Every end of school term, I will do this. This year I made cover labels for the recycled notebooks and they are available for download below.
TITLE : “THIS NOTE BOOK BELONGS TO”
TITLE : “TWENTY FIFTEEN”
Black Rice Bibimbap
I love rice, any rice. Long grain/ Short grain. Polished/ Unpolished. White/Red/Brown/Black. High GI/ Low GI. That how much I like them.
I also substitute rice recipes with a variety of grains, such as this Bibimbap, made with black rice. It is really tempting to make Bibimbap whenever I see cucumbers and carrots in my fridge.
For a meatless version, I add mushrooms, spinach, and a fried egg. Otherwise, simply replace one vegetable with a stir fried meat of any kind.
I used to fry the individual vegetables with cooking oil, and then mix with some sesame oil. Recently, I came across a Korean recipe book that stated cooking the vegetables in sesame oil instead. I thought that could reduce the total amount of oil used in this dish, and have been using this method since. I still add a small quantity, about a teaspoon and a half, of sesame oil before serving as I like that distinctive sesame fragrance that tend to get lost after cooking.
BLACK RICE BIBIMBAP
ADAPTED FROM MAANGCHI
SERVES 2 GENEROUS PORTIONS
INGREDIENTS
2 cups black rice, wash and soak overnight 1 bunch of spinach* 1 small cucmber, julienned 1/2 carrot, julienned 5 fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced 2 fried eggs Sesame oil Korean hot pepper paste For garnish :sesame seeds
INSTRUCTIONS
01. Cook black rice with 2 cups of water, till they turn soft but remain chewy.
02. On a pan over medium heat, pour enough sesame oil to cook the bunch of spinach till they wilt. Transfer spinach to a plate, set aside.
03. Repeat step 2 to cook the rest of the vegetables and mushrooms, separately. Set them all aside on individual plates.
04. To assemble, put rice first in a serving bowl and arrange cooked vegetables/mushrooms neatly on top to cover the rice. Drizzle a bit of sesame oil. Place the fried egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and finally a tablespoon of hot pepper paste.
05. Stir to mix and eat immediately.
NOTES TO SELF
* I prefer leafy spinach variety to make this dish.
* I do not add salt or soy sauce as I derive most of my Bibimbap kick from the hot pepper paste, which to me is salty enough.
* More on black rice here. Do not be confused with black glutinous rice used in Pulut Hitam.
Tuna Patties
Canned tuna, are you able to finish a can at one go?
After using about 2 tablespoons of tuna flakes for sandwich, I will use the balance to make these patties that my kids say taste like chicken nuggets. I have no idea why.
The patties taste better than they look in my photos. The processed tuna is already seasoned, so I only added bread crumbs, eggs, and olive oil, ingredients that can hold the tuna flakes into patties, plus a dash of black pepper.
You can then shape them into large burger patties or smaller nuggets, depending on preference. My kids love both versions.
TUNA PATTIES
INGREDIENTS
1 can of tuna 2 slices of bread 1 egg 1 teaspoon olive oil black pepper, for seasoning 1 tablespoon of cooking oil (for frying)
INSTRUCTIONS
01. Toast bread, pulse to desired crumb size in a food processor. Set aside.
02. Drain liquid from tuna, add olive oil (can be omitted if already using tuna in oil) and mix well.
03. Add bread crumbs from step one, egg and black pepper, stir to mix well.
04. Shape mixture into desired patty size and set aside.
05. Heat up cooking oil in a preheated skillet.
06. Place the patties in the skillet, and cook till both sides are brown.
07. Serve immediately.
Tomato Ketchup Prawns
Prawn dishes are great for quick meals as they get cooked very fast. I really like the deep fried battered prawns my mom used to make. But since I am too lazy to clean up a greasy kitchen, I rather order that (& anything else deep fried) from a restaurant than to cook it at home.
I begin looking up for a tomato prawn recipe after watching a cooking program about dishes that chefs cook at home for their family. It looks easy enough and doesn’t require any special condiments other than those in my pantry. Perfect, as it will be Lunar New Year soon, I don’t intend to clutter my kitchen further with bottles and bottles of half used ingredients.
TOMATO KETCHUP PRAWNS
SOURCE
INGREDIENTS
12 large prawns 1 tablespoon cooking oil 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1/4 cup ketchup 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 1 small tomato, chopped Garnish : spring onions, coriander leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
01. Remove shells from prawn, leaving tails intact and de-vein them. Wash and pat dry. Set aside.
02. Heat up cooking oil in a wok or pan.
03. Add chopped garlic and prawns, stir fry till they are almost cooked.
04. Add chopped tomatoes, oyster sauce and ketchup, stir to mix well.
05. Add some hot water tablespoon by tablespoon, till the desired consistency of the tomato sauce is reached.
06. Turn off heat, transfer onto plate, garnish and serve.
2015 Printable Calendars
Nowadays, there are so many talented and generous designers out there giving away free printable of all sorts, I hardly need to buy gift tags or greeting cards. Calendar is another item available so in abundance in the blogosphere. I have rounded up 5 today, and more will be discovered as they get pinned.
– This no-frills monotone design from Jillianastasia
– This A5 planner calendar from Design Is Yay
– This one has spaces for notes from Lia Griffith
– This one is 3D! from A Piece Of Rainbow
– This one has a motivational verse for every month from Elegance And Enchantment
// HAPPY NEW YEAR & HAPPY PRINTING!
Desktop Wallpaper Calendar – January 2015
I have been busy cleaning up the house, and packing up the study area to get ready for the new school term to start. January’s desktop wallpaper too, has been designed with a decluttering mission in mind, as I clear up some folders, delete useless or outdated programs, and back up some photo and document folders.
Mine measures 1920×1080.
Click on the above image, then right click to “save image as” to download.
HAPPY NEW YEAR !
Mushroom and Barley Risotto
These are made with cooked pearl barley that are left over after boiling barley tea. As the barley are already cooked to al dente (I boil them for 40 minutes before straining), the cooking time here is almost halved, compared to using uncooked risotto rice. I vaguely followed the recipes from here and here to make my own single serving version.
MUSHROOM AND BARLEY RISOTTO
INGREDIENTS
1 cup cooked pearl barley, cooled 2 stalks of asparagus 1 handful mushrooms of your choice** 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons white wine 1 cup hot water/ stock 1/4 cup heavy cream Grated parmesan cheese Salt and black pepper, to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
01. Cut asparagus into 2 inch pieces and then half them again.
02. Depending on the type of mushroom you have chosen, roughly chop large capped mushrooms, or remove the tougher base for longer stemmed ones.
03. In a pan, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add mushrooms to cook. Turn off heat and set aside once mushrooms has turned soft and started to sweat.
04. In a separate pot or large skillet, heat up remaining olive oil, and saute the finely chopped garlic till fragrant.
05. Add cooked barley and mix well for 1 minute.
06. Add wine, and stir till most of the wine evaporates.
07. Add asparagus and 1/2 cup of hot water/stock, and wait for the liquid to be absorbed, before adding the remaining liquid.
08. When the barley has absorbed most of the liquid, pour in the cooked mushrooms plus its gravy, stir to mix well.
09. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, lastly stir in cream and grated parmesan.
10. Transfer onto plate, topped with more pepper and grated parmesan. Serve immediately.
NOTES TO SELF
* I used shimeji or brown button mushrooms
Desktop Wallpaper Calendar – December 2014
Can’t believe that November is already over.
Out comes my December’s desktop wallpaper.
Mine measures 1920×1080.
Click on the above image, then right click to “save image as” to download.
Book Cover
Sticking to the polka dots theme for this school holiday.
Wrap plain exercise book’s cover with gift wrapper, my simple way to diy a customized journal.
Just like this and this.
MONO and CO 