[Random Update] Lunch 11/27/13 (Thanksgiving Eve Lunch)

Hi guys! Today I'm just so excited to announce that I made the pan-seared scallops to perfection! I have no previous experience cooking with scallops; in fact, this was my first time cooking them! All I did was I looked up on a few websites to see how people make the perfect pan-seared scallops like I always see on Food Network. After the research, I have concluded that the perfect pan-seared scallop is that both sides have a nice brown, caramel-colored crust.

So, for my lunch today, I made my first attempt on pan-seared scallops and served them on a salad. Because my dad is leaving back to HK tomorrow, and he have always liked scallops (but doesn't know how to cook), that's why I decided to make him some before he leaves.  I have to say, perfect pan-seared scallops are simply delicious. period.

[insert pictures]

Although I succeed the first time, there's a price for it. When I drop my scallops down on the pan, the high temperature oil splashed on my hand so I got a burn. :(
Just a warning to you all, BE CAREFUL! I can feel the pain while typing this post, but I think happiness and excitement overcome the pain. xD

Alright, I gotta go to post office to mail something to my friends, make raisin buns, pan-seared salmon with sauted vegetables, and mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving Eve dinner! I'll post pictures and I can't wait to enjoy some yummy food in the holiday! :D

Chiffon Cake - Original Flavor (原味戚風蛋糕)

Have you ever been to a Chinese bakery where you see them selling those well-decorated birthday cakes? Have you ever tasted the cake texture, along with whipped cream and fruits? If you haven't, do yourself a favor. Make one. This chiffon cake is famous throughout the world because it's so delicious on its own, as well as with whipped cream and fruits or other flavors like jam, chocolate, etc. You will absolutely fall in love with its texture - soft, spongy, and fluffy. The rich egg smell is irresistible. In addition, the reason for why i was so interested in learning how to make it was because I wanted to make those awesome birthday cakes you see in bakeries for my family and friends. I recalled that we used to buy 3 cakes in February because me, my brother, and my mom's birthdays are all in February (what an coincident!). The funny thing is that my birthday and my mom's birthday are just 2 days apart. If she chose to born me on her birthday instead of delaying till the 25th, she'd have saved the money to buy an extra birthday cake for me every year. LOL 

Chiffon Cake - Original Flavor 原味戚風蛋糕:

Adapted from 飞雪无霜

Makes one 8" cake
Prep time: 20mins
Cook (bake) time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• white sugar 70g - separate into 50g and 20g
• 85g cake flour, sifted
• 50g vegetable oil
• 50g water
• 1g salt

Method

1. Separate egg yolk and egg white. Make sure the bowl holding the egg whites is clean and has no water or oil in it. This is a crucial step. Set the bowl with yolks in it aside. 

2. In the bowl with egg whites, use a electric hand mixer and beat the egg whites until bubbles form. Then add in the 50g sugar in three batches, about 1/3 a time. Beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside

• to make sure the egg whites have beaten till stiff peaks, turn the bowl over. If nothing comes down, then it's ready to rock n' roll. Refer to the pictures below to have a better idea of what stiff peak looks like :)

Second time adding sugar

third time adding sugar

soft peak (a bit more than you're in stiff peaks!)

what stiff peaks look like

3. Using the same electric mixer (you don't have to wash it if you don't want to), beat the egg yolks with water, 20g sugar, vegetable oil, and salt until well combined.

step 3

4. Add in the sifted cake flour into the egg yolk mixture and mix until just incorporated.

5. Preheat oven to 300F.

6. Spoon out 1/2 of the beaten egg whites and fold into the egg yolk mixture. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites with a spatula, until just combined.

step 4 (upper two) and step 6 (bottom)

• note: a well folded batter should be very soft, well incorporated, and delicate. If the batter has chucks of egg whites or just doesn't look well incorporated, the cake will not rise.

what the batter should look like when it's well incorporated

7. Pour the batter into an 8" cake pan that has been oiled (or parchment paper).  Before putting into the oven, gently tap the cake pan on a surface. This allows the big air bubbles fade away so when the cake bakes, it will turn out evenly.

8" cake pan lined with parchment paper at the bottom

Gently tap the cake pan on a surface

8. First bake for 30 mins in 150C/300F, then switch to 170C/340F and bake for another 30mins.
9. Remove cake from oven and immediately invert it on a cooling rack to let it cool down completely.

*Please take this recipe and photos with FULL CREDIT!

11/10/13 Grocery Shopping Haul

I was exhausted on Sunday after grocery shopping. My mom and I went to 4 different markets to buy different things. For those of you who get familiar with grocery shopping, you will realize that it's hard to find a store that has everything you need. Some might have good meat produce, but not vegetables and fruits. Some markets have a better price on an item than the other. I realized this since I started doing grocery shopping last year with my brother (well, my brother is the driver whileI do most of the grocery shopping LOL). Going to multiple stores is indeed time-consuming and tiring. But the reward is sometimes you get some surprises. It was worth spending the entire afternoon on Sunday because I got some great deals on some items. YAYYYY! :D

Here's my shopping list on 11/10/13:

1. Trader Joe's

-organic raisins

-organic cage-free, vegetarian fed eggs
-avacado
-organic herb mixed salad
-organic greens mixed salad
-organic 2% low-fat milk
-organic soy milk, sweetened
-tomatoes
-Trader Joe's Italian vegetarian sausage
-organic free-range, vegetarian fed chicken breast tender *$8.99/lbs.
-lady fingers

2. Whole Foods
-organic vegan yogurt
-fresh baked bagels (3)
-Mia's kitchen organic Vodka sauce
-unsweetened almond milk
-vanilla almond milk
-organic whole wheat bread
-organic fresh cabbage

3. Ranch 99 (Mountain View, CA store for me)

-bean sprouts x1
-Chilean fresh seabass x2 *$14.99/lb. (I bought two that are about $10 each)
-black tiger shrimp, peeled and deveined *$9.99/lb.
-rice vermicelli x1
-green onion
-cake flour
-firm tofu x1
-persimmon *$0.79/lb.
^I LOVE PERSIMMON. I think I bought approximately 30 of them xD

4. Costco
-Levi's Lady's Jean Jacket *$14.99 The greatest deal I've got so far!! LOL
-Pajamas *$16.99/set
-Salmon with pesto butter

[Meal Planning] Week of 11/11/13-11/17/13

I know this is one day late, but later better than never! I thought it'll be cool to write down meals I'm planning to make for this week. I will include the prices of each meal (with calculation) just to show how home cooking is always better and cheaper than dining out. In addition, I will include the approximate time it takes to make the meal and cleaning up as well. Recipes will be following up soon! 

Monday: Chinese dishes - 家常小菜 homely dishes
-steamed seabass
(insert picture)

-Stir-fried shrimp with scrambled eggs (蝦仁炒蛋)

*I think this dish is also called "scrambled eggs with shrimps"

perfect dish to go with rice. it's easy, simple, quick, fresh, and homely.

-Stir-fried bean sprouts with garlic

-pan-fried tofu

-dessert: Chiffon cake

-fruits: persimmon

Tuesday: Chinese dishes!

-steamed seabass <--seabass is sooooo good that I can eat it all day everyday. CAN'T RESIST.

-Tomatoes scrambled eggs

-Stir-fried bean sprouts with garlic

-Stir-fry prawns with onions
-leftovers from yesterday (Stir-fried shrimp with scrambled eggs and a few slices of tofu)

Wednesday:

-Baked salmon with pesto butter

-salad with raspberry vinaigrette, raisins, walnuts, and avacado (home-grown!)

-fruits: grapes, persimmon
-dessert: [HK dim sum dessert] strawberry pancake

Thursday:
-Simple hometown fried rice vercimelli (or rice noodle) 家鄉炒米粉

• cabbage
• ham <--no nitrite, black forest ham
• egg
• onion

-fruits: persimmon

Friday:
-Peanut congee (aka. rice porridge)
-steamed chicken thin slices with

Saturday:
-MyPlate!

• salmon with pesto butter, baked and then broiled
• side salad
• fruits: strawberries and persimmon

Sunday:
options for lunch:
-[organic&fresh] crispy chicken with spaghetti in Vodka sauce
-hometown fried rice vercimelli

dinner:
-rice
-steamed seabass
-leftover from friday
-

My Favorite Chefs! Super Inspirational In Cooking!

As I mentioned before, I am a self-taught cook. I started cooking three years ago, and I have always looked on a few amazing chefs/people who are great at cooking. Simplicity best fits my situation because I am a high school student in a academic rigorous school. I don't have the time to cook some world class dishes in my tiny kitchen. I have only got an hour everyday to cook and wash dishes. Therefore, I am really looking at the people who can provide quick and easy recipes. If the recipe is not quite healthy, I make my own substitution to make it healthy but still being tasty.

1. The first chef who inspires me to cook is Christine's Recipes by Christine Ho. She, a home cook, presents her recipes in an easy way. I remembered I found her recipe because I wanted to bake something. Since then, I started looking at her other Chinese/Cantonese recipes because I really miss my home food. She also inspires me to eat healthy by using healthy ingredients in her recipes. Without her, this blog would not exist. She inspires me to start blogging about my passion to food, and she's sincerely nice and just a great cook to learn from. Especially for beginners.

http://www.christinesrecipes.com/

2. This person have the greatest impact on my belief and vision to food. He inspired me to think beyond the taste, to a level where I started to care about health. He raised my awareness to the health issues involving food in America. He changed the way I view chips, sodas, snacks (JUNK FOOD!). Most importantly, he changed the way I cook and the way I select food to eat. Yes, he is Jamie Oliver. One of the greatest chef on the planet, and one of the most amazing human beings I've ever known. The way he cooks have inspired many kids in the world. He encourages people to use organic (home-grown!) ingredients, as well as cooking healthily. He not only made me discovered how important health is, but also inspired me to make an impact in the community with my power. I hope that I can be part of his food revolution in the future, helping with school lunch meals, educating them about food so they can make good decisions for themselves, and ultimately aiming for a healthy next generation. He gave me the dream that I would never thought of when I was in HK. He gave me goals that I can aim on while practicing my passion (cooking). My admiration to him can't be described through words, but I just want to say "THANK YOU" to you, Mr. Oliver. Learning from you has been a great experience and I'll keep working hard to achieve our common goals. Thank you for your time and effort. Thank you for all the things you have done so far in order to raise awareness about food. Thank you for being so inspirational to me. Thank you. "Cook it. Share it. Live it"

http://www.jamieoliver.com/

http://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/home

3. Laura Vitale (LauraInTheKitchen)
If you ask me what I do I watch, I'll tell you that I have had a record of watching a cooking show (that's right, cooking show) for 4 consecutive hours. To be exact, I watched 4 hours of LauraInTheKitchen, and never got bored with it. Laura has an extraordinary personality. She presents her show in a fun and entertain way. She is cute, funny, lovely, nice, and using a word to sum up, awesome. Her recipes are a great start for a beginner because they are all super easy (and relatively quick too!) to make. I bet they are all fool-proved. She can easily bring a person into cooking as well as baking since her recipes have a successful rate of 95% (with 5% of ingredients, accident, and human errors), it really makes people who are not good at cooking/never been into the kitchen before proud. Laura specifies in Italian and American cooking, as well as all kinds of baking. She's a great chef and I've learned so much Italian+american cooking from her. She also has some wonderful baking recipes which are simple and delicious. I definitely encourage you to check out her website and youtube channel to begin your cooking journey! You won't regret knowing her, I promise.

http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/LauraVitalesKitchen

4. 飞雪无霜的美食博客

http://blog.sina.com.cn/jsjhlzm002

[Important] Promise's Words of Wisdom

Food,
is not just to fulfill our hunger and appetite;
it needs to be healthy and tasty, and no matter what happens, it HAS to be healthy and tasty in all circumstances.
doesn't need to be too fancy. Simplicity builds the important flavors.
must be affordable for ALL.
should be easy and quick to cook @ home.
can be made by everyone,
even if you're one of the people who never touches the kitchen, and
if you do, you might be the cause for an accident.
connects the people around you;
all the differences in society and in people disappear because of food
"talk food @ the table" = "the start of a friendly relationship"
gives you energy; not just physically, but also mentally.
makes people happy! 
represents your love and care to others, especially to the ones you care and love the most.
LOVE IS FOR SHARING!!

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

This is a teenage girl's experience and beliefs toward food. She has found herself enjoy making food for all the people around her. Believe it or not, the ability to cook is like having a magical power to make people's days shine, and put a smile on their faces.
You realize that the time and effort you put in don't matter once you see your beloved ones are enjoying your food, and that gives you the feeling of joy and blessing.
The Power of Food = Love, Happiness, Joy, and Motivation, then all wrapped into A Sweet Promise.

More importantly, I care about my personal and my family's health. We are trying to switch to a healthier diet while still being able to enjoy some delicious food. We realized that health should come in the top priority, because without a healthy body, no matter how much money or power you acquire, you are just stuck in the hospital and receive treatments. One of the key success to a healthy diet is cooking at home. Home cooking not only saves tons of money (trust me, I'll show you the calculations in the recipes), but you know what you're eating into your body. You can use olive oil instead of vegetable oil like what most restaurants use. You can go organic and still be way under budget.
One of the major reasons why I created this blog is because I care about the health issues related to food happening in the U.S. The numbers for obesity and diabetes are extremely high and the government is spending tons of money in health care every year. The cause is simple. It's because people don't have a good and healthy diet, and they are always exposed to unhealthy food.

In my blog, I'll be addressing recipes that are healthy, nutrition balanced, fast, and easy. In nowadays, people really don't have the time to make a two, three hour meal (including preping) for their families, and so am I. I never spend more than an hour (this includes cleaning too) in the kitchen preparing dinner for my family, and I have figured out ways to do so. If you are interested, follow me and let's "share love, spread health, and make impact". 

Sincerely,
Promise.