Pesto Pita Bites 青酱脆饼

Finger-friendly snack bites that will definitely please a crowd and even better, make a crowd envious of this homemade pesto. These pesto pita bites are one of the easiest hors d’oeuvres to make, and they are delectable.


This Italian oil-and-herb sauce with basil's flavonoids and volatile oils - eugenol and rosmarinic acid, boost brain production of dopamine and serotonin therefore lifting up your mood. Basil is also a good source of vitamin K and manganese.


The other healthy ingredient in this pesto is walnuts. This pesto sauce is packed with Omega-3 good fats. Walnuts is a terrific source of protein, but it may not be easy to unlock the energy from the nuts as they are covered in phytates. Phytates is an indigestible plant compound that inhibits our enzymes from fully digesting nuts. By soaking the nuts in purified water overnight, you will rinse away phytates and make the nuts, including the key energy-booster nutrients, more digestible.

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Basil Walnut Pesto 罗勒/九层塔核桃青酱

The basil in our garden (picture, left) is flourishing beautifully, and it is just one basil plant. We will call it "the parent basil" for now. As he read that basil is easy to propagate from cuttings, he also tried to propagate two or three other basil plants from the cuttings of the parent basil.

"Stop!" was what I told him - to not propagate the basil as I do not use basil very often in my cooking.

Meantime, while the newly propagated basil plants are still rooting, I gotta find more ways to use the parent basil before it is "taken away" by winter in a few months time.


Without question, one of the easiest ways to use up the abundance of basil is to make pesto. I have shunned away from the expensive pine nuts and opted for walnuts for this pesto.

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Celery Cashew Nut Salad 凉拌西芹腰豆

This no-fuss three-ingredient, dressing ingredient not included, side-dish salad is easy to prepare (no stir-frying required) and if you are thinking of making more and storing in the fridge, the good news is, it also keeps well (~ two days) in the fridge.


For a non-spicy dressing, omit the chili "sauce" in this dressing. Personally, I prefer sesame oil as one of the components in a dressing for Asian-style salads or side-dishes; while using extra-virgin olive oil or flax oil for Mediterranean-style bean-based salads.

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Almond-Crusted Fish 杏仁片鱼柳

If you are thinking of making a biscuit- or panko-crust fish fillets and do not have soda crackers or panko in the pantry, use sliced almonds as an alternative.

With the sliced almonds, it gives an additional toasty nutty flavor to the fish!


Tag: almond-crusted fish, fish nuggets

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Homemade Almond Milk 自制杏仁奶

This is my first attempt making a nut-based milk at home. In my to-do list, there was another milk - soy milk, that I wanted to experiment (that bag of organic soybeans has been sitting in my pantry for months!). But, the process to make almond milk seems relatively more straight-forward than soy milk (one-step less* for almond milk using the same "equipment and tools"), so let's make some almond milk today.

You would not know what milk is that till you taste it

Almond milk may not be comparable to the level of proteins in cow's milk but it contains other vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin E, Vitamin D, calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, iron, and zinc. In case you are lactose-intolerant, almond milk can be a "dairy" substitute.

Raw almonds, before and after soaking

Homemade Almond Milk 自制杏仁奶
Ingredients:
1 cup raw almonds, soak in water overnight. You will notice that the almond plump up a bit after soaking. Drain and gently rinse before use.
3-4 cups warm filtered or spring water

Tools:
You will need a blender (I have used my Ninja blender for this), and a strainer (I have used the traditional coconut squeezer/coffee strainer cloth but you can opt for a Unbleached Cheesecloth). If you own the very popular Vitamix, you may have the "luxury" to skip the straining step as the Vitamix blender blades may be powerful enough to "crush/blend" the almonds completely and make very smooth (texturally fine) almond milk.

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Baked Dukkah-Crusted Chicken Breast Strips

Dukkah is a blend of nuts, seeds and spices. Most often, hazelnuts are used but there are also other renditions e.g. mixing in hazelnuts with pistachios.


Then comes sesame seeds, and spices such as coriander and cumin.


Don't you think they look like the famous chocolate treat - Almond Roca? It must be pretty ambitious not having tasted dukkah before, yet trying to make it for the first time at home.

Dukkah can be enjoyed in these ways: traditionally, as a dip where you dunk a piece of bread in extra-virgin olive oil, then in the dukkah; or in modernity, as a crust/coating for..."something".

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