[Lunar New Year Celebration]

Today is the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year. Had the guests over (just the in-laws and the brother's family) on Saturday, which was the new year's eve, for a family dinner together (a Lunar New Year tradition).

Original plan for Saturday was to get up early, something like 8am, to get things rolling. But but but ... we didn't go to bed until around 4am the night before so I snoozed until around 9am. Hubby went to pick up the car from the garage and me at home prepared to get sweaty and dirty in the kitchen. Listed and priotized what tasks to do in the am and what to be done just before the guests arrive. Everything went according to plan (phew~~~)... until ... the phone rang (~1:45pm)... it was the brother asking if it's ok that they come an hour early.

%*&!$#(*&_^@ WHAT??? Coming AN HOUR early? That means they'll be here at around 3pm instead of 4pm (on the invitation). Mannn... I'm truly not impressed. There's nothing I can do about it, but I'm not impressed!! It's easier for them to decide to come an hour early but have they thought of with their early arrival, the hosts will have to keep them entertained instead of being able to get things ready as what hosts planned to do mostly??!!

So, for the next hour or so I was scrambling and tumbling in the kitchen. I started complaining to the hubby about their punctuality manner - - - arriving an hour early messed up my schedule of what to do first/later and when to do them. He tried to calm me down as I was getting antsy and agitated, he said:

"I told them it's ok to come early, but I didn't say I'm going to let them in straightaway."
"Look... it's totally their right and freedom to come early, yet it's our right and decision whether to let them in."

Hahahahahahahaha...

Conclusions:
- Yes, the guests did arrive early and no, we didn't let them out in the cold. It'd be rude!! >!<
- Snacks & Starter and dinner were served on time, and went well in our perspective. ^.^
- Only one little imperfection tho', one of the couples were giving each other cold looks throughout the entire gathering. "_"
- Other than that ... everybody had a great time celebrating the arrival of a lunar new year! ^m^

[過年嘍之除夕夜]

這是除夕夜那天客人來之前頭家準備給大家聊天﹑打麻將﹑打電玩時塞牙縫的零食.
左圖的那束紅玫瑰花是頭家送的. =))
同在左圖的遙遠的咖啡桌上的鬱金香也是頭家送的.

[過年嘍之辦年貨]

看!! 不少好吃的點心吧!?
這啊都要歸功于我頭家. 他是我 officially appointed 的零食採購長. 大爺他買零食的功力還真不是蓋的 - - - 連我這個零食女皇都汗顏, 唉...

他哦就是可以選購一些很特別又很好吃的東東. 自從發現了他這個天份後, 現在凡我們去逛超市我都點名他去零食/餅乾部採購, 然後我則去買我的魚菜肉 .

圖解:
左: 既精美又很好吃的酥餅. 頭家選了牧草酥 (左) 和 鳳梨酥 (右). 本來買這兩盒, 一盒是要送禮的可是因為他老婆我很喜歡那個盒子所以就只好都留著自己吃.

右: 年貨點心 ... 這只是其中的 2/3 而已. 這裡面有: 芥末味的海苔卷﹑麻 (草頭) 佬(米邊)﹑海苔跟原味煎餅﹑日式 mix rice cracker (兩種), 麥香夾心酥, 巧果 ... 啊, 幸福啊!

[Can I wear this to bed too?]

pic src: http://www.tennisaustralia.com.au

Yes this is what Miss Sharapova wore in court (played compatriot Petrova on Jan 24 and Henin-Hardenne on Jan 26) at the Australian Open.

This is probably one of the ugliest tennis dress I've ever seen!!! YEAP! Even uglier than what the Williams sisters wear in court. I couldn't make up exactly what the dress is - - - is it a tennis dress? or a dance gown? For some reason, I keep on seeing Elizabeth Bennet (in Pride and Prejudice mini-series by BBC, played by Jennifer Ehle) everytime the camera focused on her. Except, Sharapova's tennis dress is: 1) a lot shorter and 2) has spaghetti strings instead of the short/long sleeves that Elizabeth Bennet wore.

When I asked my husband what he sees in Sharapova's tennis dress. He said it looks like one of the nighties I wear to bed. Hooo Hooo Hooo ... now that's a bit harsh!! He said, maybe she hit the snooze button that morning and slept in. Didn't realized about the time and had to rush out to the court without changing into "something more appropriate".

Personally, I couldn't stand watching (or listening to) Sharapova plays, the noise that she makes is just pure irritating! My husband (the harsh Sharapova critic) said watching her plays is like watching a porn movie - the revealing dress and the yelling/screaming she makes everytime she hits the ball are perfect ingredients for porn movie!!


The one on the front left is Elizabeth Bennet.
img src:http://orion.it.luc.edu/

[Coming Attraction: 年夜飯]

啊... 再過幾天就是農曆除夕夜嘍. 今年我們一早就跟大家約了今年來我們家圍桌吃年夜飯. 這將是第一次跟大家一起過年﹑一起吃年夜飯 ... 所以說真的也不曉得到時會是怎麼一番情景. 只能 hope for the best 吧, 我想.

So... 為了準備 8 個人的餐點﹐ 我於三個多星期前就開始籌劃下個禮拜六的年夜飯. 因為頭家的弟弟吃素再加上有兩個小朋友的關係, 餐點方面就要顧及素食跟 kids-friendly 的菜餚. 目前計劃好要做的菜是 2 道餐前小點 + 6 道主菜 + 1 道甜點. 總共9道, 長長 9 9, 嗯... 不錯先討個好兆頭!! =)


這是頭家寫賀卡給他的 in-laws (就是我爸媽﹑哥嫂和姪兒女) 時拍的.

[Coffee & Chocolates]

My beloved milk chocolate coffee beans!!

This is for those who enjoy coffee (or addicted to coffee, rather) and love chocolates (or chocoholic, =)) ! I used to buy and eat this very often - - - the chocolate coated coffee beans (whole bean, mind you) when I lived in NZ. Can buy them at the regular supermarket. But after searching high and low, I haven't seen anything like this here in the States. Quite disappointing, really!

Then, one day when we're out grocery shopping at our local supermarket, I saw this little boxes labelled "Milk Chocolates Coffee Beans" I knew straightaway it's what I've been looking for. I can't remember the exact price, but I think it's somewhere around $3. If you enjoy coffee as much as chocolates, you really should try this. It is really really NICE!!

[OK 棒棒指]

嗯... 這是前兩天刨薑的時候被那不長眼的刀子割傷的. 還好傷口不大, 不過蠻深的就是了. 割傷了就自己乖乖的貼了 OK 棒後又繼續做菜. 吃飯的時候我就獻寶式的亮起我的左手給頭家看 ...


厚! 他看了一眼後就叫說:
"啊... 怎麼了? 是誰? 是誰傷了我二員大將?"

天啊... 他當時的表情說有多耍寶就有多耍寶, 讓我差一點笑到滾到地上去. 哎, 可惜沒及時把它錄影起來. =((

認識我的人看到我貼滿 OK 棒的手指都已不足為奇了 ... 不認識或認識不深的看了可能會以為我有自虐的傾向 - - - 有事沒事往自己的手指割著玩.

記得有一次跟一個朋友見面, 她一看到我手上貼了三張 OK棒就很緊張的問我怎麼了. 我笑笑跟她說是不小心割到的. 看她的表情似不怎麼相信這個回覆 ... 又追問是怎麼割傷的. 頭家當時也 有在場, 她問這問題的時候有看了一下下頭家 ... 給我的感覺是好像她 somehow 在懷疑是被頭家弄傷的. 急得我趕快解釋說是我自己在做菜的時候割到的 ... 說一說之後她 (看起來) 疑心才慢慢的消掉. 唉 ... 我想可能因為美國這裡家暴頻繁的程度導致成大家都杯弓蛇影的心態吧.

還有一次, 因為割傷了中指貼了 OK棒後手指的上半段不能彎曲, 還被朋友笑說我見人就比中指.
還有一個朋友更絕, 叫我開車時要記得把中指收好別讓隔壁或迎面而來的車子看到, 要不然人家會以為我對著他們比中指咧. 厚!!

[甜酒雞]

這是上上個星期煮來禦寒的甜酒雞. 超級容易做!

材料:
雞腿 或 全雞
米酒
糯米酒
麻油, 少許
鹽巴, 少許
薑片
花菇
金針菜
杞子
*米酒跟糯米酒的比例是 1:2

做法:

1. 雞肉洗淨後加米酒﹑糯米酒﹑麻油﹑鹽巴﹑薑片醃 2 ﹑3 個小時.
2. 將花菇﹑金針菜和杞子用溫水泡軟. 置一旁.
3. 用大火蒸 30 ~ 45分鐘後即可上桌.
4. 那甜酒湯淋飯很香哦!

(note:金針菜最好能先用溫開水泡30分鐘，再入沸水中汆燙1分鐘，濾乾後再行煮食)

[Miss Aubergine]

Eggplant or aubergine (more commonly called in Europe) is now officially my husband's fav vegie. But ... according to answers.com, tho' commonly thought of as a vegie, eggplant/aubergine is actually a fruit (a berry, specifically). Ummm... vegie or fruit, my husband just loooves eggplant dishes these days!!


This is the eggplant/aubergine dish I made that he begins to, helplessly, fall in love with Miss Aubergine (Mmmm... I think Miss Aubergine sounds better and more feminine than Miss Eggplant =)). I made the same dish again 2wks ago ... without any surprises, Miss Aubergine received the same reception from my husband like the first time they met - full attention & attraction, tender, loving, care ... ahhh... my eyes were turning greener and greener that they can spike anything or anyone for that matter with the green ray!!

HOLD ON!!! Something is not right here!! Why the heck am I envy a vegie (or fruit rather) for? I'm not that desperate, am I? Am I?

OK OK OK ... enough with the envious emotion. Here's the recipe to the irresistible Miss Aubergine (at least to my husband it is, hehehe...)

Ingredients:
aubergine/eggplant, in cubes
garlic, finely chopped but not minced
ginger, thinnly sliced
pork slices (season with pepper powder+lite soy sauce+cornflour)

Sauce:
oyster sauce+soy sauce+chilli bean sauce+sugar, mixed well

Methods:
1. Giving oil treatment to the eggplant cubes. Meaning lightly panfried the eggplant. It has a spongelike capacity to soak up the oil, so don't be alarm if the eggplant seems to just soak up the amount of cooking oil you've added. Once it's cooked (became soft and color changed to light brown), it'll "spit" out all the oil.
2. Add garlic and ginger to your pan (no need to add cooking oil as the pan should be well coated from (1)), til slightly browned.
3. Stir in the pork slices, cook for ~1min, then add the cooked eggplant and the sauce into the pan. Keep stirring so all the eggplant and pork slices are well coated with the sauce.
4. Cook for another ~5mins, keep stirring, before dishing up.
5. Garnish with spring onions.

** This dish goes really well with steamed rice. Give it a go!!

[《吃不得10大蔬菜禁忌》]

約一星期前收到一個朋友的轉寄, 貼出來給大家做個參考.

《吃不得10大蔬菜禁忌》
2005.04.24　 中國時報 歐陽英

世間萬物蘊藏陰陽並行的定律，有黑與白，美與醜，香與臭，
食物中也是同時具有正負兩面，畢竟天下萬物沒有百分之百的
完美，所以我們要對蔬菜進一步探討，除了能充飢養生外，
是否蘊含哪些會傷身的禁忌？我們應該先瞭若指掌；然後才能
知所規避，在飽食終日之餘，方能安然無恙，守住健康！

1 金針菜 先泡兩小時煮熟進食
新鮮的金針菜因含有「水仙鹼毒素」，生食會引起腹痛、腹瀉
等過敏症狀，故一定要先泡水兩小時，然後再用大火煮至熟透
才可進食，隨意略炒就吃，很容易引發過敏。
鮮豔金黃色的乾金針菜恐有硫磺加工，食後會造成食物中毒，
故凡是乾金針菜最好能先用溫開水泡30分鐘，再入沸水中汆燙
1分鐘，濾乾後再行煮食，比較安全。

2 茄子 經期及脾胃虛寒者別吃
茄子性涼滑，脾胃虛寒不宜多吃，婦女經期前後也要盡量少吃，
過老熟的茄子食後會中毒，不可進食。茄子含有誘發過敏的成分，
多吃會使人神經不安定，過敏體質者要避開勿吃。

3 芋頭 有痰、過敏體質者不宜
芋頭的黏液會刺激咽喉黏膜，可能使咳嗽加劇以及生痰更多，
所以咳嗽有痰者不宜吃。
芋頭獨特的黏液會使手掌紅腫發癢，但有效的藥用成分就在黏液
上，故烹煮前不要故意洗掉黏液。但過敏體質者最好少吃。

4 韭菜 性溫熱酒後不要吃
韭菜屬於溫熱性，吃過量會神昏目眩，酒後尤其不可吃。
患有風熱型感冒、上火發炎、麻疹、肺結核、便祕、痔瘡……
等等病患，不宜進食。 韭菜的纖維特粗，有消化道疾病或
消化不良者，不可一次吃太多，否則會腹脹難過。

5 菠菜 避免與高鈣食物同食
菠菜含有較多的草酸，很容易與高鈣食物同食後，形成草酸鈣
造成結石，故菠菜要避免接觸豆腐、黑芝麻、優酪乳……等
含鈣較高的食物，不要在一餐中或近時間內同時吃到，尤其是
已患有結石的人，最好避開勿吃。

6 白蘿蔔 慢性胃炎等患者要避食
白蘿蔔性寒涼，脾胃虛寒者、胃及十二指腸潰瘍、慢性胃炎、
單純甲狀腺腫……等患者均不宜多食。
白蘿蔔會影響中藥的藥效，特別是吃含有人參、何首烏、
地黃…等中藥時，要避食白蘿蔔。

7 山藥 婦科腫瘤者不宜再吃
山藥具有收斂的作用，便祕或排便不順者不可吃，否則便祕會
更嚴重。 山藥多吃會促進人體分泌賀爾蒙，對一般人有益，
但婦科腫瘤（包括子宮、卵巢、乳房）者，以及男性攝護腺腫瘤
者均不宜進食，否則會助長腫瘤。

8 薑 薑一腐爛 便要丟棄
生薑只要有一部分爛掉，便要整個丟棄，不可將爛掉部分切除，
留下好的部分用，因當生薑腐爛時，薑體內便會產生很強的
「黃樟素」，黃樟素吃進體內，會造成肝細胞病變，嚴重影響
健康，故只要薑一有腐爛，便要丟棄，不要因小失大。

9 馬鈴薯 發芽與綠皮馬鈴薯勿買
馬鈴薯發芽後會產生大量的「龍葵素」，尤其在芽眼周圍含量
最高，馬鈴薯的表皮變綠，也含有龍葵素，切忌吃到含有
「龍葵素」的馬鈴薯，否則會引發噁心、嘔吐、腹瀉、甚至
昏迷，孕婦吃到則可能會流產，故凡是發芽與綠皮的馬鈴薯
千萬不要買。

10 番茄 未成熟番茄含龍葵素
未熟的番茄含有大量的「龍葵素」，這是一種生物鹼，具有
腐蝕性和溶血性，青番茄大量進食後，會造成急性食物中毒，
引發咽喉麻癢、胃部灼痛、胃腸發炎等症狀，故番茄必須買
熟透的、全紅的，比較安全。

以上蔬菜只要避開禁忌，均十分有益健康，
禍從口入，謹慎為妙！

[新發現_Piccomolo Italian Ice Cream]

這新發現是去年除夕那天去頭家弟弟家過年的路上發現的. 依稀記得當時我們距離目的地只有約5分鐘的車程, 停在交通燈前 (當時是紅燈) ... 我尖叫了一聲 "Piccomolo" ... 然後緊接著又叫 "Italian Ice Cream". 如往常一般, 頭家被這突如其來且又具有相當震撼力的尖叫聲給嚇到了 (眼角似有看到我頭家震了那麼一下下... 嘻嘻嘻). 反應很快很機智的頭家在聽到他老婆喊 "Italian Ice Cream" 時就迅速的把方向盤往左邊甩去以便綠燈時可立刻轉入 Piccomolo (厚! 還差一點把我也一併甩出去呢說).

啊... 那前後不過一分鐘多一點點的等待 (等待紅燈轉綠燈) 說有多難過就有多難過. 那被卡在車上的我已按捺不住那股興奮那股狂躍.

頭家一停好車子, 我就連跑帶滾的撞進冰淇淋店裡. 一看到那五顏六色﹑花花綠綠﹑千奇百怪的冰淇淋 ... 接下來發生什麼事我是一點記憶也沒有. 當天唯一記得的是我們買了一大盒綜合冰淇淋跟大家共享(共有五種口味: 歹勢! 因為當天的特殊情況我只記得其中的三種 -> cookie&cappucino, mango&peach 和 peanut butter). 我們另外給自己買了一個 2 scoop 的 waffle cone, 選的口味是 pistachio 和 almond & caramel.

可惜急著吃忘了把冰淇淋拍下來.
哎, 真是好(第四聲)吃啊...

後記: 頭家說下次也要買一盒五味綜合的回家慢慢享用. =)

圖片和英文版的貼文在此: New Year's Eve Discovery

Piccomolo Italian Ice Cream
12914 F.M. 1960 Rd. W. Ste.A
Houston, Tx 77388
www.piccomolo.com

[Fav Appetizers_#1]

Ahhh... isn't this a nice platter of appetizers? =)


Ok... this is how I did it.

1. Dig out pictures of your fav appetizers. To have a colourful platter, make sure you have a mixture of colour.
2. Chopped them up in cubes. Make sure they are of same size for an equal time of cooking, plus it gives a nice presentation too.
3. Arrange them on your favourite sampler plate with a formation of 3x4 or smaller or bigger, whatever that you fancy, really.
4. Voi·là!! Enjoy with a glass of red wine. Or... if you're like me, pour a glass of white to go with that gigantic platter that you just created. =))