Chocolate dipped Strawberries

Chocolate dipped Strawberries

When purchasing fresh strawberries from the grocery store, shop with your nose.

Always pick the plumpest and most fragrant berries. They should be firm, bright, and fresh looking with no mold or bruises, and fresh green caps (stems). The caps should be bright green, fresh looking and fully attached. Strawberries do not ripen after they have been harvested, so choose strawberries that have been picked fully ripened. They should have bright red color, natural shine and fresh looking green caps.

Line baking sheets or cookie pans with waxed paper, parchment paper, or aluminum foil. Make sure the baking sheets are large enough to place all the strawberries, as well as giving each a few inches of room for each chocolate strawberry for after dipping.

Make sure the strawberries are completely dry. Even a drop of water in the melted chocolate can cause it to "seize" and turn the entire mixture into a grainy mess.

If you use refrigerated strawberries, allow them to come to room temperature before dipping in the melted chocolate. If you use cold strawberries, condensation will form and that will prevent the chocolate from sticking.

Using one of the below methods, melt the chocolate chips:

Double Boiler: In the top of a double boiler over hot water, not boiling water, don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water, melt chocolate, stirring until smooth. Be careful as boiling water may cause steam droplets to get into chocolate which can result in "seizing," when the chocolate becomes stiff and grainy.

If you don't have a double boiler you can improvise one by placing a glass or stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water (don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water).

Remove from heat and let the chocolate cool slightly, but it should not set.

Microwave Melting Chocolate: 

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips using either the defrost setting or 10-percent power in the microwave. Microwave for 1 minute, then check and stir. If you need more time, do it in 10 to 20 seconds intervals (check and stir after each addition of microwave time). 

Remove the container from the microwave and stir the chocolate until completely melted. Baking chips and baking chocolate may appear formed and un-melted after heating but will become fluid after stirring.
 

How To Dip Strawberries in Chocolate: 

Grasp the stem or green leaves of the strawberry and dip into the chocolate and swirl in chocolate to partially cover. If the strawberries don't have a stem to grasp, pork a toothpick into the stem end.

Give the strawberry a little shake as you withdraw it from the chocolate (this will fill in all the cracks and leave a nice even line of chocolate at the base.) 

When the strawberry is completely withdrawn from the chocolate, swirl it in a quick, clockwise motion to let the excess chocolate drip off.

Place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries.

If you are going to decorate the berries, allow the chocolate to set for a minute, then sprinkle with decorations. Sprinkling works better than rolling as it’s easier to control the coverage. You may cover your chocolate strawberries with nuts, sprinkles, coconut, or anything else you desire.

Either place strawberries into refrigerator or set aside to allow the chocolate to harden, about 30 minutes. Transfer fruit onto a serving platter to serve.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana
1 cup rolled oats, regular or quick cooking
1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F (175 degree Celcius). Line an 10×15-inch baking pan with parchment paper
and lightly grease. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Stir in the flour mixture, followed by the oats, chia seeds and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan and use a spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Bake for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bars comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed. Allow to cool completely, then slice into bars. 

Makes 25 bars

The bars keep well when stored in an airtight container and are easy to pack up for single servings. For variety, you can substitute all or some of the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts or pecans. You can omit the Chia seeds, or replace them with flax seeds, if you don’t have any on hand. And, if you really want to add more whole grains, you can even use whole wheat flour in this recipe, though I recommend using white whole wheat for the best finished texture.

Korean Fried Chicken Wings

Korean Fried Chicken Wings

• 2-3 lbs chicken wings (tips discarded, and wings cut at the joints-washed and pat dry)
• 1 cup of Wondra flour (ideal mjöl)
• 1 ts salt
• 1 ts pepper

Soy Ginger Glaze

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup thinly sliced ginger
• 3 tbs soy sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 tbs honey or corn syrup
• 1-2 tbs Korean fermented chile or rooster brand garlic chile or red pepper flakes (adjust according to your tastes)



Soy Ginger Glaze

• optional: 1/4 cup toasted sesame

First prep the chicken wings, wash, and pat dry with paper towel. In a mixing bowl, combine about 1 cup of

Wondra flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the chicken wings in the flour mixture to get a fine light coat.

Heat some cooking oil in a deep fryer or a deep frying pan to about 350 degrees. Fry chicken wings, in batches if necessary, about 5 min. Remove, and shake any excess flour/grit off and allow to cool.

Now in a small saucepan, add the water, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, chili, sugar and bring to boil. Then add the honey/corn syrup and reduce by half and it will be a thick maple syrup like consistency and set aside.

Re-fry the wings until crispy golden brown, about another 5-8 minutes. Drain on frying rack or paper towels. Dredge or brush on the soy ginger glaze. You can finish with some toasted sesame on top.

Vietnamese sweet and sour fish soup

Vietnamese sweet and sour fish soup

When it comes to soup, we usually think of it as a winter comfort food. But in Southern Vietnam, there are only sunny and rainy seasons. And there are tons of varieties of soups! One example is sweet and sour fish soup, or Canh Chua in Vietnamese, a popular soup that you can order at just about any restaurant or food vendor. It actually tastes heavenly when the weather is hot. It has the perfect blend of sweet, sour and spice, with more than three types of fresh herbs which really enhance the flavor.

Ingredients: (3-4 portions)

3 slices of fresh basa or catfish (or take any fish you like)

3 fresh hot chilies, seedless, finely chopped

1 elephant ear stem, peeled, sliced ⅓ inch thick (this could be hard to find but try an Asian Market, otherwise use some other vegetable you love instead, like fennel or fuzzy squash

1 cup okra, sliced ⅓ inch thick

1 cup bean sprouts, washed, drained well

1 tomato, peeled, cut in wedges

1~2 key limes, juiced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled, chopped

¼ pineapple, peeled

1 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp fish sauce

½ cup rice paddy herb, chopped into 1 inch lengths

¼ cup finely chopped sawtooth coriander

¼ cup finely chopped green onion

½ cup finely chopped cilantro

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions:

- Wash the fish, then use a paper towel to pat the fish slices dry. Rub the fish slices with chili. Sprinkle both sides with salt. Then let them marinate for 30 minutes.

- Meanwhile, prepare other ingredients. Mix tamarind paste with 1 cup of boiling water. Let it sit.

- Add oil in a sauce pan. Set over medium heat. When the oil starts to smoke, add garlic. Saute until the garlic smells good and turns light brown, then take the garlic out.

- Add 2 cups of water. Hot oil may splash out of the pan, so be careful. Use a sieve to strain off the pulp and seeds only pour the juice of the tamarind paste in the pan. Then add sugar and salt. Cover and bring to a boil.

- Place the fish into the boiling pan. Reduce the heat to medium low. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. 

Then take the fish out. Cover to keep warm.

- Add  pineapple, tomato. Bring to a boil again.

Add fish sauce, lime juice in bit by bit. Taste the soup for a balance of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty flavor. Adjust to your liking. For more depth of flavor, add a little more fish sauce, or more lime juice if it’s too sweet.

- Let the soup boil again. Then add okra, and elephant ear stems. 

Bring to a boil again. Add the sawtooth coriander, green onion, and cilantro and now you're done!

Add the fish back into the pan if you don't eat right away. 

Before serving add bean sprouts, don´t cook so they keep crispy, sprinkle with fried garlic.

Chocolate Chip Cookies med kikärter och jordnötssmör / with Chickpeas and Peanut Butter

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chickpeas and Peanut butter

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter

1/4 cup (80 grams) honey

1 teaspoon baking powder*

a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn’t have salt in it

1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips

* If you need grain-free baking powder, you can use 1 part cream of tartar + 1 part baking soda + 2 parts arrowroot.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C.

Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they’re combined.

Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky.

With wet hands, form into 1 1/2″ balls. Place onto a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don’t do much rising. Bake for about 10 minutes. I had to bake longer so test to see for yourself when ready. It could vary with the oven a few minutes.

About fourteen 1 1/2″ cookie dough balls.

Don't even try with regular peanut butter! They'll come out oily. You MUST use natural peanut butter

Chocolate Chip Cookies med kikärter och jordnötssmör

1¼ cup konserverade kikärtor, låt dem rinna av och torka väl med pappershanduk

2 tsk vanilj extrakt

½ cup + 2 msk (165 gr) naturell jordnötssmör. (Jag använde ekologisk utan nästan något fett, 98 - 99 % jordnötter. Vanligt jordnötssmör funkar inte då det innehåller för mycket fett.)

¼ cup honung (80 gr) använde ekologisk honung

1 msk bakpulver

1 nypa salt om det inte är salt i jordnötssmöret

½ cup (90 gr) Chocolate Chips (Jag hade inte det så jag krossade blockchoklad som är för bakning/mycket mera procent äkta choklad i den. Men hittar ni choclate chips så är det bäst)

Värm ugnen till 175 grader Celsius.

Blanda alla ingredienser i en matberedare förutom Chocolate Chips och hacka tills degen är jämn. Skrapa sidorna så du får med alla små bitar av kikärtorna och de blir hackade ordentligt till en slät lite kladdig smet.

Till sist tillsätt chokladbitarna och blanda igen. Degen ska vara tjock och lite kladdig.

Fukta händerna och forma små bollar och sätt dem på en plåt på bakplåtspapper (eller som jag gjorde I små kakformar).

Detta ska bli ca 14 små kakor.

I ugnen 10-15 minuter.