stew for about 10 more minutes.

- Place rice paper in a medium bowl of lukewarm water for 15 seconds or until just soft then place on a clean tea towel. Arrange bean sprouts, cabbage and cucumber along one side of rice paper. Fold ends in and roll up firmly to enclose filling. Repeat with remaining rice paper and filling. 

- Serving suggestion. Drizzle stewed ingredients on top of rolls, then sprinkle grated radish, coriander, fried garlic and pepper to taste.

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9-day vegan challenge - Day 2

Vegetarian festival: 24 September - 02 October 2014.
Who’s taking the 9-day vegetarian challenge with us? 
A vegetarian diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. 

Day 2: Thai Northern Style Chilli Paste (Nam Prik Ong) - with sweet, sour and salty that can go perfectly well with fresh vegetables. It is so delicious!

Prep Time 30 mins / Serves 2-4

Ingredients
1. 2 cups. firm tofu, finely chopped or soya granuels (textured soy protein - โปรตีนเกษตรเม็ดเล็ก)
2. 250 g. cherry tomato (cut into small pieces)
3. 2 peeled large clove garlic
4. 2 peeled shallots
5. 5 dried chili
6. 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
7. 1 1/2 tamarind juice
8. 1 tbsp. palm sugar
9. 1 tbsp. soy sauce
10. 1 tbsp. soy bean paste

- Pound chili, garlic, shallots thoroughly.
- Then fry finished pounded chili with oil.
- Add tofu, fry well to combine. Add cut tomatoes.
- Season with soy sauce, palm sugar, tamarind juice, soy bean paste and served with fresh vegetables.

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9-day vegan challenge - Day 1

Vegetarian festival: 24 September - 02 October 2014.

Who’s taking the 9-day vegetarian challenge with us? 

A vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. 

Learn about your health, reduce your carbon footprint, and find compassion towards all other creatures.

Ready to start? 

Here’s the quick start guide.

1. Just make a commitment to not eat meat, poultry or seafood for 9 straight days.

2. Announce to your friends, family that you’re doing the challenge and ask them to join the fun!

3. Use the recipes from us if you like.

4. Start eating with your delicious new challenge diet!

5. Share your healthy meals with us! 

You can do it multiple times, or go for 14 days, 21 days or even a month.

This challenge is so easy and fun, there’s no reason not to do it.

Here's an awesome green juice cleanse to get you started. 

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Crème brûlée pie

I adore Crème brûlée; it’s one of my favorite desserts. Most of the time, when you order it at a restaurant, there's far too much. So I like to make mine (with plenty of real vanilla) in little individual ramekins or a thin pie dish.

While I was shopping at the supermarket for the ingredients, I found a creme brûlée mix from Chef’s Kitchen. I gave it a try with a ginger nut biscuit base and the result was surprisingly good.

So if you want to impress your guests at the last minute, here is a simple way to prepare a tasty dessert.

Prep Time 15 mins / Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Ginger Nut biscuit base

    * 2 cups Ginger Nut biscuits, chopped

    * ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

    * 2 tbsp sugar

Crème Brulee

    * ½ vanilla pod

    * 1 sachet of Chef’s kitchen Crème Brulee mix

    * 250ml cream

    * 250ml whole milk

1. Place biscuits in a food processor and process to form fine crumbs. Or place biscuits in a plastic bag and crush with rolling pin.

2. Add butter and sugar. Process until combined.

3. Press mixture evenly in a 16cm foil pie dish. Refrigerate while preparing caramel filling.

4. To make filling, follow the instructions on the sachet.

5. Pour over biscuit base. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 ½ hrs.

6. When ready to serve, sprinkle with sugar and caramelize under a very hot grill or using a cooking blowtorch.

Serving suggestion:

- Dust with icing sugar to serve.

- If you don't have a fancy cooking blowtorch, a sprinkling of crushed almonds and store-bought tarts for bases is another divine combination.

Lovely.

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Natural detox Juice

Natural detox Juice - cleanse, energise and detoxify your body

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Have a good Sunday

What I love about breakfast is who I have it with...

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Bittersweet brownies

There’s nothing fancy … and no complicated techniques, yet the result is remarkably pleasing. The brownie is bittersweet with a molten, chewy centre. All it needs is a cuppa and good conversation but it’s also great with creamy custard: a combination impossible to resist.

Serves 8
200 g dark chocolate, chopped 200 g of your preferred chocolate, chopped
280 g butter 1 cup brown sugar (2 cups for sweet version) 6 eggs 1 cup plain flour
Preheat the oven to 180c. Place dark chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Allow to cool. Place the sugar, eggs and the flour in a bowl with the chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Stir through the remaining chocolate pieces and pour the mixture into a lightly greased 20cm x 30cm tin lined with non-stick baking paper.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
Allow to cool in tin and cut into squares.

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Easter Chocolate

Easter’s just around the corner. I’m not a huge fan of giant chocolate eggs, but the holidays do give me an excuse to make simple but extraordinary treats.
These are the easy version of chocolate strawberries. They are perfect for a last-minute dessert and they’re ready to serve straight out of the fridge.

photo credit: Myrtle & Eunice

These tiny Easter eggs hanging from a branch are a simple yet pretty addition for the season.

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Eggless white chocolate & berry muffin

I hope you’re ready to start drooling, because last weekend these Eggless White Chocolate and Berry Muffins made my house smell so nice.
It's one of my favorite desserts because it's so quick and easy. And it's so much better if you can use sweet local berries. Throw in some raspberries and blueberries too if you like.

Prep: 30 mins. Cooking: 22-30 mins. (Serves 12)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ to 1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3½ oz butter
1 tablespoon white vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1½ cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
3½ oz white chocolate

- Preheat the oven to 375F for 15 minutes
- Lightly butter the muffin molds, line with paper liners and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine sugar, milk, butter and vinegar. Mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir until just combined. Don’t over stir.
- Gently fold in the berries using a spatula.
- Fill the muffin tin about 2/3 full.
- Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 22-30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the muffins from the molds and cool on a wire rack.

I found the recipe in Eggless Cooking and gave it a try with a few changes. Everyone loved it, especially my friend who’s allergic to eggs.

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Delicious lime pudding

Photo by: Fantabulous Design

Defeat the summer heat with this simple old-school lime pudding, which uses lime zest and lime juice to punch up the flavour. Add a dollop of crème fraiche or a scoop of ice cream for a sparkling endnote.

Prep: 30 mins. Cooking: 30 mins. (Serves 6)
Butter, for greasing
60 g unsalted butter
2 limes
250 g caster sugar
3 eggs
350ml milk
35g self-raising flour

- Preheat the oven to 180c.
- Lightly butter 6 ramekins and set aside.
- In a kitchen mixer, cream the butter, sugar and the zest from 1 lime until light and fluffy.
- Separate the egg yolks from the whites then add the egg yolks to the creamed butter and sugar mixture.
Mix until combined then add the milk, flour, and the juice of both limes. Continue to mix until a smooth batter is achieved.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to a stiff peak then gently fold the egg whites into the lime batter.
- Pour the mixture into the 6 greased ramekins then arrange evenly in a bain marie, ensuring the water is halfway up the height of the ramekins.
- Place the bain marie into the oven then cook for 30mins until the top two-thirds of the puddings are spongy and there is lime custard on the bottom third.
- Serve warm or cold.

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Bears bread

from Happy rainbow -->yaplog.jp

Adorable bread ... How are these made? I so want to make them. But the recipe is in Japanese!

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Chocolate mousse with raspberry coulis

Have some fun this weekend with French desert, quick to prepare, light on the palate and oh-so-divine!

Prep:15Mins. Cooking: 35mins. Refrigeration: 3-4hours (Serves 6)
150g Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut chocolate
30g butter
2 eggs, separated
125ml thickened cream
6 Ready-made Gourmet Waffle baskets
Fresh strawberries to serve
- Break chocolate into a heatproof bowl, add butter and melt in the microwave on medium low for 3-4 minutes, stir until smooth. Stir in egg yolks.
- Beat egg whites with an electric beater until soft peaks form. Beat cream until softly whipped. Fold egg whites and cream into chocolate mixture until just combined. Cover and put in the fridge for 3-4 hours until thick.
- Reserve half the frozen strawberries. Put the remaining strawberries in a bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 1 minute until soft. Mash with a fork then stir through a sieve. Discard pulp.
- Swirl some syrup on each serving plate. Spoon mousse into waffle baskets and serve with remaining raspberries and hazelnuts.

300g frozen raspberries
1/4cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped

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