Fresh Mango Salsa

Still remember my previous post on how to easily dice and peel a mango, all inspired by a real life story?  If you've missed it, no worries, click here to read the juicy details.  With the diced mango, I've made this Fresh Mango Salsa.  It’s super easy to prepare and so refreshing!  In this recipe, I used my favorite Ataulfo Mangos.  It’s sweeter than the Tommy Atkins variety, which has a firmer flesh and more sour taste.  Both would work just fine here. 



The key to this refreshing Mango Salsa is that after mixing the ingredients, you have to let it sit at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes.  That way, the flavors from different ingredients can get to know each other and combined beautifully.  Just like any relationship in life, we need to spend the time with the other to develop that bond!  You’ll be surprised how much the taste is enhanced by giving it that 15 to 30 minutes of time. 



This Fresh Mango Salsa pairs perfectly with any kind of white flesh fish fillet.   It’s also wonderful with pork chops, or chickens.  Basically, any white meat with mild flavors would work.  I hope you’ll give it a try.

Before I conclude this post, I also want to encourage you to spend 15 to 30 minutes (more if you want) each day with someone you want to enhance your relationship with.  Sit down and ask them how their day went, or give them a phone call if they’re far away.  It could be your spouse, your kids, your parents, your siblings, your in-laws, or a long lost friend, etc.  So, let me know, who would you pick?  I think I’m going to call up my brothers!


 
 
 

How to Remove Seeds from Pomegranate, the Easy Way

It’s the pomegranate season and I’m so excited!  It’s one of the super fruit that is packed with vitamins and antioxidant.  You can eat it straight, add it on salad for a crunchy pop, or turn it into juice and make a smoothie.  I’ve always love pomegranate but it is not the most easy fruit to eat.  If you’ve tried it before, you know what I mean.  It has a rather hard shell to start with, after cutting it up, the seeds (the edible parts) are all surrounded by a white and bitter membrane!  So, I’m going to show you how to take those little jewels out of the shell, the easy way.



1) Wash and pat dry the shell of the fruit.  With a sharp knife, cut the pomegranate in half.

2) Hold the pomegranate cut side down over a large mixing bowl.  With the flat side of a meat tenderizer, gently tap on the shell of the pomegranate.

3) After a minute, the seeds will be all out from the shell! 



Super easy, isn’t it?  I hope you like this method and will give it a try soon.  Do you have another easy way to remove the seeds as well?  Or a recipe using the pomegranate?  I would love to hear from you.

Frozen Strawberry Margarita

I know the weather is supposed to be cooled down by now.  Isn't it mid-September already?  I guess we really get to enjoy an extended summer in Southern California, year after year.  We've been getting closed to 100F degree in the previous week.  Every Friday evening, when it’s time to relax a little and to unwind the week, naturally, frozen treats and drinks come to my mind.  More specifically, frozen cocktails.  Let me present to you, my Friends, this refreshing Frozen Strawberry Margarita!



Not only that this cocktail is gorgeous to look at, it’s super refreshing as well.  It will definitely crunch your thirst at the very first sip, until the last.  Best of all, this cocktail is super easy to put together.  All you need to do is measure all the ingredients, add them into the blender and blend away until smooth.  So, grab your drink, hang out by the pool or back yard, put your legs up and relax.  You deserve a little cocktail and some quiet time after a whole week of hard work!



I hope you enjoy today’s recipe.  So, what is your favorite cocktail?  Please share yours in the comment below.  Stay tuned for more fun and easy recipes in the future posts.  Cheers!





Please drink responsibly.  Health and General Disclaimers.


Props used in this post:

Margarita Glassware Set (Please click here for more information)
Flower Coaster (Please click here to see similar product)
Silver Serving Tray (Please click here to see similar product)

How to Cut a Watermelon, the Right Way

My kids love watermelon and we have plenty throughout the year, especially in the summer.  I always love to try different ways to cut and serve them.  In the pass, I simply cut them into triangles slices or cubes.  Or, cut the watermelon in half and serve it straight with spoons.  Of course, that can get a little messy and juices drip all over the place.  Until, I've learn the right way to cut the watermelon!  Alright, maybe there is no “right” or “wrong” way to cut a watermelon.  But, there’s certainly the messy way, verses the easy and fun way to cut and to serve watermelons. 

So, here’s how I do it now.  It’s life changing and I bet you won’t go back to any old ways that you've done after trying this quick and easy method.

1) I always wash and dry the skin of the melon before I cut.

2) With a sharp knife, cut the watermelon in half

3) Place the melon cut side down and cut vertical slices, about 1-inch thick.  Try to keep the melon in shape while you cut.



4) Then, turn the melon 90 degree, and cut vertically again, 1-inch apart to create the “square” patterns

5) You’re now ready to serve!  My Little Girl calls this a watermelon puzzle! Smarty pants!

6) My Little Boy calls these watermelon sticks, great description!



You can definitely play a puzzle game before eating.  I certainly love these watermelon sticks, they are so easy to eat and no mess at all.  I say they are pretty fun to serve for parties and gatherings as well.  I hope you’ll give this fun, quick and easy way of cutting watermelon a try.  If you do, please let me know how you like this new method!  Do you have a special way to cut yours?  Please share!  Stay tuned for more fun recipes and how-to in my future posts.  

How to Easily Diced a Mango with Step by Step Pictorial…inspired by a real life story!

I was having a dinner gathering with a family who just moved back to the States.  The wife’s profession in Hong Kong was a dietitian.  She shared with me a little incident, how she requested one of her subordinates to prepare some diced mangos for some kids.  Who knew, this subordinate diced the whole mango, with peels and all, just to save some time.  Or better yet, he had no clue on how to easily diced a mango, without peels!  And he even argued with reassured my friend that he “researched" on the internet, and that the skin is edible!  How clever!  He would rather spent time to do "research" on the  net, than to actually remove the mango peels!  So, boys and girls, please, I don’t think I would appreciate diced mango with peels, and I’m sure those kids would agree with me too!  So here we go! 



First, place your mango vertically on a sturdy cutting board.  Insert the knife to cut through the mango along with the flat side of the seed. 



Do the same on the other side of the seed and you’ll ended up with 3 sections as shown in the picture above.



Next, score the flesh vertically and then horizontally without cutting through the skin.



Last but not least, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and you've got diced mango, without peels! 



Another way to diced up the mango is to spoon the whole section of the mango flesh out from the skin (see picture above).



Then, you can easily dice it up on the board. Super simple and easy, right?  I hope no one serve little kids mango with peels in the future, edible or not.  Or better yet, hope no one thinks it’s alright to serve mango to kids with peels!  Thank you!  Oh, and for the diced mango, I made a refreshing mango salsa.  I’ll share the recipe with you in a future post.  Stay tuned!  

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival with Festive Macarons (中秋節快樂 + 中秋馬卡龍!)

Today, September 8th, is the Mid-Autumn Festival!  The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Moon Festival or 中秋節 in Chinese.   It’s a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese, dating back over 3,000 years.  The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around mid to late September in the Gregorian calendar.   The moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.  Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of the traditional Mooncake.



Fortunately, I’m a big fan of French Macarons, and love playing with my food!  So, I made these Mid-Autumn Macaron (中秋馬卡龍), to celebrate the occasion.  I decorated these Macarons with the traditional Mooncake decoration patters and wordings such as these and these, with a little melted dark chocolate.    



Thank you so much for stopping by and hope you like these Mid-Autumn Macarons.  I wish you all a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, 中秋節快樂 and 人月兩團圓.  As this is the time to gather with the family and loved ones to enjoy the beautiful full moon and each other’s company.

Apricot and Pistachio Biscotti

Do you love biscotti?  I’m definitely a big fan.  When you make your own, you can simply add any ingredients that you like to these handy-dandy little twice baked cookies.  For my choice of “additional ingredients”, I usually love a combination of nuts, for some crunch; and dried fruit, for a little sweetness and chewiness, in them.  I love this pistachio and apricot combination a lot.  But you can use almonds, hazelnuts, dried cranberries, or orange candied peels, etc.  They sky is the limit!



Biscotti were originated from Italy.  The word biscotti means twice baked, as you’ll find out from my pictorial and recipe below.  Since they are baked twice, they are usually quite crunchy and to the dryer side of cookies.  That’s why they have a longer shelf live and perfect for dipping, my favorite part!  You can dip them in coffee, tea, milk, etc, or pretty much anything that your heart desired.  I love that these cookies are not overly sweet and they are perfectly sized for afternoon tea.



Ready to see how I made them?  Please follow me to the kitchen!

1) In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the sugar, butter, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and salt until light and fluffy.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together. 
3) Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. 
4) Turn mixer to low, add the flour mixture slowly until just combined.



5) Add in the pistachios and apricots until just combined.
6) Slightly flour both hands, transfer the dough onto the silpat lined baking sheet.  Form the dough into 2 equal sized logs.  Approximately 12-inch in length and 3-inch in width. With a pastry brush, brush egg white on both logs.  Bake for 35 minutes or until light golden on the edges. Let it cool on a wiring rack for 30 minutes.
7) Transfer the log onto the cutting board. With a sharp serrated knife, cut the log on a diagonal into 3/4-inch thick slices.
8) Return biscotti to the same baking sheet, arrange the biscotti cut side down. Bake the biscotti for another 15 minutes or until they are pale golden. Transfer the biscotti to a wiring rack and let them cool completely.  Once cooled, store biscotti in air tight containers.




Super simple, isn't it?  I love that one batch stays fresh and last for a while.  Of course, I’m sure you’ll be the block’s favorite person if you share some with your neighbors.  They packaged and traveled well, too!  So, they also make perfect homemade gifts when the holiday rolls around.  Hey, it’ll be here sooner than you know!



I hope you enjoy today’s recipe and pictorial.  If you love biscotti and would like to try other flavors, check out the links below for more options.  If you like the props and tools I used in this post, check out the links at the end of the post.  Until next time, take care.

 Mocha Hazelnut Biscotti                     Lavender Biscotti                  

                 



  Chocolate Dipped Almond Biscotti

   

Props and Tools used in this post:

Wood Print Photography Backdrop (Click here to see similar product)
European-Style Ceramic Tea Set (Click here to see similar product)
Elegant Teaspoons (Click here to see similar product)
KitchenAid Stand Mixer (Click here for more information)
Silicone Pastry Brush (click here to see similar product)
Calphalon Nonstick 2-Piece Baking Sheet Set (Click her for more information)
Small Metal Bucket in Turquoise (Click here to see similar product)