Low(er) Carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

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Maybe it's my new thing, but after realizing that I have gained substantial amount of weight, I am attempting to introduce low(er) carb diet into my daily life.
Blame it on my age, blame it on my cigarette-free life (smoked my last one almost 3 years ago), blame it on my increasing food intake, no matter how I put it, jiggly parts don't make me feel exuberant.

And low carb diet is hard. At least for me, being an Asian, life without rice (or very limited amount of it) is deeply challenging.
But at least, I can have these delicious cookies without breaking my carb quota for the day.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chocolate peanut butter (I got mine freshly ground from Whole Foods)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (can be substituted with Splenda, if desired. I personally, do not care much for the taste of it)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1-2 tablespoons flax meals (only if needed)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, mix the first 6 the until well combined. If the dough is too runny, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flax meals and mix.
• Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Place dough balls on the lined baking sheet, about 1-inch apart. Press down each ball with the tines of the fork, to make criss-cross pattern. 
• Bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Pepper Pot

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One fantastic recipe from Saveur magazine. Decided to give it a try and ended up loving it a whole lot! 

This spicy, rich, and warming soup will definitely make it's way back to our dining table again, and again, and again. 

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces pork shoulder
• 12 ounces beef shoulder
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1/4 habanero chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
• 1 pound taro root, or cassava, or potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" cubes
• 1 cup chopped scallion
• 16 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon ground allspice, preferably freshly ground
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound collard greens, rinsed and chopped

Directions:

• Place beef and pork in a bowl; rub heavily with salt. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Rinse meat, dry with paper towel, and cut into 1/4" cubes. Heat oil in an 8-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add pork and beef; cook until browned, about 10 minutes. 
• Add garlic, onion and habanero; cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add taro and scallion, cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add stock, allspice, pepper, thyme, and bay leaves; boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook until meat and taro are tender, about 30 minutes. Add collard greens; cook until wilted, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Jicama and Grapefruit Salad

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Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• Salt and pepper 
• 2 cup shredded red cabbage
• 1 cup shredded jicama
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 3 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
• Segments from 2 large grapefruits
• 1/4 cup candied walnuts, chopped

Directions:

• In a medium glass bowl, mix together the first 4 ingredients to make the dressing. Set aside.
• In a large salad bowl, combine cabbage, carrots, jicama and mint leaves. Add the dressing and toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to individual salad plates, top with grapefruit segments and chopped candied walnuts.

Black Forest Cake with Meringue Buttercream Icing

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I don't bake a lot of full sized cakes for a couple of reasons.

It normally takes more of my time in the kitchen, and we (almost) always ended up with too much cake.

But last week was special. 

First, because it was Valentine's day. And second, because it was J's birthday. Both on a same day.

So I baked a cake, a special one to match the special day.

I went with black forest cake, and took it up a notch by using this silky and melt-in-your-mouth meringue buttercream icing to cover the cake.

Let me tell you this; the cake is soooo good, you will not mind the extra time and effort in the kitchen.

Ingredients for the cake:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions to make the cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottom with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well combined. Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl until soft and creamy. Add eggs, one at the time. Add flour mixture and milk into the cream, a little at the time. Continue mixing until the batter is well mixed. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven, transfer to the wire rack to cool slightly. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely.

Ingredients for the meringue buttercream icing:

• 8 large egg whites
• 2 cup sugar
• 3 cups (6 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon dark rum

Directions to make meringue buttercream icing:

• First, make sure that your saucepan, bowl(s) and utensils you'll use to make this icing is clean and grease free. Wash them thoroughly, dry them, wet a paper towel with some lemon juice and wipe  each one of them with it to remove any excess of grease.
• Place egg whites, sugar and salt in a heated double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl over simmering water), whisk gently until the egg whites are hot and the sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until the icing is thick and creamy. Add butter pieces into the batter, continue beating until the icing is smooth and silky. Lastly, add rum into the icing and mix well. 

Other ingredients:

• 1 can pitted cherries (drain, rinse and each cut in half), divide into 3 portions
• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (optional)
• Chocolate morsels (optional)

To assemble the cake:

• Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the top of each take horizontally so that they're level. Cut each cake again horizontally, half way from the bottom, into two layers. Brush all 4 layers of cake with dark rum.
• Take 1/2 cup of icing and spread it on a layer of cake. Place 1 portion of pitted cherries evenly over the icing. Cover with another layer of cake. Repeat the process with the remaining cake, leaving the top layer without the cream and cherries. 
• Cover the top and sides of the cake with the icing, spread the icing and smooth it using decorating spatula. Transfer the remaining icing into a piping bag with big star tip attached. Pipe the rosettes on the bottom and top parts of the cake. Add raspberries on top and chocolate morsels on each rosette, if desired. Refrigerate the cake for a few hours before serving.

Eat Your Cake...and Your Vegetables, Too!

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Vegetables in my cupcakes? Why, yes!

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
• 12 parmesan chips for topping

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda until well blended. In a mixing bowl, beat egg, butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add half of the cream and half of the flour mixture into the mixing bowl, beat until combined. Add the remaining cream and flour, continue mixing for another 2-3 minutes. 
• Add chopped broccoli, fold into the batter using rubber spatula until well combined. 
• Divide the batter into 12 lined muffin cups. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and transfer to wire rack to cool. Top with a dollop of cream cheese and one piece of parmesan chip before serving.

Makes 12 regular size cupcakes

Oven Baked Garlic Rosemary Fried Chicken

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Garlic rosemary fried chicken does sound and taste wonderful, I hope everybody agrees with it. 

It's the kind of food that when you hear it, you know it's calling your name, longing to be touched, and waiting to be devoured.

And wouldn't it be better, I think, if I could oven bake them instead of deep frying them?

Ingredients for the marinade:

• 8 pieces of chicken
• 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, washed and minced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper

Ingredients for the flour coating:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

• Add chicken, buttermilk, garlic, rosemary, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper into a plastic gallon bag. Squeeze the bag to let out the excess air and seal the top. Message the bag to make sure that all of the ingredients are well blended. Store in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours to overnight. Flip the bag over occasionally. 
• In a large bowl, mix flour, garlic powder, cayenne, rosemary, salt and pepper until well mixed. Take the chicken out of the bag, roll each onto the flour mixture, make sure that each chicken is coated evenly. Transfer chicken onto wire rack and let them rest for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange chicken in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, turn them over and continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until cooked through. 

Note: I personally think the flavors are heavenly. But if I may have one thing to say, is that I wish the chicken could be crispier and browned more evenly. I have done this recipe twice, and thinking that maybe next time I need to modify my cooking method to reach that crispiness level I'd like.

Elevate the chicken by placing them on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet so they're not sitting in their own juice puddle while baking? Use convection oven instead? 

I will try this and will let you know how it goes. Cheers!

Gingery Sweet Potato Soup

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Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger, minced
• 3 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 3 cups milk
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• cilantro sprigs for garnish

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a fork, prick a few holes on sweet potatoes to prevent bursting. Place sweet potatoes on the baking sheet and roast for about 45-60 minutes, or until potatoes are tender but not mushy. Remove sweet potatoes from baking sheet and cool down.
• In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger, cook until tender and translucent. Remove from the saucepan and transfer to a food processor. 
• Peel the skin off the potatoes, cut into smaller pieces and transfer to the food processor. Pulse until smooth, return sweet potato puree into the saucepan. Add milk, season with salt and pepper, simmer for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until well mixed. Transfer to individual bowls, sprinkle with crumbled feta and garnish with cilantro leaves. 

Pineapple Coconut Bread

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Delicious and incredibly moist (thanks to sour cream), crunchy topping makes this sweet and (slightly) tart bread a perfect snack anytime.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sweetened grated coconut
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drain well

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread grated coconut on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally, 6 to 10 minutes; set aside. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch (8 cups) loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at the time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low, and alternately add flour mixture in three parts and sour cream in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined (do not over mix).
• Using a rubber spatula, fold pineapple chunks and 1 cup of coconut into batter. Spoon into prepare pan and smooth top; sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut. Bake until toothpick inserted int he center comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes (cover pan with foil halfway through). Let bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's website