Teczcape-An Escape to Food

Some of my favorite ways to prepare kale include stir-fry steam or blanch. For today, let us enjoy blanched kale in this Chicken, Kale and Beets Protein Bowl.

Wonton salad is a viable option if you are shunning /staying away from piping hot wonton soups especially in summer. It may sound strange to you but I am perfectly fine, enjoying cooked wontons with pea sprouts and snow peas. A meal with all components (carbs, protein, fiber) considered, isn't it?


If solely greens isn't your cup of tea, add some colors and enjoy this bowl of wontons with steamed beets, and cabbage.

Cruise through summer with this super easy, fresh and flavorful Tomatoes, Kale, Brussel Sprouts and Almonds Salad, especially when you have lost your cooking mojo in the scorching summer heat.


Still think it's a chore? Think no further. Get your favorite store-bought salad blend (mine's from Trader Joes) and make this Cruciferous Crunch Salad with Almonds and Apples.

This assorted vegetables pasta/noodle salad bowl is a great summer option when you want something light yet able to fill in protein, the meatless way. When I use protein-based pasta/noodles (e.g. Explore Cuisine Bean Pasta), I prefer to make the entire dish vegetarian - allowing the plant-based protein to take center-stage.

Today, this Greens and Bean-Pasta Noodle Salad Bowl, is made with greens variety- broccoli, green beans and leafy kale. The vegetables are totally interchangeable, depending on what you have, so feel free to get creative.

Vegetarian option

Other vegetarian meatless recipes made with Explore Cuisine Bean Pasta:
Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl
Gluten-Free Bean Pasta with (more) Beans and Veggies
Bean Pasta with Vegetarian Tofu Curry

With more antioxidants and protein than other beans, black soybean (the black variety of soybeans) is powerhouse plant-based protein, great for making nutritionally balanced vegetarian veggie bowl-meals or grain bowl-meals.

Kale Sprouts or Brussel Kale, is one new kid on the block that is a cross between Red Russian kale and conventional Brussel sprouts.


These kale sprouts certainly bear resemblance to Brussel sprouts and Red Russian kale, if you associate its shape to Brussel sprouts, and color to Red Russian kale.

In wholes of purple stalks and green leaves, they cook faster than Brussel sprouts under the heat of the pan and taste milder than Brussel sprouts, with an appealing bittersweet when gently sauteed with the simplest ingredients: garlic, salt and pepper.

Grab them when you see them. It's seasonal.

Besides bitter melon and eggplant, okra is another vegetable that falls under the "Love-it-or-Leave-it" list. Quite different from bitter melon which some dislike due to its bitter taste, it is the texture of okra (likewise for eggplant) that puts some people off - mushy eggplant and slimy okra. If I have just one choice, I pick okra over eggplant.

Besides, it is okra season, is it not (and apples too!) ? Sometime in late August till October, farmer's markets are blessed with freshly harvested vibrant-green and tender-plump okra; unlike those sad brownish bruised-and-dull-looking okra usually found in the grocery stores other months of the year.

Steamed okra,  beets, kale, broccolini, red bell peppers, snap peas, topped with apple

While okra performs well in a stew- or braise-like dish e.g. Pumpkin, Green Bean, Okra Stew, I also enjoy 5-minute steamed okra in warm salad bowls.

Not chicken salad sandwich or wrap, but assembled and built as chicken burger filled with leftover shredded chicken, kale and cucumber.


Avocado, mashed and smeared on the bun, replaces the oil-based dressing used in this chicken salad sandwich.

This can also easily come together as salad without the bun (carb-free option).

Convenience absolutely makes a difference when putting together a meal on busy days. Store-bought wontons (Bibigo Fully Cooked Mini Wontons Chicken and Cilantro) that take 15 minutes to cook means a quick and easy meal on the table.

This Steamed Broccoli and Wontons Salad completes a meal from store-bought wontons and home-cooked vegetables.

Wontons served with steamed vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, red cabbage and kale

You can always make your own wontons at home (make a batch and freeze portions). If you have leftover boiled (or cooked) wontons, you can also pan-fry those cooked wontons (gyozas goodness!).

The tangy-sweet pineapple and tart-sweet cranberries balance the bitter-sweet kale in the most perfect way, not only in flavors and texture but also scientifically.

Studies have shown that a teeny weeny bit of citrus or Vitamin C helps our bodies better absorb the non-heme iron (vs heme iron present in meat, seafood) in leafy greens such as spinach and kale.  For example, you can squeeze some lemon over these greens or like what I have done today - toss some thinly shaved pineapple with kale.


And do you know that the hard core of pineapple which we often find hard to chew or bite (then discard), actually contains much of the nutrition present in the pineapple? Preparation tip: If you thinly sliced/shaved the pineapple with its flesh and core, the "fiber" in the core is being further "broken down" somehow, so you will not find it hard and fibrous to chew anymore, so much so that you can enjoy the core with the flesh.

Good morning to a healthy 2019!

Hearty breakfasts like this Broccoli, Kale, Winter Squash with Egg should be done more often. Truth is, there is hardly any time to prepare so many ingredients (kitchen war zone evidenced below) before 7am.

But the breakfast spirit should live on, regardless of time. So I prepared THAT many ingredients and made breakfast-style lunch!


The trick to this dish is not to over-do the greens, yet give a little more to the potatoes and hard winter squash.

For those who prefer grains in place or potatoes/squashes, try Broccoli, Kale, Quinoa with Egg.

If there is any fancy pumpkin squash to try this pumpkin season, let it be the Delicata. It is also a budget-friendly produce item to add to your autumn/fall grocery list.

Thinned-skin, Delicata Squash is also much easier to handle and slice, and cooks relatively quickly (compared to the other bigger thicker-skin pumpkins), in about 20 minutes roasting time.

Steamed Kale, Yellow and Purple Cauliflower, Cooked Beets, Roasted Squash, Shredded Chicken

During autumn/fall season, this pumpkin squash has become the fiber-boosting, nutrient-dense "carb" in place of sweet potatoes or potatoes or corn on the cob in these healthy and nutritious salad grain bowls.

Beans on beans, pulses or more pulses. What do you say? Plant-protein power! Made from organic edamame and mung bean, Explore Cuisine's gluten-free fettuccine* carries the leftover bean "sauce" very well and makes a nice warm veggie pasta lunch on a cool breezy day. Alternatively, make a quick chickpea salad, toss it with pasta and save this pasta salad or Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl for the hot summer days.


This bean fettuccine* on its own tastes very flavorful, warm or at room temperature (cooked and allowed to cool a few minutes). Personally, I enjoy the natural bean flavor of this pasta as it shines through without any sauce, just like this Edamame and Mung Bean Fettuccine Veggie Salad Bowl.

Happy Lunar New Year of the Dog!

Today marks the first day of the Chinese New Year, and here's wishing everyone Good Heath and Happiness.


We start the year strong and healthy with this Prosperity Salad which has been adapted and modified to suit our family preferences. Raw fish (生鱼 Sheng Yu ) - which is why Prosperity Salad is also known as Yu Sheng in Mandarin. Fish 鱼 and abundance 余 also both sound alike in Mandarin, thus the tradition of having Yu Sheng is often interpreted as abundance, good fortune and prosperity in the new year.

First and foremost, one of the most symbolic ingredient - raw fish  has been omitted from the salad as we do not consume raw fish at home. That said, it also means this salad is vegetarian.

No fish, but the colors galore and vegetables aplenty in this salad marks abundance in the best way (examples of ingredients and its symbolism here).  Besides, with or without fish, it is the same act of using chopsticks to toss and lift the salad up high that symbolizes the shoring in of better luck and lifting of our high spirits and vigor in the new year. In other words, the higher you toss, the better luck you have.

In this salad adaption, I have also brought in long strands of noodles (means long-life noodles) which symbolizes longevity and good health.

Soy-bean broth or stock is quite versatile and I absolutely enjoy it as a light-tasting broth for green vegetables e.g. Chinese Broccoli Soup.


For this soup (adapted from Chinese Broccoli Soup), some carrots were boiled in the broth till cooked, then baby kale and some leftover pan-fried tofu were added.


Baby kale is supposed to be milder-tasting and less bitter compared to kale. To be used in this soup, I added the baby kale only after the heat from the pot was turned off; then add the baby kale, cover the pot and allow the remaining heat to cook the baby kale.

Tomato Fried Eggs 番茄炒蛋 may sound ordinary but this simple classic Chinese home-style dish is nutritious and delicious. Very often, tomato fried eggs is prepared as a side-dish typically paired with steamed rice or rice congee/porridge.

How about turning them into a one-dish pasta meal today, with additional sauteed garlic kale and sweet peppers.


Homey delicious, and homey good.

Soft? Medium-firm? Firm? Extra-firm tofu? Which is your favorite?

I usually get the firm or extra-firm organic (non-GMO) tofu in order to get more bang for the buck. Firm or extra-firm tofu contains more proteins, more calcium and less water. You do not want to pay the extra cents for water in tofu, unless you want to achieve silky velvet texture in a dish such as Nagaimo (Mountain Yam) Tofu Soup, Savory Tofu Pudding, Soy-Milk Steamed Tofu.


Firm or extra-firm tofu is also better for pan-frying and roasting, as pan-frying/roasting imparts some smoky toasty flavors to the tofu e.g. Baked Tofu. Pan-fried or roasted tofu is then such a good combination in any vegetable stir-fry.

Seen it once, passed on it. Seen it again, in the bag.

Well, I do have qualms about frozen shellfish products. Personally, I like my shellfish such as clams or mussels - fresh. Bought when fresh, then cooked and consumed fresh.

Still I gave in, as this Trader Joes product at $3.99 came as value to me, and the ingredients are reasonably decent. Most importantly, a frozen product like this keeps well for "emergency" home-cooking.

Let's say I am in a rush to have even 30 minutes in the kitchen. Then a 15-minute dish like this might do the trick.

Fresh clams or mussels cooks fast, you may say, you do not even need 15 minutes. But again, how can fresh clams or mussels be available if you do not even step out of the house to buy some? With fresh shellfish especially, you already need to be planning ahead. Plan to cook them....and cook them on the same day! So if you do not plan ahead, this frozen mussel item is the next best alternative.


Instead of enjoying it as an appetizer, I find that this works well with pasta as a meal which is even better for me. If I have no time to cook, how can I even think of preparing an appetizer. A one-dish meal is more appropriate.

Now I can have this pizza every time when heirloom tomatoes are in summer peak, also assuming there is fresh basil in the garden every summer to make pesto.

There seems quite some conditions to satisfy so until then, why not enjoy the moment right here, right now?


Trader Joes Pita Bread (also used in these Pesto Pita Bites) is perfect for this pizza. This pita bread is thin yet not as thin as lavash bread that typically turn out too crispy and not able to hold too many pizza toppings.

Sometimes it is congee with side-dishes and other times, it might be steamed rice in place of the rice porridge/congee. Such a meal is quite commonly Asian, or perhaps just typical in my home. We grew up with such meals back in Asia.

Today let us have a bowl of rice with side-dishes.


Dried Krill and Cabbage Rice, together with Green Onion, Daikon Omelette and Kale Stir-Fry is a tasty homey meal that can be easily put together.

Some meal examples that comes with side-dishes:
Steamed Rice with steamed or blanched side-dishes
Vegetable Couscous with Teriyaki Chicken, and Seaweed Soup
Steamed Rice with Grilled Mackerel, Garlic Spinach, Steamed Beets

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Tag: krill rice, garlic kale