Cooking in Pajamas

1 c. Chinese white rice 6 c. Water 1/2 lb. Lean ground beef 1 Salted duck egg Salt & pepper to taste Lettuce, thinly sliced Sauce: 2 Green onion, chopped 3 tbsp Soya sauce (Kikkoman) 1/2 tsp Sesame oil Wash the rice several times with water. Drain out as much water as possible. Refridgerate for a few hours to let the water soak into the rice. It is easiest to pre-soak the rice overnight or in the morning, so that the rice will be ready to cook when you come home from work. In a large pot, boil the water and add the rice. Let it simmer for 30 min on medium heat. The rice should become very soft and fluffy and the liquid is slightly thickened. The consistency of the congee is typically similar to a Western style cream soup, but you can always add or reduce the water to make the congee to your desired consistency. I like my congee with medium consistency (not too watery but not too thick). While the rice is cooking, lightly marinade the ground beef with a little bit of salt or

4 c. Water 2 Vegetable bouillon cubes 1/2 tsp Saffron threads, crumbled 1 tbsp Butter 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 Vidalia onion, chopped small 1 Cauliflower, medium size 3/4 c. Light cream (5%) Boil the water and dissolve the vegetable bouillon cubes. Remove from heat and add the saffron threads. Cover and steep for 20 min. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Sauté the chopped onion until very tender, about 10 minutes. Cut the cauliflower head into 1/2"-3/4" pieces. Add the cauliflower to the sautéd onion. Stir to coat. Add saffron broth to the cauliflower and onion mixture. Bring the soup to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover and continue to simmer until the cauliflower pieces are tender, about 20 minutes. Purée the soup using a blender or food processor. If you have neither or in my case too lazy to use a blender, use a potato masher to reduce the chunks. Stir in the light cream. My comments: This is another recipe I got from Leslie's food blog . He

100 g Bittersweet dark chocolate 1/4 c. Butter, unsalted 1/8 c. Sugar 2 Large eggs, room temperature 2 tbsp Kahlua (or Rum) 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp Salt 1/3 c. Flour 1/2 c. Coconut flakes 150 g Peanut butter chips ( Hershey's Reeses PB Chipits ) Preheat oven to 350F and butter the mini-muffin pan. Toast the coconut flakes on a non-greased frying pan until golden brown. Set aside. In a double boiler, melt the butter and the chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Remove the chocolate from heat and whisk in the sugar. Whisk in 1 egg at a time. Mix in the kahlua, vanill and salt. Add the flour and whisk until well combined. Fold the coconut or peanut butter chips (or both) into your batter. Fill the muffin pans up to 1/2-2/3 full. Bake for 20 min, until tester comes out clean. These mini-cakes taste great the way they are or they can be warmed up and served with your favourite ice-cream. My comments: This is a tweeked version of Leslie's Individual Coconut Rum Chocolate Cakes

5 Sundried tomato 2 c. Green onion, chopped 1 tsp Garlic, minced 2 White mushrooms, chopped small 1 c. Asparagus, chopped to about 1" in length 2 c. Arborio rice 2 c. Water 4 c. Chicken or Vegetable broth 1/2 c. Dry white wine Olive oil Romano cheese, grated Combine the water and the chicken broth, bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and keep the broth at a low simmer. Chop the sundried tomatoes. Set aside. In a large saucepan, soften the green onion, mushrooms, asparagus and garlic in a little bit of olive oil. Add the rice, stirring until the rice is coated with oil, add more oil if necessary. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for about 1 min. Add the wine and stir until the wine evaporates. Add 1/2 cup of simmering broth and cook the risotto over medium heat. Stir constantly until the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time and stirring constantly. Always allow the broth to be absorbed before adding more broth. It will take approximately 20-30 min to