Upcoming From thy Bounty Fair - St. Nicholas, Dec. 4

This is a reminder regarding the St. Nicholas themed From Thy Bounty Fair, which will be hosted here this week by Mary Ellen. The fair has been postponed until later in the week and is now scheduled for December 4.

Please share with us your culinary ideas for celebrating the feast of St. Nicholas in your home. Submissions are encouraged and welcome from bloggers and non-bloggers. Please submit links to posts (past years welcome), pictures or ideas to bonnybluehouse at gmail dot com by Wednesday evening, Dec. 3, so they can be included in this festive fair to celebrate St. Nicholas. All ideas, small or great are welcome!

Looking for inspiration?

As always a good place to start is the Catholic Culture website with its extensive collection of recipes in the St. Nicholas section. There are a large variety of recipes from classic liturgical year cookbooks and resources.

Another excellent on-line resource for all things Saint Nicholas is the St. Nicholas Center. The recipe section of the website is a treasure trove of festive foods from around the world to celebrate St. Nicholas. Everything from beverages to sweets & treats, from breads to main dishes are included here.

Saint Nicholas Day is a highlight of the Advent of season and a traditional time of celebration. His feast is popular all over the world which provides many different cultural twists on foods and feasting. St. Nicholas Day gives us a perfect excuse to start baking Christmas cookies. Speculaas and Springerle are the most well-known of the traditional cookies, but, the variety of cookies made in different cultures is as varied as the cultures themselves. Whether the cookies are imprinted in traditional cookie molds, made in to the shape of the saint or his symbols, or simply round,they are a mainstay for celebrating the feast day.


Bisschopswijn, hot spiced wine, is a traditional beverage for many, consumed on the eve of the feast day. There are also several non-alchoholic punch variations or grape juice can be used. Helen McLoughlin, in Family Advent Customs, suggests as an activity toasting his memory with the Bishopwyn and telling the beautiful legends of the charity of St. Nicholas.

Candy is a standard treat associated with the feast day as well, from homemade Nikolausschnitten and Borstplaat to chocolate coins and candy canes which have become associate with the feast. There are many fun ways to incorporate those into the St. Nicholas feast day.

The symbols associated with St. Nicholas such as three golden balls, three bags of gold (coins), three golden apples, three loaves of bread, three children in a tub, Trinity symbol on a cope, anchor, ship, bishop's mitre, shepherd's crook could be used as well.

Looking forward to seeing all of your ideas in the Bounty of St. Nicholas fair!

Baked Mango & Salmon Salad

Salmon Baked Rice for Saturday Lunch and now we have Bake Mango & Salmon Salad using the remaining Salmon cutlet that I have left over from making the Salmon Bake Rice. Hahaha! This is one of the bad-point when preparing meal if there are less people at home as we tends to have some extra ingredient left over from making the previous dish.


This is a very refreshing and colouring dish there consists more than 5 colours: 1) Pink for salmon, 2) Yellow for mango and lemon, 3) Brown for Shimeiji mushroom and cashew nuts, 4) Green for cucumber and seaweed flakes, 5) Red for tomato 6) White for mayonnaise sauce and cheese. This dish is very easy to prepare all you need is about 15 - 20 minutes of cutting and baking time.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
8 Pieces of 1" cube size Salmon
1/2 Bundle of Shimeiji Mushrooms
1/2 Japanese Cucumber, cut into half cubes
1/2 Medium Size Mango, cut into cubes
1/2 Tomato, cut into 1/4 wedges
3 -4 Thin Lemon Slices
Some roasted Cashew Nuts
Some Japanese Mayonnaise Sauce
Some Seaweeds Flakes, optional
1 Tablespoon Shredded Cheese, optional

Methods:
1. Pre-heat a small saucepan with 1/2 teaspoon of olive and and stir-fry the Shimeiji for 30 seconds and remove, set aside.
2. Next lightly pan-fry the salmon cube for about 30 seconds on each side until it's almost cooked through, remove and set aside.
3. Arrange in alternate way using the salmon cubes, cucumber, mango, tomato, shimeiji mushroom, lemon and some shredded cheese in a baking dish.(refer to the 2nd picture, 1st row picture 2 and 3)
4. On the top layer, drizzle some Japanese mayonnaise, shredded cheese and cashew nuts then pop it into the toaster oven for about 5 minutes until cheese melt.
5. Serve it as a starter or side dish and you can sprinkler some seaweeds flakes on it.

Notes:
a) You can purchase those small packed of snack roasted cashew nuts from supermarkets.
b) Rinse and cut the Shimeiji mushroom into single stalk.
c) You can omit using cheese if you don't not have them or you are not a fan of cheese.
d) You can replace the mango with avocado cubes instead.....

Salmon Baked Rice

As you might notice that I always cooked with either salmon or cod fish that is because the flesh on these fish are much fine and tastier for my picky boy :) And he loves to eat either one of this fish whenever I come out with new ideas to cook them. Today's Special will be on Salmon again and we are going to make a simple version of Salmon Baked Rice without using any white or red sauce.

Yup... no hectic preparation of sauce involved. It's just some cooked rice, fresh salmon slices, shimeiji mushroom, egg and Japanese Mayonnaise sauce. That's it! With all these ingredients you can whipped up a Quick and Easy Salmon Baked Rice within 15 - 20 minutes.


From the pictures, you can see that i actually serves it with some extra baked butter corns, tomato wedges and drizzle some extra BBQ sauce on top of the baked rice to enhance the favour. Since there are no liquid sauce in this baked rice, I crack an egg in the middle of the rice to create some moisture from the egg white and yolk.

Ingredients: (serve 1)
8 slices of Sashimi cut Salmon
1/4 Bunch of Shimeiji Mushroom
1 Rice Bowl of Cooked Rice
1 Egg, optional
2 Tablespoons of Assorted Shredded Cheese
Some Japanese Mayonnaise
Some BBQ Sauce

Methods:
1. Cook the rice accordingly and get ready a 1 person serving size baking dish.
2. Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small non-stick pan and stir-fry the shimeiji mushroom for about 30 seconds, remove and set aside.
3. Next spoon the cooked rice into the baking dish and arrange the shimeiji mushroom around the side of the baking dish.
4. Make a well in the middle and crack an egg into the hole.
5. Lastly arrange the salmon slices on top of the rice and spread the shredded cheese evenly on top the fish.
6. Before baking, drizzle some japan Mayonnaise on it and bake in a toaster oven for about 5 - 7 minutes.(depend on the thicken of the fish and how well cooked you want the egg to be)
7. Remove the bake rice from the toaster and drizzle some extra BBQ sauce on top and serve immediately.

Notes:
a) Rinse and cut the shimeiji mushroom into individual stalk from the bundle.
b) You can serve it with some baked corn, just removed the husk from the corn, wash and pad dry then brush it with some butter and baked in the toaster oven for about 10 minutes, turn occasionally.

Thanksgiving Prayers and Greetings

Father all-powerful, your gifts of love are countless and your goodness infinite. On Thanksgiving Day we come before you with gratitude for your kindness: open our hearts to concern for our fellow men and women, so that we may share your gifts in loving service. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

During this season of thanksgiving we would like to thank you for your support of this blog.

We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving day. Enjoy the bounty!

Heart Cakes on the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria

November 25th is the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

I love the story of St. Catherine. She is known as the patron saint of young girls. You can read more about her here.

One of our favorite books about her, which we read each year on her feast, is called A Story of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It was originally published in 1965, and had been out of print. However, it has been reprinted by Newman Press. I just love how all these wonderful old books are now being made available once again! I highly recommend it.

There is an old custom that originated in France, that on St. Catherine's Day, heart-shaped cakes are given to young women who have reached the age of twenty-five and are still single. This is to encourage them in their search for love.

Now, my girls are no where NEAR the age of 25, and I'm not going to "encourage them in their search for love," but since St. Catherine is my oldest daughter's patron saint, we celebrate her "name day" on this special feast with a heart shaped cake!


Last year, since I didn't have a heart shaped pan, I used the directions found in My nameday--come for dessert, for our Heart Cake. Even though it looked a little out of balance, my daughter LOVED it!

Heart Cake

1) No heart-shaped pan is needed. Instead, bake two round 8 or 9-inch layers from favorite recipe or cake mix. Spread a fluffy pink frosting between the layers; then cut a wedge from one side, about 31/2 inches wide by 3 inches deep.
2) The cut-out wedge goes on the opposite side of the cake to make the point of the heart. Now frost the entire cake, swirling pink frosting over the top and sides.
3) Sprinkle white coconut flakes over the top and around the sides of the cake. Pat the coconut on while the frosting is still soft so that the coconut will stick. Red cinnamon candies make a pretty heart center, as do roses of icing.

Since we just lost our baby, I am not quite up to baking a cake. However, we could all use a little cheering up here, so we are going to swing by the bakery and see what we can find!

Have a wonderful feast everyone!

Glorious Saint Catherine, virgin and martyr,
Help me to imitate your love of purity.

Give me strength and courage in fighting off the temptations of the world and evil desires. Help me to love God with my whole heart and serve Him faithfully.

O Saint Catherine, Through your glorious martyrdom for the love of Christ,
Help me to be loyal to my faith and my God as long as I live.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Today is the optional memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

St. Catherine was a 4th century martyr. The symbol commonly associated with her is a wheel or a wheel with knives, since she was tortured and died on a wheel with pointed knives. It is said that from her lacerated body prayers ascended to heaven and the machine fell to pieces. Wagon wheel pasta with its wheel shape would be a fitting option for a meal today. I don't have a particular recipe in mind - any meal that would call for pasta would work to incorporate this symbol.

Simple Cupcake Crowns

Many lovely crown cakes have been described previously, for use on various regal feasts including today's Feast of Christ the King. Another option, easy to put together in a pinch is to make these basic cupcake crowns. Take cupcakes and circle the perimeter with Hershey's Kissable "jewels" for a cute little crown. The kids have fun decorating, then consuming these creations.

Food Fit for THE King

The last Sunday in Ordinary Time is this Sunday, and we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. This feast was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925, and so the traditions attached to this day aren't long standing.

My view is make today's dinner a celebration, a royal dinner, as if Our King would be sharing our Sunday family meal. I strive to make Sundays a special family meal anyway, but this day will have a bit more regal treatment.

Our plans for Sunday will include a ham, potatoes, green beans, rolls, and for dessert, a Kahlua Cake in a crown shaped Bundt pan and royal cupcakes. I chose ham because I know Thanksgiving week is going to be busy, so having leftover ham for meals, and also a hambone to make Red Beans and Rice will make my meal planning and preparing a breeze, so more time to clean and cook for Thanksgiving.

The ham I buy is from Costco. I follow the reheating instructions, 325 degrees at 8 minutes per pound, but I do not use the glaze packet since it includes wheat flour, and my son is allergic. I instead follow the recipe from the old version of Joy of Cooking for Spirit Glaze for Ham. This is extremely tasty and keeps the ham nice and moist.

Spirit Glaze for Ham

1/2 to 1 cup dry red wine
1/2 to 1 cup bourbon whiskey (I use Maker's Mark)
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 bruised cloves
2 tablespoons grated orange peel

Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan until sugar is melted. Pour over the ham and baste throughout the cooking cycle, about every 10-15 minutes.

Ham not your style? Then how about a fancier version of Chicken a la King?

For dessert, I'm preparing allergy safe cupcakes for my son, decorated with jewel like candies (gumdrops and jelly beans), and then a Castle/Crown shaped Bundt pan with our favorite chocolate cake. It's easy but so delicious, and food fit for a King.

Kahlua Cake

1 package Devil's Food Cake mix (Duncan Hines my preference)
1 cup Kahlua (may substitute non-name brand of a coffee liqueur)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (mini-morsels work best)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour (or use unsweetened cocoa) a Bundt or tube pan. For a crown shape I'm used a cathedral Bundt pan, similar to this Nordicware. Mine is a bit smaller than the usual Bundt, so it makes 3 cupcakes and the cake.

Mix all ingredients except chips together and beat 2-3 minutes. Add chocolate chips and beat 1 minute.

Pour into a greased and floured Bundt or tube pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. It's okay to undercook -- better moist. If toothpick inserted has a few crumbs but not liquid, cake is ready.

Before serving (after cooled) sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

So that's my simple crown cake -- the round Bundt pans immediately remind me of a crown, but perhaps I'm just too simplistic and looking for easy ways to celebrate.

Other crown ideas could also make the lovely Cookie Crown Cake from Family Fun Magazine or Crown Cake from Helen McLoughlin. Or veer in another direction and make a version of King Cake, because, after all, it's always good to practice or try out recipes.

Over at my blog I have some music and centerpiece craft (coloring page) appropriate for Christ the King Sunday.

May Christ our King reign in our hearts and our homes!
Christ conquers, Christ reigns!

From Thy Bounty Fair: Holiday Foods and Feasts!

As the autumn starts to fade so comes the long winter. Around here, in Southern Oregon, we get a blanket of fog every morning to remind us of the cold season ahead. I used to live up north in Washington state and every year we would drive down here for the holidays, especially Thanksgiving. Those long drives speckled with hazardous road conditions were always an adventure, but ultimately worth it.

There is nothing better than being surrounded by family, some of which you may not have seen since the last holiday gathering. It is a time of joy and expectation. A time of sharing family news and reflecting on the blessings God has gifted us with over the year.

But there is more to the holiday season than simply gathering together… there is, of course... food.

Holidays are not just any meal or any feast. They are a trip down memory lane. A time to remember those that have passed away, like great-grandma as you bite into her famous pumpkin pie or Uncle Ben as you sample his recipe for stuffed mushrooms.

These feasts are more like a family album of memories, both good and comic. Remember that time grandma forgot to pit the cherries before she made that cherry pie?

For every family there are usually a few recipes in particular that simply mean holidays. They are the dish you only make once, maybe twice a year. It is the only time that you get all the best ingredients and work your best magic in the kitchen.

For my family there are many which are always served at every Thanksgiving and Christmas. One of which is broccoli casserole. Most people make a funny face when this dish is mentioned. Even those who think broccoli is simply "ok" think this sounds odd. Trust me, this is the best holiday dish and one way to get the kids to eat broccoli. It is also super easy to make!

Broccoli Casserole:
2 Packages frozen broccoli (cooked slightly)

2 Cans cream of mushroom soup

3 Cup of fresh mushrooms or 2 small can of mushrooms

2 Cups of grated cheddar cheese

2 Beaten eggs

1 Small package of slivered almonds

2 Cubes of butter or margarine

2 Cups of pulverized Ritz crackers

Melt butter and mix with crackers. Mix rest of ingredients and pour into 9X13 inch dish (maybe larger!! I can’t remember). Top by sprinkling with Ritz and butter mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

I was never a fan of cranberry sauce as a kid. The gelatinous mess that came from a can looked about as appealing as cat food to me. One year, however, I ended up with a ton of fresh cranberries and thought… what the hey! So I looked up a bunch of recipes on All Recipies and Food Network before making up my own concoction. Warning! I did end up having to can a lot of it (I think I doubled this recipe)… but then you can give it away as gifts for Christmas.

Amy’s Cranberry Sauce

4 cups cranberries

2 cups orange juice

5 whole cloves in tea strainer

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

3 cups sugar

Place fresh cranberries and orange juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add spices and cloves in tea strainer. Cook until cranberries begin to burst, about 10 minutes. Stir in sugar and reduce heat to low. Continue cooking 5 minutes, or until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Discard spice bag. Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight, before serving.

The last dish I am going to share with you is an old family recipe for pumpkin pie. I just buy the canned pumpkin, but if you are brave, go for the gusto and make it like my great-grandma did 100 years ago, with the real deal.

Grandma Norcross’s Pumpkin Pie:

½ cup pumpkin

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 ½ cup milk

½ cup cream (or evaporated milk)

Mix together. Before pouring into pie crust, prick all over with fork and brush with a little cream (or evaporated milk). Pour filing into crust and bake at 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

These are staples at my holiday table, what about yours?

Jessica over at Shower of Roses shared some great recipes for Chicken Satay Spring Rolls, Triple Layer Brownies (I am so for that!), and Cherry Cheese Coffee Cake on her post entitled Party Time Favorites. Also, make sure you check out her great idea for making little turkey treats with your little ones: Gobble, Gobble. Jessica also shared this absolutely yummy looking dessert, just right for the coffee lover in us all: Cappuccino Mousse Trifle.

Sarah, over at Sarah’s Musings, shared a bunch links and a recipe for whole wheat cinnamon buns on her post Holiday Traditions.

Don’t forget to check out Jamie’s cooking blog Kitchen Blessings! She has a ton of recipes sure to become new family favorites. I have my eye on that pumpkin swirl cheesecake! She has some other great recipes like: Company salad, lazy cheesecake salad, and Cornucopia snack!

Another great holiday treat was submitted by Gloria in the comments section at Catholic Cuisine.

"Candied" Sweet Potatoes

*6 cups of steaming hot, mashed, sweet potatoes, you would add
*1/4 cup butter,
*3/4-1 cup packed brown sugar
*1/2-3/4 cup Cinnamon Imperials (Red Hots)
*Marshmallows on top (optional)
*All ingredients more or less according to taste.

Set in hot oven after the turkey/ham is removed, to brown the marshmallows about 5-10 minutes.

Other fabulous places to find holiday goodies are staples like Food Network and All Recipes. Food Network hosts a email newsletter coming soon with recipes for Christmas cookies (I don’t see a link up yet for this year, but keep your eyes peeled. It is definitely worth it). They make great gifts in a basket with some of that cranberry sauce!

Don’t forget to also keep an eye on the Pioneer Woman. Last year she posted just about everything you could dream of for a fabulous and gourmet holiday meal. Here is the link to her Holiday Foods, which include: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even Valentine’s Day!

Of course, the big guy, our dear turkey friend, needs some love and attention. Check out these articles from All Recipes on making the perfect turkey (Pioneer Woman also has a great recipe for turkey up there).

So forget about that diet, that is what January is for, and enjoy some of these fabulous holiday meals. Remember the holiday is not just about the food but about sharing that food and memories with those you love.

I hope that you all have a blessed and wonderful holiday season filled with family, friends, and great food!

GOD BLESS!

Pooh Apple Tea-Cake

This is our Sunday afternoon Tea-Break which I specially made for Reyon using the Mini Pooh Silicon Mould that one of our friend bought for us from Japan. Since I have a few apples sitting in the fridge for some time, I decided to use ti to make this sweet and soft Pooh Apple Tea-Cake.


From the two pictures, which set of pooh do you prefer? The one with chocolate outline or the one without? As for me, I find that the colour of the end products are rather too pale compare to what it suppose to be. So I was joking with Reyon that these Mini Pooh is rather too fair and they need to go for some sun tanning........ :p

This Apple Tea-Cake is rather easy to make and it is sort of using the similar concept as the Mango Jam Cake where you put the filling in between the cake batter and bake. But before you start off with the cake batter you have to prepare the Candied Apple first. For my candied apple, I add in extra golden raisin and RUM to enhance the favour.

Ingredient For Candied Apple:
3 Green Apple, peel and cored
60g Sugar
2 Tablespoon of Golden Raisin
4 Tablespoons RUM(optional)
2 Tablespoon Water

Methods:
1. Wash, peel and cored the apple, then cut into small cubes and place all the ingredients into a small heavy-based saucepan and cooked over medium low heat for about 15 - 20 minutes.
2. Stir occasionally and cooked till the apples cubes are almost transparent (like picture 3 on row 2 shown above) .
3. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

Ingredients For Cake Batter:
260g Cake Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
180g Butter, soften
140g Sugar
2 Medium Size Egg
2 Green Apple, peel and grated
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Methods:
1. Sift the flour and baking powder together and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and white. (after 5 minutes on medium speed)
3. Slowly fold in half of the flour mixture and give it a few stir till combined, then grate in 1 apple and lemon juice.
4. Give the mixture a few stir and then add in the second half of the flour and grate in the remaining apple and stir the mixture till well combine.
5. Next pipe or scold 1/4 of the batter into the muffin cup or mould then top with 1/2 Tablespoon of the candied apple and fill the batter to about 3/4 cup fill.
6. Bake in the preheat 180 degree oven for about 15 - 18 minutes, test it with a skewer around 15 minutes.

Notes:
a) This quantity fills about 12 medium size muffin cups
b) If you do not have any RUM, you can replace it with 80ml of Apple Juice

Cream Of Salmon & Mushroom Soup

Cooking western style of soup is never to be on my soup making list because I always have a concept that it will be a hard time to prepare western soup due to their list ingredients and cooking process. But today, I finally have the courage to try out this simple and easy Cream of Salmon & Mushroom Soup which require the most simplest list of ingredients in most pantry and fridge.


This soup come in just warm and nice for this rainy Sunday afternoon. It's so simple to prepare and yet it's full of nutrition with the combination of seafood and vegetables. This is also a healthy version without using Cream to thicken the soup base. In order to make this lunch more fulfilling, I served it with a few slices of butter toast.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1 Small Piece of Salmon Fillet, around 150g
6 - 8 Small Button Mushroom, halves
1/2 Medium Onion, diced
6 Small Broccoli Floret

Seasoning & Sauce:
Some Olive Oil & Salt
10g Butter
1/2 Tablespoon Plain Flour
350ml - 400ml Fresh Milk

Methods:
1. Removed the skin from the salmon fillet, and cut it into equal cubes sizes around 1.5".
2. Rinse and peel off the skin from the button mushroom, halves it and diced the onion.
3. Blanch the broccoli florets in light salted water for about 30 seconds, removed and rinse with cold water.
4. Pre-heat a pan with about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, and pan-fry the salmon cubes for a about 1 minute on each side until cook through, season with pinch of salt during the process. Remove and set side.
5. Next add in another 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, saute the diced onion until almost soft then add in the mushroom and stir-fry for a about 20 seconds and remove.
6. Use the kitchen paper towel to clean up the pan then add in the butter and saute on low heat until it melt completely then stir in the flour slowly and fry for a few seconds before gradually add in the milk and continue to stir till it thicken.(if the milk starts to turn into lumps don't worry, you can use a whisk to stir in or add in a little bit more milk to thin it)
7. When the salt is done, season it with some salt or stock cubes(if you prefer a stronger taste), then add in the broccoli, onion and mushrooms then give it a quick stir then return it to the heat for a few seconds.
8. Quickly at in the salmon and stir gently so as not to break up the cubes.
9. Remove from heat and served it with either butter or garlic toasts.

Notes:
a) If you don't like salmon, you can replace it with cubes chicken thigh/fillet.
b) You can either served it with toast or cooked pasta or spaghetti

Double-Boiled Snow Frog Jelly

Snow Jelly is an extract taken from the female of a frog species, which live in the forest of Jiang Baishan mountainous region in Northeast China. Known originally as "Hashima" a Korean name, it is now widely known in English as Snow Jelly. The product has been tested and found to contain high levels of protein (amino acids), minerals such as iron, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium as well as vitamins B1 and B2. Best of all, its cholesterol-free! The benefits of consuming Snow Jelly is to strengthen the internal organs especially the lungs and also for a healthier skin complexion. The benefits derived are similar to consuming bird's nest except that Snow Jelly is available at a fraction of the cost.

So for our Today's Special on Dessert, we will be having Double-boiled Snow Frog Jelly with soy milk and gingko nuts. Soy milk (also called soya milk, soybean milk, or soy juice) and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage is a beverage made from soy beans. Soy milk contains about the same proportion of protein as cow's milk. It has little saturated fat and no cholesterol, which is a benefit.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
3 Cups of Unsweetened Soy Milk(豆浆)
5g Snow Frog Jelly(雪蛤), soak till expand
15 - 20g Ginkgo Nuts(白果)
Rock Sugar to taste

Methods:
1. Rinse and soak the snow frog jelly according to the package instruction and remove any dirt accordingly. Drain and set aside.
2. Rinse and marinate the ginkgo nuts with about 2 teaspoons of sugar for about 15 minutes.
3. Bring the soy milk to boil then add in the ginkgo nuts and let it return to boil again.
4. Transfer the soy milk mixture into a double-boiled and double-boiled for about 30 minutes then add in the snow frog jelly(the soak and expand jelly) and rock sugar and continue to stew for another 20 - 30 minutes.
5. You can serve it either cold or warm.

Note:
a) Usually I bought the Snow frog jelly from "Hockhua Tonic(福华) " which they called it the Crystal Haishma (水晶雪蛤).
b) I used those pre-pack Ginkgo Nuts which can get from most supermarket in the vegetable chiller section.

Horseshoe Cookies for Martinmas

St. Martin of Tours is also represented with a horse (in addition to a goose). That being the case, horseshoe cookies, or cakes, are another great food to incorporate into your Martinmas celebration!

"In Poland, rich cookies shaped like horseshoes were baked for St. Martin's snow-white horse, on which he "comes riding through the snow" when one least expects him." The Cook's Blessings

There are lots of recipes for horseshoe cookies and cakes. If you have a Horseshoe Cookie Cutter or Horseshoe Cake Pan, you could use that with a recipe of your choice. Catholic Culture recommends St. Martin's Horseshoes, Horseshoe Cookies, Hobby Horse Cake, or Almond Horseshoe Cakes. The following recipe, from Martha Stewart, is the one I am hoping to make:

Vanilla Horseshoe Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 vanilla bean
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, very cold

Directions:

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar and the almonds. Process until finely ground. Add flour and salt, and pulse to combine.

Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod. Add seeds to the flour mixture. (Reserve bean for the dusting sugar.) Add butter a few pieces at a time. Quickly pulse to combine. Do not over process. The mixture should resemble coarse meal.

Place the reserved vanilla bean on the prepared baking sheet, and let dry out in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.

Remove dough to a clean work surface. Blend dough by pushing it away from you with the heel of your hand. Gather it up with a bench scraper, and continue process until dough will peel easily from the work surface in one piece.

Divide dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a cylinder 5/8 inch in diameter and about 22 inches long. Cut each log into pieces about 3 inches long. Curve each piece into a horseshoe, and place on the prepared baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

While cookies are baking, cut reserved dried vanilla bean into small pieces. Place the remaining cup confectioners' sugar in the bowl of the food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until well mixed, about 1 minute. Sift sugar into a small mixing bowl to remove any large pieces of the vanilla bean.

Remove cookies to a rack to cool. After cookies have cooled a little, about 5 minutes, gently toss warm cookies in vanilla sugar to coat. Remove to rack to cool completely. Once cooled, dust again with remaining vanilla sugar. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

*These can also be made for the feast of St. Stephen on December 26th.

Martinshornchecn (St. Martin's Day Croissants)

Another traditional recipe for the feast of St. Martin, is Martinshornchecn (St. Martin's Day Croissants). These sugared croissants were given out as a special treat to children for Martinmas.

The following recipe is found in Cooking With the Saints:

Martinshornchen

(St. Martin's Day Croissants)

3/4 c. milk
1 tsp. dry yeast
4 c. flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
3/4 c. butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 c. coarse sugar

Heat milk to lukewarm and dissolve the yeast. Sift the flour into a bowl, make a well in the middle and add the yeast mixture and sugar and salt. Work to a smooth dough and let rest for 1 hour in a warm place.

Add the eggs and half the butter and work it back into a smooth dough. Some flour may have to be added if the dough is too sticky. Melt remaining butter.

If you cannot get coarse sugar, crush sugar cubes with a rolling pin. On a floured surface roll out dough to a tickness of about 1/8 inch. Cut into 8-inch squares. Brush with butter and sprinkle with the coarse sugar.

Starting from one corner, roll up each square and turn in the ends to make croissant shapes. Brush with egg yolks and sprinkle with more sugar. Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Transfer croissants to a buttered baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes.

Makes 12 to 16 large croissants.

** For a simplified version, pick up a package of crescent roll dough from the store (as well as the coarse sugar if you need it) and follow the last two steps.

Serve with some Hot Apple Cider, Hot Cocoa or Coffee after a St. Martin's Day lantern procession.

Goose with Apple Stuffing for Martinmas

On November 11th we celebrate the feast of St. Martin of Tours, also known as Martinmas!

In A Continual Feast, author Evelyn Berge Vitz tells us that "his feast, called Martinmas, became a major one in Europe, largely no doubt because it took on the character of an in-gathering festival: a thanksgiving celebration. On this day it has been traditional to eat young goose and to taste the new wine of the season. In Germany, they make a cake in a special mold, showing St. Martin on horseback. In Holland, they roast chestnuts and apples and give them to the children; In Italy, they make a Pizza di San Martino (actually a coffeecake), wit trinkets hidden inside."

The goose is actually a symbol for St. Martin himself since it is said that a honking goose revealed his hiding place, after he hid to avoid being made bishop of Tours!

If you are able to get your hands on a goose to celebrate this feast, here is a great recipe for Goose with Apple Stuffing from The German Embassy. Since I have no idea where I could find a goose, I think I may try this recipe with a chicken or turkey instead:

Goose with Apple Stuffing
(Martinsgans mit Apfelfüllung)

1 ready-to-cook goose (8 to 10 pounds)

2 cups water

1 small onion, sliced

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

6 cups soft bread crumbs

3 tart apples, chopped

2 stalks celery (with leaves), chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Trim excess fat from goose. Heat giblets, water, sliced onion and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until giblets are done, about 1 hour. Strain broth; cover and refrigerate. Chop giblets; toss with remaining ingredients except 1 teaspoon salt and the flour. Rub cavity of goose with 1 teaspoon salt. Fold wings across back with tips touching. Fill neck and body cavities of goose lightly with stuffing. Fasten neck skin of goose to back with skewers. Fasten opening with skewers; lace with string. Tie drumsticks to tail. Prick skin all over with fork. Place goose breast side up on rack in shallow roasting pan. Roast uncovered in 350° oven until done, 3 to 3 1/2 hours, removing excess fat from pan occasionally. Place a tent of aluminum foil loosely over goose during last hour to prevent excessive browning. Goose is done when drumstick meat feels very soft. Place goose on heated platter. Let stand 15 minutes for easier carving. Meanwhile, pour drippings from pan into bowl. Return 1/4 cup drippings to pan. Stir in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. If necessary, add enough water to reserved broth to measure 2 cups. Stir into flour mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Serve goose with apple stuffing and gravy. Guten Appetit! Serves 6 to 8

And don't forget to pick up a bottle of new wine to go along with your goose! Happy Martinmas!

Kiddy Picnic & Dinner Bento

Recently due to my busy working schedule and cloudy weather which is often rains in the early morning, Reyon and I have not being to our favourite Picnic for quiet sometime and that actually upset our little friend. He really missed the beach, the water and especially the shell picking......... So today, early in the morning, since the weather is pretty good..... we quickly get ready our Picnic Snack Bento and set off for the picnic(you can read more Here).


In this snack lunchbox, I include the some ready-bought pastries which I cut it into bite-size then for the bottom layout Reyon add in all his favourite snack items and tata...... we have our snack bento box ready in no time.

On Sunday afternoon, before we went out for a short shopping trip with Grandma, I also prepared a mini Dinner Bento upon Reyon's request. He wanted to have some assorted Mini Onigiri on the top layer then in the bottom layer, I gave him some extra Fish floss to go with the Onigiri, Chocolate and Crackers for Dessert. He loves this way of presenting his dinner and to our surprised he finished everything up within less than 15 minutes.

From Thy Bounty Fair Reminder

Holiday Foods and Feasts (November 17): Thanksgiving and Christmas are days associated with feasting and celebration. As we get ever closer to those festive meals we'd love to hear how your family feasts. Each family has traditional foods and festivities. Please share your thoughts, suggestions, menus, and recipes for these big feasts so we’ll be well prepared to enjoy them. Amy will be your hostess. We welcome your ideas and submissions. Please send ideas or links to Amy, the Catholic Cuisine address, or leave in comment box by Sunday, Nov. 16. Thanks.

St. Martin's Mice

November bears feasts of two St. Martins, today is the optional memorial of the lesser-known St. Martin, St. Martin de Porres. St. Martin was born in Lima, Peru. Being illegitimate and of mixed race made his life very difficult, as he was considered very low in society. He became a laybrother for the Dominican order at age 15 and remained a member the rest of his life.

I'm not going to suggest the obvious Lima beans, or pull out a lavish Peruvian meal. One of the endearing qualities of St. Martin was his love for all of creation, including even vermin. There are favorite tales that mice were eating the sacred linens in the sacristy. Martin made a deal with the mice that if they stayed out of the monastery and church, he would feed them, and both kept their word. The picture book Pied Piper of Peru by Ann Tompert retells this beloved story.

So for dinner, why not serve St. Martin's Mice, or Baked Potato Mice? These are just twice-baked potatoes, similar to the recipe for Victory Vessel with added embellisments to look like mice: slices of radishes for the ears, small cherry tomato for the nose, green onions or chives for the whiskers and tail, and raisins for the eyes (you might need a toothpick to keep some things in place). If you're short on time or have allergies, just make baked potatoes (do you know how fast you can make them in the microwave?) and add the decorations.

I don't have a photo of my own to share, but I did find these links with cute photos.

Bake Choco Banana With Prata Skin

Tata.... My 1st dessert upon the re-opening of Cuisine Paradise Foodblogs after the restructure of blog layouts. Have you ever tried the combination of chocolate and banana before. I guess most of you have tried Banana Chocolate Cake in most of the bakery shop before and the taste it perfectly well match right?


This afternoon I made this Bake Choco Banana with Prata Skin for our tea-break. I spread a thin layer of Nutella on a piece of frozen Prata Skin and wrapped it up with banana. After baking into golden parcel, I served it with some orange wedges and drizzle the banana parcel with some white chocolate and dust with chocolate powder. You can also served it with an extra scoop of ice-cream for a more sinful treats.

Ingredients:
1 Piece of Frozen Prata Skin
1 Medium Size Banana, not too ripe
Some Nutella Spread
Melted White Chocolate, optional
Orange Wedges
Some Strawberry Jam, optional
Cocoa Powder for dusting

Methods:
1. Spread a thin layer of Nutella onto a Frozen Prata Skin and place the banana on one end of the skin and roll it up like a sausage roll.
2. You can tuck in both sides of the pastry so that the chocolate will not leak out during baking.
3. You can baked in a pre-heat, 180 degree oven for about 10 minutes, turning about 5 minutes to bake it evenly and let it have a nice and even golden brown.
4. For my case, I baked it in a oven toast so it took a longer time to get the whole parcel evenly brown which is about 15 minutes.
5. When the parcel is slightly cool, arrange it on the place, drizzle it with melted white chocolate and serve with some extra orange wedges and strawberry jam.

Notes:
a) You can get any brand of frozen Prata Skin from any leading supermarket in Singapore.
b) If you don't prefer Orange wedges, you can serve it with any fruit of your choice.
c) If you wan it to cook in a faster way, you can cut the banana into slices and arrange on one side of the prata skin then fold the skin into half like a semi-circle and bake.