Mozzarella Stuffed Bison Burger with Sweet Potato Fries

Did I tell you that I am an advocate of buffalo/bison meat? I can't emphasize it enough that not only it taste so much better, it's a lot leaner and healthier. So whenever I do my weekly grocery at Whole Foods, I make sure that I stock up. I either use my ground bison on meatloaf, meatballs, burger, or chili. The option is limitless. The recipe of this tasty mozzarella burger was taken from Eating Well magazine. It called for ground turkey. I opted with ground bison instead and improvised a little. The mozzarella cheese stuffed inside the burger comes as a surprise when you take your first bite.  It's so moist and cheesy! And, oh the home made marinara sauce to go with it is refreshing. A nice break from using ketchup.

What you need:

Ground Buffalo (ofcourse you can use ground turkey or any ground lean meat).
Minced Garlic, chopped Shallots, Worcestershire sauce, grated lemon zest, dried oregano, ground pepper, salt, shredded skim mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil.

Combine all the ingredients excluding the mozzarella. On a separate bowl, mix your mozzarella and a little bit of the chopped fresh basil. Make them into little balls and stuffed them inside your patties.

You can pan fry these burgers or put them in the grill. Please note that buffalo meat doesn't take long to cook.  Since I didn't put any eggs on the mixture, you can even have it medium well. It's best to have it medium well. Still a little pinkish inside and the juice is just oozing. lol!

For the sauce: Olive oil, chopped shallots, minced garlic, fresh roma tomatoes chopped (maybe like two or three, depending on how much sauce you want to make, but you can just as easily use canned chopped tomatoes), tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste, fresh basil, and a little drizzle of apple cider vinegar.
Saute shallots and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes until translucent. Add your tomatoes and tomato paste and stir. Bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the basil and apple cider vinegar.  Just eye ball your measurement and season it according to your taste. Remove from heat and transfer it to a food processer to puree the sauce or a blender if you don't have a food processer.

I will never get tired of eating any thing sweet potato. My all time favorite is sweet potato fries. Just season with salt and pepper, a little bit of allspice and cinnamon and olive oil to coat.  Bake under 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden and crispy.

I didn't have any buns (no bread here lol) to go with our burger. I used whole wheat pita instead. I was going for stuffed pita burger in my mind I guess. I toasted them a little for the crunch effect. You can add spinach or lettuce. I use the former because it's packed with more nutrients.

Have a happy Monday. 

Bisous, Contesa

Fitness Friday - Let's Get Running or Jogging

You probably all know that running or jogging has many great benefits for the over all health. I think any form of excercise is great for our health. It promotes a great cardiovascular work out and strenghtens our muscles.  One does not need to be a professional sprinter or marathon runner to be able to do this. (Did you know that a sprinter has the lowest levels of body fat?) Now, what's your motivation? HAHA! As long as you get those muscles moving on a regular basis, you'd be surprise that your metabolism will slowly increase. And you will also notice an improvement in your over all health and fitness. I always like being active and if I don't get a work out, I become lethargic.



I had to blur it a little bit for that mysterious look. lol!







 With spring just right around the corner, put on your favorite running or walking shoes. Make it a habit to get moving even just for 30 minutes a day. Trust me, you will slowly start seeing the difference in your stamina.



Me and My Yoga Pose:-). Hey that's my fanny pack right there. LOL!

And oh, don't forget to stretch before and after. It's a very important that you do so especially if you have a regular excercise regimen. It prevents yourself from getting injured and pulling your muscles hard.



 

And go geese hunting too! J/K! But I swear they are such a pest. I have to ba careful and actually look at the trail, otherwise, I'd step on their nasty poop. Ugh!









 I know that I probably bored you with my health lecture this morning. Bottom line is, it's your body and you can do whatever you want with it:-).  But hey, in the long run, it will totally benefit you. And yes, you can thank me later....:-)  I hope you enjoy your Friday.

Bisous, Contessa

Seafood Wednesday - Curried Scallops and Apple Salad

Raise your hands if you love scallops. Not only it taste great but it's loaded with a variety of nutrients that can promote your cardiovascular health. It's a good source of protein, B12 vitamin, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, and pottassium. I bet you didn't know that. So next time you are in the seafood section, do yourself a favor and try picking up these mollusks. I for once usually buy a pack of frozen Japanese Scallops from my local Trader Joe's every week. $9.99 a pack is a lot cheaper than getting them fresh at Whole Foods (sorry WF, I still buy the rest of my stuff from you lol).   These frozen scallops are so easy to store.  They thaw easy and cook quickly. And I have gotten a lot of questions on how to prepare them. In order to get the maximum nutrients, you must broil or bake the scallops.  No frying. I guess no more of that salted shrimp and scallops that I always get fro the Chinese Resto. HEHE! 

Anyways, here is a quick and healthy recipe that you can make for your scallops. This salad is packed of nutrients since it's loaded with spinach, cranberry, and apples. 

Here is what you need. Chopped shallots, curry powder, salt and pepper to taste, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, spinach, chopped apples, dried cranberry, and of course scallops.

Saute shallots for a few minutes, sprink at least a teaspoon of curry powder, stir together, and add two or three tablespoons of apple cider. Let it simmer and boil. Once the sauce has reduced a little, transfer the sauce in a small bowl.  Pat dry your scallops and season it with salt and pepper. Quicly pan fry it on the pan where you just cooked your shallots. Be careful overcooking the shallots as it can get rubbery. On a separate bowl mix your spinach, apples and cranberry.  Add a little bit of olive oil in your curry shallots sauce and whisk that. Pour it over your spinach mixture and top with scallops. 

How easy was that?  The picture does not do justice on how good this baby tasted.

Have a happy Wednesday mis ames! Bisous, Contessa

I got a new toy and I love it!

What about you? Do you have any new kitchen toys to show off? HE! HE! I feel like a child bouncing up and down and cannot contain my excitement. I got a Breville Fountain Juicer over the weekend!!! While this is not on the top of my "I want list," (must save for vitamix blender), it will suffice for now. Gosh, I am such a brat. I'm not even contented of what I got. For now, this will take care of all my juicing needs.

Miss piggy did not come with the juicer. B got it for me separately and he named her Sir Oinks A Lot. LOL!  She's still cute and if you guys don't know already, I collect pigs. Stuffed toy pigs that is! HAHA! I can't help that I was born Year of the Pig either.

This is not your regular Cuisineart Juicer but more of a heavy duty type of juicer complete with a jug and a pulp separator. The blades are heavy duty too. Don't let the picture fool you. It's actually ginormous in person, but it gets the job done. I just love it!

As soon as I got home, I immediately opened my new toy and tested it. I keep plenty of organic apples in my fruit basket so I thought of making fresh apple juice.

 B had a different idea, on the other hand. He wanted Apple Martini instead (just mix apple juice, vodka, and apple sour). I'm telling you, there is nothing better tasting than a freshly made apple juice. It's sweet as it is already. I added a little bit of lemon for some tang and zest. It stil turned out good regardless.

 While B was sipping on his Apple Martini, I was sippin on my fresh apple juice.  The only pain is cleaning the juicer afterwards. But I didn't mind. I also saved the apple pulp and later made some tzatziki sauce with it. Forgot to take pic but it came out delish sans the sliced cucumbers.

Over all I am a happy little brat. I can't wait to make more juices this weekend. lol! And I can't wait for another toy to come so I can show to you guys. He! He!

Hope you have a great Tuesday. Bisous, Contessa

Meatless Monday - Eggplant Lasagna and Braised Collard Greens

Did you know that Mealtess Monday is actually a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns Inc. in association with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Center for a Livable Future (source taken from Wikipedia).  Meatless Monday was  developed as part of the Healthy Monday Initiative, which encourages Americans to make a commitment in avoiding meat once a week in their diet. Now it is becoming a trend and even some restaurants have picked up on it.

I  know Oprah did. Leave it to Oprah for teaming up with food experts to bring awareness to her viewers the importance of making healthy decisions. I know anything Oprah says or do, it suddenly becomes a huge trend. In this episode as I remember,  Oprah also instituted Meatless Monday at her studio. She got her employees to take on Meatless Monday and it was received with mixed emotions. Some took it seriously (and have lost weight) and some could not wait for it to be over so they can eat meat. LOL!.

In paying homage to Meatless Monday, I share with you two recipes that are worth skipping the meat for once. Before I go on, let me just say that I am not encouraging you not to eat meat. I just want to bring awareness to this campaign as I am also an advocate of healthy eating. But I just can't give up meat yet. lol!

As much as possible, I want to incorporate vegetables in our diet regularly. Although, eating and prepping the same vegetables can get rather bland. I mean you can only eat so much steamed and boiled veggies, right? When I bought these eggplants and collard greens, I had the intention of cooking them differently. Since I haven't had pasta in a long time, I wanted to recreate something familiar (okay if I must have it, from time to time, I will give in). For me anything cooked with pasta and that gooey sauce are one of my comfort food and since I have given up eating anything pasta, I have to be creative and eat something similar. LOL! 

 

I came up with eggplant lasagna then after brainstorming (yes, I have to visualize and brainstorm what I need to make prior to buying groceries, hehe). A typical lasagna is usually loaded with carbs, fats, sugar, and all that bad stuff for you. In my mind, I wanted to recreate something familiar but with a healthy approach.  The only "fat" I could not eliminate was mozzarella. Mind you, I got the skim/light version though. HAHA!

Does that look like it was made of eggplants to you?

Contessa's Eggplant Lasagna

2 eggplants (organic preferred) sliced thinly crosswise. Probably about 1/4 inches thick.  

3 egg whites beat until frothy in a bowl (mix with a little water)
2 cups of Almond Flour (a healthier substitute for breadcrumbs)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh Basil Leaves
1 can of tomato paste (lower in sodium, but you can use any tomato sauce you have)
2 cups of part skim mozzarella
1 cup of grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Coat your baking sheet with pam nonstick spray. Combine almond flour, parmesan, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.  Dip your eggplant slices into the egg white mixture. Then coat with the almond flour  mixture. Arrange single slices in a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes until crisp and golden. 

In a heated pan, combine chopped basil and tomato paste together until it simmers. You may add a little water to dillute the sauce a little. You may also mix in any pasta tomato sauce you have to create more sauce. Season to taste.

Pour some tomato sauce in the bottom of your baking dish, arrange half of the eggplant slices over the sauce, overlapping slightly. Pour a little bit of the sauce on top of the eggplants and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Add another layer repeating the process mentioned above. Bake, uncovered for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce bubbles and golden.

Okay, I lie. This collard green has a little bit of meat to it. LOL!. I used Canadian bacon, which is an uncured turkey bacon, leaner and less processed. You can also use Pancetta, bacon, sausage, or just leave the meat out completely.

Braised Collard Greens
A bunch of collard greens, chopped and discard the stem. Chopped garlic and onions. Chopped bacon turkey. apple cider. low sodium chicken broth.

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Add the bacon and stir for a few minutes. Add your collard greens. Stir together until the greens have absorbed the oil. Slowly add half a cup of low sodium chicken broth and apple cider. Season to taste and let it simmer until the liquid has evaporated.

Please do try the recipes and let me know how you like them. I hope that I inspire you to become conscious of what you make and eat. 

Have a fabulous Monday mes amis! Bisous, Contessa

Saturday's Discovery - Bob's Red Mill Oatbran

I love oatmeal. I think the only reason why I liked it is because of all the different flavors it comes with. It's supposed to be good for your heart, keeps you regular, yadi yada. You get the deal! Little did I know that too much eating of these packaged and processed oatmeal packets is actually bad for you. These instant oatmeal packets are easy to prepare and usually cheap, but did you know it contains high levels of hidden sugar? Some of these hidden sugar may be listed as corn syrup, brown rice syrup, cane juice, fructose, dextrose, or maltose. I am sure you have heard of this already. But please, if you care for your health, stay away from these bad sugar.

In the past when I go to the grocery, I would just usually pick up things that I find appealing or that it sounded delicious. I never made any conscious effort to check the back label. Now that I am more aware of, I usually scan the content to see if it's a good buy. And speaking of scanning, while I was trekking the baking section of Whole Foods, I discovered this Oat Bran, Hot Cereal by Bobs Red Mill.  I love this brand.  They carry pretty much everything from oatmeal, granola, almond flour, to coconut flour. 

This Hot Cereal is not only high in fiber, but it's organic and no hidden sugar at all. I pretty much eat it every morning mixed with my vanilla unsweetened almond milk.  If you want to add a little bit of sweetness, you can always top it with some fresh berries. Happy Saturday:-)

P.S. You can get this from Amazon too! 

Fitness Friday - Let's Do Some Push-Ups

From now on, I will dedicate every Friday's post to fitness (and excercise). Fitness, food, and fashion. These are three things that I live for (well besides my B and family,:)). I feel that since it plays an essential role in my life, other than cooking, I might as well blog and share some fitness tips with you.  

What about fitness? Well, it's been a part of my whole life. Whether it be sports or outdoor activities, I have always been conscious with the importance of living fit and staying active. It did not happen over night.  It was rather a journey. Trust me, it took a while to get to where I am. It definitely took some planning and the right state of mind.

Before I go on, I just want to assure you that I am, in no way, an expert in physical training. I just hope that I can be able to inspire you. By all means, you are entitled to any physical activity that you are capable of. Any of the excercise tips I share here should be read with caution. Some of the things I do might not be easy for you. But I say, push yourself to the limit (Scarface's Push it the the Limits is playing in the background, lol). To the limit!!! Nice work-out song too!

Since we are talking about "pushing" it to the limit, how about let's start this Friday with some push-ups? It's one of my favorite activity/excercise to do.  It's free and you don't need to be in the gym.  You can do it pretty much anywhere and anytime. I remember in the past, I had a hard time doing full on military style push-up. Like I said, it was a journey. I practiced and practiced until I perfected it. Now I think I can do 50 of them. But just don't challenge me, okay? LOL!


Thanks to my friend/gym buddy Nanette for taking this picture after our ab lab class.

(The picture above is taken right after my ab class in the gym. Mind you, we just did 30 seconds straight push-up here. My shoulders were about to give in. But they say, no pain, no gain). 
If I can do a push-up, you can clearly do one too! I mean, its one of the basic and common excercise for the human body. It has many great benefits to your body. Not only, it increases your strenght but it makes your core stronger as well.  And who does not want toned shoulders?  I know you do:-) Start slowly and before you know it, by the end of the week, you can do more than you think you can.



Was trying to be serious and hold it at the same time. I just can't stop laughing. I feel like I am making a fool of my self lol.

Before I end this post (coz I am about to do more push-ups, jk!), here is a great tip: Do some sets of push-up before going out escpecially when you are wearing something that reveals your shoulders and torso. You will not be sweating and if you are, you will be glistening with sweat. You will see some definition:-)
Till next Friday's fitness post! Have a great weekend...Bisous, Contessa

Wednesday's Catch of the Day

If you are regular reader (let me just pretend I have readers, okay?) of my blog, you will know my love for anything seafood. I care for my health and will eat anything benificial to my body.  I try to eat fish at least three times a week. Not only it's a good source of protein, but also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. If you are not taking any Omega-3 supplments, you better be eating a lot of fish that are rich in Omega 3.  Did you know that it helps reduce over all body fat? And who doesn't want that, right?   

Here is a simple, quick, and healthy recipe you can prepare.  I got these wild caught red snapper from Whole Foods last week and decided to just broil the whole fish and seasoned it with lemon, salt and pepper. 

Served with pickled cucumbers and sauted Spinach. Healthy and nutritious. If you eat like this on a regular, I can assure you that you will start shedding that extra pounds you are trying to get rid of. 

Have a great Wednesday mis amis.

Bisous, Contessa   

Meet My New Babylove

Tis the day of love! Please bear in mind that this is not the season for companies to make so much profit selling candies and balloons. Instead, celebrate the relationship you have with the loves of your life.  And I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate or share it with you other than introduce my newest baby love ( he came for free and I didn't have to buy him, joke!). I didn't know being a new auntie again can bring so much joy and love. Is there such a thing such as an "auntie glow"? Coz if so, I have it. LOL!  
Without further ado, it is my pleasre to introduce to you my beautiful nephew, Benjamin. I look forward to seeing you again and hopefully babysitting you soon. Can't wait for the day when you start talking and calling me "Contessa." HAHA!

Collage courtesy of my bff Anghela. :-)

I hope this cheers your Valentines even more. Have a fantastic Valentines Day mis ames!

Bisous, Contessa

Valentines Day - A time of loving and giving

B and I usually don't celebrate Valentines Day. Sure, it's a time for couples to celebrate their relationship. In my opinion, we should be celebrating our relationship everyday anyway. We are blessed to have someone to wake up with and go home to. Since when do we let ourselves get suckered into these companies' propaganda of selling candies, chocolates, and cards? I think in this material driven society, we tend to lost sight of the imporantce of each holiday. Valentines is becoming more like Christmas. People expect to receive gifts more and more. How about looking forward to receiving plenty of love from your significant other? HAHA!

Before I become a scrooge and ruin everyone's "lovey dovey" mode, I might as well indulge you with things I pretend to expect this Valentines. As much as I want to practice self control, the materialistic side of me is somewhat screaming. Although, I would like to think that these things I want are practical and badly needed:-)

Staub La Cocotte in Cherry Red.

 Yes, I want this bad. I already have an oval LeCrueset dutch oven and all I am missing is a round cast iron. This will be ideal for all my braising needs (not that the Le Crueset doesn't serve it's purpose lol).  And that cherry red looks so bloody yummy. HAHA!    

Le Crueset Grill Pan

I promise that if I get this one, I will be grilling more often. I have a Breville Panini Grill that I can just easily use but it's so inconvenient. I have to take it out and cleaning is such a hassle.

Vitamix Blender

The mother of all blender! This will take care of all my blending and juicing needs. I drink protein shake, smoothies, and make puree soups on a regular basis. I no longer want my cuisineart blender/chopper. I want to take it up a notch with this one:-)


Mac Book Pro



If I was to choose amongst all four, I would choose this one. My old iBook has been with me since I was a freshman in college and we've been through a lot. I never had any major problems with her and up to this day, she still works great. Even if it saddens me, it's time to put her to sleep. So please, Mr. Cupid, let's get this magic of love going. Sprinkle some love to my honey and have him get me one of these. I promise, I will be a good wifey forever. HA! HA!.

 

 

Healthy Turkey/Beef Chili

Ever since I discovered the groundbison chili recipe from jillfit's website, I have been hooked. I make it almost every week and it's easy to store in the freezer. The recipe uses ground bison, which is a healthier alternative than regular meat. Bison, which is commonly called "buffalo," are raised naturally, without any harmful hormones or feed additives (most of the time).  Their main diet consist of feeding on grass. The meat is high in protein and has a lower fat percentage compare to beef, chicken, or pork.  I mean it taste just like regular beef but it's lightly sweeter. I have been buying bison meat for the last two years now. 

I know it may sound like I eat junk during the weekends, but trust me, I have a very strict diet during the week. Mostly protein, veggies, and fruits. And since I work out, I need all the protein and veggies I can get. Well lean protein that is. And on the top of my list of protein to buy are bison, turkey, and fish.  

Last night, while I was making my batch of chili, I decided to mix lean ground turkey and ground bison together. It was a protein loaded chili I tell you:-). This can be eaten alone with veggies, with pasta or potatoes(but no carbs for me), or mix with your salad.

In this recipe, you'll need one pound of ground turkey and one pound of ground bison (you can find these are at Wholefoods or the frozen section of your grocery stores). Chopped fresh tomatoes, 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1 chopped onion, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste.

Sautee the meat with onions and garlic until brown. Add your chopped tomatoes (you can also use canned chopped tomatoes), one can of tomato paste, one can of black or pinto beans (I usually buy with no salt, but if you get the regular kind, make sure you rinse it with water first so take a little bit of the salt out), and the secret to this recipe is the bone suckin sauce. 
  

This particular sauce is all natural, no fat, and low in sodium. But it's just as flavorful. But ofcourse, you can substitute with any regular bbq sauce of your choice. Mix together. Slowly add your seasoning such as the cumin, cinnamon, chili powder (if you want a kick to it), salt, and pepper to taste. Just please eye ball it and season according to your taste.

Cover and simmer for at least an hour. This is very hearty to eat especially during the winter. Let me know if you try it.

Bisous, Contessa

Saturday Night Snack - Chocolate Chip Cookie

I love weekends. What I don't like is when I get bored. My healthy eating habit gets compromised. My wasteline starts expanding and my belly starts bloating. Then Monday comes, I start sulking after I see the weighing scale. Then I vow not to eat anything sinful and sugary for the rest of my life. But who am I kidding? Who knew that consuming two chocolate chip cookies can add three extra pounds on you. HA! Thank God, Saturday was my designated cheat day to eat anything I want;-). I can burn all of that this week. No problem. Now, I am back to my protein/veggie/fruits diet.
For now, I will just let you drool over these goodness. There was a nice balance in the chewyness and crispness of this cookie. It was such a hit. I will be forever thankful to my cousin Bob, who is a pastry chef for giving me this recipe.


The dough looked like ice cream if you ask me. I could just eat this alone. LOL!



Thank God for Dolph of the Weekend Gourmet blog for giving my my first ever mixer.  You have inspired me to bake:-)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (makes at least a dozen depending on how big you want your cookies)

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips (vahlrona or calebaut)
1 1/2 cups of white chocolate chips (vahlrona or calebaut)
1 cup of chopped nuts (macadamia or walnuts)

heat oven to 375*F. in a large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, butter until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and egg; blend well. lightly spoon flour into measuring cups; level off.
Add flour, baking soda, salt; mix well. stir in both dark and white chocolates and nuts.
Let dough cool for at least 6 hours.
Form into balls, flattening the top onto baking sheet with 2" apart from each other.
Bake at 375* F for 9 to 12 minutes until edges are lightly brown.
Cool and remove from cookie sheets.

Happy Monday!

Bisous, Contessa

Sunday Night Superbowl Dinner

While I was slaving myself in the kitchen earlier preparing for our dinner, B stopped me  and asked what was the occasion. I told him in reply that it was the Superbowl:-) Although, I can't help but wonder if my husband was having an amnesia or just pretending to be surprised. Doesn't he know that this is sort of normal in our kitchen? He forgets that I am usually preparing food enough to feed a whole army. I guess this time, the kitchen really looked extra messy. Poor thing, cleaning up and running the dishwasher are probably the least thing he had on his mind, especially when it's Superbowl night. 

Thank goodness, he became giddy when he found out that I was making him one of his favorite soups, the French Onion Soup, along with Roasted Citrus Herb Chicken.

Color is such a perfection.

This Roasted Citrus Herb Chicken recipe was taken from Giada De Laurentis' Giada at Home show. Her recipe called for game hen but I opted for the Whole Chicken instead:-). It still turned out wonderful and moist. And the gravy made from the pan juices was just divine. Recipe can be found here.

This was such a good buy. I am so happy I own one now. I can roast anytime:-)

The roasted chicken was served with Spinach salad.

This is Tyler's ultimate French Onion Soup and my first time making it. It was a very hearty soup on a cold winter weather. My job was a success because my number one customer loved it:-). You can find the recipe here.

I hope you all have a happy week ahead.

Bisous, Contessa

For the Love of Matcha Green Tea

Green Tea is love! I don't know about you but I think I probably drink more green tea (no sugar please) than water.  I usually stock up on green tea every chance I get. Although, my collection is probably mediocre compare to someone who is a pure green tea lover.  The taste over shadows that many health benefits it has. It's high in anti oxidant. Furthermore, it increases our metabolism, which in turn helps us burn more fat. Who does not want to burn fat, right? And all you had to do is drink green tea on a regular? Sure....

Yes, I do have a love affair with green tea. I love anything flavored with green tea. Green Tea Macarons. Green Tea Mochi. Green Tea Ice Cream. Grean Tea Shake.  Green Tea Cupcake. I told myself that eventually, I will have to try to make some of these treats. All I needed was some Matcha. So when my  sister brought some Matcha from Japan Town in San Francisco, I was elated. Matcha refers to finely-milled Japanese green tea (and they don't come cheap). According to the Wikipedia, the cultural activity called the Japanese tea ceremony centers on the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha. In modern times, matcha has also come to be used to flavour and dye foods. 

I've had my matcha for quiet some time now. It's been sitting inside the pantry just waiting for me to find some time in my hands to prepare it. Out of boredom on Sunday, I finally got around to using it. I looked around the internet for some inspiration but I lacked most of the recipes. So I decided, I will make my own concoction instead.

Coconut Mango flavored sorbet from Whole Foods and my Matcha.

Put one teaspoon of matcha on a bowl and pour a little bit of hot water enough to melt the matcha. Whisk until you see it bubbling.  I didn't have the proper bamboo whisk tool so I used my regular whisk instead. Suffice to say, it still turned out great.

Totally adding this on my Amazon cart.

My preferred drink. I don't drink milk and can't remember the last time I did. Almond Milk is becoming the trend. It's so much better for you.  I used this to mix with my green powder supplement, my protein shake, my oatmeal and sometimes with baking. So anyways, add a cup of this to your matcha and sorbet. Blend until smooth.

Matcha Green Tea Sorbet Shake. Refreshing and healthy.