Herb Rice Cakes

Growing up in a Chinese family, I used to have a bowl of white rice everyday at dinner. My dad always told me to really chew and savour the first bite of rice because it tastes sweet when a mouthful of salivary amylase turns the starch into sugars. As much as I liked that sweetness of the first bite of rice, I liked it more when my mom occasionally burnt the rice at the bottom of the rice cooker. My brother and I used to scrape off the patches of burnt rice into our bowls. There's a heartiness to toasted rice that I really like, and plus, it brings back good memories, so when I found a bowl of leftover cooked rice in the fridge, I made these immediately. 

Recipe (not really a recipe...just a method of using up leftover rice)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• oil for the skillet (opt.)

Stir all ingredients together, and drop spoonfuls onto a hot, non-stick skillet (or an oiled skillet). Let them sear for a few seconds on high heat, then flip the whole dollop over with a spatula and compress into a patty. It's easier to press it down on the seared side without the rice sticking to the spatula. Let it cook and get toasted by heating a few minutes on both sides. Best enjoyed while they're warm because the cheese will be gooey inside. It tastes even better with some mayo or Miracle Whip on top. 

Cheese (didn't want to wash a grater, so I chopped it instead)

parsley

Rice cakes

Crepes

It's finally starting to feel like spring here, with the weather being sunny, breezy, and 19 degrees today. To me, crepes are  a particularly fitting food for spring because their light and delicate nature reflects the new grass, budding flowers, and baby animals born in this season. An additional bonus is that they can be topped or filled with almost anything you fancy, so I went ahead and came up with...

The Recipe:
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole wheat chapati flour
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese. 
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 whole egg
• 3/4 cup milk

Whisk together in a large spouted container. In a non-stick pan, greased if desired, med-high heat, cover the flat surface of the pan with a thin, even layer of batter. To do this, take the pan off the heat, pour enough to cover about half the area into the centre. Swirl batter in the pan until the surface is evenly covered. Return pan to heat and cover until the steam that collects on the lid falls back to the pan and makes sizzling noises. Crepe's surface should look dull but the colour unchanged. Loosen edges of crepe from pan and flip with a heat-safe spatula. Cover and wait until you hear sizzling from the steam falling back to the pan again. Remove crepe from pan and repeat to finish other crepes. Makes 6 to 8 depending on size of pan

Dry ingredient mix - chopsticks help break apart shredded cheese

Some finished crepes

Brunch. Turns out strawberries and yogurt taste pretty good with black pepper crepes.

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A Toasty Crispy Kind of Day

Have you ever seen an interesting food product in the store and thought, "I wonder how they made those?" or "I'd like to make some at home!" I tend to do that quite often.

Last week, I had a chance to peruse through my local supermarket aisles, and I found a lot of new crisp cracker- or chip-like snacks. Perhaps they're not really new, just that I haven't had time to visit the supermarket in the midst of all my school work. Actually, I'm still in the midst of my school work because it's nearing the end of term, but a visit to the supermarket was a much needed break. Anyway, I noticed these cheese crisps, these savoury wafers, and these cracker chips. And then I saw kale chips similar to these and toasted nori like these that my mom used to pack in my lunch (and then it'd get stuck in my teeth for the rest of the afternoon) when I was little. I'd wanted to try some of those, but found myself walking out of the store empty-handed and thinking how much fun it'd be to attempt making these products at home instead...

I feel the need to put a disclaimer here: I don't think my recipes here make the exact same products as the ones mentioned above, but they sure are a tasty enough substitute!

Cheese crisps: The Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk (I used skim, because it was the only kind I had today)
• 4 slices of processed cheese (I used Kraft Singles, but an equivalent weight chunk of Velveeta or some Cheese Whiz would probably do just as well)
• 4 tbsp garlic cream cheese 
• 4 tbsp soy flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

Materials:

• non-stick silicone or teflon sheets

Heat the milk on low and add in the cheese slices and cream cheese. Stir until cheeses are melted. Remove milk and cheese mixture from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir together soy flour and baking powder, and sift and whisk into milk mixture. Batter should be consistency of pancake batter. Using a spatula, spread into an even thin layer (just enough so you can't see the non-stick sheet underneath) on a non-stick silicone or teflon lined baking sheet and bake at 300°F (~150°C) for 8 to 12 minutes or until surface just begins to turn golden. Remove from oven and try to peel off non-stick sheet. If it sticks, return it in the oven for a few more minutes (it's like making waffles with the press – if they're not completely cooked, they'll stick). Allow to cool, break into pieces and enjoy! Store leftovers in an air-tight container.

Note: Silicone or teflon sheets are necessary because parchment paper shrivels up when the wet batter is poured over, which makes it prone to burning.

Lettuce crisps: The Recipe
Ingredients:

• half a head of lettuce
• 2 tsp olive oil
• pinch of salt (optional)

Cut out the crunchy "ribs" of the lettuce, and cut leaves into bite-size pieces. Drizzle olive oil over the leaves and throw in a pinch of salt if you want. Toss. If you're looking for easy clean up, you can throw all ingredients in a large, clean, plastic bag, tie it close but leave lots of air inside (like a balloon) and shake. This helps get the oil and seasonings very evenly distributed. Spread on a lined baking sheet in a single layer (little overlap is okay), and bake at 400°F (~205°C) for 2 to 6 minutes, or until lettuce becomes crisp. Remove lettuce crisps from baking sheet and allow to cool on a paper towel to help them crisp up. Enjoy!

Note: These are much more delicate than those kale chips looked and probably resemble the toasted nori more.

Cheese slices - I only used the four orange slices; the first slice was for my breakfast :)

Baked cheese crisps

Lettuce leaves before tossing

Baked lettuce crisps

Products from this morning's baking

A peppery breakfast

Open-faced pepper omelette

I can admit here that I am a health nut when it comes to food. But let's turn away from the nutritional analysis of this meal for a moment. The fiery, sunshiny colours of the peppers and the sun-ripen taste of the tomato paste are enough to warm up my gloomy winter day. It's not exactly a million-dollar breakfast in a French restaurant but it's enough for a student like me.

Recipe (in case you're interested): I put the small non-stick skillet on medium heat and pour a very thin layer of liquid egg whites to coat the bottom. After a minute I dollop small spoonfuls of tomato paste on top of the egg white layer, now cooked. Another minute later, I scatter sliced, fresh bell peppers, a handful of mozzarella, and some black pepper and dried oregano. I cover the skillet, turn off the heat and take a minute to clear my cutting board and stash the rest of my tomato paste away. Finally, I return to the skillet, gently loosen the egg from the pan and slide the entire assembly onto my plate. Breakfast is served.