Have you ever tried Turkish Ice cream? No? That's the only thing everybody needs to try before the end of the world! I'm not kidding! Turkish Ice cream is hand made, chewy, with light coffee flavors, the BEST ever!! The vendor will even further impress you with their final friendly and fun trick, like shown in this video from youtube.com
I had too much meat stuff from the holidays. Desperately look for something new, light and yum yum. Then I read the article about Kate Middleton on Yahoo.com. How's Kate Middleton related to food? well, I'm sure she drinks tea! That's only partial reason. Did you notice the hat she was wearing for the Royal's Christmas day? The hat!! Ah Ha! The recipe was inspired by Kate Middleton's hat!!
Of course everybody knows how to use teapot!! It's no brainer! That's why no teapot comes with any instruction;)) But wait, do not be surprised if grandma uses it to water flowers! It works!
Stainless steel teapots are more of modern invention. Most of teapots we use today are made from clay, glass, China, or pottery. I love all of them.
Christmas was over!! Can you believe it? Too short!!! Do you feel the say way?
Holidays are always about food and families, regardless of which country you are from. Christmas is not a typical Chinese holiday but it becomes more popular in China! Who will reject a nice gift and a great meal?;)) I wont!! The more, the merrier!!!
Well I bet you have a lot of leftovers, except if your guests were hungry horses;)) Most of times, moms always prepare tons of yum yum foods for holidays. The results are they need to figure out ways to "digest" those leftovers, without wasting any!
Do you know what today is? In Chinese calendar, it's called Dong Zhi (冬至 in Chinese, one of the 24 Solar Terms for weather），meaning today is the day that has the longest night and shortest day time in this year! In Northern China, people normally eat dumplings or Wonton!!
Here's the story from Wikipedia: In northern China, people typically eat dumplings on Dongzhi. It is said to have originated from Zhang Zhongjing in the Han Dynasty. On one cold winter day, he saw the poor suffering from chilblains on their ears. Feeling sympathetic, he ordered his apprentices to make dumplings with lamb and other ingredients, and distribute them among the poor to keep them warm, to keep their ears from getting chilblains. Since the dumplings were shaped like ears, Zhang named the dish "qùhán jiāoěr tāng" (祛寒嬌耳湯) or dumpling soup that expels the cold. From that time on, it has been a tradition to eat dumplings on the day of Dongzhi.
I used to have a super friendly and adorable dog-golden retriever who died few years ago. I cooked a lot of meat even though I don't eat that much. I normally let the dog eat the meat and I eat the veggie. Every time while I was cooking, my dog would jump around and could not stop barking. He knew he would have a yumm meal for sure!
Can you imagine a dog eat food like a human?;)) This video shows you how it looks like!!;)) Super cute!!
I mentioned I made Mango Red Wine Chicken Drumsticks for the Non profit Potluck lunch last week. Was too busy then when I prepared the dish and forgot to take pictures. I still have little bit Mango jam from last batch, and half bottle of red wine from Argentina I bought at Costco. It's a no-brainer to just make Mango drumsticks with Red Wine again!
Are you struggling with what to buy and should you buy that gift for the holidays? This chart may give you some ideas as if you should buy that gift, considering the current economic situation!
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Hope you shopping this weekend is as relaxing as this cute polar bear!!!
I made my first Lightly Alcoholic Blooming Tea Punch and everyone loved it!!! This drink is inspired by a recipe from "The Ultimate Guide to Pitcher Drinks" by Sharon Tyler Herbst. I always love orange juice, my top beverage whenever I go to restaurant!! Not tea? you may ask. Nah...I do not drink any tea served in restaurant;)) Kinda picky;)) I went to Mitsuwa few weeks ago and bought few bottles of Sake. Today I finally figure out ways to use them!
Today is my headache day;((( Whether migrain or cold, I am having my ginger tea for a whole day!! Feel a little bit better, but it will take few days to recover!
I met a lady who came from India. I do not even have to ask if she drinks tea because all Indians drink tea;))) agree? but she told me she creates her own version of custom tea blands-grows her own herbs and blend with tea leaves. That's so fascinating to me!! She lives in Minnesoda and grows herbs in her backyard. Imagine using all fresh ingredients to brew your own customized cuppa!!!
I had a potluck Lunch with my non-profit org team to celebrate Christmas yesterday!! I brought this Whole Wheat Banana Olive Oil Cake as a dessert and....it was the star of the whole event!!!!
I have been supporting Young Science Achievers Program for years. Today we few mentors met together and had a wonderful Holiday Potluck Lunch together. It was a small group and we had a great conversation!! We talked about many interesting things, such as kids at school, kids on Facebook, new style TV, cell phone, privacy (do we have any left?)), social networking (which keeps everyone busy, huh?;)), cloud (yeah! heard of it? always cloudy!), and the next big thing, etc...Do I sound very geek?;))) I was a nerdy, only at today's lunch;)))
I found knitting is very soothing and relaxing! It brings my memory back (Am I getting olde?), the time I spent with my family. My two grandmas and mom were super good at knitting.
In Chinese tradition, skills like knitting, sewing and cooking were so important that women could not find a man if they could not knit, or cook well.
When I was young, I loved knitting very much. It became an "addiction". Knitted many wool pants for my family in Winter breaks after school!! I also designed few sweaters-all hand made!!
I love everything hand-made. Went to Michaels the other day and could not help buy some yarns! I also bought few craft books which include knitting instructions. Hopefully I can find some tea cosy knitting pattern.
I know I do not have much time knitting these days and it's cheaper to buy a one! I always wanted a hand made tea cosy which perfectly fits my teapots and is colorful as well. Believe or not, I just could not find it!!
And...knitting goes perfectly well with tea!! I spent the whole afternoon knitting and had 4 cups of green tea!!! a lot of bath room runs;)) ha!
My neighbor asked me one day, Jane, do you ever make dishes? hahahaha!! I made so many breads, Banana Yogurt bread, Gingerbread, Pumpkin bread, etc, in the past few weeks and never shared any dishes with her!!! My neighbor Jill is a sweetheart.
I am not a vegetarian, but I do not eat meat as much as other people do. I remember when I was very young, we only could afford meat in holidays. And that was the least favorite time for me! I only started eating chicken more after I moved to the US.
One time I was invited to a friend's house for Christmas and his sister made such a fabuslous Cranberry chicken thigh dish that I could die for, seriouly!!! Remember, I am very picky when it turns to meat.
Have you ever tried Gingerbread Man (must from New York, with a scarf;))made with real fresh ginger zest?!!! a MUST HAVE!!!
Before I proceed, let's see the short history of Gingerbread (from wikipedia):
Gingerbread dates back to the 15th century, and figural biscuit-making was practiced in the 16th century.[1] The first documented instance of figure-shaped gingerbread biscuits appearing was in the court of Elizabeth I of England. She had the gingerbread figures made and presented in the likeness of some of her important guests.[
I drove to New York last night for a dinner and got home around mid night. Guess what? I hit the traffic!!! can you believe it? Love New York, but the traffic scares me away sometimes.
Be careful when you drive to shopping malls in holidays, especially Granny;)))
I think I'm qualified as a tea lover, but still my name is not tea;(( If you could, what tea name would you choose as your nick name?;))
I just found a designer on the web. Guess what? This person's name is Tea Petrovic. Tea designed few shoes, really stunning. What you think tea lovers?
If the tea bags are designed like this, will you buy and drink them?;))
Don't forget to check the "Cyber Monday Giveway", which is due by Dec. 2nd, this Friday.
