Smoked Salmon Goats Cheese Rice Paper Roll

It was 10:30pm. I had 2 gym sessions that day (boxing and thejunglebody). I started feeling peckish and was raiding our fridge.

A packet of smoked salmon, some sprouts and goats cheese. A lightbulb came in my head. While paper-roll is not exactly "paleo"- i have some in my pantry from our housewarming "paper roll party", it is low in sugar.

I placed 2 pieces of smoked salmon, some pea sprouts and a dollop of goats cheese, rolled it up and viola.... supper!


I think they look cute in a cocktail party or a dish to bring to a bbq this summer as well.

I wish I can come up with more healthy snack options. Some of my current other snack options are
- nuts
- apple with almond nut butter
- greek yogurt with my homemade nut muesli
- a few slices of cheddar cheese
- handful of popcorn

What are some of your snack options?

Smoked Salmon Goats Cheese Rice Paper Roll (Makes 3)
6 pieces of smoked salmon
1/2 cup of sprouts
2 tablespoon of goats cheese
3 paper roll

Wet paper roll. Place smoked salmon, sprouts and goats cheese in the centre. Roll, fold sides in and roll again. Wet ends to seal.

Bacon Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms

The best times at work are with my fabulous colleagues. I worked with the most fantastic people- always with a good joke on hand, caring gestures, good food and good conversation. That's a lot of good here. 

So we had a team building and organised a bbq. You should have seen the spread. From lamb sausages, to steaks, marinated chicken drumlets, salads... it was truly like a big family gathering together enjoying some sunshine and quality time.

I decided to wrap a piece of bacon with water chestnuts around enoki mushrooms. That did create some conversation as it is not a normal bbq offering. I love the smokey flavour of bacon, matched with a slight sweetness from water chest nut and a bite from enoki.

ps- I'm on holidays but will be back soon!!! I have most posts coming up. Sorry if I reply a little later than usual but I will get to it!

Bacon Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms
10 pieces of middle bacon
1 packet of enoki mushrooms
can water chestnut
toothpicks!

Slice middle bacon into half lengthwise. Wrap bacon and enoki mushrooms and secure with toothpicks. Grill or bbq for 10 minutes or so. Eat hot!

Sesame Hummus

I am such a big fan of dips! Come to think of it, dips are not what I was used to growing up in Sunny Singapore. Along with cheeses, I believed I learned "the art of eating dips" when I was in university attending late night classes. I recall that at break time, we would usually have some crackers/dips with cheese as our dinner!

The other thing about dips I like is that it seem to make everything taste better. Wanting to eat more vege sticks? Dip into some salsa or hummus. A plain wrap? Add a tsp of dip and we can call it gourmet!

Once again, I was experimenting making hummus and decided that sesame oil and sesame seeds can be used instead of the paste. I love the aroma of the hummus and it just seem to make it a tad special. Perfect for morning tea!

Sesame Hummus (Serves 4)
1 can of chick peans drained and rinsed
1 tsp of sesame oil
2 tsp of toasted sesame seed
squeeze of lemon
salt/pepper

Blitz all in the food processor. Serve with crackers and vege sticks.

Thai Salmon Potato Cakes

By now you know about my love for simple foods. I call making patties food therapy. I love shaping some mash potato with fish and throwing it on the grill plate. I used some thai flavours in this fish cakes adding kaffia lime leaves and fish sauce. Because I like the bite of spring onions, I decided to throw some in as well to the patties.

I deliberately didnt mash the potatoes as much- so that there are some chunks when the cakes are bitten into. I could have probably added some chopped chili to the mixture but I ran out (surprise?!).

The other thing I did was to make a dipping sauce to go with it. Lemon juice, sugar and good dash of fish sauce and chopped chili heated gently did the trick. We were so addicted to this that we kept munching on it. Oh well, at least this is cheap AND health.

Thai Salmon Potato Cakes (serves 2)
2 potatoes boiled cooked and mashed with some soy milk.
1 200 grams tin salmon flaked 
2-3 kaffia leaves
2-3 sprigs of spring onion chopped
2 tablespoon of fish sauce
1/4 cup of corn flour
1/4 cup of plain flour
1 egg
seasoning

Combine mixture together. Shape into patties. Pre heat fry pan with oil. Fry patty each side for around 4 minutes. Serve with dipping sauce.

Thai Dipping sauce

1/2 juice of lemon
2 tablespoon of fish sauce
1/2 tsp of sugar
2 chili padi chopped

simmer all ingredients till sugar has dissolved.

Sundried Tomato Hummus

Once a month, I was on morning tea duty, preparing morning tea items for office colleagues. It's our way to thank each other, appreciating each other for the work we put in weekly. This Hummus was my "last" morning tea preparation as I left the position soon after. As I was preparing it, it was bitter sweet- especially since I have many memories there.

Hence, it was important for me to get it right. To make something that everyone could enjoy. While I was blitzing this hummus up, I thought it was abit too tangy for my liking. I mmm and ahhh.. pondering whether to bring this hummus for morning tea. In the end I did it, and to my utmost surprise, everyone liked it and it was finished by the next morning. My colleagues assured me that it wasn't a show but the tangyness was something slightly different from what other dips offered out there.

Well for me, I was just glad they liked it.

Sundried Tomato Hummus
1 can of chickpeas drained
80 grams of semi sundried tomatoes (I used the 97 fat free one)
1/2 lemon squeezed
1/4 cup of olive oil
Season with some salt and cracked pepper.

Blitz everything up. Serve with crackers. ;)

Herb and Nut Cheese Roll

 Sweet Happy Mothers Day to all amazing mothers out there! Hope your family is pampering and bringing you lovely breakfast in bed on this pretty Sunday.

To our mothers, oh what amazing joy is it to be your children. I could never ask for more being blessed with hardworking, self sacrificing mothers. Both my mum, mother in law and grandmother taught me how a strong woman should be like. I take pride in calling them my family.

Recently, we were invited to a gorgeous dinner with our french friends. Here lies a dilemma, what do one bring when the french invites you over for dinner? They said no food... but finally agreed that I could bring drinks. I couldn't resist, and decided to thank them for creating such a wonderful meal for us by bringing what I thought would be appropriate- cheese!

Camembert and cream cheese blended together then rolled in chives and pistachio nuts. I was told that both cheeses went well, and the pistachios gave it a nutty kick. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to try it as I was in the kitchen getting all excited in seeing a dessert being made. I got a text though from our friends later on who told us that they loved this simple cheese roll.

and I'm pleased. I have managed to bring something that the french like! ;)

Herb and Nut Cheese Roll

250 grams camembert cheese
150 grams of cream cheese
a small bunch of chives chopped
1/4 cup of pistachios shelled and chopped

Whisk both cheese together till well mixed. Place the mixture onto baking paper. Roll it up and twist both ends. Fridge it for at least 1 hour.

Unroll, roll cheese on to chives and pistachios. This time round, wrap mixture with glad wrap. Again, roll it and twist both ends. Fridge it for another 1 hr at least. Serve with crackers.

Cheese Twists

Oh a quick idea for left over puff pastries. Cutting the pastries into quarters, I sprinkled some cheese, rolled it up and twist it.

It's like the old song "twist it..shake it shake it shake it baby"!

Cheese Twists (I made around 4 of them)
1 puff pastry defrosted
3/4 cup of cheese
sprinkle of paprika

Preheat Oven 200C. Quarter puff pastry, sprinkle cheese and paprika. Roll and twist. Song and dance optional.

Indian Style Butter Bean and Avocado Dip

Every Tuesday, my colleagues and I take turns to bring morning tea. Given that we have hours of meetings, morning tea (which usually turns into our lunch) sweeten the deal. Recently, we seem to be pretty keen on dips. It started with store bought and we realized that it is probably much cheaper and healthier to make our own. It started with garlic hummus, and graduated to mashed avocado with taco seasoning dip (gotta try this one at home one day!). I decided to experiment and came out with this dip instead.




I toasted the spices first before adding it to the butter bean and avocado mixture. Instead of adding olive oil, I used fresh lemon juice. This makes this dip far healthier than other options out there.It's addictive! Given that many of us hosts Christmas events, hopefully this dip will inspire you to create a dip with your own Christmas signature on it.

By the time you read this, I am on the plane for a short holiday and to be part of a bridal party at my best friend's wedding. Thankfully, I have prepared some posts for you to enjoy while I am away and I hope you will enjoy what I have for you. *muacks*

Indian Style Butter Bean and Avocado Dip

2 cans of butter beans (You can also use chickpeas) 
1 large avocado
1 lemon-juiced

3 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1/2 tsp of chili powder
2 tsp of tumeric powder
1 tsp of garam masala powder
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Over low heat, add oil to small pan with spices. Toast gently till it smells beautiful.
Meanwhile, drain beans and place in food processor with chopped avocado and lemon juice. Blitz it for 1 min or 2. Add toasted spices and blitz it again. Taste and season accordingly. Serve with crackers.

Spicy Bacon and Bean Soup

Sometimes, just in a very odd day... I do not feel like cooking.

Ever have one those days?

You know, those days when it is probably towards the end (or start) of the week.. when it has been a long long week, where everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong. And when you snap at loved one around you who asked you to  to count your blessings ( you know it wasn't that bad afterall). When the last thing you want to do is to face the kitchen and think about what you and your family would like to eat.

I experienced one of those days recently.

The thing is, on those days, action counts. And once I am in there, knowing that I am making something simple and comforting seems to relieve the "pain" for just that 15 mins that I am in the kitchen. When chopping veges actually cleared your head. And slipping hot spicy soup brings warmth to your heart.

What will we do without soup?

Spicy Bacon and Bean Soup (Serves 4-5) 
Beef stock (1 ltr) 
1 can of mixed beans
1 packet of lean bacon (I used weight watchers) chopped
1 onion chopped
1 tsp of chili powder
 1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 red capsicum chopped
1 cup of mushrooms chopped
4-5 stalks of celery chopped 
1 cup of frozen corn (make that 2 please!)
2 fresh tomato chopped 

some Parmesan cheese and toasted bread to serve

Heat soup pot. Cook bacon till it is slightly brown. Add onion and cook till translucent. Toss veges and beans through add stock. Simmer for15-20 minutes. Taste and season. Serve with cheese, cracked pepper and bread.

Garlic Bread

Food always evoke memories. Garlic Bread must be one of the first food item I learned how to make-together with a few other girls from church. Our church senior taught us how to make the garlic mixture, we toasted them and sold it in our little church cafe to raise funds. That recipe never left me, and every time I made this, it reminded me of my fun teenagehood days.

I made this for our bbq nights when friends come over for some tucker. One huge french loaf will make 3 sticks of it. Always the first to go, it is pure comfort when waiting for the meat to be sizzled on our bbq.

Garlic Bread (enough for 1 french loaf)
around 5-6 tablespoons of spread or butter
2 generous tablespoons of choppped garlic or more if adventurous  
2 tsp of Italian dried mixed herbs
1 tsp of sugar
pinch of salt 

mix everything up till it becomes smooth.. Spread mixture in cut french loaf. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake it in preheated oven 180C for 15 minutes.

Chorizo and Halloumi Cheese Skewers

Edited on 13th of April:

Another inspiration from Donna Hay Mag. This time, this was from the recent issue "50 fast dinners" (I think it was March?). A simple side dish that our guests loved. She calls it the "Squeaky cheese" -Halomi of course! Certainly, I love this when it is grilled up and served with a side of lemon. Ahh.. simple eats in life!

Halloumi Cheese is made of a mixture of goats and sheep's milk. It has a different texture to other cheese and could hold its shape when grilled (higher melting point). I don't think it resembles any other cheese- except that it is a hard cheese and not a soft one like brie. 

Chorizo and Halmomi Skewers (made around 6)
1 Chorizo sliced
around 50 grams of Halomi Cheese chopped in cubes.

bamboo skewers soaked in hot water.


Skewer these babies up, grill them and serve with lemon! Simple as!

This week, I am hosting PRESTO PASTA! Come and join us as we celebrate another week of creative pasta dishes. Don't be shy!  Send me an email at daphnesu16(at)yahoo(dot)com for all your entries.

Simple Okonomiyaki

Growing up, watching "Fang Tai" cook in our television screen is the norm. What I used to be amazed, was the amount of oil she seemed to have on hand. There was always a wok filled with oil ready for deep frying- and how nearly EVERY dish required deep frying!

Mum and I went shopping one day at OG (2 years ago maybe?), and I spotted "Fang Tai"'s  Quick and Easy Meals cookbook. I flipped through and surprise surprise, the dishes featured were alot healthier than what was before.

This simple Okonomiyaki caught my attention because it is what it says, simple. I never did associated the word simple with Okonomiyaki, so it was nice to know that it can be replicated in the small kitchen.

Funny enough, in the cooking instructions, it says add water but now where did it state how much water to add to the batter. I went with my "gut feeling" and added it till it becomes a semi thick batter that we can pour easily using a ladle.

Simple Okonomiyaki 

3/4 cup of flour
1/2 cabbage shredded
mushrooms
1 packet of ham
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tbsp oil
around 1 cup of water
Teriyaki sauce
Mayo

Salt and pepper

Sieve flour and baking powder, add water and mix into batter. Put oil and seasoning. Mix well and set aside for 20 mins. Fold all veges and ham in batter.
Heat oil in pan. pour small ladle of batter into pan, flip after around 5 mins. Serve with teriyaki sauce and mayo!

Corn Chowder with Crispy Corn SalsaTopping

You read about my love for corn so imagine my delight when I stumbled to this recipe from Epicurious.com. This is seriously GOOD stuff.. Like the most amazing corn attack ever.

I followed the recipe-except that I used frozen corn instead of fresh corn and left out the jalapeno. Still, I found the crispy corn guacamole to be soooo good. I could just eat that with crackers I think!

Hummus Dip

You know my love for our food processor. One other handy thing that I can now do is to make dips! Freshly made dips and pesto will not be a hassle anymore. Hummus is made out of chickpeas and sesame paste. It's a real treat as a dip or even as a spread. I know of some recipes that pair hummus with grilled lamb as well. One reason why I like hummus is because of it's nutty taste! Oh, and not forgetting that this is probably one of the healthier alternatives to other sorts of oily dips or spreads.

Hummus
1 can of chickpeas (or 1 cup of dried chickpea soaked overnight)
2-3 tablespoon of sesame paste (Tahini)
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1-2 tablespoon of olive oil
seasoning

Whiz everything together. Do a taste test and adjust seasoning accordingly. Serve with water crackers or as a spread.

Sunday Lunch with the boys- Yu Sheng and Pan Fried Dumplings

Sunday came and we had friends over. What's CNY without celebrating with your friends right? Our 2 friends were from different backgrounds- The first guy, Australian Caucasian was fascinated with Yu Sheng and the tradition that goes behind it. The second guy, born in Penang but grew up in Australia only tasted Yu Sheng once a few years back. That didn't stop us from tossing Yu Sheng as high as we could (with chopsticks!) and saying our wishes for the year in English.



I prepared the dumplings the evening before and pan-fried them in the morning. Crisp with juicy meat filling! Here's a budget tip, instead of using goyza skin/dough, use dumpling/suai gow skin. Often, the dough for dumplings is cheaper, contains less preservatives and is generally bigger than the goyza skin. Larger diameter of the dough = more filling!

Pan Fried Dumplings (makes 24)
300 grams of pork mince
1 can of sliced chestnuts chopped

Seasoning
2 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of corn flour
2 tablespoons of soya sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1/4 cup of huo tiong jiu

24 dumpling skin
1 egg- beaten
24 shelled prawns (optional)
1/4 cup of oil

Marinate pork mince with seasoning. Stir in chesnuts. Refrigerate mixture for 2 hours. Put a tablespoon of mince and a prawn in the middle of the dumpling. Using your thumb and index fingers, seal the dumplings by dappling some egg on the edge of the dough.

Heat pan with oil. Gently pan-fried each dumpling, turning them over after approximately 3 minutes. Serve with dumplings soya sauce.

Note- I also made some vegetarian tong fun with sea moss, mushrooms, cabbage and black fungus. Easy peasy stir fry. =)

Chunky Salsa

During my first week in Perth, mum n granny came with me to make sure everything went smoothly (e.g. not going to stave, know how to do my laundry and have a roof over my head). For everyday that week, mum ate an avocado. (*waves hi to mum*)

I distinctly remembered asking her what kind of fruit is it. I also remembered her turning around and say "try but I don't think you will like it." Till this day, I'm not sure why she said that. Perhaps it's the texture or the taste. Contrary to her statement, I found myself enjoying this fruit.

A medium avocado contains 1/2 the required amount of fat intake for an average person a day (Wikipedia, 2007). Fortunately, the fat is mono saturated, which is the good kind of fat.They are also rich in Vitamin B, E and K. I guess this provides me with another reason for having this healthy fruit!

I usually have my avocados in salads. I love the contrast it provides. Especially when paired with walnuts/pecans and spinach leaves. Other times, I have it in a chicken sandwich.

Occasionally, I make this chunky salsa for lunch or as a topping for tacos. If I'm cooking an elaborate dinner, I make this as a pre-dinner snack and serve it with crackers. It's cheap, simple and quick.


Chunky Salsa

1 medium ripe Hass avocado
1 roma tomato
freshly grind cracked pepper
squeeze of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of dukka

other variations
-add chopped zucchinis or cucumber
-Add corn kennels
- add handful of crushed nuts
-add chili powder for a spicy hit.


Chopped avocado and tomato up into tiny pieces. Pop them in a bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over them. Sprinkle with cracked pepper. Give them a good stir, top it up with dukka and serve with your favorite crackers.


Any other ways of using this humble fruit?