Honey-Cinnamon Crepes with Honey Yogurt n Berries

I barely have breakfast on the weekdays, except for 2+ cups of coffee and then when 11 a.m. comes, I found myself starving for food!   I know that a lot of us are juggling every morning this way since we have to get on the road trying not to be late at work and choose not to get up of bed early…bad idea!   

Waking up this Saturday morning, I wanted to treat myself (and a hubby, of course!) something light and healthy for breakfast that takes little time to prepare so I could sit down and enjoy a nice morning breeze of Summer.  So, I made crepes.

Making French crepes for breakfast is very easy. Just whip up a batter follow a simple recipe or change it into something healthier in your own version and slightly add whatever flavor you like such as honey, OJ or lemon juice, vanilla, rum, or spices and you are ready to go. As for the fillings, you decide!

Even though, I have learned, that French people do not really have crepes for breakfast and I am Thai, but that doesn't mean I can’t have crapes for breakfast, right? C’mon it’s Saturday and I just wanted to enjoy my weekend!

What you need:  for 2

1/2 cup all pp flour

3/4 cup milk

1 egg white beaten

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp melted unsalted butter

1 tsp ground cinnamon

A few drops vanilla extract

Cooking spray for cooking

Powdered sugar

Blueberry, raspberry, or any of your favorite fruit

The filling:

1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt  or plain yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

- Mix them together and set it aside


The Crepes:

- Whisk all the ingredients together until very well blended
- On medium-high heat, spray a pan with a cooking spray and pour over the batter into the pan for about 2-3 tablespoon depends on how big you want for the crepe size and swirl the pan around to make the crepe and cook it on both sides until it turns lightly brown
- Serve immediately with yogurt honey and berries with slightly dusting of powdered sugar

Enjoy!

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Fruit Salad with Creamy Yogurt Dressing

It’s depressing not to have a full time job but having to work part-time only in the morning is actually working out very well for me because I still have time to do some cooking and try on new recipes! Sometimes I’ve got carried away with the new exciting recipes I found on the net and in the magazines and when I start to cook, I always end up with too much food to eat when there are actually only 2 people live in this household. And lately, I have been making a lot of dessert since the hubby has always asked for it, and the result? I’ve gained weights! Yeah, let’s blame him! It’s always easier to blame somebody else, right? Hehehe….(^o^)

So, today I’m being a good girl trying to get back on my track and thinking of making my usual smoothie for lunch, but I really want something more refreshing than that.  So, I look around in my kitchen and see some oranges and kiwi…hmmm…I’m going to make a fruit salad with, of course, yogurt dressing! 

Basically, you can use any fruit you have or like but I just want to share with you the yogurt dressing that I make, it’s so creamy yummy refreshing with the sweetness from fresh squeeze orange juice and a bit of honey.   It would be too rude not to share, right!  But first, I need to go pick some blackberries that still have some left in the backyard (last crop!) and when I come back, we shall have some fun! 

what you need:

1 tbsp finely grated orange zest

3 medium orange, cut into segments

1/3 cup fresh squeeze orange juice from the 3 orange above

2 medium Kiwi, thinly cut crosswise or whatever shape you like

A few berries – blackberry, raspberry, or strawberry

2 tbsp non-fat Greek yogurt

1 tsp honey

- Whisk together the yogurt, honey, orange juice, and zest to blend well and pour over your lovely fruit salad.  Chill the fruit salad a little before serving for the best result.

Enjoy!

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Pork-sh'room Meatballs with Spicy Tamarind Sauce

I love making appetizer as it’s more fun than making big meals ( I've said that before on my other post, didn’t I?).   And today is a fun day to make something yummy and tasty.   I find myself, as usual, making these pork meatballs from scratch with no recipe by start adding things into it.  Adding chopped mushroom into lean ground pork is my later decision because I want something lighter for the app than just the pork meat.  And then I start to add an egg and corn starch (or you can use either one) and used the panko bread crumbs for the coating before deep frying them (you can also mix the panko into the meatballs instead of coating them, the panko will give the meatballs more solid consistency, but I find that coating the meatballs with the panko will make the meatballs more crunchy on the outside and still moist and juicy on the inside after they are cooked).    

For the spicy tamarind sauce, I made it before and I thought it would be perfect for these meatballs, however, you can use a store bought Thai sweet chili sauce for the dipping.  It tastes great!    The recipe below for the spicy tamarind sauce, I used 2 tablespoons of chili garlic sauce and it turned out to be really hot.  So, be careful before adding it too much.  But if you like the heat, go for it!

What you need:

10 oz lean ground pork

1 cup mushroom finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger, finely grated

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

1 tsp ground white pepper

1 egg

1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

2 cups canola oil for frying

Meatballs:
- Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, except the panko
- Make a ball from the pork mixture into your desired size; I make each ball from 2 tbsp pork mixture and make about 14 balls
- Coat each of the pork meat ball with the panko bread crumbs until the mixture is gone, and then chill the meatballs in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes
- Set the oil on the medium-high heat at the frying temperature at 375’F
- Fry the meatballs in batches, try not to overcrowd the pan, may be 3-4 for each batch depending on the size of the meatballs and fry about 3-5 minutes
- Serve immediately with the tamarind sauce

Spicy Tamarind Sauce

1 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup tamarind juice ( 1 tbsp tamarind paste + 2 tbsp water)

1 tbsp chili garlic sauce  

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp corn starch + 2 tbsp water = corn starch water

- Add water and sugar in the small saucepan over medium-low heat
- Add chili garlic sauce, salt and tamarind juice, stir until all the sugar is dissolved
- Add corn starch water to thicken the sauce, turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro
- Make about 1 ¼ cup

Enjoy!

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