Chee Cheong Fun

I was absolutely inspired by the Chee Cheong Fun (a.k.a. rice noodle roll) prepared by Lily that she had it on her blog (http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2008/07/chee-cheong-fun-iii.html). The preparation process was fascinating and I was so eager to try it out myself!

Ingredients:
(A)
60g rice flour
20g tapioca flour
2 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil

(B)
1 1/2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tsp water
1 tbsp sesame seed

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients from (A) and leave it aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Pour a thin layer of batter into the pan and heat until a thin layer of the the batter solidifies at the bottom. Pour back any excess batter.
3. Place a lid on the pan and cook on low heat.
4. The noodle is cooked when it turns translucent. Remove pan from the heat source.
5. Roll the sheet of noodle carefully (not to break it) with a wooden spatula on the pan. Place the rice noodle roll on a greased plate.
6. Continue cooking with the remaining batter.
7. Dilute the Hoisin sauce with water. Pour the sauce on the noodles and garnish noodles with sesame seed. Savour the chee cheong fun while hot!

p/s: It takes some practice to yield smooth texture cheong fun. I appreciate those hawkers who cook fine and tasty chee cheong fun!

Strawberry Blossom Doughnut

If Dunkin' Donut is part of the American culture, then the Tim Hortons (a.k.a. Tim's) is a must in the Canadian culture, especially for the Maritimers.

I'm fascinated with this brand new creation--Strawberry Blossom Doughnut! It's shaped into a flower with six petals, topped with pink and white sprinkles, and strawberry jam in the middle. As you might have expected, it's rather sweet. Well, you don't get such a treat all the time. Enjoy while you can! It's for limited time only.

Strawberry Picking

Posing with the bright red, juicy strawberries!

The strawberry plants.

Come on, let's pick some berries from the field. What a great outing in the summer!

I always look forward to the strawberry season in the summer, which usually takes place in early July, after Canada Day. Previously, I've organized strawberry picking trips for friends who were new to Freddy and they truly enjoyed it ;) Strawberries....I'm excited for it! I rode on my bike to the strawberry farm, Sunset U-Pick on Ferris St. off Sunset Drive, located on the north side of the city. It was a 30-minute bike ride. What a gorgeous day! Warm sunshine, summer breeze...

Apparently, the hot weather will bring a more rapid end to the season, and residual moisture from the rain will shorten the shelf life of strawberries. The weather certainly plays a major role in the growth of berries. This is the second week of the picking season and will probably go on for another week or so.

Strawberries are yummy just on its own. My favourite however, is the strawberry+kiwi+banana smoothie. A refreshing treat on a hot summer day!

Steak Feast II

The carrot was cut into a unique shape, very creative :)

I've been craving for steaks these days and hence prepared myself a Grade A striploin and salad for supper. Besides the similar ingredients used to prepare the first steak that I had (refer to the post "Steak Feast I"), I added some Moroccan harissa spice (1 1/2 tsp) for marinating the meat. It was merely a 15-20 minutes of cooking time with the toaster oven set at 400F, for a medium rare steak. With the steak topped with mushroom sauce, and salad as side dish, I indulged myself in this delicious meal ^v^

Salad

Ingredients:
1 cherry tomato
1/2 medium green pepper
1 small carrot
2 stalks celery
2 leaves iceberg lettuce
2 leaves romaine lettuce

Directions:
Creativity + Passion + Patience = Awesomeness

How did I come out with this idea? Well, I had these ingredients sitting in the refrigerator that I needed to prepare for tomorrow's lunch. Instead of a boring dish of salad, I wanted something that's more presentable, and more appetizing! And here I am, combining the salad with some canned salmon for a meal *wink*