~ Sesame Soba Noodle Salad

Adapted from:
Food Glorious Food

Description:
Japanese-style gluten-free entree~

Ingredients:
100 g soba

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp soysauce

100 g baked or smoked tofu

1 carrot, sliced finely

1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

1) Cook soba according to package instructions. Rinse in cold water after cooking.
2) Blend minced ginger, sesame oil, lime juice and soysauce together.
3) Toss soba with tofu, carrot and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve.

Remarks:
A quick sort of the recipes stashed in my "Recipe" folder landed me into a situation that I'm all too familiar with - the desire to cook! This one's from a recipe book that emphasizes on healthy ingredients to produce tantalising dishes with low glycemic load as well as low propensity in allergy-induction.

However much a fan of ginger (and ginger cats, see below), I didn't take to the ginger paste that I got from step 2. The sesame couldn't stand out, for the sauce was too overwhelming with the spiciness of the tuber. I would suggest cutting down the ginger to 1/2 tbsp and using the juice instead of the paste. The lime complemented the ginger well nevertheless.

I am forever catching sight of adorable cats living in lethargy. Can I join you too oh ginger Kitty?

Anyway, I've borrowed "The Food Doctor: Healing foods for mind and body", a book which comes packed with nutrition advice and healthy recipes. It has sections dedicated to different common ailments such as arthritis, migraine, digestive disorders etc, and presents foods with healing properties to help alleviate the conditions. Here's a short extract from the section: Energy and Emotions: Foods for Memory and Concentration:

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Whether you're studying hard for exams, spending 10 hours a day in the office, making a presentation, driving a car, or carrying out any activity that requires concentrated brain effort, the food you eat throughout the day will have a direct effect on your ability to concentrate and remember things.

• Brain cells require choline, a B vitamin, for optimal function. Once prsent in the brain, it is transformed into acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter responsible for sending information from one brain cell to the next. Low levels of acetyl choline cause loss of memory in varying degrees - from the "It's on the tip of my tongue...", to complete forgetful ness. Choline is also required for the formation and maintenance of the myelin sheath that protects the nerve cells, ensuring rapid and accurate transmission of information.
  
  Choline-rich foods include calf's liver, cabbage, cauliflower, cavier, eggs, lentils and soya products, including tofu.

• Another neurotransmitter, dopamine, requires vitamin B3 and iron for its formation. Dopamine is involved in the laying down and maintenance of memory.
  
  Good food sources of B3 are brewer's yeast, turkey, halibut, pumpkin seeds and peanuts. Iron-rich food include calf's liver, apricots (particularly when dried), raisins, pumpkin seeds and walnuts.
  

• The B-complex vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, biotin and B9, folic acid) are all required for memory maintenance. Signs of deficiency in these vitamins include memory loss, poor concentration, impaired learning and general forgetfulness. B-complex vitamins are essential for the production of cellular energy - and nowhere more than in the brain cells.
  
  Good food sources include brewer's yeast, chicken, collards, kale, oatmeal, soya beans, fish, avocados and potatoes.

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An easy read, and very informative. I think that "simple" ingredients are not as simple as stated to be though, since I don't get to see them (brewer's yeast? calf's liver?) often in the supermarket. If you are free, do drop by the library to grab a copy. You'll be amazed at how much you can heal yourself through proper diet.

~ Baked Tofu

Adapted from:
TheKitchn

Description:
Chewy tofu bites~

Ingredients:
1 (300 g) block tofu, preferably extra-firm
1/4 C soy sauce

Directions:

1) Drain tofu for 30 min.
2) Cut into vertically into 8 equal pieces, and then once horizontally to get 16 pieces in total.
3) Marinate in soy sauce for 15 min or more.
4) Grease a baking tray, and spread out the tofu cubes. Toast for 10 min on one side and flip over to toast for another 5 min. Or bake in pre-heated oven at 175 deg for a longer period.

Remarks:
The tofu cubes struck me as odd at first - chewy flavoured exterior encasing a soft silken centre. A much different experience from what I had envisioned earlier on. However, I soon got accustomed to the texture and found them pretty satisfying. Furthermore, these make a quick and healthy protein snack, and can be drenched in different marinades to suit one's taste.

With no time to spare in pre-heating the conventional oven, I opted for an alternate way, that is to toast the tofu cubes for a shorter time. I didn't have extra-firm tofu either, so I'd used silken tofu which worked out fine too. There was more moisture locked in, but the aesthetic part was affected since they crumbled easily.

As the original site states, "Try This! Baked Tofu". I'll gladly second this.

~ Bread Pudding

Adapted from:
Allrecipes

Description:
Gooey bread pudding speckled with sweet raisins~

Ingredients:
3 slices of bread, cubed

1 1/2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp raisins

1 egg, beaten

1/2 C milk

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1) Coat bread cubes with oil and place into a baking dish. Sprinkle with raisins.
2) Beat the egg, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla together. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
3) Bake in the preheated oven for 25 min, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Remarks:

As a dessert which is well-known throughout the world, this humble dish consists of a simple alchemy of ingredients, which eventually leads to a gastronomical sensation. It was love at first bite when I had bread pudding with butter and caramel sauce at a hotel long time ago (despite being stuffed to the brim after the hotel's buffet).

As I was forever procrastinating and distracted by many things, I hadn't found the initiative to make one myself. Somehow, the sight of the loaf of bread sitting on the table yesterday gave impetus to today's re-creation of the bread pudding experience.

Of course, it wasn't as fantastic as the one I had before, due to my sparingly use of sugar, and my lack of expertise. It was burnt mostly on the bottom (and the top.. the raisins were blackened), and I only realised why after blogging about it. Since I'd cut down the original serving from 12 to 3, the baking time should have corresponded to the reduction as well. Geez, I'm such a slow thinker.

Apart from that, I had used 2 times of the bread slices (3 instead of 1 1/2) which were stated in the recipe since the liquid seemed too much. Wrong move. 2 slices would be appropriate, as the bread cubes would soak up the liquid like giant sponges not long after being placed in the oven. I was so afraid that the bread cubes or whatsoever would spill over when it was baking.

Use melted butter to coat the bread cubes if you can, for my virgin try at this recipe with olive oil didn't impress me. The top was pretty dry and needed some syrup over it. I had totally forgotten about the buttery rum taste that lingered well after I had my first bite of bread pudding. What absent-mindedness!

I would definitely give this a try again someday... when a loaf of bread gives me inspiration!

~ Wholewheat Spaghetti in Tomato Milk Sauce

Taken from:
-

Description:
Spaghetti smothered in light tomato sauce~

Ingredients:
60 g whole wheat spaghetti, cook till al dente

2 medium tomatoes

1/4 C water

1 sausage, sliced

1/4 C milk

2 tsp corn starch

Salt and pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1) Boil tomatoes till softened in 1/4 C water.

2) Add in sausage and heat for another 5 min.

3) Dissolve corn starch in milk and add to the tomato sauce. Stir till desired consistency.

4) Toss spaghetti in and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Remarks:
Nothing special, it's just a quick way to get my breakfast. I tried cooking my spaghetti using the microwave, which took like 20 min since I didn't bring the water to boil first before adding the spaghetti. It saved me the hassle of scrubbing a pot and the monitoring of the cooking process though.

Dad's bitter gourd plant finally bore a fruit which is of a record-breaking size (compared to the usual 2 - 3 cm ones)!

~ Strawberry Oatmeal Shake

I know, this shake isn't pink as one would expect. What can I do if I wanted to have a strawberry shake but was only left with 4 strawberries after using one for garnish and the rest for chow?
In addition to the strawberries, 1/2 C cooked oats, 1 tbsp toasted flaxseeds, 1 tbsp honey and 1/2 C milk were all that I needed.

Dad bought an apricot bar for me long long time ago, and I brought it to school. There was candied coconut flakes which I particularly fancy, in addition to the macadamia and apricots that were inside. Except for the sticky glucose that got stuck to my teeth, there was no complaints about it!