Punpkin, Spinach & Yoghurt Pasta Bake

I finally got over my week-long viral thing and had the energy to do some proper baking and cooking. I made a trail-mix banana bread yesterday and tried a new dinner recipe today. It is adopted from the Almost Cheeseless Pasta Casserole from 101 Cook Books. I really like this website because the recipes are really creative and healthy. It has got a very wide range of recipes from salad and soup to sweets and drinks. Sometimes it does come up with funky recipe like "the tofu burger" but overall the dishes are quite do-able. The photography is amazing and the recipes are easy to follow.
I have made pasta bake before but this is quite different. The white sauce is based on yoghurt, instead of cream, so the whole dish is infused with the sourness and the milky taste of the yoghurt. I found it quite clever to sprinkle lemon zest on the baking tray. If it was directly incorporated into the sauce the flavour would probably be too strong. The olives, almonds and cheese give this dish a lot of different texture and flavours.
I have reduced the quantity of the pasta by a massive degree but still ended up with a HUGE dish. It is originally suggested as a side dish but I had it as a main meal (and now I am stuffed!!!)

Pumpkin, Spinach & Yoghurt Pasta Bake

zest of a large lemon
300g dried wholemeal penne
1.5 cup butternut pumpkin, chopped into 2.5cm cubes
80g frozen spinach
1 cup plain natural yoghurt
1 egg
3 cloves garlic, chopped
pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup silvered almond
1/3 cup olives, torn into pieces
1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1) Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C. Grease a baking dish (which I forgot to do!). Sprinkle with lemon zest and set aside.
2) Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente. In the last 2 minutes of cooking time, add the pumpkin cubes into the pasta water. In the last minute, add the frozen spinach and separate with a fork. Quickly and carefully drain away the pasta water. Run cold water over the pasta, pumpkin and spinach to stop them from cooking. Shake off any excess water and set aside.
3) While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the yoghurt, the egg, garlic and salt and set aside. Once cooked and drained, mix together the pasta-pumpkin-spinach mixture with the yoghurt mixture. Stir in half of the almonds until evenly distributed. Scoop everything into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with olives and ricotta cheese. Baking for 30 minutes
4) Remove from oven. Sprinkle with the remaining almonds and season with salt. Enjoy!

Serves 6 as a main

Pasta bake

Banana bread

Roasted punpkin with Brazil nuts and feta

I use the oven mostly for baking cakes, cookies and slices, rather than cooking actual dishes because roasting and baking are really not part of Chinese cooking. But oven itself is a real time saver when it comes to cooking. You prep all the ingredients, pop everything on the tray, leave it in the oven, come back after a while - VOILA!!! A beautiful meal is finished.
What I made today is a good side dish. Pumpkin cubes simply roasted until soft and intensely sweet, which is contrasted with the crunchy Brazil nuts and the salty and tangy cheese. Super easy to make, hardly any cooking involved, but so delicious.

Roasted pumpkin with Brazil nuts and feta

900g pumpkin (either kent or butternut is fine)
100g Brazil nuts
120g feta cheese

1) Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees C.
2) Deseed the pumpkin and chop into 2.5 cm cubes. (Don't bother with the peeling - the skin will soften in the oven) Lay them on a baking tray. Drizzle some olive oil on top and sprinkle with some cracked pepper and dried mixed herbs. Use your hands to mix evenly so each piece of pumpkin is coated with oil and seasoning.
3) Put in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft and cooked through.
4) Put the nuts in a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin to yield broken bits of different sizes. Sprinkle over the cooked pumpkin. Break up the feta cheese into small pieces and sprinkle on top. Serve hot as a side dish.

Crustless Ham & Broccoli Quiche

Quiche is one of those dishes I have never had until I came to Australia. When most people consider the pastry as the best part (when it is cooked right), I sometimes find it slightly too heavy. Since I do not have the patience to make my own pastry, I took an express route and made this very tasty Crustless Ham & Broccoli Quiche.
Because of the lack of pastry, this makes a much lighter meal and is cooked very quickly. There is no worrying about whether the pastry is too thick or under cooked. Despite the name of the dish, the flour does make the sides and the base of the quiche firm up a bit, creating a very light "crust". The only thing I do not like from the original recipe is that it uses 2 egg whites in addition to the 2 whole eggs. I mean, what would you do with the 2 left-over egg yolks? I'm not sure how big of a different it would make but I have included 3 whole eggs in mine and it has worked perfectly.

Crustless Ham & Broccoli Quiche, adopted from Baking Bites


2 small heads of broccoli, finely chopped
120g shredded ham
1 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped
1/2 onion, diced
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups of milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup of cheese (ricotta and Parmesan)

1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
2) Lightly grease a baking dish or a quiche pan.
3) Heat a bit of olive oil on a pan over medium-high heat. Saute the diced onion until translucent. Add the garlic and chopped broccoli and stir until cooked and softened. Mix in the shredded ham. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
4) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, flour and baking powder. Season with pepper. Stir in the cooked ingredients.
5) Pour the egg mixture into the prepared pan. Scatter cheese on the top.
6) Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges of the quiche is golden brown. Let set for 5 minutes. Serve on its own or with salad.

焗豬扒飯！

Sometimes I think that my interest in cooking is partly due to the limited choice of restaurants in Brisbane when you eat out. Instead of trying to find a nice restaurant that serve decent food (that is reasonably priced), it is far easier to learn to cook yummy food. (Not to mention how much healthier it is for you!) This dish is really something I would never make when I'm at home in Hong Kong. I mean why would you go through the trouble of all those chopping and stirring and baking and washing up when you can get the same dish (probably a better version of it), along with a drink, at 大家樂 across the road at $40?
This rice dish is probably the most classic Hong Kong fast food dish. I have yet to come across a person from Hong Kong who has not had it before. It's got fried rice, it's got pork chop, it's got tomato sauce, and it's cheesey and so so so yummy. The pork chops are juicy and flavoursome. The rice has absorbed all the flavours from the cheesy tomato sauce, the eggs and all the vegetables. On its own it is such a satisfying meal, and a little antidote to homesickness.

Baked fried rice with pork chop adopted from Christine's Recipe

2 bowls cooked brown rice
1/2 onion, diced
2 capsicums, diced
3 small tomatoes, diced
150g frozen mixed peas, corn and carrots
3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
2 eggs, beaten well
2 pork chops
all-purpose flour
salt & pepper, to taste
soy sauce, to taste
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup of cheese (I used a combination of shredded Parmesan and ricotta)

1) Sandwich each pork chop between two layers of plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin or a meat hammer to flatten the pork chop to half its original thickness. Remove any visible fat. Marinate them in sugar, pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce and cornstarch overnight (or at least 30 minutes)
2) Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees C.
3) Heat oil in a pan on a medium-high heat. Place the pork chops in the beaten eggs, then cover both sides with flour. Cook the pork chops in the pan until both sides are golden brown and about 90% cooked through. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
4) In the same pan, heat oil on a medium heat. Cook the chopped onion until transparent. Add the garlic and stir for about one minute. Stir in the capsicum and frozen vegetables. Cook until they are warmed through and soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.
5) In the same pan, heat oil on a medium heat and pour in the eggs. When the eggs are starting to set, mix in the cooked rice and break up the rice if there are any clumps. Continue to stir until the eggs are well combined with the rice. Then add in the tomatoes and 2/3 of the cooked vegetables. Mix well and season with pepper and soy sauce. Pour the rice mixture in the baking dish. Top with pork chops.
6) In the pan, heat up the tomato paste and 1/2 cup of water on a high heat. Stir until the mixture comes to a boil then reduce to medium heat. Slowly add in small amount of flour (about 1/2 tsp each time) into the mixture until it thickens to the desirable consistency. Mix in the remaining vegetables and season with sugar and pepper. Pour the sauce over the rice and the pork chops. Sprinkle cheese on the top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the pork chops are cooked through. Serve immediately.

Beef Stir Fry with Garlic Shoots

I have always been a baker more than a cook. Baking just seems so much more enjoyable and so much more fun. In my opinion, there are not many things in the world that give more pleasure than the smell and the taste of homemade cookies and cakes. But not living at home means no meals readily prepared by dad. So if I want home-cooked meals the only way would be to do the cooking myself.
This is one of those dishes that every family seems to know and can be easier prepared within thirty minutes. Before I came to Australia I don't think I have had garlic shoots very often. But they are really yummy and nutritious vegetables. Rich in fibre, vitamins and antioxidants. And I really like their subtle spiciness and the crunchy texture. And, unlike some leafy vegetables, they retain their shape and crunchiness very well after reheating so they are good for lunchbox.

Beef stir fry with garlic shoots1 bunch of garlic shoots
stir fry beef
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
sesame seeds, slightly toasted
sauce: 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp corn starch, 1 tbsp water

1) Marinade beef with sugar, sesame oil, ground pepper and corn starch for at least 20 minutes or overnight.
2) Cut off the ends of garlic shoots and cut them into sections. Blanch them in boiling water for approx. 1 minutes. Set aside.3) In a heated frying pan, add oil and cook garlic until fragrant. Add the beef and shallow fry them until almost cooked through. Stir in garlic shoots.
4) Combine the last 4 ingredients to make the sauce. Pour the sauce over the pan and mix well. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top to serve. Serve with rice.

Meatballs & Spaghetti

Just because you have some mince in your fridge, it doesn't mean that you have to have spaghetti bolognese for dinner. I am not an Italian and I'm certainly not an expert in Italian cooking. But here it is, my version of Meatballs & Pasta.

400g of mixed lamb and pork mince (I would normally use beef + pork but lamb is what I have in the fridge)
chopped basil
chopped parsley
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 chopped carrot
1 chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 canned tomato soup
Wholemeal spaghetti or any pasta
Parmesan, grated (optional)

1) In a large bowl, mix together the minced meat, chopped basil, parsley, breadcrumbs and 1 egg. Add freshly ground pepper and mix well.
2) Roll ~1 tbsp of mince mixture into a meatball. Repeat with the rest.
3) Cook pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
4) In a heated frying pan, add olive oil and meatballs. Allow to cook until golden and cooked through. Set aside on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
5) In the same frying pan, add onion and carrot. Stir until soften then mix in garlic. Add tomatoes to pan and cook for a few minutes. Add in tomato soup and bring it to a simmer. Add water to thin it out if desired. Mix in meatballs, cracked pepper and chopped basil.
6) To serve, place pasta on a plate or a bowl and spoon over the tomato sauce. Sprinkle over grated Parmesan if desired.

This may look waaaaayyyyyyyyyy to saucy for some of you but this is the type of pasta that I grew up having, which obviously is not the most authentic Italian. Oh well, I'm blaming my parents for it!

House warming dinner

What a fun yoga class today. Such a wonderful way to start a Sunday morning. My shoulders and back feels so broad and relaxed and my whole body feels so light and lifted. A 7-day yoga retreat- sounds so tempting!!

I had a couple of people over for dinner last night. Risotto did not turn out as good as last time. Maybe it was the butter? Or the stock? Something was lacking and the flavour just wasn't quite there. But everything else was great. Thanks guys for bringing the soy chicken wings, the marinated cucumber, the 餃子 and the drinks.
And what would a dinner be without dessert? This is probably my favourite cheesecake recipe. I'm sure there are better ones out there. But this is probably the first recipe I have followed as a baker. I remember looking for recipe with BaBa, experimenting with different types of cheese, baking time, and how hard we tried to beat the cream cheese before we bought the electric mixer. I remember getting MaMi as our samplers and we would get her to comment on the cake everytime we made a change. This is the recipe that taught me how to separate the yolk from the white and introduced me to the incredible baking world. If I had a signature dish, this would probably be it.

~1/2 cup digestive biscuits, crushed
~75g butter, melted
500g cream cheese
250-300mL sour cream
1/4 cup fresh milk
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
~1 cup sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
lemon zest fro a whole lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon

1) Preheat oven to 230 degrees C
2) Mix biscuits crumbs and melted butter together. Press firm to the bottom of a cake tin.
3) Bake for 5-10 minutes or until base has firmed up and started to turn golden.
4) Meanwhile, beat to soften cream cheese. Add in sour cream and beat to combine. Add eggs and egg yolks and mix well, one at a time. Add in lemon zest, lemon juice and milk and mix well. Sift flour and and sugar and add to the mixture.
5) Pour mixture onto the baked base. Bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 160 degrees C and bake for a further 30 minutes or until the cake has firmed up and skewer comes out clean.
6) Turn off the heat and leave the cake in the oven for an hour with the door open. This avoids a sudden temperature change and prevents cracking of the cake. Allow to cool in room temperature before chilling in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve cold.

The First of (Hopefully) Many Up-coming Cooking Night

I love risotto. Who doesn't?! It's creamy, smooth and flavoursome and it is full of CARBS. I have always thought of it as a gourmet "restaurant food" that would be hard to reproduce at home. But with the help of allrecipe.com and my darling friend Crystal I made my first attempt of the dish.
And it was delicious! It really is not as difficult to make as I imagined. It requires a bit of patience and time because you have to be prepared to stand by the stove top for at least 20 minutes while you constantly stir the rice until you get the desired firmness and texture. I would strongly recommend cooking this with a friend - it just makes everything so much more fun don't you think?
It is a very versatile dish as well. Sprinkle freshly chopped herbs and Parmesan cheese at the end and stir in whatever you feel like - seafood, chicken, sausages, grilled / roasted vegetables, lemon zest + lemon juice, etc.
NB: Some reviews recommend using 1 whole cup of dry white wine and adding garlic with the shallots to enrich the flavours. I'll definitely try that next time.

Gourmet Mushroom Risotto

6 cups of chicken stock/beef stock/vegetable stock
Thinly sliced mushrooms
2 shallots, diced
1.5 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 TBSP finely chopped chives
2 TBSP butter (optional)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1) In a saucepan, warm the stock over low heat
2) Add olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, saute until soft. Remove mushrooms and their liquid. Set aside.
3) Add olive oil to skillet and stir in shallots. Cook for 1 minute. Add in rice and stir until coated with oil for about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken a pale golden colour, pour in wine. Stir constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add in 1/2 cup warm stock to the rice and keep stirring to allow stock to be absorbed. Continue adding stock to the rice, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir constantly until the rice is al dente. May take 20-30 minutes.
4) Remove from heat. Stir in mushrooms with their liquid, chives and butter if desired. Season with cracked pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.