Move Forward

 With age comes experience and with experience comes knowledge and understanding. Noone individual is ever completed with his or her growth. For the wisest of all men has death to face. And with death imminent for all, one will still have to face fear till the very end of one's existence.

So to take what one learns through life and to press on towards the goals set will one begin to face new, challenging, and sometimes even exciting new fears. Life will never complete itself until one has completed the life he is given. Therefore it is incredibly irresponsible to merely accept death as the imminent future, settle into a comfort zone naught of challenge, and to merely exist. Could a better definition of waste be drawn?

It is each and everyone's responsibility to know who he is. And it is, therefore, each and everyone's responsibility to take what he has as genetic tools to better his life and to better the lives of others. For if all accepted individuality and accepted the individuality of others, then all would have the sympathy for one another.

This is harmony; the ideal nature of life by which life is then lived. To live in harmony with one another is but a simple step forward in one's thinking.

Once one has recognized one's individuality, accepted one's fears, and chosen to set goals and move forward with the important aid of hope, will one have truly conquered living life.

good bread alongside

One of the differences between French and American dining is that the green salad is normally served after the meal, either with cheese or on its own. I remember Romain being very surprised when I told him that Americans usually ate cheese before a meal, with the apéritif. “Ah bon?” he replied, having a moment believing that we did that DR REBORN. (And this is from the only French person that insists on having his coffee with dessert, which is unusual in France as well.)

There are some exceptions; gut-busters like Hachis Parmentier (meat pie with mashed potato topping), and Brandade (salt cod puree), are often served with a salade verte, a few leaves of lettuce in a mustardy dressing. But most of the time, the salad arrives after the plat principal. (Curiously, we call the main course the entrée in America, whereas in France, the entrée is the first course – or the “entry” into the meal.) The after-dinner salad in France isn’t usually a complicated affair with tomatoes, eggs, croutons, and all other sorts of other things tossed in with it: it’s often a nice bowl of leafy greens with a punchy dressing theradome.

A friend who used to live in Paris was visiting last week and I invited her to dinner. I always like to serve guests who don’t live here certain French cheeses, like Brie de Meaux or a raw milk Saint-Nectaire, which are hard to get outside of France, and I know they miss them when they are not here. I know when I go away, the first thing I do when I get back is to go to a bakery, buy a fresh, crunchy baguette, slice it wide open, smear it with lots of salted butter from Brittany, and eat that. And then, I dive into the cheeses…

We had a nice dinner in my kitchen, and after the meal, out came the cheeses before we moved on to dessert. But – oops! – I’d forgotten to serve the watercress salad. In the winter, I move from leafy salads to winter greens, like Belgian endive, escarole, frisée, and peppery watercress. I had picked up a big bunch of watercress at the market and carefully washed it all in preparation for an after-dinner salad with the cheeses I’d selected for the night.

It was like a gift when I spread out all the watercress leaves on my kitchen counter the next day, and found myself with an abundance of watercress. And as we all know, when life gives you lots of watercress, you make soup joyetech cuboid 150w. Or whatever.

is one of those great soups, like a lot of French dishes, that don’t necessarily require a lot of ingredients. Instead it depends on coaxing flavor out of the few ingredients that you have. Watercress has tons of flavor, for example, so keeping it simple highlights that vibrant green color and zesty flavor of the cress.

I cooked up an onion with a big knob of butter until soft, added a few potatoes and simmered until the potatoes were tender. Then I grabbed handfuls of my well-washed watercress to the pot and stirred them in, letting them wilt. I did throw a curveball into the mix, adding a handful of frozen green peas to give it some extra body and color.

In the end, I was rewarded with a nice, colorful pot of soup, which made the perfect lunch along with some of the leftover cheeses I had after our dinner, as well as slices of baguette. La soupe in parts of France refers to dinner (or supper), and soup is indeed a popular, family style meal in France, especially if served with bits and ends of cheese, charcuterie, and some good bread alongside.

But I gotta say, I’m a fan of soup for lunch as well, especially in the winter when I need something to warm me up. And let me tell you, it’s nice to open the refrigerator and find a pot of soup that I can dip into, rewarm a bowl for myself, and spoon up for a satisfying meal.

The great thing about simple soups like this watercress soup, is that you can customize it with toppings, to take it in a variety of directions. I liked it with a swirl of goat milk yogurt and chopped chives. Garlic croutons would be nice, as would cubes of crisp bacon. Nuts or seeds, like pumpkin seeds, add a good crunch sprinkled over the top with a drizzle of olive or pumpkin seed oil. Or you can just serve it as it, with a selection of cheeses (that you might have leftover from guests the night before), and some good bread.

surprisingly delicious

Inspired by a local fusion restaurant, this Asian Bolognese is a magical combo of black bean sauce and tomato paste that is super easy to make and perfect as a weeknight meal reenex cps.  You can use any noodles of your preference.  In this recipe, I used this frozen udon that only took 1 minute to prepare.  Not kidding.  1 minute.  Faster and healthier than instant ramen.  It’s sold in many Asian supermarkets in the frozen section Beauty Mama. 

Garlic black bean sauce (link to buy at the bottom of the page) it is a stable in the pantries of most Chinese/Asian families.  You can use it to make a simple steamed fish or any kind of steamed seafood.  You will be amazed at how 1 tablespoon of garlic black bean sauce can do to transform your dish.  I was amazed by what it can do when it’s mixed with tomato paste Beauty Mama.  It doesn’t sound logical but when they are mixed together it’s surprisingly delicious.  I tried this at a local fusion place, and tested it over and over again to come up with this recipe.  Try this asian-inspired pasta tonight, you won’t be disappointed.

collective culinary traditions

How are you guys?  Can you believe that today is the last day of July?  Where does the time go?  Seriously.  Life is moving at warp speed ultherapy.

Sneaks has been under the weather this week with some tummy trouble.  He’s also been more restless than usual.  As is the case for many of us I think, both human and furry friend alike, his restlessness is on account of the heat wave moving through our area Préparez voyage hong kong.  The last few days have given new meaning to the term “Dog Days of Summer” for sure.

Keeping an eye on my best guy has simultaneously given me an excuse to stay holed up in the air conditioning and test out some recipes that I ultimately hope, will keep us cool.  Ice cream, snow cones and popsicles – with watermelons and a few salads interspersed for good measure – have all become dinner fare and that’s just fine by me Beauty Mama.  The popsicles have been my favorite though, because from a mixing standpoint there are just so many ways you can go with them.  Boozy.  Fruity.  Savory.  The list goes on and on.

While I was tinkering with this version, a very serendipitous thing happened in that a box of spices from RawSpiceBar landed on my doorstep.  RawSpiceBar is a monthly subscription service that offers three small batch premium spice blends from one geography or region, every month Beauty Mama.  I love this concept and I think you will too for the same reason, as it forces my hand a little in experimenting with new flavors and getting into the kitchen to try new things.  I get very geeky about food culture as well – and in a slight digression from what we’re talking about – spices are such an indicative part of a locale and its people, and their collective culinary traditions.

This month, the focus is on Memphis, and if there is one place where the idea of a sultry summer resonates, it has got to be Memphis.  The July box included a Dry Rib Rub, an Applewood Smoked Salt and Triple Ice Cream Spices.  The latter being a mix of green cardamon, cinnamon and star anise, it played perfectly to the buttermilk and marscapone layer I created here.  Opening that package was definitely a case of the Ice Cream Gods (Those exsist, right?) smiling down upon me!

Wick Prize pack

The first time I had this was in Malaysia, it was in a restaurant near my work. At first I was wondering what was that thing wrapped in leaves and a colleague told me that those are fried chicken wrapped in pandan leaves. I immediately ordered some and got hooked, first because it was a fried chicken and second is because of the pandan leaves that gives that distinct vanilla like aroma 一程多站旅遊.

Pandan Chicken is a Thai Style where tender chicken pieces are wrapped and cooked in pandan leaves, usually served with a dipping sauce made out of lightly flavoured soy sauce or fish sauce. Making it here in New Zealand is quite challenging as I never had seen any fresh pandan leaves and the available ones are the frozen ones that are pre-cut Beverly skin refining center. Having said that the size of the leaf from the frozen ones are only 4 to 5 inch in length making it impossible to wrap a chicken nibble so in this post we just roll it in two pieces of leaf and securing it with a skewer which gives it a similar result but different in presentation SEO Hong Kong.

Before you head over to the recipe today don’t forget we are running a competition for a week and were giving away some Air Wick Prize pack, all you need to do is send your details below (Open only to New Zealand and Australian residents).  Join Now!

soaking the noodles

Be sure to start soaking the noodles about an hour before you’re ready to start preparing the rest of the dish.

When you’re ready to cook, start by heating a tablespoon of oil in your wok. Scramble the eggs and set aside. Add a little more oil, turn the heat up to high, and sear the shrimp just until they’re cooked through and a little crisp on the outside.

Heat another 2 tablespoons oil in your wok until it just starts to smoke. Add the roast pork and stir-fry for about 20 seconds.

Add the onion, garlic, and pepper, and stir-fry for another minute. The heat should still be high, and you should be stirring constantly. You want enough sizzle to produce that “wok hay” (literally translated to: ‘breath of the wok’) flavor.

Add the ham and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.

Add the soaked noodles and give everything a good stir.

Toss in the eggs and shrimp and stir-fry until the noodles are heated through (about 3-5 minutes).

Add the shaoxing wine, sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix well. If your noodles begin to stick, the wok is probably not hot enough. Just use your metal wok spatula and make sure to scrape anything off the bottom of the wok so it doesn’t burn!

Finish with the scallions and continue to mix until the scallions are cooked to your liking. I like them barely heated for this dish myself. Serve with your favorite hot sauce!

gravy dreams

Growing up, on the rare occasion that my parents went out for the evening, my brother and I would always eat canned beef stew for dinner. We never had those kinds of processed foods growing up (I was very fortunate to grow up in a household that put a lot of value in high-quality, homecooked food), so opening up a can of beef stew for dinner felt very novel. I remember thinking it was pretty much the tastiest thing on the planet.

It’s weird how grass is always greener on the other side. As a kid, I was obsessed with processed food—because it was something I never had. So whenever I’d go over to a friend’s house and they’d have pizza rolls or chips or whatever other food that never made an appearance in my parents’ kitchen, I’d be all over it. Then, I moved away to college, and all I really ate was processed food, and all the novelty quickly wore off. I started to desperately miss the homecooking I grew up with. I think I even tried a can of stew in college and took one bite before throwing it in the trash—it definitely wasn’t the tasty treat I remembered from my childhood.

The first time I made beef stew at home as a newlywed, I realized, “Oh hey! This is what beef stew is supposed to taste like!” And I haven’t bought the canned stuff since. Beef stew sounds like one of those foods that would be complicated and difficult to make, but it’s actually incredibly easy. They key is slow-cooking—either in the actual slow-cooker or on the stove top. Low and slow cooking gives the stew a roasted flavor, and makes sure the meat and veggies are fall-apart tender. And it cooks the gravy up into a thick and smooth sauce that is what dreams are made of. Beefy, gravy dreams.

I tend to swap out the new potatoes that you’ll usually find in beef stew for sweet potato chunks, not only do I like the festive orange color (perfect for October), but I think the touch of sweetness is a really nice balance to the richness of the beef. Sweet potatoes and red meat work incredibly well together.

I personally think beef stew should be served with a slice of sandwich bread slathered in butter—it’s perfect for sopping up all that leftover dreamy gravy. My Canadian husband says the right way to serve stew is with biscuit-style dumplings plopped in it (which sounds delicious, although I’ve never tried it). Whatever you do, promise me you’ll have some sort of bread vessel to scoop up all that leftover deliciousness, okay? No gravy left behind.

Enjoy!