Peaceful Peas with Béchamel Sauce

This installment is inspired by my daughter, who responded to one of my recent posts. Here's an excerpt of her message. "Are you going to start adding modifiers to all of your recipe titles? Will the next one perhaps be peaceful peas in white sauce? (I hope you realize I'm just teasing you!) smile you are loved and appreciated by your family - Miska." So here you go Melissa, just enjoy it for the word play, fun and I love you :)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup warm milk
salt and pepper
cooked peas
Method:
1. In a saucepan over medium heat melt butter and add in flour. Stir to mix until mixture is free from lumps. Gradually stir in warmed milk and whisk vigorously as it will thickens. Add more milk depending on desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm with cooked peas.
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Tapioca Cake/Kuih Bengka Ubi Kayu

Tapioca or cassava is a tuberous root vegetable that is widely grown in the tropical and subtropical countries. The root has a thick skin and it is peeled and cooked before eating. I used to just steamed them and eat with sugar. This is another simple to prepare Malaysian snack that I love to share.
Ingredients:
2 lbs tapioca, shredded
250 gm. thick coconut milk
50 gm. grated coconut
2 ¼ cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. sago flour (optional)
pinch of salt
baking pan
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly greased baking pan.
2. Put tapioca in a muslin bag and sqeezed out most of the water. Add this into a large bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Pour mixture in prepared pan and bake in oven for about half and hour until most of the liquid has evaporate. Reduce temperature to 300°F and bake for another hour until cooked. Test doneness by inserting a toothpick at the center of the cake. If it comes out clen, it is cooked.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before unmolding the cake. Allow the cake to cool before cutting. (I let mine cool in the refrigerator)
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Three Grains Hopeful Porridge

These days, I am inspired to cooking healthy meals with whole grains that I buy in bulk. Grains are wholesome and nutritious—they are high in carbohydrates and fiber which provide energy to your brain and muscles. They are great with soup and stews or as a side dish. I was thinking of someone dear when making this porridge. I've added his favorite ingredients (corn and carrots) to give the porridge a natural sweetness and color.

Top: barley, millet, wheat

Ingredients:
2 cups organic chicken broth
1/4 cup millet
1/4 cup whole wheat
1/4 cup barley
1/2 cup corn
1/4 cup carrots
salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dry herbs (marjoram, thyme, rosemary)
1 egg, beaten
Method:
1. Wash grains and soaked in water with a pinch of salt overnight. Rinse under running water and set aside.
2. In a large pot add chicken broth, grains, corn, carrots, bay leaf and herbs. Bring to a fast boil for about 10 minutes uncovered. Remove any foam on top with spoon. Turn heat down to simmer and cook until water has reduced and grains are soft not grainy. Stir in beaten egg and let it cook for another minute, season with salt and pepper. Dish out into individual bowls and serve warm.
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Tri-color Wishful Prawns

Hello, I sincerely hope you all had a nice holiday with your loved ones. The year 2010 was a busy and eventful one for me. Many things happened--some good and some not so well. Anyway, isn't what life is all about? With a positive outlook and faith that all bad things will come to an end--I shall celebrate this day with a simple dish using some of my favorite ingredients. To start off the New Year with good tidings and blessing, I've decided to post a few dishes with inspirational wordings.
Ingredients:
8 whole prawns, shelled intact and deveined
1 cup baby spinach
6-8 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked with water
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup canned kidney beans
1 pip garlic, minced
2 slices ginger, minced
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp. oil
salt and pepper
Method:
1. Pat prawns dried and season with a dash of pepper and salt. Squeeze out most of the water from the mushrooms and slice into strips.
2. Heat frying pan with oil and fry garlic and ginger until fragrant and not brown. Add in mushrooms and some of the chicken stock and fry until mushrooms has absorbed most of the liquid. Remove and set aside.
3. Reheat pan over medium high and cook shrimps until the shells turn red in color. Add in the corn, kidney beans, spinach and chicken stock. Simmer for about 5 minutes and stir in the mushrooms and prawns to mix. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.
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Pan-Fried Garlic Noodles

I had this noodles at a restaurant in Palo Alto and am impressed on this easy to prepare dish. The ingredient is garlic and butter and oodles of noodles. I loved how the butter and garlic compliment each other to create a simple and light meal. Needless to say, this dish will keep the vampires at bay!

Ingredients:
1 packet fresh Chinese egg noodles (15 oz)
1 whole garlic, peeled and minced finely
1 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Cook fresh noodles accordingly to the instructions on the packet.
2. In a frying pan, heat oil on high and toss in noodles. Toss and stir noodles in the hot oil for about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
3. In the same pan, heat butter on medium until butter has melted. Add in minced garlic and chicken bouillon. Fry for about 8-10 minutes until garlic has turned soft but not brown. Remove from heat and add noodles to mix completely with the garlic oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Serve immediately.
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Springerle

Springerle is a white anise-flavored German cookie with an embossed design made by pressing into a special mold onto rolled-out dough. The cookies are then left out to dry before baking. This is a hard cookie and stores well for weeks. You can easily find the rolling pin or molds in specialty baking stores. I found mine in an antique store.

Ingredients: (makes about 50 cookies)
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. anise extract or oil
4½ cups Pillsbury Softasilk cake flour
Greased baking sheets
Method:
1. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until fluffy and light. Mix in the anise extract into the egg mixture. Add in sugar gradually and beat in to mix. Fold in the flour and extract. Mix until it forms into a dough.
2. Roll out dough onto a floured surface to about ½ inch thickness. Dust the Springerle rolling pin with some flour, remove excess flour and press the design frimly onto the dough.
3. Cut cookies apart with a pizza cutter between the guide lines and cut each piece out carefully. Place them on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and leave out to sit in a cool place overnight to dry.
4. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place cookies in oven and quickly reduce to 300°F. Bake until cookies turn from pale to light yellow. This takes about 8-10 minutes. Do not let it turn brown.
5. Remove and let cool on wire rack. Store in airtight containers.
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Grilled Asparagus with Pancetta

This is a simple and light dish for a weekend brunch. I love the flavor of pancetta with the asparagus spears. It also taste great with Holandaise sauce.
Ingredients: (serves 2)
12 asparagus spears
2 ozs. thinly sliced pancetta
2 slices bread (whole wheat or rye)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 egg yolk
sea salt and pepper
Method:
1. Preheat grill or broiler. Bring a pot of water to boil and prepare a bowl of ice water on the side.
2. Cook eggs for 8 minutes (longer if you don't want a soft center) in boiling water, remove and place in ice water to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel shells and cut into half or chop in small pieces.
3. Discard any tough ends of the asparagus spears, wrap a slice of pancetta around middle of a pair of spears. Grill wrapped asparagus until pancetta is crispy.
4. Cut two pieces of bread with a round biscuit cutter, remove the middle and discard edges. Brush both sides of bread with softened butter. Grill bread on each side and set aside.
5. Mix olive oil with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Place a slice of bread on serving plate, drizzle with lemon/olive oil dressing; top with grilled asparagus and cooked egg.
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