[Asparagus+Mushroom+Potatoes Frittata]

上個星期吃飯吃膩了。。。就做了這道 frittata。
這道 frittata 的材料基本上就是冰箱/儲藏室裡有什麼就下什麼。不需要動什麼太大的腦筋。

材料﹕
蒜頭﹑洋蔥
洋蘑菇 (切片)
蘆荀 (切段 [留五條不切]﹐川燙)
馬鈴薯 (煮熟﹐切塊)
雞絲
雞蛋 (打散)﹑鮮奶油
適當調味 - 鹽巴﹑胡椒粉

saute garlic and onions 炒香蒜頭和洋蔥

add in sliced mushroom 加入切片洋蘑菇

mix in potatoes, asparagus & chicken shreds 加入馬鈴薯, 蘆荀 & 雞絲

1. 炒香蒜頭﹐加洋蔥﹐炒至洋蔥稍軟即可。
2. 加入切片的洋蘑菇。用中小火﹐以免蘑菇未軟先乾。
3. 當蘑菇炒至軟時加入馬鈴薯﹑蘆荀和雞絲。翻炒均勻。加入調味。

pour in the egg & cream mixture 倒入雞蛋與鮮奶油

use spears of asparagus for decor 用整條的蘆荀當裝飾

bake until golden brown 烤至金黃

4. 倒入調好的打散雞蛋和鮮奶油。轉中火。
5. 用蘆荀裝飾好後即可蓋上鍋蓋。燜 5 至 8 分鐘 (註1)。
6. 開鍋蓋﹐放入烤箱 (350F) 烤至表皮金黃即可。(註2)


註1﹕這要看鍋子而定。如果是用厚鍋底 (有 heat retention 的功能) 那 5 ~ 8 分鐘就可以了。如果是用普通鍋子的話那可能需要久一些。
註2﹕要確定妳的鍋子是可耐熱﹑可入烤箱烤才可。要不然就要翻放到(耐熱)烤盤。
後記﹕做 frittata 的好處就是它可以變幻無窮 (只要味道配對就好了)。 不一定要用跟以上同樣的材料。

[Farmer's Market @Rice U]

無意中在稻米大學的校園裡碰到 farmer's market (農夫市集??)。一直有想要到這裡的 fm 去看看 。。。 無奈他們通常都是週末透早就開始買賣了。透早有多早? Errr。。。 大約早上7點左右。嘿﹐拜託這很早捏! 介于時間上的衝突。。。我們一直無緣到這裡的任何一個 fm 企晃過。

不過就在前幾天回家的路上看到 fm 的看板﹐我跟頭家說我們無論如何一定要進去看看。去 fm 最主要是看看能不能買到一些新鮮的蔬果。喜歡在 fm 買蔬果是因為通常在這裡賣的農作物絕大部份都是有機物。說不定還是在自家後院種的捏! ^,* 可是很不巧的等到我們去的時候東西都已經賣得差不多了。 剩下的就是一些乳酪﹑咖啡豆﹑義大利冰淇淋和非營利/慈善機構的攤位在賣一些手工藝品和餅乾糖果。

厚! 我們才逛了幾個攤位雨就開始傾盆的下。可是很爭氣的頭家跟我可是沒有因為這樣就空手而回。 呵呵~ 看看我們買了什麼。

Bumped into this at Rice U by chance on one afternoon. Have been wanting to go to the farmer's market here for quite some time but but but ... they start REALLY early in the morning. Something like ... 7am. Hey! that's too freaking early for me alright! So... cos' of this "inconvenience", we have been putting off trips to the farmer's market.

Anyhoo... I saw sign of farmer's market on our home (that fateful day ^,^) and told the hubby WE HAVE to go and have a look. What I had in mind was to buy some produce --- fruits and vegie, fresh from the farmers' garden or farm. The produce sold here is mostly 100% organic, and could very well be grown in their own backyard. However, by the time we're there most produce had already gone. What's left were booths seelling cheeses, coffee beans, gelato and a few charity or non-profit organisations selling craft and confectionery.

We only visited a few booths when the rain started pouring. But we didn't come empty handed. =)

Entrance of the Farmer's Market 入口處

Other beautiful designs 其他精緻好看的設計

Reminds me of our pigeon babies 讓我想起我們的小鳥杯比

Take a pic b4 it's all gone! 趕快在影子啃光光前先拍一張!

*muah muah* *滋啵*

We bought this tin of cookies from The Center (Serving Persons With Mental Retardation). They have 3 different flavors --- gingersnaps (which we chose), cheesesnaps (has very strong cheese flavor, a little too salty for me) and crunchy chocolate nuggets (has chunks of chocolate). Other than that they also have Brandied Nut Cake and Traditional Fruitcake. More info about them can be found from their website and if interested may order from them online, they ship around the US of A (with a fraction of shipping cost of course).

The design on the top of the tin is individually designed by their residents. Inside, you will find the person's name and I assumed they signed it themselves too. Very unique!

Oooh and the volunteers at their booth were very friendly, probably a few of the friendliest ppl we've met!


我們還買了一盒兩個口味的 gelato。 我選 Espresso Kahlua﹐頭家選木瓜口味。
可惜還沒來得及留下它們的倩影就被我們粗光光啦。看倌們就自行想像 gelato 美味可口的樣子吧! >o<

We also bought a small carton of two-flavor gelato. I chose Espresso Kahlua and hubby picked papaya. Shame that we finsihed the whole thing before I remember to take a pic of it. So... you guys just have to picture the gelato in your mind then. =))

[週末「不懶吃」 - Weekend Brunch]

週末一到總會想要弄點 “un-千篇一律”的東東來吃。
平日的早餐除了“傳統”的 PBJ (peanut butter & jam) 麵包就是自己烤的蛋糕 --- 吃久了多少會覺得膩。

禮拜六中早在廚房晃了晃想到早餐 “又吃 PBJ” 自己就先皺眉頭。我頭家他是嘸嫌﹐他哦最好是每餐都吃花生醬!

我看了看冰箱﹐嘿有了。。。 前兩天才買的 smoked Gouda 還沒動咧。好吧﹐就來做客 grilled sandwich with smoked Gouda 當「不懶吃」。當然這三明治理除了 smoked Gouda 之外還有別的。

基本材料呢有﹕
全麥麵包
Avocado
番茄
smoked cheese 或什麼 cheese 都好﹐隨意。不一定要 smoked 也不一定要用 Gouda。

麵包一塊塗 Blue Cheese dressing 然後鋪上 avocado 片。接著就放喜歡的材料。 我呢一客放了番茄 + beef bologna 然後再塗上少許的 Blue Cheese dressing﹐鋪上一塊稍微比麵包大一點點的 smoked Gouda 之後再蓋上另一片麵包。

另外一客呢同樣的﹐一塊麵包塗 Blue Cheese dressing 然後鋪上 avocado 片除了放番茄 + beef bologna 外還加了 baby spinach + 切薄片的 mushroom + blackbean﹐鋪上 smoked Gouda 之後蓋上另一片麵包。

都弄好了就可以 GRILL 嘍!! 兩面都要﹐不要到時一面黑一面白的說我沒講清楚。 ^,^

我建議如果三明治要 grill 的話不要加生菜。因為生菜一入火 (特別是 grill or bake) 不用多久就會變黑﹐影響食感跟美感﹐所以建議不要加。當然如果您喜歡吃黑黑的生菜的話﹐go for it, no one is gonna stop you!! =))

The Original!!

The Special with added ingredients!!

[Crochet Toys]

Am I an octopus? Or a spider?

A sunglasses-wearing cool-looking turtle

Little birdie pin cushion

I whipped these little guys up over the past few days. Each only took me a few hours to make. I never know there is this much fun making tiny little toys. ^,*

Little birdie #2

Made this to give as a gift.

[Easter 2007]

I am not a christian nor am I a catholic but comes Easter, you'll be sure to find me making and baking hot cross buns in the kitchen. It's a tradition that I "created" a few years ago while living in New Zealand. I guess it's just so I've another reason to do more baking in the kitchen. =))

Instead of using just sultanas or raisins, I used dried cranberries + raisins this year. My preference is to have them roughly chopped and soaked in fruit juice (preferably orange juice, cranberry juice or apple juice) when working on the dough. This way they'll be puff and juicy when the dough is ready for them. Another reason that I chopped and soaked them is so they're not as hard and chewey after all the baking in the oven. I love using dried fruits in my baking but I really really really (yep, I'm emphasizing it) hate having to fish them out when they're stuck on or between my teeth while I'm eating them. Don't you?

Oooh, I must also mention that this dough is by far the best dough I've ever used for breads, buns or rolls, specially hot cross buns, of course. I left them uncovered in the oven overnight and suprise suprise they were still soft and moist and ready to be eaten ^,^ in the morning. The previous recipes that I've used, the buns had always became a little hard and dried the day after. Even if I covered or stored them in a bread container.

Ahhh, another Easter tradition of mine is to eat lotz and lotz and lotz... of chocolates! Not that I haven't eaten enough of it in the rest of the 360-something-days!! T.T

HOT cross buns - fresh from the oven

A smiley & shiney hot cross bun

The recipe for the featured hot cross buns was adapted from William Sonoma Baking with a few modifications of my own.

[OMG 一筆之差]

今天頭家拿一則新聞來跟影子分享： 把陳鳥當陳烏 扁錯認祖先

原來，陳水扁在 2000 年當選總統後，迫不及待地託友人到中國尋根，找到中國福建省詔安縣太平鎮白葉村星斗樓的客家人「陳鳥」，說是陳總統的祖先。為了表現「慎宗追遠」的精神，陳總統每年清明節祭拜「祖先」，就這樣將「陳鳥」拜了六年，也當了六年的客家人。不但如此，中國當局為了宣傳台灣「領導人」是來自中國，還花了大筆銀子『建設白葉村陳氏星斗樓，成為觀光景點』。

沒想到日前有另一批姓氏學者赴中國考察陳氏族譜，發覺原來搞錯了，陳水扁的真正祖先應該是詔安縣三都長田保磁窯村的「陳烏」，之前陳總統不但認錯祖先，連是不是客家人也搞錯了。

頭家解釋著：『原來，陳總統出生地的台灣台南縣的官田村西庄陳氏，記載著西庄陳氏的祖先就叫「陳烏」，神主牌也記著「詔安縣三都磁窯村」，但是之前陳水扁的友人卻誤讀為「陳鳥」，才會搞出這麼大的「鳥龍」來。很奇怪的是，西庄陳氏並沒有人會講客家話，不知道陳水扁為什麼完全不起疑 ......』

影子回說：『唉！這叫「愛烏及鳥」嘛！！！哈哈哈...』

頭家驚異道：『哇！影子這可是「神來之嘴」，可以擠身「成語專家」之列了。。。』

[魚與熊掌]

那一天影子和頭家坐在電視機前面一邊吃垃圾(食物)一邊看電視。記不得講到什麼事，頭家嘆說：

『唉！真是「魚與熊掌不可兼得」啊！』

『對呀！』

然後頭家突然側著頭開始喃喃自語。。。

『不知道為什麼魚與熊掌會跑在一起。。。』

『不知道耶！頭家你是成語專家，你就讓我們見識一下你的功力吧！』

『啊？這個。。。』頭家好像被抓到小辮子。。。

『對呀，連這麼常用的成語的出處都不知道，還能叫專家嗎？』

『說得也是，讓我「回想」一下。。。』

只見頭家搔首弄姿地做思索狀。。。

『想起來了。。。』

影子趕快聚精會神地聽著。

『話說以前在一個鄉下地方，有一個 ───』

影子忍不住搶著說：『農夫？』

頭家楞了一下，轉念說：『哦！對，農夫 ──』

（影子忍不住偷笑）

頭家繼續：『這個農夫很愛護動物。有一天他拿著鋤頭要去田裡工作。』

『他沿著一條河邊走，遠遠地看到一隻熊正在抓魚。他想到，魚要是被抓到
就會被吃掉，這樣就會死掉，越想越覺得可憐，就想衝過去把那熊掌砍下來。。。』

（影子：還真會掰。。。）

『這時，他老婆在一旁提醒他。。。』

影子：『等一下等一下，他老婆什麼時候冒出來的？』

『哦，這個這個。。。他老婆一早就跟他一起上工嘛！』

影子：『OK OK OK ...』（偷笑中。。。）

『他老婆提醒他說：「你如果為了救魚而砍斷熊掌，那魚雖救了，熊不是被犧牲了嗎？」』

『那農夫遲疑著說：「他那個。。。那個熊只是少一隻掌，魚可是命都沒了，當然先救魚了。。。」』

『農夫老婆繼續說：「可是，熊是靠熊掌覓食的，如果沒熊掌，不能覓食，也會餓死啊！」』

『那農夫想想也覺得對，一時之間不知如何是好，於是，終於說出一句千古流傳的名言：「魚與熊掌，不可兼得啊！」』


後記﹕看﹗影子頭家的這塊『成語專家』的招牌不是亂蓋的吧。
===============
頭家執筆﹔影子代 po

[Black Sesame Coffee Cake 黑芝麻咖啡蛋糕]

I'd seen this recipe on my recipe book many times and... I flipped pass it everytime, it never hits me to want to try it out. I don't know why, somehow I just couldn't relate the black sesame seeds to cakes. Sesame seeds to me ... ummmm... is more of an ingredient for a savoury taste. Prejudice against the sesame seeds? You bet! Anyhow, I was able to get myself outta the prejudice cage and give this sesame seed cake a try.

Here are the ingredients and the could-be-easier way to make it!

Ingredients:	A: 180g margarine 150g castor sugar 1/2tspn vanilla essence 3 eggs B: 300g self-raising flour 100g toasted black sesame seeds, ground 3Tbspn fresh milk	材料:	A: 180g 麵包油 150g 糖 1/2茶匙 vanilla 香精 3粒 雞蛋 B: 300g 自發粉 100g 炒香黑芝麻, 磨成粉 3湯匙 鮮奶
Oven Temp/ BakingTime	360F(180C)/45mins	烤箱溫度/ 烘烤時間	360F(180C) /45分鐘

Methods/做法﹕

Grinding the black sesame seeds --- 把黑芝麻磨碎

Medium ground black sesame seeds --- 把黑芝麻磨成~6分碎

1. Preheat oven to 360F(180C).
2. Butter and flour a 7" cake or bundt tin.
3. Grind the black sesame seeds using an electric grinder if you don't already have these available on hand. I prefer them medium ground, sort of 1/2-ground and 1/2-granulated. The aroma of the sesame seeds smells great and it makes the cake tastes better too.
4. Beat (A) until creamy, add in the eggs and beat until fluffy.

1. 先將烤箱預熱至 360F (180C)。
2. 將 9-inch 的圓模型抹油撒粉。
3. 把黑芝麻磨碎。我只把黑芝麻磨得~6分碎 --- 個人這樣味道比較香且口感也比較佳。
4. 將(A)料打至滑﹐加入雞蛋後打至鬆白。

Mix well and ready for the oven --- 拌勻後就可以入烤箱了

5. Stir (B) into (4), mix well. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45mins or until skewer comes out clean..

5. 把(B)加入(4)中﹐拌勻。倒入模型中﹐放入烤箱烤 45 分鐘。

Snowflakes on the cake? --- 雪花飄飄?

Dragon fruit in the cake? --- 有沒有像火龍果﹖

It changes my perception and prejudice about using sesame seeds (black or white) in cakes after the first bite! I really didn't think it's this good. It gets better with each bite and each chew. For those of you who loves the taste and aroma of sesame seeds, I urge you to try this out.