Strawberry Popsicles

中文菜谱：草莓冰棍

Strawberry popsicle is one of my favorites in hot summer time.  They are super simple and easy to make, but the flavor is so great that you will not want to go back to the store bought popsicles ever again.  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 pound fresh strawberries
2/3 cup sugar (use more if you have a sweet tooth)
1/3 cup of water

Directions：

In a small sauce pan , add sugar and water.  Heat it over medium low heat.  Whisking occasionally until all sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat.  Let it cool down to room temperature.

Remove strawberries’ stems and cut each of them into halves or quarters.

Add strawberries and syrup to a vitamix 

Blend at high speed for 10 to 20 seconds until the mixture is very silky and smooth. 

Pour into popsicle molds

Cover and add popsicle sticks

Freeze for at leat 4 to 6 hours, or overnight.

Dipping the molds into hot water for 15 to 20 seconds will help to easily unmold the popsicles.  

Steamed Egg Custard with Shrimps

中文菜谱鲜虾鸡蛋羹

One of my must do things during weekend is visiting our local farmer’s market.  The great thing about our market is that a lot of local farmers show up here with their produce or meat product, unlike some other farmers’ market I have been to.

Every time I visit a city, I always go to its market.  You can learn a lot about a city and local people’s ordinary life through its market. That is really fun and amazing.

One thing I can never resist from these markets is free-range egg. 

Aren’t they just gorgeous?

I love eggs from local farmer’s market.   These eggs are not only fresh, but also more beautiful than grocery store eggs inside and out. 

The shells are usually tougher and yolks are slightly darker

I love to make traditional Chinese steamed egg custard with them.

ingredients：

4 eggs
equal amount of warm water as eggs
8 to 10 shrimps, peeled and devined
a pinch of chopped green onion
a few drops of sesame oil 
1 to 2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon rice cooking wine
salt to taste

Directions：

I use a small bowl to measure how much are 4 eggs.  So that I can use the same bowl to determine how water will be added to the eggs. 

Add both eggs and equal amount of warm water to a large cup.  Add salt and rice cooking wine.  Blend with a hand blender  or whisk until everything is well combined. 

Use a spoon or strainer  to remove air bubbles on top. 

Divide the egg mixture into two small bowls. 

Wrap both bowls tightly with aluminum foil

Add a steam rack  to a pot.  Fill with water and heat over high heat until the water boils.  Reduce the heat to simmer. 

Place both bowls with egg mixture on steam rack.  Steam them over low heat for 10 minutes. 

Unwrap the bowls, add shrimp on top, and tightly warp them up again.  Steam over low heat for about another 10 8 to 10 minutes.

Discard the foil.  Sprinkle with soy sauce, sesame oil and chopped green onion.  And serve immediately. 

It is eating the softest tofu but taste so much better than tofu.  That is the beauty of farm chicken eggs.  You don’t need much seasoning.  They already taste so great on their own. 

Do not skip soy sauce  and sesame oil.  They really bring out the flavors from eggs and shrimps.  O(∩_∩)O~

Grilled Split Lobster

中文菜谱： 烧烤大龙虾

Summer means BBQ!  Both my husband and I love grilling in our back yard.  We bought two large lobsters home on our last grocery trip to Detroit area.  One is grilled, and the other one is boiled and make into a salad. 

We both decide the grilled one is tastier O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

1 large lobster (about 2.2 pounds)
3 to 4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 to 4 cloves of garlic
1 stalk of green onion
1/2  to 1teaspoon crushed chili peppers
 lemon zest from 1/2 lemon
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt to taste

Directions：

Peel and mince the garlic.  Finely chop the green onion.

In a small bowl, combine garlic, green onion, butter, chili pepper, lemon zest, black pepper and sea salt.  Mix with a fork until everything is well combined.

Clean the lobster.  With a big knife or clever, split it open in the middle.

Preheat the grill to 450F/232C

Spray or brush the lobster with olive oil/ vegetable oil.  Grill it flesh side down for 4 to 5 minutes.

Flip ove

Spoon spice butter mixture over the lobste

Grill for another 5 to 8 minutes.  The actual grilling time depends on lobster’s size and grill temperature. 

Its claws will need 1 to 2 minutes extra grilling time.  

It is a big one.  I have to serve it in a pizza pan.

Don’t worry.  After taking the photo, I send the claws back to grill to grill for another couple minutes.  

Blueberry Yogurt Popsicles

中文： 蓝莓酸奶冰棍

During such a hot summer time, are you looking for a different way to beat the summer heat other ice cream?  Try these blueberry yogurt popsicles.  They are super easy and simple to make.  But the flavor is super fantastic.  Not to mention their look is gorgeous too! O(∩_∩)O~   

One bite, I know you will want a second bite, a third bit…O(∩_∩)O~ 

Ingredients：

3 cups fresh blueberries
2/3 cup sugar (use more if you have sweet tooth)
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (for the yogurt)

Directions：

Add blueberries, sugar and lemon juice to a medium sauce pan . 

Heat over high heat until the mixture boils.  Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook for another couple minutes. 

With a hand blender, blend the blueberries and syrup together. 

Allow the blueberry sauce to cool down to room temperature.

Mix the Greek yogurt and sugar until the sugar melts.  Spoon the yogurt into the bottom of each popsicle mold .  And then pour in the blueberry sauce.

When dark purple blueberry sauce and creamy white yogurt collide together, they will form beautiful patterns. 

Cover with popsicle lid and insert popsicle sticks.

Freeze for at least 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

Quickly run the mold under running hot water for seconds.  It will help to release the popsicles. 

The real blueberry popsicles made with real blueberries!

 Trust me, after tasting these, you will never want to go back the grocery store bought popsicles O(∩_∩)O~

Multi-grain Blueberry Pancakes

中文菜谱： 蓝莓杂粮PANCAKE

Summer is my favorite season in Michigan because of the blueberries!  

It is our tradition to go blueberry picking in a nearby local blueberry farm.

The blueberry season is just starting.  You can see there are many more berries to come. 

The blueberry season is just starting.  You can see there are many more berries to come. 

We each pick a full bucket.

Now let’s cook some multi-grain blueberry pancakes!

Ingredients：

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup multi-grain flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch of salt
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil/ melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3  to 1cup fresh blueberries
honey/ maple syrup
powdered sugar

* I grind my own multi-grain flour.  It is posted before.

Directions：

Add egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract to a big measuring cup or bowl. 

Whisk together

Shit together all purpose flour, multi-grain flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. 

Add shifted flour to the egg milk mixture.  Whisk just until the dry flour is gone.  Don’t over mix because the more you whisk, the more gluten will form, and the chewier your pancakes will get.

Add fresh blueberrie

Heat the griddle to 350. 

Add batter.  We are using a non-stick griddle so I skip oil spray.  If you use a cast iron griddle or stainless steel pan, oil spray will be a life saver! O(∩_∩)O~ 

Let them cook on one side until you see a lot of bubbles, flip the pancakes.  It takes about more or less than one minute.

Top the pancakes with powder sugar, more fresh blueberries and honey or maple syrup O(∩_∩)O~