Cranberry Orange Scones

Made cranberry orange scones past Saturday using a recipe a friend sent me...
They're really good!
They were the best on the first day!   Crunchy on the outside... Moist and soft on the inside...  Yummy!

Cranberry Orange Scones (recipe from NPR) Makes 8 very large scones 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries Grated zest of 1 orange 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 to 10 pieces 1/2 cup cold nonfat buttermilk 1/2 cup cold creme fraiche 1 cold large egg 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons granulated sugar Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees . Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand-held mixer), mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar and cranberries on low speed for 10 to 15 seconds, or until combined. Scatter the butter over the top and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the butter is somewhat broken down and grape-size pieces are still visible. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, creme fraiche and whole egg until thoroughly mixed. On low speed, pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour-butter mixture and beat for 20 to 30 seconds, or just until the dough comes together. There will still be a little loose flour mixture at the bottom of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. Gather and lift the dough with your hands and turn it over in the bowl, so that it starts to pick up the loose flour at the bottom. Turn over the dough several times until all of the loose flour is mixed in. Dump the dough onto a baking sheet and pat it into an 8-inch circle about 1 inch thick. Brush the egg yolk evenly over the entire top of the dough circle. Sprinkle the sanding sugar evenly over the top, then cut the circle into 8 wedges, as if cutting a pizza. (At this point, the unbaked scones can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 1 week. Proceed as directed, baking directly from the freezer and adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.) Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the entire circle is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes, then cut into the prescored wedges (the cuts will be visible but will have baked together) and serve. The scones taste best on the day they are baked, but they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you keep them for longer than 1 day, refresh them in a 300-degree oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Or, you can freeze them, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 1 week. Reheat, directly from the freezer, in a 300-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

I also have a lot of fun with the photos I took from iPhone... ;)

And more fun....

Ada's Mini Slaw

I really like the Singapore Slaw dish at Susur Lee's Lee restaurant.
After searching on the web, I've found his recipe.
However, it contains too many ingredients that are not easily available in average grocery stores.  It also needs a lot of work.
So, I've came up with my own little Mini Slaw using ingredients that can be easily found.
If I want the full version, I can eat that at Lee.  ;)


Ada's Mini Slaw

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
Pickled Red Onions (see recipe below)
Salted Apricot Dressing (see recipe below)
1 large English cucumber, julienned
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
2 large Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
4 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1 bag of Terra Veggie Stix

To serve:

1. Mix cucumber, carrot and tomatoes in a big bowl
2. Divide the veggie mixture between plates
3. Use a small colander to drain the pickled red onions and put them on top of the veggie mixture
4. Add 1 cup of Terra Stix per plate around the veggie mixture. 
5. Serve with Salted Apricot Dressing alongside

Depending on each person's taste, they can add different amount of dressing.
For me, I like to add approx. 4 teaspoon of dressing per 750 ml of salad.


Pickled Red Onion

Ingredients:
2 small red onions
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black peppers
1/4 teaspoon thyme

Directions:

1. Peel and julienne red onion and set aside in a medium bowl. 
2. In small saucepan, bring vinegar, water, salt, black peppers, and thyme to a boil. 
3. Add onion into the small saucepan and stirr occassionally until it boils. (You'll see bubbles from the sauce and smoke coming out.)
   
4. Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan, and let it sit for 30 mins.

Note: I like my onions cooked.  If you like your onion more raw, then turn off the heat after adding onions and let it sit for 1 hour.


Salted Apricot Dressing

 Ingredients:
1/4 cup ume (plum) paste 
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mirin 
1 teaspoon dashi
2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grinded ginger
A pinch of sea salt (approx. 1/8 teaspoon)

(Ume paste can easily be found in any Japanese store.  Mirin and dashi can easily be found in any Chinese or Japanese store.)

Directions:

1. Mix ume paste, vinegar, mirin, dashi, olive oil, sugar, ginger, and salt in a bowl until it is well mixed.

Note:  If you like your dressing to be less sour, you can add less rice wine vinegar.


===================================================
Here is Susur Lee's Singapore Slaw recipe from New Asian Cuisine:

Singapore Slaw

By Susur Lee, Author of Susur: A Culinary Life

Serves 4

1 Pickled Red Onion (see recipe below)
1 1/2 cups Salted Apricot Dressing (see recipe below)
2 green onions, both white and green parts, julienned
2 ounces rice vermicelli, broken into 3 pieces
1 large English cucumber, julienned
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
1 small jicama, peeled and julienned
2 large Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
4 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
6 teaspoons crushed roasted peanuts
4 teaspoons edible flower petals
4 teaspoons fennel seedlings
4 teaspoons purple basil seedlings
4 teaspoons daikon sprouts
4 teaspoons fried shallots

Pickled Red Onion
1 red onion
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme

Salted Apricot Dressing
1 cup salted apricot (ume) paste
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon mirin
1 teaspoon dashi
1 1/2 tablespoon onion oil
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For Pickled Red Onion:
Peel and julienne red onion and set aside in a medium bowl. In small saucepan, bring vinegar and water to a boil. Season with salt, peppercorns, fennel seeds, bay leaf and thyme; continue boiling for another 5 minutes. Pour mixture over onion while hot and let sit for 1 hour.

For Salted Apricot Dressing:
In blender, combine apricot paste, vinegar, mirin, Dashi, Onion Oil, sugar, ginger, and salt. Puree until smooth.

For Singapore Slaw Salad:
Soak green onion in very cold water to keep crisp. Meanwhile, heat large pot of oil. When temperature reaches 400°F, deep fry taro root, half the amount at a time, for 2 minutes until crisp and light gold in color. Remove slices from oil, place on paper towel, and lightly salt. At same temperature, quickly deep fry vermicelli, half at a time, for 2 seconds, or until they curl. Remove vermicelli from oil, place on paper towel, and lightly salt.

To serve:
Remove julienned green onion from bowl and drain. Divide vermicelli equally between 4 plates and arrange green onion, cucumber, carrot, jicama, tomatoes, and pickled red onion around noodles. Top with fried taro root. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts over each salad. In small bowl, combine edible flower petals, seedlings, sprouts, and fried shallots. Sprinkle flower-sprout-shallot mixture on salad and serve with Salted Apricot Dressing alongside.

===================================================

唂咕

During Christmas holidays, my Dad told me that he missed a drink called "唂咕" (音: 谷古) in HK.  He used to drink it when he was small, but he couldn't find it anymore. 
Out of curiosity, I did some googling....

唂咕 is cocoa... hahaha...  I guessed correctly.  ;) 

Hong Kong Style Tea Cafe (港式茶餐廳) used to sell this drink many years ago.   Some tea cafes called it "荷蘭唂咕".  I guess it's because those tea cafes used Dutch-processed cocoa powder.  However, 唂咕 was not as popular as hot chocolate due to its bitter taste.  So, most tea cafe in HK don't sell this drink anymore.  Only some very old tea cafes still sell 唂咕.  In Canada, I haven't seen any tea cafe selling this drink.


How to make 唂咕?

• Add cocoa powder into hot water and then add sugar.
• Some people add condensed milk as well.

What's the difference between 唂咕 and hot chocolate?
唂咕 has a higher cocoa content.
唂咕 uses cocoa powder, which has 70% cocoa.
Hot chocolate also contains cocoa powder, but it only has 20% cocoa.


Nowadays, people use cocoa powder mainly for baking.

Natrel Dark Chocolate 1% Milk

I like dark chocolates, so when I saw this dark chocolate milk at grocery store, I had to buy and try. ;)

I normally don't like chocolate milk, because they are usually too sweet.  This dark chocolate milk, on the other hand, is not as sweet as regular chocolate milk and I like the slightly bitter dark chocolate taste.  :D

However, after checking on the label, this dark chocolate milk actually has more sugar than regular chocolate milk.  I guess it needed more sugar due to the bitter dark chocolate taste.  This milk also has more calories per cup than regular chocolate milk.  I guess I would only drink this once in a long, long while.

Second thought... This milk would be good for chocolate muffins/cookies or other chocolate desserts. ;)

My new favourite 出前一丁 favour

I don't eat 出前一丁 (Demae Itcho) a lot... may be a few times a  year...
My favourite 出前一丁 noodle favours used to be:
1) 麻油麵
2) 五香牛肉麵


Recently, I've purchased the new 黑蒜油豬骨湯味.  
I think it's the best.  It's now my #1 favour!  :)

Basically, Nissin has replaced the seasme oil (麻油) with black garlic oil (黑蒜油). 
The black garlic oil added to noodles smells good and is very tasty.  I guess I like strong taste in soup.  That's why I like this new favour more than the seasme oil favour. ;)

1st Anniversary

Sept 18 was our 1st year Wedding Anniversary. :)

Wen and I went to Kaji Japanese restaurant for our anniversary dinner.  We went to this restaurant before, but this time we were sitting at the sushi bar.  Actually, I like sitting in the sushi bar.  I could see the chef making sushi and sashimi.  :D   They made sushi creation look so easy.

I had the "Waza" tasting menu and Wen had the "Takumi" tasting menu.

For my Waza tasting menu, I've got...

Grilled black cod - This is good.

Chicken nanban and sea eel & cucumber rolled with egg sheet - This is ok...  It's more like Chinese than Japanese.

Simmered winter melon with duck and shrimp cake

This dish is beautiful.  They made the lily to look like sakura.

Grilled matsutake mushroom / hosho style - It's interesting that they used pine in this dish.  Pines were not just used as decorations.  Some pines were cooked with the food.

For Wen's tasting menu:

Sauteed scallop in pumpkin sauce

Simmered daikon and eggplant - I didn't try this one since it had eggplant in it.  Wen said it's spicy.

Grilled crab, tomatio & kuzu cake, and persimmon sunomono - This dish is good.  I like the persimmon sunomono.

Matsutake mushroom soup in tea pot - interesting way to drink soup...

 Lily bulb and sea urchin cake with crab sauce  - I like urchin.  ;)

Grilled shrimp and matsutake mushroom - This dish was beautiful... using maple leaves and pines as decorations...

We had some dishes that are the same for both tasting menu: sashimi and sushi & cold noodle.

For sashimi, we've got sea trout with fish eggs, lobster, cucumber & Japanese beans, bass, tuna, tuna salad with egg and potato, sesame salad.

For sushi, we had multiple dishes.

Cold noodle, urchin on top of rice, eel sushi - I love urchin.  Also, the eel sushi was good.  The one I had at Guu felt apart when I picked it up using chopsticks.  This one didn't fall apart.  It only felt apart after I bite it.  ;)  It was too big to put the whole piece in my mouth.

Lobster with apple sauce on rice, tuna on rice, eel on rice

Notice that the restaurant gave us a different soy sauce when eating sushi. It's darker with a stronger taste.

Last sushi dish... tuna sushi, white fish sushi (I forgot what the fish is), abalone sushi, toro (tuna belly) sushi, scallop sushi, and toro sushi again but the outside is cooked.  My favourite one is toro sushi.  It was very tasty and melt in my mouth.  However, I did felt a little bit of tendon in it.  I guess it wasn't the highest grade. ;)  In HK TV series, they always say that you don't feel tendon in highest grade toro.

For dessert, I had fruit jelly and green tea macaroon

Wen had peach and strawberry

Overall, this restaurant is very good.
For me, it was a bit too much food for me.  I was very very full at the end.
I love their sushi and sashmi... very fresh... very good... ;)

Jell-O Mold Competition

The entries in the third annual Jell-O Mold Competition held recently in Brooklyn, NY, are pretty impressive.

Yummy yummy....  Big breakfast with everything made with jello....  I am sure that kids would love them...

Oooo....  Coffee!!!   In this case, I think I'll enjoy a cup of hot coffee more than a cup of jello coffee...  ;)

This work is called "Where do eggs come from?"...  The jello chicken is kind of scary...

"The Resistor Jeltone"...  From the photo, it didn't look that difficult to make... but this toy piano really works with keys in real gelatine.  :)

Jell-Obama...  I wonder how the judges felt when they were eating this one... Did they feel like Hannibal Lecter (from The Silence of the Lambs)?
Just a thought.. if you hate someone, you can actually make a jello sculpture of that person and eat it! :P

This one got first prize... However, I don't think it's very amazing...  I don't like worms...

They look like real bullets...  I wonder what will other people think if they see you eating bullets...   May be they will think that you are trying to commit suicide and will try to stop you...  :P

There are more interesting jellos at the web site...

Source:
Gizmodo
Fine Dining Lovers

Be careful when using melamine tableware (仿瓷餐具)

Be careful when using melamine tableware (仿瓷餐具)!!!
Melamine tableware is the ones that are plastic but look like porcelain...

HK Consumer Council had tested 39 different melamine tableware.  The results showed that 9 of them
do not meet health standards and will release harmful substances.

In general, melamine tableware:

• should not be used to hold hot foods (such as noodles, soup, etc.)
• should not be used in a microwave oven 
• should not be used when the surface is scratched

Melamine tableware is often used in cheaper Chinese restaurants....   How to avoid?  :(


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From HK Yahoo News:

(星島日報報道)消委會測試市面出售的三十九款塑膠造仿瓷餐具，發現當中九款餐具釋出可致腎結石的三聚氰胺，其中一款中國製造的玫瑰花圖案湯碗三聚氰胺釋出量超標一成。另有五款餐具被發現釋出有毒物質甲醛，當中兩款飯碗及一款日本城筷子甲醛釋出量超標七成至三倍。市民如長期用以盛載高溫、強酸、油脂類食物，或放入微波爐加熱，可導致體內結石或腸胃問題。

測試樣本包括三十九款家庭或食肆普遍使用的塑膠製品仿瓷餐具，售價由兩元至五十元不等，結果發現有九款不符合內地衞生標準，會釋放對人體有害的污染物，包括三聚氰胺和甲醛。其中一款中國製作、No.2117玫瑰花圖案的湯碗，其三聚氰胺遷移量超標一成；另一款銘豐No.0315綠色飯碗則含有甲醛遷移量最高，超標三倍。此外，還有八款餐具含微量三聚氰胺。

疑生產程序不妥

消委會解釋，三聚氰胺為污染物，不應存在於食物中，懷疑因製作過程中，生產程序欠妥善，如原料配備、壓製溫度、壓力和固化時間等條件控制不理想，或偷工減料，以致造出劣質的仿瓷餐具。根據世衞建議，每日不可攝入三聚氰胺多於每公斤零點二毫克，否則會引致體內結石。如持續每日攝入甲醛超過每公斤零點二毫克，亦會導致腸胃問題。

結果顯示大部分仿瓷餐具都會釋出微量化學物質，不過消委會強調，市民如依餐具標籤正常使用，這些物質並不會遷移至食物，惟消委會發現大部分樣本的標籤資料不足，只有十四款測驗樣本於底部或包裝上標有「不適用於微波爐、焗爐或作明火煮食用」的字眼，其餘二十五款無相關說明；另有兩款說明不宜長時間盛載酸性及高溫的食物或飲料，三款說明不宜用於洗碗碟機、消毒碗櫃及烘乾機。

勿「叮」或盛載高温食物

消委會將與餐飲業溝通，建議餐廳依足指引使用仿瓷餐具，不宜盛載高溫食物如麵、湯等，亦不宜放入微波爐，清洗時又不應刮花表面，如餐具有脫色或花紋脫落應盡快更換。

城市大學生物及化學系副教授林漢華表示，即使用上數年的仿瓷餐具仍有可能釋出甲醛及三聚氰胺，建議新買的仿瓷餐具用清潔劑和清水沖洗，日常使用則避免長時間儲存食物，如發現餐具失去原有光澤或有變色情況，建議立即更換。

新鴻峰餐廳負責人王先生表示，全店上下均使用仿瓷餐具，約有二百至三百隻，平時亦會放入微波爐使用，但他相信「用了這麼多年，不會有甚麼事，通常衞生署check（檢查）得很嚴」。

市民周小姐兩年前為「氹」家中兒女，買了兩款印有卡通人物的仿瓷碗，一來因價錢平，二來因為小朋友喜歡有顏色。她常用以盛載熱乎乎的食物餵給小朋友，曾試過消毒後發現整個碗顏色變「瓦」，當時她只認為「質地不好」，並無意識或會釋出有害化學物質。她表示今後會用「貴幾倍」的價錢買日本製產品，認為較有保障。

Banana Sour Cream Cake

Well, I have some sour cream left over from Waldorf Salad.
Since the sour cream will be expiring soon, I've decided to do some baking.
I've found the following recipe.  It is known on web as 瓊妮老太太 recipe.
I didn't add cinnamon or nuts.   Since my purpose is to use up the sour cream, I didn't add extra bananas.   I think this recipe will taste even better with more bananas. 
Also, I used muffin cups and bake them for approx. 20 mins. 

The cake is good! :-)
I wish there is a way to keep the muffin top crispy for a few days.



材料:

1 條奶油 butter (= 1/2 杯)
1 杯糖 sugar
2 個蛋(先打成蛋汁,以便徐徐倒入)
1 杯中筋麵粉 all purpose flour
1/2 杯全麥麵粉 whole wheat flour
1 小匙蘇打粉 baking soda
1 1/2 小匙肉桂粉 cinnamon
1 1/4 杯香蕉泥 mashed banana(大約三條香蕉去皮,用叉子壓壓,擣成泥狀)
1/2 杯酸奶油 sour cream (可用原味優格代替)
1 小匙香草精 vanilla
1 杯乾果仁 nuts

香蕉泥若用得多，就減少酸奶油的用量，兩項總量不超過1又3/4杯即可。


做法:

1. 烤盤噴油防沾，或鋪上烤盤紙，烤箱預熱華氏350度(攝氏175度)
2. 麵粉/蘇打粉/肉桂粉置於碗或塑膠袋內，混合均勻
3. 奶油室溫軟化，或置於可微波的大碗中，微波加熱20秒軟化
4. 加入糖打至膨鬆
5. 加入蛋汁打勻
6. 加入香蕉泥/酸奶油/香草精續打勻
7. 分次加入粉類拌勻
8. 拌入乾果仁
9. 倒入烤盤，烤1小時或以牙籤插入不沾即可

提示:

. 香蕉愈熟愈香，快要爛掉的香蕉用來烤蛋糕最合適了。平常可以先把過熟的香蕉去皮裝入塑膠袋冷凍保存。解凍後，隔著塑膠袋用手抓捏幾下就成泥了，顏色會變深，但不影響成品。

. 喜歡鬆軟口感者，可將全麥改以低筋麵粉代替。

Recipe from:
http://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/fchih/post/1242278389

Waldorf Salad - Try #2 - Success!

This is my second try using a different recipe found on web.
I've made some changes to it... I didn't add walnuts and I used fresh grapes (cut in half) instead of raisins.

-------------------------

Waldorf Salad Recipe

Servings = 8 | Serving size =3/4 cup

This recipe is listed as 30 minutes active cooking time, but you will need to allow an additional two hours for chilling afterwards. Fortunately, this recipe keeps fairly well refrigerated for about 2 days.

2 medium granny smith apples
1 medium red delicious apple
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup celery
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
1 1/2 tsp honey

Mix the cubed apples with the lemon juice.

Add celery, walnuts and raisins. Toss.

Add mayonnaise, sour cream and honey and gently fold together until well blended.

Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

From Dr. Gourmet

-------------------------

Results:
It is good! :D
Try #2 is a success!!!  
This one is similar to the one Wen had on the cruise. 
It's easy to make for a potluck party.   ;-)

硬齋雞粒

A friend brought me some 硬齋雞粒 from HK...
I haven't had this snack for a long long time...
They are very good...  Once I've started eating the first piece, I don't want to stop...
I do feel very guilty since I need to lose weight... but I just can't stop...  :P
This is a battle between my brain and my mouth... 
In the end...  My brain wins... so I am saving the rest for another day...
Stay tune for the next battle... ha ha ha ha...  :D

枸杞水 and 老花眼

Got another email from friend regarding "枸杞水"...
"枸杞" is good for health and good for eyes...
 

“天天枸杞水活到兩百歲”

李清雲（1677至1933年）壽享256年，是清末民初的中醫藥學者，也是世界上著名的長壽老人。在他100歲時曾因在中醫中藥方面的傑出成就獲政府的特別獎勵，在他200歲時，仍常去大學講學。這期間他曾接受過許多西方學者的來訪。李清雲一生娶過24個妻子，子孫滿堂，他認為自己健康長壽的原因有三：一長期素食，二心靜，開朗，三常年將枸杞煮水當茶飲。

英國，法國的醫學科研工作者得到這一消息後，便對枸杞進行了深入研究，發現枸杞中含有一種沒有見過的維生素，便取名為的“X維生素，也稱為”駐顏維生素。經動物實驗證實，枸杞具有抑制脂肪在纖維內蓄積，促進肝細胞的新生，降低血糖及膽固醇等作用。枸杞的返老還童作用表現為：對腦細胞和內分泌腺有激活和新生作用，增強荷爾蒙的分泌，清除血中積存的毒素，從而可維持體內各組織器官的正常功能。

中醫早已認可枸杞延年益壽，枸杞的祛疾延齡作用由來已久，早在“詩經”，“山海經”中均有記載。

中國醫學科學院研究證實，枸杞能提高人體免疫力，在抗腫瘤治療中能減輕環磷酰胺的毒副作用，促進造血功能恢復，升高周圍血的白細胞數，對機體產生保護作用。

此外，枸杞能抑制脂肪在肝細胞內沉積，防止脂肪肝，促進肝細胞新生，也能抑制單胺氧化酶的活性。

西醫印證了枸杞的強大功效，現代文明發現，枸杞至少含有：
以甜菜鹼為主的5種生物鹼，數十種甾醇類化合物，16種微量元素，多種維生素，（胡蘿蔔素幾乎是所有食品中含量最高的），3種脂肪酸，16種氨基酸。大量的水溶性多醣。

據英國科學家最近研究，天然的β胡蘿蔔素能抗老，抗癌及預防日照皮膚損傷。科學家認定，自由基是人體代謝產生的惰性因子，是機體老化及癌變的活性劑。而β胡蘿蔔素能消滅清除自由基的惡性作用，因而是延緩衰老的一種較為理想的飲食因素。科研證明，飲食中如含有大量的胡蘿蔔素，則某些癌症發病率可大為降低，尤其是口腔，肺，前列腺，皮膚和肝癌等。同時β胡蘿蔔素還可增強人體免疫系統功能。

枸杞食療配方：
服食枸杞子延年卻老的方式方法很多，數千年的食補食療文化，孕育了以枸杞子為主藥的多種劑型的藥方。以下列舉實用簡便易學的一些藥膳配方，以饗讀者。

草龍珠蜜汁枸杞子：枸杞子，龍眼肉各20克，葡萄乾50克，蜂蜜20克，菠蘿200克。以上各種用淨水沖淨，入小碗加蜂蜜及適量水入蒸籠蒸20分鐘。

常服延年益壽，充實正氣，補氣養血。

枸杞枇杷膏：
枸杞子，枇杷果，黑芝麻，桃仁各50克，蜂蜜適量，將枇杷果，桃仁切碎，枸杞子，黑芝麻洗淨加水浸泡放入鍋內，大火燒沸，小火熬煮20分鐘，取煎汁1次，加水再煮共取液3次，合併煎液，用小火濃縮至膏，加1倍分量的蜜即成，冷卻裝瓶待用，益肺腎補虛，平喘咳潤燥，用於晚期肺癌虛弱，體質軟弱患者。



“偏方治老花眼”



偏方治老花眼
配方如下：中型馬鈴薯一個去皮，蘋果一個去皮;中型番茄一個去皮;粗胡蘿蔔一截去皮。放在攪拌機，攪成一杯，最好即飲。食二，三個月，不但皮膚晶瑩，而且神奇，多細小的字都看的見，一清二楚，老花鏡根本用不上。

如果你開始老花，散光或者視力模糊，大可試試這配方，每天早上連渣喝一杯，精神爽利，男女老少咸宜。

按摩治療老花眼，具體按摩方法如下：

1。用雙手中指來回按摩眉毛20次;

2。用雙手四個手指向兩側按摩眼睛20次;

3。用雙手中指從下至上按摩鼻樑20次;

4。用雙手中指順時針按摩太陽穴20次，20次再逆時針;

5。用雙手拇指按摩耳根20次;

6。用雙手拇指和食指捏住耳垂往下拉次20。

長期堅持做這6個動作，不但可以防治老花眼，而且還能減少皺紋，保持頭腦清醒。



枸杞，具有補腎益精，養肝明目的保健功能，是中年人常用的滋補，美容，長壽的佳品，與人參，何首烏並稱益壽中草藥的“三寶。早在古代，醫學家就已經掌握了枸杞的藥性。宋代陳直“養老奉親書”中載長期服用枸杞，可使人“明目駐顏，輕身不老，明目安神，令人長壽。”

“本草正義”中載：“枸杞，味重而純，故能補陰，陰中有陽，故能補氣，所以滋陰而不致陰衰，助陽而能使陽旺。南宋大詩人陸游年老時曾眼睛昏花，後來因堅持每日吃一杯枸杞羹，最終治愈了老花眼。為此陸游作詩曰：“雪霽茅堂鐘馨清，晨齋枸杞一杯羹。”

枸杞含有14種氨基酸和大量的胡蘿蔔素，還含有甜菜鹼，菸鹼，牛磺酸，乙維生素以及鈣，磷，鐵等物質。現代醫學研究證明，枸杞不僅能用於防治糖尿病，高血脂症，肝病及腫瘤，對防治眼疾也有特殊的醫療價值。枸杞中所含的大量胡蘿蔔素，進入人體後可在酶的作用下，轉化成維生素答：維生素甲向來被稱為保護眼睛，防止視力退化的特效維生素。由此可知，枸杞對健身明目具有很強的功效。

步入中年的朋友如願意使用枸杞蜂蜜茶保護眼睛，治療老花眼，可參照以下偏方：取優質枸杞一勺，沖洗乾淨後放入杯中，再用開水兌入。待兩三分鐘後水溫稍涼時，再放入一勺蜂蜜，攪拌均勻後即可飲用。每日晨起，睡前各飲一杯，兩個月後即可見效。

此外還有幾個偏方：
1。枸杞酒。取枸杞200克，白酒300克。將枸杞洗淨，瀝乾水分，剪碎後放入細口瓶內，加入白酒，密封瓶口。每日振搖酒瓶一次，15浸泡天即可飲用。飲完後再加入300克白酒，如上法再浸泡一次。每日臨睡前飲用，20克每次飲。

2。枸杞粥。優質枸杞50克，粳米100克，洗淨後同煮成粥，可作為每天早餐食用。

3。枸杞蛋。雞蛋兩個，枸杞30克，洗淨後同用水煮。雞蛋熟後去殼，放入湯內再煮，煮好後吃蛋喝湯。連吃天為一療程3-5 ，停一天後繼續食用。一般3個療程即可見效。

pumpkin beer

In addition to the Pumpkin Ale by Great Lakes Brewery, I've also tried another pumpkin beer: St-Ambroise Citrouille - The Great Pumpkin Ale.


I found this beer to have more pumpkin taste.
I would recommend this to people who are interested in drinking some fun beers. ;)
It's only $2 a bottle.

Unique Beers

Recently, I've tried 2 unique beers from the Great Lakes Brewery: Orange Peel Ale and Pumpkin Ale.
According to the sales, you can only find this two beers once a year during Halloween time.


The orange peel ale is nice. It has an slight orange flavour and is very refreshing.


The sales person highly recommends the pumpkin ale, but it wasn't as good as I expected. The pumpkin flavour is minimal. I think it's because pumpkins don't really have a strong taste, but I would expect this beer to have a lot of pumpkin flavour.

It's nice to try them for fun, but it's not something that I would buy on regular basis. They are ok for once-a-year type of beers.

珍珍's 章魚小丸子味薯片& 三文魚壽司味薯片 review

I have tried both salmon sushi flavour and takoyaki flavour potato chips before.
Even though the package looks big, but there aren't many chips inside.
I don't really like the takoyaki flavour, because I can't taste the sauce.

For the salmon sushi flavour, it tastes good, but remember don't put the whole bag of wasabi powder inside. If you put the whole bag, then all you can taste is wasabi flavour.

I still prefer Calbee chips, because for the price, I get more chips with Calbee potato chips. ;)

Calbee Korean Cuttlefish Potato Chips review

I would give it a 4 out of 5.
The chips are very crispy and crunchy in wave shape. :)
It's good. I can taste the cuttlefish flavour.

My favourite Calbee chip is still Okonomiyaki flavoured potato chips. ;)

Calbee Honey BBQ Chicken Wing Potato Chips review

Calbee Honey BBQ Chicken Wing Potato Chips Review

I would give it a 2 out of 5.
The chips are very crispy and crunchy. :)
In terms of flavours, I can taste the smokey and a little bit of honey. However, I don't taste the chicken wing flavour. It's more like smokey honey chips to me.

Lotte Banana Crepe Koala Biscuit

Just feel like to be a kid today...
So, I brought a box of Lotte Koala Biscuit during grocery shopping...
I used to love Koala Biscuit when I was little... and I found a special favour today... The Banana Crepe favour....

Here is what I have for afternoon tea:
- Lotte Banana Crepe Koala Biscuit
- Mango soda (mango puree + club soda)

Yummy Yummy!!


Lotte Banana Crepe Koala Biscuit tastes more like banana than banana crepe, but it doesn't matter... It is still good! :D

Look at the baby koala with the crepe in his/her hand... Sooooo cute!

親子丼 (Oyako Don)

I went to JTown today for lunch and ordered 親子丼.


It is good... but a bit too sweet for my taste...
Since this dish looks very easy to make, I've decided to look for a recipe to try it at home...

What is 親子丼?
It's chicken, onion, eggs with rice.

I've found a cooking video at youtube:


Ingredients:
(serves 1)

50ml Dashi Soup (柴魚高湯)
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp Sake
1/2 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tbsp Mirin (味醂)
1/2 Small Onion
85g Chicken Meat (3 oz)
2 Eggs
10 Japanese Wild Parsley (Mitsuba)
200g Rice (7 oz)


I've also found another web site with photos teaching people how to make Oyako Don.

I have most of the ingredients... I am going to try it out this week... :D

Ketchup Cake

To thank Canadians for 100 years of support, Heinz has created The Great Canadian Heinz Ketchup Cake.


It looks ok in the photo, but I still think Ketchup goes well with French Fries... not dessert... ;)
I think alty ketchup and sweet dessert don't really go well with each other.


=========================
GREAT CANADIAN HEINZ KETCHUP CAKE

The commemorative cake from Heinz tastes much like carrot cake and makes 12 servings.

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

2 cups (500 mL) All-purpose flour

2 tsp (10 mL) Baking powder

1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) Ground cinnamon

1 tsp (5 mL) Baking soda

1/2 tsp (2 mL) Each ground nutmeg and ginger

1/2 cup (125 mL) Heinz Tomato Ketchup

1/2 cup (125 mL) Water

2 tbsp (30 mL) Red food colouring

3/4 cup (175 mL) Butter, softened

11/2 cups (375 mL) Dark brown sugar, packed

2 Eggs

FROSTING:

6 oz (175 g) Brick-style cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup (175 mL) Butter, softened

1 tsp (5 mL) Vanilla extract

4 cups (1 L) Icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease two, 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Stir the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and ginger into a bowl. Stir the ketchup, water and colouring in a separate bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter and blend in the sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the eggs. Add the flour mixture and ketchup mixture. Beat on low, scraping down the bowl as needed, until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for one minute.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the centre springs back when touched lightly.

Cool the cakes for 15 minutes before turning onto a rack to cool completely.

Frosting: Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla on medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Gradually beat in the sugar on low, scraping the bowl as needed. Beat on high until fluffy.

Frost between the cake layers and over the sides and top of the cake.

=========================

Source:
Canada.com