Welcoming in the Year of the Ox

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year. The biggest event of any Chinese New Year's Eve is the reunion dinner every family will have. So not forgetting this tradition, we had a little feast and invited the family over. We were also fortunate to have our friends, Selena and Phillip, over for the weekend.

It is also believed that the color red is commonly worn during Chinese New Year because red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. So here we are in red...


Here are other beliefs :

For Good luck

• Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year. (It's going to be really cold tonight)
  
• Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year. (maybe the night light counts)
  
• Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year. (chocolates are sweet. So that counts)
  
• It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (however, cleaning the house on or after New Year's Day is frowned upon)(Hmm... I tried. But the house is never completely clean, but I can be sure I won't be cleaning tomorrow :))
  
• Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Chinese people will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity. (so I should play poker on Facebook?)
  
• Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you. (Check. Yes, I am wearing one. So stop gossiping about me you people)
  
• The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year. (Would showering in handmade soap that smells like pomelo work?)
  

Kong Hee Fatt Choy!!!

Chocolate cake in 5 minutes

For emergency purposes :
http://www.dizzy-dee.com/recipe/chocolate-cake-in-5-minutes

I'd use the quiche dish instead of a mug. And if you have a torch, you can probably make a creme brulee.

Too many lemons in the fridge

I have atleast 12 lemons leftover from the cleanse. We bought enough for two of us plus I thought I was going to do ten days of cleanse.

So I'm trying to use them up. I know I could just squeeze them all and make a pitcher of lemonade, but nah.. tired of that lemon drink.
Yesterday, I made a baked tuna lemon penne pasta.

Today, its lemon pudding cake baked in a crockpot.
Recipe will be posted here.

I'll give some away to the neighbors and put some lemons in the basket too :)

claypot chicken rice

I haven't had any real meals in awhile. The husband has been under the weather lately (allergies) and wasn't up to eating anything except junk food (fast food, pizzas, biscuits, microwavable meals). Cooking a meal for one person (me) just isn't worth it. But there is only so much junk food a person can take.

So no more junk today. I made some claypot chicken rice (using our wonderful rice cooker).

Recipe posted here.

Blowing in the wind

The weather is starting to warm up and I'm looking forward to spring. Sunshine and flowers and warm weather is much needed to drive away the doldrums.

Everyone in my department wanted to go out for lunch today. Some of us rode in my boss' car and she had the top to her convertible down. Despite what you see in movies, your hair will NOT blow in one direction in a convertible. Aside from being unattractive, hair whipping in your face can be painful.
I wonder if there's such thing as a "convertible proof" hairspray. I was also paranoid that a bird would shit on me. Nevertheless, it was a cool ride.

But the Mexican food we had for lunch... well, that wasn't so cool. It's just funny why they even bother putting pictures of each item in their menu. Every dish looked the same. Meat, beans, rice and cheese in one mushy pile.

It's all about food again

Took Fiona and James to the Chinese restaurant at the Asian Mall for some Dim Sum. On weekends, they have carts of Dim Sum going around the tables and you can just pick your choice. We all stuffed ourselves. Yumm!!

Then we took a drive to North Davidson (NODA) and walked around and checked out some of the artsy stores. Stopped at Smelly Cat cafe for some frappes, coffee and smoothies.

For dinner, we rode the LYNX to uptown Charlotte and had some Irish food at Ri Ra's. Jason and I shared the Boxty Shepherd's pie which was some crepe + Shepherd's pie and long beans. The chips and curry was also pretty good. We cleaned our plates and proceeded upstairs for some live music but we left shortly after. I think we were all tired out.

Happy Easter

It's been awhile since I made something for the neighbors. So since it's Easter, I thought it'd be a good time to give everyone something. I made some Pecan cupcakes and decorated them with carrots. The carrots were molded out of Starburst fruit chews (featured in last month's Woman's Day magazine). I got tired of "making" so many carrots so Jason came up with his brilliant idea of using white chocolate bits and mixing colors and turning them into carrots. I now have a lot of extra chocolate carrots. Anyone care for some?


And I just finished making a Easter Brownie cake for the Easter brunch on Sunday.

Peanut pancake

I had to fix my craving. So I attempted to make the Peanut pancake (or Ban Kian Kuih) which is commonly sold at the night markets in Malaysia.
Thanks to Lily Wai Sek Hong's blog, I found this recipe.

I omitted the lye water (potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution) and substituted it with water and white vinegar, and added brown sugar to the ingredients. The brown sugar is acidic and the alkaline in the baking soda needs this to react and neutralize.
I did not achieve the "honeycomb" effect. Next time, I will try and add more baking soda.

Will add this recipe into our laksaware recipe blog for easy future reference.

Cornflakes Butter Cookies

One of the traditions during Chinese New Year is baking cookies. My mom and me would usually spend days baking a variety of cookies to distribute to friends and family and to serve guests when they come over for visits during the festive season.
I am going to try and preserve this tradition.
Today I made some cornflakes butter cookies. Since we didn't have any cornflakes, I substituted it with the almond flakes cereal.
Jason says it tastes like Pecan Sandies.

Here's the recipe :

Beat butter (2 sticks) and sugar (3/4 cup) till white and fluffy
Add one egg and continue to beat.
Fold in flour (3 3/4 cups).
Add cornflakes (1 cup)
Roll into tiny balls and place onto greased baking sheet.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes in 350F.

Makes about 60 cookies.

Thanksgiving prep

Thought I'll just share the recipe of this Strawberry Pretzel Salad that I've been requested to make for tomorrow.

Crust : 2 cups crushed pretzels, 3/4 cup butter (melted), 4 tablespoons sugar.
Mix together and press onto a 13x9" dish
Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes
Remove from oven and cool.

Next layer : 8 oz softened cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, 8 oz (1 tub) cool whip
Whip together and fold in cool whip
Spread over cooled pretzel crust

Next layer : 6 oz package strawberry jello, 2 cups boiling water
Mix together until jello dissolves.
Add 20 oz of slightly thawed frozen sliced strawberries and mix until mixture is cooled.
Pour evenly over cream cheese mixture.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Good food, Good company

Our neighbors invited us over for a German dinner tonite. They made some bierocks (German Meat Turnovers), zuchini bread and some good homemade sunlight tea (brewed in the sun).
Jason and I brought over some mutant chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that we quickly whipped up in the nick of time after he got home from work (and because the bakery was closed today)
Bierocks are sort of like the German version of a cornish pastry and is very common among the Volga German community.

Dinner was good. We really enjoyed it.

Oh, and they named their breakfast area the "Bernadette room" because the furniture was Made in Malaysia. So I have a room named after me :)

The rules of the Fridge

The rules :
The last person who finishes something from the fridge (or the pantry) has to press the panic button and write the item down on the notepad that is stuck on the fridge. So that item can be replenished when we go to the grocery store next.

Unfortunately, that rule is never obeyed.

I had to make my Amish bread last night. The directions specified you have to make the bread on the 10th day. I fear if I did not, it would explode or the yeast would multiply into this gargantuan mass of fungi blubber that would take over the entire household. So I mixed in 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of ... wait!! where's the bottle of milk in the fridge???
Honey, did you finish the milk??

Fuming, I rushed to the grocery store and got back in time for American Idol. (Will someone please tell LaKisha to stop shouting when she sings?)

So now I have a gallon of milk.

I decided to add some apples, quinoa, flaxseed and nuts into my Amish bread. I knew I had a can of mixed nuts sitting in the pantry and I was saving it for this bread. But no, tonight everything decides to vanish. And the husband said he doesn't remember eating it. I guess we'll just blame it on Trouble... or the mysterious pantry thief.

My First Cookie contest

I spent all night baking pineapple cookies. All 50 of them and trying to stop the husband from eating them.
This morning I took 24 of those cookies to the Matthews Farmers Market for the Matthews Community Farmers' Market Prizewinning Cookie Contest. There were 25 contestants and I was almost salivating looking at all those yummy delicious cookies.
I didn't win but I made it to the top five! I am pretty pleased with myself because the only ever cookies I have ever baked were those ready-made Pilsbury or Nestle Toll House cookies.
The Creme De Menthe Chocolate cookie won. That was the best cookie I have ever tasted! Yumm!!

Judging time...

Bowled over bananas

Had a little Superbowl party over at my in-law's with the family yesterday. We fried some wantons and chicken wings and brought it over. We also made some extras and a quiche for our neighbors, RC & Betty.
Superbowl parties is a time when we gather infront of the TV and just eat all afternoon and evening, and cheer your favorite football team on. We started off with chips, celery, carrots and guacomole dips and the wantons. Then we brought out the fried chicken wings. And then it was chilli and some spicy meatball spinach soup. And then the best part... dessert!! The chocolate fondue! Never guessed that banana dipped in melted chocolate beats marshmallows anytime!!
I, ofcourse, spent most part of the evening eating and watching the commercials on TV. The Budweiser ads are just too funny.

Kids N such

My nephew had his first Christmas concert yesterday. All of us went to see the boy in action. I spotted him right away in the second row with a reindeer hat. The song started. The boy would not sing. Instead, he gave a big yawn, dug his hands into his pockets and took out a piece of tissue to wipe his nose. Then yawned again.
Another song started, and he still would not open his mouth. And he yawned again.
Then, the kids were given some instruments. Cooper got drums. And he happily played away.

Jason brought home some Christmas goodies from work too. His boss had made some gingerbread cookies, cranberry cookies and pinwheels. That's the prettiest ever gingerbread cookie I've ever seen!!

Baking a pie and checking it twice

I am making an oooey goooey dark Chocolate Pie for Thanksgiving this year. I made a trial one on Sunday and it turned out edible. (Surprise, surprise)
After my attempt with a Cheesecake last year, I have prepared myself for whatever fate bestows upon me.
Since everyone seemed to like the pie on Sunday, I feel a little more confident now. I am trying out a different recipe for the meringue this time. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't sink.
........... I just timed myself. Took me 2.5 hours to make this pie and to wash up everything. Hmm.. think I'll make something simpler next year.

Crepes I shall dream tonight

Little did I know that I would be standing 3 straight hours in the kitchen making 48 tiny crepe quiche lorraines this evening. Quiches that Jason will bring to his Halloween breakfast party at work tomorrow morning, along with his pumpkin. I'm glad my mom is here to help me, because making tiny crepes takes up so much time. After the crepes were done, I placed them into tiny muffin molds and filled it with the egg batter, bacon, hard boiled eggs and cheese, and baked them. Batch by batch. by.batch. (because I only have one darn silicon muffin tray).
All said, I still enjoy being married to my wonderful husband. The same man who said the quiches were only "quite nice". He is right now watching his football game with my dad.

Brunswick Stew Weekend

We spent the Saturday over at my in-law's place for Brunswick Stew. Family members came from as far as Ohio (and Malaysia, if you count my parents) for the weekend. It was nice to meet almost the entire family for this annual tradition.

The original Brunswick Stew, according to Brunswick County historians, was created in 1828 by black chef, "Uncle" Jimmy Matthews. As the story goes, Dr. Creed Haskins, of Mount Donum on the Nottoway River and a member of the Virginia State Legislature for a number of years, took several friends on a hunting expedition. While the group hunted, Jimmy Matthews, Dr. Haskin's camp cook, hunted squirrel for the evening meal. Matthews slowly stewed the squirrels with butter, onions, stale bread and seasoning in a large iron pot for many hours. While the hunting party returned they were reluctant to try the new, thick concoction but, one taste convinced them to ask for more.

Since that time, Brunswick Stew has been prepared by many different stew masters and they continue to produce large batches of the "Virginia ambrosia" for church functions, local fund raisers, family reunions, and political rallies.

Brunswick stew is now most commonly made with chicken, or a combination of several meats, which might include rabbit, beef, and pork. Onions, corn, and tomatoes are usually included, and many recipes call for lima beans, peas, and/or okra.

Malaysian Food in Charlotte?

We had a pleasant discovery on Saturday. Jason suggested we stop by Tin Tin Buffet for lunch on our way to Pineville. This is not a typical Chinese restaurant serving carbohydrate-laden lo mein and moo shu pork loaded with MSG and sugar. They have a sumptuous buffet and I was surprised to find so many Malaysian dishes. Not just any regular made-for-Asian-restaurant dishes, but stuff that you can actually find in the "Pasar malams" (night markets) and hawker stalls. I was ecstatic !! There were peanut pancakes which you find in Pasar Malams for RM0.60,Yau Char Kuih with congee, Char Kuay Teow, assorted Dim Sums, egg tarts,chicken feet (which I still haven't acquired a taste for),satay, curry mee, roti canai, steamed fish ,etc.. Eventhough I was still feeling a little under the weather, it did not stop me from stuffing my tummy to satisfy all those almost-forgotten cravings. Now, if only they had "nasi lemak", I'd be in seventh heaven!