Honeydew Juice with Gelatin

Hi, it’s Jojo again. Lately, the weather has been great in SoCal. Nice sunny day. At last, the strange chilly day is over. Maybe we’ll have a couple more rainy days here, but it shouldn’t be as bad. So, we took Mason to the beach and let him play, run and tumble, roll, dig, sniff, snort, sneeze, you know, his usual Pug business.  Everyone was exhausted and  we needed to cool down. That’s why this recipe came to mind. Honeydew melon is probably my most favorite fruit because of the color and sweetness. Each sister has their own signature color and mine is honeydew light green. Also, did you know that green color relaxes the eyes and relieves the stress you have after working all day? This drink can be a stress reliever after a long tiring day. Furthermore, a quote from Mimi, she says, “It looks like a glass of witch’s concoction or poison. It’s a perfect Halloween recipe to entertain guests!” Right?

This recipe is originally from our mom. Our mom is a strong, brave, and lovely woman. A very bubbly and loud person. She used to make this light and fresh drink for us when we were young. Like any other sojourners, we miss our mom’s home-made cooking the most. This drink is one of them. A refreshing drink that will bring a lot of good old memories! A drink to impress your family and friends. Or even new neighbors!

Let’s get started!

Honeydew Juice with Gelatin

Ingredients

• A packet of gelatin (we use Swallow brand agar-agar powder)
• 120 grams sugar (gelatin) & 3/4 cup sugar (simple syrup)
• 1 honeydew melon
• 3 cups water

Instructions

1. Cook the gelatin according to the packet instruction. In high heat, stir constantly until it boils. Make sure it boils because the gelatin won’t set if it’s not.
2. Pour the hot mixture into a glass dish container and let it set in the fridge for about 2 hours.
3. Make simple syrup by mixing water and 3/4 cup sugar in a large saucepan. Let it chill in the fridge.
4. Cut honeydew into small chunks and put them in a blender. Pulse until smooth.
5. Combine the honeydew juice with the syrup (3).
6. Fun part: Use a cheese grater, grate the gelatin and pour it into the above mixture (5).
7. Adjust the sweetness accordingly.

If you try this recipe, please comment below and let us know what you think. I hope you like it!

Toodles!

Chocolate Cookies

Hi, this is Jojo! It’s my first appearance. A little introduction about myself, I am the middle of the three – Mimi is the leader/eldest, Frans is the youngest (well, Frans is my younger twin sister) – and is considered the dessert person, which means that I am the sweet one 😉 (Sugar, spice and everything nice…?) Enough of the crap, anyway, I have sweet tooth. Unlike Mimi and Frans, I have always had this love/hate relationship with anything sweet, like cakes, chocolates (don’t give me M&M’s, because I can’t stop after just one) and cookies. Cookies + milk = perfect match made in heaven! So I saw this recipe by Nigella Lawson. Not only do I love cookies, I also adore Ms. Lawson. Frans and I have been watching her cooking shows since we were in sixth grade. She has been one of our role models behind our cooking and baking adventures. So, enough with the talking and let’s get baking!

Chocolate Cookies

Serve: makes 25

Ingredients

• 100 grams butter, softened
• 120 grams light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 150 grams all purpose flour
• 30 grams cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 200 grams chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. With a hand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar in a bowl. While doing that, preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Add vanilla extract and egg. Mix well.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.
4. Add dry mixture (3) into cream mixture (1) little by little
5. Add chocolate chips after the mixture is well combined.
6. Line a baking tray (or use a Silpat mat), scoop the cookie dough with an ice cream scoop or a spoon (depending on the final look that you want to go with).
7. Bake for 12 minutes in the oven on the top rack.
8. Set aside, let them cool. PS: If the cookies don’t look quite cooked, don’t panic – calm down – because they are still cooking even when they sit on the tray.
9. When the cookies are cool enough (If you can’t wait till it’s cool, go ahead! It’s understandable), dig in!

P.S: For this recipe, I reduce the measurement of the brown sugar and cocoa powder because we thought they were too sweet during our first try. Also, I think adding chopped almond, walnut, hazelnut or macadamia is perfect for that extra crunch. Play with your food, add raisin, use white/dark chocolate or whatever you feel like, the choice is yours. It’s your experiment!

Have fun in the kitchen!

Chicken Meatballs with Meat Sauce

Welcome, 2013 ! Another new year, more new year resolutions to set and achieve. The three of use made several promises – one of them is to  change our lifestyle by eating healthier (Who doesn’t, right?). It all started when F felt the need to change. We got a little too comfortable and pigged out during the holiday season, resulting in extra inches on our waists and also this guilt feeling that has been haunting us since earlier this year. Besides, it’s been pretty gloomy in California. We wanted to have something warm, comforting, yet.. somewhat healthy. That was when this delicious chicken meatball came to mind. It’s a quick and easy recipe with a few staple ingredients in our pantry and refrigerator.

Serve: makes 14

Ingredients

For chicken meatballs:

• 400 grams ground chicken
• 2 teaspoon ginger juice
• 2 tablespoon milk
• 4 tablespoon Panko or bread crumbs
• Olive oil

Instructions

1. Add all of the above ingredients, except the olive oil, to a bowl and mix it well.
2. Scoop the meat mixture with your hand and form it into 2-inches balls.
3. Heat up pan in medium heat, add olive oil and fry the meatballs until golden brown. Approximately 5 minutes.

For meat sauce:

Ingredients

• Ÿ 200 grams ground beef                                Ÿ
•  20 grams butter
• Ÿ 400 ml unsalted canned tomato                Ÿ
• Ÿ 400 ml chicken stock
•  200 ml milk
•  4 tablespoons all purpose flour
• Ÿ 8 cloves garlic, minced
• Ÿ 1 cup minced onion
• Ÿ 2 bay leaves
• Ÿ Salt & pepper
• Ÿ A dash of sugar

Instruction

1. In medium heat, saute minced onion and garlic until fragrant.
2. Add ground beef and salt & pepper until cooked.
3. Add unsalted canned tomato and bay leaf. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add chicken stock and let it simmer for another 20 minutes. Set aside.

           To thicken the sauce:

1. In another pan under low heat, add butter and flour.
2. Add the milk slowly. Be careful not to burn it.
3. Pour this mixture slowly into the meat sauce
4. Stir until combined and it’s ready!
5. Garnish with parsley.. or green onion.. (or whatever you have in hand…) before serving

To add extra oomph to this dish, you can crack some eggs into the sauce in low heat. Let it slowly simmer and cook the eggs until they are done to your liking.

Have fun in the kitchen!

1st run

Welcome to Sacchariferously Appetizing blog!

Adventures of three sisters… and a pug… in the kitchen!