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Oh, the little fish in the sea can often be overlooked. These little sardines take me back to my childhood, when my grandma used to make sardines in a tomato sauce and serve it over a steaming bowl of rice. I’m sure she knew that these little guys could pack quite a nutritional punch, being full of heart-protective omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and other vitamins like vitamin D. I’m taken back to my childhood with this one. This was the first time Phong’s ever tried sardines (can you believe?!), and he ended up loving this little dish. It’s also great to eat with some crusty bread, to sop up the sauce at the end!
Sardines in Savory Tomato Sauce
1 can sardines (about 3.75 ounces), packed in olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
¼ cup water
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
½ cup sliced green onion
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic, sardines, 1 tsp of the sardine oil, tomatoes, water, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a light simmer, about 4-5 minutes. Taste the sauce and add sugar or soy sauce to taste. Add the green onions, and stir to combine. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, and serve with hot rice or crusty bread.
This is a pancake with love! I have worked a few times to perfect this recipe and today I finally got it. To me, pancakes are a splurge, usually reserved for the weekends. I am very finicky about restaurant pancakes as they are so filled with refined flour, no flavor, and no fiber – making my stomach feel like it has a rock in it with all the calories and carbohydrates.
I’m always tinkering with my pancake recipe to make it a little healthier, less blood-sugar spiking, and more satiating. Today I hit the mark. I use no white flour – instead, I use whole-wheat flour, ground oatmeal, and almond meal (my secret ingredient! Although secret no more) to give my pancakes the crunchy texture I love without having to fry them in tons of oil or butter to achieve a crisp crust. These are filled with fiber and have some added protein from the almond meal. They are so satisfying with a cup of coffee and a drizzle of maple syrup. I’m finally happy with not having to fix my recipe anymore!
Whole-grain almond pancakes
Makes 8-10 5-inch pancakes
1/2 cup rolled oats, coarsely ground (I do a few pulses in my food processor)
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup plain yogurt
2-3 Tbsp water
1 egg
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup blueberries
Canola oil, for frying
1. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, whole-wheat flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, water, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry ingredients and whisk together until incorporated.
3. In a large frying pan, add about 1 Tbsp canola oil and just a small sliver of butter (not even 1/2 Tbsp) as the butter will aid in browning the pancake. Over medium-high heat, add about 1/4 cup drop of pancake batter (I can usually do 3-4 pancakes at a time with my large frying pan). Top each pancake with a few blueberries. When the edges of the pancake are slightly browned and bubbles appear in the middle of the pancake (about 3ish minutes), flip them over and cook for another minute or so. Repeat until there is no more batter, adding a little bit of oil or butter to the pan if needed after each batch.
I have been quite antsy to make this cheesecake for some time. I love all things lemon, and when I found out that our Christmas Eve dinner would be at a friend’s house, I thought, the more reason to make this! My recipe is an adaptation of a lemon curd cheesecake recipe from epicurious.com, and I made a few changes in adding blueberries to the cheesecake batter and using less full-fat ingredients. A bonus? As I was taking my cooled cheesecake out of the fridge to transport to my friend’s house, I thought out loud, “Man, I wish I had me a cake plate to put this on…it’s too pretty!” Phong’s ears perked up in the next room, and he came in, saying, “Well, it IS Christmas Eve…do you want one of your presents now?” You don’t even need to guess my answer. As I said, “Hell yeah!” my hubby came out with this beautiful ceramic cake plate. I absolutely heart it, and am so excited to use it now!
Blueberry and Lemon Swirl Cheesecake
Lemon curd
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Crust:
1 1/4 cup finely ground gingersnap crumbs
1/2 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Filling
3 (8-oz) packages of 1/3 less fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
Special equipment: 9 1/2-inch springform pan
Preparation:
Make the lemon curd (which I did the day before)
Whisk together lemon zest, juice, sugar and eggs in a small bowl. In a small saucepan over medium low heat, add the ingredients and stir for about 2-3 minutes. Add the butter and whisk the lemon mixture frequently, until the curd thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, and small bubbles appear on the surface, about 6-8 minutes.
Force the curd through a sieve into a shallow bowl, scraping the bottom of the sieve into the bowl. Cover the surface with wax paper, and allow to cool completely at room temperature, stirring the lemon curd a couple of times for 30 minutes. Place in a plastic container and refrigerate if made ahead.
Make the crust
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the springform pan and 1-inch up the sides. I find it easier to use the bottom of a creme brulee dish or rammekin cup to make the crust more even. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Resist picking it apart and eating it right away. Remove the pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.
Make the cheesecake…woohoo!
1. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F. Fill a roasting pan about 1/2 to 1-inch full of water and place on the bottom rack.
2. Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl (or stand-up mixer) until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until combined.
3. Pour the blueberries onto the cooled crust. Pour about 1/2 of the cream cheese filling onto the blueberries and gently spread evenly throughout the pan, being careful not to scatter crust crumbs into the filling. Spoon 1/2 of the lemon curd over the cream cheese filling, and use a small knife to swirl a marbled pattern with the cream cheese and lemon curd. Pour the last 1/2 of the cream cheese filling over that, and repeat with the remaining curd.
4. Bake cheesecake for about 60-65 minutes on the rack above the roasting pan containing the water bath, or until the cheesecake is set 1 1/2 inches from the edge but slightly trembly in the middle when gently shaken (Center of the cheesecake will continue to set upon cooling). Take out the cheesecake and place on a rack. Run a small knife along the edges of the cheesecake and let cool completely, about 2 hours, before placing in the refrigerator, uncovered, for another 4 hours.
5. Remove the sides of the springform pan before serving. Serves about 12-14, small slices (I can never eat a regular portion of cheesecake!).
I love classic French cookies. LOVE them. When I was younger and still my aunt’s favorite niece (actually, I still am – no offense, cousins), she taught me how to bake cinnamon palmiers, which were always gone in a flash. And French macaroons – I’m not talking about those sweetened coconut balls, but those melt-in-your-mouth confections made of almond flour. My good friend Karen slaved over days to make 300 – yes, THREE HUNDRED – of these as wedding favors when I got married this year. I love my friends! (And no, I wasn’t a bridezilla).
And finally, madeleines. These cakey, buttery cookies make me feel guilty. So for my own madeleines, I simply cut out 1/2 a stick of butter from a recipe I adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook by Ruth Reichl. For extra flavor, I added lemon extract and chopped sour cherries for some tartness. These taste much lighter, and I have to admit, a little addicting (I ate four just right now – they didn’t stand a chance coming out of the oven).
Sour Cherry and Lemon Madeleines
makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional 1 Tbsp melted butter for brushing on the molds
1 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dried sour cherries, finely chopped
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Brush the madeleine molds with reserved melted butter.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Beat the eggs in a metal bowl with an electric mixer or stand-up mixer, for about 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extracts. Beat for another 4-6 minutes, until the egg mixture is light and has tripled in volume.
4. Take the bowl away from the electric mixer. Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture in 3-5 batches, folding in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula after each addition. Fold in each addition until just combined. After the last flour addition, fold in the butter. Gently fold in the butter until well-incorporated with the egg-flour mixture. Lastly, fold in the cherries until just combined.
5. Fill each madeleine mold with just over a tablespoon of batter. Do not overfill the molds, but fill to about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Place the molds in your preheated oven. Bake for about 4-5 minutes and turn the molds halfway. Bake for another 4-5 minutes, until the edges are just golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cookies comes out dry.
6. An easy way to detach the madeleines from the molds is to take a toothpick, gently pick under the edge of the cookie, and it will just slide right out. You can also invert it onto a plate as well.
About 10 years ago, my family and I took a month-long trip throughout the entire country of Vietnam. When we made it to Da Nang to stay with my grandma, my cousin often took me to get a snack at the nearest chicken sandwich vendor. It’s so fun eating in Vietnam – everywhere you go, you have street vendors selling small portions of all kinds of goodies. One sandwich I was hooked on was this interpretation of the sandwich I always ate in Da Nang – I was badly craving it one time that my cousin snuck out and got us a few before dinner. We got in trouble by my aunt, of course, because we ruined our appetites, but they were oh, so good! The chili-garlic mayo and the cilantro are a must in this sammy…I think back in the day the vendor made these with kaiser rolls or some other soft white roll, but I substitute it here with whole-wheat hamburger buns. I can’t believe that after 10 years, I’m craving them still!
Da Nang-Style Chicken Sandwich
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
12.5 oz canned chunk chicken breast, packed in water and drained (easy and quick alternative to poaching then shredding your chicken breast if you’re in a hurry like I am!)
3/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste (I didn’t use any because the chicken was also packed in broth, already adding some salt to it)
For the chili-garlic mayo (ESSENTIAL in this sandwich that we had!)
2 Tbsp fat-free mayo
1 1/2 tsp chili-garlic sauce
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns
4 handfuls of cilantro leaves
1. In a medium-sized skillet, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. After a couple minutes, add the yellow onion and garlic. Sautee and stir around for about another 2 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the drained chicken breast. Break up the chunks with a spatula and sautee well. Add the sugar, black pepper, and salt if needed. Continue stirring until the mixture is slightly browned, about another 5-6 minutes.
2. To make the chili-garlic mayonnaise, simply combine the chili-garlic sauce and mayo.
3. Assemble: Spread a thin layer of the chili-garlic mayonaisse on one side of the hamburger bun. Add about 3 ounces of the chicken mixture, top with cilantro leaves, and top with the other half of the bun. Serve!
Sometimes when I’m at the grocery store, I don’t have a meal planned in my head, and usually grab whatever appeals to my eye. This past week, I grabbed me a nice little bunch (actually, leeks are not little, they’re like mutant green onions but milder tasting). After a few days of ignoring them in my fridge, I decided I had to think once-and-for-all what to do with my new friends. I wanted something hearty (I was running all over the place at work today seeing patients) and easy. Also, I’ve been wanting to make pineapple fried rice for some time now, but always ended up forgetting to buy pineapple at the store. Not so this time!
This simple, eggless fried rice is full of hearty, fun textures and flavors from the bite of the day-old brown rice I had begging for attention in my fridge, to the tartness of the pineapple, and the hint of saltiness from the lean bacon. This is a simple, healthy recipe to make – you’ve got your whole grains from the rice, and it’s not overloaded with grease as in take-out fried rice (One serving of my fried rice is 281 kcal and 10 grams of fat. The same amount of fried rice from a popular take-out chain, for example, can cost you up to 450 calories and 14 grams of fat! Kind of a lot if you consider you’re eating other stuff on the side too). Also, you have to add lots of garlic. Garlic and fried rice are a must-have for anyone.
Bacon, Leek, and Pineapple Fried Rice
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 slices lean bacon, chopped
2 cups leeks, thinly sliced (I sliced and quartered mine – you can cut it however you fancy)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup canned pineapple chunks in juice, drained, cut each pineapple chunk in half again
3 cups of brown rice, leftover from the day before (newly made rice is too moist and you may end up with a soggier texture)
2 pinches garlic powder
2 – 3 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
Black pepper to taste
1. In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over high heat. When the oil starts to smoke, add the bacon and let it brown briefly. After about a couple of minutes, add the leeks and garlic, sauteeing for about 4-5 minutes, or until leeks are soft. Season with black pepper. Place the bacon-leek mixture into a separate bowl.
2. In the same pan, add another 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the pineapple chunks when the oil starts to smoke. After the pineapple gets a little browned (about 2-3 minutes), add the brown rice and break up the rice with your spatula. Add the garlic powder, soy sauce, and black pepper to taste. Allow the rice to lightly brown, pressing on the rice with your spatula and then flipping the rice back and forth. When the desired texture is achieved, add the bacon-leek mixture and thoroughly combine. When all the ingredients are evenly distributed, turn the heat off and serve. Serves 4, about 1 cup fried rice each.
Nutrition Facts (per 1 cup serving): 281 kcal, 10 g fat, 42 g carbs, 5.8 g protein
To me and my family, food is definitely love. Especially when it means going through torture and back to get the absolutely essential ingredients you need to make that dish “THE DISH.” Phong’s coming back tomorrow from another week-long trip, and I wanted him to come home to one of his favorite soups. We always frequent this one Thai restaurant in Honolulu, and get their tom yum soup, extra spicy. My aunt and mom make it and it’s the perfect combination of spicy, sour, sweet, and salty all in one bowl. I wanted to step up to the plate and tackle this bad boy for myself, so that’s what I set out to do today.
Okay, let’s just say that in California, you all have it so easy! You’ve got your nice, big Asian grocery stores with everything laid out super organized, and you can put everything all tidy in your shopping cart and wheel it to your car. Nice. I used to be so spoiled. Here in Hawaii, if I want specialty Asian ingredients, I can’t find it in the “ethnic” aisle of the grocery store or commissary, unless I want soy sauce. Instead, I go to Chinatown.
Chinatown requires a certain mindset – I usually have to repeat my mantra of “I will not get a headache today…I will not get a headache today…” You have to be prepared to battle with ridiculously tiny parking spaces (if you’re so lucky to get one), and there’s always tons of people. So this morning, when Phong called and asked what I was doing today, I said, “I’m going to make tom yum soup for you!”
Phong: “YES! That sounds great! I was thinking of getting that after you pick me up from the airport too! What are you up to now?”
Me: “I’m going to Chinatown to get my ingredients.”
Pause.
Phong: “You don’t have to make tom yum soup.”
Me: “I’m in the mood. I can do it. I’ll pick you up tomorrow!”
So anyways, to make a long story short, I almost had a hernia in Chinatown. Mainly because I was searching so many stalls for my kaffir lime leaf that absolutely MAKES the soup – if I didn’t have that, I was going to throw in the towel and we were going to have to visit our Thai restaurant again. I asked one vendor – he said, pointing in no specific direction, “Ha, that’s hard to find. Good luck over there!” Finally, after NOT finding lime leaves or galangal, I asked a nice old Vietnamese man if ANYONE on this island had it. His daughter said, “Oh! We have some!” And it was hidden (probably for special customers like me). They laughed at my giddiness and even had galangal (also hidden). That galangal, similar to gingerroot, was so huge, as big as my foot. The man was kind enough to just cut me a piece. I felt so lucky – I found the secret to getting my rare ingredients!
Anyways, I made my tom yum soup. I’m still playing with the recipe – it was good, but it was one of those things that you fully enjoy if your mom made it for you. Even if your mom gives you the recipe, does it really turn out as good as hers?
Also, I started measuring ingredients and writing them down, but all of the sudden I lost count of my tablespoons and cups and pinches here and there that honestly, I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry 
I will make it up to you next time
…are what these chayote squash look like. They remind me of Oscar the Grouch, green and mean. Whenever Phong goes grocery shopping and asks if I need anything, I explain these veggies by saying, “Get me a few of those mean pear-looking things” and he knows exactly what I want! I grew up eating chayote squash in soups and stir-fries, and the mild, sweet, crunchy taste of these pair well with a lot of different flavors and foods. I make it here with spicy hot tofu and brown rice. A perfectly healthy and satisfying dinner!
Chayote Squash and Tofu Stif-fry
1 Tbsp canola or olive oil
1 package extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2″ thick slices
2 chayote squash, peeled and sliced (cut out the seed)
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp chili-garlic sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup green onion, cut into 2″-3″ pieces
1. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over high heat. When oil starts to smoke, add the tofu slices. Cook on one side, about 4 minutes. Flip the tofu over, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the chayote squash slices and mix the ingredients together. In a small bowl, combine the fish sauce, sugar, chili-garlic sauce, garlic, pepper, and water. Add it to the tofu-squash mixture. Add the green onion. Stir-fry for another 10-15 minutes, adding a few tablespoons of water every now and then if the squash is not yet fork-tender (the water will help cook it faster and not dry it out).
