Vietnamese Style Sautéed Rognons

They’re plump and juicy and oh so tasty. This is by far my favourite meat dish that my mother prepares so well. I was at her house the other day and helped her cook this delicacy which many would cringe by just hearing the word “kidney” which I can completely understand especially when you’re aware of its main function in human or animal bodies. But if properly cleaned and cooked, it can be nutritious and so pleasant tasting.

Known for its pungent smell and taste, pork kidney has a very similar texture as liver when uncooked. It’s no stranger to Asian cuisine, and certainly not in my family’s kitchen. Although I have tasted kidneys cooked in different ways, I find it tastes best when cooked medium-rare with very little seasoning. When overcooked in overwhelmingly thick creamy sauces, often found in European recipes, the true taste of the kidney is completely masked…might just as well use regular meat cuts if you can’t taste anything but the sauce. The simpler its preparation, the better you’ll get out of the authentic taste of this wonderful dish. It’s eaten best when served fresh that same day.

This recipe has been, and still is a long time favourite in my household. It’s so simple and tasty that there never is any left over.
Preparation : 10 minutes, Cooking time : 5 minutes

Recipe « au pif » :4-6 pork kidneys
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce, or more to taste
Freshly ground pepper
1 fresh scallion, sliced à la julienne
1 tbsp vegetable oil

* Ask your local butcher to clean it for you. They have the proper knives and technique to remove the impurities from the kidneys. *
How to cut the kidneys:With a sharp knife, make cris-crossed diagonal incisions on the surface of the kidneys. This will allow them to cook quickly while keeping them plump and juicy. Cut the kidneys in about 2 inch pieces.

How to clean the kidneys:½ tsp salt
¼ cup white vinegar
3 cups water
Boil the water in a large sauce pan, add the salt and vinegar and the kidneys. Don’t cook the kidneys, just let them sit for about 10 seconds. Discard water and put kidneys aside.

Heat oil in a hot Teflon pan, on medium-high heat. Add in the chopped onions and stir for about 10 seconds.

Add the pieces of kidneys and stir fry for about 20 seconds.

Add the fish sauce and stir fry for another 60 seconds, or until the kidneys have browned a little but they’re still a little pink in the center. * You don’t want to overcook them or they’ll be dry and tough*.

Add pepper.

Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with the scallions.

Serves 4 people.

Share and enjoy!

Grilled Pork Chops with Lemongrass and Ginger

As we were putting away the air conditioning unit, I thought to myself, “we just put this thing up not long ago, where did summer go?” We had a very unusual damp and cool summer this year, but we managed to get some warm sun rays here and there. Now, the air is getting a little bit chilly and crisp, but barbecue season is not over until it’s really over. That is, when we get our first snow storm.

As you may have noticed, I have been posting healthy vegetarian recipes lately, but it doesn’t mean that I always eat that healthy. Today, I was in the mood to have grilled pork chops marinated in an aromatic blend of lemongrass, ginger, garlic and fish sauce. I always found pork to be one of the tastiest meats when nicely browned, and a simple marinade will do just fine. I don’t like to overkill pork with a hundred spices. This is why I enjoy this marinade…it’s simple and gives the pork meat that extra boost of flavour. Although results are best when the pork is grilled on a barbecue, but a hot skillet will also do.

Preparation: 10 minutes, Cooking: 10 minutes

Recipe “au pif”:
4 pork chops with bone
1 stalk lemon grass (remove hard surrounding shell with your hands, and chop finely the inner softer stalk)
1 tbsp minced garlic
½ tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp fish sauce
½ tsp raw cane sugar (or ¾ tsp regular sugar)
½ tsp red hot chili flakes
3 ½ - 4 tbsp vegetable oil (olive oil will also do)

In a large freezer bag, put in the pork chops two at time, and flatten them with a rolling pin or a meat tenderizing hammer. Repeat with the other two pork chops.

Transfer the pork chops to another large freezer bag and add in the lemongrass, garlic, ginger sugar, fish sauce and chili flakes. Drizzle in the oil over the meat and spices. Close the bag and shake well and give the pork a good massage with your hands so as to mix in the spices well. Lay bag on a large plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.

Before grilling, take out the bag and leave at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Remove marinated pork from the bag. Grill both sides on the barbecue for about 5-7 minutes each side until well done.

Slice the pork and serve with fresh lettuce and rice vermicelli. You can also wrap the pork slices in rice paper to make fresh spring rolls.

Serves 4.

Share and enjoy.

Vegetable Stir-Fry in Spicy Sauce

Felt a little under the weather the past couple of days. The cold season is definitely here and most of my colleagues at the office are sick. They get it from their children, who in turn get it from other kids in school or at day care. Fortunately, we have the flexibility to work from home sometimes, and a few of my co-workers are smart enough to take advantage of the opportunity to work from home whenever they get a chance or when they’re not feeling well. On the other hand, there are some who don’t have that privilege to work from home for personal reasons or purely for other known reasons (syndicate/union policies). In either case, when we’re feeling really ill, we always have that choice to stay home and rest. As much as I have sympathy for those who have a nasty cold or the flu right now, I’m begging them to stay home to recover and to not share their misery with those who are feeling healthy. I’m just not masochist enough to want to yearn for agony.

As I’m feeling much better today, I’m very appreciative for what I have today in my life and for all the wonderful food this world has to offer us. But today, I’m having a little bit of difficulty to eat because of a huge canker sore I have in my mouth. Not fun. Luckily, I have a great dish in mind that will not only be easy on my mouth, but is also healthy. I’m convinced that any healthy food can be a healing factor and a boost to weak immune systems. This is the perfect time to do this.

On the menu today, I have a wonderful vegetable and tofu stir-fry dish that is full of nutrients and protein. Its added velvety textured and spicy sauce can only bring wholesomeness and comforting warmth to the dinner table.

Preparation: 10 minutes, Cooking: 10 minutes

Recipe “au pif”:
¾ lb soft or semi-firm tofu (roughly 3 tofu blocks), sliced ½ in. thick and fried until golden. Or you can buy the pre-fried tofu at local asian grocery stores

2 cups baby bok choy, washed
1 asian eggplant, or 3 baby eggplants, sliced thinly diagonally
2 cups sugar snaps (strings removed) or green beans, any beans you have in your fridge
1 tsp minced garlic
¾ cup water
1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce, made of mushrooms)
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tsp chili paste
2 small red chilis
½ tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat vegetable oil in wok on medium-high heat. Add in the eggplants and stir for about 30 seconds. Cover and lower heat to medium. Let eggplants cook for about 2 minutes. Check once in a while to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Remove lid, crank up the heat again to high heat. Add in the sesame oil, the garlic, the baby bok choy and the sugar snaps/green beans. Stir well for about 30 seconds. You should hear the vegetables sizzling. Finally, add the tofu and stir.

Mix the water, cornstarch, oyster/vegetarian sauce in a small bowl. Gradually add the mixture to the sizzling vegetables and tofu and stir until the sauce thickens. Add a bit of water if sauce is too thick. Consequently add a bit of oyster/vegetarian sauce to balance the flavours and salt. Stir for about 30 seconds.

Add in the chili paste and the chilis and stir for another 30 seconds. Cover, turn off the heat and let it simmer for another 30 seconds.

Remove lid and stir one last time. Vegetables should not be overcooked. The quick stir-frying should retain their colour and crunch.

Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.

Share and enjoy.

Serves 4 people.

Healthy Power Bars Made Easy

I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you for a long time now. Before seeing Heidi Swanson’s blog post and video on ‘Big Sur Power Bars Recipe’ from her famous and appealing food blog 101 Cookbooks, I never really liked eating cereal/granola bars. The only cereal bars I’ve tasted were the ones I bought at the local grocery stores. Despite the marketing pitch found on every box of these cereal bars claiming that they’re made with real fruit, or contain Ginkgo biloba or Ginseng, these bars always tasted too sweet. Because I tasted more sugar than cereal, I questioned myself if there really was any of that healthy Ginkgo Rocky Balboa or Biloba …whatever extract. I personally view them as boring candy bars.

But now that I’ve tried Heidi’s recipe and tasted her Sur Power Bars, I can only recommend that you try it out for the following reasons:
1) EASY and QUICK to make, max 10 minutes, I swear.
2) Tasty
3) Crunchy
4) Crispy

I never go to work without grabbing a couple of these bars for emergency snacks or a quick breakfast treat.

I recommend that you watch Heidi’s video in which she shows us how easy it is to make this in her very serene kitchen. Little details like the “crisp” sound that Heidi’s partner Wayne made when he took a bite of the treat and said “mmmmh”, just sold me out. That small "crisp" sound reminded me of one of my favourite childhood sweets, rice crispies squares. Remember those? So good. When I found out that rice crispies were part of the recipe, I headed out to the market and bought all the ingredients to make these wonderful treats that same day.

Preparation: 10 minutes, no baking.

Because you can add just about anything (chocolate chips, dried fruits..etc.) in this recipe, I added cocoa powder instead of ground expresso beans, as well as dried cranberries. The result; light, chewy, crispy and delightfully crunchy cereal power bars.

Recipe of Heidi’s Sur Power Bars:
If you can't find the crisp brown rice cereal, no worries - just use regular rice cereal for ex: Rice Crispies - just stay clear of "puffed" rice cereal, it will throw the recipe off. Feel free to substitute other types of nuts, seeds, or whatever little goodies you can dream up.

1 tablespoon coconut oil (or regular butter)

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup slivered almonds

2/3 cup (unsweetened) shredded coconut

1 1/4 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups unsweetened crisp brown rice cereal

1 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 cup natural cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

2 tablespoons ground espresso beans

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking pan with the coconut oil. If you like thick power bars, opt for an 8 by 8-inch pan; for thinner bars, use a 9 by 13-inch pan.

On a rimmed baking sheet toast the pecans, almonds, and coconut for about 7 minutes, or until the coconut is deeply golden. Toss once or twice along the way. Mix the oats, toasted nuts, coconut, and the cereal, together in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine the rice syrup, sugar, salt, espresso, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly as it comes to a boil and thickens just a bit, about 4 minutes. Pour the syrup over the oat mixture and stir until it is evenly incorporated.

Spread into the prepared pan and cool to room temperature before cutting into whatever size bars you desire.

Makes 16 to 24 bars.

Enjoy at work, at home on a hiking trip, wherever you like.

Hearty and Spicy Seitan Gratin

Being a huge 'carnivore' since I was born, I'm noticing that I'm developing more and more a need to explore vegetarian dishes. Those who know me well will tell you that I will rarely say no to eating a nice juicy medium rare ribeye steak. But lately, I find myself drawn to vegetarian and even vegan dishes, especially when they're hearty and full of flavour.
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With this post and recipe, I'm hoping to slash out a major stereotype that some of my meat-eating friends and readers have towards vegetarian food...that of eating a plate composed of a few leaves of cold lettuce and strings of bitter-tasting-weird looking sprouts, and that of food that will leave your stomach growling until it is fed with proper fuel - MEAT.

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There are so many reasons why a person will choose to be a vegetarian; love of animals, a dislike for the taste of meat, personal health..etc. As for my personal choice, I'll continue to eat meat because I love the taste, but I'll scout for more vegetarian recipes just because a lot of them are awesome. Some of them can make a dish taste so rich and creamy. Oh, and I love dairy products, so vegan dishes will have to wait on my recipe exploration list and will remain as side dishes for now.

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Yes, I do find it quite challenging to prepare a tasty dish that's gratifying, without the MEAT, but it is possible, just like this wonderful Seitan Gratin. Seitan is another variety of soy-based food made from the gluten of wheat used in Asian and buddhist cuisines, and tastes just like ground beef. It's a flavoured soy-based product with a lightly sweet and salty bbq or teriyaki tang. Taste it first and you'll know just about how much seasoning you'll need to add to your dish. It can be found in any health food stores. This gratin is one of my favourite meals to prepare because it's so rich, tasty and takes 20 minutes to prepare. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I do. There are hardly leftovers when I serve this dish to my 'carnivorous' family.

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Preparation: 20 minutes, Baking: 10-15 minutes

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Recipe "au pif":

1 lb Seitan, cut in small cubes and grinded in food processor

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup chopped onions

2 carrots, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 1/4 cups vegetarian chicken stock (found in health food sections of supermarket or health food stores)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp dried chili flakes

1/2 cup frozen peas

3 large russet potatoes, half cooked and very thinly sliced (about 1/4 inch thick)

1/4 cup heavy cream (or 15% champetre cream)

1/2 cup emmental cheese, grated*

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large pan (that can go in the oven) over medium high heat. Add the Seitan, stir with wooden spoon until it looks like cooked ground beef and let it brown for about 2-3 minutes.

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Add the onions, carrots, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

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Add the bay leaf and tomato paste, stir for about 5 minutes.

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Add the flour and stir for about 1 minute. Gradually add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, peas and the dried chili flakes, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.

*Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.*

Place a thin layer of the potato slices over the Seitan mix and drizzle half of the heavy cream over the potatoes. Repeat with 2nd layer with remainder of potato slices and cream.

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Sprinkle the emmental cheese over the top and bake until browned and bubbly on top, 10 to 15 minutes.

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Remove from the oven and serve hot.

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Serves 4 people.

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Enjoy.

Yogurt Parfait - Healthy Breakfast Idea for Rush Mornings

Labour Day weekend just flew by. Summer vacations are nearly over for most of us. Kids are going back to school and we’re all dreading the early morning traffic jams, unless you work later shifts, like I used to a few months ago. Aaah, those were the days when I would just sleep in and wake up in full daylight and miss the morning and afternoon rush hour peaks. Now that I’m back to a regular 9 to 5 work schedule, I know that I’m going to have a hard time getting up early mornings in pitch darkness, thinking we’re still in the wee hours of night, now that days are getting shorter and temperatures are going to soon drop to a level where you just want to snuggle in your warm bed.

While this thought is going on in my head, I need to remind myself that “toute bonne chose a une fin”, all good things come to an end. We’re not there yet. I’m here, now, still enjoying the beautiful weather and savouring the succulent berries summer has left to offer. With the late blooming summer this year, Quebec strawberries and blueberries are still around and they’re perfect for a healthy breakfast that can be whipped up in minutes.

This yogurt parfait is made up of healthy combinations of fruits, nuts and most importantly, honey and cinnamon. The latter two ingredients are sworn by many to be beneficial to one’s health when eaten together. I discovered this while reading Aapplemint’s beautiful and inspiring blog.

Preparation: less than 5 minutes

Recipe “au pif”:Fresh local berries and fruits (anything you like and you can find; strawberries, blueberries, pomegranate, kiwis, bananas)
A handful of chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios, brazilian…)
A handful of cereal of your choice (bran, oats, rice krispies…)
A container (750g) of nice creamy mediterranean plain yogurt (or 2% yogurt will also do)
3 tbsp honey (or 2 tbsp raw can sugar), or to taste
2 tsp of cinnamon powder

The day before, you can prepare the nut-mix by chopping them, and the fruits (wash and cut them, if needed).

Also in advance, you can mix the cinnamon and honey with the yogurt. Mix well until well blended and desired sweetness is attained. Transfer the sweetened yogurt back into its container and chill until ready to serve with the toppings.

Fill small cups or bowls with dollops of the chilled yogurt. Top with berries, nuts and cereal. Add more honey or cinnamon if desired.

Serve and enjoy.

It’s a gratifying morning treat which can also be served as a refreshing dessert .