Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

中文菜谱： 蓝莓奶酪冰激凌

Houston has been known for its long and hot and humid summer…  Well, let’s look at the bright side.  The ice cream season is really long too! O(∩_∩)O~

I love making ice cream from scratch at home.  Most people might assume it is a long, complicate and labor intensive process.  Guess what?  It is not always true! 

Allow me to introduce this blueberry cheesecake ice cream, which is super easy and simple to make.  it is so good that you won’t miss the store bought version once you have tried it.

I use homemade blueberry jam made with fresh blueberries here.  You can always substitute with the ones sold in grocery stores to save some time. 

When blueberry is in season, I buy pounds of blueberries.  Wash and drain them well.  Add to a large pot, along with brown sugar to taste.  Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice.  Cook over medium heat until it boils.  And then reduce the heat to medium low.  Stir from time to time to prevent burning at the bottom. 

Remove from heat when blueberries are cooked down and thicken.

Ingredients：

1package of cream cheese, 8 oz/ 226g
280 g condensed milk/ 10 oz
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
blueberry jam 

Directions：

Freeze ice cream container for at least 24 hours.

Take cream cheese out of fridge and leave it at room temperature for about 40 minutes or until it softens. 

Add cream cheese to a medium bowl.  Beat with electric whisker at low speed while gradually adding sweetened condensed milk. 

Add heavy cream, milk and vanilla.  Whisk until everything is well combined and smooth.

Refrigerate the custard for 2 to 4 hours before adding to ice cream machine.

Churn the custard in ice cream machine for 25 minutes.  It comes out as soft-served ice cream.  

Spoon the cheese ice cream to an ice cream container.  Add a couple ladles of blue berry jam in between and swirl with a spoon.

Cover with lid.  Freeze for another 4 to 6 hours.

It is very cheesy and creamy, sweet but not too sweet.  Blueberry jam adds a very nice touch of flavor to the ice cream.

Every scoop of blueberry cheesecake ice cream has its unique pattern O(∩_∩)O~

Peanut Sesame Milk with Jujubes

中文菜谱： 芝麻花生红枣桂圆露

My old soymilk maker finally broke after almost 10 years’ service in my kitchen.  I bought a new soymilk machine to replace it.  Oh man, I had no idea how soymilk machines had evolved during the past 10 years!  All my old machine did was to blend soy beans and heat the soymilk.  But the new ones available on market now can do so much more.  They can make smoothies, puddings, porridges and all kinds of nut milk instead of pure soy milk.   

I have been trying different nut milk and soy milk after I got my new toy.  It is been so much fun and I can’t wait to share some of my great experiments with you guys!

Nuts used in the recipe would have so much better result if you dry roast them first.

Ingredients：

30 g roasted unsalted peanuts
20 g roasted unsalted black sesame seeds
10 g dried longan fruits
30 g jujubes
10 g steel cut oats

Directions：

Rinse jujubes, oats and longan fruits under running water.  Drain well.  If the jujubes are large in size, cut them into small pieces.

Add everything to a soymilk maker.

Add 1000 ml cold water.  

Turn on the soymilk maker and select “grains” function.

30 minutes later, hot peanut sesame milk with jujubes is done!

There is no need for adding extra sugar.  Jujubes and dried longan fruits have naturally sweet flavors.  The nuttiness from peanuts and sesame seeds makes the drink very comforting and pleasant O(∩_∩)O~

Cheesy Chicken Breakfast Whole Wheat Burritos

中文菜谱： 鸡丝奶酪全麦卷饼

I am a firm breakfast believer, which means I believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  T provides nutrition and energy for us to through the day.  And I never skip breakfast without a really good reason.  

One of my frequently homemade breakfasts is cheesy chicken burritos.  They are super easy and fun to make.  Just gather all the ingredients you need; lay them out on the countertop; and then wrap them up one by one.  You can even recruit little young children to do it together.  It is never too early to inspire a young chef, isn’t it?  O(∩_∩)O~

These cheesy burritos melt beautifully in double sided griddle skillet or a Panini machine.  

ingredients：

1 rotisserie chicken 
1 to 1.5 lb mozzarella cheese or any of your favorite shredded cheese
6 to 8 large eggs
1 cup crumbled bacon
2packages of whole wheat tortillas (16 to 20 in total）
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
3 to 4 tablespoons oil for making scrambled eggs

Directions：

Debone the whole rotisserie chicken.  Use your fingers tips to shred the chicken as finely as possible.

Heat a wok over medium high heat.  Add oil and eggs.  Cook the egg just until they settle.  Season with salt and black pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool down to room temperature.

Add chicken, cheese, scrambled eggs, and crumbled bacon to a large bowl.  Season with salt and black pepper, and gently toss everything together.

Grab a handful of the chicken cheese filling.  Add to the center of a whole wheat tortilla.

Roll and wrap it up.

Seal each burrito with plastic wrap, which will help them to stay in shape and easier for storage too. 

Pack any extra burritos in large Ziploc bags.  Freeze for later use.

Preheat a double sided electric griddle skillet.  Add burritos with seam side down.  Grill until they are golden brown and cheese is melted inside.  

If you don’t have a double sided electric griddle skillet, a Panini machine will work just fine too.

The outside is crispy and crunchy, and the inside is moist, cheesy, gooey and loaded with tons of delicious flavors.  Yum!

With a cup of coffee or soy milk, you have a perfect breakfast!  O(∩_∩)O~

Stir-fried Eggs and Wheat Berries

中文菜谱： 葱花蛋炒小麦粒饭

We all know how good stir-fried eggs and rice are.  But have you ever thought about substituting white rice with healthier whole grains?  I have.  I tried with wheat berries.  And guess what?  It tastes amazingly delicious! O(∩_∩)O~

Wheat berries have a much lower GI index than white rice.  And it can keep you full longer.  Not to mention they are also high in fiber, minerals and nutrition. 

When fully cooked, wheat berries have al dente texture similar to a combination of brown rice and pearl barley. 

Just a perfect little bit of chewiness makes it my new favorite whole grain now.

This is what wheat berry looks like.

Ingredients：

1 cup hard winter wheat berry
3 to 4 tablespoons crumbled bacon
water for cooking wheat berries
3 to 4 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt to taste

Directions：  

Rinse the wheat berries under running water.  Add to a rice cooker.  Add water according to rice cooker’s brown rice cooking instructions.  And then press “brown rice”. 

The whole cooking process takes about 100 minutes.   

This is what it looks like when wheat berries are fully cooked.

Eggs and green onion are essential to Asian style stir-fried rice.

Heat a cast iron wok over high heat.  Add oil.  Seconds later, add beaten eggs. 

Add cooked wheat berries when eggs are beginning to settle at the bottom of the wok.  Stir fry constantly over high heat with a spatula.  Use the spatula to break down any large pieces eggs when stir frying.

Add crumbled bacon and salt to taste.  

Sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Continue to stir fry for another 10 to 20 seconds. 

Remove from heat and serve hot immediately.

Multi Seed Crackers

中文版菜谱：杂粮小饼干multi seed crackers

We all know the health benefits of eating more whole grains and seeds.  But the thing is, although very healthy, whole grain pastry items don’t always taste as good and don’t have the smooth texture as the ones made from refined flour.  

I have been trying making healthy whole grain snacks at home for a while.  After a few tries, I finalized this recipe.  These crackers are now my go to snacks for afternoon tea/ coffee.  

They are crunchy and crispy.  Lots of nuts/ seeds like almond, flax seeds, sun flower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds are added to the crackers to make them super tasty and healthy.  

I used to buy whole grain crackers from wholefood every week.  But these are so much better!  I can cross another whole grain item from my shopping list.  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

60 g rye flour
60 g oat flour
40 g almond flour
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of water
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds (both black and white ones)
1/4  cup flax seeds
1/2  teaspoon salt  

Directions：

Preheat oven to 325F/ 163C

Add rye flour, oat flour, almond flour, salt, olive oil and water to a large bowl.  Mix with a wooden spoon or a pair chopsticks.

The dough might be a little wet and sticky.  It is fine.  Cover with with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 10 to 20 minutes.

Mix all the seeds together in another bowl.

Add to the dough.  Knead with hands until everything comes together.

Line up a cookie pan with baking mat or parchment paper. 

Transfer the dough to the center of cookie pan.  Punch it down and then roll it into a even thin layer with a small rolling pin.

Use a pizza cutter or kitchen knife to cut it into small squares.

Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the crackers are slightly golden brown.

Allow the crackers to completely cool down before removing them from baking mat.

They can be stored in air-tight containers or zip-loc bags for up to a week.

They are very crunchy and crispy, loaded with tons of rich hearty earthy flavors.

 These crackers are so tasty that I don’t plan to buy multi seeds crackers from supermarket again.   O(∩_∩)O~