Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Sambal Kacang Sauce (Peanut Sauce for Satay's)

I had a brief intermission there cause I had to post about the Savoury Oat Pancakes I made for the SRC this past Monday, but I'm back with the recipe for the Sambal Kacang sauce I made and used for the Spring Rolls and the Stir fried Yakisoba noodles.

Sambal Kacang Sauce (Peanut Sauce)
At the time I made this, I thought I might have made too much, but no.

I've been scooping out spoonfuls and just eating them out of the fridge in between meals. 

The flavour combination hits my taste buds just right.

So I'm going to share how to make it.  But first a little explanation.   I love a good Satay Sauce, but for some reason had never made one.  I'd always bought mine.  And when I went looking in our little grocery store here, they didn't have any and I wanted some, now.

So I did a search.  Found a few recipes, but this one by Tyler Florence caught my eye.  And then there was this recipe,  I used both recipes as a guide and then made it mine.   I added lots more Sambal Oelek and some Sweet Soy Sauce and well, I made it my way.

If you want to read more about Peanut Sauces, check them out here

 Recipe: Sambal Kacang  (Peanut Sauce)
3/4 cup smooth Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Chunky Peanut Butter
1/4 cup sweet soy sauce
1-2  Tablespoons Sambal Oelek
2 tbsp. brown sugar
juice of two limes (I used my frozen Lime Juice)
 +
1/2 cup hot water + more if needed

Mix all the ingredients together, and then add the hot water at the end to thin it out a little.
Taste to make sure you have it hot enough?
And add more Sambal Oelek if desired. And a little water to thin it out. 
Sambal Kacang Sauce (Peanut Sauce)
  Serve with a good Stir Fry or my new favourite, Spring Rolls.     I used this on the the Yaki-Soba Noodle Spring Rolls at Tapas, and then used some on the Bok Choy with Yakisoba Noodle Stir Fry I made the other day.   For that one, I just thinned out the sauce with a little more water so it was pouring consistency. And I'm wondering how well it will go on some grilled chicken or pork. 
Sambal Kacang Sauce (Peanut Sauce)

Bok Choy Stir Fry with Yakisoba Noodles and Peanut Sauce

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Monday, August 29, 2016

Savoury Oat Pancakes for SRC Back to School


WOW, has this summer flown by.   And it's time for the kiddo's to head back to school, which means that most moms and dads out there are besieged with all the after school stuff, like band practice and sports and drama club and debate club and ...
Which means that sometimes dinners with the family takes a back seat.  But you still want kids to have a decent meal or snack when they come home or breakfast before they leave for school. 

Savoury Oat Pancakes
Since we have 5 Mondays this month, and only have scheduled reveals the first three Mondays, our fearless leaders, of the Secret Recipe Club, with some input from their fellow bloggers decided to make a Back to School or After School themed reveal. 
I  was assigned a new to me, blogger, Trisha from My Hobbie Lobbie

Trisha has so many recipes I want to try, and I'm going to 'woman'fully make my way through some of them, soon.
So, so many...

Choices, choices, choices...

I got caught by all the Indian inspired dishes she has on her blog, and I'm so glad I got her blog, I want to make some Rava Idli with Coconut Chutney, and some Mixed Raita and the Gulab Jamun is calling my name as well.
Did I mention the Namakpare, which is a crispy fried cracker.  
  .
I ended up making the Savoury Oat Pancakes.
I thought they would make a great after school snack.   Just a little something to hold you over til dinner. Or eat for breakfast cause that's how I do things. 
 
Savoury Oat Pancakes

And Trisha had this hint for spreading the oil on the pan before making the oat pancakes.   Here's her hint:
"Take the whole onion and leaving the skin on, cut it flat at the base so that it can stand. Make sure the broader part of the onion forms the base. Pierce a fork into the opposite end. This will now be used to smear the pan with oil. This lessens the amount of oil used to fry the pancakes."
I thought that was brilliant.  Mainly because I could  use the onion later on.  I mean that little bit of oil on the onion wouldn't hurt a thing.  I could then throw the whole onion in the pot when making chicken stock, so long as the skin has been washed, the skin adds a lovely golden tinge to the stock.  But I didn't use the onion, I used my cooking spray and a little EVOO.  

 Recipe:  Savoury Oat Pancakes
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats, toasted lightly and ground up (I used my broiler to toast the oats)
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup semolina
1 tsp cumin seeds (I also toasted the cumin seed a little.
1 onion, finely chopped
 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper corns or a few grinds of fresh pepper
1 Jalapeno, seeded,  chopped fine  (I always have Jalapeno's in the freezer so just pulled one out and chopped it.
Salt, to taste
Enough water to make a runny batter (about 1 1/2 cups. I put in a 1/3 cup at a time)
EVOO  for frying and to saute the onion and pepper

Toast the oats in a dry pan or put under the broiler til they just brown and toast a little.  If using the broiler, keep a careful eye on it.  I burnt the first batch. 
Cool the oats a little and then process in a grinder, til they become powder.  (I didn't process mine enough and ended up putting them back into the grinder and processing them a little more.)

In a pan, heat a little EVOO, about a tsp. and saute the chopped onion and Jalapeno until the onion and pepper are soft. 
Put the toasted oat flour, rice flour, semolina, cumin seeds, the sauteed onions, the crushed pepper and salt into a bowl and mix it together.
 
Add  water 1/3 cup at a time, enough to make a runny batter.


Spray a pan with some cooking spray and 1/2 tsp. EVOO.  Heat over medium high heat.   Using a scoop put about a 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and swirl it around to cover the bottom of the pan.  I used a spoon to spread mine out.   

 You have to work fast, and make sure your batter is thin.  I ended up adding more water to mine.  Cover the pan and let cook for a couple of minutes, then flip it over and cook on the other side.   It should come out nice and browned.   When it has cooked to a nice crispness, take out and serve with some Chutney.  

Savoury Oat Pancakes
I have a confession here.  I forgot I used up my chutney last week, and I didn't have any in the pantry either. So...
I pulled the Duck Sauce out of the fridge and served that with these.  And it was good.   I also had them for breakfast alongside an egg and some bacon.   
What can I say, I love not eating traditional sides with my breakfast. 
 

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Sunday, August 28, 2016

Bok Choy Stir Fry with Yakisoba Noodles

It's official, I'm in love.
Well, with Yakisoba Noodles as part of a stir fry.

JSL Foods sent me some Yakisoba Noodles for a Food Blogger Challenge Contest.  They're looking for not only Stir Fry recipes but also Cold Noodle salad recipes.

Bok Choy Stir Fry with Yakisoba Noodles
My stir fry didn't last long enough to get cold.

I made this Bok Choy Stir Fry with Yakisoba Noodles and it was good.
Actually, it was great.

I used some Satay Kacang sauce for flavoring, and I'll share that recipe a little later on.

I'm not sure if I should admit this, but I'm a little addicted to Bok Choy.  I like the babies and the big ones.  They're all good.


yield: 2 servingsprint recipe

Bok Choy Stir Fry with Yakisoba Noodles

prep time: 10 MINScook time: 10 MINStotal time: 20 mins
This Boy Choy Stir Fry was made with some Yakisoba Noodles sent to me by JSL foods to create a recipe from.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 Baby Bok Choy, cut into strips, lengthwise
  • 1/4 cup Garlic Chives, chopped
  • 1 Carrot, peeled and cut into very thin coins, diagonally
  • 1 package Yaki Soba Noodles
  • 1/4 cup Satay Kagang Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Seasoned Rice Vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Sweet Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 -1 tsp. Sesame Seed Oil
  • 1/4-1/2 cup water
  • 2 tsp. EVOO for frying, divided
  • Sesame Seeds for garnish (opt.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Cut the Bok Choy, Carrots and Garlic chives up. Heat a wok with 1 tsp. of the EVOO to medium high. While that is heating, whisk the Satay Kagang sauce, the Sweet Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil and Rice Wine Vinegar together. Set aside. Saute the garlic chives in the oil for a minute, add the Noodles and 1/4-1/2 cup water, let heat through then tease the noodles apart. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Take out of pan, set aside. Add second teaspoon of EVOO to pan/wok, then add the vegetables, stirring them for a couple of minutes to cook. Add the sauteed noodles, mix together. Add the Satay Sauce, reserving a couple of tablespoons. Stir to combine. Serve with a drizzle of the Satay sauce and some Sesame Seeds if you like, or not.
Created using The Recipes Generator
 Cut the Bok Choy, Garlic Chives, Carrot and Celery up. 
Mix the Satay sauce, Sweet Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar and Sesame Oil in a small bowl, set aside.
Saute the Garlic Chives in the EVOO in a medium hot pan or wok for a couple of minutes,
add the Noodles and 1/4-1/2 cup water, let heat through then tease the noodles apart. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.   Take out of pan, set aside.    Add second teaspoon of EVOO to pan/wok, then add the vegetables, stirring them for a couple of minutes to cook.  Add the sauteed noodles, mix together.
Bok Choy Stir Fry with Yakisoba Noodles
Add the Satay Sauce, reserving a couple of tablespoons.  Stir to combine.
Bok Choy Stir Fry with Yakisoba Noodles
Serve with a drizzle of the Satay sauce and some Sesame Seeds if you like, or not.

I also used the Noodles in a Shrimp Stir Fry which I put into some Spring Rolls last week. 

 Thanks to JSL Foods for the great Yaki-Soba Noodles and thanks for letting me participate in the contest.

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Friday, August 26, 2016

Potato Cakes from leftover Brændende kærlighed.

I meant to post this in a more timely fashion, but life got in my way.

However, I'm sure if you tried my Brændende kærlighed, you loved it.  But you may have had some leftover.

No shame in that.    I had some leftover, and put it into the fridge cause I didn't want to throw it away.

Who wastes Bacon and Mashed Potatoes anyway?

Not me.

So I decided to play with the leftovers.

It's my food and I can play if I want to, so there.

What I came up with was something that, ummm, made me wish I had more leftovers to play with cause it was downright delicious and yummy and I'm getting hungry just thinking about it again.

Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love Potato Cakes
I put the leftovers in a bowl, added a scant half cup of flour and and an egg.   Mixed it all together and then proceeded to form cakes out of them and fried them in a little butter.
Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love Potato Cakes

They were fantastic with a little dab of Creme Fraiche on top.   I'm tempted to make Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love again, just so I can have the leftovers.

Recipe:  Burning Love Potato Cakes              Yield about 4 good sized Potato Cakes

1-2 cups leftover Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love
1 egg
1/2 cup flour

1 Tbsp. Butter
1 Tbsp. EVOO

Mix the first three ingredients together and then dollop 1/4-1/2 cup portions onto a preheated pan with the butter and EVOO melted together over medium high heat.  Fry on one side until a lovely dark brown, and then flip over.  Continue to cook on the other side until it also gets a brown crust.   Serve with some Creme Fraiche.
Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love Potato Cakes

Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love Potato Cakes

Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love Potato Cakes

Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love Potato Cakes
All I know is that these made a brilliant breakfast.  And pretty well balanced as well.  
I had my egg, potatoes, bacon and a touch of caramelized onion alongside the dairy in the Creme Fraiche.

And did you notice I managed to time this post so that you have time to make some Brændende kærlighed or Burning Love for dinner this weekend so you can use the leftovers for breakfast on Sunday?
Just sayin...

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Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Yaki-Soba Noodle Spring Roll with Shrimp

I was asked to participate in a recipe creation contest using these Yaki-Soba Stir Fry Japanese Noodles for the JSL Foods Fortune Asian Noodle Blogger Recipe Challenge.

Yakisiba Noodle Spring Rolls
 JSL Foods sent me the noodles, with the only caveat being that I had to get my recipe in and done by the deadline. The opinions and recipe are my own.  But honestly, I'd go buy these.   They were that good.
These came in a box, with an ice pack and I promptly transferred the noodles to the fridge.

I took the challenge and then spent several sleepless hours/days coming up with great ideas, some of which were probably, luckily, forgotten by morning. 

I played with ideas, and some of them played back.   Then it was getting to the end of the month and a deadline was approaching.

FAST!!!!  . 

I had my monthly Tapas Night coming up and was trying to come up with ideas for that as well, and a perfect confluence happened.

I got an idea and well, here it is.

Spring Rolls with Noodles.

Yup, something really simple and WOW, was it good.
Even if I do say so myself.
I consider myself rather inspired by this. 
The Noodles were great, btw, but I elevated them. 

OK, so I just held them over my head while people were fighting to get the last little morsel off the plate.
Just kidding, but they did go over well.   I ate it.
Yakisiba Noodle Spring Rolls


Recipe: Yakisoba Noodle Spring Roll                                               

1 package,  JSL Yakisoba noodles, warmed through and cooked in a little chicken broth.
4 small Bok Choy, chiffonaded ,tops and bottoms, sauteed
1/2 head cabbage, shredded  (If using Napa Cabbage, use the whole head)
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined.
4 tablespoons garlic chives, chopped
1-2 tablespoons Sweet Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1-2 tablespoons EVOO
1 tsp. Sesame Oil (more if you like it)
1/4 cup Chicken Stock

1 dozen  Rice Paper Wraps
Hot water for Rice Paper

Chiffonade the Bok Choy, cutting across the whole bulb,  saute in 1 tablespoon of EVOO for 2 minutes over medium heat, then add the noodles and 1/4 cup chicken stock, place a lid over top, and turn off the heat. 
Let sit for 2-3 minutes, then tease the noodles apart, place in a bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon EVOO to the pan and saute the shrimp with the Garlic Chives, turning over to cook, then take them aside. OK to taste test one or two to make sure they are properly cooked.
  Set aside and allow to cool for just a couple of minutes, then cut them in half lengthwise.   Add the sauteed Bok Choy and Noodles to the Shrimp along with the shredded cabbage.
These will take less than 5 minutes to cook, you want them to be nicely pink, but not overcooked.  It's
  Whisk together the Sweet Soy Sauce, the Rice Vinegar and the Sesame Oil.   Pour over the Noodle mixture and stir gently to combine.
Pick up a rice paper round, dip it into the water, and holding onto the edge, whoosh it through a little, you want to soften the rice paper. 
Place the softened Rice paper onto a piece of plastic wrap.  It will have gotten really soft and pliable.  Working quickly, put a 1/4 cup or handful of the noodle mixture onto the side of the rice paper closest to you.
Yakisoba Noodle Spring Rolls
Picking up the edge, fold over the noodles, then bring in the sides of the round, one at a time, and finish off by rolling the spring roll together.  You want to get it as tight as possible.  And the best part of making your own spring rolls, is that you can put as much filling in as you like, just make sure you don't get too much in there, as it's hard to bite into, sometimes.   Continue until you've used up all the filling.   You may need fewer Rice Paper wrappers.  Depending upon how much filling you get into each roll.

Serve with some Satay Kacang sauce or Sweet Hot Chile sauce.  I like to cut my spring rolls in half, diagonally, for presentation.
Yakisoba Noodle Spring Rolls


Yakisoba Noodle Spring Rolls
 Personally, I liked the Satay Kacang sauce I made.  I'll share that recipe later.  Right now, the star, and final contender are these Yakisoba Noodles. 
Yakisoba Noodle Spring Rolls

Thanks JSL Foods for sending me some really great noodles and inviting me to participate in this challenge.  I had fun, eating the evidence.    

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Monday, August 22, 2016

Tapas Night for August

We had a smaller than usual turnout on Saturday, but it was a hot August night so most everyone stayed inside, where the air conditioning worked great. 

And there was plenty of seating.  We did have a few diehards who ended up on the porch, but we usually do.

You're here to find out about the food though aren't you?

We did have some fun dishes.  And I showed off my Danish side.  Not only did I have candles on the table, but I actually remembered to light them as well.   I wanted to make it as 'Hygge' as possible. 

Tapas Night Table
We usually have an interesting variety of dishes that are brought and shared.   And this month was no exception. 

Flautas
 Taquito's with home made Salsa
Salsa
 Cold Lentil Salad
Sliced Ham
Green Curry with Pork
Pizza Bites
Cold Noodles with Peanut Sauce and braised cooked Radishes in the background
Veggies and Dip
Quinoa Salad
Broccoli Salad
Garbanzo or Chickpea Salad
\
I think I saw a theme there.
Deviled Eggs
Quiche
and I made...
Feta dip to go with some Naan
  Chutney Wings.  I used a mixture of Mango Chutney and Cranberry Chutney
and some Shrimp Burger Bites with Limey Sauce
I also made some Spring Rolls but I'll tell you all about them in another post, with some killer Satay Sauce
There was also a Strawberry/Banana Jello Salad
as well as a Cherry Clafouti
and if anyone left hungry, that was their problem. 

Judging from the empty look of the serving plates and bowls on the table, I don't think anyone did. 
Go home hungry that is.

So that's it til next month. 

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