Cranberry pecan biscotti

Based on this almond biscotti recipe:
http://www.italian-dessert-recipes.com/almond_biscotti_recipe.html

I consider this relatively healthy because it's only 2/3 cup a sugar spread over 16 slices and contains no butter. I read somewhere that real Italian biscotti should not contain butter; that butter is an American modification. Correct me if I'm wrong. I had XL instead of just large eggs at home, so I substituted a flaxseed egg for the other egg, which adds another healthier substitution without seriously compromising taste or texture. Also, if you use walnuts instead of pecans, you add omega-3 fatty acids to make it even healthier.

Cranberry Pecan Biscotti (makes ~12-16 biscotti)

Ingredients:
1 large egg
just under 2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs ground flaxseed + 3 Tbs water
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans (and walnuts, opt)
1/4 cup dried cranberries (make sure they are still dried yet moist, not hard and dry)

Directions:

1. If pecans are not yet toasted: toast pecans on skillet over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Let cool then chop.
2. Mix flaxseed and water in a small bowl and let sit for a 3-5 minutes to thicken.
3. Mix the all-purpose flour, pastry flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Beat egg and sugar till turns lighter in color. Beat in flaxseed water. Beat till light colored and thick.
5. Fold the wet into the dry ingredients until incorporated.
6. Fold in the nuts and cranberries.
7. Preheat oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet or lightly grease the cookie sheet.
8. Gather the dough (it will be sticky!) and place in a log-shape on the center of the parchment paper. Use a spoon to smooth out the dough into a longer log with even sides. You may use the parchment paper to help shape the log.
9. Based on the recipe, you can bake a log that is about 12 inches long by 3.5 inches wide for 25 minutes.
10. Remove and let cool for 8-10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 deg Fahrenheit.
11. Slice into about 16 slices. Place slices cut-side down on the cookie sheet and bake for another 10 minutes. Flip over and bake another 10 minutes.
12. Remove, cool at least 5 minutes and enjoy!

Ideas:

• Ice with a simple vanilla, milk or lemon icing 
• Melt dark chocolate chips and dip half of the biscotti or the top side of the biscotti in the dark chocolate and let harden
• Eat with coffee or milk

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

My family has been eating through our bananas too fast lately! My sister and her boyfriend consume almost all of them when they go surfing. Sadly, that leaves me infrequently with browned bananas. Luckily, this week, I had two laying around and searched the wonderful World Wide Web for a different way to use them instead of my usual fallback, the Stevia-sweetened Banana Bread.

I came across this fantastic-looking banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Chefsavvy. I chose this because the photo looked great and there was only 1/4 cup butter for 2 dozen cookies! Relatively healthy and easy, so I opted to try this. Plus, my co-worker's been subtly (not, haha) trying to get me to bake cookies and bring them into work. Last week, I tried these healthy oil and butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe from HEB but was underwhelmed. They were too cakey and spread out too far, but that could have been because I didn't have rolled oats so replaced them with ground steel cut oats. Anyhow, this recipe is a show-stopper. I did not have brown sugar at home so I used molasses, and then added some ground steel cut oats because the batter was a little sticky. Everyone at work really liked it.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes 20-24 cookies
adapted from Chefsavvy.com
Ingredients
1 medium banana, mashed
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Just under 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup ground steel-cut oats (not exact, pour some steel-cut oats in a coffee/spice grinder or food processor and process till somewhat fine - not as fine as flour)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit. Prepare 2 baking sheets with lightly greased parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat the banana, butter, sugar, and molasses till thoroughly mixed. Beat in the egg and vanilla. 
3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
4. Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Stir in the dark chocolate chips and ground steel-cut oats.
5. Place rounded tablespoon scoops of dough on the parchment paper. Make sure to place about 2" apart. Staggering helps.
 

Tokyo, Japan Trip Sept 2017 Part 1

[Delayed post back from September when I visited Esteban in Japan...]

Hello, world! Or, konnichiwa! I just returned from one jam-packed sightseeing week in Japan and can't wait to recount my experiences there. To tell the truth, I came back to LA and have been waking up early (4 or 5 am each day) due to jetlag. It's been so hard this week getting over my jetlag and trying to work.  I got back around 6:30 pm PST on Sunday after a nauseating 10 hour flight and my shuttle never arrive so I ended up walking to get my car, which really tired me out (Airport Express is a terrible terrible shuttle service!!!). Getting back last night, I went to bed aroud 10:30 pm and was hoping I'd just sleep until 7 or 8 am when I have to get up for work. Ah well, hope I can function today at work, lol.

Anyhow, I went to Tokyo last week because my Esteban was there for work for three weeks. His second week there was more free for sightseeing activities, so I went over during that time. Buying my tickets last minute, I got a pretty decent price flight for a direct flight to Haneda airport: about $800 something after taxes and fees. The flight was on Japan Airlines, operated by American Airlines. I left Friday night September 16, arrived Saturday night September 17, and then left Monday September 26 at 1 am to arrive back in LA on Sunday Sept 25. It's cool; it's like traveling in time. Most of the time I was there, it was raining because Japan was being hit by a typhoon. Luckily, Tokyo was not hit by the worst of it, but it did make for some lousy weather and drab photos. Nevertheless, Tokyo was a blast. Below is a preview of things I did the first three days:

Friday, September 16
Fly from LAX to Haneda Airport, 10-11 hour flight on Japan Airlines.

Extensive movie list. Crappy American style food.

 Saturday, September 17
Arrived in Tokyo around 10 pm and went to sleep (stayed at the Tokyo Dome Hotel). First time taking the Japanese subway. Pretty cool.

Get a PASMO card to use all over the Tokyo subway and train system. Easy to use and recharge!

Sunday, September 18
Went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Edmont Hotel. First shopping experience at Family mart.

But a small preview of the awesome food and drinks for sale at Family Mart! Awesome convenience store.

Took the train to Asakusa, famous for its Senso-ji Temple, a Buddhist temple with (I think) the largest red lantern in the world, and for its shopping streets.

Sensoji Temple

Esteban and I wandering the streets of Asakusa, looking for some good deals!

Eating some izakaya (Japanese small plates) in Asakusa

We then wandered to Akihabara, which was said to be known as the place that sells a bunch of home and electronics good, and a center for anime and manga items. I did not see that much anime and manga stuff, but it was an interesting street of shopping, including some fresh food and fish vendors. Next to Akihabara is Ueno Park, which is a massive park that houses some temples and museums including the Tokyo National Museum and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art. We did not make it far into the park before we headed home.

Fields of lilies near Shinobazunoike Bentendo

Vending machines in Tokyo are legendary! For less than 200 yen you can get coffees, teas, waters, energy drinks, ice cream, and snacks. They are always within less than 1 block of one another!

Returning back to the hotel, we went for dinner at a random ramen shop nearby. A great hole in the wall.  It was called Ramen Tanaka and was my favorite ramen of all the places we went to in Tokyo.

Vending machine to put in your order. We can't read any of it, lol, but luckily there were some photos to help us out. Ticket comes out and you give it to the guy working.

Delivious pork ramen with nori and a cute egg! Superb!

The next days of adventuring in Japan will be dispersed between the occasional food posts. Stay tuned!

New Apartment and Turkey Meatballs Barley and Garlic Sauce Dish

I just moved from my parents' place to an apartment closer to work and I am so happy! I've been commuting since January and the commute can be anywhere from 1-2 hours, depending on traffic. It's about 60 miles each way. My dad has been doing this commute for over 10 years now. It's very taxing and you lose 3-4 hours of your day every weekday. I gained weight because I did not exercise as much, plus I would typically get sucked into my work and end up sitting for several hours. I try to walk periodically, and take a 15-20 minute walk after lunch, but it's not enough to combat a 9-10 hour sitting session. Finally, I got a place that is steps from the beach! It is such a great deal. Pretty good price for LA, though the room is small, but can't beat being close to the beach and in this nice area. Plus, my commute is only 30 minutes each way! It's only been 1 week since moving in but I am so much happier. :)

Another reason I wanted to move out and closer to work was to get back into cooking! My mom cooks a lot at home, and she is a FANTASTIC cook, but at times I really enjoy the process of cooking and getting the chance to experiment. Now that I'm in my own place and with more time (come home at 7 instead of 9!), I can get back to cooking!

Tonight I made a turkey meatball and veggie dish over barley. We had a pint of this great garlic sauce leftover from a work lunch, and I knew it would be great on nearly anything. I finished cooking around 9:30 and was very pleased. I did not take a picture of this because I still need to figure out how to plate it best, but the dish was very delicious despite its simplicity. I am proud because the turkey meatballs turned out very juicy! Earlier in the year, I had attempted to make Swedish meatballs, followed a recipe, and it came out very dry. I brought it to work too and feel like I forever shamed myself "-_-

The garlic sauce is this delicious thick creamy white sauce from Chicken Maison, which is famous for this sauce. It's delicious. It's probably based on this Lebanese garlic sauce ("toum") recipe, but is thicker and creamier, maybe closer to this garlic recipe here. Here's what I did:

Turkey meatballs:
1/2 lb of ground lean turkey (95% lean)
1/2 large yellow onion, minced
1/2 tsp of Texas barbecue seasoning (salt, black pepper, dried garlic, dried onion, paprika, oregano)
1 large egg
4-6 crumbled Saltine crackers

Mix together and let sit 15 minutes while you prepare the vegetables. I used mushrooms and broccoli here, cooked with caramelized minced onion in avocado oil. Once cooked to a crisp tender and caramelized state, remove contents to a bowl.

Meanwhile, cook pearled barley according to packet directions. I used 1 3/4 cup of water to 1/2 cup of barley, and probably cooked it for 45-60 minutes, but it was too much water and I had to drain the excess.

Using a mini cookie scoop, shape meat mixture into tight little balls. I got 11 out of the 1/2 lb meat mix.

In the same pan that the vegetables cooked in, heat another tsp of oil. Place the meatballs gently in the pan and cook over medium until browned. Turn meatballs and cook until browned on all sides. Make sure to cover the pan at some point to allow the meatballs to cook through without losing moisture. Once browned on all sides, turn off heat and remove pan from heat.

To serve:
Scoop barley into a wide bowl. Top with meatballs and vegetables, then drizzle garlic sauce over. You can garnish with paprika and parsley, a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!

Here's another Mediterranean garlic sauce (copied from this link)

"GARLIC SAUCE:
- 4 cloves garlic minced with
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 egg white

In a food processor add garlic minced with salt, begin processor and slowly add oil and lemon juice alternating them until gone, scape down sides intermittently. Add one to two egg whites while the processor is blending until you reach mayonnaise consistency. Serve with chicken or meat and cover and refrigerate remainder. Lasts about a week refrigerated"

 

Till next time!

Cranberry Orange Cream Scones (revisited)

I made another batch of the cranberry orange cream scones because it was so well liked by everyone in my family and at work. This time, I think I perfected the recipe. I made a double batch and made slightly smaller scones, a bit bigger than bite size but not as large as original. These were the perfect size I think.

Cranberry Orange Cream Scones
makes 12 scones
based on this Epicurious recipe
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
Just under 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Just under 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries
About 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbs freshly grated orange peel
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Topping
1/2 Tbs melted butter
1-2 tsp coarse sugar

Directions
1. Combine the dried cranberries and fresh orange juice in a cup, making sure to cover the cranberries. Allow to rehydrate for at least 15 minutes and then drain well.
2. Mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Mix in the cranberries and grated orange peel.
2. Pour in the whipping cream and stir just till combined. Form into a ball and lightly flour the surface.
3. Lightly flour a clean surface and your hands. Pull the dough out onto the surface and shape into a rectangle about 8-9" by 4-5". Cut in half lengthwise, then cut each strip into 3 squares. Cut each square diagonally to create triangles. (You can change the size and shape as desired. These are great made into bite sized scones too!)
4. Preheat oven to 420-425 deg Fahrenheit.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the parchment paper with oil. Place the triangles of dough evenly across the baking sheet. Brush the top of each triangle with melted butter and sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. You may turn it around 8 minutes to promote even browning. (Reduce time and check frequently if making smaller scones). Let cool on the rack for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool further.

Tiramisu Cheesecake

Cheesecake is an American favorite, but the New York style and Cheesecake Factory ones are usually too thick and too sweet for me. The American palate tends to turn their desserts into sugar and fat bombs that are quite bad for your health, but are sure addicting! Being health-conscious and familiar with Asian-style sweets, I lean toward less sweet or sweet and salty desserts. I like combining sweets with something slightly salty or savory and bitter, such as adding nuts. Red bean and sesame desserts are delicious to me, too, because the flavors help cut the sweetness of whatever dessert they are in.

I must admit that I do like cheesecake, but in small portions, like the cheesecake bites at Yogurtland. Sometimes, I get that craving but never go out and buy one because most restaurants and stores makes theirs too sweet and thick. Finally, I had time to make one. I found this tiramisu mascarpone by BelGioioso, and I wanted to make tiramisu, because that is one of my top favorite cakes, but that required getting heavy cream and whipping cream and other things. I already had cream cheese at home so I thought a tiramisu cheesecake would be an awesome thing to make.

After searching a bit, I found this recipe for tiramisu cheesecake on AllRecipes that met my requirements for minimal ingredients and only a moderate amount of work and complexity. Earlier, I made a batch of homemade graham crackers and decided to add that to the crust to add a bit more crunch and flavor. I made some other adjustments as I went along: (1) soaked ladyfingers in a mix of Kahlua and coffee and wedged in the cheesecake batter, (2) added more Kahlua to the crust, (3) added more Kahlua and coffee to the cheesecake batter, and (4) topped with a pretty design using finely-ground coffee. I reduced the sugar by half because of my aforementioned aversion to sweet desserts and the cheesecake came out perfectly. It was just sweet enough and just thick enough to be addicting and enjoyable without getting sugar headaches. In addition to those changes, I baked the cheesecake in a waterbath, which helps maintain moisture while baking. I think I read somewhere that the waterbath also helps the top from cracking and helps the cheesecake bake evenly.

My family was very impressed by the presentation and flavor of this cake. This is definitely a recipe that I will return to time and again when I want a show-stopping cake!

Tiramisu Cheesecake with Kahlua
Ingredients
~Crust~
1 7 oz package of ladyfinger cookies, crushed to a coarse powder
About 5 crushed graham crackers to bring up the dry weight to 12 oz (I will increase the amount of crust in the future. This was too thin for my liking)
2 Tbs Kahlua (coffee liqueur)
4 Tbs of unsalted butter, melted

~Filling~
16 oz of cream cheese (regular or Neufchatel)
8 oz of BelGioioso tiramisu mascarpone cheese (mascarpone cheese flavored with real coffee and sugar; you could probably make your own by mixing mascarpone with some instant espresso powder and some sugar, or with a splash of room temperature strong brewed coffee with some sugar)
2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
4 Tbs all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour
3-4 Tbs Kahlua (I would add more Kahlua and coffee in the future)
3-4 Tbs of strong-brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature OR 3-4 Tbs water mixed with 1-2 tsp instant coffee granules
4-6 ladyfinger cookies
Finely ground coffee for decorating top (optional)

Special Equipment
A 9" springform, nonstick pan
A jelly roll pan with at least a 1" rim

Directions
1. Mix the crushed ladyfingers and graham crackers with the Kahlua and butter. Press into the bottom of a 9" springform pan.
2. Beat the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and sugar until smooth. Add the Kahlua and coffee and mix. Add the eggs and four and mix slowly, just until incorporated. You do not want to overbeat or else the cheesecake will crack as it cools.
3. Pour half of the cheesecake batter over the crust.
4. Mix the brewed coffee (at room temperature) with some Kahlua. Dip each ladyfinger in the mixture and arrange in a single layer over the cheesecake. You don't need to cover the entire top.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Pour the remaining cheesecake batter over the ladyfingers. Jiggle the pan a bit to distribute the batter evenly.
7. Place the pan on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap the foil up and around the sides of the pan, making sure there is no opening for water to get in. Make a second layer of aluminum foil wrap in the same fashion. Place the wrapped pan in middle of the jelly roll pan. Pour water to reach 1/2" up the side of the pan.
8. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes - just until the cheesecake is only slightly jiggly in the center. If it is browning on top too quickly, cover the top with foil and lower the temperature 10 degrees. Once done, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the oven door open for 20 minutes. Then, remove from the oven, let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 3 hours.
9. Before serving, dust finely ground coffee over the top, using patterned stencils if desired. Slice and serve!

Tips:
1. Wipe your knife with water in between slices to prevent dragging cheese filling over the rest of the cake.
2. Cheesecake freezes and thaws well too. You can wrap individual slices, or put wax or parchment paper in between slices, then wrap and freeze. When you want to eat, just remove from the freezer, thaw, and eat!
3. You can sprinkle cocoa powder on top instead of finely-ground coffee.

Cranberry Orange Cream Scones

If you have a lot of whipping cream that you need to use up, these cream scones are a great way to use it up. I myself had bought a bottle of whipping cream to make green tea cream puffs, but then my dad used all the matcha and then I got lazy to make the cream puffs.

In addition, these scones are great if you are low on eggs and butter. Rather than using butter and eggs, these scones use the pure fatty goodness of heavy (whipping) cream. The texture came out so great. It was moist with a texture somewhere between cakey and bready. It was not as dry and crumbly (aka flaky) as typical scones, but I like this better, I think. I was eating my mom's day-old red velvet donut and I think its texture was very similar to that. Cakey but firm and crisp on the outside. Ooo, great idea! This recipe could be piped into donut pans to make baked donuts! Will have to try that next time I get a donut pan.

This recipe is based on this one for lemon cream scones. I swapped out the apricot for cranberries and lemon for oranges, because I had those at home and they are two typical flavor combinations. I also added cinnamon because I think cinnamon should be added to nearly every baked good. Hey, they say it helps control blood sugar!

Cranberry Orange Cream Scones
based on this Epicurious recipe
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
Just under 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Just under 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 Tbs freshly grated orange peel
1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (next time I may reduce this to just 1 cup)

Topping
1/2 Tbs melted butter
1-2 tsp coarse sugar


Directions
1. Mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Mix in the cranberries and grated orange peel.
2. Pour in the whipping cream and stir just till combined. Form into a ball and lightly flour the surface.
3. Lightly flour a clean surface and your hands. Pull the dough out onto the surface and shape into a rectangle about 8-9" by 4-5". Cut in half lengthwise, then cut each strip into 3 squares. Cut each square diagonally to create triangles.
4. Preheat oven to 420-425 deg Fahrenheit.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the parchment paper with oil. Place the triangles of dough evenly across the baking sheet. Brush the top of each triangle with melted butter and sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. You may turn it around 8 minutes to promote even browning. Let cool on the rack for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool further.

These scones can be eaten warm from the oven, at room temp, or lightly rewarmed. Goes very well with a cup of coffee or tea! I will definitely remake this in the future because it is so easy and rewarding!