Sweet Porridge (Ba Bao Zhou)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup Mogami blended rice 
• 1/2 cup Barley
• 1/4 cup black bean
• 1/3 cup red or green bean
• 20 pcs Lotus Heart
• 1 small packet of Ginkgo nuts
• 3/4 cup Mogami sweet rice
• 1/3 cup Millet
• 1/3 cup Lycium 
• 10 pcs of Dates

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to broil then add in Mogami blended rice and barley.
2. In a pressure cooker, add in black beans, red/green beans, and lotus hearts and cook on high for 15 mins then low heat for 15 mins.
3. Then transfer to the pot and cook for 30 mins.
4. Add everything else into the pot then cook for another 30 mins on low heat and stir frequently.

Bow Ties with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 ounce) package farfalle pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups half-n-half
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• rosemary

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream, and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Garnish with rosemary.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Combine eggs, vanilla and raisins in a small bowl; cover and let stand for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda; stir into the creamed mixture. Then stir in the raisin mixture, rolled oats, and nuts.
4. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an unprepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Almond Meal Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

• 9 oz sliced almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 3 oz sugar
• 3 bananas
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300º. Prepare muffin tins.
2. Combine almonds and baking powder in the food processor until finely ground but don’t let it run too long or else it will end up as almond butter. Set aside.
3. Combine eggs, sugar, bananas, and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy. Combine with almond meal.
4. Pour into each muffin tin and top with thinly sliced bananas and almonds. Bake for 40 minutes and let cool before serving.

Butterbeer

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 4 tablespoons butter 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided 
• Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda, chilled

Directions: 

1. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar with 2 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees, stirring occasionally which is about a minute of cooking. Turn off the heat and add the butter, salt, vinegar, and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Stir until smooth. Cool mixture to room temperature before using.

2. In a medium bowl, beat together the remaining cream (1/2 cup) with 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar syrup.

3. In each glass, mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar syrup with 1/4 cup cream soda. Pour in the rest of the cream soda until it is nearly to the brim of the glass. Top with whipped cream.

Apricot Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk or almond milk
• 2 apricots, pitted
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 cup ice

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy. Pour into a glass and garnish with fresh mint. 

Marinated Edamame

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of frozen edamame
• 200 ml of marinated cooking wine sauce 
• Salt

Directions:

1. Boil a pot of water. In the meantime, wash the edamame in warm water.
2. When water boils, put edamame into the pot and cover. Remove lid when water boils again and remove edamame with a strainer into a bowl. Dispose excess water in the bowl.
3. Combine marinated cooking wine sauce with edamame. Do not cover and let cool as this will preserve the edamame’s green color. Season with salt. After it is cool, refrigerate overnight and serve the next day. 

Strawberry Romaine Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of romain lettuce, dried and chopped
• 1 bag of spinach, dried and chopped
• 1 pint of fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• handful of raisins

Directions:

1. In a large salad bowl, combine the romaine, spinach, and strawberries.
2. In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and milk. Shake well and pour the dressing over salad. Sprinkle with a handful of raisins!

German Nougat Balls

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon strong brewed coffee
• 1 tablespoon rum
• 1 cup ground hazelnuts

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula. Remove the bowl from the heat until chocolate is melted.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder. Mix in the vanilla, coffee, rum, and nuts. The mixture should be fairly thick. Add more rum if necessary.
3. Allow the mixture to cool then shape the mixture into 1/2 inch diameter balls. Dip the balls into the melted chocolate. Chill until firm.

Stuffed Celery Sticks

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch celery
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 20 small green olives

Directions:

1. Separate and wash celery stalks. Cut stalks into 3 sections. Coarsely chop the olives. 
2. Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, walnuts, and chopped olives. Spread filling onto the celery pieces. 

Chicken Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless and boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
• 1 package fresh white button mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

Directions:

1. Put chicken, mushrooms, butter, and dressing mix in a slow cooker. Combine well and cook on low for 5 hours.
2. Add cream cheese and soup then and cook on high for another 1/2 hour or until heated through and warm. Serve over pasta or brown rice!

Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 2/3 cup any flavor fruit jam
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 320º. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Cream butter, sugar, and egg yolk together. Add vanilla, flour, walnuts, and salt. Mix well.
3. Shape dough into balls. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes.
4. Remove cookies from oven. With thumb, dent each cookie. Put jelly or preserves in each thumbprint. Bake for another 8 minutes.