When I was younger, I was fortunate to have been able to travel the world and taste many different types of cuisine. Asia was primarily the main area we explored, therefore my taste buds for all Asian cuisine is quite familiar to the different spices and flavors. I have such fond memories of walking down the street in Malaysia going to the food stand that sell you the best noodle dish with pork and crispy garlic shavings on top. Even though the moist heat has made all your close stick to your body, being uncomfortable has quickly been pushed to the side as you order the hot noodles with a cold drink. And the best thing about all this is that you have supported the local cook and the dish merely put a dent in your wallet. This is what I have realized here in Canada that food is not as appreciated and cared for like in Asia. The cooks in Asia have had tradition and skill passed down to them, it really shows when they cook these fantastic dishes with simple ingredients. I have to be honest here you can go to a fancy restaurant sit in a fancy chair and order pad Thai for 20 dollars, but you haven't really tasted a pad Thai unless you have ordered it at the local food stand in Thailand eating on plastic stool in smoldering heat on the streets. Its that atmosphere and watching your Chef cook these fantastic dish full of flavor and simple fresh ingredients.
My mother always made fun of me when we lived in Nepal. She would cook this local Nepali dish called dhal bhat which generally means rice and lentils. I was never really fond of my moms dhal bhat but my sister and I would always go to our local gardener named Krishna Dai's house and ate his dhal bhat with him and his family.We would sit on the floor, I hardly spoke any Nepalese, they hardly spoke any English, but we ate this wonderful dhal bhat that was cooked over a small gas stove and had full conversations both understanding and respecting each others company. Now that I think of it, while my mom was cooking dhal bhat over her 4 burner stove I had already filled myself up. This probably led to the dislike of my moms dhal bhat.
My next fond memory of our travels is Singapore. Like Malaysia Singapore is full of different cultural cuisine because of its people. The population in Singapore is a mixture of Chinese,Indian, Malay. Now think about these three types of cuisine and mix them up. I tell you, you have reached food heaven. Absolutely delicious. My mother was good friends with this Singaporean couple who used to live in Nepal. When they had moved back to Singapore we would go and visit them.We were lucky to have known them in because they would show us this wonderful places to eat. One of the dish's I make at home and first tried in Singapore was this steamed chicken with ginger garlic sauce. This dish is one of my all time favorites. The chicken is very tender, then you pour this garlic ginger sauce over your chicken, steamed veggies. The rice eventually soaks up the sauce.This is the best part of the whole dish because the flavor left by the chicken and sauce has been soaked by the rice.
As much as I can I want Isaiah to experience the tastes of the world by introducing cultural cuisines at our dinner table. I cannot afford to take him around the world but I can open the door to some of  the similar smells of the world in my kitchen which has intrigue him to the wonders of the world through food and of course music.


Steamed Ginger Garlic Chicken

I have simplified this recipes to make it easier and faster for me. The sauce is oil based therefore you don't need to drench your chicken in the oil just slowly add it to your liking but make sure you let that rice soak it, you will love it!!

Yields: 2 people
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
2 chicken breast with bone in
2 Tbs grated ginger
4 cloves of garlic grated/finely chopped
salt/pepper
1/2 cup peanut or sesame oil ( I have read that peanut is better, but I used sesame oil and it tasted just as good).
Chopped green onions for garnish
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Preparation:

• Steam the chicken for a good 45 minutes (if you like ginger you can add a whole ginger with the chicken to infuse the meat with extra flavor). The chicken is done when it has been poked and the juices run clear. Make sure not to open the top till the 45 minutes is complete therefore the steam will not be released during the cooking process.
• In a separate bowl mix together the ginger,garlic,oil in a small bowl. Add salt to your taste. Let the ingredients sit for a good 10 minutes.
• When chicken is ready cut into chunky size pieces.Set on a plate add the sesame and green onions for garnish. The sauce is not poured over the chicken it is served in a bowl at the table and each person can add the sauce themselves. 
• I always have this dish with steamed rice and green vegetables. I also set aside a small bowl of sauce for myself and cut some small Thai chilies just for heat.

One of my favorite dishes to cook with Isaiah is pizza. I will admit there were many a time, when I really relied on the telephone to call a local pizza house to deliver. Like most working parents this is the easiest and fastest way to get a meal at your table. I did know the the importance of eating a well balanced meal and the implications fast food has had on our my child, but when time is your enemy, Pizza Hut is your best friend at that moment. I now have kept myself on a strict rule of not touching the phone and make my own.

My mother has constantly reminded me to save for a rainy day. Most of the time I don't listen, but on that rare occasion when I do. I have found  that this advice can be easily followed in the preparation of weekly meals for my family. If I can, I  try make a huge quantity of pizza dough and freeze it. Then all that needs to be done is take it out of the fridge before work, cover it, then roll it out once you get home. But if you really aren't the most daring of cooks, I will suggest to ask your local baker if they sell frozen pizza dough.

For the toppings I would like to hence that I am not making a gourmet Italian pizza here. My pizza's usually consist of left over dishes that have been in my fridge for a couple of days. Our last pizza had a  Mediterranean taste because of the left over roasted vegetables and homemade beef kebabs. So look in that fridge and see what is on it's last leg put it on top of your pizza add some cheese and bake!!

When we make our own pizza it gets extremely messy and creative.This is also one of those dish's that a child can almost make completely on their own. Which is fantastic!! Just don't rely on the same enthusiasm for clean up.

Homemade Pizza Dough

Homemade Pizza Dough
Prep time: 2 1/2 hours
Cook time : 30 mins
Ingredients
4 cups of bread flour
1tbs of sugar or honey
2tsp salt
2 tsp of dried yeast (not quick-acting yeast)
11/4 cups of warm water
Preparation

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar/honey. Let the liquid rest in a warm place for 10 minutes,until it turns bubbly and smells yeasty.
• Add salt,olive oil and then slowly proceed to add the flour until the dough comes together into a blob. The texture should be soft and slightly sticky to the touch. I would like to mention that you might not need all 4 cups of the flour. Please rely on your judgement the texture of the dough. If it is to dry you have added to much flour. Also remember that when kneading the dough on the counter you need to sprinkle extra flour on the counter. So if the dough still feels to sticky while you knead just add the extra flour that is left. 
• The dough must be kneaded gently for 10 minutes.
• Grease a large (if you have ceramic) bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Let it rise until double it's volume. This could be 11/2 to 2 hours.
• When dough has risen roll dough flat and shape cut to the sizes of your choice. You can make one large pizza or many small pizzas. 
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Add your toppings of choice and bake for 15 minutes.

The last time we made pizza instead of the typical tomato sauce, I blended our left over roasted vegetables and used that as a sauce over the pizza dough. I have also used the same sauce for spread on sandwiches and pasta. It is wonderful to make a dish that can be so versatile. 

Here is a picture of the vegetables we used for the roasted vegetable sauce.It consisted of zucchini, roma tomatoes, 4 bulbs of garlic,eggplant and 2 sprigs of rosemary and olive oil,salt and pepper. I tossed all the veggies together added olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I then baked it in a preheated oven (350 degrees) for a good 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables look caramelized . Any choice of hearty vegetable will make great roast vegetables.

The mornings in my house are one of the most chaotic part of our day. Depending on what type of morning we have usually determines how our day will be. I run my life by the clock and bus times, this is something I really am trying to work on changing. For me breakfast is the most important meal to have together. Whether it's for a short period of time or long. I have noticed that since cooking together Isaiah has also really valued the time we eat together.On his own behalf, he never starts his breakfast until I sit down to eat.This is such a lovely gesture I think is lost today because everyone of everyone's busy lifestyles. The only backfire to sitting down together for breakfast on a busy morning is that my son loves to talk. He will talk till my ears fall off. When he is done talking I might have half his meal on my shirt from not closing his mouth, or he hasn't touched it. Most of the time I am saying "Isaiah please keep your mouth closed" or " Isaiah try to finish your meal". This, is a good example  where time has left the building and I don't rush because I know we have missed the first bus. I will admit that spending this time together requires me to wake earlier.

Breakfast meals for us usually are your standard choices, toast,porridge, cereal.When I can during the week I do make this lovely simple scrambled egg dish. It might be one of the easiest recipes I will post. It so quick and requires simple ingredients. The kicker for my scrambled eggs is the Thai Sriracha sauce. It really has a wonderful tangy, chili sweet taste. The sauce is my ketchup to a lot of meals. The flavor gives the dish a whole other dimension than just scrambled eggs. This sauce is quite spicy therefore i don't add the sauce for Isaiah but if he chose's to try some he has in small quantities and to my amazement has enjoyed it .

Spicy Scrambled Eggs

Preparation: 5 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Yields: 2 servings
Ingredients
4 eggs
sirarcha sauce
2 sprigs of green onions chopped
salt/pepper for taste
1/2tbs butter
Preparation
Like I mentioned the preparation for this meal is absolutely easy, but I think I have found the best way to make scrambled eggs without them being overly cooked.

• Have your nonstick or cast iron pan heated on medium heat.
• I first whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl but I don't add any salt or pepper ( I put salt and pepper on the table). I find that when salt is added to the eggs ahead of time it dries them out.
• Put butter in the pan let melt but not burn. This will make eggs bitter. 
• Pour the egg mixture into the pan and let it sit till you see the edges cooked. Use wooden spoon and slowly push cooked parts of the egg to the center.Roll the pan around to disperse uncooked mixture to the edges. When the egg looks 1/2 cooked I turn of the heat and let the eggs cook without the burner on. The heat from the pan will slowly cook the eggs.
• Place on toast garnish with green onions and sirarcha sauce. Salt/pepper for taste.

Note that the temperature of your pan determines how fast the eggs get cooked. I find that medium and low heat cooks the eggs to a perfect consistency. If the heat is very high it generally cooks the eggs to fast and dry.

When doing this with Isaiah I have him whisk and crack the eggs as well as give him to chance to stir the egg in the pan. When I first started letting Isaiah stir things on the stove it was very nerve racking for me. This also includes chopping, but once getting over my fears I realized that he was very responsible and proud to show me that "mom I am careful, just watch". And that, is all I can do which is watch and guide. The appreciation of food and preparation is so valued plus on the educational front, the products entice a lot conversation. For example, where sirarcha sauce is from? How is it made? This opens up so many doors of exploration in culture,farming and production.

I will have to admit that I am a meat and potatoes kinda of girl therefore a lot of the recipes I will post will have meat. I try to cook a couple of vegetarian dishes and use tofu,eggs, nuts and lentils or copious amounts of cheese. Isaiah has claimed he is a vegetarian. He had an experience where he was at a party where they were roasting a whole pig. While he was bouncing up and down on a trampoline which was in an adjacent garden. He kept bring up a lot of questions about meat. Where it comes from, and why this little pig was on a stick going around circles over hot coal. For me this was a delicious feast on the eyes.  For my son who was not impressed at all, he and I had our first conversation about the how and where meat comes from. Since the concerned look and the proclamation of becoming a vegetarian, I do give him the option of having  egg or tofu if he would prefer not to eat meat for dinner.

My first dish I will post surprisingly is a vegetarian dish which my mother used to make for us when we were small. It is simple and delicious. It is an Chinese dish made with tofu, ginger,garlic and soy sauce. A lot of my favorite meals are Chinese and usually when I do cook greens I make them based off of dishes I have learnt from my mother who is Chinese. This dish can be served with greens veggie's and rice (I usually prefer Japanese rice because of the texture and taste).

Steamed Tofu with ginger and Garlic

As you can see from the pictures, I have created my own steamer. If you have your own traditional Asian steamer you wont have to cook your tofu this way. All you would need to do is place the bowl in the steamer and steam the dish the way you would usually use the steamer. I have used a very large pot, a small Chinese bowl (I found these bowls are very resilient to the hot water and heat from the pot). I then have this small dutch oven style pot for the tofu which is usually for baked brie cheese. It makes a nice presentation if you have guests coming over.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yields 2-3 servings
Ingredients
1 small pkg of medium firm tofu (you can find tofu in most large grocery stores now)
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/4 sesame oil
2 tbs of Chinese cooking wine
1/2 small Thai chili pepper cut into small pieces ( this can be omitted if you prefer, they are very hot).
1/2 tsp sugar or honey
3-4 tbs grated ginger (ginger is a staple in my house, I always add more. But if you prefer a little this is o.k too).
3 bulbs of finely chopped or grated garlic.
1 sprig of green onions chopped for garnish before being served.

Just a small note: when grating the ginger and garlic save the juices and pour it into the sauce before steaming.

Preparation:

 In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce,wine,sesame oil. Then whisk in the sugar/honey. Add the cut chili's, ginger (with it's juice), and garlic. Let it stand in the bowl for 10-15 mins to let the sauce marinate. While this is being marinated if you don't have a steamer create the one I have suggested up top. Add 2 cups of water to the pot (you may need to add more water if it slowly evaporates later during the cooking process). Then cover the pot to let the water heat and slowly create steam for your dish. Cut the tofu to the size of the bowl you will be using and place in bowl. Add the marinated sauce over it and quickly place it in the pot trying to not let all the steam come out. Cook dish for 25 minutes add chopped green onions and serve immediately with the accompanying side dishes.

I would like to add that this dish can be pan fried too.Cut the tofu into rectangles 1 cm thick and place in a flat plate. Pour the sauce over and marinate each side for 15 mins. Then heat the pan add a little oil and place tofu in pan, cook each side till golden brown. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

This dish is so simple that after a while you can add and change ingredients to your preference.