Candied Bacon Butter Sweetcorn

My kids just loves this warm and buttery steamed sweet corn. It's made with frozen sweet corn, candied bacon butter, and chives. This luscious Candied Bacon Butter Sweetcorn makes a great snack or as a side dish.

Candied Bacon Butter Sweetcorn

Ingredients

2 Cups Frozen Sweet Corns, steamed
3 Tbsp Candied Bacon Butter
Sea Salt, to taste

Candied Bacon Butter
1 Stick/1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature

3 to 4 Strips Candied Bacon, finely chopped (with a food processor)
Pinch of Sea Salt
Big Pinch of Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Finely Chopped Chives

Method



Make the butter: Put the butter with all the ingredients in a bowl, and mix with a rubber spatula until well combined. Transfer the butter onto the center of saran wrap or parchment paper. Roll it up, shape into neat rolls that measure about 4 to 5 inches long and tie the ends with kitchen strings. The flavored butter can be kept in your fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

In a large bowl, mix steamed corn with butter and season with sea salt and top with additional bacon, if desired. Serve warm.

Candied Bacon

This is a fantastic Candied Bacon recipe that I had adapted from Food Network's Bitchin' Kitchen, Nadia G. In one of the episodes, Nadia transformed plain smoked bacon into this tasty treat. It's sweet, salty, and slightly spicy. I have made this many times for snacking as it's really good. I even made some candied bacon butter out of it. :)

Candied Bacon

Ingredients

250 g (8 thick slices) Applewood Smoked Bacon
About ¼ Cup Brown or Raw Sugar
Cayenne Pepper, for sprinkling

Method

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

Line a large baking pan with tin foil. Place a wire rack on top of the prepared pan. Arrange bacon slices in a single layer and coat evenly with sugar. Lightly press the sugar into the bacon, sprinkle them with cayenne pepper.

Bake for about 20 minutes, flip over, and continue to bake for another 8 to 10 minutes or until the bacon caramelized with deep red color. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Note: Cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the bacon.

Baked Eggs With Spicy Tomato Sauce

I opted to use English muffin as the base for this delicious Baked Eggs With Spicy Tomato Sauce. It's really easy to prepare for breakfast and is suitable for vegetarians as well. Try making it tomorrow morning! :-)


Baked Eggs With Spicy Tomato Sauce



Ingredients



6 English Muffins

Spicy Tomato Sauce

6 Medium-Sized Free-Range Eggs

Small bunch of Chives, chopped

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, optional



Spicy Tomato Sauce

¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil


1 Medium Onions, peeled, trimmed, and minced


6 Cloves Garlic, minced

½ tsp Ground Cumin

1 ½ tsp Smoked Sweet Paprika

1 tsp Red Chili Flakes

1 Can/28 oz/1 lb 12oz/794 g Whole Peeled Roma Tomatoes, coarsely chopped and reserved the liquid

1 Tbsp Champagne or White Wine Vinegar

1 tsp Sugar


Sea Salt





Method





Make the sauce: In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Then mix in the cumin, paprika, and chili flakes and give it a quick sauté. Add the chopped tomato tomatoes and its liquid, cook for 3 to 4 minutes, and then add the vinegar, sugar and seasoned with sea salt. Simmer briskly until the sauce is thick, 20 to 30 minutes.





For the Baked Eggs: Preheat an oven to 375˚F. (190˚C)



Carefully hollow out the bottom of each muffin with a small knife and reserved the top piece of muffin for dipping.



Spoon about 1 ½ Tbsp of the Spicy Tomato Sauce and spread into the muffin. Crack one egg for each muffin. Place the prepared muffin and the reserved muffin top on a baking tray.

Bake in the oven for about 13 to 15 minutes. Garnish the baked eggs with chopped chives, black pepper, and serve with some spicy tomato sauce.

Blueberry Crumble

This Blueberry Crumble is definitely one of my favorite winter desserts. I've used frozen blueberries here, but, opt for fresh berries if available. The topping is crumbly with a nice crunchy texture from the oats. Do try this rustic dessert and enjoy with your favorite cuppa, ice cream, or custard.


Blueberry Crumble

Ingredients

1 ½ Cups Frozen Blueberries

½ Cup Dried Blueberries
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon

3 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
¼ tsp Sea Salt
1 ½ Tbsp Corn Starch
1 Tbsp Filtered Water



Topping
½ Cup All-Purpose Flour

½ Cup Rolled Oats
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

A pinch of Sea Salt

1 Stick or ½ Cup Chilled Unsalted Butter, diced



Method



Preheat the oven to 375˚F.

In a mixing bowl, combine blueberries, cinnamon, sugar, and lemon juice, sea salt, cornstarch, water, and mix well. Transfer the blueberry mixtures shallow baking dish or divided into a few smaller baking dish.



In a clean mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, sugars, and sea salt and mix well. Add the chilled butter and rub into the flour mixtures until resembles coarse breadcrumbs or process the mixture in a food processor.

Sprinkle the flour mixtures on top of the blueberries. Bake in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown in color.

Stir-Fry Beef With Scallions~Mongolian Beef

This Stir-fry Beef With Scallions (or fondly known as Mongolian Beef in North America) is rich, sweet, spicy, and packed with flavors. Try making this dish at home, it will be ready in minutes and your choice of beef cut will also ensure the meat will be succulent and tastes unlike any Chinese eateries' version. Really simple to cook and is great with a bowl of hot steamed rice!

Stir-Fry Beef With Scallions~Mongolian Beef

2 (About 600 g) Beef Sirloin Steak, trimmed excess fat, sliced into thin strips
¼ tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

A pinch of Sea Salt

1 Tbsp Corn Flour

2 Tbsp of Peanut Oil

3 Cloves Garlic, chopped

5 to 6 Stalks Scallions, cut into ½-inch pieces



Sauce


1 ½ Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 tsp Chinese Cooking Wine~such as Shaoxing Wine
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Sesame Oil
2 tsp Oyster Sauce
2 tsp Chili Flakes
3 Tbsp of Water 


Method




Toss the beef with black pepper, sea salt, and coat with corn flour.


Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.





Heat the oil in a large wok or cast iron pan until hot. Add beef slices into the pan and sauté for about 40 seconds over a moderate high heat. Push the meat to one side, toss in the garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds more, then add the prepared sauce, stirring as it thickens. Mix in the scallions and stir a few times, switch off the heat, and serve immediately with some steamed rice.

Blueberry Chocolate Energy Bars

Blueberry Chocolate Energy Bars

Ingredients

12 (About 230g) Moist Medjool Dates, pitted and chopped

2 Cups (240g) Raw Almond (without skin)

½ Cup (50g) Organic Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 Cup (160g) Dried Blueberries, divided
A Pinch of Sea Salt
3 Tbsp Hemp Seeds
Zest of 1 Lemon
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 ½ to 2 Tbsp Filtered Water



Equipment: Food Processor
, 11 ½ x 4 ½ inches (29 x 12 cm) Loaf pan, lined with aluminum foil



Method

Combine chopped dates, almonds, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ½ cup blueberries, and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse and process all the ingredients together until the texture is coarse. Then add the hemp seeds, ½ cup of blueberries, lemon zest, a quick pulse, and add the lemon juice, a little water at a time until it reaches a dry but moist dough consistency. Scrape the dough mixture into the lined pan, press evenly with a rubber spatula, and chill for about an hour before serving.