Food Minia

The arrival of Seville oranges must be one of the few seasonal food events left to us who live in the world of strawberries in December.  I couldn't wait for them to arrive this year as my supply was well and truly depleted.  Not a spoonful left to glorify my morning toast or add to my favourite fruit cake. That said they did sit in my fridge for a few days as you really need time to make marmalade.  It can't be thrown together in minutes. Marmalade requires time to prep all of the ingredients but once that is done it can be switched on and left to its own devices for a couple of hours. I coerced my husband to help me get the fruit ready. Out came the fruit juicer and we were away. To make a lip puckering marmalade and why make anything else, you will need: 1kg of Seville oranges. Make sure that they are fresh as the fresher the oranges the easier it is to get the marmalade to set. 1.9kg sugar. The juice of 1 lemon 2 Lt water. You will need at least 6 jam jars. If they are smal

It's Vietnamese New Years (Tet) in our home.   As a child I remember my mom involved in Vietnamese new years parties at our home.  I'm sure that every Vietnamese person would come to these parties...  I loved receiving the "red envelope" from "aunts and uncles" with money inside. Now that I have my own family I try to carry on the traditions of my mother's culture. Started decorating the house last year  This year I printed out my own banner and found some year of the house signs to print and place in photo frames..  I found some inexpensive decorations at Oriental Trading such as the red envelopes, chop sticks, paper fans as gifts, Chinese take out boxes, lanterns, and more.   Here's my son Aiden helping me put up the mini lanterns.   I don't know why I didn't think to take a picture of this year with everyone at the table... maybe because I was busy eating... someone even had to remind me to take a picture of my plate of food. I made a Co

This is a delicious coconut curry seafood stew with a lot of ingredients common in Vietnamese and Thai cooking. INGREDIENTS: 1 tablespoons canola oil 2 tablespoons grated ginger 2 tablespoons pureed lemon grass 2 tablespoons curry powder 6 cups chicken broth 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon light brown sugar 1 tablespoon tamarind soup base  (or 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice at the very end) 2 (13.5 ounce) cans coconut milk 1 teaspoon chili oil 1 pound medium peeled and deveined shrimp 1 pound hardshell clams 8 ounces mussels 8 ounces halibut (cut into 1x1 inch pieces) or fresh Alaska king crab meat 1/4 cup chopped cilantro cooked jasmine rice about 4-6 cups Siracha Chili paste (optional to add heat) DIRECTIONS: Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  Cook and stir in ginger, lemongrass, and curry powder in oil for 1 minute.  Pour in chicken broth over mixture and stir continually to incorporate irall ingredients.  Stir in fish sauce and brown sugar; simmer for 15 minutes.  St