Kale, Sausage and White Bean Soup

I was planning to make sautéd kale and sweet sausages, but I was in a mood for something a bit more wholesome. I decided to make soup with white beans and barley in it.  A piece of hearty country bread would make a good meal. 

Move over, Progresso!

Kale, Sausage and White Bean Soup

A bunch of kale
2 sweet Italian sausages, made into tiny balls
1 can white beans
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 piece garlic, minced
1/4 cup barley, I used Quaker's Quick Barley
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
Thyme, just a pinch
2 bay leaves
A sprig of rosemary
2 cans chicken broth
salt and pepper
olive oil

Put 1/2 can of the white beans in the blender till smooth. In a dutch oven, drizzle olive oil and add fennel seeds and sauté the sausages till brown. Add onions for a few minutes and add minced garlic. Add thyme, bay leaves and rosemary. Toss in kale, white beans, creamed white beans, barley and chicken soup. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put the lid on and cook for 30 minutes.

Did you know....

White kidney beans are really good for you. They are full of soluble and insoluble fiber, which respectively binds cholesterol and removes it from your digestive system. The soluble fiber in white kidney beans is also known to stabilize the blood sugar levels. I better eat more of them!


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Today's Snack Attack

See those dark green speckles?

This snack is sweet and slightly salty, and it is flavored with wasabi. Some of the pieces in the bag get more of the wasabi coating which makes them almost numbing hot. My nose would suffer in pain. My eyes would get watery. It is that take-your-chances, Russian roulette spirit which makes me come back to this snack. These little buggers look like the actual wasabi horseradishes, too. You'll have a party in your mouth. Be aware!

Wasabi Mura means Wasabi village

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Royal Milk Tea

I just recently discovered that the term 'royal milk tea' is a made-up word in Japan, and that you cannot order it as such in England. If you go to Japan, everyone knows what royal milk tea is, though. It is a kind of concoction that's made with rather strong tea and mixed with lots of milk. I like it with earl gray. When I have to get up really early and be required to focus, I have this tea. One of those mornings that I am repeating to myself, "I don't think I can do this today.... but I've got to... wake up, wake up, wake up!"  This tea is invigorating and comforting at the same time. 

"His Royal Highness" in the background

You can make the tea like you always do and add milk. But today, I dropped a tea bag in a pot of milk and warmed it for a while. Bring it down to the room temp and add crushed ice and stevia syrup and blend it until it is frothy. You can experiment with different kinds of milk. I used almond milk this time. It tastes good cold, too. 

Coincidentally, today is the 1st wedding anniversary for the Royal couple Prince William and Princess Kate! Congrats!

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It's Me or the Ants

A cold snap has come and gone. Or our uncle Carroll might call it blackberry winter. I'm ready to get our garden prepared for the vegetables. My late father-in-law had made us a huge raised vegetable garden a couple years ago. I started weeding the garden yesterday and found a bunch of ants crawling all over it! After some research, I decided to sprinkle cornmeal, club soda, and artificial sweetener with aspartame. I heard they work individually, but I don't know if they work together. But I wanted to give those pesky bugs a triple whammy!  

You can see the white dust of cornmeal and aspartame

I poured 2 big bottles of club soda in the garden yesterday. I didn't see any ants this morning but wanted to make sure they are not lurking around in the soil.

Ants would eat them and EXPLODE with cornmeal

Italian parsley, bay leaf and basil

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Roasted Eggplant Salad

Serve it chilled

Another salad I like. Our neighbor gave me a huge batch of eggplants that she grew in her garden. She roasted them and froze them to keep. All I needed to do was to thaw them and cut them into bite size pieces, and garnish them with grated ginger and chopped scallions with a bit of soba noodle dipping sauce. I like it served chilled. The eggplant becomes nice and sweet from roasting. No calories, but packed with yumminess.


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Cucumber Salad with Jalapeño Peppers

Sweet and tangy with heat

This salad was a hit. I wanted to make it with cucumbers with red onions, but I was out of the onions. So I looked into the fridge to see what I could use and found a jar of pickled banana peppers and a jar of pickled jalapeño peppers. I thought, hmm, this could work.... Put some fennel seeds in the vinegar and set aside for a few minutes to infuse it with the nice aroma. Toss it with some feta cheese and you are good to go. 

Cucumber Salad with Jalapeño Peppers

1/2 English cucumber
4-5 radish
1 Tbsp pickled jalapeño peppers with some pickling juice
1 Tbsp pickled banana peppers with some pickling juice
Feta cheese, however much you like
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

It would make a good side for your fried foods or grilled meats.

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Okra Dressed in Cafe 37

The last time we were in Savannah, Georgia, we got this wonderful bottle of pesto aioli from Cafe 37. You can only purchase this at the Savannah Bee Company in Savannah, and you guessed right, this sauce has their honey in it. Of course, you can dine at the cafe to try out their delicious dishes using this sauce, too.

Slightly burnt cheese makes it! 

Creamy almond pesto aioli from Cafe 37 

This pesto goes with absolutely everything! Bake chicken with it, top the baked potatoes with it, spread it on your sandwiches, or use it as your salad dressing. It is sweet, it is crunchy with almonds, and the fragrant basil is really pleasant. You can make some restaurant quality dishes without much laboring. I am so glad the sales person at the store recommended it.

Okra Dressed in Cafe 37

Okra
Cafe 37 creamy almond pesto aioli, enough to coat the okra
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Cut okra lengthwise. Toss them with the aioli and coat well. Bake them with cheese on the top at 350 until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

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Pear, Banana and Black Sesame Seeds Shake

Black sesame seeds add extra nuttiness

We are on our detox diet after weeks of feeding on hamburgers and vending machine foods. I don't mind eating the detox soup for a week, but I do crave some variety. Today is our third day on the detox soup, so we can eat any vegetables and fruits in addition to the soup. So I made this shake. It was my first time to use the small blender which I purchased a while ago. It was kind of fun. Hey, I think I can get into this.


Pear, Banana and Black Sesame Seeds Shake

1 cup almond milk
1 pear
1/2 banana
1 Tbsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp honey
Splash of lemon
1/4 crushed ice
Garnish with mint

Originally I wanted to make it with strawberries. But they have turned into a science project. Pear has a nice aroma that compliments the almond flavor very well. 


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Back Home Again

Knockout roses

We left home for nearly a month. My beloved father-in-law had passed away. During that time, our friends took care of our dog. Saddened by his passing, coming home was not easy, but the flowers in our yard were flourishing as if to welcome us home. We are once again back at home.

Daylilies

Cannot recall the name....Sorry

Petunias

Tree jasmine

Purple rhododendron

His poke salet was the best!

Home again....

R.I.P.

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