Hoisin Beef on Pak Choi Spoons

Aren't food-bloggers a peculiar little folk? Always seeking for inspiration, trying hard to add something of  value and entertainment to the ever-growing  niche of online writers. And while I guess that most of us don't write for fame or fortune (ehrm...), I am always very appreciative of any feedback I get, may it be through mails, comments or in this case, an award given to yours truly by children's book illustrator, food blogger and New Yorker Melissa Iwai of The Hungry Artist fame.

It is the second time I received the award for the Versatile Blogger but I don't see why that should be important, it is Melissa who thought of me that matters. Thank you!

This award usually comes with certain guidelines - passing it on to newly discovered blogs and write seven things about yourself, to be precise - but I feel like I should skip the first one (for now) as I was too busy with life to really go on a hunt for new, exciting food blogs. This one may be kept for later. ;)

However, no matter how busy I am, there is no way I can avoid myself, so writing things about me should be a doable task, shouldn't it? So, here - slickly ignoring that self-centred Tobias just managed to use "Me, Myself and I" in one sentence - are the cold facts about the author (trimmed down to five):

• I'm half German and Swiss, but grew up solely in Germany (being only German on paper) and have yet to step one foot on Swiss ground.

• I almost studied cultural sciences (or creative writing and cultural journalism) but was too much of a wuss to apply for their aptitude test as I neither play an instrument (the test covers many aspects of fine arts) nor thought my writing had enough consistency. Plus, I was a bit late, anyways. Another consideration was becoming a teacher (English and German). In the end, I'm studying something called "International Information Management" with my minors being literature and psychology. If you want to know a bit more about it, feel free to drop me a mail and I'll happily respond. Besides, I like receiving emails. :)

• One of my favourite authors is Banana Yoshimoto. I adore her poetic, easy-reading kind of style. I find reading  her books and short stories immensely soothing and if you would ever ask me for an author to recommend, it would be her.

• Alright, another odd one: I'm really into horror films. Not the torture porn kind of gross out flicks that seem to be popular these days, but the more subtle, suspense-heavy kind. Anything with ghosts and I'll gladly watch it with you. As the Japanese Ringu has caused a wave of amazing (and not so amazing) Asian ghost films, many of my favourites originated there. This had led me to seek out for Asian films of other genres, as well, so one of my favourite filmmakers is Wong Kar-Wai. Watch "Fallen Angels" and "Chungking Express", please.

• Hmmm, maybe I should finish this list with something cooking related? Let me think...Ah yes: I don't own a lot of cookbooks and the ones I have are mostly pretty old, bought from flea markets or thrift shops (same places I mostly get my props from). I just find that the new/good/beautiful ones are rather on the expensive side and as a University student, I try to be considerate with my expenses. Besides, what is the food blogosphere for if not  finding recipes and inspiration, right? I just wish I'd have more time to be more active in it.

Enough of me now and let's get to the recipe.

It is thought to be an appetizer but if only prepared for 2-3 people, can also be a lunch meal or light dinner. It is really easy to make yet quite the looker, in my opinion. I served it as shown in the photos, with the remaining meat and crème frâiche put in little ramekins on the table, ready to fill the pak choi left after the first bite.  Pak choi is also called bok choi.

Hoisin Beef on Pak Choi Spoons

• 125 - 145 ml  (4 - 5 fl. oz. or 0.5 - 0.625 cup) hoisin sauce
• 3 carrots
• 1 onion
• 350 g (12.5 oz) ground beef
• 400 g (14 oz) pak choi
• Crème frâiche or heavy cream/double cream
• Pepper to taste

1. Wash and dry vegetables.
2. Carefully cut or pull off pak choi stems from stalk, trying not to break any. I found it the easiest when I slit them just a little at the bottom and pulled them off. Sort out any stems that were either damaged or too small to be used as a 'spoon'. Set aside.
3. Cut onion, carrots and sorted out pak choi into very small cubes.
4. Pan fry ground beef on medium heat, crumbling it.
5. When half done, add and sauté cubed vegetables.
6. Stir in 120 ml hoisin sauce, taste and add more if needed. I did this recipe with two different brands and found one to be stronger/more concentrated than the other, hence the suggestion.
7. Season to taste with pepper.
8. Place on pak choi stems with a spoon.
9. Finish off with a dollop of crème frâiche or heavy cream/double cream.

Feta-Filled Carrot Meatballs

So, this is me slowly crawling my way out of the holidays. Happy New Year, everybody!

I have spend the days between Christmas and New Year like most of us probably did: stuffing my face with delicious fat-loaded heavy goodness of both the sweet and savory kind with friends and family. And the days I have spend at home I was still feasting on left-overs (sounds familiar?). Thank you stomache for handling this maltreatment as well as you did, even though you have had me lying on the sofa feeling drained more than once this time. Those pillows have never felt that good before. I don't regret nothing.

But that's what December is for, right? Now is not quite December anymore.

Even the glitz of New Year's has faded by now and all that is left gloom. And some soggy fireworks on the streets. The last days have been dark and colourless. That kind of days where midday already feels like evening. What a relieve when it actually gets dark so I do not have to see that dull gray in gray anymore. . . Pouty me is not impressed with you so far, twothousandandtwelve.

This kind of weather wanted me to make something with an undertone reminiscent of late summer. A bit of dried thyme – that I picked when one could still sit outside without a coat and a scarf - was the ingredient of choice in these meatballs. The cumin works just great with the mildly sweet note the carrots are providing and its warming characteristics is just right for the cold season. The feta is a bit of an extra but also serves as a warm and creamy surprise in the centre that can easily be omitted. It's still great and gives a nice change in texture. Depending on the size of the meatballs, they make great finger food or a salisbury style steak for a main dish.

Feta-Filled Carrot Meatballs

• 2 carrots, grated
• 500g  (17.5 oz) minced meat. Half beef, half pork (that is something you can buy here but either beef or pork works just as well. Half beef half turkey is also a great alternative if you don't do pork.)
• 1 tblsp ground cumin
• 1 ts paprika
• 1/2 ts curry powder
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3-4 splashes of soy sauce
• 1 little sprig of thyme (dried) or about 1/4 ts dried thyme
• 1 ts mustard (heaping)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (or ketchup if you aren't a snob)
• 200g (3.5 oz) feta cheese
• 100g (about 3/4 cup) breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
2. Mix well all ingredients but the feta.
3. Cut feta into cubes to your liking (small ones for finger food, larger and maybe cuboid shaped for salisbury steaks etc.)
4. With your hands, take a part of the mass, form into a ball and push in one feta cube each (make sure that there is no white peaking out).
5. Bake meatballs on centre rack for 15-20 minutes (time greatly depends on size of meatballs) until the tops are nicely browned.

Easy, right?

Enjoy!

Zucchini Pan Stew

Ok, so it has not even been a month since I have started blogging but I have managed to post at least twice a week so there are 10 entries by now. Browsing through those 10 recipes coming with the posts, do you notice something? No? They are all terrific Four of them have zucchini. And you know why that is so? Because I LOVE them! Zucchini and tomatoes are two vegetables (well technically, they are both fruits) I pretty much live on during the warmer months of the year. There is just nothing not to love about them. Don't believe me? I give you 5 reasons why you should love them, too:

1. They are tremendously healthy.

With 15 teensy-weensy calories per 100g (that's 3.5 oz. for you jolly people over the pond) one does not even really have to think about calories. And them containing potassium, folate, vitamin A and manganese (does the term “free radicals” tell you something? Mangenese helps to detoxify them and already 100g is enough to cover 19% of what is recommended daily.) only adds up to their goodness! But enough with the boring health blabber.

2. They are versatile!

Alright, zucchini are a bit bland have a very mild flavour. I'll give you that, zucchini haters (and I KNOW you are out there, I just don't know WHY!). But that is not a bad thing at all. That just means that they soak in the flavours of the other ingredients well like in the recipe that is at the bottom of this post. Want a bit of a crunch? You can eat them raw or lightly blanched like here. Enjoy soups? Blended zucchini give them an almost starchy creaminess like potatoes would but low-carb and calorie (Oh suprise! There is this awesome summery soup I have posted a few weeks ago.). So, you don't feel like eating something savory, now. How about something to satisfy your sweet tooth? Grated zucchini makes cakes and muffins perfectly moist. However, not even them can make this recipe healthy...

You can even stuff, grill and bake and fry them!

3. They are not bound to one particular cuisine.

Ok, I am aware that this also applies to a plethora of other veggies but it was not that clear to me when it comes to zucchini. When I think about them, my first thought is Italian or maybe also just western.

Here is a(n totally incomplete) list of links to recipes from different countries that contain zucchini:

Italian: Pasta Con Zucchine & Menta from Apron and Sneakers

Japanese: Chicken Curry from Just one Cookbook

They also work great as Tempura!

Lebanese: Keshké Salad  from Taste of Beirut

Indian: Zucchini Curry  from Simple Indian Recipes

French: Ratatouille  from Burghilicious

Chinese: Mushroom Chicken from Rasa Malaysia

4. They freeze well.

Although they lose in texture, I find they generally freeze pretty well. I would recommend to already prepare them in the way you intend to use them later (chopping, slicing, grating) because that part could be tricky after thawing but apart from them: Put them in a freezer bag and they are good to go.

5. They are easy to grow in your garden (given you have one).

Alright, I am a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to this point because the last person who grew zucchini in our garden was my grandfather but still, it IS fuzz free! The soil does not need to be particularly good and as long as you keep it moist I cannot imagine anything that could go wrong. Oh, and did I mention that two plants are more than enough to get you and your loved ones well fed through summer? And as a plus, you get to enjoy their blossoms that are not only beautiful, but also edible.

Still not convinced? Here is my grandmother's quick-fix week-night low-carb super-tasty zucchini dish that does not require lots of ingredients and is low in price yet a real comfort food. I don't know exactly how to name it because it's not really a soup, nor a stew. Maybe a soupy stir-fry or a light summery pan stew at best. But what's in a name, anyway. All those juices come directly from the vegetables as there is no adding of water involved. 

 Zucchini Pan Stew

Serves 4

• 300-500g (10.5–17.5 oz.) ground meat, half beef, half pork
• 3 medium sized zucchini
• 3-4 tomatoes, depending on size
• 3 eggs
• 4-5 splashes of soy sauce
• pepper to taste

1. Cut zucchini and tomatoes into slices of about 5mm (about 0.2''), set aside
2. In a pan, roast meat without additional fat until it gets crumbly. You still want some bigger chunks, though.
3. Spread zucchini slices evenly on meat, do the same with tomatoes afterwards.
4. Add a few splashes of soy sauce and close with a lit letting it simmer on low heat until zucchini are tender (the tomatoes will pretty much dissolve).
5. Remove lid, stir and add more soy sauce to taste. In a cup or a small bowl, crack open the eggs and stir them just slightly so that yolk and egg white are not completely combined. Pour evenly over pan. Turn heat up to medium.
6. When eggs begin to set, stir for the last time and keep the heat on until they are completely done.
7. Add some pepper and enjoy!

This really is a simple, down-home dish that my grandmother especially used to cook on particularly hot days in summer when she would rather do anything else but cooking. The soy sauce goes so well with the juices of the vegetables and if you still feel like you need your carb fix, serve with some bread to soak them up!

Still need some inspiration? Well, you know where get that!

Do you have a zucchini dish that you are particularly fond of? Feel free to post them in the comments. :)