RongHua Ching

Pineapple Mojito

June 18, 2014RongHua ChingDrinksclassic, cocktail, fine sugar, Limes, Mint, mojito, pineapple, pineapple rum, rum, soda, sparkling water, sugar cane juice, tropical

For me the best thirst quenchers are drinks with lemon and lime as a main ingredient and a touch of alcohol brings out the smiles. I fell in love with the classic Cuban mojito and found out how dangerously refreshing it is after a couple of drinks speaking Spanish went very smoothly. Ever since from ordering or making “moe-hee-toe” Mojito, the classic version or with many other fruity variations it never fails to satisfy with each sip. In Singapore we ran out of mint but we still had limes and fresh Lychees, so we improvised making our very own version of Lychito (recipe coming up) which became a hit till we ran out of Lychees, but the taste was set to experiment with other tropical flavors until even the herb garden had no mint left. Pineapple Mojito is another favorite, easy to make since this fruit is widely available and why not starring it in this terrific cocktail.

Preparing for one….it turned out into a whole jug!

The classic five ingredients; Rum, Mint, Limes, sugar can juice (fine sugar or sugar syrup) and soda (sparkling water). In the blender fresh pineapple and sugar syrup pulp.

If you like cocktails as much as I do, make your own sugar syrup and sweet & sour mix standby for quick mixing cocktails, it’s super easy, cheap and you can adjust the taste to your own liking. Sugar syrups are versatile in use too depending on thickness due to higher or lower level of sugar content, making it thinner or thicker depending the final usage for fruit salads, smoothies, cakes, cocktails, tea’s, drinks etc.

For a standard sugar syrup; prepare by mixing 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar cane or fine sugar (I prefer to use 3/4 cup), bring on to a boil in a small sauce pan and stir to dissolve and let it cool.
To infuse sugar syrup with flavors is by removing the pan from heat add handful of mint leaves let it cool down completely. Then remove all the mint leaves, leaving them in will spoil easily, use the mint syrup immediately or store in refrigerator for at least two weeks.
The subtle aroma of infused syrups will give that enhanced flavor complementing your drink or dish with an intriguing note. Try other flavors by adding a stick of cinnamon or vanilla pods to boil along (with 2:2 ratio sugar and water) and leave it in while cooling down, pour everything into a resealable bottle or container for later use with other cocktails, smoothies, iced tea’s, fruit salads, or baking recipes. Give it a good shake and store in the refrigerator.
For an easy sweet & sour mix as used with mixing margarita’s (aka as bar mix); just remember 1-1-1-1 ratio, that’s 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup lime juice. First boil the water and sugar, stir to dissolve then take the pan from the heat and add the lemon and lime juices. Stir to combine let it cool down, pass through a sieve before pouring into a resealable bottle or container, give it a good shake and refrigerate. Eventually you may alter the level of acidity instead of 1 cup to 1/2 cup or 3/4 cups interchanging ratio of lemon and lime to your own taste and liking.

Muddle the lime, mint and sugar to extract and blend the flavors, add ice and soda.

Add a pineapple parts in the glass or on top as garnish, pour and serve.

Pineapple Mojito straight up with ice or serve with straws to stir and sip!

Tip: For single serving using a shot or jigger, bar tool, click for bar terms and measurements on the highlighted links. 1 shot equals 1 1/2 oz (ounces) 1 shot equals 4.5 CL (centiliters) 1 shot equals 45 ml (milliliters) 1 shot equals 3 tbsp (tablespoons) Equipment: beside using a blender to mix and whiz drinks, a muddler is the tool for making mojito and caipirinha cocktails, it is like a pestle to mash/muddle fruits, herbs at the bottom of a glass in order to release their flavors and blend them together at the same time. For more information click here on my affiliate link for an overview of various muddlers to compare.

Pineapple Mojito

It’s hot in Brasil, the game is on and we are on fire!! Pineapple Mojito straight up with ice, Cheers!!

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World cup 2014 social media frenzy

June 17, 2014RongHua ChingLifebrasil, brazil, brazil2014, Classics, cm2014, Cocktails, copa2014, Cuban, Facebook, FIFA, FIFA2014, fifaworldcup, football, hashtags, Instagram, mojito, pineapple mojito, rum, soccer, social, social media, tweets, Twitter, WC2014, wm2014, World Cup, worldcup2014

The World Cup, which kicked off last Thursday, is expected to be the most social media-intensive event in history. Prior to the world’s soccer event the phrase “World Cup” has outpaced other big sporting events in social media mentions. The term ‘World Cup’ is averaging 500,000 mentions per day.

Worldwide, this year’s World Cup will surpass the Super Bowl and Olympics in total social mentions, according to a study by Adobe Systems. The phrase “World Cup” alone generated 19 million social mentions since June 2013 so far in 196 countries, scoring wider reach than the Super Bowl or Olympics.

Soccer fans, here is a great app Football World Cup Brasil 2014 Center – Brazil Soccer News Schedule Scores and Much More it shows team standings and qualifiers for the World Cup. A free app in order to make use or to be eligible you might have to change your country settings (for both Kindle and Android devices).

Watching FIFA World Cup 2014 soccer games before, during and after tweets @FIFA.com using official hashtags #worldcup #brasil2014 #worldcup2014 #cm2014 #brazil2014 and other popular Instagram, Facebook hashtags #copa2014 #fifaworldcup #wc2014 #fifa2014 #wm2014

Twitter has provided lists of every team’s official Twitter account, for the true die-hard’s here’s a how-to follow guide for World Cup fans and hashflags!

Twitter-Reintroduces-Hashflags-for-2014-Brazil-World-Cup

Source credit tweet hashflags: http://behrouz.jafarnezhad.com/

Social media it really gets me thirsty for….. just click on the bold link for this thirst quenching recipe.

Pineapple Mojito

Preparing for one…..it turned into a whole jug.

Balsamic mustard dressing home-made recipe

June 4, 2014RongHua ChingFoodbalsamic dressing, balsamic-mustard, dressing, Salads, sauces

With all the choices and availability of pre-fabricated aka prefab sauces and dressings it is indeed easy to grab a bottle and use, but it never beats the home-made product. Even better once you understand the technique and mastered the basic recipe you can tweak to your culinary heart adding your favorite taste and flavor personal preferences. This is my Balsamic Mustard dressing recipe.

1/2 small onion diced finely
1 clove garlic minced finely
1/2 cup olive oil extra virgin or light
1 tablespoon mustard wholeseed mustard, dijonaisse
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar red/dragon vinegar, Chinese black vinegar, rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon honey or fine sugar
salt & pepper to taste
handful mix fresh herbs 2 sprigs each; oregano, rosemary, basil, chopped finely

Balsamic-mustard dressing: Cut the onion and dice finely, mince garlic, slice finely all the herbs. In a bowl add the onion and garlic pour the vinegar on top and let it blend first, than add the mustard, olive oil followed by the chopped herbs. Whisk to emulsify everything together or give it a good shake in a jar. Taste, add salt & pepper to taste and any adjustments if needed.

Instead of my homemade Balsamic Mustard Herb dressing, you can opt for a much easier American Honey Dijon dressing recipe as published on About.com, which I often make as well.

For 2 cups of Honey Dijon dressing:

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup Cider Vinegar
2/3 cup Olive oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk vigorously until emulsified or have everything in a jar and shake vigorously till combined and dressing consistency.
For a creamier touch add 2-3 tablespoon of mayonnaise.
Use this as your basis and add fresh herbs or other ingredients to give it your own twist, you can easily leave out the honey if you like a sharper taste.

Green Smoothie formula Infographic

June 4, 2014RongHua ChingJuices & Smoothie's60/40 rule, beet greens, collards, formula, fruit juices, green smoothie, guidelines, healthy drinks, juicing, kale, leafy greens, nutrition, nutrition dense, quick, spinach, swiss chard, vegetable juices, wheat grass

Stumbled upon by coincidence sharing this article with Green Smoothie guidelines, straightforward information combined with a great infographic as a rule of thumb to keep you focused and on track. If you make homemade soy, almonds, rice milk this is a great way to combine and benefit from all nutrients. Personally I like the coconut water tip, never thought of using instead of water and I happen to have the cans as a staple in my pantry as well but first.

Start With the Right Formula

Follow the 60/40 rule. You want about 60% fruits and 40% greens. You don’t need to add beets, beans, or carrots or anything like that because starchy vegetables combine poorly with fruit and may produce unwanted gas. So just stick to leafy lettuce-type greens and a variety of fruits.

Green smoothies work well because they pack a variety of rich nutrients into an easy to consume package. The key to an effective green smoothie is fibre. Whole fruits contain more fibre so make sure you always use fruit instead of fruit juice. Fibre helps slow the digestive process and guarantee that nutrients are absorbed. Be sure to rotate what you put in your smoothie. You can get too much of a good thing!

Click on the infographic for a full view and article link here “The Only Green Smoothie Formula You’ll Ever Need”.

Source https://dailyhealthpost.com/guidelines-for-green-smoothie-consumption-optimal-health-benefits/

Red Beet Salad recipe with orange, feta cheese, mint

June 4, 2014RongHua ChingFoodbalsamic dressing, beet salad, feta cheese, Mint, orange, red beet, red beet salad, Salads, vegetarian

Red Beet Salad recipe with orange, feta cheese and mint, what’s not to love. To begin with, the taste and texture followed by health benefits and support of detoxification. The idea of eating and cleansing suits me fine with these five reasons.

Colour attraction, deep burgundy red (all natural beetroot juice is a red food and beverages colouring).
Sweet slight earthy taste and crunchy texture
antioxidants
anti-inflammatory
detoxification

Whether you roast it whole, blend into a classic soup or drink as juice like the Olympians does – beetroot is low in fat, full of vitamins and minerals and packed with powerful antioxidants – a health-food titan. (source link: BBC Good Food – Beetroots)

And that sums it up why I keep buying this power food with this recipe I finally had the whole family fully agreeing not to overlook this green but to make this Red Beet Salad with orange, feta cheese and mint recipe more often. The Beetroot has achieved superfood status, according to scientist claimed beetroot juice is capable of boosting athletic performance. Read more: “Boom time for beetroot” DailyMail online article.

Red Beet Salad preparations

For the balsamic mustard dressing with fresh herbs, I choose to add a Dutch touch with “Groninger mosterd, grof & pittig” whole seed, grainy mustard for a different flavour and sharpness complementing the beets. I used to whisk everything together but it is much easier to put all dressing ingredients in a jar and give it a good shake, the dressing will thicken nicely blending everything together.

Red Beet Salad with Orange, Feta Cheese, Mint

Pour the dressing over the beets first and mix before tossing in the orange segments, as you can see on the photo image the beet juice bleeds very quickly coating everything in red. What you can’t see, smell or taste, unfortunately, is the ‘cheese’, at the local Turkish supermarket shop I bought their artisan-made sheep cheese for the first time and it was so much better than the standard supermarket packed versions.

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Butter Beans simple Italian style recipe

June 3, 2014RongHua ChingFoodbasil, butter beans, cooking instructions, dried beans, dried herbs, fresh herbs, Italian style, legumes, Low GI, low-calorie, low-cholesterol, low-fat, oregano, pressure cooker, pressure cooking, pulses, side-dish, slow cooking, slow digest, slow-cooker, thyme, vegetarian

Pulses have found their way regularly in our weekly dinners and compared to our childhood boring brown and white beans, cooking with spices and herbs sure brightens our palate and lifts up the taste for more. Recycling in the house by reusing various glass jars filled with all kinds of dried beans in plain sight, in stead of storing in the cupboard makes it invisible and forgotten easily. Now I am in the habit of quickly grabbing a bean variety and letting it soak overnight to a maximum of two days if cooking plans changes or I prepare them and store them in the fridge or freezer. For example making re-fried beans recipe for breakfast burrito’s, dip, salads or as a side dish.

I’ve just re-stocked buying soybeans, chickpeas, kidney beans, black-eyed beans and while at it, brought home a bag of butter beans as new addition. Haven’t prepared these creamy whites in a long time, the butter bean is a well-rounded source of nutrition, rich in protein, fiber, iron and B vitamins. Hardly any fat and all these nutrients combined will provide you with everything you need to lose weight, build muscle and feel energetic.

“Lima beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other legumes. In addition to lowering cholesterol, lima beans’ high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. When combined with whole grains such as rice, lima beans provide virtually fat-free high quality protein. You may already be familiar with beans’ fiber and protein, but this is far from all lima beans have to offer.” (source:whfoods.org)

Dried butter beans or Lima beans

For dried beans how-to cooking instructions click on the link for instructions.

Style variations:

With the Italian style recipe here you can easily vary by using Chinese cooking wine, Chinese (or Thai) soybean sauce, Chinese mushroom soy sauce, fresh or dried peppers or other oriental spices as garam masala the variations are endless. Garnish with coriander, spring onion instead for an Asian finish.

Butter bean simple Italian style recipe

More Butter Beans nutritional information and links:

Livestrong.com article Butter Beans nutrition facts
Finecooking.com Butter Beans

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Dried beans how-to

June 3, 2014RongHua ChingFoodBeans, budget, cooking, cooking instructions, cooking technique, dried beans, how-to, legumes, Low GI, low-cholesterol, low-fat, preparation, pulses

Dried beans how to:

Beans have become a staple ingredient in our weekly meal plans, a sensible choice since beans are low-glycemic, high-fiber, high-protein, and packed with important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. By adding foods with a low glycemic index in our diet, you will have an extra boon since our body will digest these foods slowly, you will feel full for a longer period while eating less calories without feeling hungry. Even better

The type of bean influences the cooking time but also the type of cooking vessel; slow cooker or pressure cooker. This is a general rule of thumb in how-to start with dried bean cooking instructions, as for the cooking times click on the highlighted guidelines links for more information on type of beans. For more information on Low GI foods and Glycemic index click the highlighted link as a valuable sources.

Pre-soaking beans:

Using dried beans is easy for each cup of dried beans use three cups of water. There are two methods of pre-soaking the beans;
Boil the beans for 2 minutes, remove the pan from the heat source cover and let it stand for two hours.
The standard method is to simply soak the beans in water for a minimum of eight hours or overnight. With a maximum of two day and cleansing the water in between on the kitchen counter or depending weather circumstances in the refrigerator to prevent the beans from fermenting.

Cooking Beans:

Regardless of the method you choose; drain the soaking liquid and rinse the beans with clean water before cooking.
Use caution when pressure cooking because of the loose skins. Always use oil with these bean and you can place a rack or paper kitchen towel to help keep loose skins from floating up.
Tip when using Fava and broad beans for the first time; blanch beans in boiling water for a minute then plunge them into cold water to peel off the thick brown skin before cooking. Or buy packages labled “skinless” to avoid this time-consuming chore.
A quick overview of informative webpage links for pressure cooking times, guidelines and tips for cooking beans;

Hip pressure cooking times
Recipesource Basic guidelines for pressure cooking dry beans
Pulse Canada Guide to cooking beans, chickpeas, lentils and peas
Healthy Highways Pressure cooking guidelines

Basic cooking recipe for preparing beans is adding flavors such as onion, bay leaf, garlic even dried peppers and more to the cooking water in a crock pot for slow cooking method or using a pressure cooker for speed. You could even add a chicken or vegetable stock tablet to give it a quick twist. After cooking you can simply add a good splash of olive oil and serve them straight away as a plain side dish.

Dried Butter beans or Lima Beans

Apricot Almond Cake recipe

May 30, 2014RongHua ChingBakingalmond, almond flour, apricots, cake, editing, food photography, fruits, image, image editing, mobile photography, mobilephone, Note 2, Pixlr Express, Samsung, seasonal fruits, smartphone, smartphone camera, stone fruits

Seasonal fruit in abundance, the fragrance, the colors, the shapes, taste and textures everything awakens all your sensory feelings. The thought of biting into juicy fruit stimulates a neurons overflow of flavors, watering my mouth instantly. In a flash sparking all the creative possibilities of how-to cook, bake, stew, grill, with knowing taste buds enjoying foresight of a gratifying experience. Mmmhmm….

Still contemplating on choosing the right recipe and ultimate dish, I started first by macerating the fruits in a little bit of sugar. While it is not necessary I like to add a liqueur to enhance flavor. The choice was made on the first bottle in direct view an almond liqueur this time, but other favorite choices are Cointreau or Grand Marnier both combine and infuse well too.

Over time I also experimented by using Cremoncello di Sicillia Mandarino liqueur, while enjoying Limencello original mostly in the summers this is a very nice surprise. Limoncello and other fruit variations are traditionally served chilled after meals in Italy, it is quite popular around the Mediterranean coasts.

A sprinkle of sugar draws out their juices and mixing the fruits starts blending the liqueur, it creates a syrup and as you can see it coats the fruits with a beautiful gloss. After 20-30 minutes when you transfer the fruits on top of the cake batter, save the infused syrup as a glaze for later.

Choosing between Apricot-Almond Clafouti recipe by Eating Well and a Cake I choose the latter, since I started preparing in the morning. A Cake can be enjoyed cold anytime of the day, but a Clafouti is slightly cooled right after dinner enjoyed at its best. While Cherry clafouti is one of my favorites, haven’t tried yet using Apricots another reason to follow up soon while this fruit is at its peak.

When I started mixing I discovered too late that I hadn’t had enough self-rising flour so I had to do a little improvisation by adding flour and one teaspoon of baking soda, it worked out just fine. After creaming the butter with sugar I added the eggs one by one and finally a drop of vanilla essence, when I realized I could have used almond essence too, will leave that for the next bake. Normally milk is one of the ingredients but I only had soy milk and used it without a problem in the batter. Having done that I need to mention that I used a commercial brand not my own homemade unsweetened soy milk which has a more pronounced bean flavor. For the inexperienced tasters it can have an impact on appreciating the final result in complementing tastes. Press the apricots into the batter and drizzle a bit of the juice syrup on top and pop it into the heated oven.

By the time the bake is nearing its end our kitchen is filled with an incense and I…..

“Heaven… I’m in heaven,
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak.
And I seem to find the happiness I seek,
When we’re out together dancing cheek to cheek.” – Cheek to Cheek by Irvin Berlin –

Apricot Almond Cake Recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes, without fail it turns out great every time with all stone and soft fruits. Once you macerate the fruits, the batter is easily mixed under 10 minutes since the magic happens during baking which takes around 50-60 minutes depending your oven. Just check towards the end with a wooden skewer whether it comes out clean.

The Springform straight from the oven, say no more, say no more. Let it cool slightly than brush the syrupy liquid on top of the fruits to finish off with a beautiful glaze.

My hubby was in a hurry he didn’t realize that the baking paper lining was not yet peeled off the bottom. That didn’t stop him to cut a slice on the go and munching happily away.

Food photography: The images in this post were all made with a smartphone camera, Samsung Note 2 model. Pixlr image editing tools was used; to crop and a vignette no color or enhanced editing on the images.

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Bitter Melon juice with Ginger, Honey and Lemon

May 23, 2014RongHua ChingJuices & Smoothie'sbitter gourd, bitter melon, energetic, healthy, healthy drinks, immune system, juice, nutritious

The basic recipe for bitter melon or bitter gourd juice:

2-3 small spiky bitter melon cleaned, halved remove sponge with seeds and pith or 1 medium-large smooth bitter melon
honey and lemon juice to taste
water

In some cooking and juicing recipes you can use the whole vegetable only removing the ends and chopped, the seeds are edible but work on your digestive system, a known side effect is a gastrointestinal discomfort.

Drinking bitter Melon juice plain mixed with a little bit of water is common, but it gets more palatable by adding ginger, lemon/lime juice and honey. For more recipes click here.

Bitter Melon Juice with Ginger, honey and lemon

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5 Best Bitter Melon Juice recipes

May 23, 2014RongHua ChingDrinksAvocado, beetroot, bitter gourd, bitter melon, blender, drink, fruit juicing machine, ginger, healthy drinks, honey, juice, karela, lemon juice, vegetable

Bitter gourd vegetable has many varieties and even more recipes in the south-east Asian region, some of the tested dishes are gobsmacking good. However, I was not used to drinking bitter melon juice that only happened when we moved to live in Asia. For centuries it is known and praised for it medicinal and curative properties purposes. Used as a folk remedy to help with weight loss, blood disorders and bad hangovers; it helps lowering blood glucose levels in diabetics. To extract bitter gourd juice, a juicing machine is helpful but a blender will work as well.

Bitter gourd, bitter melon, bitter squash in English, goes by many other language names

My friends in New Delhi informed me to drink some bitter gourd (Karela) juice on an empty stomach each morning. First, remove the seeds of two to three bitter gourds and use a juicer to extract the juice. Add some water and then drink it. The Indian variety is much smaller and pointier, it differs from the Chinese which is longer and smoother as shown in the image above.

To drink on a regular basis you must have grown up with and accustomed to regularly consuming the bitter gourd/melons juice. Bitter Melon Juice honours its name by absolute bitterness, it is for the initiated to drink without qualms and a taste exploration for beginners to learn to appreciate its medicinal values and flavour.The juice of one medium size Chinese variety bitter melon will yield around 200-250ml and that is more than enough to start the day or adding a new dietary regimen to your lifestyle.

For the healthy nutritional benefits, cleansing, diabetic and inflammatory properties half the amount will be more than sufficient. Please consult your doctor or dietitian for diabetic advice.

Bitter Melon Juice with Honey and Lemon

In south-east Asia, every region has its own dishes and recipes and most likely if you travel around you must have seen or already eaten this vegetable. Drinking the juice or in mixed drinks is something I have been experimenting with various fruits and vegetables to find the best Bitter melon juice recipes to enjoy.

Bitter gourd is a rich source of vitamin C. Vitamin C protects your cells from free radicals, harmful agents involved in cancer development, cardiovascular disease and ageing. It also benefits your immune system, keeps your tissues strong by facilitating collagen production and helps you absorb iron from your diet. A cup of bitter gourd contains 78 milligrammes of vitamin C. This provides the entire daily recommended intake of vitamin C for women and 87 percent of the RDA for men.

: Cut in halve, remove seed & pith

: Cut in cubes or slices

: Soak with salt or lemon juice

: juicing machine extraction

How to buy and prepare

When you buy, do select bitter gourds that are unripe and firm as the ripened ones are extremely bitter. They should have a solid, light green colour, without any signs of yellow or orange colour on the skin or blemishes.
It is said to reduce the bitterness, you can soak the chopped pieces for about 30 minutes in a bowl of water with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt or juice from half/whole lemon. Next, to soaking you could parboil the slices or chunks, a method I prefer when cooking.
Rule of Thumb balancing food flavours: “bitter taste pairs with sweet, salty or sour flavours”.

Bitter Melon Juice recipes

Five best Bitter Melon Juice recipes

Scroll down for recipe Bitter Melon Juice with ginger, honey and lemon juice or click on the links for other recipes.