Leftovers and Dumplings

There's nothing I love more than the sight of brightly colored foods, and I'm always treated to that whenever my parents come over to visit.

Here we have stir-fried julienned carrots with chicken, julienned potatoes, purple cabbage and stir-fried palm vegetable (forgot the name).

This kind of food goes down nicely with rice.

And there's no reason to not indulge because it's mostly all healthy. That's probably why we never got fat when we grew up.

The next day we made some dumplings. Now just to let you know our family is a bit of a dumpling snob, because we used to make it every Sunday (when most families hit the diner to McD's for their Sunday brunch).

We like our dumplings handmade, from the dough to the innards, using nothing but the finest ingredients. This one is made with seafood, eggs and dill.

I still haven't learned how to make the dough from scratch, probably because I don't know how to use the rolling pin ><

 

But hopefully one day I'll be able to turn raw ingredients into this plate full of delishness:

 

Just a note about boiling the dumplings, you have to actually "boil" it three times for the perfect consistency and chew. First fill up your pot with water just barely covering the dumplings. When the water comes to a boil, drop in the dumpling, one at a time, giving the water a swirl counterclockwise as you do it. Then when the water comes to the second boil, add more water and more dumplings. Continue to do so for another boiling.

The next day we had some simple leftovers. The one on the top right is called 8-treasure rice, a mixture of glutinous rice with cranberries and dates.

Then one of the weekends Hubby made this crockpot chicken with a pre-mixed Moroccan chicken mix. It was surprisingly pretty but, albeit a little greasy.

Just a side note: make sure you have enough people to finish the chicken, because we made one pot and couldn't finish it until a week later.

Homecooked Goodness

So after getting home from the culinary heaven that was our vacation, we landed ourselves back in the thick and thin of things, starting with leftovers in the fridge.

Thankfully, there wasn't very much leftovers in the fridge, so we made some congee from whatever rice that was leftover (note the cute monkey spoon I got in California).

And some honey mint tea with the homegrown mint:

Look at that floating loveliness...

And I have to say that even though the cocktails at the resort were nothing sort of amazing, it still pales in comparison to the simple taste of mint.

I also cooked up some breakfast with the chives in the backyard (hubby didn't like it but I insisted on some "vegetables" in the eggs). The pancakes are from a mix, and Hubby complained it was too thick (roll eyes).

I on the other hand settled from some cereal (I really missed the crunchy goodness of colorful flakes and cinnamon-ma-bobbers!)

 

Then for lunch I settled for some congee, homecooked burdock and a colorful plate of sweet bell peppers and bulgogi (store-bought marinated beef). The thing on the top right-hand side is spicy squid, which I also whipped up myself.

 



 

For dinner, I settled on some braised tofu and mushrooms. To get it right this time, I actually googled a recipe as well as yes, how to cut the tofu so it's perfect for this dish.

 



 

So apparently, you're supposed to half it then cut it again into four long blocks, then for each block make 4 cuts to create 10 pieces each. In the meantime, soak some mushrooms in water to expand the meat of the mushroom.

 



 

Once that's done, throw everything into a pan, along with some green onions. Cook on medium-high for about 3 minutes.

Then create a semi-glutinous mixture of soy sauce, corn starch, rice vinegar, salt and sugar (and a dash of spice if you'd like) and leave it there to cook on medium-high.

 

You want to cook until most of the juice has been absorbed by the tofu. This makes the tofu both firm and juicy, exactly how Hubby likes his tofu. I dropped some goji berries in to add some color and nutrients to this meat-like dish.

 



 

In fact, he liked it so much he ate the whole thing, leaving none for me to even try. And that's okay, as long as he does the dishes.

 

Welcome Back...to Sweet Potatoes

On our last day at the resort, Hubby and I woke up early to grab brekky, then waited around in the lobby for our cab. I was actually amazed at their punctual service up until our last day, because everything seemed quite orderly. Somehow on the last day, the cab that was supposed to show up at 10:30 came at 11am. I guess their cabs still run on vacation-time.

So I took the time and liberty to snap a few last photos of our picturesque resort, including the flowers and leaves that amazingly seem to even line up beautifully.

If I ever built a house/hut, I would want to to look exactly like this:

We got to the airport still about 2 hours early, so we wandered around the duty free shops amongst all the American tourists. The prices there are still pretty steep - the only thing I could afford was a bottle of vanilla, but even that was $5. 

So I was pretty glad that I had this banana (and various other assortment of fruits) with me on the plane. We'd swiped it off the tree from the spa, and I left it inside the ice bucket for the duration of the week so it would ripen. I ate it on the plane, and it was probably the best small banana I've ever had. It was tart yet starchy, just the right combination of banana-ness for me.

After we got home, we made some ramen, just about the only thing we had left in the cupboard. I almost forgot how to make it lol. Compared to the food at the resort, this was definitely something from different realm.

The next week it was back to domestic living. Hubby got off work early one day, and I made him some eggs n tomatoes, along with a cucumber, orange pepper and Korean seafood sausage stirfry. It was pretty yummy for the most part, except he complained that the sausage wasn't cooked still. So I had to go back to fry it again.

Three Color Stirfry

I also reheated some pita bread, which went well the eggs n tomatoes to soak up the juices.

I also popped some sweet potatoes in the oven to make sweet potato fries. It was pretty difficult to cut these babies, so I didn't manage to get it out on time. But it provided for a sweet ending to the meal.

Sweet Potato Fries

Good Morning

Food is about memories, it's about who we are as a people. Some would even say that it defines a civilization. It's also our way to channel out all our negative thoughts, daily stress, and pains from broken hearts. 

For me, food is life. Looking back now at this wonderful breakfast spread we had during our vacation, I can't help but reminisce the good times in a land free of worries from everyday life. I also wonder if I can bring that back to my daily life, that is, life at home. 

Enough of my ramblings, onto memories of a splendid breakfast. I woke up that morning feeling slightly groggy but happy to begin another day in paradise (but also dreading that the day would be over soon and I'd be sent back to reality before I knew it).

Detox Juice: Peach, Orange, Strawberry and Grapes

I started with some detoxing juice to cleanse the system from the previous night's hefty Mexican dinner - it's a fruity concoction filled with nutrients and vitamins. Actually, it's really just full of fruit juices that hits the spot because of its tangy sweetness.

  

Citric Plate - Grilled Grapefruit with Orange and Tangerine

Then I decided to go a bit healthier with a lighter fruit menu consisting of mandarin oranges and grapefruits, drizzled with honey.

Fruits and Pastry Creme Crepes with Whipped Cream and Nuts

I got the fruits and cream crepes with a side of Calabrese potatoes. I didn't know what they were until I bit into them - essentially pan-roasted potatoes infused with flavor, kind of like spiked up hash browns. The crepes themselves were delectable - a hot, gooey mess of soft deliciousness. Surprisingly, they hold up pretty well, so when you bite into them they don't break up like some other crepes.

Hubby got the egg benedictine with a side of sausage and hash browns. The hash browns dimmed greatly in comparison to my Calabrese. But now, my breakfast of Kellogg granola flakes dim greatly in comparison to that. So I guess in life, everything is relative after all.

Avocado!

Whether in a salad or with nachos, avocado is one of my soul foods. It's rich, filling and sinfully nutritious with amino acids and beneficial fibers. But as a dessert? Would never even think of it.

Recently, a friend of mine recommended me to try avocado milk. Unfortunately, its mere concept disgusted me. I did however find a way to incorporate it as my favorite part of the meal - dessert. And once I tasted it, I was a believer. Here's how you can make the best tasting avocado smoothie.

Best Tasting Summer Smoothie

I love summer. Every part of it - sun-tanning during lunch break, diving into the ocean, neighborhood BBQ porch parties, and even its (stinking) hot heat. That's why I invented this recipe to keep a bit of summer with me everyday. 

Top 5 Summer Fruits

Summer is a great time to indulge in fruits and desserts. Be sure that these fruits are part of your summer diet!

Healthy Treats

For healthy treats in the summer, you can't beat these:

Grass jelly pudding - a healthy concoction of grass jelly in a jellified form. It tastes like sweetened herb jello, which granted it is. Not bad for the price ($0.75/can) and taste (sweet but medicinal like).

This is the type of thing you'd be grossed out at first, but end up liking it because of its subtle and very healthy taste. It's a cooling thing in Chinese medicine to reduce inflammation or fevers.

Another big healthy treat is...

Lice - I mean rice - milk. Organic rice milk that is. Kirkland organic rice milk to be exact. This is the stuff that my parents buy by the cartons at Costco, and they gave me one to I guess to get more nutrients in my otherwise junkfood diet.

This one tastes just like watery milk, except without the milkiness. So I guess it tastes like water, but with a subtle hint of rice. It's pretty good I guess for the amount of nutrients (I'm assuming it's a lot). But I would really love to try making my own next time.

Secret to Crispy Wedges...Revealed!

Are you ready for this?

























Nah, I don't think you are.






















How about now?


















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Here is the secret recipe for crispy potato wedges that you will be making again and again and again!