Seafood and Smoked Ham Soup en Croûte

Last month a friend of my mom faxed a recipe for her. She recommended my mom to try it. It was a cream soup recipe.  Hmm… sometimes my mom cooks cream soup for lunch so this recipe was not completely new to her. However, the different thing was that the recipe said the soup is eaten with puff pastry which is pasted above the soup. It is just like the one sold in Pizza Hut restaurant. Interested in the recipe, mom finally decided to try it one day. Of course, I did not forget to take some pictures of the results. They were as yummy as the one sold in cafes or restaurants!

Puffy Cream Soup ^^

Soup en Croute/Puffy cream soup

Serve it hot!

Later, I realized that there is a particular name for this kind of food. Look at the title and you know the name. Yup, it’s soup en croute. The term “en croute” is derived from French. The term refers to food that is wrapped or covered with pastry and then baked. The word "croute" itself means crust. It was so fascinating to hear the crisp sound of the puff pastry when I was breaking the crust, hoho…! Afterwards the mouth-watering smell of the soup rising from under the crust really whetted my appetite! That was an unforgettable delight, haha…

Are you curious about the recipe? Here I share it with you!

Ingredients:

30grs Onion – chopped

2 tablespoons Butter

50grs Shrimps

100grs Sweet corn kernels (canned corn is fine too)

250cc Cooking cream (ex.: Elle&Vire)

550cc water

2 pcs Bay leaves

2 pcs Smoked ham

Salt, pepper as desired

2-3 tablespoons multi-purpose flour (optional)

Puff pastry sheets – take out from the freezer and set aside to let it melt

Cooking Methods:

1. Clean the shrimps and remove the shells. Heat the pan, sauté the shrimps with onion and butter until half-done.
2. Chop the smoked ham. Pour the corn and smoked ham into the pan, stir well.
3.  Next, it’s time to add the cooking cream. While stirring the cream mixture, slowly pour in water.
4.  Add the bay leaves into the soup. If you think the cream soup is not thick enough, dissolve the flour with some water and pour it into the mixture, stir well.
5.  Season the mixture with salt and pepper. If you see boiling bubbles appear while stirring, it’s time to turn off the stove.
6. Remove the bay leaves from the soup. Pour it into bowls and let it chill.
7. After the puff pastry has turned supple and the soup has cooled down, cut the pastry a little bigger than the bowl. Stretch and tighten it to the surface of the bowl. Make sure not to touch the soup. 
8. Beat an egg and spread onto the puff pastry. Oven it until the color turned golden brown. 

HAPPY COOKING! ^o^/'

Carrot Cake

Hi!

It’s so exciting to post about cake again as I am a cake-lover, hahaha!

This time it is a little different. It is baked, not steamed one which I posted before. Thus, it has thicker aroma and flavor.  Moreover, it contains something healthy. What’s that? Shredded carrots! That’s it!

By adding some fine shredded carrots does not affect the tastiness of the cake but in contrast, it improves the nutrition level of the food! As a result, this cake is a healthy treat for the whole family especially for kids who do not like eating vegetables/ carrot. 

 

Carrot is a root vegetable that contains a lot of nutrients like Vitamin A, B1, B2, and C. It has high beta-carotene so it is good for our eyes. Carrot is useful for nourishing our body as well. If your child dislikes eating vegetable, then you need a creative and effective way to let him/her eat it. Simply cut the vegetable into small pieces and mix it with other ingredients or make it into soup, just don’t let your child know it.

Even though I am okay with carrot, it is always nice to explore different kind of carrot processing, haha… making it into a carrot cake is also a good idea! 

Breakfast with Cereal

Hello! 
I have a question. What do you usually have for breakfast? Is it a complete meal of rice and its side dish? Or toast with jam and peanut butter? 
Hmm...talking about breakfast, I feel uncomfortable with the fact that I often eat the first meal of the day in a hurry >_<'||
Indeed it is a bad habit. Eating must be done in a proper way. We have to focus on our food while eating since that will help our digestion. That's why we should not read or do something distracting while having meal.
However, commonly on Saturday or Sunday morning, I can enjoy my breakfast in a more relaxed manner. I always love having noodles, pancake, or porridge for breakfast on Saturday or Sunday. Since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, my mother - who always wakes up earlier than the others, likes to serve us a rich and nutritious breakfast. I am really grateful for that!
I remember a day when my friend and I were talking about foods, she laughed at me after knowing that I still loved cereals for breakfast. She said cereal was only for small kids! I frowned. She was wrong! Where did she get the notion from?
In fact, cereals also provide enough nutrition for adults and thus it is a good meal for the whole family. By the way, corn flakes is my favorite, haha...It always tastes great to be eaten with warm milk, yum!

Corn flakes with milk ^^

My Favorite Cereal

Feng Gan – Chinese Fried Meatball with Minced Liver and Preserved Yolk

Hello bloggers!

When I was thinking of the next stuff for this blog update, an inspirational program was on TV. It was a documentary about historical progress of cooking methods in China. That was an interesting one! An idea appeared in my mind out of the blue! I would post about Oriental food! I remembered I had taken some pictures of a delicious food and I knew that would be a good material to share with you!

Do you like Chinese food? Haha, I love it! It is one of the foods which exists in many countries. You can easily find Chinese restaurant in countries where there are Chinese people! The taste of Chinese food in each countries have been suited to the taste buds of local people and due to this, Chinese food has developed into a wide variety of styles!

This time let me share about a food that my mother will usually make for the feast on Chinese New Year’s Eve. Its name is Feng Gan (凤肝) or Phoenix’s Liver, in English. Cool huh?

Feng Gan can be steamed or fried. It is a mixture of minced pork and shrimp, pig’s liver, mushroom, and garlic, with a preserved duck egg yolk in the centre (after soaked in brine for a particular time, the yolk becomes round and firm). The uniqueness of this delicious meatball is not only the filling but it also lies in its wrapper. All the mixed ingredients are wrapped with pig’s abdomen membrane. Some people who cannot get it may substitute it with dried bean curd/tofu skin.  

It is a delicious food, indeed. Just try one if you visit Chinese restaurant or simply make it at home! These are the pictures that I’d taken last month. Look at how they look like!  

Feng Gan - Phoenix's Liver

凤肝 - Phoenix's Liver

They look yummy, don't they? Well, if you need the recipe, you can e-mail me or simply write on comment form! 

See ya!

We Need a Break

Hello!

These days everything seems tormenting to me. Abundant assignments, upcoming thesis exam, and problems dealing with my job have given me anxiety and insomnia. I can hardly breathe due to these depressing matters. Do you feel the same way? Or maybe you feel even worse? Hmm… if so, I think we need a break.

A short rest is absolutely important to refresh our mind and body. That precious moment may not be accompanied by a lavish surroundings but it must be a cozy one. Actually, with only a cup of warmly brewed tea and some snacks, a sunny afternoon can be a good time to recharge and calm ourselves.  One day, when I was having a break after homework, I found out that a cup of tea with those pineapple pastries looked pretty under the sun. Therefore, at once I took the picture with my camera. Voila!

Elvy's tea time

Oh ya, this was a cup of fine black tea. I am a tea lover, too.  I love almost all beverages made of tea, such as milk tea, lemon tea, iced tea, etc. Maybe because of the caffeine substance in it, a cup of tea is able to freshen up my body. Do you know? Tea is able to normalize blood pressure and reduce depression! That’s why it is a suitable drink for people with high level of stress, like me. Hehe… ^^

Well, let’s live a joyful life! ^o^

It’s A Piece of Cake !

Yippee! This time I’m so delighted to publish about something I’d always love to taste… Cakes! Yum! No matter butter cake, sponge cake, meringues, chiffon, cupcake, gateau, or whatever the type is, it can always cheer me up. Besides, the cake that I usually eat at home is my mom’s creation. I can feel her warmth of love in every bite of the cake and that feeling is something I will always treasure.  

Baked cakes are indeed delicious, but do you know? A cake does not always have to be baked in order to create an appealing result. Why don’t try to steam it? Steamed cake tastes good too! One thing is needed to make a steamed cake tastes better: keep it in refrigerator before serving it.

My mom had made a vanilla steamed cake for a special day. She cut it in half and spread blueberry and cream on it. Taraaa… it’s so pretty that I must preserve the look of the cake!  

Blueberry Vanilla Steamed Cake

Another thing that should be kept in mind while steaming the cake is that you must not open the steamer’s lid to take a look at it, or else, your cake will not rise perfectly and result in a lumpy and dense texture, not a soft one. 

So, how do you know whether the cake is ready or not? The only way is to follow the recipe and keep experimenting. Also, the length of steaming time may differ based on steaming heat, size of steamer, and the size of the cake itself. 

Blueberry Vanilla Steamed Cake

Well, any comments or questions? Please do not hesitate to let me know!

Happy Cooking! ^^

Corn Jelly – A Nutritious Dessert

Hi readers!

What do you usually have after meal? There are many choices of desserts eaten today, such as fruit, ice-cream, pudding, etc. and indeed they are popular.

Talking about that, I ever made jelly for dessert. It was a little different from common jelly sold in supermarket, like strawberry, chocolate, or plain jelly. I added an ingredient which helped enhance not only the whole taste of the jelly but it also added extra nutrition to the dessert. As we know, jelly powder is made of seaweed and it is rich in fiber and minerals. Most instant jelly products state that they have been fortified with vitamins; however, it is not enough to fulfill your need of nutrients. The best way to increase the level of nutrients is by adding natural ingredient. This is what I have mentioned above as something different in my jelly. The natural ingredient that I added was corn essence.

Corn (Zea mays) is an amazing plant that contains antioxidant, like beta-carotene, which is good for health. The antioxidant in corn is effective to slow ageing process, help digestion, prevent memory loss, and maintain good vision. According to WHFoods, a cup of corn (149 grams) contains 13.6% vitamin C, 12.5% vitamin B3, and 11.8% vitamin B5. A corn is also rich in Vitamin A and E. Having abundant nutrients and natural sweetness, corn essence is a suitable flavor and nutrient enhancer for any desserts. 

The corn jelly that I made was indeed a healthy food for all ages! Hahaha…this is the photo of my home-made corn jelly!

In making corn jelly, there is a way to produce a fine result. A smooth texture of the jelly can be achieved by separating the corn liquid from the hulls. How to do that?

First, remove corn kernels from the cob.

Second, pour the corn kernels into food processor, crush them until soft and the liquid comes out.

Third, strain/filter the liquid to separate the hulls of corn from the corn essence. What you need is only corn essence liquid.

Fourth, boil some water. Pour in jelly powder and some sugar (as desired).

Fifth, add corn essence to the jelly mixture, stir well until sugar dissolved.

Sixth, pour the jelly mixture into mold and let it cool.

Seventh, serve the jelly with cream or chocolate for a richer taste.