Dejah

What to do with a gift of fresh arrowroot? I've only ever cooked it with lap yook ( Chinese bacon) in with rice. Tonight, I tried braising with nam yu (red fermented tofu), skin-on pork belly, and taro. It was velvety soft, sweet, sticky, and savory. THIS was my nod to Chinese New Year, a few days early. We had steamed and flash-in-the-pan Yu Choy and jasmine rice. No substitutes possible with this dish!

Tried out a recipe called Italian Parmesan Meatballs using equal amounts of beef and pork, panko crumbs, eggs, and Parmesan cheese. Should have realized they'd be bland without any herbs seasoning. I was right.😥 Made 12 meatballs and baked them in the ove3n. The pasta sauce helped, and we ate some with Zeroodles Fettucinni. Made up the second half of meat mixture, added copious amounts of Italian herbs, and made meatloaf for sandwiches for lunch. Much better, especially topped with some shredded cheese with Taco /Nacho seasoning and Primo Piazza sauce (in a squeeze bottle!) Supper tonight was SV lamb loin chops. The texture was great, and done to medium. I seared the chops, but I think the fat needed more charring. Kinda lost that lamb flavour. Any suggestions for improvement / retaining the lamb taste would be appreciated. Eaten with cumin Basmati rice, peas and fresh mint sauce.

Quick throw together lunch: Bay scallops and small shrimp, diced bacon, chopped cauliflower, chicken stock, and a dash of cream, all thickened with a pinch of guar gum = chowder! Had lots of fresh dill on hand, and my bowl was a lot greener than this one - for hubby!

Sous Vide Chili Shrimp finished with a quick sear on a hot pan, cauliflower mac'n'cheese, stir-fried mixed veg, and a test pad of reheated frozen rice @Anna N Loved the texture of the shrimp 😋. The frozen cooked rice reheated nicely. I kinda liked the "pad" shape!

Late to the game but I'm having fun now with sous vide! My second attempt, with top sirloin steak. Had picked up a roast and cut it into steaks. 2 pieces were around 8 oz and 1.5 inches thick. One was larger, probably close to 2 lbs and over 2.5 inches thick. Put in at temp 135 for 2 hours. The larger one I kept in for 2.30 min. Next time, I'll be braver and reduce the time. I sent the 2 smaller ones home with our son when he came to pick up his daughters. I seared the bigger one in the cast iron grill. Eaten with green peppercorn sauce, spaghetti squash, and steamed green beans with a splash of Ponzu. I was please at how tender and juicy the steak was!

I REALLY need to plan better and READ instructions. Was think of sous vide ribs for supper, but that required +12 hours, and it was already 3 pm.😁 So, it was IP BBQ ribs instead. Used a no sugar low carb BBQ sauce with a tbsp of regular BBQ sauce to help make them "sticky" Eaten with tofu, beets, and Shanghai Bok Choy. Chinese New Year is Feb 5, but we couldn't resist the traditional sweet treats my brother dropped off...so OFF the low carb wagon tonight. My favourite is the Kumquat, and as you can see, there is only ONE left.

What to eat when temperature outside is -25 C with windchill -31C? A big bowl of Hot'n'Sour soup!

Winner Winner on your lunch: green beans with bacon and grilled fish!

Had a craving for Ho Fun, but rice noodles are high on carbs. Tried with Zeroodles Fettucinni. I left them to drain well, blotted as dry as I could, then dry fried them in the wok before adding oyster sauce. VOILA! They turned out great! The oyster sauce stuck to the noodles, and they had the perfect texture. Tossed together with stir-fried beef, beansprouts, ginger, and green onion. Eaten with a big dollop of Old Mother chili paste with nuts.

@Anna NThanks for the information. Cooking some rice now as I am making Hot'n'Sour soup!

@Anna N: You've mentioned a few times about rice from your freezer. I have never frozen cooked rice. Do you just cook and freeze in ziplock bags? We are not eating rice these days, but once in a while, there's a real need. These are times when hubby must have rice with his Hot'n'Sour soup. He usually likes about 1/4 cup in a big bowl of soup. Would be great just to pull some out of the freezer. Tell me what you do. Thanks!

Finally tried out the Anova I got for Christmas! Walmart had chickens on @$1.77 lb. Picked up 5, broke them down, and going by googled recipes, bagged up 4 "sets". Tonight, I did sous vide Iberian Chicken legs. It was simple! Hooray! The legs were marinated with olive oil, paprika, thyme, salt, pepper overnight in a vacuum sealed bag. Into a 145F bath for 2 hours, then tossed onto a pan, juice and all, with cooked "potatoes" which were turnips, diced raw bell peppers and chunks of onion. This went under the broiler @450F for 15 minutes. Lovely. Will do again! Eaten with the pan vegetables, and spinach salad with blueberries and hemp hearts. I think this may fit with the new Canada Food Guide?

Anna: I LOVE all your lunches - detailed, lovely to look at, and I'll bet delicious and healthy eating!

Kung Pao Gai Ding without the gazillion dried chili peppers. Eaten with Zeroodles "egg fried rice" Pulled out a piece of AAA beef tenderloin - purchased July 2018 @ $11.99 / lb. Didn't think it was "old enough" to go into the Clear out the freezer challenge. Cut into a couple of steaks, seasoned with Montreal Steak Spice and grilled in the cast iron pan on the stove. Eaten with roasted cauliflower, sauteed mushrooms, and spinach salad.

Vadouvan Curry Shrimp with some large shrimp, and 2 small lobster tails from Jan. 2018! Eaten with basmati rice, peas, and wilted spinach.

I looked up the Dragon's Well Tea Shrimp when you first commented. It'll be next on my "new recipes". I have a couple of containers from students. Thanks!

Made Jamie Oliver's Assam Crispy Skin Duck tonight. The skin was scored and rubbed with olive oil, Assam tea leaves and Five Spice powder. Should have taken a picture before I mangled the duck as the scored skin was kinda pretty and CRISPY! I save the duck fat and poured it while got over some fresh Thai lime leaves. Made gravy with the bits on the bottom of the pan, the vegetables, and a cup of Assam tea. Eaten with the pan vegetables, quick pickle of carrots and cukes, steamed Shanghai Bak Choy and Jasmine rice.

Baked Salmon with Creamy Lemon Sauce. I don't usually like salmon because I find it fishy - much prefer steelhead trout. However, no trout to be found but there was lovely salmon and big bunches of dill! This was the first time I really enjoyed this fish - baked in a mixture of butter, honey, garlic, and dried dill. The creamy lemon sauce (mayo, sour cream, fresh dill, lemon juice) was great, with the salmon as well as the pan fried turnip fries.

A friend dropped in this morning with a loaf of fresh homemade bread. He obviously hadn't heard we were on low-carb / no bread! What can say; did not want to hurt his feelings! So, for brunch, I made Denver sandwiches with habanero cheese. The bread was lovely toasted. He called it Monk's bread.

My s-i-l gave me a bag of chicken feet! Threw them into the Instant pot for 40 minutes, and I had lovely stock and tender feet. With the stock, I made wintermelon soup with re-hydrated shitaki mushrooms and some diced chicken. My bowl had a couple of feet, and the rest I will simmer gently in black bean garlic and chili sauce. Using my oven again as it was -25C with windchill -36. braised chicken with dates, roasted taters, carrots, and beets. A squeeze of lemon brightens up the richness of the sauce. Enjoyed the combined flavours of ginger, coriander, sweet paprika, cilantro, and dates.

Tried a sheet pan quesadilla with low-carb lavash. A bit messy as the lavash was flimsy. The original recipe used overlapping tortillas. Good tasting though. Cold temperatures tonight, so the oven was put to use: lemony Pork Piccata with spaghetti squash and peas/carrots. I had forgotten how very little xanthan gum is needed to thicken a sauce. Good thing I had Campbells Chicken broth and lots of lemons on hand to remedy the sauce which was pretty gooey!

When Kids come home, I bribe for more frequent visits with treats my Mom used to make for them. This morning, we had my Mom's Steamed Chinese cake. I haven't made this for quite a while, but I still use the old wicker basket passed down from my Mom, along with her recipe. The basket came with us from Hong Kong, 1958! Think it might be time to retire it. Cake is best enjoyed with a glass of ice cold milk or a cup of hot Jasmine tea.

Looks amazing! Must try...

Try to make childhood favourites for lunch when the kids come home. My Mom used to make these for them when they were little. Char Siu Baos. Made my own Char siu but bought the ready mixed flour. I made 3.5 dozen with the filling. Had dough left over, so steamed some Chinese sausage and wrapped them with the rest of the dough. Kids will each take some home.

Hubby's birthday today. Took out a piece of tenderloin that was not in cryovac. Thought I 'd better do something with it before freezer burn. Thawed it out in the fridge and left it sitting uncovered since Tuesday. Made hubby Beef Wellington. Our younger son came out from Winnipeg for a birthday visit, so we had the Wellington for supper. Eatedn with a big salad and some boiled peas.