Friday!

A really great way to spend home alone on Friday. Hawaiian macadamia nuts covered in chocolate, steak, potatoes, salad, wine, and Despicable Me 2…I think I'm going to gain some 5 kg by the end of this week.

At the beginning I rubbed olive oil with (expensive.. .) sea salt together all over the raw steak. The cooked steak tastes great once it is garnished with lemon juice at the end (adapted from Jamie Oliver's steak recipe). For some reason, the photo makes the steak look burnt when in reality the steak really wasn't burnt….but nevertheless, it was good!  

For the potatoes, they were really simple. Suggested by my mother, I used the Asian steamer pot for them. Afterwards I roast them using the pan which consists of the left over juice from the steak until the side becomes golden brown which creates a nice aromatic flavour overall. Add some pepper and they are ready to eat. 

Hash brown

My hearty breakfast of the day - sunny side up fried eggs on top of crispy hash brown with roasted cherry tomatoes and asparagus. This is the breakfast that I've been making for Mom and I. Sometimes it would just be eggs, toast and roasted veggies, or just boiled eggs, toast and roasted veggies. 

A hint of paprika definitely gives a nice heat to the flavour.

Bolognese Sauce

I used the famous and passionate (and foul-mouthed) Gordon Ramsay's recipe for lunch. It turned out delicious and all that I am missing in the picture is the grated goat cheese to top it off.

I was at Simon Fraser University - The Christmas decorations were absolutely gorgeous.

Haley getting into the Christmas spirit

Taro Latte

The first time that I tried to make latte was from Miki's Pantry http://www.mikispantry.com/2012/11/how-to-make-taro-latte.html. Instead of milk however, I used almond milk as substitute. I often use maple syrup as substitute too. Just blend the taro, milk, and syrup together into a blender machine then garnish with pine nuts. Overall it gives off a delicious, nutty and sweet flavor; thus, suited to be a wonderful winter beverage to warm up your heart and soul! Yum


Serve: 2 persons
Time: Approximately 10 minutes

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cups Taro
- 2 cup Almond milk
- 2 tbsp Maple syrup
- Pine nuts


Directions
Cut taro into cubed sized pieces. To soften the taro, pour water into a small pot and wait until boiled. Once boiled, put in the taro pieces and once they become soft and tender, drain, then begin mashing the taro.

In a blender, pour the taro pieces, milk and maple syrup inside and blend until smooth (2-3 mins). Once finished, pour the ingredients into a cup and garnish it with pine nuts.




*Note: You may also bake taro until tender (220 degrees F) for about 20-25 minutes until soft. (Usually I wrap taro (pieces of taro) in aluminum foil and place it on a rack inside my conventional oven, which makes it bake faster than baking it without the wrap)…but I think it's unnecessary since that would take twice as long for a simple latte...