Butter Mochi with Mango filling

Perfect treat for the carb up day!

4oz mochiko rice flour
1/4c butter melted
1/2c sugar
3/4c coconut milk
1tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2c chopped mango (fresh or frozen)

Silicone muffin pan, or paper liners for regular pan. Preheat oven 350deg. Combine all ingredients, mix thoroughly till smooth. Fill cups 80% full with batter, top with 1 heaping tablespoon mango. Bake for 45min or until tops are golden brown. Makes 4 muffins

Pho with Chitterling Noodles

Recipe straight from Beyond Bacon. If you're into whole animal eating like I am this is the book for you!

I've been wanting to try this since I go the book and finally had the 2 days need for preparation this weekend. Did make an alteration due to ingredients on hand. The change was bones for the broth, did not have any, but I did have trotters. Made a dandy substitute if I do say so myself.

I've cooked pig intestines before so chitterlings were no challenge for me, cleaning was a breeze but cooking was another matter. Smelled up the house pretty good! After that everything was straight forward. Made the recipes as written. The broth due to the trotters is thick with gelatin, it was great!

 Can't see the the goodness hiding below...

The chitterling noodles in all their glory!

Mealworm Fried 'Rice'

Was cruising the inter-webs yesterday and came across this article cooking with insects and a recipe for fried rice. Unusual enough to peak my interest. Went grocery shopping this morning to pick up ingredients. One stop at the market, next the pet store. You're thinking to yourself "why the pet store?" 

To get these! Check out that protein content!!

 Preparation is like any fried rice recipe just worms are added instead of chicken or pork.

Reminded me of dried shrimp but not as chewy or salty, these crunchy. Will get live worms next time, want to give those little buggers a try!

Ingredients;

2tbsp lard

300g 'riced' cauliflower

25g dried mealworms

2cloves garlic chopped

3 scallions chopped

2tbsp coconut aminos or tamari

1-2tbsp fish sauce

White or black pepper to taste

1-2 Red Jalapeno chopped (optional)

Why eating insects makes sense, by Mark Sisson

Filipino Fish Head Soup

In the mood for soup on this hot day, so stopped in at the Asian Market to see what I could find. They had some nice looking salmon heads and the price was right. $1.98lb, after weighing $2.08. Also picked up some baby bok choy, scallions, ginger and garlic.

Preparation is simple. mince ginger (1/2c), chop garlic (entire head), chop scallions (6pcs, bulb plus greens), 2 bunches baby bok choy (green separated from white), 6cups boiling water, 2-4tbsp fish sauce (patis), 1.5 tsp Hawaiian salt. and 2 tbsp coconut oil.

Heat oil over medium high heat, add garlic and ginger. Cook till fragrant but not browned, add scallions, mix thoroughly. Place head in pot, pour boiling water over the top. Season with patis to taste. Return to a boil, cover and cook for 15min depending on size of head. Flip head over mid way through and add salt to taste.

Place salmon bowl, add bok choy whites to broth, cook for 1min then add greens. Remove from heat and stir. Pour broth and veggies into bowl.

1st time eat head for me. Started with the eyes, nothing to write home about. Pops like roe when bitten. The best part was the flesh behind the eye socket and cheeks, fatty and succulent!

Thai inspired pig ear salad

Did I ever say how much I enjoy pig ears? Chewy, gelatinous and crunchy!

1 serving as a meal or 2 as side salad

water

1 large pig ear

1 stalk lemon grass smashed

4 cloves garlic

1/4c sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a pot and cover with water. Simmer for 2-3hrs till tender to your liking. I prefer the cartilage on the crunchy side so I cook about 2hrs. Drain and cool before slicing into 1/4in strips

1/4c mint chopped

1/4c cilantro chopped

2tbsp minced lemon grass

1/2 lime juiced

3tbsp fish sauce

2 cloves garlic chopped

1/2in piece ginger minced

2-4 Thai chilies

3 scallions chopped

Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients. Pour over ear slices and marinate 1hr for flavors to meld. 

Enjoy!

Sinqua-try a new vegetable dish

Sinqua better known as silk gourd or Luffa acutangula. That's right, the same thing you scrub your body with. When young they are edible and native to SE Asia. A member of the Curcubit (cucumber) family. Adds texture and bitterness to the dish, although not much as the Indian bittermelon I tried recently.

Just a quick stir fry with some bacon, onion, garlic, sinqua, chilies, shao hsing wine and a squeeze of lime. Another acquired taste, not sure if I'll try this again. Depends on the recipe

Dried Kimchi at Trader Joes

Pricey at $2.99 for .07oz

No funky ingredients

Tasty, decent kimchi flavor and slightly spicy