Quiche (Lorraine)

Do not be intimated by it's name - Quiche Lorraine,  a classic french dish.  Do not fret.  It is only an open tart with filling of custard and savoury ingredients like ham, onions and cheese.  

I was rummaging through the fridge, trying to find something that would whet my disinterested appetite when I came across some whimpy carrots, a slightly shriveled leek.  What would I do to use them before they expire.  Going shopping was no option so I have to make do with whatever I had lying around the house/fridge.  My eyes finally settled on a tart tin and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to put together the receipe for R & D.

Instead of going through all the trouble of measuring, kneading flour and butter for shortcrust pastry, I used ready made flaky pastry.
 Please excuse the quantities stated - they're between 'about, some, roughly, abit of.........'

FATFREE Comfort Food

Autumn is here when daylight gets shorter and cold wind is blowing.  With change of season, so do our tastes in food.  Here is a combination which is particularly well suited for this time of year.

Chicken & shredded ginger stewed in rice wine

Ginger and sesame oil are considered as 'warm' food. And as such, good for new mothers' diet in the first month after birth. A very common and much loved combination is ginger, sesame oil with chicken. Chicken because chicken meat is considered 'light' meat. This recipe is about chicken & schredded ginger stewed in rice wine (homemade) residue.

Ingredients

• 2-3 pcs chicken breast or thighs (wash and cut into bite size )
  
• 300 gm ginger, peel and slice or cut into sticks
  
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce or oyster sauce (optional)
  
• salt to taste
  
• 3 tbsp rice wine residue or 1 cup (dry) sherry
  
• 1 cup water
  
• 1/2 cup (roasted black) sesame oil

Method

1. Heat the sesame oil in a wok or pan.
   
2. When the oil is hot, add ginger slices/sticks
   
3. Stir-fry briefly until it is aromatic, then add the chicken.
   
4. Stir-fry briefly, then add wine residue/sherry.
   
5. Turn heat on low and simmer 20-30 mins.
   
6. Thicken sauce with a little cornflour if necessary.
   
7. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Note: For more goodness, I added goji beries and mu errh mushrooms.

Tong Sui

Tong Sui: means sugar water in cantonese.

I have tried to explain to the europeans what TongSui means.  It's eaten between meals but sometimes served as a dessert but it's not cold.  It sometimes is quite heavy because it contains root vegetables but it is not part of main meal.
I've given up explaining now.  

More info you can find in Wikipedia.

Some people add rose essence, some just plain sugar and water. I prefer mine with coconut milk. And if that is not available, I would use cream.

From my freezer, I found 3 bananas and a piece of tapioca a.k.a. cassava/manioc.
The perfect thing for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk (400 ml)
• 200 ml water
• 3 small bananas
• 250 gm sweet potato
• 250 gm tapioca
• 2 tbsp sago/tapioca pearls soaked in 1 cup of water
• sugar or palm sugar to taste

Method

1. Clean and cut sweet potato and tapioca into 3 cm cubes.
2. Place potato, tapioca and water, cook on medium heat till soft.
3. Add coconut milk and sago and simmer gently till sago is clear.
4. Add sugar/palm sugar to taste.