Ken Hom and Gordon Ramsay's cook books

Summer is here and we had been quite busy with all the activities we can do outside. My son loves going to the water park which is right around the corner from our place. Also we got a big vinyl swimming pool for our porch. We lives close by the beach but he doesn't like the ocean. I think the big wave and cold water scares him a little bit. But he loves playing with the sand at the beach!

Anyway, I would like to post some of the things I made from the library books which I borrowed.

First book is a cookbook for Chinese food.

It seems like he is a famous chef but I didn't know him but the food in the book looked great so I decided to borrow this book. 

The dishes I made from this book was "Cashew Chicken" and "Braised cabbage and garlic". (I am not sure if the name of dish is correct. I returned the book already and I don't remember exactly how it was names but it was something like this) 

Cashew chicken is something I see often at Chinese restaurant or take out places. I have eaten it before but I never thought about making it at home. I had Cashew at home so I tried this dish. 

It tasted great and my husband liked it also. The only thing was that I didn't measure the ingredients for the sauce when I was making it so it came out saltier than it should be.... 

The other dish I made from this book was "braised cabbage and garlic" 

I love savoy cabbage and this dish was great. I used homemade chicken stock so it was even better! Since cashew chicken was bit too salty, this cabbage dish balanced out the meal. 

The next book I borrowed was this one. 

I think many people know him since he is on TV quite often. I found a easy minestrone recipe in this book so I tried it. 

This was wonderful and easy. I used my homemade chicken stock for this soup also and it tasted awesome. I love my homemade chicken stock. If you are interested in making your chicken stock at home. Please click here and check out how I make my chicken stock.

The last dish is from a Japanese cook book or magazine or something. (I don't quite remember where I found this recipe). This is "Chicken and Cucumber stir fry". I never cooked cucumber before and when I saw this recipe, I wanted to give it a try since I always eat cucumber as salad. 

I liked this dish because cucumber has different texture when it is cooked and it is light dish which I don't feel guilty eating but it taste really good. 

Cooking cucumber was new idea for me and I like trying new recipes to expand my horizon. I think it is quite popular to cook cucumber in China. I think this is a great way to incorporate cucumber in your meal other than salad. 

Well, I hope everyone enjoying your days. I guess school is out for many kids and it is time to have fun! I love summer!!!