Tea & Fruit Popsicles

Twin Pop- Tea & fruit Popsicles (Pineapple Kona Pop tea w pineapples,

Rooibos Pomegranates tea w blueberry & strawberry, White tea w pear

Rooibos Tea w cherry & peaches)

I got sadly got jealous of my son's popsicle so I got my own adult's Popsicle trays from Amazon, which was the Twin Pop and Groovy Popicles.  Now the Groovy holds 4 oz and the twin pop hold 3 oz, which makes a difference as I serve the Groovy with my friend and we both felt it was a lot to finish. She threw hers in a glass and waited for it to melt so she could  have ice tea. Hence the twin pop may be a better choice as my husband  and I got that childhood memory of pooling your money for the cheapest thing you can buy from the ice truck and break it off and share. I have been using these molds all summer now and I think it a great cost saving, easy, and especially when you have fruit around that no body wants to eat but will have in another way.

I came up with the idea to pair fruit with the teas in my pantry and these are what I came up with. 

Pineapple Kona Pop tea with pineapples

Rooibos Pomegranates tea with blueberry & strawberry

White tea with pear

Rooibos Tea with cherry & peaches

Groovy Popicles. Rooibos Pomegranates tea with blueberry & strawberry

Just steep the tea as you usually do. Add sugar or agave or honey just like how you like it.  Wait for it to cool down. While you wait, slice the fruit you would like super thin as it is easier to enjoy. Mix it in and pour into the tray. Freeze and enjoy! 

Let us know what other favors you come up with. Tia K

Thai Fried Garlic Oil Kratheiym Ceiyw (กระเทียมเจียว)

Thai Garlic Oil Kratheiym  Ceiyw (กระเทียมเจียว)

I love this on so many thai dishes and have attempted adding this to many other dishes. It is a staple
in my home. It is great a topping for soups and noodle dishes.   It is also a great starter for stir fry when you are in a hurry and save the step of chopping up garlic.

1 Bulb Garlic (smashed and hand minced)
2/3 cups Canola Oil
1-2 pinch of salt

In a saucepan, place all the ingredients, at medium heat. Make sure you are slowly stirring so that all the garlic cooks evenly.  Once you see the color starting to turn golden around 3-4 minutes, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat when the color turns golden brown, and then continue to stir just a little more to help cool it down as the oil is still cooking the garlic.

Once the garlic oil is cooled down, you can store it in a glass container. The garlic will stay crispy for at least a month.  You can separate the garlic from the oil but once it is exposed to air it will start to get stale faster.

Tips: The fresher the garlic the longer it will take to turn brown as it container more moisture.

Enjoy! Tia K.

Recipe: Bamee Haeng บะหมี่แห้ง Thai style Dry Egg Noodles

Bamee Haeng บะหมี่แห้ง or Dry  egg noodles was a huge hit with our kids while we vacation together at a beach house this summer.  

Ingredients:

1 pack of Fresh egg noodles (preferred Hong Kong styles pan fried, see subs below)

1 pack of fish balls

½ pound of ground pork

½ clove of minced garlic

A pinch of salt

3 tbsp. of oil canola or vegetable

3 tbsp. thin soy sauce or to taste

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

2 tbsp. chopped green onion

1 tbsp. sugar

1 brunch of Chinese broccoli, sliced, and blanched

Optional:

½ pound of sliced Chinese-style Bbq pork

½ pack of various fish cakes

Subs:

If you can’t find fresh egg noodles, you can use instant noodle, cook to al dente and pat dry

If you don’t have soy sauce, no worries you can use oyster sauce or fish sauce.

I have used blanched spinach instead of Chinese Broccoli

Take a small pan and make the garlic oil by placing the minced garlic, salt, and  3 tbsp. of oil.  At low to medium heat as the garlic turns a golden color, take it off the heat and let it sit as the hot oil will still be cooking the garlic until it is brown and crispy. I will post a video in another post.

Get a big bowl of ice water ready, which you will you use to immerse and cool the noodles. Boil water in a large pot. Once it is boiling hot, take the egg noodle and blanch for 1-2 minutes depending on the type of noodles you purchase.  Strain and immediately place noodles in ice bath for 1 min to stop the cooking process.  Strain and pat dry the noodles as much as possible.  I usually let it sit on top of a bunch of paper towels as I making the season ground pork and the fish cakes.

In a pan with a little oil, stir fry the ground pork with 1 tbsp. of thin soy sauce.

In a small bowl mix remaining thin soy sauce and sugar, to let the sugar dissolve.

Cook your fish cake and balls in boiling water.

Now that you have all prepare all your ingredients let’s put it all together.

In a large bowl, place you dry noodles, mix in the garlic oil and soy mixture with noodles. Add more soy sauce or sugar to taste. Add the cilantro and green onion and mix.  Add the blanched Chinese broccoli. Now take the noodle mixture and place in a serving dish and finally, top your noodles with the seasoned ground pork, fish cakes & balls, and sprinkle any leftover green onion and cilantro.

Make it your own; to get in more veggie for my son, I have added cooked shredded carrots, blanched spinach (finely chopped), and/or finely shredded raw cabbage. Also ground turkey or chicken is pretty good to instead of ground pork. Enjoy Tia K.