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

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