Gingery Chicken, Rice, and Avocado soup

OMG!  I was sick with nasty cold and flu for a week.  And I was like, “please somebody just kill me.”  It was terrible!   Anyway, I feel a lot better today except just a little cough and stubborn congestion that wouldn’t go away.  For the past week I made lots of soup, all kind of soup that loaded with ginger.  Ginger is my obsession!  If I find out I only have 1 root left, I’d freak out. Seriously!    As you know, ginger is known for fighting cold and flu, reducing pain, headache, migraine, and inflammation.  For me, it’s never too much to add ginger in my diet for my own good. Just gimme some more.....pleaseeee! 

Today’s soup was made with the leftover cooked rice and chicken I’ve saved in the fridge the day before and things I already have around my kitchen for quick instant soup.  I served this soup with the finishing touch of fresh ginger instead of adding them when boiling the broth.  If you are wondering that the fresh ginger might be too strong.  Yes, it is very strong and that’s my point.  Its intensity works perfectly in clearing the bacteria that got me a sore throat.   Not only that, I had added some more dried red chili pepper flakes in my bowl for the back up!  It gave me a little sweat and it was so good.   The creamy avocado cubes in the soup would help subtle down the intensity of the fresh ginger, and the tangy sweet of sundried tomato gave the soup even more interesting taste.   Miso, avocado, and sundried tomato may sound a little weird, but it works together nicely!

Okay. This soup is so easy and very quick to make.   If you know how to bring water to boil, chances are you can make soup.  It takes less than 30 minutes from the start to the end.  I promise.    

Gingery Chicken, Rice, and Avocado soup

What you need:  for 2-4 servings

1 1/2 cups leftover cooked rice (white or brown)

1 cup leftover shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie/grilled)

1/4 cup carrot, chopped

1/4 cup celery, chopped

3 tbsp.  Fresh ginger, finely julienned

2 tbsp. mellow white miso paste (or more if needed)

5 cups water (+ 1 cup more if needed)

1 large Hass avocado, chopped in cubes

1 cup cilantro leaves

2 tbsp. sundried tomato, chopped

Pinch of salt to taste if needed

(Dried red chili flakes is optional)

1. In a medium pot, bring water add chopped carrot, celery, and sundried tomato to boil at medium high heat.

2. Let the vegetables cook for 5 minutes, then add cooked rice and shredded chicken. Allow the rice and chicken to heat through for a few minutes, and then turn off the heat

3. With the miso paste in a small bowl, use the hot soup broth from pot stir or whisk in the miso paste until there is no lumps, then gently stir back to the pot and add avocado.  **add more miso paste or seasoning with salt for your preferred taste.

4. Serve each serving with a sprinkle of fresh ginger strips and cilantro leaves (and dried red chili flakes if you like!) 

Almond-Orange Cake.....

The first week of the New Year bring such an amazing sunny and beautiful days plus chilly crisp cold air that turn the water in my bird bath into rock-hard ice and my banana trees got burn overnight.  But on the Sunday morning as the ray of the morning sun came through the window while I was sipping my coffee and trying to get warm from the sunlight, I felt like I wanted to bake a cake.  But what kind of cake?   I have fresh organic oranges sitting on the counter, and then I remember I have a bag of almond flour (aka almond meal) in my pantry.  Yep! Let bake orange cake using almond flour.  Eating oranges on a first day of the New Year is believed to bring good luck.  Well, may be not exactly on the first day but the first week of the New Year or perhaps during the first month should have the same effect…..bringing me some good luck.  Right?  Right!   hehehe.... 

This cake is so easy to make. Neither flour, oil, butter nor milk is needed.  Sounds great!.  Honestly, I've never tried to bake this kind of cake before but I've always wanted to try one day.  And today is my day.  Did I mention it flourless?  ^_^

I baked the cake in my 10-inch tart pan (along with 1 4-inch paper tart pan because of a little bit of the batter left and I didn't want the cake to overflow from the tart pan) as I thought it would come out looking prettier than using a regular round cake pan.  And when it's done, I couldn't have felt happier. The cake looked amazing.  The cake itself is so moist with tangy orange flavor and not too sweet which makes it perfect with tea or coffee.  Though the cake still has a hint of the bitterness tastes from the oranges skins and pith, as many recipes have cautioned about skipping the boiling process of oranges before add in the batter, but it was not too bad at all.  I finished the little one in no time. 

Note*  if you like the cake more on the sweet side, add more a half or one cup of sugar into the cake batter, or serve the cake with orange glazed or sweet cream whipped. 

Scrumptious and incredibly moist Almond-Orange Cake  

1. For the quick orange marmalade

2 large fresh navel oranges (preferably organic and seedless)

1/2 cup sugar

2-3 tbsp. water

1.  wash dust and dirt from the oranges and cut them into small pieces, discard the seeds if any. Put the cut orange pieces in the blender or food processor and water and blended until they turn into tiny pieces (see picture).

2. pour the orange into a medium pot with sugar and bring to a boil at medium-high heat. When it comes to full boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook for about 20 minutes.

3.  Let the cooked orange cool down completely. This makes approx.  2 cups.

2. For the cake:  preheat the oven to 350'F

1 1/2 cups Almond flour/meal ( I used Bob’s Red Mill)

3/4 cup sugar (or1 cup if you like sweet)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. almond extract

A tiny pinch of salf

3 large eggs – room temperature

1/2 cup almond slides/slivered for toppings

Powdered sugar for dusting

1. grease the tart pan with butter and lay parchment paper on top. Set aside.

2. whisk the eggs, sugar, almond extract until thick and pale, add the almond flour, baking powder, salt, and fold to combine. add cooled cooked orange into the batter and mix well.  Pour into the greased tart pan and sprinkle slivered almonds on top of the cake.

3. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the top and the edges of the cake turn slightly golden brown. 

4. serve warm (I found it tastes better than cold…) with tea or coffee or as dessert after dinner.  Enjoy! 

Spinach, mushroom, and bell pepper with sweet potato crust quiche

Happy New Year 2015 everyone!

First of all I have to apologize for my absent for the past whole year in 2014.  Many things in my personal life had happened and needed to be taken care of.  But I will not go into any details about what was going on with my life (sorry for not sharing!). There were some good news (nooo! I did not win a lotto!) and bad news that keep my life interesting and wonderful! (at least that what I thought!)

 As the 1^st day of the New Year started off bright and shine with the gorgeous clear skies along with cool crisp air of the winter in Southern California, it inspired me to get off my year with the right start.  Making heart healthy quiche for breakfast would be a great idea to start the day and year right. Right?  Right!

Let’s move on to my first post of the year “Spinach, mushroom, and sweet potato quiche.”  I love sweet potato! Do you?    Cooking in the microwave for a few minutes (depends on the size) and eating plain without anything on it is my instant joy.  But adding it into the egg dish for breakfast is such amazingly amazing!  

What you need:  can be served 4-6 people

1 large sweet potato (yam) shredded into 3 cups

5-6 large eggs

1/4 cup onion, chopped

3 cups fresh spinach (or frozen)

2 cups mushroom, chopped

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup milk

2 small yellow bell peppers (one chopped, another cut across)

1 tbsp. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400`F

1. add a pinch of salt and pepper into shredded sweet potato and gently toss together with your hands. Then spread them over the pie pan (spray your pan slightly with cooking spray first to prevent the sweet potato stick to the pan.  I didn’t!  L ) and onto the rim evenly. Place in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. Take it out if the edges start to burn and cover with foil.  When the time is up, take it out and turn the oven down to 350`F.

2. add olive oil in the sauté pan over medium high heat, add onion and cook for a few minutes, then add mushroom, bell pepper, and spinach and cook until all the vegetables are wilted and let it cool down a bit. 

3. beaten the eggs in the large bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper, then add milk and 1 cup of cheese, stir to combine. Add the cooked vegetables (it may still warm, but ok!) into the eggs and gently stir to combine. Pour over the egg filling into the sweet potato crust, and arrange cut yellow bell pepper on top as well as another 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, and bake for 20-25 minutes.

4. serve immediately with any of your favorite hot sauce or salsa!  Enjoy!