Baked Lunchbox

January242013

WHOLEWHEAT PASTA with Shrimp Tomato Sauce

This little pasta dish may sound like a regular tomato sauce pasta but it’s really not, and it’s not that “little” either. The tomato sauce is infused with a lot of herbs that you can totally cut down salt, and other unnecessary seasonings!

Recipe - 1 serving:

50 (raw) grams Whole Wheat Pasta

1/2 Green Bell Pepper, chopped finely

1/2 White Onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

A handful of Basil leaves, chopped finely

3 leaves Oregano, chopped finely

3 medium-sized tomatoes, cubed

1/4 Carrots, chopped finely

a handful of Spinach, chop roughly

3 shrimps

3 Tablespoons tomato paste (to taste)

Step-by-step:

1. Boil water in pot. Place pasta in boiling water. Boil 15-20 minutes.

2. While boiling… Chop finely Bell Pepper, Basil leaves, Oregano leaves, Garlic, Carrots - set aside, separately.

3. Cube Tomatoes, White Onion -set aside, separately.

4. Preheat medium-sized skillet with a teaspoon of Olive Oil. You’ll know if the oil is hot and ready by touching it using a moist wooden spoon. If oil sizzles, that’s the time you can add the ingredients.

5. Sauté Garlic and Onion til almost golden brown. Throw in Tomatoes & Carrots. Cover pan with lid for 1 minute or until tomatoes become watery.

6. Add in Basil, Oregano, Spinach, Bell Pepper - Mix well. This is also a good time to add the shrimps so it’ll absorb the aroma of the herbs while cooking.

7. Add Tomato Paste and give it a good mix.

8. Drain the Pasta from the boiling water just before serving. We don’t want sticky pasta now, don’t we? You can also mix it with a little olive oil, but that’t not necessary if you drain the pasta straight from the pot to your plate.

9. Be creative! Presentation is part of the meal if you want to enjoy your delicious creation!

*Photo: I just cooked Step 7 separately for presentation that’s why the Tomato Shrimp sauce is a bit dry on the photo. But when you mix them all up on your plate, tastes as good!

food healthy whole wheat pasta tomato sauce savory shrimp fitness diet workout exercise

December152011

Step out of the ordinary breakfast recipe…

I got so intrigued when I heard that scrambled eggs can be made fluffier, and so I gave it a shot! How does one simply make fluffier eggs, we all ask? Well, here’s the step by step instructions to your interesting new breakfast recipe!

And so everyone’s wondering, what is this added ingredient for a FLUFFIER egg breakfast?

It’s Lady’s Choice Real Mayonnaise!

Here’s the step-by-step:

1) Prepare all ingredients needed. Eggs & Mayo. 1 egg = 1 Tbsp. Mayo

2) Whisk eggs and mayo together.

3) Cook the scrambled eggs as you would normally cook them. There you have it! Fluffier eggs! Not just for breakfast because I’m eating mine right now for lunch! ;) Drizzle some ketchup as you wish!

And that’s how you cook some scrambled eggs!

*Make sure ALL the ingredients (eggs & mayo) are in ROOM TEMPERATURE. I had a hard time whisking them together when they were still chilled. It became clumpy so I had to do it again in room temperature.

(Source: bakedlunchbox)

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August192011

PIZZA + ZOMBIES = ❤ of my life

HAHAHAHA!

Heck yeah, I’ve been labeled weird! Some think I am, but for some it’s okay. For me, it’s really really okay!!

So what do you get when you put pizzas and zombies together? HELL PIZZA!

Ever since I saw their interactive game/video, I was impressed by the way they marketed their brand (link of video below). I wish I was part of their team who have thought about it ;)

While this pizza chain is only available in New Zealand, I kept on looking for it when I was there! They didn’t open up that many branches that’s why it was kind of hard to look for it. Then at last! We found one! It was located along a small alley where no one would normally walk into unless he/she is mysterious (i dont really know haha!) And it was just right down an apartment complex thing.

Small location, big marketing idea, big profit!

Anyway, I find their menu really entertaining! I like how they played with words and constructed something witty out of it. Pizza flavors (first 5 from the menu):

- Mordor (Hell yeah!)

- Mischief

- Mayhem

- Brimstone

- Trouble

Too bad we didn’t eat here because we already ate at a Mexican burrito joint just right across and how could I not notice this?! Either way, I’d rather just take pictures because a slice of pizza would already cost up to NZ$10! :(

But if any of you are planning for a New Zealand trip, better watch out for this one! Then you can say you really went to NZ :)

This branch: Queenstown, New Zealand

What happened that day: Bungy jumping + seeing Hell Pizza at last! ;P

Yeap, that’s me! And it was foggy, like jumping into nothing you can see and something might just grab you from below (okay, too much horror/suspense movies xD)

Hell Pizza VIDEO:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p1yBlV7Ges

new zealand hell hell pizza food restaurant Queenstown bungy jumping savory

August102011

Italian 拉面… kinda

I learned a lot from these past three weeks: from food bites to real-life scenarios. Everything was just swell. With busy Saturdays at the kitchen, making and preparing food, mainly pasta and risotto.

It was incredible how I found passion here in food and now I feel like it’s going somewhere up ahead. I was and still am motivated.

Early mornings never felt so great and productive; the smell of onions and garlics sizzling, sound of boiling of pasta water and the many hands kneading different pasta dough.

With head-chef Uli, sous-chef Mike and apprentices Michelle and Maria around, I learned so much from them. But I thank my parents mostly for letting me do what I want to do :)

This Cannelloni was the best dish we made, the Tortellini would be the runner-up. I’ll be going to make one of those again soon and let’s see where I’ll go from there.

Even if my classes are over, I am still going to continue on my kitchen adventures and experiments. This is the only way I’ll be able to keep up and move along.

But for now, heavy exams and school work up ahead. I’m dead X_X

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August12011

Taken from 2nd day at International School of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management (ISCAHM). Munching on shredded Gruyere Cheese while waiting for the pasta sauces to simmer. Don’t let chef know ;)

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July312011

ISCAHM Day 2

Day 2 of the Pasta & Risotto class I’m attending and so far, I’m enjoying every single bits of it, the time spent on cooking and munching on the food when the chef’s not looking ;)

So yesterday, we cooked 5 pasta dishes and 1 risotto dish with 6 different kinds of pasta doughs…

Dough:

- saffron

- squid ink/black

- spinach

- beetroot

- plain

- chocolate!!

Pasta & Risotto:

- Macaroni and Ham Gratin

- Mushroom and Spinach Raviolo alla Piemontese

- Fettuccine Alfredo

- Ham and Herb Stuffed Tortellini in Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

- Farfalle Pasta allo Scoglio

- Saffron Risotto

The first half of the session, the kitchen was just quiet. Everyone was chopping away whatever vegetables, ham or seafood that needed chopping.

The second half, we all got hands-on and dirty. With flour, I mean. Busy, busy, busy! Kneaded, sheeted, stuffed, shaped the pasta doughs…

Stuffed Tortellinis (Spinach Pasta Dough)

Bow-Tie Pasta (Beetroot and Squid Ink Pasta Dough)

Ravioli at the back (Saffron & Chocolate Pasta Dough) & Fettuccine (all kinds of doughs)

SECRET WEAPONS: you’ll see…

I can sense a pattern here.. Remember on my old post, Chef Uli also did this trick with slices of garlic bread… and now he used bread sticks. Now we know it’s from Chef Uli if it’s styled like this ;)

Farfalle Pasta allo Scoglio, aka Seafood Ragout, was the one dish that stood out among all prepared. Well, I personally liked the Tortellini but there were just so many ingredients used on this seafood dish that it was the tastiest. The clams were perfect and the bow-tie pasta colors were so cute! :)

What made me like this Macaroni & Ham Gratin was that we used Gruyere Cheese for its sauce. It had this tangy and salty flavors mixed with a little bit of the typical cheese smell, which a lot of people do not like, but I like it. It’s what makes the cheese, cheese!

We made a lot of Macaroni Gratin! 4 dishes of it and the little white polka-dotted blue dish is so cute!

Toxic morning, but it was all fun and scrumptious. Got to take home a lot of food this time; I was prepared, I brought a lot of food containers xD Next Saturday again for the third and last session, I will miss this class therefore I will spend my time cooking and baking more! :D

This all happened in the morning just in time for lunch time, hold on to those spatulas and knives for more baking adventures that happened on the same day but on the evening. Chocolate Pull-Apart Bread and Ginger Cookies soon! :)

blog culinary school pasta dough food seafood risotto cheese gratin macaroni ravioli tortellini kitchen bow tie pasta chef savory

July222011

JAPANESE RAMEN with egg and coriander garnish

I was hungry and was looking for something warm to eat, all I found was this pack of spicy ramen noodles in the pantry. First thing’s first, I’m not a fan of spicy food. Yeah I eat spicy very very occasionally. The spiciest food I ate was at an authentic Indian restaurant in Little India, Singapore. Nothing could ever beat that xD

Anyway, so what I did to this ramen was use 1/3 of the spicy seasoning for flavoring and add some other concoctions I found. It was more of a mix-and-match situation! Haha!

This is not your average 3-minute instant ramen routine. Here’s my own version:

1) High heat, boil water first then put the noodles in. People would always put the noodles in then wait for the water to boil. This is a big no-no for cooking noodles, any kind of noodles.

2) Low-medium heat, cover and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes then stir the noodles until it separate from each other. Cover again for another 3-4 minutes.

I always like my noodles over-cooked a bit so I leave it in for 5 minutes or so. That’s the way I want it because its like I don’t have to chew a lot after a long day, that’s why we’re cooking instant noodles here people! Cook fast, eat fast, digest fast!

3) Add in the spicy seasoning depending on how spicy you want or how salty, for the non-spicy ones.

Typically, after adding the seasoning it’s ready to serve but I made my ramen noodles a bit more special.

4) I added about an estimate of 1 tablespoon of Kikoman soysauce and 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of Japanese rice wine. The Kikoman soysauce gives flavor to the noodles & soup, while the Japanese Rice Wine kicks out some of the spiciness!

5) At this time, the noodle soup should be boiling a bit. Lastly, beat 1 egg in a bowl and pour in into the boiling noodle soup bit by bit. Do NOT throw in the whole beaten egg because this will harden right away making a big chunk of egg in the soup. What we want are small chunky bits of egg swimming around, not a big chunk.

Split the beaten egg into 4 parts: pour 1/4, mix rapidly but controlled. Spread the egg all over the noodle soup. Repeat.

6) Garnish it with some nice aromatic greens like coriander.

ENJOY!!

japanese food noodles ramen meal egg savory

July152011

Unagi Don! Japanese rice bowls are the easiest to prepare; very satisfying to the taste buds and tummy xD

1) japanese rice + sliced unagi + raw egg (break the yolk when it’s already on top of the unagi)

2) pop into oven/microwave until the egg is cooked

3) devour!

Don’t mind the eaten part on the side; the smell was just so appetizing! :P

I like mine mixed until the rice is covered with unagi sauce and with some crunchy strips of seaweed added for more flavor :)

Gonna eat slowly until I finish studying for my exam tomorrow… Unagi Don, this is going to be a long night! xD

unagi don unagi japanese food food japanese meal blog savory

July62011

Non-Fat, Non-Oily, All-Baked Onion Rings!!!

Onions make your breath stink! That’s what they all say.

But I’m going to show you a way of preparing a pure onion dish without giving you stinky breath! xD

Bake it!

Since baking the onions will dry out the onion’s juice, leaving it crunchy and still tasty!

I used white sweet onions for this Onion Rings dish. Sliced at least 1cm thick.

Dipped it in the batter i prepared prior to slicing the onions. Make sure the onion slice is fully covered before moving on to the next step.

After fully dipping the onion slice in the batter, cover it with the crumbs prepared also prior to slicing the onions. Fully cover it with the crumbs if you must. I wanted it extra crunchy, so that’s what I did ;)

Place them on an oven-safe tray, with spaces in between.

Bring them in the oven for 8 minutes at 375F. Turn them upside down. Bake for another 8 minutes. LE POOF! Tasty, crunchy, scrumptious Onion Rings!!

This was what’s left. Everyone was picking and eating on the baked ones every time they pass me by while the other onions were still inside the oven so the platter was never full hahaha!

TIP on dipping the onions in the batter and crumbs:

Use LEFT hand for the batter. Use RIGHT hand for the crumbs.

I only used left hand for one onion because I was holding my camera with my right hand xD

food onion onion rings meal appetizer bake vegetable snacks savory

July12011

Wagamama at Wellington, New Zealand

It was late and this was the only restaurant open around where we parked our camper van. Plus, my brother said it’s good there because he already tried Wagamama at China.

Yeah, the food was delicious! It’s Japanese cosmopolitan + New Zealand style. Like this one rice bowl I ordered, instead of sukiyaki beef, it was LAMB! How yummy is that?!

LAMB! LAMB! LAMB! baaaa! xD

The chefs were also cute, so yeah, plus points! ;)

If you ever live near a Wagamama restaurant branch, take your time off off work or school and just sit in their relaxing ambience late at night (like 10PM) and eat a late dinner there. Indulge in their savory flavors and just chew, chew and chew.

New Zealand is the best!

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June272011

I know there isn’t much effort nor creativity put in here but this is the best salad with the best salad dressing I’ve ever had. (If you know there’s another “best salad” in town, let me know *sarcasm*) >.<

Just mix up some Romaine Lettuce, Aruglua/Spinach (choose only one because you wouldn’t want your salad to have lots of coarse-y leafs), some kind of mini purple lettuce (not the round one) and another type of leafy greens which name I’m not familiar with xD

+ some mangoes!

Then add the best salad dressing ever! No, this didn’t come out of a bottle, it’s purely home-mixed ;) There is a secret ingredient you guys would never probably guess out right because it’s like the most opposite of the balsamic vinegar. (Ask me if you wanna know. I want some inbox love haha)

Toss it up and down, up and down until everything has some touch of the sauce. Do not put too much salad sauce because this will ruin the crunchiness of the leaves and leaving it soggy.

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June172011

Grasshopper: served with head and legs

Has anyone tried something exotic lately?

Well, this was taken a year ago and to tell you the truth, I didn’t dare eat that thing.

That’s a grasshopper guys!

I wouldn’t dare if it’s something that involves, but not limited to, insects, intestines and/or organs.

meal exotic food grasshopper insect food savory

June62011

Lasagna - made from scratch!

I like pasta.

+

I like making things from scratch

=

Pasta lasagna made from scratch!

From mixing the dough to kneading to boiling it. The red sauce and béchamel sauce were just extra. Of course no one wants their pasta without sauce!!

Kneaded the dough and left it in the fridge to sit overnight.

Here’s the hardest part! Flattening the dough! See, I don’t have a sheeter and I left my rolling pin somewhere so I just used a glass cup with flat exterior.

I wanted it thin and smooth so i kept on rolling and rolling until desired thinness. Boy that was exhausting!

But it was all worth the effort!

Here’s the thing with fresh-made pasta: boil it right after making it, whether flat or strips or ravioli-type, you have to boil it right away to avoid hardening and cracking of the uncooked pasta.

SOOOO DELICIOUS!!! I want to make some more despite how much effort I have to put in for just 1 family serving-size lasagna! ;P

And look! It’s in a lunchbox!! How cute is that?!

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April182011

Yes, im an avid fan of Charlie McDonnell! He’s funny, smart and spontaneous! Plus the fact that he and his flatmate, Alex, have a clean and spacious kitchen; it seems fun and easy to work in there :) note: they only have 1 coffee plate in their plate cabinet hahaha!

Here’s a screenshot from a recent episode of “Sorted”, a cooking channel featuring Charlieissocoollike aka Charlie McDonnell.

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