【肉末烤茄子】Grilled Eggplant with Minced Meat

我家冰箱里几乎每天都会有一盒多用途肉臊冷藏着，它是个用处非常多的一个常备食材。今天来写个我家经常做的微波炉版肉末茄子，这是只要有做好的肉臊，十分钟就可以上桌的快手菜。非常简单也非常美味。

I always have a box of Minced Meat Sauce in the fridge, it is a very versatile and useful ingredient for cooking.

Today I am going to use it to make a type of grilled eggplant that I make very frequently, it takes only about 10 minutes to prepare if you already have the minced meat at hand.

Onion Pakora 【印式炸洋葱】

印式炸洋葱是我们家最喜欢的小吃之一，做法很简单，也非常美味。

冷天时煮上一小锅香料奶茶，吃几块酥炸洋葱（丸），真的很惬意满足~~

Onion Pakora/Pakoda is one of our favorite snacks in cold winter days, it is easy to make and very delicious to go with a cup of hot Masala Chai. 

A sure effective way to warm the body and to satisfy the stomach!

Deep Fried Pumpkin Blossoms【酥炸南瓜花】

We went back to Malaysia for 2 months for the summer holiday thus I was not able to plant much in my backyard this summer. 

But the compost at my front yard that consists of my homegrown pumpkin peels and seeds last fall has turned into a big plant when I return from Asia. Since it has blossoms galore, I am so happy that I can still enjoy some harvest this year even though I had not planted anything this!

今年暑假我带俊宝回了娘家一趟，所以今年后院就处于休耕状态了。前院有冬天埋下的南瓜种子发的苗，在我回乡的两个月里长成一大丛的南瓜藤，放完假回来就已经开花结果了。

周末有空收拾了下院子，顺便摘几朵南瓜花炸了吃，家里人都很喜欢哦！

Preserved Radish Omelette 【菜脯煎蛋】

I made Preserved Radishes/Chai Poh last year and it turned out just perfect! Much better than the one I found in the shop. 

There were a few hot sunny weeks this year when the price of radishes in Asian supermarket was also right, so I made two more batches of Chai poh and used some to make topping for this delicious Chwee Kueh. Though the recipe of Chwee Kueh was posted before this omelette, Chai Poh omelette is actually the reason I made these preserved radishes in the first place!! I love Chai Poh Omelette to go with congee.

So here is my simple Chai Poh Omelette recipe. 

去年这个时候我晒了一批萝卜干/菜脯，成品非常好，所以今年亚洲超市的萝卜上市打折又刚好又遇上一周的艳阳天时，我又制作了两批的菜脯。

虽然我写水粿食谱时也是用了自己晒的菜脯做的铺料，其实菜脯煎蛋才是真正让我去制作菜脯的动力哦！只要家里煮白粥，就不能没有菜脯煎蛋。自己晒的菜脯做出来的煎蛋真的比买来的好吃太多太多啦！

Chinese Zucchini Pancakes 【西葫芦糊塌子】

Zucchini season is here, and my friend with the green thumb managed to grow gigantic Zucchini the size of an adult's arm!

She sent me a few of her Zucchinis and I turned one of them into this Zucchini Pancakes. A perfect side dish or breakfast with lesser carbs.

又到西葫芦盛产的时节，我有个好友送了几根她种的西葫芦，长得非常肥美粗壮。周末早晨取一根做这个糊塌子，再熬点小米粥，这样的早餐一家大小都很喜欢。

Asian Pear & Lotus Root Juice 【藕梨汁】

Winter months, for many people is the months of chronic feeling of dry throat and dry nose.

If you’re someone who’s battling itchy throat and bleeding nose, here is one simple solution that requires little effort, the best part of it is, it tastes really good!

深秋、冬季气候干燥，每天在开着暖气的屋里生活很容易上火，造成喉咙鼻腔干燥发疼。

秋冬季节是吃藕和梨的好季节，鲜榨的藕梨汁清火润肺，是冬天最好的降火、润肺饮品。

Pickled Celtuce/Guan Tao Cai Sim 自制罐头菜心/酱莴笋

When I was young, whenever I was under the weather, my mom or grandma will make some simple rice congee to go with Canned pickled celtuce, it is supposed to be light on the tummy and helps to get well. 

Grandma's version is a little fancier, she will mince some meat with this pickle and make a simple meat sauce, it is still one of my favorite dishes to go with congee, one that I missed whenever I am not feeling well.

小时候只要感冒或不舒服了，妈妈就会熬一小锅白米粥，再开一罐罐头菜心让我就着吃。

这款罐头菜心也是我阿嬤在生时很爱吃的一款酱菜。阿嬤喜欢加点肉和这款酱菜一起剁然后煮成肉酱吃，拌饭下粥都很适合。

今天早上有点时间，熬了小半锅粥，就着新腌好的酱菜心和昨晚炖猪蹄的花生，这样的早餐吃着真正舒服啊！

Stir Fried Pumpkin Shoots with garlic 清炒南瓜苗

One Pumpkin plant came out from my dig-and-compost pile and flourish to a big plant not long after. For the whole 3-4 months that it was growing, it gave me plenty of flowers, just no fruit!

The growing season is coming to and end for the year and my pumpkin plant is still showing no sign of fruit. I decided to harvest the shoots instead. I will have to say, it is the best green vegetable I have had for the year!

今年初时我家门口花圃里的堆肥堆里钻出一颗南瓜苗。我很爱吃南瓜，所以特别高兴。可是等了好几个月，花是开了不少，却一只南瓜都不给我结。

南瓜季节已经来到尾声，我家的还是一只南瓜都没有。一怒之下，把南瓜尖全摘了，用蒜蓉清炒了吃，非常爽脆美味，也算收获过了。

Edamame in Rice Wine Brine 糟毛豆

I planted about 10 soy plants around summer and they all thrived and gave a pretty good yield of green beans, which is also the snack edamame that we normally have at Japanese restaurants.

I prepared the first 2 batches of my edamame with spices --> this way.

For the third batch, I wanted something different and marinated the cooked beans with Shanghainese wine brine, it infuses unique wine flavor to the beans and is such a good snack to go with a glass of cold drink!

后院种的毛豆结了不少的毛豆荚，收成了好几茬。头两茬我做了好吃的凉拌毛豆。

第三批我想做点不一样的，就买了瓶糟卤，做了这款糟毛豆。非常香，非常好吃。明年一定还要再种毛豆！

Taiwanese Braised Napa Cabbage 台式白菜卤

One of the side dishes that I enjoyed much during my visit to Taiwan was this Taiwanese Braised Cabbage. The Napa cabbage in this dish is so tender and sweet, goes well with steamed rice and braised pork.

The Asian supermarket near me is currently selling lots of Napa Cabbage as the season approaching fall. I brought one back to make this dish at home. I also find the fried pork rinds which is (in my opinion) essential to this dish as it soaked up most of the gravy and gives very nice chewy texture to the dish!

去台湾玩的时候我如果去吃小吃店里的卤肉饭或封肉饭的话，就一定会点一份这个白菜卤。非常喜欢卤得糯糯的白菜，非常香甜美味。

入秋时超市开始摆出非常棒的大白菜，买一颗回来做这个白菜卤，非常下饭好吃，里边的猪皮吸饱了汤汁，非常香。

Braised Long Bean Noodles 豆角/豇豆焖面

I love Flat Bean Braised Noodles and made it many times, it is quick and very nutritious, an easy one pot meal for the family and could be done in under 30 minutes!

I made this favourite dish today using Long bean and carrot, it turned out even better in taste! I will most likely do this more often in future!

我超喜欢吃扁豆焖面，也经常做。平时工作比较忙碌的时候回家焖上这个面，从开始准备到吃上饭也就半个小时左右，还蔬菜、蛋白质和碳水化合物都有了。而且非常好吃哦！

这一次用豆角和胡萝卜焖这个面，更美味。下次除了扁豆，我应该会经常做豆角焖面了哦！

How to grow bean sprouts at home 在家自己发豆芽

Mung bean sprout is one very common ingredient for cooking back home. I like to use it in my stir fry noodle/rice noodle dishes. The shop bought bean sprouts are sometimes not fresh and turned bad within days before I could use them.

I started growing my own bean sprouts at home using an old kettle at first. I then progressed to using just a normal bowl with a lid, the lid should be slightly heavy and covers most if not all of the beans.

I have since able to grow very healthy and delicious sprouts at home.

绿豆芽是家乡许多美食的最佳佐料，是个百搭。我很喜欢炒面、米粉什么的用豆芽做佐料，可有个问题一直困扰着我，每次超市买的豆芽要是两天内不吃完很快就烂掉了，而且有时超市里的豆芽看着也不怎么新鲜，所以还是自己发的豆芽吃着新鲜，还放心。

我刚开始发豆芽的时候还用过旧水壶，篮子+纱布啥的。后来有一次在油管上看见一位农村妈妈用大钢盆加个锅盖发出来的豆芽特别直特别好看，从此以后我发豆芽就只用大盆加个锅盖了。

答应了朋友圈里的朋友们要把发豆芽的过程写个帖子分享。今晚趁爷儿俩已经熟睡了，我就静静地写个帖子吧！

Chinese Toon Sauce 【香椿酱】

I send my son to a friend's house for a playdate sometimes in the beginning of May and she asked if I want some Chinese Toon (香椿) -- a species of Toona 

where its young leaves are extensively used as a vegetable in China. The young leaves have a floral, yet onion-like flavor. It is widely used as flavoring agent in vegetarian/vegan dishes in China.

I immediately seize the opportunity and harvest a bunch of Chinese Toon from her backyard. I came home and made this Sauce which can then make into many delicious dishes later.

五月初的时候有一天带儿子到朋友Katie家和她儿子玩，一进门她就问我要不要香椿叶，然后递了一把剪刀给我。我马上就跑到她家后院剪了一把的香椿嫩叶，这可是我想了很久的美食哪！

当晚回家我就做了这个香椿酱，冷藏了可以留着慢慢吃。

Homemade Dried Shredded Radish 自制萝卜签/干

Radish is in season and it is only 29 cents a lb, I had to bring a few back to make dried radish/Cai Poh bee! My sun-dried radish is ready in just under two good sunny days! 

这个季节萝卜一磅才两毛九分。买几磅回来自制萝卜丝干/菜脯签。只要两天的阳光普照，萝卜签就晒好了，味道很好闻哦！

Mugwort Steamed Cake 艾团/青团

Sometimes around Qing Ming/Tomb-sweeping festival, the Chinese will collect some Chinese Mugwort (艾草）to be hanging around the door, which is believed to be able to chase away unwelcome energy. It is also the main ingredient for the Chinese steamed cake Ai Tuan/Qing Tuan （艾团/青团）eate at or around the tomb sweeping festival.

My mom discovered a big patch of wild mugwort in the woods near my house during her visit few years back, she will bring back a bag full of the wild mugwort and boiled it down to be used for bath when she was feeling under the weather.

I have been meaning to make Qing Tuan by using the young wild mugwort nearby this year, since it is a wild plant and I want to make sure it is 100% safe to be eaten, I have done some research and found out that the wild mugwort near my house is the species Artemisia vulgaris, or common mugwort.

几年前我妈来美探亲时发现我家附近的树林里有一大片的野生艾草，她后来感冒的时候还摘了好些回来煮水泡澡。

清明前后是艾草春季出土的时节，我摘了一大包回家取嫩叶做青团，剩下的煮水给咳嗽的俊宝泡澡。

Hasselback Potato 【风琴土豆】

I made these grilled potatoes to go with our XinJiang Style Lamb Chops today. This spiced potato chips are so good that we fought for the last bite!

For those who doesn't like your potato too spicy, you can try the non-spicy grilled potato chips that I made earlier.

感恩节烤羊排的配菜我做了一盘的烤蔬菜和这款风琴土豆，撒上自制的烧烤撒粉，土豆和孜然香料出奇的配，结果都还吃不够呢！

不嗜辣的朋友可以试试我之前做过的做法类似的烤薯片。

Pecel/Pecal (Vegetable salad with Peanut Sauce) 【印尼Pecal沙拉】

Pecel or Pecal in Malaysia is a traditional Javanese food, a type of vegetable salad with peanut gravy, it is very nutritious and ideal for snacks and breakfast.

You can toss in some Tofu，boiled egg and Tempeh to make it high in protein, a good way to incorporate more greens into your diet.

Pecel （印尼语) 或 Pecal （马来语）是一款淋上花生酱的印尼/马来沙拉，非常美味营养，加上水煮蛋、炸酥的丹贝和豆腐干，就是一款高蛋白，高纤维的美食了。

也是让自己多吃蔬菜的一个好方法哦！

Chaach（Chaas）【咸味酸奶饮料】

Chaach or Chaas is a yogurt-based drink dilutes with water, it is normally consumed plain or seasoned with a variety of spices, a very popular drink especially in across India, especially in summer. It is also believed to aid digestion, thus often consumed after a heavy meal.

It is commonly made with yogurt that is a few days old and is more sour in taste, I made this plain Chaach using my homemade yogurt this afternoon,  it is refreshing and very yummy!

Chaach也叫做Chaas，是一种咸味的酸奶饮料，在印度一般是夏日饭后的一种饮品。它能够帮助消化，加上少许的香料/香草风味更是独特。

Chaach一般是用家里自制的，比较老的酸奶制作，所以味道偏酸，是旧酸奶很好的一个去处哦！

Longevity Dish (Vegetarian Steamed Chinese Cabbage)

It is a tradition in my family to have only vegetarian food on the first day of Lunar New Year. It was said that being vegetarian for this particular day will bring luck for the whole year. I had a feeling that it was just a nicer way to make us eat more vegetables after the feast on the New year eve.

It is also mandatory in our family to have Chinese Cabbage (Thng Pek) for Chinese New year meal, as it symbolize longevity, the cabbage has to be prepared without cutting it crosswise, it has to retain its shape and to be eaten whole.

I made this vegetarian dish using whole cabbage leaves with some stewed gluten, it is very presentable and delicious. A good vegetable dish for Chinese New Year, and a good way to upkeep the family heritage!

Mang Guang Char（Stir Fry Shredded Jicama) 【沙葛小炒】

Jicama is a very common fruit/vegetable in Malaysia, it could be eaten raw as fruit or cooked into different type of dishes. This Mang Guang Char is one of them, we eat it as dishes to go with rice or congee.

It is a very common vegetables to be wrapped in spring roll/Popiah, it can also be used as filling of steamed bun/pau.

沙葛也叫做沙瓜，味道鲜甜、脆嫩多汁，生食可当水果，煮熟也别有风味。

今天介绍的这个沙葛小炒是马来西亚一个很家常的做法，小贩中心卖春卷的小摊子会在电锅里熬上一大锅沙葛，然后加上水煮豆芽、炒鸡蛋、豆腐碎、花生碎、辣椒酱和甜酱，裹在自家做的春卷皮上，直接吃，也可油炸了吃。 平常家里也可以做这个沙葛小炒作为包子的内馅，也很好吃哦！