I’ve been so busy in the past few days to realise my episode of Easy Cooking was yesterday. Actually, it’s a case of I didn’t even realise it was Friday. Nonetheless, I’ve received several requests asking me for the recipes, so here they are. Feel free to try them out and share your tips here!
Rosemary Cauliflower Soup
Rosemary Cauliflower Soup
I’m not a fan of cauliflower because they taste rather bland, but with this soup, it taste better with each spoonful! It is rich in fibre and does not make use of cream or milk to achieve the thick consistency. If you cook some meat separately and add it in, it becomes a modification of a healthy porridge. I use a lot of ingredients to make the soup, so it will be flavourful without the use of any salt or sugar or (gasp!) MSG.
You will first need to make the vegetable broth.
Cauliflower
Pine nuts
Chopped onions
After you’re done with the broth, you’ll need to prepare the soup.
Ingredients for vegetables
1 cauliflower (approx. 500g, chopped)
1 medium potato (diced)
1 large shallot (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 celery branch (diced)
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 twig of rosemary
Steps
4. Heat 2 tbsp of oilve oil in a large pot and cook the shallot, garlic cloves, pine nuts and diced celery branch for 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Add the cauliflower and potato. Cook for 5 minutes on low to medium heat
6. Add the vegetable broth and rosemary. Cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
7. Remove the rosemary and pass the soup through a hand mixer or food processor.
Lemongrass Chicken Shrimp
Lemongrass Chicken Shrimp
I recommend this dish because it is colourful and healthy and if it’s the only main dish you have, there will still be enough meat and vegetables to provide a hearty meal. I like using natural herbs because they not only smell good but also add a more interesting flavour to the food.
Lemongrass
Snap peas and coriander
French beans and carrot
Chicken breast and cooked shrimps
Ingredients
200g chicken breasts (sliced)
150g cooked shrimps (You can use raw shrimps as you please but that would require additional preparation steps)
2 lemongrass sticks (chopped)
3 garlic gloves (chopped)
1.5 inch ginger root (peeled and chopped)
150g fresh carrots (peeled and chopped thinly)
200g fresh French beans (ends removed)
150g snap peas
Fresh coriander (English)
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 large tbsp of olive oil
Steps
1. Marinate the chicken breasts strips in oyster sauce. Set aside
2. Chop the white part of the lemongrass thinly, making sure to remove any hard part.
3. Heat a large wok. Add the oil and after about 30 seconds, add the ginger, garlic and lemongrass. Cook for a few minutes.
4. Add the chicken breast. Cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the carrots and french beans. Cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the snap peas, cook for a few minutes before adding the freshly chopped coriander.
7. Add the fish sauce to the shrimps and add it all into the wok to be cooked for a few more minutes.
Some water might need to be added depending on how long the washed vegetables have been set aside before cooking. Once the shrimps are cooked, the dish is ready to be served. The vegetables should remain firm and must not be overcooked.
Mixed Berries Lavender Yoghurt Ice Pops
Mixed berries lavender yoghurt ice pops
Berries are high in anti-oxidants and make refreshing dessert. Lavender usually makes you think of essential oil and is otherwise commonly used as a fragrance for bath and body products, but it can also be used for cooking. I’ve been trying to find recipes for this herb and there are plenty of lavender ice-cream recipes online but I wanted something less sinful and more healthy. So here I’ve improvised and created this yoghurt pop. Because yoghurt is used as a base, it taste more creamy than icy, so in a way, it’s like ice-cream without the cream.
I love raspberries!
The raspberries in this recipe is used for decorating purposes and can actually be skipped. You can improvise the recipe by adding the raspberries in together with all the other berries to make the mixture. If you can’t get hold of lavender sugar, you can use regular fine cane sugar. The amount of lavender seeds and sugar used will determine how lavender-ish your ice-pops taste, so adjust according to your personal preference. Here is what I did with the raspberries.
Ingredients
180g raspberries
2 tbsp fine cane sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
Half a dozen shot glasses
Steps
1. Place shot glasses in the freezer.
2. Place the fruit in a pot with the sugar and lime juice. Cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Strain the seeds and pour back into the pot. Cook on medium heat until you obtain a thick syrup-like consistency. Let cool.
4. Pour into the shot glasses to describe a pattern and leave the glasses in the freezer again.
Raspberries and blueberries
Strawberries and blackberries
Greek style yoghurt
Lavender sugar, lavender seeds and lime
Ingredients
250g mixed berries
50g lavender sugar or fine cane sugar
2 tbsp water
300g Greek style yoghurt
2 tbsp lavender sugar or fine cane sugar
Steps
5. Place 5 tbsp of sugar with mixed berries in a pot. Add 2 tbsp of water and a pinch of lavender seeds and cook until the berries are soft. Puree in a food processor
6. Mixed the berry puree with the yoghurt and add 2 tbsp of sugar. Adjust sweetness according to personal preference. My experience so far is to have the mixture slightly sweeter than I like because after it’s frozen, the sweetness will be just right.
7. Place in the fridge to cool (or use an ice cream machine to churn). Then pour into the shot glasses and place it in the freezer again. While still soft, insert the wooden sticks then place it into the freezer again for the pops to be fully set.
A Jolly Affair 