French Bread

Kitchen Aid French Bread

1 Packet Active Dry Yeast
1 Cup of Warm Water
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
2 1/2 Cups of Flour
Egg Wash ( 1 Egg White mixed with a little Water)

Add water, yeast, sugar and salt to your mixing bowl. Using your dough hook stir until yeast is dissolved. Add flour and mix on low for a couple of minutes, increase speed to medium and continue to mix for another 10 minutes or so. Leave dough in bowl and cover for about an hour and a half  letting it rise at room temperature. Flour your working surface and your hands and lay dough out and form into a loaf. (It will look small but will get bigger as it cooks in the oven.) Cut several slits along the top of the loaf with a knife and then brush entire loaf with your egg wash to get that nice color and shine. Make sure you lightly grease your baking pan before putting your loaf on it so that it does not stick. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes until nice and golden brown. Eat warm with butter. Yum!

Naughty Pig

If you live in or around the Temecula area Naughty Pig Butchery & encased Meats is the place to go to for your carnivorous needs. They carry a carefully selected collection coming from vendors known for all natural, no additives, no hormones, and no chemical meats.

They have a variety of house made sausages that are really yummy and perfect for on the grill.

In addition they carry wild caught and sustainable seafood from Santa Monica Seafood.

It's best to get to one of their locations early for more choices. The photos above are from their Murrieta location and were taken quite a bit ago. They also have a location in Temecula and now have an entire selection devoted to house made charcuterie. In addition you can find some gourmet items from local and small purveyors.

You can also grab a sandwich made to order during your visit.

I would opt for the Sonny's Revenge made with Italian meats and cheese with a pesto aioli on a toasted ciabatta bun. Yum! The weathers been nice here in the Inland Valley, time to get the grill out and enjoy some al fresco dining with Naughty Pig.

Naughty Pig Butchery & Encased Meats
25359 Madison Avenue
Murrieta, CA 92562
951-677-1372

28780 Old Town Front St. 
Temecula, CA 92590
951-587-0282

Egg Drop Soup

Egg Drop Soup

4 Cups of Chicken Broth
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
Garlic Powder
1 tsp or a little less of Ground Ginger
1 tsp or a bit more of Soy Sauce
4 Eggs
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pour chicken stock into a pot that has not been heated and whisk in the cornstarch. Add the garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Turn on the stove and heat until boiling. Meanwhile, whisk together the 4 eggs in a measuring cup. When the soup starts to boil turn off heat and slowly pour in the egg with one hand while stirring the soup in one direction with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sorta Pad Thai

Pad Thai

1/4 pound of Rice Noodles. I used the thin Rice Sticks because that was what I had but the stuff I have had at restaurants is usually a little thicker.
About 3 tbls of Canola Oil
1 tbls of minced Garlic
About a pound of medium sized Shrimp
1 Chicken Breast cut into pieces
2 tbls of Soy Sauce mixed with 1 tbls of Lime Juice and 1 tbls of Spicy Stir Fry Sauce (This is what I substituted since I did not have any Fish Sauce.)
2 tbls Soy Sauce
2 tbls of Sugar
Some Red Chili Flakes
1 Egg beaten
3 chopped Green Onions
2 cups of fresh Bean Sprouts
1/4 cup of chopped Peanuts
Freshly squeezed Lime Juice

Soften Rice Noodles in boiling water the way package tells you to and set aside in a bowl. In a large skillet or wok, which is what I used, heat 2 tbls of Oil. Add Garlic, Shrimp and Chicken and cook until meat is done. Add the Noodles and toss together, and then add the Soy Sauce/Lime Juice/Spicy Stir Fry Sauce mixture along with the remaining Soy Sauce, Sugar and Chili Flakes to taste. Toss everything together. Make a well in the middle of your pan and add the Egg and scramble it. Push aside and then add the Green Onions and 1 cup of Bean Sprouts into the well and cook until the Bean Sprouts begin to wilt. Sprinkle the Peanuts and Lime Juice to taste and toss everything together. Serve with the remaining fresh Bean Sprouts on top and a slice of Lime if desired. Chris and I also added some Sriracha to ours to make it a little more spicy. While this is not authentic it really was delicious.

Steeped Coffee Review

I am not a coffee drinker, except for that new Nitro cold brew from Starbucks, that stuff is pretty tasty. I love tea however, but then you probably already knew that. I love the act of steeping a tea bag in boiling water and watching the water take color and smelling the fragrance and then of course sipping the beverage out of a nice big  mug. I always wondered why coffee wasn't available in bags like tea, where coffee lovers could also enjoy the act of steeping their favorite beverage. Then I learned about Steeped Coffee and knew I had to share the experience with my coffee loving husband. 

Steeped Coffee is a specialty coffee company that offers single serve coffee bags that you steep just like tea!Making it easy to have a cup of coffee anywhere in just minutes. The single serve coffee bags are filled with 100% specialty crafted quality coffee that is fresh. Every bag is nitro-sealed inside compostable packing making it eco-friendly as well. 

Steeped coffee comes in five different blends from light roast to decaf. I was sent a box filled with a California Blend medium roast and Eventide decaf.  I was so excited to give these to Chris to try because first he loves coffee and second I thought he would totally dig the convenience of them. I received these while our kitchen was being renovated, it was a total mess. My mom had just given us an electric kettle for boiling water and it was like the coffee gods were smiling down on us. 

You simply boil your water, pour it into your favorite mug, place the coffee bag inside and let it steep. My husband loved these! He thought the coffee itself was pretty tasty and he finished the California Blend pretty quick. Chris is a bit of a coffee snob and he definitely does not drink decaf however he drank these because it was so easy too! He was pretty bummed when his box of Steeped Coffee was all gone however, I decided that these would be a great purchase for him. He works a rotation in Alaska and it isn't always easy for him to get a good cup of coffee. Also, at $15 for a box of 10 bags that makes each cup only $1.50. Quite the bargain when he is used to spending up to $5.00 for a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop. 

Check out Steeped Coffee, they even offer a subscription for all you coffee lovers out there. 

The featured product{s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or PR company representing them. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by  anyone.

Bokksu Subscription Box Review

This post is a bit overdue but back in September my sister gifted me with a three month subscription to Bokksu for my birthday. What is Bokksu? It is a subscription box (I love subscription boxes, who doesn't love getting things in the mail?!) from Japan (my dream vacation spot) filled with Japanese snacks (I love all things Japanese and snacks!). They have two different subscription boxes a large Classic box and a Tasting  box. I received the tasting box. Bokksu's Tasting box is filled with 10-14 Japanese snacks and candies as well as a tea pairing all curated around a theme. The first box I received that I am sharing with you today was the Kyushu Kitchen box. Kyushu is the third largest island in Japan and this box was filled with items inspired and containing popular ingredients found in Kyushu.

The items in the tasting box were individual/sample sized items which in my opinion is a good thing. It is a great way to try new things without committing to a full size box if it's something you do not like. If you do find something you like in the box, Bokksu has an online market where you can purchase more of the item. Here are some a few of the things I enjoyed coming out of this box.

This Romance Sandwich is a cake-like biscuit flavored with honey and baked with sugar pearls on top. It also has a thin layer of sugar paste inside. These are commonly given as a omiyage or souvenir. This was tasty!

This Strawberry Kirara is a strawberry flavored cookie sandwich filled with strawberry cream. It also contains bits of freeze dried strawberries in it. Amaou or strawberries are known in Japan as the "king of sweet" and are highly valued throughout Japan. Yum!

These Mantai Curry Karinto are a traditional fried dough snack popular throughout Japan. They remind me of fried chow mein noodles. These are coated with a sweet mentai curry flavored sauce. Mentaiko is a spicy cod roe and gives this snack the perfect amount of spice to sweet. They are kinda addictive.

Kakinotane is a popular snack mix of peanuts and crescent shaped senbei or rice crackers. Typically enjoyed with beer. The yuzu pepper in this kakinotane gives a hint of spice and a tinge of citrus.

This Saga Brown Sugar Marubouro is a combination cake/cookie. It has a 300 year long history in Japan and since it is pretty good I can see why.

 
These Uni Rice Crackers are seasoned with uni or sea urchin and soy sauce. They are salty and not overly fishy. The crackers are also made in this oblong shape to reassemble a sea urchin.

I also love that each box comes with a different variety of tea that is supposed to compliment the treats in the box. The particular tea that was inside the box was Okurishima yea. Using the finest Sencha leaves in Kirishima, this tea has subtle sweet notes while being full bodied.

Since Bokksu is shipped directly from Japan we did have a couple of snags with shipping, however at one point I received an extra box then what was paid for and Bokksu allowed me to keep it at no charge. If you are interested in sampling some Japanese edibles take a look at Bokksu  and their subscription options. Tanoshi!

Akemashite omedetou

Happy 2019! We said goodbye to 2018 with a little Japanese celebration. Looking forward to another great year. Stay tuned....