Busy Bee Cafe

I’ve always felt that it’s so wasteful to throw away the stalk when I cut up broccoli florets but I never know what to do with it so I usually just throw it in the compost. I thought to find a way to cook it never crossed my mind until I came across this recipe at justbento.com.

It is a nice bento filler and also something healthy for me to munch on as a little snack…. it’s still a bit crunchy so it’s better than crisps (potato chips)

Ingredients:

Broccoli stalk cut into matchsticks – 1 cup
1tbsp vegetable oil
1/2tbsp light soy sauce
A pinch of chili flakes
1tsp sesame seeds

1.  Heat the vegetable oil on medium heat and add the cut broccoli stalk. Toss it around for around 4 minutes.
2. Add the soy sauce and chili flakes and toss to coat the broccoli stalk evenly.
3. Add the sesame seed and toss it again to even the seeds onto the vegetable.

Seriously… that is it. It’s now ready to be served, eaten or cooled down for your bento box.

I was just going to get a box when I was at the shops the other day… but then changed my mind. I was thinking ‘Seriously I can make this myself’… and I did

Ingredients:

2 slices of white bread, toasted
1tbsp of freshly chopped chives
2tbsp plain flour
1tsp paprika
2 eggs, beaten
3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1. Preheat oven at 200C, gas mark 6
2. Break the toast into pieces and put them in the food processor together with the chives. Once they are chopped fine, put the breadcrumb mixture in a bowl and put them aside.
3. In another bowl, mix the flour and paprika together.
4. Put the chicken pieces one by one, into the flour mixture, then eggs and lastly breadcrumbs. Place the breadcrumb covered pieces onto a baking tray and place it into the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes.
5. Serve it with some tomato sauce or mayonnaise.

I was introduced to kimchi when I went to a Korean restaurant with Lyndt back in the day when she was studying in Switzerland; and I loved it. Apart from that, the only other time I had kimchi was when a colleague at work put a packet in the kitchen. I must have been the only one who ate it!

I was just browsing on the internet when I something caught my eye and I started to look for recipes for kimchi.

After looking at a few, I started to think that it might not be that hard so this is my version.

Ingredients:

1 large chinese cabbage
1/2 cup of salt
2L water
6 cloves garlic, minced
6cm ginger, minced
80ml fish sauce
3 tbsp chili paste
1 tsp chili flakes
6 spring onions
1tsp sugar

1. Cut the cabbage into quarters lengthways. Get rid of the tough stem and slice the soft stem and leaves.
2. Dissolve the salt in a large bowl of water and add the cabbage. Leave it to stand for a couple of hours.
3. Drain the cabbage and rinse it in cold water.
4. Cut the spring onions lengthways and slice them about 6cm in length.
5. In another large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and add the spring onions and cabbage.
6. Mix well and transfer it into a glass jar. Cover it tightly and leave it to stand at room temperature for 2 days.
7. Once fermented, it’s ready to be served and should be stored in the fridge up to three weeks.

This has been a surprise hit with Bubba Bee! She’s not keen on vegetables as all good toddlers. So, when I decided to make this for lunch, I expected her to spit it out, especially as she’s never had mushroom before. Not that there’s any special reason why I never cooked mushroom for Bubba Bee apart from I don’t really buy mushrooms as hubby detest it. As hubby is on a diet at the moment and he eats his calorie controlled food, I decided to get some mushrooms… so he won’t be tempted to nibble anything off Bubba Bee’s plate!

Ingredients:

3 Portabella/flat mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
A small drop of butter
A sprinkle of olive oil
2 Babybell finely grated

1. Wash the mushrooms and put it on a tray.
2. Sprinkle the finely chopped garlic, ground white pepper and olive oil on the mushrooms. Add a small dollop of butter on each mushrooms and put them under the grill (high heat) for five minutes.
3. Take the mushrooms out of the grill, add the grated cheese (any cheese will do, but I used Babybell as it was the only cheese in the fridge today!!) and put them back under the grill for another three minutes.

They are now ready to serve.

I served it with baked salmon… with garlic, spring onion, ginger and soy sauce. Bubba Bee loved it