This has been on my mind for a while now ever since I began my balanced diet lifestyle but I’ve been too preoccupied to write it all down. So here it is, my experience with intermittent fasting and reasons it did not work.
I have been on many diets throughout my life – limited-calories diet, low fat diet, low sugar diet, and clean-eating-to-the-extreme diet – so intermittent fasting was just another diet to lose enough weight
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About two weeks ago, I posted the recipe for Coconut Cupcakes and promised to post the recipe for the frosting which is Coconut Silk Meringue Buttercream. Here it is, I hope you enjoy this super elaborate recipe from the Baking Bible. Continue reading “Recipe: Coconut Silk Meringue Buttercream” →
At the start of the week, my mom told me one of her co-workers was having a baby shower in the office and everyone was bringing treats. Since I’m at home, she had put me in charge of making treats. Continue reading “Coconut Cupcakes” →
Ever since I came back from China, I couldn’t stop thinking about all that delicious food and wishing I can have more of it. Continue reading “Super Soft (and Sweet) Milk Buns” →
I mentioned at the end of my previous post that I would be attempting Baked Mac n’ Cheese for the very first time Continue reading “Baked Mac n’ Cheese” →
中秋节快乐!-Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Continue reading “Happy Mid-Autumn Festival” →
Ah, at last, a photo challenge about food and boy oh boy, do I have something to share. Continue reading “Dinnertime” →
Every year, on Thanksgiving or Christmas, I get to use the kitchen to make something no other person in my family seem to know how to make. Continue reading “Me and My Pies” →
Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. Each year, this holiday is on different days, mostly because it is based on the Lunar calendar which runs differently than the Gregorian Calendar. On this night, we feast in open air while admiring the oversize full moon. Continue reading “中秋节快乐!-Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!” →
This is a close up on the Asian Pears so far. Hopefully, it will survive until harvest because we had quite a few broken branches lately due to high wind. I watched the weather report a few days and the weatherman said it’s supposed to rain in the upcoming week. Hopefully, that’s true. The weatherman hasn’t been very accurate lately.
It’s not even harvest yet and we’ve already had a loss of apples, branches snapping off due to wind and the weight. These are fairly recent but they grow fast, don’t they. I realize I’ve mostly just showing pictures of the berry bushes and not much of the apples or Asian Pear trees, so here it is.
Finally, here is a plate of blackberries from a few days ago. There have been two other batches since then. If the berry harvest continues, I think I will be super tired of berries by the end of the summer.
Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge – Close Up
So here are some pictures from the recent harvest of blackberries. I have a suspicion there is a lot to come.
My mom picked these. I told her to only pick the ones that are black as coal but she didn’t believe me. After all, what do I know? I’ve only been the sole harvester of blackberries for last three years or so.
“Whatever,” she said and popped a red one into her mouth.
“I told you,” I sighed as I watched her squeeze her eyes shut like she had just drunk a spoonful of apple cider vinegar. “The red ones are extremely sour.” I told her afterwards.
That’s why it’s called blackberries and not red berries because they are only sweet when it’s black. I think she had learned her lesson though, just like I learned mine back in 2012. I guess there’s always a first time for everything.
Here is a close-up on the blackberries bushes. It’s just a matter of time before these ripen and are ready to be picked.
There is! One ripened blackberry. They are sweet as sugar.
Just to give you a perspective of the amount of berries in the backyard. This is just a fraction. I thought after my aunt botched the pruning last fall, we would have less berries or none at all this year but instead, we have more. It is incredible.
Here are the watermelons my mom planted about two weeks back. Look at how much they’ve grown. Apparently, watermelons like heat and water. That’s probably why people love it so much in the summer. I am so looking forward to this harvest.
Finally, while the roses are taking a break, the dahlias are blooming in the front yard. Not a lot though, after all, we have just planted them last Summer. It’ll take a little time to grow. This flower has been around for about a week or two and that is already longer than the roses.
Today’s prompt asks: Tell us about times in which you linger — when you don’t want an event, or a day to end. What is it you love about these times? Why do you wish you could linger forever?
Continue reading “Linger over Breakfast” →
Today’s prompt asks: If a restaurant were to name something after you, what would it be? Describe it. (Bonus points if you give us a recipe!) Continue reading “My Favorite Muffin Recipe” →
Ever since my aunt and cousin left, the fridge has been mostly empty. We went from going grocery shopping every few days, which is crazy, to every two weeks or month, which is what we do now. Continue reading “What’s For Breakfast?” →
I peeked at my fridge this morning for a little breakfast, it’s practically empty except for the overwhelming amount of vegetables my mom bought on Saturday before coming home to hassle me to write her paper on Argentina for her. Essentially, I am out of breakfast. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – B for Breakfast” →
I’ve been itching to write this post all afternoon. Honestly, I thought I would’ve gotten home like more than two hours ago but no, my orthodontist decided to make me wait. So I was sitting in the hallway outside his office for more than an hour before he called me in. Also, the traffic hadn’t been cooperating the entire day today. I wonder what’s going on that is making everyone go out today.
Anyway, oh yeah, this post. Now, I don’t usually write about recipes and food on here since my mom never really lets me cook anything but she’s gone until Saturday night. So I’m on my own. 🙂 Today, I came home early and had no idea what to eat for lunch. Noodles, vegetable, and meat was getting boring. So I made myself this…
Looks good, huh? It is ham omelette with a side of asparagus. It’s not exactly call lunch but I have to get rid of the eggs and asparagus as per my mom’s request. What else can I do?You know I hate to waste food.
So these are the ingredients…
Here’s how to make it: (please note, I’m not a professional chef and I’m clumsy when it comes to cooking but I still like it)
1. Crack the eggs in a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and beat it like you would if you’re making scramble eggs or omelette. Place it aside.
2. I took 8 asparagus spears out of the bunch. Like I said, it depends on the number you’re serving and how much you want. I cut away the end and split into two. Oh, and don’t forget to wash the asparagus before cooking.
3. That is about a third of a block of luncheon meat that I just cut away. I will reserve the rest for later. Again, it depends on how much you want. I was very hungry so a third of a block it is. You can wrap the rest in a plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for later like this but do eat it within 24 hours.
4. Dice the meat. My dicing is not exactly perfect. I’m still trying to overcome my fear of knives after what happened to me. Anyway, dice to the best of your abilities.
5. Add a few drizzles of oil and put in the asparagus. Then add a tiny bit of water, enough to fill the bottom of the pan along with a pinch of salt to taste, like in the picture. In a different skillet, grease the skillet with cooking spray and add in the eggs along with the luncheon meat. I don’t know what’s going on with my camera, all my pictures are coming out weird and blurry today.
6. Place a lid on the asparagus and let it steam on high for about 5 minutes or until it’s tender. Turn the heat to medium for the eggs and when the sides begin to curl, fold it in half like a taco. When it’s ready, flip the eggs and let it cook until it’s no longer watery. Then plate and serve. Enjoy. 🙂
Are you hungry?
I made a pumpkin pie yesterday! It’s the first one I made in 4 years. Read about it to see how it turned out! It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
So on Tuesday night, my mother came home announcing her office at work was having some kind of get-together on Thursday and they had asked her to bring something. She didn’t know what until she got home. A pie, she insisted. But where can she get it? She didn’t want to drive 20 miles to Costco. So instead, she requested me to make one.
Fine, one Pumpkin Pie pronto.
We took a trip to the commissary up at the Air Force Base and gathered the ingredients.
Yesterday, during my small break in between work, I went into chef mode and worked on the pie. The last pumpkin pie I made was more than four years ago, Thanksgiving eve, 2010, when a blizzard hit and I was snowed-in from school. My attempt…
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I have three favorite drinks but I don’t have a signature drink. I tried to replicate my favorite drinks a few times to tweak it to make it my own but it was never successful. I guess I don’t have a gift for making drinks. Either that or you can only make it using professional grade blender and not my cheap $20 blender.
I should probably tell about my favorite drinks and why I can’t replicate them. My ultimate top of the list drink is the Boba milk tea. I’ve only had it twice, once in China and once in Oakland, California. I tell you, it is the best thing I have ever drunk. I will never forget it. I have never seen the process in making this delicious drink but my mom has when she worked in a restaurant. She told me it involves a lot of hard work to get that tapioca just right and you need special machine to do it. Also the calories for this drink happens to be horrendous, so I don’t want to drink too much.
My next favorite drink is milkshake. I think everybody knows what is in a milkshake, ice cream and milk blended together in creamy goodness. I first fell in love with this drink when my step-grandmother bought it for me at Burger King. It instantly became my favorite drink, that is before I rediscovered the deliciousness of Boba. Then every Sunday, right after church when my step-grandparents, step-dad, and I go to Burger King to get our usual Sunday meal (me, fish sandwich), I would also order a milkshake.
The hazard of milkshake, though, is the calories. After I learned the enormous calories and my eyes popped open at the number, I quit drinking it but it remained as one of my favorite drinks. I tried to make it a few times but it was a big failure because it turns out, it doesn’t work if there are nuts in the ice cream and that is the only kind my mom buys.
Last but not least, fruit smoothie. I consider this drink to be the healthy alternative to the milkshake. It’s got fruit. It’s got yogurt. It’s got juice. My favorite place to get smoothie is Ben and Jerry. Yes, the ice cream shop but their signature smoothies are out of this world. I made it myself a couple times but it was so watery and everything tasted wrong. Don’t get me started about mom’s smoothie. She doesn’t like cold drinks so she uses room temperature water instead of juice. Room temperature water, yuck. Plus she puts all kinds of weird things in there that I can’t even mention on here.
Although I am regularly on some kind of diet, I still do like to enjoy some of my favorite drinks once in a while.
“There is no such thing as too much.” My step-dad told me long ago when I apologized for putting too much blueberry in my muffins. It might be true in this case but it may not be for other scenarios. Sometimes, too much of one thing over another might just form an unlikely pair.
In the recent years, my mom has developed a craving for coconuts. She puts it on everything she bakes, cakes, muffins, you name it. The thing is, this isn’t sprinkle on top kind of thing. She dumps half pound of shredded coconut into the bowl for 12 muffins. It’s ridiculous! It’s too much! Some 20 minutes later, the muffins come out, I take one bite. It’s over-sweetened and it’s like eating shreds of paper because of too much coconut. It almost made me develop a fear for coconut.
Another food pair mom has developed in the recent years is vinegar and potatoes. She 
cuts the potatoes into sticks and marinades it in vinegar before stir-frying it under high heat. This wasn’t so awful when I made it. The problem with mom’s version is she douses the potatoes in too much vinegar and not enough salt and sugar, making the end result taste like hot pickle. Yuck. Sour food, that is the last thing I need to eat for dinner.
That’s probably why I prefer to cook the meals myself because I happen to care about proportions unlike mom. When I cook, I make sure that each ingredient is balanced and not one ingredient is over-powering the other. That’s the way to cook, isn’t it?
Everyone has probably been to a Chinese restaurant or got a glimpse of how Chinese people eat through watching movie, TV shows, etc., right? Continue reading “Weird Chinese Dinner Table Rules” →
As I sieved through old posts looking for inspiration for today’s post, I came across this one draft that I’ve never managed to finish. But the way, this post was originally started on February 3, 2013. As usual then, it was a spur of moment thing, feeling of anger and annoyance. Continue reading “The Problems with Baking” →
My mom loves ham and all sorts of other meats. When I first arrived in the United States and was in a car the very next day driving two days to my grandparents in Texas. Continue reading “8 pounds of ham and a whole lot of toothache” →
Whenever my mother has the opportunity to go to Los Angeles, San Francisco, or even Washington, D.C. whether on vacation or business trips, she often would come home with plentiful of traditional Chinese Food Ingredients that she may or may not use. Continue reading “Interesting yet confusing Chinese food ingredient names” →
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