Ice It Up With Some FLAVOR

Ice cube trays are still for ice but, make them a
little more fun and recycle your drinks.
After you make your coffee, do you just throw out the
left over coffee in the kettle or coffee pot because...
you don't know what to do with it?
Put it into ice cube trays and use it for Iced Coffee.
It chills your drink while your drink stays undiluted.
Do it for coffee, iced tea, lemonade, juice etc...
Any drink is better with ice in the flavor of
the drink rather than a diluted drink.

Some leftover iced tea & green tea made into ice cubes.

You can fancy it up even more with added fruit or mint.
Raspberries, sliced grapes and mint leaves work really well.

Muffin Tins as Double Duty

Ah, the familiar muffin tin. What do you bake in it? Muffins?
Cupcakes? Individual breads?
Continue to bake delicious goods but, use the muffin tin
as double duty, even triple duty...
Serve candy at a birthday party, make a kids snack after school
or an adult snack after work. Do you enjoy a late night snack of
chips but can't just have one? Portion control your snacks by
putting smaller amounts of food into the muffin compartments.

Babysitting the cousins or the neighborhood kids?
It's a fun, great way to layout some snacks.

Throw some healthy snacks in there too!
Also great for picnic condiments for the hot dogs & burgers.
Use the compartments for ketchup, mustard, relish, tomatoes,
mayo, pickles, etc... have fun with it!

Mochi - Ice Cream

Mochi Ice Cream is a Japanese dessert made from sticky rice.
The outside layer is made from pounding sticky rice.
The ball shaped desserts are filled with ice cream that
is made from an  ice milk rather cream like the way
many other ice creams are made from.


The Mochi flavors are green tea, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry,
mango and red bean paste. The little round shaped balls come
in a 6 pack. It can be considered a finger food. They can be eaten
with a tooth pick or a small fork. It's nice for portion control
but it can be a little pricey. Trader Joe's seems to have the
cheapest price right now.

Rice

More than 100 different types of rice are cultivated just in the USA.
The 4 basic types of rice are long grain, medium grain, short grain
and colored rice.

Long Grain - cooks fluffy and in separate grains like Basmati or Jasmine.

Medium Grain - cooks moist and slightly sticky like Italian Arborio (risotto)

Short Grain - cooks very sticky and the grains are almost round like sushi
or sweet rice

Colored Rice - brown, black, red to name a few
(has the most texture due to the hulls not being removed as much as other rice)

Then, there is wild rice which actually is a kind of grass and not like the
other rice. The main difference in wild rice is that it is harvested by
hand in smaller crops.

Brown Rice or sometimes called "hulled rice" is unmilled or partly milled rice, a kind of whole, natural grain. It has a mild, nutty flavor and is chewier and more nutritious than regular white rice, but can spoil more quickly because the germ—which is removed to make white rice—contains fats that can go bad more quickly.

Rice field in Indonesia.

Iceberg Wedge Salad

The iceberg wedge salad is a twist on a standard tossed salad.
The tip behind making this salad so yummy is to chill the lettuce
wedge after you cut it. Take off the first layer of the head of lettuce
and cut it into either 2 or 4 wedges. Place the wedges into the refrigerator
for a little while or freezer depending on when you are serving or eating it.

When you are ready to eat the salad, top the lettuce with
a handful of diced tomatoes,
crumbled bacon,
finely chopped eggs (optional)
finely chopped scallions (optional)
and drizzle with blue cheese salad dressing

Agave Nectar

Agave Nectar is a natural sweetener similar to honey but not as thick. 
Agave Nectar is also sometimes called Agave syrup which comes from 
the Agave plant which also makes tequila. The plant is cultivated in 
Mexico from the volcanic soils it grows on. The plants are spikey 
resembling a cactus or even more similar to an Aloe Vera plant.

Agave plants come in many sizes and colors —
well over 100 species. The Blue Agave has the highest 
carbohydrate content which allows for the highest percentage 
of fructose in the final nectar when
it is cultivated.

Agave nectar is about one and a half times sweeter than sugar.
Agave nectar is often substituted for sugar or honey in recipes.
Agave is commonly used as a Vegan alternative to honey in cooking.
It also dissolves quickly, so it is nice to use as a sweetener for
cold beverages such as coffee or iced tea.

Juan is harvesting the large plant by cutting the spikey blades off.

Dumplings (steamed)

Dumplings, translates to "pockets of goodness" in Chinese.

Dumplings are traditionally steamed but, can be boiled,
pan fried and or deep fried.

When you are steaming dumplings... the best way is with a
bamboo steamer. You can use a small 4" bamboo basket
(about $5.00) which will fit about 8-10 dumplings
(4-5 in each tier). You can steam directly on the bamboo surface,
by laying some lettuce down- (you know, the first layer of lettuce
that is slightly torn or brown or you just don't want to use.)
Laying the lettuce down helps in the prevention of the dumplings
sticking. If you love dumplings, you can purchase an 8 or 10"
bamboo steaming basket for about $13-$15
(all sizes come in 2 tiers) that will allow you to steam closer
to 20 or so yummy dumplings.

When you are not steaming dumplings - the bamboo baskets
come in handy for storing onions, garlic or potatoes.
The open slots allow air to get to your vegetables.


Chicken Dumplings
1/2 lb. ground chicken
1 tsp grated ginger
1 garlic clove
1/2 bundle chopped cilantro
1 TBSP  hoisin sauce
1 TBSP soy sauce
dumpling wrappers


Shrimp & Pork Dumplings
1/2 lb shrimp
1/2 lb ground pork (equal parts shrimp & pork)
1 Tbs grated ginger
1-2 grated garlic cloves in hot oil from pan
1/2 bundle chopped cilantro
2 stalks chopped scallions
dumpling wrappers



Pork  & Ginger Dumplings
1lb ground pork
1 TBSP sesame oil
2 TBSP grated ginger
1-2 grated garlic cloves
1/4 bundle of chopped cilantro
2 stalks chopped scallions
5 TBSP of hoisin sauce
dumpling wrappers


Tofu Kimchi Dumplings
1/2 pack tofu
1/2 cup chopped chives
1 bundle scallion chopped
1/8 cup kimchi
1 TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP sesame oil
dumpling wrappers