Boiled Fava Beans with Five Spices Powder

Yan June 5, 2016

中文菜谱：五香水煮蚕豆

Last weekend we went shopping in a Mexican grocery store and found out they had fresh fava beans! Wow, we don’t usually find fresh fava beans on the market.

We boil them with five spices powder and some other spices. It is simple but the taste and flavor are really great.

Ingredients：

2 pounds fresh fava beans in the pods
1 teaspoon five spice powder
2 to 3 star annises
3 to 4 cloves
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste
water for boiling

Directions：

Remove fava beans from pods. It would be really fun to do it with young kids in the house if you have one or some.

In a small pot, add fava beans, five spice powder, star anises, clovers, Sichuan peppercorns, sugar and salt. Add water to about 1 inch above the beans.

Heat over high heat. When it comes to boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

After turning off the heat, leave the beans soaking in the pot for another 10 minutes.

Drain well and serve either hot or cold.

Cooked fresh young fava beans have similar texture as cooked potato but they are more on therefreshing side.

Fire Grilled Sizzling T-bone Steak

Yan June 1, 2016

中文菜谱：铁板T-bone牛排

The weather in Michigan is finally nice and sunny. You know what that means? Of course it is BBQ time! O(∩_∩)O~

We do fire grilled sizzling T-bone this time. The steak is tender and juicy, just the way I like it.

Ingredients：

2 pieces fresh T-bone steaks
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

I usually season my steaks with sea salt and pepper only, because I think it is the best way to taste the great beef steak flavors.

Take the T-bone steaks out of the refrigiator 20 minutes ahead of time to allow them warm up a little bit to room temperature.

Actually after I take them out of the fridge, I decide they are too big for a dinner for two people. So I grill one piece at a time.

Season both sides with generous amount of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper using a pepper grinder.

Preheat the grill to 500F / 260 C. Preheat the cast iron sizzling platters together in the grill.

Grill for 2 to 3 minutes.

It sears really fast under high temperature. That is how we get these pretty grill marks.

Flip the steaks and grill the other side for 2 to 3 minutes depending how you like your steaks.

Ahhhh, fire grilled steaks! That is what I am talking about! O(∩_∩)O~

I don’t know about you, but I start drooling at this point.

Transfer the steaks to cast iron sizzling platters.

Serve immediately. The sizzling sound is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world!

Because the sizzling plate is super hot too. It will continue to cook the steak in front of you. So be careful not to overcook your steak on the grill. Otherwise, the medium rare you are hoping for may turn into well-done.

Fire Grilled Sizzling Ribeye Steaks

Yan May 19, 2016

中文菜谱：铁板牛排

Ribeye steak is one of our favorite meats. When the weather is warm and nice, we love to make our own fire grilled sizzling ribeye steaks in the backyard.

Ingredients：

2 pieces fresh ribeye steaks
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

I usually season my steaks with sea salt and pepper only, because I think it is the best way to taste the great beef steak flavors.

Take the ribeye steaks out of the refrigiator 20 minutes ahead of time to allow them warm up a little bit to room temperature.

Season both sides with generous amount of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper using a pepper grinder.

Preheat the grill to 500F / 260 C. Preheat the cast iron sizzling platters together in the grill.

Grill for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

It sears really fast under high temperature. That is how we get these pretty grill marks.

Flip the steaks and grill the other side for 1 to 2 minutes depending how you like your steaks.

Ahhhh, fire grilled steaks! That is what I am talking about! O(∩_∩)O~

I don’t know about you, but I start drooling at this point.

Transfer the steaks to cast iron sizzling platters.

Serve immediately. The sizzling sound is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world!

After the wonderful steaks and wine, I serve homemade dark chocolate ice cream with caramel sauce which is also made from scratch too! O(∩_∩)O~

Now the meal is the complete! O(∩_∩)O~

Lemonade with Chia Seeds

Yan May 16, 2016

中文：奇亚籽柠檬水

Recently chia seeds have been really popular that several friends recommend it to me. It is gluten free, high in fiber, antioxidants, protein, omega-3, but low in calories. All in all, it is a super health food.

I like to add chia seeds to my drinks. Those tiny seeds are almost flavorless so that they pretty much go with everything.

I bought some cute and beautiful fresh lemons from local farmer’s market. I make lemonade with them and add chia seeds. And it is awesome! O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

4 lemons
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons chia seeds
6 to 8 cups of water
fresh mint
ice

Directions：

Roll the lemons on a board for a few seconds. It helps to make more lemon juice. Cut each lemon in halves. Use a citrus squeezer to squeeze out the lemon juice.

3 lemons can make 1/2 to 2/3 cup lemon juice.

Heat 1 1/2 cups of water until it boils. Add sugar. Whisk until sugar dissolves. Allow the simple syrup to cool down to room temperature.

In a large bowl, mix lemon juice, simple syrup, remaining water and chia seeds with a whisk.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Thinly slice 1 lemon.

Stir in ice cubes, mint, and lemon slices.

It is the taste of summer! O(∩_∩)O~

Holland-Grand Rapids Tour - Day Two

Yan May 12, 2016

中文： Holland - Grand Rapids 二日游第二天

We got up early next morning to go to famers market. The best way to explore a city is through its market. O(∩_∩)O~

And then we went to San Chez for breakfast.

Forgot to take restaurant photos again. This one is from internet.

When visiting a restaurant where I have never been to before, I usually ask the waiter or waitress to recommend their signature dishes. And we ordered Cuban Pork Omelet and Breakfast Empanadas according our waitress’s recommendation.

One pot of French press coffee. It tastes kind of sour and bitter, not good at all.

The kitchen is semi open. We had a good view of what was going on the kitchen from our table. Contradictory to what we usually see on TV or movie, the kitchen staff didn’t seem busy at all. Everyone was moving kind of slow. When I am cooking in my kitchen, I move a lot faster than these guys.

Remember Flash from the movie Zootopia? What I saw in the kitchen this morning reminded me of that DMV scene in the movie. Well, not a good sign anyway.

After waiting for a while, our food finally came.

Whatever in this plate was hard and chewy. A couple bites later, I totally ost my appetite to continue.

So I switched mu plates with his. Bad decision. The omelet on the plate was greasy, fatty, salty and interestingly tasteless all at the same time. The worst omelet I, no, we have ever had.

Although the food is poorly cooked and unappetizing, the service was pretty great.

It is a myth how this restaurant scores so many good reviews on yelp. This restaurant would never ever make a dime from me.

Grand Rapids Art Museum is another our favorite spots in town. After two hours in the museum and one hour walk in downtown area, we still had no appetite for lunch. So we skipped lunch and continue to walk around in the downtown. Wow, that breakfast really sucked for a long time.

In the afternoon, we want to Hopcat. Grand Rapids is also called beer city. Hopcat is famous for its beers too. I was told that if you can’t find beer you like in Hopcat, you won’t find it anywhere else.

I ordered a glass of Whitsun ale, with lighter color on the left. He ordered Full Circle, with darker color on the right. Both are really good. They are light, fruity, with a hint of citrus. I like both of them very much.

The crack fries are one the ten best fries in America according to Foodnetwork magazine. I am a huge fan of Foodnetwork, so we had to try the fries.

The fries are beer battered, deep fried and sprinkled with herbs.

It is good, and it is even better with the sauce.

I ordered Vladimir Poutine, which is crack fries with raviolis, sour cream sauce, bacons and green onions. It is good when it was served hot. When the plate cooled down, everything becomes tough and greasy.

We continued our walk to La Grande Vitesse statue park. Guess what? The annual American Home Brewers Association Big Brew was going on!

Homebrewers and craft beer lovers were here to celebrate their enthusiasm for beers. We got there a little bit late, but there were plenty beers left to taste.

A lot of these beers were really awesome and so much better than the ones you pay for in bars and nightclubs. Unfortunately they were not for sale. Want more beers? Come by here earlier next year! O(∩_∩)O~

One cappuccino

One latte

Their coffees are always as good as I remember. O(∩_∩)O~

There was a strong intense aroma from espresso and its crema. Frothered milk was silky and creamy. Just one sip, you will know what I am talking about!