Beef stew with potatoes and carrot

Stew beef is one of the cheaper cut of beef and it's easy to cook. It's already cut into chunk when it's sold in the store so it is easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of stew beef

2 medium potatoes or 3 small ones, cut into chunks (I like the German butter potatoes which are soft, creamy and slightly sweet)

1 large carrot, cut into small pieces

1 clove of garlic, minced

(optional) 1 tablespoon of red wine

Beef marinate:

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon of poultry rub or mixed herb

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of oil

Steps:

1. Marinate the stew beef overnight so all the flavour can be soaked into the beef
2. Cook the minced garlic in the pan until golden brown
3. Add the beef in and brown the outside for a few minutes
4. Add the potatoes and carrot into the pan
5. Add the red wine, 1/3 cup of water
6. Season the potatoes and carrot with a bit of salt and pepper
7. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes 
8. The beef should be about cooked now, remove the beef when cooked so it does get tough and dry
9. Continue to cook the potatoes for another 5 to 6 minutes until potatoes are soft, the carrot is tender, and the sauce thickens. 
10. Mix the beef back in

Makes 2 to 3 servings

Nutritional Info:

Beef is high in iron, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, and B vitamins, and it is a good source of carnitine (an antioxidant). It is also the only meat with creatine, good for building muscles. Red meat is a bit more difficult to digest, and there's some health concern when it is consumed too much (more than 500 g per week). But there's definitely health benefits when consumed moderately. 

Potato is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Potassium.  Carrot is high in B-carotene, dietary fibre, and antioxidants.

Note: Potato contains toxic compounds known as glycoalkaloids, which affects the nervous system, causing confusion and weakness. Stems, sprouts and fruits contains high concentration of the toxin. Potato that has turned green also has high concentration of the toxin. So avoid eating any potato that has sprouted or turned green

Marinated cucumber

Picked up a fresh English cucumber at the farmer's market on Sat and decided to make a nice side dish with it. Cucumber is a good source of various Vitamins and minerals and sesame is a high source of minerals. The rich sesame paste contrasts nicely with the fresh taste of the cucumber.

Ingredients:
1 large English cucumber
1 teaspoon of salt for pickling

Sauce:
1.5 tablespoons of sesame paste
1 teaspoon of soy sauce

Steps:

1. Peel all or most of the skin of the cucumber
2. If the cucumber is old, remove the seeds. Slice the cucumber into thin strips of about 3 to 4 inches long
3. Put the cucumber strips in a strainer and mix well with the teaspoon of salt. Let sit for 10 minutes
4. Wash the salt off with water. Take a hand full of the cucumber at a time and squeeze as much water out as possible. This gives the cucumber a crunchy texture
5. Mix the sesame paste with soy sauce until a thick paste is formed
6. Mix the sauce with the cucumber

Whole wheat broccoli and zucchini pannekoek

Panekoek is a savory Dutch pancake. It is usually much bigger and thinner than traditional pancakes. You might ask how anything made from whole wheat, broccoli and zucchini be tasty but trust me, this is a very tasty dish! Whole wheat is good for health but it can sometimes taste rough and dry. Not one to compromise taste for health, I rarely make whole wheat bread or eat whole wheat pasta. But whole wheat pancake is surprisingly tasty. It adds a nice texture without tasting rough. I now prefer it over the too smooth regular white flour pancake.


Ingredients:

Pancake batter
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk or water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon oil

Pancake filling:
1 cup of broccoli cut into small pieces
1 cup of zucchini cut into small pieces
Note: you can substitute the filling with other vegetables you like such as mushroom and onions

Steps:

1. Mix all the dried pancake ingredients together
2. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and half of the water or milk into the batter mix
3. Mix well with a whisk until a thick batter is formed and no lumps remain
4. Add in the rest of the water or milk and whisk until a thin batter is formed
5. Add in the broccoli and the zucchini. Mix well
6. Heat up a frying pan a bit of oil, just enough to coat the pan
7. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto the frying pan
8. Let the pancake batter cook for a few minutes until bubbles are formed and the batter is almost cooked through, as seen in the picture above
9. Turn the pancake and cook for another minute or two
10. Makes 8 large pannekoek

Nutritional info:

Broccoli is high in Vitamin C, K, and A, as well as dietary fiber. It is also high in anti-oxidants. Zucchini  is a source of Vitamin A, Maganese, and Potassium. Whole wheat flour is a good source of Calcium, Iron, and fiber

Bean curb with dried scallops and mushroom

Bean curb is made from soy beans. It's the skin that forms on top when the grounded soy beans are cooked to make soy milk. Like tofu, it doesn't have much taste but takes added flavour very well.  You can buy bean curb in a lot of Chinese stores. For folks that live in Canada, you can buy packages of them from T&T supermarket or places that specialized in soy bean products. One thing to keep in mind is that it only lasts 2 to 3 days in the fridge if uncooked as there's no preservatives in the product.  I make this dish regularly because it is healthy, simple and delicious. This dish can be easily made vegetarian if the dried scallop is left out.

Ingredients:

1 package of fresh bean curb
1 package of enoki mushroom
1 red sweet pepper
1 green sweet pepper
2 dried scallops (soak overnight)
1 clove of garlic

3 tablespoons of corn starch (only needed if you are not using a non-stick pan)

1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce

salt and pepper for seasoning the mushroom

3/4 teaspoon of  corn starch

1/2 teaspoon of sugar

dash of pepper

Steps:

1. Break the two scallops into small threads and them with about 1/2 cup of water for about 15 minutes. You can let it cook while you do the following steps.
2. Skip this step if you are using a non-stick frying pan. If you use a cast iron or stainless steel pan like me (to avoid the Teflon which causes cancer), you need to coat the bean curb pieces with a bit of corn starch to prevent them from sticking to the frying pan. Put the 3 tablespoon of corn starch in a medium size plastic or glass container. Add the bean curb pieces in one by one so they don't stick together. Cover the lid and shake for a few seconds so all the pieces are coated with a thin layer of corn starch. 
3. Cut of the end of the enoki and separate them a bit. Clean the sweet peppers and slice them thinly.
4. Add a bit of oil to the pan until the whole surface of the pan is covered. When the pan is heated, put the bean curb pieces in and pan fry them for a few minutes until they are slightly golden brown. Turn them and cook the other side for another few minutes. Scoop out the bean curb onto a plate.
5. Add a bit more oil to the pan and add in the finely mined garlic, mushroom, sweet peppers and the dried scallop. Stir fry them for a few minutes. Season them with salt and pepper and put them in a separate plate
6. Mix 3/4 teaspoon of corn starch, the soy sauce, sugar and about 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl and add it to the frying pan. When the sauce starts to boil and thicken, add in the bean curb and make sure that all the bean curb pieces are nicely coated with the sauce. Now add in the mushroom and dried scallop. 
7. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition info:

Soy bean is high in protein, vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and other minerals. Enoki  mushroom is high in fiber and antioxidants. Sweet peppers are high in Vitamin C and Vitamin B6