Stir Fried Veggie Beef and Green Peppers in Taiwanese Shacha Sauce 沙茶青椒素牛肉

It's hard to imagine I'd write a recipe using green bell peppers since I've refused to eat them most of my life! Mom used to make this dish (with real beef or pork sometimes), and I would always pick out the peppers. In fact, I hated any peppers. So how did I learn to like it? To be honest, I don't quite understand it myself! (?・・)σ I was watching a Japanese drama, which happened to be about food several years ago (are you surprised???). In one of the episodes, someone cooked a pork stuffed green pepper dish, which looked very delicious to me, and that was it! From then on, I decided that I like green peppers. Actually, I'll even correct myself, and say that I now LOVE green bell peppers! Isn't it funny how your mind can just change like that one day?

Chicken-Taro Meatballs and Tofu Hot Pot 香芋雞肉丸油豆腐粉絲煲

Lately, I've been missing the Chinese hot pot. My mom often made it for the Chinese New Year or on cold days. Unfortunately I can't have it at home because I don't own a portable stove for the table (due to not having enough storage space). I decided that I'd make a hot pot dish that is similar to the traditional one I grew up with, but is done on the stove, and with fewer ingredients. Instead of the fish balls (which are very difficult to find here without all the msg and chemicals) or thin slices of hot pot meats, I made these really yummy and unique taro-chicken meatballs to replace the fish balls, and it still has the cellophane noodles and the tofu I love, plus three other ingredients (because six is the lucky number for Chinese!). Everything is cooked in the same broth like the traditional hot pot, so in the end, all the flavours come together. I didn't even have to season the broth much at all! It was sweet and flavourful all by itself! I hope you make this during the Chinese New Year, and I wish you all a happy and peaceful sheep year!

Chicken-Taro Meatballs 香芋雞肉丸

Whole Wheat Cranberry-Oat Scones with Almonds 全麥蔓越莓杏仁司康餅

I love cranberries in breakfasty things, whether it's a muffin, a scone, bread, pancakes, or waffles, you name it! For Valentine's Day last year, I did a cranberry heart swirled cheesecake for Foodie in Quebec City, so I wanted to do something different this year but still with cranberries. I thought, why not start the romance right from the morning?! I love surprising my hubbie with a nice homemade breakfast in bed, even when it's not Valentine's Day. You can easily make this dough the day before and refrigerate it until use. It'll give you the perfect scone texture you're looking for: crisp on the outside, moist and flaky inside. I love the texture of the oats and almonds mixed together, plus a little tartness from the cranberries. It"s so delicious, you wouldn't believe it contains no butter! So what do you say?

Cranberry Vanilla Butter 蔓越莓香草奶油

I'm a true butter person! I put butter on almost anything I can think of. I also enjoy making different flavoured butters to go with my breakfast bread. It's not just about the flavour; I also love transforming that pale yellow hue into something colourful and flavourful. Maybe I'm obsessed with colours, or perhaps deep down I believe the colour can bring out the flavour even more. Since pink is one of my favourite colours, I thought I'd make a pink butter for this Valentine's Day. It's innocent, romantic, cute and playful! I'd tried one before with fresh cranberries, but this time, I wanted something that has a really smooth and silky texture, with a unique flavour. Then it struck me: cranberry vanilla butter! A perfect breakfast accompaniment for your sweetie this holiday. To get that texture I wanted, I decided to make a cranberry vanilla sauce first, then blend it together with butter. It was so luscious with a hint of orange and vanilla, and the colour turned out to be perfectly pink and seductively pretty!

Edamame and Soba Noodle Bowl with Dulse and Nori 毛豆與海苔蕎麥麵

This was another very quick and easy dish that I whipped up during my terrible flu. It's simple, but still rich in vitamins C, B, K, protein, amino acids, and minerals, which gave me the energy I needed to fight the flu. It took me literally just 10 minutes to make it, with almost no preparation at all. It's super light, delicious, and would make a perfect quick lunch for anyone who doesn't have time. If you have an extra few minutes, steam some vegetables to serve with the noodles, which would make your meal even healthier! So keep some frozen shelled edamame, buckwheat noodles and dried sea vegetables in your house. You never know when they'll come in handy!