Yes, I chopped it up finely. the whole leaves are only on the front for decoration.
Thanks Val! I'm glad you like it!

Sure thing. Here ya go...
Another variation would be to cut out the oatmeal and add 1/2 cup more flour for a crunchier and crispier cookie
Ingredients
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup cream cheese (or 1/2 cup sour cream, whatever you have left over)

1 cup flour
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 teaspoon rosemary (fresh)
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 350F.
Pour into a medium size bowl 1/4 cup of water. Microwave that for maybe 30 sec so its warm. Mix in 1 cup of oats to it and mix it good. It should be pretty doughy and thick.

In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, sugar, egg and cream cheese. Add the oatmeal mix to this.

In another medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, fresh rosemary, parmesan, pepper).

Add the dry with the wet and gently fold until everything is incorporated.

Dollop about 1 tbsp onto a parchment paper lined baking tray and flatten then to 1/4 inch thick. Try to keep it roundish in shape (or not, however pretty you want to make it). Sprinkle on some more sea salt and crack some fresh black pepper over the cookies.

Decorate with rosemary leaves if you like again.
Bake 16-18mins.

Makes around 25-30 cookies.
here's the pics on my blog and the step by step
http://mdcooksfor2.blogspot.com/2012/...

I bake a batch of savory oatmeal (or non-oatmeal) cookies with rosemary and parmesan. They're so simple to make and delicious for anytime. Great for soups too.
You can freeze and cookies and bake them later too.

What about sushi? since they eat black rice. I make my sushi with a mix of brown and white rice too! And it is stuffed with lots of veggies and kid friendly. I make korean sushi called kimbap but its just the same really. If you don't have a sushi mat, just use some seran wrap!

Ingredients
1 cup white rice (or brown and white mix if you like)
5 sheets of nori-seaweed
1 cup julienned carrots (matchstick size length 2 inch)
1/2 cup pickled radish/ daikon
1/4 cup blanched spinach (about a cup uncooked)
Sesame oil
Roasted sesame seeds

1/4 lb Ground beef
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin or any sweet cooking wine (like sake) or skip it

Special tools: Bamboo sushi rolling mat

Prepping the Filling

Peel and julienne carrots and the pickled radish (no peeling here).
Bring to boil about 2-3 cups of water in a sauce pan. Add a pinch of salt (this makes spinach greener when blanching!). Woa my mum's tip of the day! Add the spinach for about 45sec-1min. Rinse with cold water and squeeze out all the water from the spinach. Season with a pinch of salt and 1 tsp of sesame oil.

In a frying pan up carrots first in a sauce pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and fry for about 30sec. Because you want some crunch factor and no mushy carrot in your kimbap. But remember to taste test! Next, fry up the ground beef...
In the same frying pan add some sesame oil and when its hot, add your beef. When it is slightly pink, add the soy sauce and mirin.

Rolling it out
This kimbap is thinner and taller than your usual kimbap because you add less rice and more veggies so cut out about an inch from the length of the seaweed sheet. Or make your kimbap fatter.
To the cooled down/warm-ish rice add about 1 tsp sesame oil and 2 tsp sesame seeds and fluff up the rice with a paddle. Don't mush it or overwork it. The oil helps the rice be not to sticky.

On a sheet of seaweed placed on a sushi mat, add a thin layer of rice (2-3 grains thick) and leave about 1 cm at the top. Add the spinach and carrot in equal parts and a little less of the pickled radish and ground beef.

Roll the kimbap to tuck in all the filling (away from you) and quickly roll it to let the rice stick on the seaweed. Using the sushi mat, knead lightly and roll a little to keep the kimbap in place. Repeat until no more ingredients to work with!

To cut the kimbap, lightly oil your hands with sesame oil and run along the roll of kimbap. Sprinkle some sesame seeds too. Then using a sharp knife, cut them into 1 inch height.

HERE"S THE LINK
http://mdcooksfor2.blogspot.com/2012/...

Definitely all the asian fruits mentioned, like stair fruit, lychee, mangosteen.
Also try dragon fruit (it's pink outside with green tufts and whitish inside with lots of black seeds)
Asian grocery stores should have them. Also dragoneye (? that's the literally chinese translation). It's like a smaller smoother version of lychee.

you can make pizza sauce out of it!
also if you make things too watery (pasta sauce), you can add it because its concentrated.

I made asian meatballs! I put this into a baguette with pickled daikon and carrots to make a pseudo banh mi for lunch.

Chicken Pork Meatballs with Sriracha Mayo Dip
Makes 15-20

Ingredients
1 pound meat (1/2 ground chicken and pork)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 onion finely minced
1/2 tsp ginger minced
4 cloves garlic minced
3 stalks green onions finely chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce (or Youndoo)
1 tbsp hot sauce (sriracha or sambal)
1 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Chili Mayo dipping
1 tbsp Sriracha
1.5 tbsp mayonnaise
Green onions chopped

In a large bowl, put the meat and all the minced up veggies. From cilantro to green onions.

Add in also all the sauce ingredients to the meat, from fish sauce to pepper and salt.

Mix it all up real good with a big spoon. Shape them into meatballs, like 1.5 inch diameter and place them onto a plate.

Heat up a huge frying pan. Add olive oil. Fry up the meatballs on medium-low heat. Takes about 5-8mins per side. You might need to fry up the sides as well.

Mix the Sriracha dipping sauce and you're good to nom nom nom!
pics http://mdcooksfor2.blogspot.com/2012/...

ooh yes! the tai po market is huge and the food market is crazy up there. Especially the fish meatball ho fan noodles. There is a famous stall selling red bean jelly (bbu jaii go) and steamed custard cake (ma lai go).

oops are green beans considered legumes?

if you already have a bottle of sambal or make your own! make green beans stir fry

Ingredients
3 dried shrimps soaked in water until soft
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp ginger minced
2 tbsp sambal chili sauce (+ salt if needed)
3 cups green beans
2 tbsp water
2 tsp chili powder

Soak the dried shrimp in water for about 5 mins. Then mince it up real good so it is almost paste like.
This is optional for vegetarians but it gives a more umami flavor.

Mince your garlic and ginger. Trim your green beans and cut them in half.

Heat up a frying pan, add about 1-2 tbsp of oil to it. Once the oil is heated, add the garlic, ginger and paste. Fry that until the moisture from the shrimp has evaporated a bit. Around 3 mins.
I doubled the recipe so this looks like a lot.

Add the Sambal sauce and stir fry that for 30 secs.

Toss in your green beans and add the water. Give it a good stir and let it cook for about 2 mins.

Add some salt to your liking and add chili powder.
Keep stirring it so that the green beans get a good coat of sauce. Another 3 mins. It's done when the green beans are soft but still has a good amount of crunch.
http://mdcooksfor2.blogspot.com/2012/...

Toast with nutella and bananas. Brown sugar sprinkled on the bananas and caramelized in the broiler. Hmm...

Have you tried roasted pigeon at the old tai po road restaurant?
or seafood in sai kung. Shop for your own seafood and get a restaurant to prepare it. very local, very delicious.

Source: born and raised in HK

i make a green tea cake! i filled it with red bean. but you can make green tra buttercream with butter, creamcheese and more matcha. or eat the cake alone!

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp matcha powder

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 small/medium eggs
1/2 cup yogurt
1.5 tsp vanilla

Red Bean filling

Preheat oven to 350F
In a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients (oil, eggs, yogurt, vanilla) and sugar.

In another bowl, sift the flour, mix the dry ingredients and add that to the wet. Mix until JUST incorporated. It's okay if there are a few lumps.

I used a huge 10" x 13" pan to get a large thin sheet of cake. But you can use 2 smaller pans for the same effect. Liberally grease the pans and add in the batter. Bake for 15-20mins or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let that cake cool for 20 mins. Invert it onto a plate. Cut the cake in 1/2 if you used a large pan. Trim the edges if you want to make it pretty. Spread red bean over the top side. (The cake is amazing on it's own too!)

Slap on the other layer. Dust with some powdered sugar and cut up and serve!

pics on http://mdcooksfor2.blogspot.com/2012/...

I love red bean so I will eat that straight out of a can :\
I just made a green tea layer cake with red bean filling. nomming on it right now.

Lots of strawberries on sale! a simple arugula, strawberry salad with feta, pumpkin seeds. easy!

You can make savory cheese cookies and put it all on a platter. Then add a hunk of sharp cheeses to spread on the cookies or a reduced balsamic syrup. Super easy and you can do it the night before.

Here's a recipe for savory oatmeal cookies w/ parmesan and rosemary
you can omit the oatmeal for more crunchy and less biscuit like cookies

Ingredients
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup cream cheese (or 1/2 cup sour cream, whatever you have left over)

1 cup flour
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 teaspoon rosemary (fresh)
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 350F.
Pour into a medium size bowl 1/4 cup of water. Microwave that for maybe 30 sec so its warm. Mix in 1 cup of oats to it and mix it good. It should be pretty doughy and thick.

In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, sugar, egg and cream cheese. Add the oatmeal mix to this.

In another medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, fresh rosemary, parmesan, pepper).
Add the dry with the wet and gently fold until everything is incorporated.

Dollop about 1 tbsp onto a parchment paper lined baking tray and flatten then to 1/4 inch thick. Try to keep it roundish in shape (or not, however pretty you want to make it). Sprinkle on some more sea salt and crack some fresh black pepper over the cookies.

Decorate with rosemary leaves if you like again.
Bake 16-18mins.

Makes around 25-30 cookies.

Pictures and info:
http://mdcooksfor2.blogspot.com/2012/...

This calls for a self stirring pot!
http://inventorspot.com/articles/self...

You can make mini quiches in muffin tin.

Just like you would make quiche but instead pour it out into a greased muffin tray. There's are crustless, so healthier?

you can decorate the tops with some mushrooms, make them vegetarian, add ham bits etc...
Once baked, just heat them up to reserve.
it's not bad cold either

Has anyone tried making these?? They're so cute, light and fluffy. I don't have the pan to make them and I was wondering if anyone DIY-ed it.

So good with lingonberry jam!

this is a super simple recipe for beef and chives stir fry with noodles. In that brown sauce if you will. You really don't need many things except for some oyster sauce and soysauce!

Ingredients
Marinade
2 cloves garlic minced
1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tsp soy sauce + 2 tsp honey/sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp sesame oil
0.5 lb Beef sliced thinly (Eye of round, flank, ribeye whatever you like)

Stir Fry
1 clove garlic minced
1 small knob of ginger minced
Bunch of Garlic chive bulbs 2 inch long
5 large white mushrooms
250g Rice noodles (I used pho noodles, but you can use Shanghai wheat noodles etc...)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1-1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce

Slice your beef thinly into long strips like you'd see in stir-fry.
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add beef, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 mins.

While that's marinating, prepare your stir fry ingredients. Refer to the picture on the left on how much chive bulbs I used. I would say when all chopped up into 5cm sticks, it could be about 2-3 cups.

Mince your garlic and ginger. Slice your mushrooms thinly. Of course you can use other vegetables like red peppers. That would be tasty and add some color to the dish.

Prepare your noodles like it says on the packet but with less time because you'll be cooking it when you stir fry it. So if it tells you to boil it for 3 mins, maybe reduce that to 2 mins. I used pho noodles (banh pho) that you can get in any asian supermarket. Or white wheat noodles. After you drain the noodles. Add 2 tsp of sesame oil so they don't stick together.

Heat up your frying pan with some oil. Fry the ginger and garlic for a minute until fragrant. Stir fry the marinated beef for about 2 minutes (slightly pink but not all the way cooked). Add the chives and mushrooms. Stir that for another 1 min.

Add the noodles, stir and then add the 2 tbsp oyster sauce and 1.5 soy sauce. Of course you can adjust how much soy sauce you want to add. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes until your noodles are glossy brown and hot.

There's step by step pictures and details here
http://mdcooksfor2.blogspot.com/2012/...

I made a Spaghetti Squash bake!
It's so pasta like, put back into the shell and then bake to finish with hot bubbly cheese
So simple and delicious!
I got the idea from Diners drive in and dives. Love that show

Ingredients
1 Spaghetti Squash cut lengthwise
4 oz Mozzarella + Parmesan shredded (I also used 2% sharp cheddar)
1 tsp Rosemary or basil

Sauce
1/2 lb ground turkey (optional for vegetarians)
1 onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 zucchini small
1 cup mushrooms sliced
1/2-1 can diced tomatoes (fire roasted)
4 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp Rosemary or basil
1 tsp Oregano (or italian seasoning)
pepper + salt
Preheat oven 350F.
Slice squash in half, scrape out the seeds and place fleshside down in a baking dish

Add 1/4 inch water. Bake for 40-50 mins or until tender.
While that's baking, let's make the marinara sauce!

If you already have left over pasta sauce or if you're going to use ready made pasta sauce, then you can skip this step! Or jazz up bottled sauce with vegetables and meat if you like. I actually doubled the recipe here to make leftover sauce for future meals.

Dice your onions, mince the garlic, slice zucchini into half moons, slice mushrooms.

In a large skillet, saute garlic and onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the turkey if you're a meat eater and cook until just brown. Add zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes and cook for another 5 mins. Add your seasoning herbs, pepper and salt to your liking.

I added tomato paste and let it simmer for about 8-10mins to make it more saucy.

Your spaghetti squash should be nice and soft. Careful because it is hot! You can scrape the strands inside and then transfer it to a bowl.

Using a fork, rake the flesh to create the "spaghetti" strands.
Mix in about 3/4 cup of the sauce, 1/2 of the cheese and remaining fresh rosemary.

Put it back into the squash shells, top it off with some extra sauce and remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Crack some fresh black pepper on top. Bake until the cheese begins to melt and bubble and create that lovely crust. About 10-11 mins.

all photos and instructions here
http://mdcooksfor2.blogspot.com/2012/...

I also make savory oatmeal cookies

Ingredients
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup cream cheese (or 1/2 cup sour cream, whatever you have left over)

1 cup flour
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 teaspoon rosemary (fresh)
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

reheat oven to 350F.
Pour into a medium size bowl 1/4 cup of water. Microwave that for maybe 30 sec so its warm. Mix in 1 cup of oats to it and mix it good. It should be pretty doughy and thick.

In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, sugar, egg and cream cheese. Add the oatmeal mix to this.

In another medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, fresh rosemary, parmesan, pepper).

Add the dry with the wet and gently fold until everything is incorporated.

Dollop about 1 tbsp onto a parchment paper lined baking tray and flatten then to 1/4 inch thick. Try to keep it roundish in shape (or not, however pretty you want to make it). Sprinkle on some more sea salt and crack some fresh black pepper over the cookies.

Decorate with rosemary leaves if you like again.
Bake 16-18mins.
Makes 30 cookies

These are pretty subtle tasting cookies with a sort of soft biscuit like texture. Great for mornings or afternoon teas!

Another variation would be to cut out the oatmeal and add 1/2 cup more flour for a crunchier and crispier cookie.

step by step pics on my blog

I make healthy baked jalapeno poppers!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8461...

Have you tried Amsterdam Falafel in Adams morgan?
The set special at Julia's empanadas are great too.

I want to make nutella stuffed s'mores cookies I saw on Kirbie's craving blog
My next must is cheese gougeres

I've settled on some spring recipes though! like Lemon and Raspberry loaf/cake
it is so light and divine

I just went to Sichuan Pavillion near GW. It's on K st and 19th
You know its good when its filled with chinese people. They serve quickly and they're prices are decent. they're lunch specials are good too.

None of that faux chinese american food!

This is a great appetizer. More like american mex. super easy and healthy!

Baked Jalapeno Cheese poppers
Ingredients
8-10 Jalapeño peppers - sliced in 1/2 (seeded if you hate spice in your life... haha kidding)
4 oz cream cheese (feel free to use fat free)
3 stalks scallions (chives, parsley, cilantro all work)
1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar
2 tsp Red Chili flakes (optional)
salt/pepper

1 egg
1/2 cup Panko crumbs
1/2 tbsp Chili powder
1/2 tbsp Cayenne
Salt/Pepper

Start washing your peppers and slice them in half lengthwise. Cut off the tops and deseed them.
Preheat the oven to 350F

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese, cheddar, chili flakes and a pinch of salt and lots of pepper.
Chop up your green onions finely and using mostly the green parts, mix it into your cream cheese mix. You can taste it and adjust it when you want it saltier or spicier

Stuff your deseeded peppers with the cream cheese mix.
In another small bowl, scramble an egg. This will be your binder for your breadcrumbs/ panko.

On a plate, lay out your panko crumb mix (with chili powder, cayenne). Adding paprika is nice too.
I used a seasoned breadcrumb mix of rosemary and lots of pepper. I think the panko would give it more crunch though.
Roll your stuffed pepper in the egg and then roll it around in the crumb mix. Coat it nicely.

Lay them out on a baking tray. You can sprinkle some olive oil over the poppers. But that can be skipped for lighter fare.

Let it bake for 25-30 mins or until you see that cheese oozing out!

Check out instructions with photos on my blog!
http://mdcooksfor2.blogspot.com/2012/...