Soba 蕎麦

SOBA! A thin Japanese noodle made of buckwheat flour.
It can be served cold or warm and appears a sort of grey colour.
Soba can be bought almost anywhere, from supermarkets or if you're after more variety: asian markets.

A Japanese tradition is that soba is eaten for New Years Eve.
100g of Soba Noodles = 344 calories
Soba also contains the eight essential amino acids, various antioxidants, thiamine and riboflavin.
Soba is very healthy.

Cold soba is meant to be eaten with a bit of dried seaweed.
The soba is first dipped in a sauce called 'soba tsuyu' (made of dashi, soy sauce and mirin ) and then eaten.


Though, disregarding Japanese tradition, I've come up with my super-healthy version.
As you've probably noticed, I haven't posted for weeks.. I've been staying healthy..
So, only healthy food from now on :)
My recipe is dead-easy as well!



Start with the ingredients:
A packet of Soba Noodles (I bought mine from Woolworths)
Two Carrots, Cos Lettuce, Spring Onions
250g Beef Mince (Any Meat will do)
Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, White Vinegar (Not pictured)



To Prepare the ingredients:

Soba Noodles- 1. Cook them according to packet directions
2. Drain and rinse with cold water, until noodles are cold. Drain again.
3. Season noodles with soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and salt
There are no exact amounts- it depends on personal preference
*Salt is also needed, as it brings out the flavour of soy sauce

Carrots- 1.Peel and Slice them thinly
2. Bring a pot of water to the boil with vinegar
*Vinegar gives carrot a nice texture and helps it retain colour
3. Drain and rinse carrot in cold water

Lettuce and Spring Onion- Chop finely, doesn't really matter

Mince- 1.Heat a little bit of oil in a hot pan
2. Brown a bit of garlic
3. Add in the beef mince and cook until browned



PLATING:
*ahem* notice my brand new bowls.. ahaha I finally got my wish of having normal plates- not fine china ware.

Place noodles neatly at the bottom of the bottom
Scatter beef mince over
Place lettuce, carrot and Spring Onions neatly and separately.



SERVING:

Serve with a proud smile :):)
Eat with a fork, if you're feeling lazy.
Or If you're up for a challenge.. chopsticks :D



...WASHING UP D:
ahh sigh.. mm
It's worth it :)

Tell me how you go with your Soba
WB.

Fruit =P

Technically, a fruit is characterized by two things:

1. Developed in the ovary, at the base of the flower
(I didn't know that fruits had ovaries..:S)
2. Contains the seed of the plant it originated from

Some vegetables and nuts are "technically" considered fruit
For Example

THE TOMATO.



There are countless varieties tomato.. varieties that are small, big, plump, flat, green, yellow, red.. and the list goes on

Heaviest tomato: 3.51kg. :O Oklahoma, 1986
One of the lightest varieties is the Cherry tomato.. 10-15grams

I've even tried chocolate tomato..
It looks slightly brown
Which is.. off-putting and yes, as the name suggests, it does have a slight taste of chocolate. :)

Tomatoes that you'd find in a local supermarket would be:
Truss, Cherry, Roma, Kumato (has a greenish colour), and of course the normal tomato (which is most likely the Globe Tomato)

Tomato:
Contains the seed of the original plant (TICK)
Developed in the ovaries (How would I know? :S)

~

Banana.




Commonly thought of as fruit, but in fact, it's a herb :)
Katy Perry providing free advertising for a banana..

If you bought a normal banana from Safeway or Coles.. it would probably be the 'Cavendish' variety
Bananas naturally contain seeds..But, because it would be so annoying and difficult to eat, modern man has again warped nature..
We've cultivated a new breed- Seedless and it would be very uncommon to find bananas with seeds in this day and age

India is the worlds largest producer of banana: Close to 22 Million Tonnes in 2007

Banana leaves are used in asian cuisine
Bananas also have a variety of colours.. Red, Yellow and Green

~

There are many more exceptions to the world of fruit
However "normal" fruits, of them there are hundreds and hundreds of types.

A list of common fruits that are all very different from each other:
Apple, Pear, Peach, Orange, Strawberry, Avocado, Figs, Lychee, Mango, Pineapple, Persimmon, Pomegranate, Watermelon, Grapes.

Uncommon fruits that you'd might like to try:

Custard Apple



Contains: Lots of Vitamin C (General Well-being)
Vitamin A (Good Skin, Eyes and Hair)
Magnesium (Relaxing Muscles, Protecting Heart)
Dietary Fiber (Good for Digestion)
And Low in Fat

Dragonfruit



Almost considered a Super-Food

High in antioxidants, Vitamin C, Calcium, Phosphorus, Fiber.
Lowers Cholesterol and Blood Pressure
Thumbs Up.

Guava



The edible rind of the fruit contains 5 times the Vitamin C in a WHOLE orange. :)
High in Dietary Fibre, Vitamin C, A, Manganese, Potassium and Folate
Also has a really nice aroma.
Yum :P

KunDong



Really rare in australia
The only way you can get it is probably planting it in your backyard or visiting markets in Asia
Don't know about nutrition.. No information online
But I've tried it once and it was soo nice. :)

Sometime I might try out vlogging.. eh? :P
(Ps. for the non-tech ppl..
vlogging = Video + Blogging)

Blackforest Cake

Blackforest Cake Profile
Originates from: Southern Germany
Basically just
Layers of Chocolate cake with Whipped Cream and Cherries in between

HERES my version :)



Chocolate Cake.. (Laziness means only two layers of chocolate cake)



Cherries (A Jar of Morello Cherries boiled down to a jam with cornflour and lots and lots of sugar)



Whipped Cream with Sugar and Vanilla



Chocolate Ganache (Melted Chocolate and Cream)
*Make sure there are no lumps in the chocolate ganache
*Make sure it is cool enough to apply to a cooled cake



Et Voila!
The Finished Cake
With A coating of Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate Shavings

Dead simple. Dead delicious :)
Give it a go.. it's so much cheaper than bakery or patisserie-bought blackforest cakes!
Recipes can be easily found online as well!