Chayote, Corn, Mushroom in Clam broth

Chayote, Corn, Mushroom in Clam broth (佛手瓜, 玉米, 蘑菇, 蛤肉汤)
I saw this recipe from BH’s blog & went ahead to give it a try. It’s actually quite a mild flavor soup. MIL likes it but hubby finds it too plain. So on my next try, I actually added fresh clams & what a big diff it made! Hubby loves it! In fact, his words were “ yr soup had definitely improved by a GAINT step!” Wow!

So here’s my modified version.

• 20-25 fresh clams (soak them in salt water 2-3hrs be4 use)
• 500 pork ribs
• 200g agrocybe aegerita (茶树菇)
• 1 large chayote
• 2 fresh corns (I normally used only d kernels)
• 1.5 - 2 litre of water

1. Trim away the ends of d agrocybe aegerita be4 washing & soaking them in water.
2. Wash & cut d chayotes into cubes, pluck out d kernels from d corn after washing.
3. Blanch pork ribs/lean meat.
4. Rinse d clams at least 3 times to rid d sand/grit. Fill a pot with just enough water to cover d clams be4 bringing it to boil. Off d heat & remove d meat for later usage, discard d shells.
5. Pour d clam broth through a strainer into a bigger pot.Add more water to make up 1.8l.
6. Add all ingredients in it & bring to boil. Once boil, switch to med heat & continue boiling for 30 min. Then reduce to small flame & simmer for 2 hrs.
7. No salt is needed as d clam broth is tasty enough.

Sweet & Tangy Ckn

I can’t remember where I got this recipe from, so, if any of u can remember, do advise me so that I can credit it back to d originator.
Hubby finds it bit too sweet for him but both MIL & Hayden likes it.

Ingredients (serve 4)

• 1 ½ cup barbeque sauce
• ½ can pineapple chunks + juices
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 skinless, chicken thighs

In a large bowl, mix barbecue sauce, pineapple with juice, green bell pepper, onion, & garlic. Arrange 2 of d ckn thighs in d bottom of a slow cooker. Pour half of the barbecue sauce over it. Place remaining ckn into slow cooker, & pour remaining sauce over d top. Cover & cook on Low for 8-9 hrs

Clever Ckn Teriyaki_Sneaky Chef's

As mentioned in my earlier post that am into Sneaky Chef’s cookbook recently. Most of Sneaky Chef’s recipes r all quite easy, except that, u will need to pre-prepare 1 of the ingredients 1st. It is d ‘secret (healthy)’ ingredient that usually requires pre-preparation using d blender. But since they can be freeze up to 3mths, it’s ideal to prepare lots of it @ 1 go & pop it into d freeze till requires. For this recipe, I used d white puree which was prepared ytd.

End result – a very tasty & healthy dish.

White puree

• 2 cups cauliflower florets – steam abt 10mins
• 2 small zucchini – peeled & chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Pulse zucchini & lemon juice 1st, while steaming d cauliflower. Then add d cooked cauliflower & puree till smooth. Add 1-2 tbsp of water if required.
U can also add raw yellow squash along with d cauliflower to be pureed. Just peel & remove d seeds of d squash.

• Clever Ckn Teriyaki
• 2 tbsp olive oil + 450g ckn tenders
• 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce + 1/3 cup white puree + 1 tbsp honey (whisk to2g)
• 4 green onions, sliced

1. Heat oil over med heat & sauté ckn for abt 5mins.
2. Add sauce mixture & onions, cook for abt 2mns or till onion is cooked.
3. Serve over rice.

Healthy version of Jaime Oliver's basic bread recipe

I have been trying out lots of recipes from famous chef & recently, am into Sneaky Chef. Basically, all her recipes have ‘secret (healthy)’ ingredients that most children hate to eat. But she manages to ‘hide’ them well enough that children don’t know they r eating something healthy. There’s this 1 sneaky method that I really like – healthy version of flour blend. She used this for most of her pancakes & muffin recipes. I like d idea of Hayden eating wheat germ & whole wheat so I gave it a try by using this healthy flour blend for his wkend donuts. Hayden took 4 mini donuts that day! I was really happy abt it so I decided to try more recipes using this healthy version of flour blend. Well, sad to said but out of the 7 times I tried incorporate this flour blend into some of d bread recipes, I had to throw away 6 uneatable loaves. And d 1 loaf that was eatable, Hubby said it’s too dry for him.


So, it’s not always that easy but I really didn’t want to just give up like that so I decided to give it another go using Jamie Olive’s basic bread recipe. I hope that by just starting at d basic, I might just be able to figure out what really is needed to make this healthy version bread a success. Therefore, I made modifications along d process as I watch d bread maker knead d dough. And when Hubby tried d end result, it was considered a success! Phew!
So here’s d recipe for anyone who wants to give it a go.

Sneaky Chef's Healthy version of flour blend

• 1 cup of All-purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of wheat germ

Mix all together for later usage. It can also be kept in d fridge for up to 3mths.

Jamie Oliver’s basic bread recipe (modified)

• 4 cup bread flour
• 3 ½ cup Healthy flour blend
• 3 tbsp (30g) yeast
• 2 tbsp honey or 30g sugar
• 110ml warm milk + 400ml tepid water
• 26g salt

Put all into d bread maker & select basic cycle for 1kg load. Check after 5mins & add 2-3 tbsp of water if dough is too dry. But from past (failure) tries, less water is needed if using wheat germ so try not to pour all d water in so fast.