Humble Oven Fries & Split Pea Soup

Urrrr...I can't believe it's snowing AGAIN! I was really looking forward to spring and warm weather, sigh. Anyway, I made the oven fries and the pea soup a couple of days ago. These are so easy to make and they also clean up the leftovers in your fridge well. 

When it comes to fries, I use any kind of potatoes I can get my hands on. I know some breeds are starchier than others and the retainment of starch affects the crispness of fries. Generally speaking, less-starchy potatoes yield crispier fires. (But it's kind of annoying to figure out which is starchier than others, isn't it?) I used to prefer red potatoes, especially those tiny ones, for oven fries because I just needed to chop each one  in half. How convenient! But red potatoes are usually pricier than others. Russet potatoes are pretty common and price-friendly.  

So this time I used russet potatoes to make fries. The trick is to keep the skin on for at least two good reasons: one is that it's more nutritious this way and the other is that it saves time and trouble. (and the outcome is yummier!) Just simply use a scrub sponge (I have one reserved for scrubbing vegetables only) to remove dirt or mud off the skin. And then julienne the potato into desired strips. On the other hand, mix olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, and Italian herb mix (or thyme, rosemary, fresh/dry parsley...well, you get the idea). Wanna get fancy? Sprinkle some paprika. Rub the oil mix onto the potato strips and send the whole thing into the oven on 380 degree for 30 plus minutes. If you want the result crispier, then just let the fries stay in longer. No-brainer, right? If by any chance you have truffle oil in your pantry, you may drizzle some on the fries and then it becomes the truffle-oil fries ($8) I had at a restaurant in Carlsberg, California:p  

The pea soup is another easy task. If you have milk/half-half/whip cream and chicken stock in your fridge, then you can make any sort of creamy soup. I first sauteed chopped leak (the white and light green parts), chopped onions, and two strips of bacon pork with butter and then added flour into the pen. After mixing well, I threw in few cauliflower florets along with almost 1/3 bag of frozen split peas (the fridge-cleaning act). Added chicken stock. After all of the ingredients soften and cooled-down, I pureed the soup with a smoothie maker (well, the main point is to puree, so use any reasonable tools you can get hands on). Afterwards I heated the soup again, poured in some cream, and seasoned it with salt and pepper (and parmesan cheese). You can also make corn, roasted red pepper & tomato, or other other kind of vegie soups in this manner. Good luck on experimenting your own!     

   

Miracle happens everyday!

Conversion, the most miraculous event, is occurring everyday at every corner of the earth.

"Conversion is the greatest miracle. It is even more wonderful than healing the sick or raising the dead. For while a person who is healed will eventually fall sick again and ultimately die, the miracle of conversion can last forever and affect the eternities for the convert as well as for his or her posterity. Whole generations are healed and redeemed from death through the miracle of conversion."-- quoted by Susan Tanner from her husband's mission journal. 

I think it's so inspiring:) Who says there's no miracle nowadays? 

Chicken Pot Pie?

I love libraries! I've been checking things out of the Provo public library, such as books, DVDs, and magazines. I'm glad I didn't need any "American government-issued" IDs to apply for the library card. Ah! I love the feelings of using stuff for FREE! The Provo library is located on University Ave. and is merely 10-12 minutes away from my house by walking. I've been more willing to walk around my neighborhood lately since the temperature has been much warmer than before. I really can't wait for the spring anymore. I'm not a big fan of working out (yeah, I know, it's bad...) so I count the walk back and forth to the library as my daily exercising regimen. Walking makes me move around, being "green," save gas money...How wonderful !(Yup, I try to comfort myself and overlook the fact that I can't drive)

Yeah, do you notice the chicken pot pie in the pic doesn't look like a regular one? It doesn't even look like a "pie" and definitely doesn't look like  one you can get from your grocery store's freezer aisle. I've tried some of the store-bought kinds; some of them are good whereas the others only contain little flavor with plenty of salt. A good store-bought chicken pot pie usually costs more than 3 bucks; as a thrifty shopper, it's no way for me to spend a penny on it!

So why there is no crust on the "pie"? I'm just too lazy to do it. If you're familiar with the food network star host, Rachael Ray, you would notice she seldom bakes. Well, I can totally empathizes with her. I am that kind of person bakes from a box, a klutz when it comes to making any sort of pastries. So I adopted Rachael's recipe Chicken Mug Pie (please look it up on the food network website) and used the alternative way to replace a traditional crust with biscuits! I got ready-made biscuit dough and baked it in my oven; for one dollar I can make ten biscuits. Just simply dunk the biscuits into the chicken filling in your bowl then done! Make sure you either bake the biscuits in your oven or warm up them before you serve. Fresh biscuit is the best for this dish!

Music, singing, and shouting out loud

(Trav's dog, Oreo)

My personal studying music for a long time is Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 & 3. I would play it over and over again until I finish a study session, or writing a paper. There's some sort of calming power within; meanwhile, it's less distracting than other musics. This music might also have accompanied me through heartaches, different sorts of stress, and loneliness. I guess it's my all-purpose solution. There's just one downside of it: I can't really sing long with it. Sure, I can hum along with it yet where to vent my excessive energy? The yearning for connecting with this world, the yearning for doing something for real instead of staying in this lovely yet overly quite home...Sometimes I wonder. 

Thus I need to sing, not just sing, shout out loud. It's like my kind of exercising for the soul. A couple of falsettos wouldn't hurt my vocal cord. Just let my mind wander along with the pitches and the lyrics. Scream out so that I can hear the echoes of my own voice, piercing through the silent air.  

It just happened last night, right before I fell asleep. All of the sudden, I felt nostalgic about those old days while living in Taiwan and apparently being held in somebody's arm can't resolve this feeling. Don't get me wrong. I love the person I'm with and have promised him that we'll be best friends for eternity, regardless of our personal follies and shortcomings. It just that...I used to work so hard there for my dreams and future. My initial zeal for this life originated there. 23 years of my life was spent there. So many first-time experiences happened there. Although I always refuse to claim my homesickness, somehow it creeps into my dreams and my chains of thought. Have I lost something without knowing it? Do I need to find a new dream? 

About almost 2 and half years ago, Alana asked me why I am here. This is such a typical question you (especially if you're also a foreigner in this country) might have encountered on countless occasions. I didn't know why I tried to answer this seriously at that moment. I told  her, I would like to find a home. I couldn't even remember the exact wording I used, yet I knew I was searching for a home. I loved Taiwan and my family there dearly, yet I wasn't sure if that was the home in my mind. Back then, I didn't know how to love and appreciate much, yet I was adventurous and prone to risk-taking. I felt I missed something in Taiwan so that I came to the states, being rootless voluntarily. Then I found the gospel, the church, and started sensing what I might have missed in the past. I would like to ask myself, THEN, THEN WHAT? What can I do here to really mend myself whole. What kind of dream I should have from now on? And what can I do here to fulfill the purpose of my life and maybe, others' too? 

 p.s. I love Horowitz's Rachmaninoff's piano concerto no. 3 the best.

Sesame Noodles

I've made sesame noodles several times and it's been an easy way to whip up something simple, also has a taste of home. The trick here is to substitute peanut butter for Chinese sesame paste. I believe the peanut butter in the states is generally cheaper than Chinese sesame paste. For this dish, you need to mix fresh minced ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar (or honey), sesame oil, and peanut butter for sauce and eat the noodles with your fav toppings, such as shredded carrots, cucumbers, Japanese egg omelet, shrimps, green onions, and cilantro.    

Parmesan Eggplant

You might have heard parmesan chicken, but have you heard parmesan eggplant? The first time I had parmesan eggplant was in a local restaurant in BG, Ohio (or Biaggi's ?). The eggplant was crispy and golden-brown outside, tender and juicy inside, complimented with basil & tomato sauced pasta. As you can see in the upper picture, the making of the outward crispy coating goes through three steps; first is to coat the eggplant with flour, salt, and pepper mixture, second is to drench it in a egg & water (egg wash) mixture, and finally finish it with seasoned ground bread crumbs (seasonings: dried parsley, salt, and pepper) and shredded parmesan cheese mixture. 

The trick is that the eggplant needs to be thinly coated with these three mixtures. And it's better to slice the eggplant into no bigger than a quarter inch in thickness so that it's easier to pan-fry it and cook it through that way. If you decide to deep-fry the eggplant, you may divide it into thicker slices as desires. Serve the eggplant with tomato sauced pasta, or, like me, serve it with fettuccine alfredo. 

p.s. If you want to make parmesan chicken instead, you may pound chicken breast into thinner piece first for the best result.  

sushi

Thanks to YouTube, I can listen to pop music for free. As to the old days, the happy time of downloading pirate musics & movies onto my PC laptop has long gone. Due to moral & technical issues, I have abandoned this habit for a while. (Now playing - OneRepublic's Too Easy) 

It was my first attempt to make sushi and as you can see the outcome was a bit...umm..."homemade" looking. I didn't really make sushi rice, which is supposed to be infused with rice vinegar and sugar. My brand new kitchen pantry is still equipped with very scarce variety of spices and seasonings. There is neither rice vinegar or toasted sesame seeds in it. Anyway, the upper one has imitation crab and avocado in it while the bottom one has cucumber, carrots, and cream cheese in it. Eat both with wasabi & soy sauce mixture.