I guess spring has sprung. The frozen river near my place has melted. Yupss I live near by the Assiniboine River. The Assiniboine River is a 1,070 kilometers (665 mi) long river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. A name of this river is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.

It flows south-east from Saskatchewan and then mainly east to "The Forks" in Winnipeg, Manitoba where it flows into the Red River. The Red River is a North American that flows through several major urban areas along its path including Fargo-Moorhead and Greater Grand Forks in the United States and Winnipeg in Canada. All the information about the rivers is courtesy of wikipedia.

I have four pictures that were taken on different day. All pictures were taken from 9th floor of my apartment. Picture #1 was taken on April 13, 2008.

Three other pictures were taken April 16, 2008. In picture #2, #3 and #4, you can see small pieces of ice floating on the river, most of the ice has melted and they were flowing to The Forks then flowed into the Red River.

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Raise your hand if you love coriander as I do! Love the flavour of coriander seeds, that is why I like to keep as they are and grind them only if I need.

The seed of the cilantro plant is known as coriander. Although cilantro and coriander come from the same plant, their flavors are very different and cannot be substituted for each other. Some countries refer to the cilantro as coriander, so any references to "fresh coriander" or "coriander leaves" refer to cilantro.

In Indonesian cuisine, coriander seed is widely used, but not the leaf or cilantro. Chinese celery leaves are more popular and being used in our cooking. I started knowing about cilantro while I learned about Mexican and Thai cuisine.


Coriander Calamari Rings
Recipe by me

Ingredients:
454 g (1 lb) frozen calamari rings, thawed*

Marinate:
1 tsp freshly ground coriander
1/8 tsp turmeric powder

Breaded:
1/2 cup rice flour
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp freshly ground coriander
salt and freshly ground black pepper as desired
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs with a touch of dried parsley or dried cilantro

Notes:
* Tips to thaw: Place unopened bag of calamari under cold running water for 10 to 15 minutes. Open bag and let drain in colander for about 2 minutes

Directions:
1. Marinate calamari rings with coriander and turmeric and let stand for 15 minutes.

2. Combine rice flour, garlic powder, coriander, salt and pepper. Coat the calamari rings in rice flour mixture, shaking them out to get rid of any excess.

3. Dip them into egg. Dip them into bread crumbs, coating them well, and shaking off any excess.

4. Up to this point may be done in advance, and the calamari rings refrigerated for a couple of hours, until you are ready to fry.

5. While you ready to fry the calamari, heat the oil (the secret to crispy calamari is hot, hot oil, just below the smoking point). Fry the rings (in batches) about 1 minute, or until they are golden. I enjoyed calamari rings with my favourite hot sauce, Indonesian hot sauce. If you feel tartar, honey mustard, mayo, mustard, ketchup or tzatziki for dipping, go ahead.

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Sandwich is always be my husband's favorite. I tried to make a different style of sandwich. The idea was come from Ina Garten which I have modified lots.

Garten's style sandwich:
1. has used balsamic vinegar to make roasted red peppers
2. has used goat cheese for spreading on
3. has used basil for assembling the sandwich

My style sandwich
1. has used nypa vinegar (cuka nipah palm) to make roasted peppers
2. has used guacamole and hummus for spreading on
3. has used baby spinach for assembling the sandwich

Same things that we have used, ciabatta bread and red onion slices.

So I can say that my sandwich is fusion style which is mixed Italian for the bread and roasted red peppers, South-East Asian for nypa vinegar, Mexican for guacamole and Middle East for hummus.

Just so you know Nypa palm vinegar is from Nypa fruticans, known as the Attap Palm (Singapore), Mangrove Palm or Nipah palm (Indonesia, Malaysia), Nipa Palm (Philippines), D?a Nu?c (Vietnam), Gol Pata (Bangladesh), and Dani (Burma) is the only palm considered a mangrove.

Roasted Red Peppers, Guacamole and Hummus Sandwich
Recipe by Ina Garten, modified by me

Ingredients:
4 large red peppers
2 tbsp good olive oil
1 tbsp nypa vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp drained capers, chopped





For assembling:
1 large ciabatta bread, halved horizontally
guacamole as desired
hummus as desired
10 baby spinach leaves
3 thin slices red onion
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

2. Place the whole peppers on a sheet pan and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the skins are completely wrinkled and the peppers are charred, turning them twice during roasting. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Set aside for 30 minutes, or until the peppers are cool enough to handle.

3. Meanwhile, combine the olive oil, nypa vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

4. Remove the stem from each pepper and cut them in quarters. Remove the peels and seeds and place the peppers in a bowl along with any juices that have collected. Discard the stems, peels, and seeds. Pour the oil and vinegar mixture over the peppers. Stir in the capers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend.

5. To assemble the sandwiches, spread the bottom half of the loaf with the guacamole and the top half of the loaf with hummus. Add a layer of peppers and then a layer of spinach. Separate the onions into rings and spread out on top. Sprinkle with pepper. Cover with the top half of the ciabatta and cut into individual servings.

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I have been posting Samba Lado Mudo's recipe couple times. Samba Lado Mudo is sometimes written as Sambal Lado Mudo, a Minangese (Western Sumatran) Green Chilies Sambal. Here is one of the key ingredients, Long Green Chilies. On my next post, I'll share another recipe of Samba Lado Mudo which I didn't use green unripe tomatoes as the Indonesians do, neither bilimbi (Indonesian: belimbing sayur or belimbing wuluh) as I used to make. Enjoy my long green chilies' pictures, folks!

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Making grilled eggplants is very easy. I don't have any Italian dressing or balsamic vinegar, I just used olive oil and minced garlic. They still turned out good. I'd rather use Japanese/Chinese eggplants than regular eggplants here, since the Japanese/Chinese ones have a shorter time to cook. This recipe is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging #127, hosted by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, the creator of WHB.

Grilled Eggplants

Ingredients:
300 g Japanese/Chinese eggplants, rinsed off and angle cut with 1 cm thick
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper
crushed chili

Directions:
1. Soak eggplants in salty water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

2. Combine olive oil and minced garlic. Rub eggplants with olive oil mixture, coating each well. Sprinkle eggplants with salt and pepper.

3. Grill and close with lid. Turn several times during cooking. Eggplant should be done in about 5 to 6 minutes. Before serving sprinkle with crushed chili.

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Last Saturday (March 29, 2008) was only 2C, but it had sleeted as you can see in the first picture, the road was so nasty. I was quite upset with the pictures here. It was my mistake too, I was in rush to take the pictures *too hungry:-P*. Also there was a dish that I didn't take a picture of, it was shrimp on green peppers with oyster sauce.

After I took pictures couple times, one of the servers came and asked me, " are you a professional photographer?"
I said, "Is there any rule that we can't take a picture here?"
"We are not allowed a pro photographer to take some pictures here."
"Ooo, no, it's just a hobby"
Hahahahahaha but I would say yes if he said we need a food photographer :-P

Another thing that was disappointed me, my favorite chicken feet came late, they put them on the cart right after we were standing front of the cashier to pay. :(

The only two places for dim sum in Winnipeg that I have been, are Kum Koon Garden and Dim Sum Garden. Kum Koon is pricey but if you look for a good food for Chinese food, it is the place. If you want to go for dim sum that is more modestly price than Kum Koon, go try Dim Sum Garden during their happy hour (2 pm to 5 pm).

Dim Sum Garden
277 Rupert Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 0N5
(204) 942-8297

Enjoy the pictures folks!

Shrimp and Scallop Dumplings or we call Hakau in Indonesian


Fried Eggplants Stuffed with Shrimp




Gai-lan with Shrimp Paste Sauce (Petis Udang in Indonesian)

Next are two pictures of my favorite mango pudding.

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A once-in-a-while dessert full of the things you'd love to have every day, but know you shouldn't. I would not make tiramisu if I didn't have mascarpone leftover from making berry mascarpone mini tarts.

A classic tiramisu without egg and alcohol added. Substituted marsala wine for espresso coffee with a touch of cocoa powder and dairy based heavy whipping cream for edible oil based whipping cream.


Classic Tiramisu
Adapted from Anna Maria Voilpi's Classic Tiramisu and modified by me

Ingredients:
The coffee dip
* 3/4 cup Italian espresso coffee
* 1 tsp sugar

The zabaglione filling
* 2 - 3 tbsp superfine (berry/castor/caster) sugar
* 1/4 cup espresso with a touch of cocoa powder => you can substitute for marsala wine/ coffee liquor (such as kahlua, tia maria, starbucks, kamora etc)
* 250 g mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup edible oil based whipping cream
* 1 package of whipped cream stabilizer

The base
* 142.5 g savoiardi (ladyfinger cookies) (approximately 20)
* bitter cocoa powder

Directions:
Preparing the coffee dip
1. Prepare a strong espresso coffee, about 3/4 cup (180 ml). 230 ml water is for 2 tbsp espresso coffee powder
2. Let the coffee cool at room temperature.

Preparing the zabaglione filling
1. Beat whipping cream and whipped cream stabilizer together until stiff. Set aside.
2. Beat mascarpone cheese, superfine sugar, and espresso mixture together until creamy.
3. Combine mascarpone mixture and whipped cream, beat just until mixed and smooth.

Assembling the tiramisu
1. Lightly soak the ladyfingers in the coffee, one at a time. Place them in one layer in a glass serving. Evenly distribute half of the zabaglione cream over the layer. Repeat the step with a second layer of ladyfingers, and top with the cream. Repeat the third layer of ladyfingers if you use a taller glass and topped with the cream. Sprinkle with the cocoa powder.

2. Repeat step 1 for other glasses and refrigerate for about 3 � 4 hours.

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