Let's cook, bake, craft, and play musical instruments!
Learning is fun! Let's make it even more fun with these cute little amigurumi characters! What is amigurumi? Amigurumi is a Japanese term which refers to crocheted or knitted stuffed toys, which are usually very cute! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to homeschool our 3rd-grade daughter. This decision has brought us not only... Continue Reading →
For those of us who don't live in our hometown or home country, there are times when we crave our hometown comfort food but can't just go out and buy it. Recreating that hometown taste is the only way to satisfy our cravings. A bowl of Char Siu with rice (叉燒飯) warms my heart and... Continue Reading →
Scones complement your morning (and also afternoon!) coffee or tea. The crusty and crumbly exterior contrasts so well with the fluffy and moist interior. The perfect yin and yang! Sometimes you wake up late and want a pastry, (I'm not a morning person, are you?) but it's absolutely impossible to make cinnamon rolls, donuts, or... Continue Reading →
It has been over 6 months since I started my 2 indoor hydroponic gardens: The AeroGarden Farm Plus (left) and AeroGarden Harvest (right). So far I still enjoy them. In my Indoor hydroponic gardens: AeroGarden journal 1 (take a look if you haven't read it yet), I recorded the initial growth of all the veggies/herbs/flowers... Continue Reading →
Growing up in Hong Kong, hamburgers were always linked to fast food. I only thought of McDonald's when anyone mentioned hamburgers - homemade didn't exist. But the reality is that hamburgers can be so much more! Imagine if you had freshly baked homemade buns, freshly ground high- quality meat, and fresh home-grown veggies; then your... Continue Reading →
I love garlic! Its powerful aroma is magical. You can eat it raw to enjoy its bold and spicy flavor, or you can cook it to reveal a more subtle and sweeter flavor. Garlic can certainly elevate your favorite dishes! Garlic is native to Central Asia. It is highly nutritious, and is well known to... Continue Reading →
My 7-year-old daughter is like a cute little sloth. She loves to take her sweet time when it comes to getting things done around the house, from eating and cleaning up, to getting dressed and brushing her teeth. Showering in particular is a major concern - if I forget to check in with her when... Continue Reading →
Since moving away from my hometown, I often have strong cravings for foods from Hong Kong. These cravings are especially intense when I am sick. Last month, when I was recovering from a cold, I had a serious craving for some paper-wrapped cake 紙包蛋糕 (zi² baau¹ daan⁶ gou¹). When I was a little girl, my... Continue Reading →
Farm-to-table gained its popularity because people are concerned about where their food comes from, its freshness, and its safety. For some lucky folks who own a farm or a backyard edible garden, farm-to-table is just a part of their daily life. I love the joke my husband told me his grandfather would say to emphasize... Continue Reading →
Shiitake mushrooms 香菇 (hoeng¹ gu¹) are very popular in Asian cooking. Growing up, I remember eating them in both everyday dishes at home, and fancy banquet dishes in restaurants. They are used in stir-fries, dumplings, stews, soups, vegetable dishes, etc. They add umami and a satisfying savory flavor to a dish due to their natural... Continue Reading →
Do you like waking up to the smell of a fresh loaf of bread in the morning? If so, are you willing to wake up at 4 o'clock to knead some dough? I bet that bread doesn't smell so good anymore. But have no fear, a bread maker can make your dreams of fresh bread... Continue Reading →
Vanilla extract is an essential element in baking. Open a bottle of vanilla extract (pure, not the imitation stuff), take a sniff and hmm... it's like drinkable perfume! It smells so warm and inviting, and enhances the flavors in your baked goods. What an amazing ingredient! Pure vanilla extract is expensive, because vanilla bean is... Continue Reading →
This time my quilting project was to make sound-absorbing panels for our "music room". Since our kids started learning the cello, we had to rearrange our furniture to have a dedicated area for them to practice and store their cellos. Cellos have an appealing tone, but they are much louder than guitars. And the wall... Continue Reading →
For our kids' birthdays, I usually try to make a birthday cake that represents their favorite thing of the year. But last year was special because my son turned 12, which meant he completed one 12-year cycle in his 生肖 (sang1 ciu3), Chinese zodiac. He was born in 狗年 (gau2 nin4), the year of the... Continue Reading →
Growing up in a traditional Chinese household in Hong Kong, rice, 飯 (faan6), was a staple food. We say 食飯啦 (sik6 faan6 laa1), "eat rice!", when it's time to eat. It's also common to greet people by saying 食咗飯未呀? (sik6 zo2 faan6 mei6 aa1), "ate rice yet?", instead of "how are you?". We had rice... Continue Reading →
