#48 Chocolate Covered Kiwifruit

I learned that kiwifruit is native to China and that Italy is the largest global producer.

Did you know, that you can bite right in on its fuzzy skin? YES, the skin is edible!

This highly nutritious fruit can also be used as a meat tenderizer- nice to know!

CHOCOLATE COVERED KIWIFRUIT


Ingredients:

Ripe kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
Chocolate


Directions:

1. Melt chocolate, then coat the sliced kiwifruit.
2. Let it stand for a few minutes, allowing the chocolate to harden.
3. Or just eat go ahead and eat it!

 

 Irresistible. I surrender.

#47 Japanese Omelette Roll

Japanese cuisine is always  artfully presented, simply amazing and tastes so delicious. I discovered this method of cooking eggs from a magazine, and I had to do it. The biggest problem that I encountered while creating this dish is the difficulty of rolling it, while keeping all the eggs in tact. I do not own a wide pan, a wide square frying pan is ideal to use. I made the eggs on a hot griddle, had to watch it closely, the eggs needed to be cooked thoroughly to keep it intact, yet moist enough so that it rolls easily and retain it's rolled form. Honestly, it was one of the hardest breakfast dish that I have ever made! After so many tries, I was able to roll and slice it into these beautiful bite-sized  pieces. This dish is typically served with grated fresh radish and soy sauce. Loved it, and will I do it again? Sure! It's a refreshing recipe and a great way to make eggs, sans the fattening addition to breakfast dishes that many of us are accustomed to every morning. Just a load of  protein and healthy greens.

JAPENESE OMELETTE ROLL

Ingredients:

8 pieces of large eggs

vegetable oil

fresh spinach

Directions:

1. Using a wire whisk, mix the egg whites and yolk thoroughly.
2. In a pot, boil water, then once it boils, add the spinach and let it cook for a minute. Remove from boiling water and wash it with cold water.
3.  Using a bamboo mat, remove excess water from the cooked spinach. Set aside.
4. On a hot square frying pan, add vegetable oil.
5. Add eggs, carefully watching it, don't burn it. Once it is cooked, add the spinach on top.
6. Roll. And cut into bite sized pieces.
7. Serve with grated radish and soy sauce.

 

I also tried rolling some eggs without spinach in it. I love raw vegetables and so I put the rolled cooked eggs on top of fresh spinach leaves. For more flavor, I added vinegar, salt and pepper. Turned out great!

#46 Roasted Chicken with Rosemary, Lemon and Honey

I made this dish last week when my Mama came to visit us here in California for a few days before flying back to the Philippines. Roast chicken is a favorite back home, our family loves it. This is a great recipe, the house smelled amazing! Mama said the chicken tastes great. :)  I always roast chicken myself instead of grabbing one from the grocery store, it just tastes different and so much better when you make your own. The rosemary, honey and lemon put altogether created  a wonderful blend of flavors and aroma. I am glad Ma enjoyed a good meal while staying with me. Since I like eating leftovers, I enjoyed it the next day. :)

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH ROSEMARY, LEMON AND HONEY



Ingredients:

6 ounces of fresh rosemary springs
2-4 pounds of chicken
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 lemons, 1 halved, 1 sliced into eight 1/4 inch rounds
1 pound shallots, peeled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large roasting pan with 3/4 of rosemary sprigs. Place chicken on top.
2. Whisk 1/4 cup oil, lemon juice, and honey in a small bowl to blend. Using your hands, and beginning at the neck end of chicken, gently lift away skin from breast. Under skin of each chicken, rub 1/4 cup lemon mixture into meat.  Drizzle remaining lemon mixture all over outside of chicken.
3. Place 1 lemon half and 1 shallot inside chicken cavity; stuff with remaining rosemary sprigs, dividing equally. Season chicken all over with salt and pepper. Place remaining shallots around chicken; arrange 4 lemon rounds on top of chicken, drizzle shallots and lemon rounds with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil.
4. Roast chicken, basting frequently with pan juices for 45 minutes. 
5. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 Degrees and skin is deep golden and crispy, about 10 minutes longer.
6. Spoon pan juices over chicken, shallots, and lemon slices and serve in roasting pan.

Recipe adapted from: Melia Marden

Today I learned that the rosemary herb is native to the Mediterranean area. Rosemary is usually found growing by the ocean, it's latin name, ros "dew" & marinus "sea", equates to "dew of the sea",  in some areas it needs no water to live, just the breeze from the sea. Maybe I can bring some seeds when I visit my home in Philippines, since we live near the sea. I would like for every one back home to enjoy this wonderful herb, it smells good and it is said to improve memory.

Looks like the origin of roast chicken is unknown because I did not find anything on the internet after researching for several days now. If you know, please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!

#45 Our Chicken Vegetable Soup

I make this dish every week, it is a delicious clear soup and is one of our favorites! I so love the simplicity of this recipe, it is very easy and quick to make. All five vegetables are available all year round, always cheap and highly nutritious. It is very good at helping an ailing body heal, so it is always immediately made when one of us is feeling a little under the weather. Also a light, guilt free food for me, and so for that reason, it sits on the top of my ultimate comfort food list.

How you cook this soup greatly affects it's taste. The secret is, not to overcook the vegetables. I love the natural flavors and very much dislike overcooking because the real flavor disappears! So every time I make this, only the carrots are cooked with the chicken meat, the rest of the vegetables are added only after I turn the heat off. The result? amazing union of flavors!

OUR CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast meat, sliced to bite size

1/2 teaspoon chicken base

6 cups of water

carrots, chopped

green onions, chopped, white (bottom) part and green (leafy) part separated

1 broccoli head, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, add water, chicken base, breast meat, white part of the green onions and carrots. Bring to boil.
2. Simmer and cook until chicken is cooked well.
3. Turn off the heat, add broccoli, red bell pepper and the green leafy part of the green onions.
4. Cover and let stand for 2-3 minutes.
5. Laddle hot soup into bowl and top with uncooked spinach. Salt and season to taste.