Caprese Pasta Salad

I love cold pasta salad in a hot summer day! And if you have not tried bocconcini cheese, this is a great recipe that will make you fall in love with this cheese!

INGREDIENTS

Tomato Vinaigrette
1 large plum tomato, roughly chopped
2 to 3 oil-packed sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Caprese Pasta Salad
14 ounces short pasta
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
16 mini bocconcini, left whole or cut in half
1 small bunch basil, roughly chopped

PREPARATION
 Tomato Vinaigrette
Add plum tomato, sundried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper to food processor. Pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Caprese Pasta Salad
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain. Rinse pasta under cold water and drain well. Add pasta, grape tomatoes, bocconcini and basil to large bowl. Add vinaigrette and toss to combine.

Panzanella Salad with Poached Eggs

If you have left over old bread that starts to get hard, don't throw it away! You can make croutons out of it and toss it in a salad. Like this recipe, Panzanella Salad with Poached Eggs. I love how simple it is but the flavor is bold! The secret ingredient? Anchovies! Yes, you heard me. Anchovies! Wink wink..

Ingredients:
Cut your old bread into cubes, about 4 cups
1/3 extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
4 anchovies, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. capers, drained well
pinch of salt & pepper
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
2 cups cubed seeded English cucumbers
1/4 cups chopped fresh basil
4 eggs poached

How to poach a perfect egg:
Bring a pan to almost boil and add 1 tbsp. of vinegar
Crack an egg in a bowl and place the bowl as close as possible to the water and gently drop the egg to the water. Let it sit for few minutes. The vinegar will help the egg white to come together. When the egg is set, lift it up with a slotted spoon.

Do this one egg at the time for perfect result.

Preparation:
Spread cubed bread on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Bake in 350F oven for about 15 minutes.
Mixed all ingredients together in a big salad bowl (except the poached eggs), toss to coat.

When serving in a plate, top the salad with poached egg.

Vietnamese Spring Roll with Peanut Sauce Dressing

I love Vietnamese Spring Roll! It's healthy, colorful and yummy! It's also very easy to make; just a lot of preparations to be done.

Ingredients for spring roll:
115 gram rice vermicelli
1 tsp sesame oil
12 large rice paper wrappers
36 cooked large shrimps
1/2 sweet red bell pepper
1/2 sweet yellow bell pepper
1 English cucumber, seeded, cut in thin strips
1/2 mango, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh cilantro

Ingredients for peanut sauce dressing:
1/4 cup crunch peanut butter
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. hot sauce (you can adjust this according to your taste bud)
3 tbsp. water
Mixed all together in a bowl, set aside.

Preparation:
Break rice vermicelli in a bowl and pour hot boiling water on top. Soak until tender about 3 minutes. Drain well and toss with sesame oil.

Fill in a shallow bowl with warm water. Soak rice paper one at the time in a water until softened and pliable, about 30 seconds.
Spread wrapper on a clean kitchen towel.
Along the bottom third of wrapper place 3 shrimps, top with vermicelli, red and yellow peppers, mango, and cucumber. Top with mint and cilantro.

Roll wrapper over filling. Fold the side over like an envelope. Place seam down on a tray, and repeat for the remaining.

Home-made Blueberry sauce

This home-made blueberry sauce is divine!! And so easy to make! Just combine these ingredients and bring it to boil - 5 minutes! Done!
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Serve over waffle or pancake..YUM!

Indonesian Food Fiesta!

I am missing my Indonesian food! The good part is, I can find all ingredients that I needed here; so last sunday, we invited a couple of friends over for dinner. I wanted to make nasi tumpeng, which is yellow rice shaped in a tall triangle cone; but since I couldn't find a tall triangle cone here, I shaped the yellow rice using a funnel! It was my husband's idea! And he's brilliant!
So, the first photo is balado kentang, telur puyuh & Udang (translation: potatoes, quail eggs and shrimp in balado chilli sauce), and the second photo is how the plates look like. I decorated the plate a bit with pandan leave then the yellow rice standing tall and proud in the middle, surrounded by all the yummy companions:  Sliced omellette; Chicken in Balinese sauce; Tempe cooked with sweet soy sauce; Potatoes, Quail Eggs and Shrimps in Balado Sauce; and some sliced cucumber to ease the heat.
It's SO delicious! HAPPY!!

Bacon, Leek and Shallot Pie (with store bought pie to make it simple)

In my earlier post, I told you how much I'm into Leek these days. What I have not mentioned is that I love all the onions family! Shallot particularly is my favourite! It has a strong but delightful taste and smell, that I just love! I even told my husband that if I ever going to have children, I will name my little girl.... Shallot! Well, it's a pretty name, don't you think?
Anyway, again I 'm combining my favourites into one dish. Again, with pie you can add whatever you like, so you can change the filling if you don't like what I have here. And with store bought pie shell, this recipe is just super easy!

Ingredients
1 store bought pie shells
6 small shallots, cut in half
1 leek, chopped, white and light green part only (do not use the green leaves, it's hard!)
5 slices bacon, chopped
3 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup whipping cream
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add egg, egg yolk and cream to a bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
Add leek, shallots, bacon and thyme to the pie shell.
Pour egg mixture over the leek and shallots. Bake the pie, for about 30 minutes.

Super easy right?

Ham, Leek and Pesto Pasta Frittata

With Frittata, you can combine whatever you like, right? Well, ever since I discovered Leek, I can't get enough of this vegetable! I love it! I feel like I want to put Leek in almost all my cooking! I love the texture, the taste..it's not overwhelming; it has a more gentle taste that somehow I love!
Anyway, I am putting all three that I love in one pan. Ham, Leek and Pesto Pasta! Hubby said it's a TEN!


INGREDIENTS
2 cups fusilli
2 tbsp basil pesto
4 tbsp. olive oil, as needed
A handful of button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup ham, cut in cubes
1 leek, sliced
6 eggs
About 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 roasted red peppers, sliced and patted dry, for garnishing
Parsley leaves, for garnishing
Cheddar cheese,  grated, for garnishing

PREPARATION

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt. Cook the  fusili until al dente.
Drain the pasta and add 2 tbsp of basil pesto. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp. olive oil when olive is hot, add mushrooms, ham and leeks. Cook until lightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan.
In large bowl, beat eggs with fork; Add pasta, Cheddar cheese, mushroom mixture, parsley, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Heat medium non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Add remaining 2 tbsp. olive oil. When olive oil is hot, add egg mixture. Cook until egg mixture starts to just set, about 5 minutes. Garnish with slices of roasted red pepper on top. Finish cooking frittata in oven until eggs are fully set, about 10 minutes in the oven.
Garnish with parsley and grated cheese, if desired.

Trust me, one piece is not enough!