Grilled Sorted Vegetables with creamy turmeric sauce

Oh! Today is Monday, another green Monday!  I love cooking more with turmeric after watching a BBC program about Alzheimer's disease and how to keep our brain healthy.  According to lots of research, turmeric benefits to our health a lot such as pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cancer-preventative.  It can also lower cholesterol and protect the cardiovascular system.  I love its favor and color.  This recipe is easy and absolute mouth-watering.  If you like, you can add your favorite veggie to make it more colorful like green pepper and red pepper.

Ingredients:

-         150g cauliflower (washed and chopped)

-         150g carrots (washed and chopped)

-         150g button mushrooms (washed and chopped)

-         70g baby corn (washed and chopped)

-         1000 ml water

-         ¼ tsp salt

-         ¼ tsp olive oil

-         1 slice of white cheese (chopped)

Sauce:

-         10g butter

-         10g plain flour

-         ¼ tsp turmeric powder

-         50 ml skimmed milk  

-         150 ml coconut milk

-         ¼ tsp sugar

-         ½ tsp salt

Method:

1.	Preheat the oven to 160°c.
2.	Boil 1000 ml water in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add olive oil and salt in the sauce pan, bring the cauliflower, carrots, button mushrooms and baby corn to the boil, then reduce the heat and cover.  Simmer for 6-8 minutes until tender.  Drain the vegetables and place them on a ceramic dish or a baking tray with foil.  Set aside.
3.	Meanwhile, melt the butter in small non-stick pan and add the plain flour over a low heat.  Using a wooden spoon to mix the butter with the plain flour until smooth.
4.	Add turmeric powder inside the flour mixture and mix it thoroughly.  Then add skimmed milk and coconut milk, stir frequently to ensure mixing well.  After seasoning with sugar and salt, keep stirring for 3-5 minutes over a low heat till the sauce is thickened.
5.	Spoon the sauce over the vegetables.
6.	Topped with chopped cheese and grill for 6-8 minutes until the cheese is melted and the topping is golden.

Stir-fried shiitake mushrooms with Tofu

My friend is one of the founders of a social enterprise called ‘Green Monday’ in Hong Kong.  The project has been run since 2012.  When I met him in Hong Kong in a restaurant a few years ago, he firstly introduced his concept to promote having a ‘green’ meal once a week in order to protect our environment.  The project is successful after running for a few years.  It is highly supported by the government and the catering industry. 

As I am getting old, I have started to think more about what I eat. I have begun having one ‘green’ meal once a week.  It is good to health and I feel happier after forming this habit.  I am used to having ‘green’ either at lunch or dinner every Monday because Monday is the first working day.  It is easy for me to plan my meals.  Hope you will be one of the fans of ‘Green Monday’.  I will post more recipes of making 'green' meals later.  Welcome all of you to make comments and share the photos of your dish.

Preparation time:

                            -         20 minutes (for using dried shiitake mushrooms) or

                            -         10 minutes (for using fresh shiitake mushrooms)

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

-         210g firm tofu (diced in cubes 2cmL x 2cmW x 1.5 cmH)

-         45g carrot (sliced)

-         50g fresh baby corn (sliced)

-         4 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked and quartered)

-         90g button mushrooms (quartered)

-         ½ spring onions (finely chopped)

-         1 slice of ginger (sliced)                          

-         ¼ tsp table salt                             

-         1 tsp olive oil

-         ½ tsp sugar

-         1 tsp light soy sauce

-         1 tsp bean sauce

-        700g water

Thickening Sauce:

-         1½ tsp cold water

-         1 tsp corn flour

Method:

1.	Clean the dried shiitake mushrooms, trim and discard the stems. Add hot water and mushrooms in a bowl. Soak the mushrooms up for 20 minutes until they become soft.  Using dried shiitake mushrooms can give a more fragrant flavor.  Fresh shiitake mushrooms can be used instead of the dried shiitake mushrooms. For fresh shiitake mushrooms, just clean, trim and discard the stems; and quartered.
2.	Heat a non-stick wok over a medium heat and add oil. Add garlic and ginger, stir-fry about 30 seconds.  Then add the soaked shiitake mushrooms, salt, sugar and 150g water. Cover and simmer for 8 minutes.
3.	Toss the baby corn, carrot and add soy sauce in the wok and stir-fry for another 5 minutes.
4.	In the meantime, add button mushrooms, tofu, bean sauce and   50g water.  Stir-fry gently for a further 5 minutes.
5.	In a small mixing bowl, stir corn flour well with 1½ tsp cold water to prepare the thickening sauce.
6.	Add the spring onion and pour the sauce in the wok and stir-fry for 1 minute.
7.	Ready to serve with rice.