Quick Tahini Salad with Homemade Pita Chips

Homemade Whole Wheat Pita Chips

One package Trader Joe's Brand whole wheat pita bread (6 pita breads)
Garlic-infused olive oil
Fine sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Position oven rack to the center position.

Working with one pita bread at a time, lay the pita bread on a cutting board. Brush the first side with about 1/4 teaspoon garlic-infused olive oil (regular EVOO will work fine). Sprinkle with a pinch of fine sea salt. Turn pita bread over. Brush the second side with another 1/4 teaspoon garlic-infused olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of fine sea salt. Cut pita bread into 8 wedges. Repeat the same for the remainder five pita breads. Place as many pita bread wedges on an ungreased shallow-rimmed baking sheet pan in one layer, leaving some spaces between wedges. Bake for 15 minutes, until brown and crisp. Remove from oven and transfer to a plate to cool. Repeat baking with the remainder pita bread wedges. Store cooled pita chips in an airtight container for several weeks.


Tahini Salad

This is an easy and quick method to make a Middle Eastern style tomato and cucumber salad with Tahini Sauce. Tahini sauce is made from ground sesame seeds (tahini or sesame butter), garlic, lemon juice, water and salt. Tahini sauce is the sauce traditionally served with falafels and used as a dressing in falafel and schwarma wraps. Trader Joe's makes a great Tahini Sauce. Tahini sauce can easily be made from scratch, but if you don't have time to make your own, you can purchase it at Trader Joe's. This tahini salad is creamy, refreshing. delicious and healthy. With the addition of pita chips, it gives the salad a nice crunch.

One-half of an English cucumber, unpeeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces (about 8 ounces)
1 Roma tomato, diced into 1/4-inch pieces (about 4 ounces)
4 tablespoons Trader Joe's brand Tahini Sauce (2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 pita chips, crumbled into bite-size pieces

Combined the cucumber and tomatoes in a medium-size bowl. Add the tahini sauce and sea salt. Toss together until combined. Add the crumbled pita chips and toss again. Transfer to a serving bowl and ready to eat.

Curried Grain Salad

Curried Grain Salad

This grain salad is adapted from Cafe Flora Cookbook. This is one my favorite grain salad. It's easy and quick to make. It's nutty, it's chewy, it's delicious! You can serve this grain salad as a side dish or eaten on its own like a luncheon salad.


1 cup raw pistachios, (4 ounces)
3/4 cup quinoa (5 ounces)
1-1/2 cups spelt berries (9.9 ounces), soaked in water for at least 8 hours
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (0.3 ounce)
Juice of 1 lime (about 4 tablespoons or 1.3 ounces)
1 tablespoon honey (0.5 ounce)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil (3.4 ounces)
1 cup dried cranberries (4 ounces)
5 to 6 slender green onions, white and green portion, thinly sliced (1.4 ounces)

Toast pistachios at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes, tossing nuts half way of baking time. Cool completely. Roughly chop nuts and set aside.

Rinse quinoa well and drain. Bring 1-1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan. Add quinoa and lower heat to low heat. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for about 5 minutes. Fluff with fork. Set aside.

Place spelt berries in a medium saucepan with 5 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

Making the curry vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine the curry powder, Dijon mustard, lime juice, honey, salt and pepper. Using a small whisk. blend all ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Dribble in the olive oil, whisking constantly until mixture is thoroughly blended. Set aside.

In a very large bowl, combine the quinoa and spelt berries. Add the entire curry vinaigrette and toss together with the quinoa and spelt berries until well combined. Next, add the cranberries, pistachios and green onions. Toss until everything are thoroughly combined. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Yields 8 to 10 servings

Grilled Chicken Breast

Grilled Chicken Breast and
Brown Rice

I purchased a package of Safeway Eating Right brand all natural boneless skinless chicken breasts with rib meat ($1.99/pound on sale which ended yesterday). This package weighed a little over 3 pounds and there were 5 chicken breasts and 2 tenderloin pieces in the package. With each chicken breast, I horizontally split them in half as if I were to butterfly the breast, except I split them completely (each breast now becomes 2 pieces). I did it this way so I can choose to eat only half of a breast for dinner. With the 2 tenderloin pieces, I left them the way it was. After removing some visible fat (which was hardly any), I had a little under 3 pounds of chicken meat (2:15.6 pounds to be exact). I marinated the chicken meat with my Homemade Adobo Seasoning. I mixed 4 tablespoons of the seasonings with 6 tablespoons of olive oil (since I split each breast to two pieces, I now have more meat to distribute the seasonings). I place the marinated meat into a Ziploc bag and place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Of course, you can marinate the chicken meat with any type of seasonings of your choice. The next night, we grilled the chicken on our gas grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side on medium-high heat. Some pieces were thinner than others, so the thinner pieces were cooked for a total of 5 minutes and the thicker pieces were cooked for a total of 6 minutes. The two tenderloin pieces were cooked for a total of 5 minutes. I served the grilled chicken with a multi-grain rice blend (recipe posted below) cooked together and Steamed Spinach.


Brown Rice

2 cups medium-grain brown rice (13.2 ounces)
3 cups water (24 ounces or 1:8.0 pounds)

Wash rice and drain well. Place brown rice into a 2-1/2- to 3-quart saucepan which comes with a lid. Add the water. Bring rice to a boil on high heat. When the water reaches boiling point, turn heat down to the temperature between medium-low and low heat. Give a quick stir and cover with the lid. Continue to cook, covered and undisturbed, for 45 minutes. Can check rice occasionally by lifting cover to give a quick peep, but do not stir. When rice is done, water will be completely absorbed. Remove from heat and let rice rest for about 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff up rice and it's ready to eat.

Leftover rice stores well in an airtight container placed in the refrigerator for about 1 week. When reheating leftover rice, scoop rice into a bowl and place a cover over the rice or you can cover with microwavable plastic wrap. Place in microwave for 2 or more minutes, depending on the amount of rice you are reheating. If rice is not reheated to the desired temperature, just place back in the microwave for more time.

Brown and Black Rice Blend (as shown in photo above): 1-1/2 cups medium-grain brown rice (9.9 ounces) and 1/2 cup black rice (3.6 ounces - aka Forbidden rice) . Cook as directed above.

Brown and Red Rice Blend: 1-1/2 cups medium-grain brown rice (9.9 ounces) and 1/2 cup Thai Red Cargo Rice (3.2 ounces). Cook as directed above.

Banana Oat Muffins

Banana Oat Muffins

These banana oat muffins are made with WHITE whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is lighter and milder in flavor compared to regular whole wheat flour made from red wheat. Both white and regular whole wheat flour are equal in fiber and nutrition. Since white whole wheat flour is lighter then regular whole wheat flour, your baked goods will bake lighter as if you are using regular all-purpose flour. The buttermilk makes these muffins tender and moist. Using EXTRA LIGHT olive oil is a healthier choice of fat to use and flavorless enough to use in your baking goods. These muffins are moist and will become more moist with age. Store these muffins in an airtight container and place them in the refrigerator. Rewarm in a toaster oven or microwave for just a few seconds.

UPDATE: For those who came to this site because of a comment I made on Baking Bites's website regarding silicone cupcake/muffin cups, I want to inform everyone that I NO LONGER bake with the cupcake/muffin silicone cups. I was starting to notice an unpleasant rubbery, chemical taste on my muffins. I revert back to the traditional muffin tins. Besides the unpleasant taste on the muffins, the silicone cups becomes discolored the more you bake with them in which you would have to replace often if you bake with them frequently. My silicone cups are white so I noticed the dingy brown discoloration immediately.

1-1/2 cups WHITE whole wheat flour (6.0 ounces)
1 cup rolled oats (3.0 ounces)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (4.0 ounces)
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg (1.8 to 1.9 ounces)
3/4 cup well-shaken cultured low-fat buttermilk (6.0 ounces)
1/3 cup EXTRA LIGHT olive oil or expeller-pressed canola oil (2.5 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fork-mashed very ripe bananas, about 2 bananas (8.2 to 8.6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Position oven rack to the center of the oven. Spray a standard size muffin pan with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.

In a large-size mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir well with a whisk, using your fingers to break up any lumps of brown sugar. Set aside.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat the egg slightly with a whisk. Add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the bananas and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the entire buttermilk mixture in center of the flour mixture. Using a wire whisk, gently stir and fold the flour mixture with the liquid mixture until just until dry ingredients are moistened and finish folding with a rubber spatula.

Divide batter among the 12 prepared muffin cups, about 3/4 filled. Bake for 19 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let muffin cool in the pan for about 5 minutes; then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Best to store muffins in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator. The muffins will become more moist as it sits out at room temperature of more than one day.

Yield 12 muffins, approximately 196 calories per muffin

BAKING OPTIONS: You can also sprinkle some raw chopped walnuts, raw rolled oats or toasted coconut on top of each muffin before baking, if desired.

Pan-Grilled Pork Loin Chops

Pan-Grilled Pork Loin Chops


I normally purchase a very large boneless pork loin roast from Costco, about 10+ pounds. I cut the two ends of the pork loin into two 4-pound cuts and freeze the two ends for another use. With the remaining center loin, I cut that piece into 1-inch thick loin chops. Not only is it more economical to cut your own boneless loin chops, but you have control to the desire thickness you like your chops. With the other two ends that I had placed in the freezer, I will use them as a pork loin roast or slice them up for more loin chops when I am ready to do so.

Today, I have five 1-inch boneless pork loin chops, weighing about 2+ pounds. I marinated with my Homemade Adobo Seasoning: http://lemonchiffoncake.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-adobo-seasoning.html. I marinated the loin chops overnight and pan-grilled the loin chops on my stove top using a stove top grill pan, i.e., Le Cruset grill pan. Alternately, you can grill this on your outdoor gas or charcoal grill, but there are times when the weather restricts you from grilling outdoors. The pork loin chops turned out great and seared nicely on both sides. They were tender, juicy and delicious.

3 tablespoons Homemade Adobo Seasoning
5 tablespoons olive oil
Five 1-inch thick boneless pork loin chops

In a small bowl, mix together the adobo seasoning and the olive oil using a fork. No additional salt is necessary because there is just the right amount of salt in my Homemade Adobo Seasoning. NOTE: To use my Homemade Adobo Seasoning, I normally use a ratio of 2:3 (seasoning:oil) per 2 pounds of meat so it's better if you weigh your meat before you measure.

Rub the adobo mixture all over the loin chops. Place the loin chops in a Ziploc bag. Squeeze out all the air and seal the bag. Place loin chops in the refrigerator overnight or up to 3 days. Let the chops sit out at room temperature for 1 hour before grilling.

Brush some olive oil on a stove top grill pan. Heat the grill pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Place 2 to 3 loin chops on the heated grill pan and cook on the first side for 4 minutes. Turn loin chops over and cook the second side for additional 4-1/2 minutes. When done, transfer to a plate. Repeat cooking process with the remaining loin chops. Let the loin chops rest for 5 minutes before serving or plating.

Garlic Chive Kimchi

Garlic Chive Kimchi


This recipe is adapted from from http://www.aeriskitchen.com/. There are many types of kimchi, but the Garlic Chive Kimchi is now my favorite type of kimchi. Garlic chives are also known as Chinese chives found in most Asian stores. Do not substitute regular chives for garlic chives. The flavor are very different. Garlic chives has a sweet, garlicky flavor while regular chives have a mild flavor of green onion or scallions. This recipe is very quick and easy to prepare. I am addicted to eating this with rice every day as my lunch. I have to make sure I have a supply of Altoids with me before I consume this.

1-1/2 cups cold water (12 ounces)
3 tablespoons Mochiko brand sweet rice flour (1.0 ounce)**
1-1/2 pounds garlic chives**
Half of a small onion, thinly sliced on the grain and separate slices (about 5.0 to 6.0 ounces)
1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced with the seeds (Optional)
1/2 cup Three Crabs brand fish sauce (4.6 ounces)**
2/3 cup Korean coarse hot pepper powder (2.0 ounces)**
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar (0.8 ounce)
4 large cloves garlic, finely minced (0.7 ounce)
1-1/2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds (0.4 ounce)**

**These items can be purchased at a Korean market or any Asian stores that carries Korean products.

In a small saucepan, add the cold water. Gradually whisk in the rice flour until blended and smooth. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until mixture becomes bubbly, translucent in color and thickened (about 2 minutes). Remove pot from heat and set aside to cool.

Cleaning and trimming the garlic chives: When you purchase the garlic chives, it usually comes in a styrofoam wrapped with plastic wrap, either wire-twisted or rubber-banded at the root end. Before removing the rubber band and keeping the garlic chives in one bunch as purchased, trim off about 3/4 inches of the root ends and discard. Cut the remainder of the chives into 2-inch length slices. Chives are very dirty so wash chives thoroughly in 2 to 3 changes of cold water in the kitchen sink. (Fill sink about 1/3 full of cold water, dump the chives in the water and thoroughly clean by swishing the chives in the water. Transfer chives to a colander of a salad spinner to drain and repeat this process one or two more times or until water is clear of sand and grit.) Drain chives and spin dry using a salad spinner (may do the spinning in two batches).

Transfer chives to a very large mixing bowl. Add the onions and chili pepper, if using. Set aside.

Making the hot pepper sauce: Add the fish sauce, hot pepper powder, sugar, garlic and sesame seeds to the cooled rice mixture. Whisk together until thoroughly combined. Add the entire hot pepper sauce to the garlic chive mixture.

Wearing a disposable vinyl glove, gently toss everything together with your hand until all vegetables are well coated with the hot pepper sauce. Transfer to a half-gallon size container with a tight-fitting lid. I like to use a glass jar container. Store immediately in the refrigerator.

Garlic Chive Kimchi can be eaten immediately, but I like it aged for a few hours before eating. The longer it ferments in the refrigerator, the more flavorful the kimchi. It can be kept refrigerated for several weeks. I have kept mine for 3 weeks before it was completely consumed.

Peruvian-Style Roasted Chicken with Onions and Peppers

Peruvian-Style Roasted Chicken with Onions and Peppers
Adapted from Whole Foods Market

I've been meaning to try this recipe earlier this year, but never got around to making it. Yet, this recipe is so simple to prepare. Since chicken is on sale this week, I decided to try this recipe. My Peruvian coworker said this recipe was pretty authentic and by reading through the ingredients, I can tell this dish is going to be delicious. I end up purchasing a whole chicken fryer weighing 6 pounds. I haven't been buying whole chickens in awhile so I don't recall ever seeing a chicken fryer weighing that much. Matter of fact, the smallest chicken fryer I've found is about 4+ pounds. Why are the chicken so huge nowadays? I manage to cut up the chicken into 10 pieces and removed the skin and visible fat to make this dish a lot healthier. Especially the wings--I couldn't remove the skin entirely, but I was able to remove a good portion of skin and fat from the wings and I also discarded the third smallest portion of the wing. After all that skin and fat removal, the 6-pound chicken then weighed 3:10.8 pounds. I increase the amount of ingredients for the rub paste since my chicken is a good size chicken. I also increase the amount of oil since I removed the skin from the chicken. You don't need to marinade the chicken ahead of time. Once you put this dish together, in the oven it goes. This dish is so full of flavor and comforting. The chicken was cooked perfectly, not overcook and was very moist and delicious. Make sure your roasting pan is large and wide. If your roasting pan is too small, you will be poaching your chicken and vegetables rather than roasting.

Peruvian-Style Roasted Chicken with
Onions and Peppers

2 tablespoons sweet paprika (0.5 ounce)
4 teaspoons ground cumin (0.2 ounce)
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1-3/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
8 cloves garlic, finely minced (1.3 ounces)
2 tablespoons olive oil (0.8 ounce)
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (1.2 ounces)2 large sweet onions, 1/4-inch thick slices on the grain
(1:4.9 to 1:9.5 pounds)
2 red and/or yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into chunks (I cut each pepper in half; then cut each half vertically into fourths; then cut horizontally in thirds) (14.6 ounces)
1 whole chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces (6 pounds at purchase; 3:10.8 pounds cut up and all skin/fat removed)
1 lemon, sliced, seeds removed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Position oven rack in the center of the oven.

Lightly oil a large roasting pan, about an 11-3/4-inch by 17-inch size pan, and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, oil and vinegar. Stir together with a fork to make a spice rub paste.

Place onions and peppers in a large bowl. Toss with 3 tablespoons of the spice rub paste. Set aside.

Rub all chicken pieces with the remainder of the spice rub paste and place in prepared roasting pan. Then top with the onions and peppers mixture. Lay lemon slices on top. Roast, basting occasionally with the pan juices, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 42 to 45 minutes. Gently move vegetables around if beginning to char too much. Remove from oven and rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with brown rice or mashed potatoes.

Yields 6 servings