Beef Stew

Total time: 3 hours

Winter is officially here in East Coast. Are you guys looking for some dishes to warm you up? Here is a great beef stew recipe that's easy for all home cooks. 

Put the flour in a dish and season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot. Add beef and brown on all sides over medium to high heat. Remove beef and add onion, garlic, and thyme leaves to the pan. (Optional:  add 1 big fresh tomato (dice) and 1 cup red wine) 

When onion is soft add tomato puree and beef stock. Return the beef to the pot and stir well to coat with the sauce. Cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours. 

Serve with egg noodle and steam veggies such as roasted Brussels Sprout or Broccoli.

Ingredients:

Happy New Year 2012!!

Happy New Year everyone!! How was your holidays? :)

My girlfriends and I went to Las Vegas. We had such an amazing time. Our stay at The Venetian was one of the highlights to our vacation. We are still talking about it and can't wait to go back.... 

Papaya salad (Som Tum)

Papaya Salad is a unique and flavor-filled dish that will make a great impression. It's also easy to make, low-caloric, and nutritious. The taste is a combination of hot chili, sour lime, sweetness added by palm sugar or brown sugar, and salty from fish sauce. BUT you can make it to suit your taste. I love it spicy so I always add a lot of chilies....

Ingredients: shredded green papaya and carrots, 1 clove of garlic, grape tomatoes, green beans, thai chili. 

Seasoning: Fish sauce (or salt), Lime juice, palm sugar (or brown sugar)

Place garlic and chili in mortar and pound with pestle. Add grape tomatoes and green beans keep pounding them. Season with fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar then add papaya and carrots, tossing everything together. 

Spaghetti Meat Sauce

I love making meat sauce, it's so easy and great for leftover! Serve with some stream broccoli or grilled eggplants. Mmmm... DELICIOUS!

"Meat Sauce"

  Minced 1 medium onion and minced 3 cloves of garlic. 2tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil. Heat the oil in the pot and add onion and garlic until soft. In a separate pan, cook ground beef (90% lean) and remove it into the pot with juices from the meat. Seasoning with dried oregano, dried parsley, ground black pepper, and salt. add some mushroom and can diced tomatoes. Cook in low heat for couple hours. It goes well with any kind of pasta. 

Fresh Spring Rolls

Looking for a great finger food or appetizer for parties, Check this out!

  This recipe is simple to put together. Chicken or Pork can be used as a meat substitute or can also be made vegetarian. Instead of being fired, like crispy spring rolls, this dish is served fresh. It is very healthy and low in calories. Serve with sweet red chili dipping sauce.

Ingredients: Rice wrapper, Boiled rice noodle, lettuce, Shrimp, chicken, or pork, cucumber, carrots and Basil leaves.

Fill large pot with warm water and put one rice wrapper into the water until its soft (approximately 30 seconds) Remove it to a clean surface. Start filling with those ingredients and roll it. Serve with sweet&sour sauce or peanut sauce.

My Gingerbread House :)

I woke up on saturday morning trying to find something to do. So I made a gingerbread house. :) What do you guys think? 

Tools: crackers, royal icing, and a lot of candies for decoration!!!
I found a really good royal icing recipe online. This recipe is the glue that holds gingerbread house together, and makes it still edible.
3 tablespoons meringue powder
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons water
Beat all ingredients at low speed for 7-10 minutes, or until icing forms peaks.

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My favorite season

"Stowe, VT"

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. I love the trees changing colors, pumpkin picking, apple cider, trick or treat, and perfect weather!! Me and my friends had a chance to visit Vermont back in October. We really enjoyed fall foliage roads tour in Stowe. It was so pretty and amazing. We spent a day just taking pictures of the orange mountain. Not only you will find a gorgeous leaf but also fabulous food. I have been to 6-7 restaurants in Burlington. I love that the ingredients are so fresh and non-processed. They never make me disappointed. This was a wonderful trip and I'd love to go back there again!

"Brunch at The inn @ Shelburne farms"

First Ben & Jerry's shop located in Burlington