BACK TO SCHOOL TREATS

organic brown rice crispies squares with ground flaxseed

I know...I know. There's a ton of sugar in marshmallows and though Rice Crispies Squares seem pretty benign junk food-wise, they do have that ooey chewy marshmallow sugar-high factor that is oh so true to junk food.

Yes, the treats have cereal, but I personally don't think most of the cereals you find in the supermarket aisles are very healthy breakfast options because of the high sugar content. That being said, of course I feed cereal to my child occasionally. Perhaps once a week or once in two weeks, Bebe sometimes has Cheerioes multigrain cereal or her favourite cereal: Kellogg's Guardian All Bran cereal (primarily for the little heart shapes I think). Though these cereals have the fibre I so want to include in her diet, they also have a fair amount of sugar. Since she doesn't eat cereal everyday though, I don't think it's too much of a problem. In fact, I rarely police Bebe's intake of sugar and don't deprive her of a few jellybeans or M&M's if she wants them. You know I would never say "no" if she asked for cupcakes or dessert! She has pretty good self control and I've never seen her over-indulge in anything sweet. She's so not like mommy ;)

My mommified rice crispies treats have been doctored in as healthy a way as possible without compromising on the much-loved taste of the original recipe we all know. I used organic brown rice cereal, marshmallows, unsalted butter and freshly ground flaxseed in my rendition. Flax is so yucky on its own that I have to hide it somewhere and this is as good a place as any.

If you ate these treats, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the original recipe and the "healthy" one. The flax is not detectable. hm. Probably because of the marshmallow. Well, I tried. Doesn't that count?

So, if you want to feel less guilty about eating rice crispies squares, then by all means take the original recipe and add up to 1/4 cup freshly ground organic flaxseed and replace the regular rice crispies cereal with organic brown rice cereal. I don't think it's necessary to locate healthy marshmallows. I just used my favourite brand from the supermarket, but I suppose if you had the energy you could use homemade chocolate marshmallows as I have in the past. Homemade is always best and you can never go wrong by adding chocolate to stuff.

SUPERSIZED SUSHI: GIGANTIC CALIFORNIA ROLLS

Have you ever had a craving for sushi?

I was at the local market handling a perfectly ripe avocado when the craving hit. I immediately added the avocado to my basket along with some of that fake crabmeat (surimi) made out of pollock. A fish with such an unappealing name surely needs to be processed into something else.

I had a 5-sheet package of "fancy" grade sushi seaweed in my cupboard at home, some Kokuho Rose brand sushi rice, a bottle of seasoned rice vinegar, and that weird Japanese mayonnaise in a squeeze bottle (Kewpie mayonnaise). Those are the makings for California Rolls!

Here's my recipe--actually I don't really use a recipe, I just kind of wing it, but this time I measured for your sake!

JUMBO CALIFORNIA ROLLS

these ingredients are the basics for a California Roll but you can kick it up a few notches by using the optional ingredients

3 cups cooked short-grain rice (white or brown) [I used Kokuho Rose brand]

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar [this comes prepared in a bottle]

2 cups surimi (fake crabmeat)

1 ripe avocado, sliced

1 package sushi seaweed [I used a fancy grade 5-sheet package--the more expensive the seaweed generally, the tastier it is]

optional: these ingredients will definitely make your rolls tastier!

julienned English cucumber, tobiko for garnish, toasted sesame seeds, real crab meat
This is surimi. I know it's fake, but it's delicious!
You can substitute real crab meat if you're made of money. But if I were you, I'd rather splurge on the seaweed.

• In a large bowl, combine the seasoned rice vinegar with the hot cooked rice. Set aside to cool. Toss gently occasionally.
• Using a bamboo sushi mat, lay the roasted sushi seaweed glossy side down. Usually there are little indentations on the seaweed--these should run vertically on the mat.
• Spoon about 1 cup of the cooled seasoned sushi rice onto the seaweed. Spread the rice evenly over the seaweed. I often use a little paring knife to help me spread...I know, it's not orthodox but it keeps my hands from getting sticky! Real sushi chefs wet their hands in clean water continuously so the rice doesn't stick. They just use their hands to spread the rice.


• Take whatever filling you desire and line it up along the bottom edge of the seaweed/rice mat. Of course if you use other fillings, you won't have a California roll. I've used canned salmon or tuna, cucumber, cooked egg (scrambled), red peppers, teriyaki shitake mushrooms and the list goes on and on. Pretty much anything goes. If you want, you don't have to use raw fish at all. At this point, you can also add the mayonnaise or other thick sauces as well.


• Using the bamboo mat, roll the sushi away from you. Use the mat to help press close the roll.


• Slice the sushi rolls with a sharp knife. It helps if you clean the knife sporadically. Often, with the larger rolls, I use a serrated bread knife to cut the rolls. It helps avoid crushing the rolls (I know! also unorthodox and not very Japanesey--I'm not Japanese!) It works. Take my word for it. You won't have smushed rolls.


• Serve with a high grade soy sauce for sashimi/sushi. I like Yamasa. Kikkoman is good too. Pickled ginger and wasabi will only make it better.

MY FAVOURITE ASIAN JUNK FOODS

garlic green peas

I have a shameless addiction to sodium-laden junk food. If there were some sort of Junk Foods anonymous group, I'd have to join it. Lately, I've discovered Asian junk food at T & T, an asian supermarket chain in Vancouver which carries a myriad of Asian foods. Sometimes I find weird and funky things. Often I discover totally delicious stuff.

My snack pantry currently has favourite snacks that proclaim some sort of "health benefit" to them. Yeah, I know. Who am I kidding? Well, I'm still trying to lose those last few stubborn pounds of baby weight so I can fit into my skinny jeans again. I recently decided to go low carb as much as possible. It'll be fun to pack my low carb bento lunches for work, but sometimes it's difficult around 4pm and I've got the munchies.

Garlic Green Peas are individually packaged and handy when I need something savoury and crunchy. The ingredients are green peas, vegetable oil, garlic, sugar, salt, and garlic powder. They're made in Taiwan by this company called Global-Mart Food; Triko Foods Co. I can't read Chinese so I can't tell you what it says on the package or what their brand name is. Sorry!

I think the fact that they are portioned in these itty bitty packages helps--as long as I remember not to have more than one little package! Since the buggers are kind of difficult to rip open, that's good too for portion control. The Garlic Green Peas beat Wasabi peas in my opinion because I'm not too fond of wasabi. They would go great with a nice cold beer I imagine; yet I don't really like drinking beer... but for some reason I yearn for a beer when I'm eating these peas! On the bag, there's this bottle of sake in the background. You get the idea.
* * *

coconut flavoured roasted sunflower seeds

Another totally unexpectedly delicious Asian snack surprise came when I decided to try Coconut Flavoured roasted Sunflower seeds. I'm generally not a sunflower seed-eater and often find the way people spit the shells out kind of disgusting. However, I suspended my elitist views to give this interesting snack a try. It was SO good I couldn't believe it.only the Cha Cheer brand carries a coconut flavoured sunflower seed

All other flavoured sunflower seeds pale in flavour profile in comparison. There's anise-flavoured and spicy flavoured sunflower seeds but they're not as good. The coconut flavour is hauntingly good. You can't stop with a little handful. I don't even really like sunflower seeds in general and consider it bird food; but this stuff is so good! As well, this company's seeds are juicy and plump and the number of rotten ones are few and far between.
isn't the "engrish" translation cute? nice try. it's kind of poetic i suppose

I have since developed a sunflower seed cracking technique that obviates spitting. I crack the shells with my front teeth and pull out the seed with the fingers of my other hand before popping them in my mouth. My mother does this one-handed-crack-the-seed-with-your-teeth-use-your-tongue-to-dislodge-the-seed-and-eat-it-all-at-once technique which amazes me. She goes through about 2 to 3 seeds for every one seed I eat. She laughs and pokes fun at my obsessive-compulsive way of eating the seeds but when she hits the occasional rotten seed she pays for it! Taking it all in stride she says it's okay and it's not going to kill her. The Chinese manufacturer was even kind enough to include instructions for eating the seeds, "crack the shell with your teeth, eat the seed and spit the shell. Be cautious don't eat the seed without spitting the shell!" I just love it. har har!mmm. plump seeds!
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the almighty japanese crispy seaweed snack. this snack kicks butt!

My favourite snack that has replaced potato chips, is Japanese Crispy Seaweed. Yes, I initially thought it would be like eating roasted Nori for sushi, the little packages of teriyaki-flavoured strips of seaweed or even the Korean flavoured seaweed. No way! This stuff is crispy and light and seasoned just right! I like to buy the Seafood flavour because the package purports to contain Omega-3, DHA and EPA. The other flavours don't have that claim. The spicy flavour is pretty good but I haven't tried their wasabi flavour. The tomato flavoured one is just too weird a combination. Thankfully, there's some translation on the package: it's called Tao Kae Noi Crispy Seaweed. The ingredients are simply seaweed, oil, seafood flavour and salt. On the back of the package are the numbers for its fatty acid composition. It's produced and distributed by Taokaenoi Food and Marketing Co. in Thailand.

this is the unseasoned side. it's a little bubbly looking. these seaweed snacks are not oily (unlike Korean seaweed snacks), but dry and crisp.

Okay, I kid you not about this little anecdote. Last year, over the course of the summer I had ingested quite a few packages of these sunflower seeds (good thing they're cheap!) and even more of the crispy seaweed (not so cheap!). My hairstylist noticed my hair was particularly strong, soft and silky. He said, "oh my goodness!" and pulled out a really weird hair. It was black at the root for about an inch and a half and then grey to the end. He carefully set the strand of hair aside so he could show his colleagues later because he had never seen someone in his whole career as a stylist (more than 30 years!) with even one hair that had done that before. It was a grey hair that had reverted back to its original colour! Cool, eh? Unfortunately, I only had one strand of hair do that. Those sunflower seeds were the only thing I changed about my diet at the time, so I'd like to think they had a hand in reclaiming my hair colour. I don't have a lot of grey to begin with, but it's kind of neat to think eating sunflower seeds and omega 3 rich foods will bring back youthful-looking hair!

BASIL CHICKEN

cakebrain's basil chicken

Remember that cool hydroponic garden I have sitting on my kitchen counter? Well, it's yielding quite a crop of basil. I have both Italian and Purple Basil. I was wondering how to use up all the basil and this dish was perfect. This chicken dish is so easy to prepare and was scrumptious! It would make a great dish for parties too. The basil and garlic flavours are nicely married with the chicken wings and it's all finger-licking good. I served my wings with rice as there's a nice little pool of sauce to pour over your rice.


CAKEBRAIN'S BASIL CHICKEN
2 lbs chicken wings
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 T basil, roughly chopped
1 T sugar

• Combine all the ingredients in a covered bowl (or ziploc bag) and marinate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375F
• Place the chicken wings in a baking dish and place on the middle rack of the oven.
• Turn wings and baste with the marinade halfway through the cooking process.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and glaze is slightly thickened.

SINGAPORE RIBS

These ribs are super easy. I buy my ribs at Costco and prep them myself by cutting through the meat to create individual ribs. Marinate the meat in a ziploc bag and this will save time and energy because you won't have to wash another bowl. Just dump everything into the bag, zip it and put it in the fridge to marinate for 4 hours minimum. I would prep everything overnight so the next day all I would have to do is pop the ribs in the oven. These ribs are tender-succulent and savory--perfect with a bowl of rice or as a finger food at parties.

singapore ribs

2 t sesame oil
1 t finely chopped fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 T soy sauce [for GF, sub in gf soy sauce or tamari]
2 T Chinese rice wine
1/2 t five spice powder
2 T honey
1 t sambal oelek (or chili sauce of some sort)
1/2 t salt
1.5 kg (3 lb) pork spare ribs, cut into individual ribs
1 T chopped green onions or garlic chives
2 lemons, cut into wedges, optional

• In a large glass bowl (or ziploc bag) combine the sesame oil, ginger, garlic, soy, rice wine, five spice powder, honey, sambal oelek and salt. Mix well. Add pork ribs and stir until the ribs are totally coated in the marinade. Cover (or zip) and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours so they absorb the flavour of the marinade


• Preheat oven to 350F. Place ribs and marinade into oiled baking dish and cook for 50 minutes, turning and basting with pan juices every 15 minutes. If the marinade begins to burn, add a few tablespoon of warm water to the pan during cooking.


• Scatter the garlic chives or green onions over the spare ribs and serve with wedges of lemon and steamed rice.


• Note: line the baking dish with thick foil to make washing up easier.

WANT CHIPS WITH THAT?

If you love chips with dip, you'll never want to go back to those little plastic tubs of French Onion Dip that you buy at Safeway. This dip recipe is so kick-ass good that you'll be thinking of those rippled chips as merely a vehicle to scoop up as much dip as you can. You'll be fighting your friends for the largest chips just because you can fit more dip on 'em.

CARAMELIZED ONION DIP
1 T. canola or olive oil
3 large sweet onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 cup low fat sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skililet over medium-low heat. Add the onions an cook, stirring often, for about 20 minutes, until they turn golden. Add the garlic and balsamic vinegar and cook for another 3 minutes, until deep golden and caramelized. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in sour cream, salt and pepper. If you want, whiz it all in a food processor until smooth. Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Variations:

Caramelized Onion & Spinach Dip

Add 1/2 lb baby spinach, coarsely chopped of 1/2 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, to the skillet along with the balsamic vinegar. Cook for a few extra minutes to wilt the spinach and cook off any excess moisture.

Warm Chevre Dip

Omit the sour cream. After adding the vinegar, add a few spoonfuls of light cream cheese to the pan along with 1/4 cup each soft goat cheese, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives and artichoke hearts. Stir to heat through and serve warm.

MANGO PUDDING

750 ml mango pulp of puree (in East Indian section of stores)
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups water (3 of boiling water & 3 cups cold)
4 packages unflavoured gelatin
500 ml whipping cream (unwhipped)

• Dissolve gelatin in 3 cups boiling water, then add the 3 cups of cold water
• Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix together thoroughly and refrigerage overnight.
• One recipe fills two tupperware jello containers (round ring) or you could use a 9" x 13" pan and make them into squares.
• Serve with a little evaporated milk and canned fruit cocktail

MAH JONG JELLO (RAINBOW FINGER JELLO)

If you make these layers properly, they'll look like little mah jong tiles. Make sure your refrigerator is level.

4 packages flavoured jello
6 packages unflavoured gelatin (Knox)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (Borden)
Boiling water

JELLO LAYERS

For each jello layer (repeat this 4 times)
1/4 cup cold water
1 package unflavoured gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 package flavoured gelatin

• soften gelatin for 5 minutes in cold water
• add the boiling water
• stir in flavoured gelatin until completely dissolved
• important: let cool to room temperature

MILK LAYERS:
1/2 cup cold water
2 packages unflavoured gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 package flavoured gelatin
1 can sweetened condensed milk

• soften gelatin for 5 minutes in cold water
• add boiling water and stir to dissolve
• blend in condensed milk and cool to room temperature
• use 2/3 cup mixture for each milk layer

ASSEMBLY:

1. Pour flavoured gelatin into 9" x 13" glass pan. Place in refrigerator until set (15-20 minutes)
2. Slowly and gently pour 2/3 cup milk mixture (cooled) over top; tilt pan around to spread smoothly. Place in refrigerator until set
3. Repeat steps #1 and #2 ending with jello mixture
4. Refrigerate assembled jello another 4 hours before cutting

EGG TARTS THE EASY WAY

5 eggs
4 oz evaporated milk
6 oz sugar
10 oz water
2 T custard powder
frozen tart shells

• Mix sugar and 8 oz water
• Use 2 oz or Hot water to dissolve custard powder
• Mix all ingredients well
• Pour into frozen tart shells
• Bake at 180C for 15 to 20 minutes

ALMOND TARTS (PITHIVIERS TARTS)

This is cakebrain's rendition of Ikea's almond tarts. They go so well with tea. After tasting them I knew I could duplicate them at home. After experimenting, I found this one to taste most like the one from Ikea.

12 frozen tart shells
4 oz butter, unsalted
1/3 cup (2 1/2 oz) powdered sugar
1 egg
5 oz ground almonds
2 t all purpose flour
1 t vanilla
1 t almond extract

Icing Glaze
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar & a few teaspoons skim milk mixed to form a glaze to top the tarts

• Cream the sugar and the butter well.


• Mix in the egg; beat well.


• Add the rest of the ingredients to mix and spoon into tart shells


• Smooth filling


• Bake 325F for 15-20 minutes


• Glaze the cooled tarts with the icing.

CURRIED PEANUT SHRIMP

These are great for the barbecue. Skewer and grill or broil under the broiler

1/3 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup orange juice
2 T reduced far creamy peanut butter (or regular)
1 T dijon mustard
1 1/2 t curry powder
1 t vegetable oil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t chili sauce with garlic
1/4 t crushed red pepper
32 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (1 lb)
cooking spray for grill
bamboo skewers, soaked; or metal skewers

• combine all ingredients except cooking spray. Marinate the shrimp for 30 minutes
• Skewer shrimp with optional veggies on bamboo skewers
• Grill.

SPICY FRESH SALSA

6 large tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 fresh Anaheim chilies, seeded and diced
4 serrano chilies, minced
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt to taste
*4 jalapeno peppers may be used in place of the chilies

• Blanch tomatoes 30 seconds. Plunge in cold water, peel deseed and chop.
• Mix together tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chilies, vinegar, oil and garlic in a large non-reactive bowl. Season with salt to taste.
• Refrigerate until cold and to allow the flavours to mingle, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours before serving.
• Serve with corn chips or use as an accompaniment for grilled fish.

RICE KRISPIES SQUARES

1/4 cup margarine

4 cups marshmallows

1/2 t vanilla extract

6 cups rice krispies cereal

1. Melt margarine in a saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows; stir until melted and well blended. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla


2. Add cereal stirring until coated well


3. Press into 3 L pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Cool; cut into squares