China Shopping Tip: Taobao Tuesday

Its Taobao Tuesday for you other China folks! I really only have one fun find for you, but its a good one. Mini Chocolate Chips. You can get two different types from this seller based in Chengdu. The 38% one does taste like a decent semi-sweet chocolate chip. I wouldn't say the other one is milk chocolate though--its still more on the semi-sweet side. The Aishang bake shop in Chengdu also sells one type (though seems he's out of stock today as I'm trying to link it!). 100g packets are about 1/2-2/3 of a cup of chips. They work great in the Chocolate Chip Lärabars. They are perfect for chocolate chip pancakes. And they work really great in granola bars (recipe coming soon!!).

FYI for Chengdu people--Aishang deliveries are free for over Y80. Usually same day if you order before about 11am. The other store mentioned above, Xiao Shui, only requires Y66 for free delivery but they are often next day. 

More Homemade Lärabars

I will officially say it. I'm addicted to homemade Lärabars. I even had a sweet friend bring me a real Blueberry Muffin one from America so I could try it. I think I like the homemade version better though. I've come up with a couple more flavors since Erica's original guest post last month. I hope you'll enjoy them, too. My kids LOVE the PB&J ones and I like that they are even cheaper to make since peanuts are not as expensive as almonds and cashews. Check out the original post for the method to put these together! Enjoy!

More Homemade Lärabars

Peanut Butter and Jelly

1 cup peanuts

1 cup dried cranberries

3/4 - 1 cup dried dates

Add a teaspoon or so of water if you're having trouble getting it to bind together.

Cherry Almond Crunch

1 cup almonds

3/4 cup dried cherries

3/4 - 1 cup dried dates

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

If you don't have the almond extract, just use all vanilla.

*Try a few more pie-inspired flavors and some favorite holiday treats turned Lärabar, too! 

A few more tips:

• If your dried fruit is really dry (like mangos), try soaking them in hot water for about 30 seconds prior to putting it in the food processor or blender.
• You could also add a teaspoon or so of water to the food processor if you need a little moisture to help it bind together. 
• Kirkland dried cherries and dried blueberries are available on Taobao. So are Ocean Spray craisins and lots of other dried cranberry options. 
• I buy my dates from this seller who has free shipping if you buy multiple bags. 

Garlic Knots

I love garlic knots. Sometimes when making this pizza dough I use about a 1/3 of it to make some for munching on while the other two pizzas are cooked. We use whatever pizza sauce we're using on the pizza for dipping. They are wonderful with fresh basil or parsley, but dried basil or Italian seasoning or oregano also works. Hope you like them like we do! This is a very forgiving "recipe" which adapts well to what is on hand or what you like. 1/3-1/2 of the dough recipe linked here will make 12-18 knots. The measurements here are enough for that amount. Just adjust accordingly if making more or less.

Garlic Knots
Favorite pizza dough
2-3 Tbs butter
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp dried basil or 2-3 tsp finely chopped fresh basil or parsley
1/4 tsp salt
dash or two of black pepper

Once pizza dough has risen to double, punch down and break off how much you want to make into knots. Divide dough into small, ping-pong ball sized pieces. Think back to preschool and making play dough snakes. Using your hands, roll the dough against the countertop into a 6-8 inch long snake. It will be easiest if you do NOT flour the work surface. Bring the ends around and "knot" the dough. Place on a greased or lined baking sheet.

Cover and allow to rest about 20 minutes. Bake at 450F (225C) for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly browning. While baking, melt butter and add chopped garlic to slightly cook--don't let your butter be so hot that it fries the garlic when you add it! Stir in herbs, salt and pepper. Brush over tops of baked knots, making sure to get the garlic and herbs on too. Enjoy dipped in some pizza sauce! 

China Shopping Tip: Ikea Deals

For those of you that live near an Ikea in China, I noticed a few good deals there this week! Check out the grocery section! Ikea has had large bottles of mustard and ketchup for some time, but they are on sale for half price right now (regularly Y18.9). They also have a whole grain mustard and marzipan for half price (not that I have ever used or even know how to use marzipan). I also noticed they are selling little cups of their fried onions that they top hot dogs with these days. I'm thinking easy green bean casserole at holidays! 

Bagels (White or Whole Wheat)

I have tried and tried various bagel recipes for years. Many call for making an overnight starter or allowing the bagels to sit in the fridge for 24 hours. 1.) I don't plan ahead that much. 2.) I don't have fridge space for 8-12 bagels on a cookie sheet. 3.) See #1. So I decided I needed to find a bagel recipe that could be made quickly but didn't sacrifice in quality and flavor. I do believe I've found it. I've made this recipe several times now--both in a regular version and a whole wheat version--and I think I'm going to stick with it. Despite the boiling aspect, its really a very simple process and it can be done as quickly as any yeast bread! I hope you'll enjoy these like we have! If you're really into step by step pictures (which I'm horrible at), you can see the original recipe here --complete with lots of photos!

Bagels
1 Tbs instant yeast
4 cups bread flour* (see note below)
1 Tbs brown sugar (regular works)
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
--
2L water
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs white sugar
--
Optional toppings:
1 egg white
1 Tbs water
poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried onion, etc..

Combine all 5 of the dough ingredients and mix together. Knead for 10-12 minutes until dough is soft and slightly tacky. You should not need more than the 4 cups of bread flour (high-gluten) called for--but try to knead it the full amount of time to really allow the gluten to develop.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover lightly with Saran wrap or a towel, and allow to rest in a warm place to rise until doubled. This will take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour or more depending on temperature and humidity.

Once doubled, punch dough down and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball and place on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet (or just grease lightly).

Cover loosely and allow to sit 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take each dough ball and poke a hole through the center. Make it larger by stretching the dough ring gently.

You'll want the hole to be 2-3 inches in diameter. Place bagels back on baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 425F (220C) and then prepare a pot or deep skillet for the water bath. Place 2 liters of water and sugars in the pot and bring to a boil (if you prefer a slightly saltier outside, you can use 1 Tbs baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt instead of sugar).

Once water is boiling, place 2-4 bagels at a time in the boiling water (this will depend on size of your pot or skillet).

Boil about 1.5 minutes on one side, then flip and boil another 1 - 1.5 minutes on the 2nd side. Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon or spatula and return to lined or greased baking sheet. If you want to add any topping, now is the time! Whisk together egg white and 1 Tablespoon water. Brush over boiled bagels and then top generously with seeds or whatever you like. If you are using cheese you do not need the egg wash. Bake at 425F (220C) for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Bagels: Omit 2 cups bread flour and substitute 2 cups whole wheat flour plus 1 1/2 - 2 Tbs vital wheat gluten.

*Notes on bread flour -- Bread flour is a high gluten flour, which is readily available in China. You can also create your own using all-purpose flour and vital wheat gluten. You should add about 2-3 tsp of vital wheat gluten per cup of flour. If you are using whole wheat flour, you'll need to add 2-3 tsp of vital wheat gluten to each cup of whole wheat flour to help compensate the amount of gluten needed in the bagels.

Make Your Own: Almond Milk

Did I mention how much I love when those of you reading this blog want to share what you're doing in your kitchen too? Today I have a guest post from Michelle. I don't know Michelle. But she put this whole post together and had a mutual friend send it to me! Text, pictures, the whole deal. This just made me so happy. And I'm happy to share it with you today! Thanks, Michelle! 

My name is Michelle. I’m a vegetarian English teacher of Mexican descent who lives in Hunan.

When I moved to China, I knew one of the more materialistic things I would miss would be milk. I love America’s milk. It’s so full of flavor and rich. China milk just disappoints. Well, it disappoints me anyway. So, I only used it sparingly in my coffee for the past 3.5 years. But recently I discovered ALMOND MILK. Let me tell you, it has changed my life!

My friend and I had almost finished Whole30, it’s a 30-day cleanse if you will. We were discussing our new found love of almonds. And of course we asked, “Can you milk an almond?” You can, folks! Here’s how it’s done!

You need:

• 1 cup raw or not raw almonds, soaked in water. I usually do 8-12 hours. But you can do as little as 2 hours. Or so I’ve heard. 

• 3 cups filtered water

• 1 Tbsp of honey/syrup OR any old sweetener. I prefer honey.

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon. This is optional. I like it though.

• small pinch of fine grain sea salt, to enhance the flavor. I don’t usually do this because the almonds I buy are a little salty.

I buy almonds at the store when I can. 

But if I’m just hanging around campus, I’ll just buy this at a little shop.

Before we get started, here is a photo of raw and cooked almonds. The raw ones are on the left and cooked on the right. I have tried both. I like cooked better because it just has more flavor than raw almonds. Raw almonds are smaller and darker in color.

First step SOAK:

Like I said the almonds are slightly salty, I kind of rinse them off and then let them soak up the water! I usually do 8-12 hours or overnight. I have yet to try just 2 hours. But Angela Liddon, writer of Oh She Glows Cookbook, says it can be done! This is her recipe with a couple of tweaks.

Second BLEND:

Put rinsed almonds, water, sweetener and vanilla in your blender.

Then blend, baby, blend! For about a minute.

Third SQUEEZE: 

I usually get my dish towel and pitcher ready.

Here is a photo of the brand towel I use. This is what I used when anything says, use cheesecloth. I have yet to find cheesecloth in China, but these little towels do the trick.

Pour the almond milk slowly in to the towel. It will begin to drip through the towel.

Eventually, you can pull the towel up and squeeze the rest of the milk out. This usually takes 4-5 minutes. I usually pour about half and squeeze, remove pulp, pour the other half, squeeze and then remove the rest of the pulp. Speaking of pulp… 

When you open the towel, you have almond pulp. But there are all sorts of stuff to do with the pulp. Crackers, hummus, add to granola, pizza crust, or really any baked good.

I usually put the pulp in a bowl and set it aside.

You’re almost done!!!

Fourth BLEND:

Rinse out your blender and then pour all the milk back in. Add the cinnamon and salt if you wish. Blend on low, just enough to combine it all up.

Viola! You have made Vanilla Cinnamon Almond Milk!

Lastly POUR:

Pour the milk in to a glass container and it can be stored for up to 5 days. Shake well before each use because the almonds and water tend to separate. 

I hope you fall in love with Almond Milk like I did. Feel free to play with the recipe. Another friend suggested chocolate. I might try adding some cocoa powder sometime. Or maybe you want to keep it simple and just add vanilla. Or you don’t want it sweet. Or you want it sweeter. Do whatever you like.

Coffee Creamer Tip

So usually these days I make my own sweetened condensed milk for my flavored coffee creamer. I like being able to use low fat milk and milk powder if I want. The other day I was just needing fast though, so I had a can of it on my grocery list. China has had chocolate and strawberry flavored sweetened condensed milk as long as I can remember, so I don't know why I haven't thought to use it before in the coffee creamers. I grabbed a chocolate tube that was about 185g. So I mixed it with 3/4 cup milk and about 1/2-1 tsp mint extract for a mint chocolate creamer. Yum. You can add cocoa to make chocolate creamers, but this was just quick and easy.