Matcha Lava Cakes

 

I’ve made three recipes with matcha recently. I’ll post the muffin one soon, and there was a coconut matcha panna cotta that never gelled and was way too sweet, but here’s a dessert you will love! It’s matcha lava cakes. The original recipe makes 2 cakes, and I decided that it really wasn’t enough, so I doubled it and got 5 ramekins of about 4 ounces each; the amounts below are mine. Note also that I adjusted the cooking time (15 minutes instead of 9), as I was going for a gooey consistency more than a river-flow of filling. These were amazing! It’s worth spending some money on great matcha so that you get vibrant green cakes.

120 g white chocolate (lactose-free if possible)
6 Tbsp. lactose-free butter, softened
80 g sugar
1 pinch salt
2 eggs
16 g matcha powder
50 g flour

Butter 4 (or 5) ramekins and dust with some flour (especially the bottom part of the ramekin).

In a double-boiler, melt the white chocolate and mix well.

Add softened butter into melted white chocolate and mix well to incorporate.

Mix in the sugar, then beat in the eggs.

Sift in the matcha powder and flour. Mix well until no visible lumps remain.

Pour into prepared ramekins, cling-wrap surface of ramekin and put into the freezer for at least 30 minutes (so that the outside gets cooked faster than the insides).

Preheat oven to 450 °F.

Remove the cling-wrap, place ramekins on a baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes (see note above). It is done when the cake does not look too wobbly when you gently prod it and the surface is evenly colored (not darker in the middle).

Leave cake in the ramekin for 10 minutes to cool. Use a spatula/knife to run the sides of the cake so that it no longer sticks to the bowl. Gently flip the ramekin onto another plate so that the cake falls off nicely. Serve immediately.

Ground Chicken and Green Bean Stir-Fry

 

When I saw this recipe in Real Simple, I knew I had to make it! I’ve been eating a lot of chicken lately, because it’s a lean protein that everyone in my family likes, and we all like Asian-inspired dishes. This one was really good! I adapted the recipe a bit to my taste and to ensure leftovers; the amounts below are mine.

1 cup jasmine rice
4 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
4 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
4 Tbsp. mirin
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. neutral oil (such as canola), divided
12 oz. fresh green beans, trimmed
1 bag colorful miniature bell peppers, sliced
¾ tsp. kosher salt, divided
2 lbs. ground chicken

Cook rice according to package directions.

Meanwhile, whisk hoisin sauce, soy sauce, mirin, and garlic in a small bowl.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high until it is shimmering. Add beans and bell peppers; sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned in spots and crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add chicken and sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally to break chicken into crumbles, until browned, 5 to 6 minutes.

Return beans and bell peppers to the skillet and pour in soy sauce mixture. Increase heat to medium-high; cook, stirring, until sauce is slightly thickened and coats chicken and vegetables, about 1 minute. Serve with the rice.

Poultry Meatballs with Pasta

 

This recipe from Weelicious was great! It was originally for chicken meatballs with mini wheel pasta, and in my kitchen it became turkey meatballs with farfalle. We found it a bit too salty, so I’m modifying the instructions below. The Little Prince, who does not like bocconcini, could still pick it out from his dish easily, so he didn’t mind it. We give this 4 thumbs up!

1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs (mine were plain)
1 large egg, beaten
2 tsp. salt, divided (I recommend 1 tsp. total, see note below)
1 lb. ground chicken (I used ground turkey)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. lactose-free bocconcini mozzarella mini balls (it should say 0 g sugar on the label)
1 lb. piccolini or mini-wheel pasta (I used farfalle)
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, julienned

Cook the pasta 1 minute less than package directions call for. Drain the pasta and set aside.

Mix the bread crumbs, ground chicken, egg and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl (I recommend omitting the salt here, or using half the amount).

With wet hands use 1 teaspoon of the ground chicken mixture to roll into each tiny meatball (mine were a little bigger).

Heat a large pot with 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.

Cook the meatballs for 3 minutes, turning occasionally.

Add the garlic to the meatballs and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomato sauce, remaining salt, and basil and continue to cook the meatballs and sauce for 8 minutes over low heat.

Add the cooked pasta and mozzarella balls to the pot with the sauce and cook until the cheese and pasta are heated through, about 2-3 minutes.

Serve.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

 

I tried these chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal cookies. To be honest, these do not beat the best of each category of cookies I like to make (chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal chocolate chip), but it was nice to taste something new that combined all of them!

½ cup lactose-free butter, softened to room temperature
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural)
1 egg + 1 yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned whole oats
½ tsp. baking soda
1 pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I used bittersweet)

Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper and set aside.

Cream together the butter with the sugars, then mix in the peanut butter.

Add the egg and egg yolk and vanilla extract, and stir.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir. (You should have achieved cookie dough consistency, and if you haven’t, either add a touch more flour if it’s too wet or a touch more peanut butter if it’s too dry.)

Finally, add the chocolate chips and stir in.

Scoop a dozen golf ball-sized portions of dough onto the cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. They spread but not much (a tip to reduce spreading is to refrigerate and chill the dough prior to baking).

Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes. (I like soft cookies, so I baked mine for 10 minutes.) Let cool before eating.

Hot chicken

 

Est-ce qu’on a vraiment besoin d’une recette de hot chicken? J’avais un sachet de mélange à sauce brune St-Hubert, et tout d’un coup, je me suis souvenue de l’existence du hot chicken, que je n’avais jamais encore fait goûter à mes enfants. J’ai consulté le site de Ricardo par acquis de conscience, et Ricardo a sa propre recette de sauce brune si vous n’avez pas de mélange St-Hubert. C’est simple comme souper, et les enfants ont aimé! J’ai servi ça avec des frites en plus des petits pois.

¾ tasse de bouillon de poulet ou d’eau
½ tasse de petits pois surgelés
340 g (2 tasses) de poulet cuit coupé en dés ou effiloché, chaud
1 recette de sauce brune, chaude (donc mon sachet de St-Hubert, préparé)
8 tranches de pain blanc (ou 8 petits pains à farcir ovales ou ronds tranchés en deux à l’horizontale)

Dans une petite casserole, porter le bouillon à ébullition. Ajouter les pois et laisser mijoter de 2 à 3 minutes ou jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient tendres. Égoutter.

Garnir 4 tranches de pain de poulet et napper de sauce. Couvrir avec les autres tranches de pain et napper du reste de la sauce. Garnir de petits pois.

Fiji

 I went on this amazing trip to Fiji over spring break, basically because Fiji Airways was having a crazy sale on the direct flight to/from Dallas (I mean, I literally have paid the same for a ticket to Montreal, so this was too good to pass up!), plus it’s low season over there so accommodations were within my budget. And it was amazing!

I stuck to Viti Levu (the big island) partly for financial considerations and partly to make logistics easier, especially since it was also the rainy season and I didn’t know what to expect. (It turns out the weather was beautiful, but even the day before my departure, the forecast looked pretty bad!) But did you know that Fiji has a total of 333 islands? There is a lot to explore!

First, know that the Nadi airport has a room where you can store your luggage securely – it is located right next to the car rental counters, and you must pay in cash. The price was FJD 10.05 for my suitcase. So I left my checked bag there and took only my backpack with me for sightseeing.

I booked a tour from an agency that was directly in the airport lobby. Obviously, I’d recommend doing this ahead of time, but I hadn’t realized that for many travelers, Fiji is a connecting destination, so they often do a quick tour between flights and there are several agencies that accommodate it. I got lucky and got a spot! (This was one place where credit cards are the way to go, so make sure you know your PIN if your card requires one overseas.)

Our first stop was Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple, which is the biggest Hindu temple in the Pacific. I love how colorful it is! You must be dressed modestly, though they can lend you a sarong to cover up, and you will need to take off your shoes for the visit. You can only take photos on the outside, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that the inside, especially the paintings on the ceiling, is worth the visit! There are also coconut trees outside, which to me are always exotic.

The next stop was the Nadi farmers’ market, where you can buy souvenirs (including honey, tamarind paste, and kava powder). I loved seeing the tropical flowers as well as all the exotic produce! I tasted the most amazing lady finger banana – I mean, it was so much sweeter and more flavorful than any banana I’d ever had before! I also tasted kava, a local drink, which… might be an acquired taste, to be honest.

The third stop was Viseisei Village, the first settlement in Fiji, founded some 3,000 years ago by people who sailed in from what is now Tanzania. We encouraged the local economy a bit by purchasing some souvenirs (jewelry in my case, which is definitely plastic instead of the pearl and coral promised, but I really like what I bought!), then I donned a sarong (women must wear one at the village), and we visited the village square and the church. Our guide told us that the locals are very happy they were converted to Christianity! The highlight for me was that they built the whole church themselves, so that they would have a place of worship that didn’t get blown down by every hurricane. The dome was particularly impressive, especially given that they built that part in only a day! We also saw the chief’s house, which isn’t actually where he lives, but where he hosts official visitors (like the British Royal Family).

The last stop on the tour was the one I really wanted to see, the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. There is a collection of orchids, as well as more expansive grounds with lots of native plants which you can take more time to explore. Upon returning to the reception area, we were given a glass of fresh fruit juice, and it was fabulous!

I really liked doing this tour because it allowed me to see a lot of things in the area, and it was affordable. I also learned things about Fiji; I knew that its main industry is tourism, but I learned that the next three are exports: in order, sugar cane, wood (especially mahogany), and Fiji water. Plus, the people are very friendly! You can expect to hear “Bula!” many, many times a day (it is a greeting, the equivalent of both “hello” and “welcome”).

Another thing I would have liked to do in the area is visit the hot springs and mud baths; however, logistics seemed a bit complicated for me given that I was still in transit between the airport and my hotel. But it’s one of the top things to do in Fiji!

My hotel was on the Coral Coast, which is known for its beaches and clear water. While it was a really nice hotel, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by the waterfront – I had not realized that the whole thing was on a lagoon, not a sandy beach like I had pictured. And there were a few problems with the billing, but that’s another story! The grounds were really nice, though, and there was a fruit bat colony right there are the hotel, which provided endless entertainment for me.

The next day, I took a cab to Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park, which was wonderful. The guide who greeted me showed me the map (of which I took a photo, because they don’t have paper copies) and told me about the two trail options. Since it was already hot at 9:00am, I opted for the shorter trail. I couldn’t tell you how long it is, though, because even though the guide said it was 1.5 km (0.93 miles), I started walking uphill and after 5 minutes or so, cursed under my breath because I had forgotten to start my Strava counter. I started it right then, and by the time I came back to my starting point (the trail is a loop), my Strava indicated I had walked 2.9 miles! Is it possible that the trail is 1.5 km as seen from above, but with the many hills (Strava says elevation is 182 feet, though I didn’t start from the very beginning), it actually comes out to be more? For what it’s worth, it certainly felt closer to 3 miles than to 1 mile.

Anyway, the hike starts out in the jungle; you get incredible views of the dunes and ocean, then walk down to the beach. Swimming would be ill-advised, because the waves and currents are really strong, but of course I dipped my feet in for the part of the hike! Once I had dried off, I went back into the jungle, passing birds and a fruit bat colony, then made it back to the welcome counter. I looked at the exhibits they had, which I hadn’t taken the time to do before. There’s a lot there about artefacts that were found on site, as well as explanations about traditional Fijian culture. This was a great visit – I highly recommend it!

I spent the rest of my vacation at my hotel, wading in the lagoon or in the pool and reading, and really just enjoying the surroundings. Oh, and I tried local chocolate! There’s Vanua Chocolate, near the Nadi airport, which offers tours of their chocolate factory, but only for groups of four or more people (I asked). So I ended up buying some of their chocolate at the airport instead of going in person. I also got some Fijiana Cacao chocolate, including two types of white chocolate. In all honesty, both brands of dark chocolate had bloomed and seemed bland, as well as dry and brittle. I actually noticed that on the package of Vanua dark chocolate labeled “60% cocoa,” the first ingredient was actually sugar…

Dark Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

 

I got this recipe from the PCOS Nutrition Center. It was meant to have coconut whipped cream, but the recipe called for a refrigerated can of coconut milk, which was obviously too liquid – use a can of coconut cream, or something like vegan whipped cream if you want. This makes two servings for breakfast, and fresh fruit would be a good addition!

2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or lactose-free milk)
½ cup plus 1 tsp chia seeds
2 Tbsp. grade B (or medium) maple syrup
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1 15-oz. can coconut cream (refrigerated 4+ hours)

To make this dark chocolate chia seed pudding, combine all ingredients except coconut cream in a medium sized bowl. Mix well.

Divide mixture evenly into 2 small bowls or mason jars. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours. (Can stay refrigerated for up to 4 days).

While the pudding is setting, place a can of coconut cream in the fridge.

Once pudding is set, remove coconut cream. At this point, the cream should be solid. Scoop solid coconut cream out of can and place in a chilled mixing bowl. Beat coconut cream with a stand mixer or electric hand mixer for approximately 1 minute or until it turns creamy and forms stiff peaks. You may need to add a tablespoon of coconut liquid if solids are too dense.

Remove puddings from fridge and top each with whipped coconut cream.

Kale Slaw with Lemon-Tahini Dressing

 

This kale slaw with lemon-tahini dressing is from Real Simple, and it was really good. That dressing is fabulous! I confess that I did not massage it into the kale; tossing the salad with the dressing seemed sufficient, and I just dropped the toasted seeds into the latter. I served it with tofu carrot patties.

2 tsp. whole coriander seeds
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 or 3 lemons)
1/3 cup tahini
2 tsp. granulated sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. smoked paprika
1 clove garlic, grated on a microplane zester (about ½ tsp.)
1 12-oz. bunch curly kale, stemmed and torn (about 10 cups)
4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (from 1 head cabbage)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Place coriander and cumin seeds in a zip-top plastic bag. Seal, leaving ½ inch unsealed. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, coarsely crush seeds. (Alternatively, use a mortar and pestle.)

Whisk lemon juice, tahini, sugar, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic in a large bowl. Add kale and cabbage; toss to coat. With clean hands, rub tahini mixture into kale and cabbage.

Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high. Add coriander and cumin; cook, stirring often, until sizzling, fragrant, and toasted, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from heat and drizzle over slaw; toss gently to combine. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Galettes de tofu et de carottes

 

J’ai fait des galettes de tofu et de carottes en adaptant une recette de Coup de Pouce. Je ne trouvais pas de tofu fumé, alors j’ai utilisé un mélange de tofu haché fumé et de tofu ferme; j’ai doublé la recette (les quantités ci-dessous donnent 4 portions); et je ne les ai pas servis en hamburgers, mais plutôt en galettes avec une salade de chou frisé. J’ai bien aimé, je trouve que ça faisait changement, mais cet avis n’était pas partagé par les autres membres de ma famille, je crois.

8 carottes moyennes, épluchées, en rondelles de ½ po (1 cm)
2 cuillères à table d’huile d'olive
1 cuillère à thé de cumin moulu
1 cuillère à thé de poudre de cari
1 cuillère à thé de paprika fumé
½ cuillère à thé de flocons de piment fort
1 paquet (180 g) de tofu fumé, épongé et émietté
1/3 tasse de chapelure panko
2 cuillères à table de farine de pois chiches (ou farine ordinaire)
sel et poivre

Préchauffer le four à 325 °F. Tapisser une plaque de papier parchemin. Déposer les carottes, puis verser l’huile et les épices. Saler et poivrer, mélanger, puis recouvrir d’une feuille de papier d’aluminium. Cuire sur la grille supérieure du four 15 minutes, puis retirer la feuille d’aluminium et cuire 15 minutes de plus. Laisser tiédir environ 10 minutes.

Transférer les carottes dans le robot culinaire puis ajouter le tofu, la chapelure et la farine. Saler et poivrer. Pulser jusqu’à consistance assez homogène, mais en conservant de très petits morceaux. Former 4 galettes. Réfrigérer 15 minutes.

Régler le barbecue à puissance moyenne et huiler la grille. Cuire les galettes à découvert, de 3 à 4 minutes par côté. (J’ai fait cuire les galettes dans une poêle, tout simplement.)