清明上河圖

清明上河圖是中國十大名畫之一...屬一級國寶... 是北宋張擇端的作品... 描繪了北宋故都汴京的景色...
張擇端成功地描繪出汴京城內及近郊在清明時節社會上各階層的生活景象。

English name for 清明上河圖 is "Along the River during Ching-ming festival".
Now a day... People use different technologies to convert this painting into animation...

China animated the painting and showed it in Shanghai World Expo.


Taiwan also did something similar on their website:
http://www.npm.gov.tw/exh96/orientation/flash_4/index.html

Some people would argue that animation is not as good and beautiful as the original painting.  But who cares....
I am not an artistic person.  I won't spend lots of time studying a painting.  
Personally, I like the Taiwanese animated version.  It's cute.  It keeps me interested.

I guess this is the problem with modern age.  Everyone wants everything fast... moving... and exciting....  ;)

 

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.   ;-)

Waldorf Salad - Try #1

Wen had Waldorf Salad on the cruise and really liked it.
I only have a small bite, but it's good.
Since Waldorf Salad uses easy ingredients, I've decided to make it.

This salad got its name from the luxurious Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Invented in 1896 not by a chef but by the maître d'hôtel Oscar Tschirky, the Waldorf salad was an instant success.


I searched the internet and found an easy recipe.
This is going to be my Try #1.

-------------------------
Waldorf Salad Recipe

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup chopped, slightly toasted walnuts
* 1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup red seedless grapes, sliced (or a 1/4 cup of raisins)
* 1 sweet apple, cored and chopped
* 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
* 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
* Salt
* Pepper
* Lettuce

Method

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise (or yogurt) and the lemon juice. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Mix in the apple, celery, grapes, and walnuts. Serve on a bed of fresh lettuce.

Serves 2.

From Simple Recipes

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


Results:
I've made one salad with celery for Wen and one salad without celery for myself.
The taste of this salad is different from the one I had on the cruise.
Comparing to the one from cruise, this one is:
- more sour
- more sauce
Also, I think the one from cruise doesn't have pepper.

Grandma still in hospital

I was posting my grandma's situation in my wedding blog.
Since the wedding is now over, I have more time now.  ;)
My wedding related things will be posted on my wedding blog.
Other things will be posted back in my own blog.

Thanks for all your prayers!
My grandma's condition is a bit better.
Even though she is still not stable yet, but she seems to be more alert.
Doctors cannot use blood thinner on her yet. :(  But they said the blood spot in her brain is around 2-2.5cm now... smaller than before...
She was eating jello & mike shake like food for 2 days, but she had to move back to tube feeding based on the speech specialist's assessment.
She has problem sleeping in the past few days...   She can only fall asleep for 5-10 mins most of the time...   May be it's because she cannot move her body...
Please continue to pray for her health!

Photos

Yesterday, I've downloaded a lot of photos from my blackberry to laptop...
I haven't downloaded any photos for months...  decide to put some nice ones here...


Aug 15... Testing your eyesight...  Can you see the rainbow inside the photo?

 
Took this one on July 26... on my way downtown to birthday dinner... :D

July 20... One big happy family living near my office...

With a nice front/backyard view...

July 11... A group of us were watching the World Cup Final at Wild Wings...

CaCa:  Hmmm... Which team should I support... Spain or Netherlands?

Ca Ca: Let's see which team is winning...

CaCa:  Score is still 0:0??  Not fun... I rather play with blackberry...

Ca Ca:  The teams haven't score anything... still 0:0...   I am more fun to watch than them!! :)

CaCa:  Game ended and it's still 0:0... need extra time...  boring!!

Took them on Metro Square Night Market... This is HK style smelly tofu...
I did try it, but it's not really that smelly.  ;-)

Took this one on June 6... A happy human house...  The person inside doesn't really look that happy... :P

A cheap weight-loss tip: Drink two glasses before every meal

A study shows that dieters who down two glasses of water before each meal shed more pounds than those who only count calories. While prescription-only weight-loss drugs cut the body’s ability to absorb fat or tinker with the brain’s chemistry, water simply fills up the stomach. Water is also, of course, calorie-free and readily available. Water drinkers ate 75 to 90 fewer calories per meal. Over the course of a day, this could amount to almost 300 calories - the equivalent of a Danish pastry or a pint and a half of beer.


For more info:
Mail Online
HK Yahoo News (in Chinese)

Since I want to lose more weight for my wedding, I should give this method a try!  :D