This dish was light and refreshing, with a nice hint of sweet and nuttiness. Makes a great appetizer. It was very easy to make and took only about 15 minutes or so to put together. It’s basically cooked spinach, seasoned lightly, mixed with roasted sesame seeds. I used a mix of roasted black and white sesame seeds. Terry also suggests preparing it with other leafy greens like collard greens or Swiss chard.

I’m definitely excited about her cookbook. She’s working on a variety of recipes – Asian, Mediterranean, European, Caribbean, African and more. There’s appetizers, snacks, rice dishes, noodles, soups, salads, and even dessert! And all vegan too! The recipe testing stage is set to go on for another month or two, so I’ll surely keep you posted on any other recipes I might try out.

This dish took about 15 minutes to put together, but for best results I’d recommend letting it rest for a while before serving. The flavors really develop if you let it sit for at least an hour or so. Enjoy it at room temperature. This side dish was so simple to make and required the minimal amount of work.

Kale is such a delicious and healthy vegetable. I picked up the grated coconut from a local Asian market, in the freezer section. The recipe is quite versatile. The original recipe called for chopped tomatoes, but I didn’t use any. Instead, I mixed in some fresh alfalfa sprouts right before serving.

It’s definitely something you can prepare ahead of time. It’s great on top of any curry, makes a great side salad, a nice side for rice. It’s also good with flat bread or roti.

I added the alfalfa sprouts to the kale coconut relish and stuffed the mixture inside pita pockets. Light and delicious!

I found the interior surface of the wok to be interesting. The surface is embossed for energy efficiency. The wok heated up very well and was great to use. However, due to the coating, it’s best not to use metal kitchen utensils on it because that will damage the quality of the wok. Wooden or silicone spatulas are the way to go. Personally, I’m a fan of those heat resistant silicone spatulas. The wok was also very easy to clean, which is always a convenient.

Sauteed Swiss Chard With Apples
Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch of Swiss chard
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 pieces of garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp whole mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 large apple, diced

Directions:

1. Prepare the Swiss chard by separating the center steam from the leaves. Slice the stems into 1/2 inch pieces. Slice the leaves into 1 inch strips.
2. Heat the olive oil in the wok over a medium high heat.
3. Add garlic, mustard seeds.
4. When you notice the mustard seeds starting to pop, add the Swiss chard steams.
5. Sautee and stir for a few minutes.
6. Lower the heat.
7. Add the chopped apples and the Swiss chard greens.
8. Add the apple cider vinegar.
9. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the greens are just wilted and softened, and the apples be a bit tender.

The taste of Swiss chard and apples goes together really well. The apples add a nice sweetness to the dish. The dish is light, crunchy, and makes a delicious vegetable side. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Products were provided to me to review by LocknLock as part of the LocknLock Supporters Program. No other compensation was received for this post. The post was written by LookyTasty and all opinions expressed are solely mine.

Tomato Rice Pilaf (Recipe adapted from Red Gold Recipe Collection)
Ingredients: (4 servings)

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5 oz) can Redpack Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil in wok over medium heat.
2. Add chopped onion and rice.
3. Cook until rice is golden brown, stirring frequently, 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Stir in diced tomatoes, thyme and 2 cups of vegetable broth.
5. Season with the salt and pepper.
6. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium low.
7. Cover and let simmer. Cook until rice is tender, about 18 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.
9. Fluff rice gently with fork before serving.

The tomato rice pilaf came out very well. It was tasty. Although the canned tomatoes where already prepped with basil, garlic, oregano and spices, the flavors were simple and nothing too salty or overpowering. It would have been extra wonderful if I had some fresh parsley leaves, cilantro, or chopped scallions to garnish on top of the rice. Next time I might even try adding some crunch into the rice pilaf. I think pine nuts would be a good addition to dish.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary six pack of Red Pack tomatoes. No other compensation was received for this post. The post was written by LookyTasty and all opinions expressed are solely mine.

This recipe calls for a 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes in thick puree. I used Red Gold’s 100% natural tomato product. I made a few modifications to the recipe and made it vegetarian-friendly and also a bit healthier, I guess. Instead of the eggs, I used egg substitute made by combining 1 part flax seed meal with 3 parts hot water. I reduced the amount of sugar in the recipe by a half. One cup of sugar just seemed too much to me. I used about 1/2 cup of raw cane sugar. I used a half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour combination.

Tomato Bread (Recipe adapted from Red Gold Recipe Collection)
Ingredients: (8-12 servings)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp flax seed meal + 6 tbsp hot water (substitutes 2 eggs)
• 1 (15 ounce) can Redpack Crushed Tomatoes in Thick Puree
• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine eggs, oil, sugar in a large bowl.
3. Stir in Red Gold Crushed Tomatoes.
4. In another bowl, combine flour and spices.
5. Combine the tomato mixture and dry ingredients; batter will be thin.
6. Pour into a greased 5×9-inch bread pan.
7. Sprinkle the almonds on top.
8. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted comes out
9. clean.
10. Cool completely before slicing.

The bread had a wonderful aroma and tasted great too. Although it’s called Spicy Tomato Bread, I found that the blend of spices gave it a very slight kick but it was more savory than spicy. The bread had a very nice texture. Moist and flavorful, and so satisfying. This dish would make a delicious item to complement your breakfast or a tasty mid-afternoon snack too.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary six pack of Red Pack tomatoes. The family-run company from Indiana, produces over 100 different styles and flavors of tomato products in 20 different sizes and containers, with a mission “to produce the freshest, best tasting tomato products in the world.” No other compensation was received for this post. The post was written by LookyTasty and all opinions expressed are solely mine.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I recently sampled one of Green Giant’s Valley Fresh Steamers. They come in microwavable packages that lets you enjoy steamed vegetables, quick and simple. They have a variety of vegetables from premium cut vegetables to vibrant blends, available with or without sauce.

I usually buy frozen vegetables sans sauce, but I decided to try out one of their Healthy Colors blends. I picked up the Market Blend which contained a colorful mix of sliced carrots, zucchini, roma tomatoes and yellow bell peppers strips lightly tossed with an herb-infused extra virgin olive oil sauce. The ingredients of the sauce contains less than 1% each of extra virgin olive oil, salt, garlic, powder gelatin, corn starch, canola oil, calcium chloride, xanthan gum, spice, carob bean gum, natural flavor.

There’s about two servings for package. The pouch goes directly into the microwave standing up. Depending on your microwave, the vegetables will take anywhere from 3-5 minutes or so to thoroughly heat up. I liked the combination of vegetables – carrots, zucchini, tomatoes and yellow bell peppers. However, I felt like package was mostly carrots and not too much of the other vegetables. Some more zucchini would have been nice. The herb-infused dressing was not bad. It was relatively light and did not overpower the vegetables, but I’d prefer to purchase plain vegetables and make my own dressing instead. Overall, their Valley Fresh Steamer products are nice. It’s an effortless way to add a side of vegetables to your meal in just a matter of minutes.

The softened kombu can be sliced and used to make tsukudani, a Japanese side dish that involves simmering ingredients in a sweetened soy sauce, mirin, sake mixture.

I had some kombu left from making broth for soup noodles, so I decided to make a kombu enoki tsukudani. This dish is kind of sweet and salty and goes great as an appetizer, side dish, or topping for rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 large strip of kombu
• 1 package of enoki mushrooms
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1-2 tbsp sugar
• ~ 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Slice the kombu into thin 1/2 inch pieces.
2. Trim off about 1/4 inch of the enoki mushroom stem. Break apart the mushrooms.
3. In a small bowl, which together the soy sauce, miring, rice vinegar, sugar, and water. (The ratios of the ingredients can be adjusted to your preference, whether you’d like it to be a bit more sweet or more salty.)
4. In a small pot, add the kombu, enoki, and then pour in the soy sauce mixture.
5. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.
6. When it’s done, the kombu and enoki mushrooms should look kind of sticky.
7. Store it in the fridge in an airtight container.
8. Serve slightly chilled.

What’s a mantou?
Mantou is a Chinese steamed bun, made with flour, water, and yeast. Mantous may be plain or made with a sweet filling (like a creamy custard) or savory filling (minced meat or vegetables). They are very similar to baos, but while baos are buns with filling, the term mantou is commonly used to refer to buns without fillings. They are often served warm, freshly steamed as a breakfast or snack item, or to accompany other dishes. Its soft, fluffy texture makes it great for dipping. It also makes a tasty dessert. As a child, I used to love deep fried mantou dipped in condensed milk.

So the idea was, instead of making a plain mantou, I was going to incorporate the Intense Dark chocolate and make a swirly mantou. Fun!

The idea is to use two flavors of dough (one plain and one chocolate) and roll them together to form a cute swirl. I used the Basic Yeast Dough recipe from Andrea Nguyen’s Asian Dumplings book as a reference and made a few modifications. (By the way, her book is excellent. There’s a lot of basic recipes that easy to follow, good to have on hand, and very adaptable.) I used a mix of whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour and also added almond milk to the bread. The plain dough and the chocolate dough are basically the same, except one uses unsweetened almond milk while the other uses a chocolate-almond milk mixture.

Ingredients for the plain dough:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp organic cane sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Ingredients for the chocolate dough:

• same ingredients as plain dough, with the addition of
• 1.75 oz dark chocolate (I used 1/2 of the Ghirardelli Intense dark Twilight Delight bar and crushed it into pieces.)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

For the chocolate-almond milk mixture:

1. In a small pot, bring the almond milk to a boil.
2. Lower the heat and add the chocolate pieces and the maple syrup.
3. Stir for about 30 seconds and turn off the heat.
4. Keep stirring until the chocolate is melted and everything looks mixed well.

Directions for the dough (adapted from Andrea Nguyen’s Asian Dumplings):

1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast and water and set aside for 1 minute. Whisk in the oil to blend and dissolve the yeast.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, baking powder, and flours.
3. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture.
4. Slowly stir, moving from the center toward the rim, to work in all the flour.
5. Pour in the almond milk (or the chocolate almond milk mixture, if you’re making the chocolate dough).
6. Keep mixing and the dough will start to form.
7. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for ~5 minutes.
8. Keep kneading until the dough is smooth and slightly elastic. Press your finger into the dough and it should spring back with a slight indentation remaining.
9. Place the dough in a large bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place to rise. Let it sit for ~45 minutes until the dough has nearly doubled.

So now I have two balls of dough. I rolled them out and divided each ball into 16 rectangles of about the same size. Then I went on to assemble the buns as follows:

Take one piece each of the plain dough and the chocolate dough.

Roll each piece out so that they are about the same size and thickness.

Place the chocolate dough over the plain dough, and roll it up. Pretty neat.

Repeat until all your pieces have been rolled up.

Lastly, you’re ready to steam them!
I used one of those stack and steam pots, but a bamboo steamer would be perfect. Line the bottom of each piece with a small piece of parchment paper and make sure you space them out on the steamer. The buns will expand in size. Steam them for about 15 minutes. You can leave the parchment paper on the buns, but just remember to remove them before eating.

When the buns are ready, you’ll notice that they’ve puffed up. Carefully remove them from the heat and serve warm. The wonderful thing about these buns is that they also freeze very well. I packed them up into zip lock bags and tossed them in the freezer. They can keep in the freezer for up to a month, so you can always have them handy. To reheat, just steam them again.

And the next morning… chocolate swirly mantou for breakfast!
I was quite impressed. They turned out pretty great for a first time. The bread was not as airy as I’d like, but luckily still soft. The whole wheat flour made the bread a bit dense I think. The chocolate taste is light but noticeable. I only used 1/2 a bar of the 72% cacao dark chocolate, so maybe I’ll try with more chocolate next time. The mantou is neither sweet nor salty. I think it’ll go really well with some kind of spread… peanut butter or perhaps a chocolate hazelnut spread.

Kara-Age is popular cooking technique used in the Japanese cuisine that involves coating ingredients (usually chicken) in a seasoned potato starch/wheat flour mix and deep frying them. It’s similar in preparation to tempura, but different in that a batter is used for making tempura and there’s no batter for kara-age. The Kikkoman Kara-Age Coating Mix is seasoned with soy sauce and ginger and ready to use. Each box comes with two 3oz packages. Simply toss moistened pieces of chicken (or any other ingredient you’d like to use) in the coating mix, and then deep-fry or pan-fry until nicely browned.

I opened one of the packages and I noticed the fragrant smell of ginger. It was a pleasant smell and not overwhelming at all. I divided the coating mix into two parts, one for the tofu and one for the shrimp. The box suggests using a plastic bag-shake method for a no mess prep. Alternatively, you can just use plate or bowl for tossing if you don’t want the extra waste.

Ingredients:

• 1 package Kikkoman Kara-Age Soy-Ginger Seasoned Coating Mix
• 12 oz extra firm tofu, pressed and drained, cut into 2″ pieces
• 12 pieces medium sized shrimp, peeled
• Vegetable oil for pan frying

Directions:

1. Pour the kara-age mix into a plastic bag.
2. Add the tofu into a plastic bag and shake well so that each piece is covered. Place aside.
3. Heat some oil in a large pan. I suggest a cast iron skillet.
4. Pan fry the tofu for about 2 minutes, flipping the pieces over as needed, until nicely browned.
5. Remove the pieces from the pan and put it on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Blot with paper towel if necessary.
6. Repeat with the shrimp pieces.

Once you’re done pan frying, they are ready to serve.

I found this cute plate at the store the other day and I’ve been wanting to use it, so I decided to put together a neat appetizer. I shredded some leafy green lettuce, made a bedding for the fried tofu, and arranged them on the plate.

I placed the shrimp into a separate plate and added some mint leaves to the dish. The combination of mint and ginger goes really well together.

To accompany the tofu, I also made a light  cucumber salad with a fish sauce dressing.

Ingredients:

• 1 large cucumber, diced
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• a few sprigs of mint leaves

Dressing*:

• 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• ~1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• piece of chili (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large salad bowl, combine the cucumber, onion, and mint leaves.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the lime juice, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and water.
3. Mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Add the minced garlic.
5. Taste and adjust the ingredients as needed, depending on how sweet, salty, or sour you’d like the dressing to me.
6. Add a piece of chili if you want to give it a spicy.

*I used the measurements above as a starting point and play around with it until it tasted right to me.

I was definitely pleased with how the tofu and shrimp came out. What I liked best about the coating mix was that it was not too salty or overpowering in flavor, which is a common issue I found in pre-made mixes. The coating mix was seasoned just right and smells great too!

There’s so many ways to incorporate the kara-age into any meal, e.g. serve as an appetizer or side dish, add it to your bento/lunch box, serve it over rice, or as a topping for your salad. And theoretically, you can coat and fry almost any ingredient. I still have one package left. Wonder what I should try next.

For more information on the product and recipe ideas, check out the Kikkoman’s website. They also post promotions, offers, and giveaways on their Facebook page. Right now they have a printable coupon for $1 off any Kikkoman product. Here’s your chance to give it a try too!

Disclaimer: The product was provided to me as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program. No other compensation was received for this post. The post was written by LookyTasty and all opinions expressed are solely mine.

Each product comes in a special microwavable steam bag that lets you prepare the dish in just a few minutes with the convenience of your microwave. Alternatively, cooking it on the stove top is just as easy.
I’m not stranger to Birds Eye Steamfresh products or frozen vegetables in general. I always prefer frozen over canned. Of course I opt for fresh vegetables whenever possible, but frozen foods do have their advantages. I normally purchase plain and simple, unseasoned frozen vegetables. Then, I would either steam them in the microwave or incorporate it in a recipe. After I heat them, I would either enjoy them as is, or season the vegetables with my choice of dressings.

I decided to heat up the Mushroom and Green Bean Risotto and Roasted Red Potato and Green Beans to try.

The risotto features cooked rice in a creamy sauce along with sliced mushroom and cut green bean. It’s prepared with a mushroom and soy sauce flavor in a chicken base. (Note: Not vegetarian) It has a nice creamy texture. There’s about two 2/3 cup servings in the bag. Each serving is about 170 calories.

The roasted red potatoes and green beans is prepared in a Parmesan olive oil sauce. The  potatoes are cubed and roasted with skin on. The dish is also very creamy. There’s about two 1 cup servings in the bag, each with about 120 calories.

I was only able to sample a little bit of the two sides. They were not bad, especially for something frozen. Each dish highlighted its own flavors, and were not bland at all. The flavors seem to mostly come from all the cheese ingredients. I found myself enjoying the roasted potatoes and green beans more than the mushroom risotto.

However, I couldn’t really eat too much of it because of the dairy content in the products since I’m lactose intolerant. Although it says “lightly sauced,” the dishes are still very creamy. From looking at the ingredients lists, it appears to have a lot of dairy products with milk, cream, and/or butter appear multiple times on the list. I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t filled with all forms of cream and milk. I like my vegetable sides on the lighter side. Not a lactose intolerant friendly food, but surely suitable for many omnivores. Anyhow, they would make convenient side dishes to complement with many dishes. It takes less than 10 minutes from freezer to table.

About the other two packages left in the freezer. The Creamy Primavera Vegetable Risotto features cooked rice mixed with chunks of carrots and peas prepared in a Parmesan sauce. This risotto looks pretty simple. I’d imagine that it can easily go along with any choice of meat, fish, or vegetarian alternative. The Lightly Sauced Creamed Spinach can be handy for cooking other dishes as well. It could help you skip a few preparation steps while baking a tasty spinach pie or a savory quiche. Another idea that came across my mind was to use it as fillings for assembling spinach pierogies or dumplings.

Any way, these Chef’s Favorites will be available in September, so look out for them in the freezer section of your local grocery store.

Disclaimer: The product was provided to me as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program. No other compensation was received for this post. The post was written by LookyTasty and all opinions expressed are solely mine.