Vegetarian » Simple Recipes

OVEN ROAST MINI BELL PEPPERS

Aug 302010

This is a very simple and easy recipe of oven roast peppers to have always handy in the refrigerator. These oven roast peppers can be kept in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks and used on top of green salad or as a side dish. It is not only colorful but very tasty.

Ingredients:
2~3 lb of mini bell peppers, yellow, red and orange
10~15 garlic cloves (you can cut on the amount if you are not a garlic fan)
1~2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry parsley
1 teaspoon dry basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Remove the seeds and the stem from the peppers, peel the garlic and slice. In a big bowl mix all the ingredients together by gently tossing the peppers. Place the peppers in an oven safe dish for 20~25 minutes at 350F. Let is cool and serve. On my salad, I just add a little balsamic vinegar since the peppers already have olive oil, salt and pepper, it makes a good salad look even better.

Did you know that red peppers contain more vitamin C, lycopene and carotene than green peppers? Did you know that paprika, a spice used in many culinary dishes is made from grinding dry bell peppers.

RED BEAN BUNS

Bread, Bread machine, Breakfast, Snack, Vegetarian 102 Responses »

Aug 232010

This is a very simple recipe for Asian style sweet buns, they are so soft and tasty. The water roux method was used to accomplish the softness of the dough. I made the dough with the help of my Zojirushi bread machine, therefore it was very easy, simple and without mess…just let the machine do the work. It is great as a snack or as a breakfast treat.

Ingredients:

Water roux
75 ml of water
15 g of bread flour

Dough
2 cups bread flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dry milk
1½ tablespoon butter
1½ teaspoon dry yeast
1 large egg and complete to 100 ml with water

1 can of red bean paste

Method:

Water roux
Mix flour and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until it reaches 65ºC/149ºF. The mix will turn to a paste and you can see the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, cover with a saran wrap film over the paste and leave until lukewarm.

Dough
Add the water roux and all the dough ingredients to the bread machine bucket according to the manufacture’s guideline. I let the dough cycle run for 2 times, making sure that the dough reaches a thin membrane. The dough will be slightly sticky. Let is rise for approximately 2 hours in a cover container or until it double its initial volume.

Punch down, knead the dough and form into a ball shape. Then divide into 16 equal portions. Gently flat the balls and fill it with the red bean paste. Shape the buns and place all finished buns on a baking pan. Cover the buns with saran wrap film and let rise until double in size.
Bake in preheated 350°F oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Did you know that red bean paste was originated in China? The red bean paste is also called Azuki bean paste and is widely used in Asian cuisine, the paste can be very smooth or chunky (pieces of beans).

BANANA MUFFINS WITH WALNUT AND HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Breakfast, Cake, Holiday Wish, Vegetarian 82 Responses »

May 312010

Since my husband eats 1 banana a day and we get them at Costco, no need to tell you that we always end up with super ripe bananas…so this time I decided to bake some muffins…again this one is simpleand easy to make. These muffins are delicious, a great addition to breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
Detail…I asked my husband to mash the bananas, so the bananas were mashed but not all the way. Well, the muffins turned out good in spite of the semi-mashed bananas as we could bite into little pieces of banana.

Ingredients:
1.5 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 oz of butter
1 cup chopped walnut
3 bananas mashed

Method:
Shift the flour and the baking powder together. In a bowl blend the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and butter. Once the batter is smooth add the flour and the baking powder and mix gently. Add the mashed banana and the walnut. Scoop the batter into standard muffin cups.
Bake in a pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes at 350F.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

MOCHI CHEESE BALLS (ASIAN STYLE)

Appetizer, Bread, Cheese, Snack, Vegetarian 77 Responses »

May 172010

I posted a while ago, the recipe for “pao de queijo” , which uses tapioca flour as a base for this cheese bread. After researching different versions of these savory cheese bread/balls, I decided to make some change to add an Asian flavor to it. Instead of solely using tapioca flour, I added glutinous rice flour, known as mochi flour. Well, the consistency of this bread is slightly softer and slightly less chewy. If you like mochi you will enjoy this version. This version of cheese balls can be stored at the freezer the same way as the previous one. Whenever you want to enjoy a tasty snack or complement a meal, just pop the frozen cheese balls in a pre-heated oven for about 25 ~ 30 minutes at 300F and voila…you have a yummie and tasty cheese bread.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup tapioca flour
1 ½ cup glutinous rice flour
4 eggs
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Method:
In a small pan add water, oil and salt, bring to boil and carefully add to the tapioca and glutinous rice flour. Mix gently until you can manage with your hands (be careful it is very hot). Alternatively add the eggs and the Parmesan cheese until a dough is formed. The trick is to add Parmesan cheese to form a big ball of dough. Make small balls (freeze at this point if you desire), bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 300F. Serve warm. Makes approximately 50 to 60 cheese balls.

Did you know that glutinous rice is also called sticky rice, sweet rice? In spite of the being called “glutinous” does not contain gluten. Rice contains two types of starch: amylose and amylopectin. Glutinous rice contains high amounts of amylopectin and negligible amounts of amylose, therefore is very sticky.

NO-KNEAD BREAD

Bread, Vegetarian 87 Responses »

Apr 262010

I must confess that I am a little behind, while many of you have already encountered this recipe all the way back in 2006. Just recently I came across this recipe of “no-knead bread” by Jim Lahey, from the Sullivan Bakery. Not to mention how excited I was to try, since one of my passion is BREAD. Anyway, without further saying, here is what I did…

Ingredients:
3 cups bread flour
¼ teaspoon yeast
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
1 5/8 cup water

Method:
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, stir and blend well. The dough will be soggy and sticky (do not worry). Cover the bowl and let it rest for 12-18 hours (I did it for 18 hours on the kitchen counter).

After the rest, the dough will be full of air bubbles, remove the dough and place in a lightly floury surface with the help of a wet spatula. Shape the dough by folding the dough gently, again I kind of wet my fingers, so the dough will not stick to my hands. Once the dough is kind of a ball shape (no need to make it perfect, because it will change its shape), place the dough on a flour coated cotton towel, and gently place the towel with the dough into a container and cover with another towel, or if the towel that you are using is large enough, fold the towel to cover the dough.

Let it rise until the dough doubles in size, for approximately 2 to 2 ½ hours depending of the temperature of the room.

Pre-heat the oven to 450F, and place a ceramic pot with cover inside the oven as the oven heats. When the dough reach the desired size, gently scoop the dough from beneath the towel and gently place the dough into the heated pot, by flipping upside down the towel, be careful since the pot is extremely hot. THIS IS THE HARDEST PART OF BAKING THE NO-KNEAD BREAD. Cover the lid and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes to brown the loaf. Remove from the pot and let it cool on a rack.

You will end up with a beautiful rustic looking bread, with a nice texture and crumb will be composed of lots and lots of holes.

Well, is was so easy and simple that I made two loaves in within two days…again, be very careful when transferring the dough to the hot pot, and do not worry if the shape of the dough looks weird, after all it is a rustic bread.

Did you know that the difference between common bread and artisan bread rest in the percentage of water? For instance, common table bread contain approximately 50% water, and the artisan bread contain approximately 60 to 75% water, therefore the crumb of the bread contain larger holes.