New Thrill Ride Manta at SeaWorld

Are you a thrill seeker? Someone who is crazy about any new roller coaster rides in the U.S. or the world and would do anything to ride on them? Well, get ready for the new Manta at SeaWorld, Orlando! The well talk about but kept secret ride is going to have the grand opening on May 22, 2009. Do you want to be the first among many to ride on Manta? You can buy the ticket online now and participate in the activities to earn complimentary electronic photograph from your Manta ride experience at SeaWorld Orlando. If you complete all six of the activities on this site, you will go straight to the front of the line when you earn Manta "Front-of-the-line" pass at SeaWorld Orlando.



Manta is the first flying roller coaster in the world that incorporated up close animal encounters with head-first, face-down thrill ride. During the queue, you will get to experience the underwater worlds of tropical fishes, three hundreds rays, sea dragons, a massive Pacific octopus and thousands of schooling fishes. There is a pop-up aquarium that provides the unique 360 degree underwater view. No boring waiting in line for Manta but an incredible underwater aquarium awaits you to explore. Then, a giant manta ray thrill ride adventure that speeds, flies, soars, glides and spins while riding it face-down will give you the climax that you were seeking in the end. Come experience the Manta yourself!

Steamed Fish Fillet with Chili Black Bean

I love to steam my fish in the oven. It is no fuss, no cleaning, super easy and ready in 10 minutes, who wouldn't love this method as compared to the traditional Chinese steaming method using a wok? To steamed fish, you just need to cover the whole fish in the aluminum foil and let it steam in the oven. After you done eating, just fold and toss away the aluminum foil. As easy as that! I was trying a new recipe for my steamed fish and it turned out so good so I would share it here and for my own record. It was a little spicy from the chili oil but not too bad, even my girls had no problem eating it. The saltiness came from the black bean and soy sauce. And I loved lots of ginger and garlic for extra flavor.



Ingredients:

Fish fillet(s) of your choice
1-2 Tbsp. Black bean in chili oil
1 Tbsp. White cooking wine
1.5 tsp. Soy sauce
2-inch size of ginger, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
One big piece of aluminum foil

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 450'F. Then go prepare the fish fillet(s).

2. In a baking pan, lay the aluminum foil on top. Place the fish fillet(s) in. Fold the sides up so that the sauce wouldn't run out. Top the fish with chopped ginger and garlic. Then top it with black bean in chili oil, white wine and soy sauce. Fold the sides of aluminum foil together and seal it.

3. Place the baking pan in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. When done, be careful when you open the seals as the steam would come out and it is pretty hot. Serve hot.

Pan Fried Crispy Tofu

Had some leftover tofu and decided to pan-fry it. Tofu can be quite bland so remember to season generously yet not over board. Best to enjoy the crispy tofu with a condiment such as this Thai sweet chili sauce or ketchup.



Ingredients:

Regular Tofu, cut into slices like above

Season with:
Sea salt grinder
McCormick Italian herb seasoning grinder
Peppercorn Medley grinder
Rice flour or cornstarch for coating

Serve with:
Thai sweet chili sauce

Method:

1. Cut the tofu and pat dry with paper towel on both sides. Season generously with seasoning listed on both sides except rice flour/cornstarch. Let it season for at least 30 minutes.

2. In a plate, pour some rice flour/cornstarch. In a medium heat skillet, heat some oil. Coat both sides of seasoned tofu with flour and slowly put into the heated oil. Pan-fry both sides of tofu until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce or ketchup.

Baked Raisin Donuts

These baked donuts are not very sweet and suitable for glazing and icing. Texture is cake like and soft. The texture is different from the dough like deep fried donuts that we grew to love. But a healthy alternative to introduce to children. A very good breakfast grab and go or after school snack. I omitted the glazing and icing because I see those as extra calories and fat. I am also one of those that would scratch off the icing/frosting on top of a piece of cake before I eat it (yeah we do exist!). I have learned eating healthy starts at a young age. If you start them young, they will probably follow this eating habit when they grow up. I started when I was in my teens (I used to love all the fatty meat and chicken skin), but when my parents started having issue with high blood pressure and high cholesterol and thus changes in my mom cooking to accommodate less salt, no red meat, no high cholesterol food, etc. It changed my way of eating too and made me awared of the term "cholesterol" and how to eat healthy to prevent it. So, twenty+ years down the road, I can tell you IT WORKS! I'm medium size build, always like this (not the skinny type) and in Malaysia, people are considered me FAT. But, I have very good overall cholesterol reading, good Tri, good HDL and LDL numbers (without any exercise, but now I try to incorporate 30 minutes of cardio exercise and some running everyday). Whereas my older sister and younger brother now both have high cholesterol and my brother is the skinny type. So, it proved to me that my diet works and I just have to keep following this eating habit and fight off the temptation.

Okay, back to topic, I re-created this recipe to accommodate the American 6 oz. size of yogurt. Using 150g out of 170g tub of yogurt we have here just too troublesome for me. I just wanted to use the whole tub without doing any measuring, and hence this recipe for my future reference. Can certainly add a little more sugar if you like it sweeter or just glaze it.



Ingredients:

(A)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

(B)
1 large egg
1 tub (6oz/170g) plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extra
1/3 cup dried raisins



Method:

1. In a big glass bowl, combine (A). Whisk thoroughly with a whisk.

2. In the center, add (B) except raisins. Whisk until combine. Add raisins and mix well. Use a spoon and fill the greased donut pan.

3. Bake at preheated 400'F oven for 10 minutes. Remove with a toothpick and cool on wire rack. Store in air-tight container.

*Yields 12 healthy baked donuts*

Check out my other baked donuts:
1. Healthy baked donuts
2. Assorted baked donuts
3. Green Tea Flavored Baked Donuts

Join BeeWellMiles.com For Breast Cancer

I always watch what I eat. Those foods that I think are bad for us, I don't buy. My motto is if it is not at home, then we won't eat it. So, I always have the fresh fruit and vegetable at home with Trans fat free crackers or healthy cookies or bakes that I made at home. Of course eating healthy has been keeping me healthy but I never exercise. Then, on my yearly visit to my OB/GYN, she asked me have I been exercising? Embarrassingly I had to answer her no. Then, she said a line that just stuck into my head. She said try to work up at least 30 minutes a day to keep your heart healthy. As I always thought of exercising to loose weight and keep fit, but never to keep my heart healthy. So, that did it. I want my heart to be healthy! So, I have been exercising regularly for about two months now and I can certainly see that my heart is getting healthier, since the exercises that I did in the beginning almost had me died, but these days I can do it fairly easy. I have been running about 1.5 mile a day so when I came across BeeWellMiles, run/walk for breast cancer, why not? Now that I can run and knowing that I will be running for a good cause and it certainly encourage me to run longer, I will be aiming at 3-5 miles a day (now that the weather is getting warmer).

So, have you been active? Is walking or running a regular exercise for you? If yes, join BeeWell Miles and log on the miles you walk or run for a good cause. Every mile you walk or run from 4/1/09-10/31/09, Bumble Bee Foods will donate $0.15/mile for every mile logged at BeeWellMiles.com (up to $200,000) to help Breast Cancer Network of Strength provide emotional support to those who can't wait for tomorrow's cure. There is even an incentive for you, each day you log miles or enter the game code from the pink Bumble Bee cans, you can instantly win one of the $15,000 prizes.

Once you are there, you will find BeeWellMiles is a resourceful place for people who want to get healthy. It has information from healthy living experts, you will get to interact with others, you can log in the activities you do and see how much calories you burn, even enter the food you eat to see how much calories it count towards your daily intake and so on. So, come and join me and get healthier together!

Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Shrimps Sauce

Foodbuzz and Buitoni partnered up and sent the Tastemakers of Foodbuzz a packet of Wild Mushroom Agnolotti to try. This is one of Buitoni newest products and I was glad to be one of the first to sample this, even before it hits the market, cool right? Frankly I never had this before and was scrambling my head of how to cook this pasta. Just so it happen that Buitoni is also running a promotion contest for the original pasta sauce recipe to compliment one of these pasta in the month of April. So, put on my creative hat and started to picture a sauce that will compliment the wild mushroom agnolotti that I received. I thought shrimps will go well with the wild mushroom and some Italian herbs and white wine reduced sauce. So, this recipe was created and it passed the taste test of the four of us. The wild mushroom agnolotti was flavorful on its own but in combination with my shrimps sauce made it a more complete meal. Truly delicious! You guys should try it! Now, just hope that my creative shrimps sauce (something different eh?) will win me a prize from Buitoni. :)



Ingredient:

1 (9oz) Buitoni All Natural Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, cooked as package direction, drain and place on a plate.
5 large shrimps (size 26-30), minced (smashed with a cleaver and chopped it)
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped scallion, separated
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
20 grinds McCormick Italian herbs seasoning grinder
1/4 cup white cooking wine



Method:

1. In a saute pan, in medium heat, add olive oil. When hot, add in minced shrimps, the white part of chopped scallion and garlic. Saute until shrimps are cooked.

2. Add in Worcestershire sauce , Italian herbs seasoning, saute well. Add white cooking wine to deglaze the pan, scrambling the pan well and add the green part of the chopped scallion. Pour the thicken sauce on top of the wild mushroom Agnolotti.

3. Serve with few dashes of red pepper flakes for extra kick.

Note: You can add more shrimps if you like, just remember to increase the olive oil. ;)

C'elle

I had written about this before but in case someone missed it, I am going to introduce C'elle again. Also C'elle is running a promotion now and I wanted my readers to be aware of it, if you are interested. C'elle is your monthly miracle. It is a technology that collect, isolate and preserving the potential life-saving stem cells found naturally in your menstrual blood. The patent-pending easy-to-use collection kit makes collecting it easy, so you can be rest ensure. But who needs it the most?

Someone who has a family history of breast cancer, diabetes, stroke, vascular regeneration or heart diseases would be a start. Or if you are constantly worrying about your future health problem. What if there is the option for your to do something in the present to prevent future health problem? Currently, several pre-clinical trials are ongoing using these stem cells to treat diseases I mentioned above. Additional therapeutic developments may lead to the treatments of major diseases like Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's; as well as possible cosmeceutical applications like wound-healing and anti-aging providing the potential for living a longer and healthier life. In the future, menstrual stem cells may be the basis of medical treatments for serious diseases. If you are interested, for a limited time offer, you can save $400 on enrollment, just pay $299 by mention code CN400 by April 30th.

Curry Vegetable Using Leftover

Whenever you cook a big pot of curry gravy for your curry noodle and have some leftover curry, don't throw it away. You can use it to make curry vegetable. Throw in some prawns too if you like. That's what I did with my leftover curry gravy. I was left with a bowl of this delicious curry gravy and it was too "sayang" (wasteful) to throw it away. So, this idea came to mind and I whipped out this delicious bowl of curry vegetable in 15 minutes, just enough to soften the carrot and cooked the veggies.

Ingredients:

Leftover curry laksa gravy
1 cup frozen cut green beans
1 carrot, cut
1/2 red bell pepper, cut

Method:

Heat up the curry gravy in a saucepan until boiling, then add in all the veggies and let it boil again. When boiled, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with hot rice.

Stir Fried Bok Choy with Chicken

This is one of my easy all in one dish. All nutritious and protein into one bowl. I used the regular bok choy, the one with darker green leaves for this stir-fry. My friend told me the darker the green leaves in a veggie, the better it is for us. I know for a fact that leafy greens are good for us, so I always make sure that I serve lots of green leafy greens in my family.

Ingredients:

3 heads of regular bok choy (darker green leaves), separated, washed and cut into small pieces with steams and leaves separated.
1/4 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
1 small carrot, cut
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 chicken breast, sliced and marinated in salt, rice wine, sesame oil, white pepper and cornstarch
2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1/4 cup water

Method:

In a wok, heat up oil. When hot, add in marinated chicken pieces, stir-fry until half cook, add in garlic, fry for a while. Add in steams part of bok choy, carrot and bell pepper. Stir-fry until chicken is cooked, add the leaves of bok choy and stir-fry well. Add water and season with oyster sauce.

Pandan Dodol - Homemade

My family loved dodol. We adored the triangle shaped Durian dodol and Pandan dodol. But the online store where I got my fix from had closed down. So, what to do? Guess I will have to make my own. When I was at Lily's house on CNY party, I got a taste (more than a taste, :P) at her homemade dodol. It was so gooooood, I got a fix then. Later, her daughter told me it was very easy to make, just use the microwave. Okay, anything easy was what I liked, so I went to look at Lily's recipe, very few ingredients which I have, instruction seem fairly easy too. So, why not?

Well, not so easy! Expect to have some good arm exercise at stirring the mixture vigorously for about 11 intervals or so. I kept stirring and stirring and when I touched the dodol, it still stuck to my finger even though it was shinning. Luckily at 11 intervals, I finally did it, I thought it would never stop. So, if you want to eat some dodol, expect to work hard for it. :P


Wrapped nicely to cool off.

You can find the original recipe at Lily's blog. Below is my adaptation of her recipe with added pandan extract. Resulted pandan dodol: soft, with the fragrant of Pandan and slightly chewy, simply delectable! My hard work was well worth it.

Ingredients:

(A)
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz Gula Melaka, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. Pandan extract

(B)
1 cup glutinous rice flour
1 Tbsp. rice flour
1 can (400ml) coconut cream (Cream not milk ok!)
1/2 cup water


Dodol, dodol 我爱你！Very generous with my slices, Evy said it looked like a worm. :) Can you see how soft it is?

Method:

1. Add (A) in a microwave safe glass bowl and cook on "High" in a microwave for 5 minutes. Use a whisk and whisk until sugar dissolved. If not, cook for another minute.

2. Add (B) and whisk until combined. Strain the mixture.

3. Cook on "High" at 3 minutes interval, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon at every interval. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens, is shinny and does not stick to finger when touched. It took me 11 intervals, ouch my arm!

4. Transfer dodol to a greased (I sprayed mine with canola oil) cling wrap, wrap up well and let it cool at room temperature. When cooled, cut into pieces and enjoy. Keep it at room temperature well wrapped. It is so good, it will be finished in no time, but very fattening, so snack on it smartly. I finished mine on the 3rd day (I snacked on it smartly, divided by 4 persons each day :P) and it was still as soft as the 1st day.


Look at how my girls helped me polished the bowl! Yes girls, don't waste the dodol.


So good mommy, 很好吃啊，妈妈! :)

Salmon with Ginger Salted Bean Sauce

This dish is so good. Definitely saving it to make my salmon dish in the future. The sauce is slightly on the salty side, so remember to eat it with lots of rice. You can probably dilute the sauce with some water, but I like my sauce thick. You don't have to season the salmon at all. Just enjoy the salmon with this thick and yummy sauce is enough to make you clean your rice bowl at no time. This is one of my experiments in the kitchen that turned out superb. Now I am a converted salmon fan (but I only like WalMart wild salmon)! What an opposite to people who dislike WalMart wild salmon eh?



Ingredients:

2 Salmon fillets
Rice flour
Oil for pan-frying

1 Tbsp. yellow salted soy beans, smashed
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup water
3-inch length ginger, cut into tiny pieces

Method:

1. Coat both sides of salmon with rice flour. In a non-stick skillet, on medium heat, add a little oil. When hot, pan-fry both sides of salmon until cooked. Dish out and set on a plate.

2. With the leftover oil (pour away some if it's too much), add in ginger and fry until fragrant. Add in the smashed salted soy beans, fry for a minute, add in water, oyster sauce and sugar. Fry until well mixed and thicken. Pour the sauce over salmon. Serve hot.

Note:
If you are questioning about the color of this salmon, let me explain it to you. This is the wild salmon that was caught in the ocean without going through the migration and spawning yet (which happen in late spring or early summer at the same exact location). The bright pink/red hues only developed during spawning. I figure the meat of this wild salmon is less tough because they are in this relax stage. During migration, swimming up stream at a rate of 4 miles per day will surely work up those muscles/flesh, not only making the color brighter but tougher. Therefore, I prefer this salmon because the flesh is tender, more suitable for our family.

I am also submitting my recipe to the Original Recipe event hosted by Lore at Culinarty. Check out others' recipes around the week of 15th.

Healthy Whole Wheat and Oats Cookies

The recipe I promised. Sharing with you my healthy whole wheat and oats cookies made using canola oil. No fragrant of butter but each bite leaving you feeling less guilty. Canola oil has lower saturated fat, zero trans fat, higher monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat which are better for your heart. Whole wheat and oats are also recommended heart healthy diet so this cookie is sure a healthy cookie to me. Still no over indulgence, limit to 2-3 cookies per day. Any over snacking will result in gaining weight as you know. But of course it is better to snack on some thing healthy for you instead of bad for you. This is a crispy cookie and sort of addictive (well to me).

Ingredients: (Yields about 40, 1.5-inch cookies)

(A)
1 egg
125 ml. canola oil
1/2 tsp. PURE vanilla extract
1/4 cup + 1/8 cup white granulated sugar

(B)
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats (or instant oatmeal)



Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350'F. In a bowl, whisk together (A).

2. Add (B) and mix with a spatula until combined. Use your hand if needed.

3. Shape into a 1-inch ball size dough and press to flatten. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Arrange 1 inch apart as this cookie will expand slightly while baking.

4. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before transfer the cookies to cool completely on wire racks. Store in air-tight container.

Stir Fried Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Ground Pork

One of my quick dinner is to stir-fry noodle. I always have some chopped garlic and cut carrot in my refrigerator ready to be used. So, all I needed to do for this noodle is to julienne some red bell pepper, shallots and washed and cut some baby bok choy (available at WalMart or your local Asian supermarket). I kept boxes of 100% whole wheat spaghetti in my pantry for use in Asian or Western cooking, whichever strike my fancy that day. According to American Heart Association, diet rich in whole grains and other plant foods, and low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may help reduce the risk of heart disease. Only look for those that said 100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat to get the full benefit.

100% whole grain or whole wheat spaghetti can be delicious, just cook to the maximum amount of time listed at the back of the instruction. Cook it a minute or two longer if you prefer the texture to be softer. I once tried a sample at Costco where they tried to market the whole grain spaghetti but the salesperson undercooked it as the spaghetti was hard and chewy, what message did he send? That whole wheat/whole grain spaghetti was hard and chewy which seem to be agreeable with what the majority think. Do you think people would buy it with that kind of experience? I am doubtful. Anyway, instead of eating it with Parmesan cheese (as served in Costco), why not try stir-frying it Asian style? I have no doubt it is much delicious this way. Try it!



Ingredients:

1 box (13.25 oz/ 375g) of 100% whole wheat spaghetti, cooked per package direction and drain with cold water (I cooked mine for 11 minutes).
1/2 lb. Ground Pork
1/4 Red bell pepper, julienne
1 Carrot, cut
About 2-3 bunches of Baby Bok Choy, washed and cut
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
3 small Shallots, sliced

Sauce:
4 Tbsp. Oyster sauce
2 Tbsp. Dark soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar

Method:

1. In a stir-fry pan, add in some cooking oil and fry the shallots until fragrant. Add in ground pork and garlic, fry until ground pork is on longer pink. Add in the rest of the ingredients except spaghetti and stir-fry well.

2. Add in the sauce and fry to combine. Toss in the spaghetti and mix to blend well with the sauce. Season to taste. Might need to add in a little salt if not salty enough. I serve mine with my homemade chili in oil.

I would love to share this dish with Presto Pasta Night . Presto Pasta Night was created by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast. This week host is Marye at Baking Delights. Please hop over on Friday, April 10 to see the round up. Thanks!

Girls Update

I am so proud of my two girls. I decided to move them into their own room yesterday after months of mental preparation injected into Evy. I put them on a queen size mattress so that if they fell off from the mattress, they were not going to hurt themselves. Everything was set, I put on a new bed sheet, more mental preparation talk on both girls while doing that. The night came, Edda was easy because she already fell asleep down stair so I just needed to carry her to the bed. I accompanied Evy to brush her teeth, showed her her own bathroom (sharing with her sister of course), but her own sink and her own face towel. Then ushered her into bed, kissed her good night and laid at the bottom of the bed to wait for her to fall asleep. I was afraid that she might be scared because she always told me she is scared to sleep alone. Thus, the co-sleeping with her sister was my solution. But you know what, she actually told me to go back to my room. I was like really and she said yes and I was real impressed. I actually felt weird sleeping in a room without my two girls or simply worrying about them (took me a long time to fall asleep). I had my monitor on the whole time and they did so well, they slept through the night, no crying, not a single sound. I was so proud of them and I told them so. I kept praising them in the morning and told them how well they did and how proud I am of them. They both kept smiling and I know they understood it. So, another smooth sailing move to their own room.



Next would be Edda potty training (I will get it done when she turned three, right now I am mentally preparing her) and teaching her shapes, colors and alphabet. I will really work on her when her sister goes to Kindergarten this Fall. At that time, I will have the private one on one time with her and thus the best time to really teach her. I will start to prepare her for kindergarten. Phonic digestion at 3 years old and at 4, she will know how to read like her sister. One thing though her learning skill is a bit slow, I guess it was my fault because I did not read to her from 6 months up to a year every night like what I did with her sister. So until now she still cannot differentiate shapes and colors which her sister already knew at 9 months. I can really see the difference what advance reading do to their learning ability. One a fast learner and really smart, the other a slow learner and not as smart. Luckily she started talking in sentences and more now, at 2 she still hardly spoke at all and I was worried. Just that sometimes I have to figure out whether she is talking in Mandarin or English because her pronunciation is a bit off. But she sure try to express herself in sentences.

Evy is going to Kindergarten this Fall. I enrolled her into a school that teaches Mandarin from K to grade 5. She already has good Mandarin foundation and I hope that it will get reinforce in the school. I have prepared her well for Kindergarten as I did not send her to pre-school. She knows how to write, how to read (very good at reading, can read the whole Dora (1) book with no mistake), how to count, how to add and minus in her mind, without using her ten fingers (her mathematics skill is up to grade 1 level), how to use a computer, how to draw, color and tell story of what she drew. She even made a story book, drew some pictures, illustrated the story to me and had me wrote down the story in that book for her. And she would read the story over and over again and kept it as her possession. I have no doubt she will do well in school.

Extra update: The next day, I put both of them in bed, kissed them good night and left the room. Edda still wanted to play I guess because I heard (through my monitor) Evy said, "睡觉了，好不好?". Edda replied, "好". Some comforter ruffle sounds. Few minutes later, Evy said, "睡觉了，好不好? 姐姐累累了，要睡觉了." Then, silent. The following day I asked Evy, she said her sister was trying to tickle her. Haha...

Translation:
Evy said, "Let's sleep, ok?" Edda replied, "ok"
Evy said, "Let's sleep, ok? Sister is very tired and wants to sleep now."

Red Bean Konnyaku Jelly

I was in the mood for some jelly and red bean jelly to be exact. The only jelly powder I had in my pantry was Konnyaku jelly powder, so Konnyaku jelly it was. I bought some mooncake jelly molds when I was in Malaysia last year so I thought this would be the perfect time to use it or open ceremony with it like we Chinese said. I do love this molds, making the jelly looking ultra cute. I wanted to make a red bean jelly because I had a canned of red bean and making a red bean jelly was much easier than making a red bean kuih even though both tasted great. Also I got to use my new jelly molds. :)



Here's my easy, refreshing and delicious red bean jelly recipe. No pre-cooking of red bean required. ;)

Ingredients:

(A)
One packet of Redman Konnyaku jelly powder (10gm)
3/4 cup sugar

750ml water
200ml whole milk (you can use skim or 2%)
One 475g (16.75oz) canned whole red bean (shelled) for dessert topping



Method:

1. In a bowl, mix (A) together and whisk to combine. Set aside.

2. In a medium pot, add 750ml water to boil. When boiling, add in (A). Whisk until sugar dissolved. Add milk and red bean, whisk to blend well.

3. Pour into jelly molds of your choice. Let it cool at room temperature before transferring it to harden completely in the refrigerator. Roughly 2-3 hours. Serve chilled.

Deep Fried Chicken Strips

Who wouldn't love fried chicken strips? Anything deep fried with batter is pretty appealing, unless you are a health conscious person who seldom eat fried food. I have cut down a lot of deep-frying at my house, but once in a while I do like to treat my girls to some deep-fried food. I love freshly ground grinder and you can easily find the Spice Depot spice grinders at WalMart. It came in bigger bottle with cheaper price which I liked, any bargain is a great bargain to me. You can visit the website for recipe idea, recipes or check out the variety of spices they carry. Here's my crispy fried chicken strips recipe to share with you.

Ingredients:

1 big chicken breast, cut into long strips

Marinade:
Spice Depot spicy sea salt grinder, about 20 grinds
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1/4 tsp. coriander powder

Batter:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Spice Depot spicy sea salt grinder, about 10-15 grinds
1/2 cup water

Enough oil for deep-frying



Method:

1. Add marinade into the chicken breast strips, stir well and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

2. In a wok, add in enough oil for deep frying and turn the heat to medium high. In the meantime, prepare the batter. Add all ingredients in a bowl and stir with a spoon until the flour is well mixed and no lumps.

3. Take one chicken strip and dip into the batter until fully coated and drop gently into the hot oil. Deep fry until the chicken is cooked and golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Serve warm.



If you have any leftover batter, don't waste it, just use any fresh vegetable you have in your refrigerator for some tempura veggie. I used some cut sweet snap peas and carrot which I prepared earlier for omelet. You can use broccoli, carrot, sweet potato, potato, green bean, etc. The choice is yours! Enjoy!

Sears Clearance Sales

Last chance call out, last chance call out! Sears is offering a HUGE clearance sales up to 75%-80% off original prices on Fall and Winter apparel from now until April 18th. I just visited the Website and browsed through all the clearance prices on women's clothing. WOW! was my expression. The prices are great and lots of branded women clothes are on sales. If you love Apostrosphe, you would be happy at the prices offering now. It is as low as $3.59 and many $5.99. Shopping at the store can be quite a pain because it is hard to find the one offering online on clearance, or it would have been taken by someone else when you got there. I found shopping online much to my liking and so much easier.



Look at what I found! The pretty dress above only costs $8.99 and the original price was $68.00. What a steal right to be able to buy a dress at this price range. In Malaysia, this dress would have cost a bomb. Online shopping is also hassle free. If the dresses, shirts, or pants turn out too small or large or do not fit well, you can always return it at the Sears store. It is a satisfaction guaranteed and worry-free shopping. Sheesh, let you in with extra deal, just do a search on Sears coupon code and you will get an extra $5 off $50, coupon code expires on April 11th. ;)

Salmon with Ginger Slices

Salmon is rich in omega 3 fatty acid and is one of the fishes recommended for heart healthy diet. My husband and I are not a fan of salmon. Often time I eat salmon is due to the fact that it is rich in omega 3, that's the only reason that I would eat it. Another reason is salmon is not cheap at all, especially wild salmon. I don't really like the farm raised salmon mainly because coloring is added to make it looks pink, not to elaborate about the farming of salmon and the condition the salmon were in before it has been packaged. But, I found that you can actually buy affordable wild salmon at Walmart. I bought One lb (16oz) of individually vacuum sealed fillets, wild caught, all natural salmon for only $3.50 (about 4 fillets) on sales, usual price is $3.95. And the whole half size of the wild salmon for only $7+, that's affordable to me. So, I got tempted just because it's high in omega 3 fish oil. I want to balance this fish with the Tilapia fillet that we liked. When I bought this, my hubby actually said who wants to eat this yucky fish. *roll eyes*



I felt like I needed to prove him wrong. Prove to him that salmon can be delicious too, he just needed to be more open minded like me. I took the salmon out to thaw with the thought that if he really didn't like it, that's okay as I could have his share. ;) This wild salmon was actually delicious! I kept it simple, I didn't season the fish fillets at all. I just coated it with cornstarch and pan-fried both sides until cooked. Then, in a little oil, I fried the ginger slices until golden brown, then added in dark soy sauce and sugar. Then, I pour the sauce along with ginger slices on top of the salmon fillets. It's simple and delicious. Oh, I love ginger, so I wanted a lot of it on my fish (Ginger has antioxidants and is an anti-inflammatory food). If you don't like ginger, you can substitute it with minced garlic, scallion, a little chopped red chili. Well, my hubby actually said it was not bad and finished his share. :)

Note: Not sure whether wild salmon plays a part compared to farm salmon in taste wise.

Free Attractions at Kissimmee

When I think of Kissimmee, I think of all the world class theme parks nearby. Like Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlanda, Disney's Animal Kingdom all the great places that I can bring my kids to see, play and experience. I remembered the first time I went to these world famous theme parks, I stayed at Kissimmee, I couldn't forget the name because it sounded like "kiss me" Hahaha... Anyway, we stayed at Kissimmee because the lodging was really affordable. As a university student, budget was key and we were really glad to find a nice motel at an affordable price, the selection of lodging were wide range, just picked one that bests meet your need and budget.

But do you know Kissimmee offers more? There are lots of free activities that we can do at Kissimmee like bird watching for one. If you are a nature lover and love bird watching, you can spot some of these awe-inspiring endangered Whooping Cranes at Lake Lizzie Nature Preserve, the Osceola County Environmental Center, and in the Wildlife Management Areas of Bull Creek, Prairie Lake, Three Lakes, and Triple N Ranch- all Great Birding Trail Site. Osceola County also has the largest population of nesting bald eagles in the continental U.S. Take a rest from the theme park to go do some hiking or picnic at the Lakefront parks would be great.



After relaxing a day for some bird spotting and watching, you can head to another theme park or attraction the next day. Then, the following day, let's slow down the pace and visit the East Lake Toho in St. Cloud for a full day of free family fun revolving around a beach, a playground, and several lakefront fishing spots including a tranquil fishing pier with a gazebo. After a day of play, my daughters would love to relax at the beach and build some sand castles. It would be a beautiful day for a picnic at the beach too.

The best vacation doesn't have to be expensive, it can be free too. Right now, Kissimmee is giving away three (3) weekend getaways (3 days/2 nights) for two (2); and two (2) week long vacations for four (4). Drawings will be held on or around 4/1/09, 5/1/09 and 6/1/09. The best vacations are free! So, go enter the sweepstakes yourself as I already did mine. Go to the above link to enter.