How to preserve coriander

I used to hate coriander. My mom would always make coriander soup when someone had a sore throat. She believed that coriander soothed the throat...i'm not too sure about that. Like dill pickles, I do not when and how I started liking it. I like using coriander in thai dishes and also salads, like my crab salad. But I always have a lot of trouble keeping my coriander. They usually last a few days and start to rot. I mentioned in an old post that the moisture make the coriander rot faster. It is true.

My friend Wynn told me to wrap my coriander in paper towels to keep the moisture out. I did that, but preferred the freezing method. This way I can add coriander to curry or soups, but not really for salads.

Wash and chop coriander leaves and stuff them into an ice cube tray, then fill it with enough water that the leaves are all submerged. Freeze.

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Cold Noodles with Snap Peas

Cooking is enjoyable only when it's not 35C degrees out. When it's hot, I just want to avoid turning on any kitchen appliance. I originally wanted to make cold soba noodles, but didn't have time to get soba noodles at an Asian market. So I decided to get some vermicelli at Loblaws. I got this recipe from a cookbook I have at home. The recipe in the book is the one with the smoked salmon, but I knew Kev would find this combination weird. So I made his with Shrimp instead.






1 pack of vermicelli, prepared as indicated

Sugar snap peas, blanched

Shrimp or Smoked Salmon

Sweet and Spicy Thai sauce (I used PC Memories of Thailand)

1. Cook everything, then rinse in cold water.


2. Mix all ingredients with the sauce.


3. Eat.

The combination of smoked salmon and Thai sauce was a strange mix of flavors. I didn't hate it, but it was definitely strange. The shrimp version was a bit better, but i think maybe a scallop version would be even better. I liked how easy it was to make, but I wouldn't recommend leftovers.

Thai Mango Salad

My summer fruit of the year is mango. As mentioned before, Kevin and I have been going crazy for mangoes. Sometimes I'll be too anxious and cut one to eat before it is ripe. Sour mango is bad, bad, bad.

Today I noticed one of the mangoes had bruises. Bruises that weren't there when I bought it. So I peeled it and discarded the bruised flesh. I've tasted worse mangoes, but this one was still too sour.

So I decided to look up a way to use up sour mangoes. I thought about making orange jello with mango pieces in it...too kid's party. Maybe coconut jello with mango pieces...I don't have coconut milk at home. Then I found a recipe for Thai mango salad. If I remember correctly, I believe Thai mango salad is made with green mango and not red mangoes, but decided to be a rebel and try it out anyway.

1 mango, peeled and shredded

1/2 red onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced and crushed

1 tbsp of fish sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 red chili pepper, minced (can be subbed with cayenne pepper and/or red pepper flakes)

1/2 or 1 tbsp of lime juice

Cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

Peanuts crushed for garnish (optional)

1. Mix everything in a glass bowl. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve over green lettuce leaves.

As can be seen from my picture, I was missing a lot of ingredients. I had the basics, but I think it could have been better with the cilantro and peanuts. The mango salad was spicy, and I couldn't detect the sourness from before...I'd make this again if I ever encounter another sour mango, but I'd peel a mango early just to be able to make this. I marinated it in the mixture for about a day and half. It was delicious!

Goat Cheese & Arugula Pizza

When I was younger, whenever my mom wasn't home to make dinner, we'd order pizza delivery at a local place. The pizza was always dripping in oil and full of cheese. I loved it, but then eventually got sick of it when I got older. When my sister lived in Toronto, I'd visit her every holiday I had from school and she'd always take me to the Pizza Pizza place close to her place. Back then, Pizza Pizza was not available in Quebec. Their pizza was delicious. I liked that they weren't dripping with cheese and oil.

But it was my trip to Quebec city with Kevin that made me fall in love with gourmet pizza. We went to this Italian restaurant right outside the walled city and it was the best pizza I have ever had.

When I get lazy, I make "fancy" pizza at home, It's fast to make. I had a bunch of arugula leaves in my fridge and some tomatoes. I hate how vegetables go bad so quickly. So I went out and bought some goat cheese and voila...


1 large pita bread
Pesto
Roma tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Arugula leaves
Goat Cheese
Olive oil
Pepper
lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Spread pesto all over one side of the pita.
3. Cut medallions of goat cheese and place them on the Pita. Or crumble goat cheese.
4. Add sliced Roma tomatoes, sprinkle minced garlic
5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until pita is crispy.
6. Chop arugula and mix a bit of olive oil, pepper, and lemon juice in it.
7. Take pizza out of oven, spread arugula on top. Enjoy!

When I make a veggie gourmet pizza, I often make a regular pepperoni with cheese one for Kevin. He sometimes complain when there's no meat in our dinner. However, when he had this, he said he liked it better than the pepperoni pizza. Victory! My only complaint about this is that it's not great to bring to lunch...unless you bake it again in a toaster oven at work. The pita gets really soggy.

Crab Ceviche

I know, I have been lazy with the blog. After starting my new job, I'm just usually too tired to blog after work...and I'm too busy to blog at work. lol

A few weeks ago, my old friend Wynn invited us over for a BBQ get together at her place. I remember adding a recipe for crab ceviche in my favorites a while ago, but just never got a chance to make it at home. This was an easy recipe and fast recipe to prepare. It's great for the summer.

I couldn't quite make up my mind about whether it should be called crab salad or crab ceviche. Ceviche is basically marinating in a citrus-based mixture. The reason why it confuses me is that usually ceviche marinates raw foods...like scallop or fish, but I'm using imitation crab.

1 package of imitation meat, chopped or flaked.

tomatoes

red onion finely chopped

cilantro leaves, chopped

Lime juice

red bell peppers (yellow or orange works too)

Olive oil

salt and pepper

sugar

*Important: Use a glass bowl. Do not use metal or plastic.

1. Mix crab meat with olive oil until well coated. Add all the veggies. Add lime juice , salt and pepper, and a bit of sugar to balance the dish. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

These were gone in 5 minutes at the BBQ. I liked them a lot too and was planning on making them again with the leftover cilantro. But my cilantro went bad after only a few days. Why???

I actually did some research since I got so sick of my cilantro going bad. The bad guy here is the plastic bag and moisture/water. Cilantro can apparently be kept for 2 weeks if you store them correctly. For starters, ditch the plastic bag and dry the cilantro with a paper towel before storing them in the fridge. The water on the leaves makes them rot more quickly. So this is why my mom wraps some of her veggies in paper towels in the fridge. Another way to have cilantro is to freeze into ice cubes to be used in stew or curry, but not useful if you want to use it in a salad...