Movie Making Fun

 

Recently I made two silly little movies and got at least 3 benefits from it
1) It makes me laugh when I watch it
2) I learned how to use windows movie maker
3)Developed a habit: whenever I watch a MTV,  imagine my own version of the song in my mind
4)Makes me want to make more in the future!

Cooking Diary - Cheesy Rice Series

Chinese people eat rice, fried vegetables and meat every day and I am also a big fan of cheese and baked stuff. Well, why not combine all these together? Here it is - my cheesy rice series.
Basic principle:
1 stir-fry vegetables, fry meat, cook rice
2 put rice in a pan first, put some cheese on the rice, than put on the vegitables and meat, last, put on another layer of cheese
3 bake everything at 400F for 15 minutes
You can be creative on the selection of vegetables and meat. For example, I had beans and mushrooms mixed with canned salmon once and it turns out like this:

I think the canned salmon tasted better after the baking and mixing with the cheese. This is the creative part of the dish but there are several things that I thought I could improve next time: 1) The color is not very exciting 2) too much cheese on top so you can barely see what is inside 3) the taste of the vegetables are too plain, they need more salt or other seasoning 4)the rice is too plain, I hope it has a cheesy taste as well.

Tonight,when I looked for what's left in the refrigerator, I found a package of snow beans, a can of red beans, mushrooms, shrimps, pork sausage, etc. I decided these are perfect for another cheesy rice dish.
Preparation:
1) cook rice with rice cooker.
2)stir-fry every vegetables and meat separately with seasoning. I just put salt but you can put pretty much whatever you like in it.
3) put rice on the bottom of a baking pan, than a layer of cheese, than the vegetables and meat, last, another layer of cheese
4) bake at 400F for 10-15 minuts
and it turns out like this:

 

I think it is better than last time- look better, and taste better and  it deserves to eat with a fancy drink - cranberry juice : )  

 

Cheers! 

Cooking Diary - Healthy Lunch Inspiration

Yesterday in relief society , Vera was teaching a wonderful lesson on The Lord’s Law of Health. I really liked the discussions and thought about improving my dining habits. Though Emma was a little bit fussy and I had to go out a couple of times, I did catch and remember this message very well: a healthy/ideal meal is a combination of 1/2 vegetables, 1/4 meat and 1/4 grains. Well, I decide to practice this principle today for lunch. Here is my presentation:
1/4 stir-fried bok choy
1/4 stir-fried snow beans
1/4 cheesy shrimp
1/4 mix of brown rice and white rice
a cup of milkshake (Breyers - Rocky Road & milk)

For me, a prefect meal also needs to include a little self-indulgence, something like this

 (Choco pie cut into half  + cherry vanilla ice cream in the middle + Strawberry droppings for decoration)
My formula:
2/5 vegetables + 1/5 meat + 1/5 grains or rice + 1/5 dessert = a perfect meal

Cooking Diary - Triple Berry Muffin

I like having muffin as snacks between meals. I've tried chocolate muffins, corn muffins and today it is turn for triple berry muffin. Secret recipe?!

Disappointed? OK, I am not that creative this time, or I've never been :(
But this saves a lot of time and energy than cooking from scratch and it turns out tasty and beautiful.

(Maybe I deserve some credits for the presentation...)

Cooking Diary - Homemade Kung Pao Chicken

I always love Kung Pao chicken. Its flavor can vary from sweet to spicy but both are very delicious. Today I made a very simple version of spicy Kung Pao Chicken. This is the recipe I followed:
http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-kung-pao-chicken/?pid=2437#image-206

Movie Diary - Miss Porter

Wow! Wow! That is all I can say to this lovely movie. I love, love it! It is touching, warm, inspiring, charming... It is cute but not cheesy, witty but not affected, cartoonish but very classic. Though have not known her or her books at all, I fell in love with this lady and her drawing immediately. Her remarkable talent, persistence, courage along with her up-and-down life story just won my heart completely. She is my role model and I must let my daughter read her book when she grows up.
It is a beautiful, profound yet entertaining movie. It is a must-see!

Cooking Diary - Roast Chicken Kebabs and Shrimp Celery

Yesterday I went to Market Basket for grocery shopping and saw some bamboo sticks. Thinking that I can make kebab with those sticks, I bought a package for $1.49. At dinner I made some chicken kebabs. It it fairly simple. Cut children into small pieces, put them on a stick, put on salt, garlic powder, black pepper and I also used a little bit butter for the flavor. Preheat oven at 400F and bake for 15 minutes. Done! Delicious roast chicken kebabs, yum...
Anyway, I also attempted to make two layer lemon pie but failed. The reason is that I put in too much milk so the pudding is never solid enough. Sad : (
Good news- I stir-fry celery with shrimp for lunch today and it turned out really good. Do you know that dried lily bulb is eatable? Yes! I also put some of those in. What an interesting dish!

Cooking Diary - Pasta Night

We love Chinese food and there are times we are bored of it- like tonight. I decide to cook pasta tonight since my mother-in-law has not had it before. I bought a box of spaghetti for $1, Alfredo sauce for $2.50, a package of chicken meat for $6.13(we used a third of the package for a three people dinner). I boiled the spaghetti, fried chicken with mushrooms and poured Alfredo sauce on it. For decoration and nutrition purpose, I also put some boiled broccoli and canned coin on top of the pasta. Done! A dinner for three at a cost of about $6 (we have mushroom, broccoli and canned corns already) and we totally enjoyed it!

Celebrating International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day and we are "celebrating" it with sister missionaries for dinner. It is a girl's night- Sister Lynn,Sister Meier, my mother-in-law, Emma and I. We had curry beef, tofu, fried beans and chocolate cheesecake ( my first attempt to make it!). I enjoyed the food and conversation and my mother-in-law began to talk to sister missionaries in English already (great progress!). Today I am thinking what kind of woman I want to become and read this great talk by President Gordon B. Hinckley "How Can I Become the Woman of Whom I Dream?". Several years ago, I came to this country seeking for advanced education and academic success. Now besides the education I desired, I also found other amazing things: a faith for a lifetime, a family I could ever dream of. I had too many dreams like other girls and now I feel more grounded as a mom. I still feel I have all the potential to fulfill whatever I want to accomplish and am excited for all my dreams.
At last, I want to share the the ending of this wonderful talk and hope it inspires you as it did for me:
"For you, my dear friends, the sky is the limit. You can be excellent in every way. You can be first class....
Never forget that you came to earth as a child of the divine Father, with something of divinity in your very makeup. The Lord did not send you here to fail. He did not give you life to waste it. He bestowed upon you the gift of mortality that you might gain experience—positive, wonderful, purposeful experience—that will lead to life eternal. He has given you this glorious Church, His Church, to guide you and direct you, to give you opportunity for growth and experience, to teach you and lead you and encourage you, to bless you with eternal marriage, to seal upon you a covenant between you and Him that will make of you His chosen daughter, one upon whom He may look with love and with a desire to help. May God bless you richly and abundantly, my dear young friends, His wonderful daughters."

Favorite Picture for Today

Cooking Diary - Steamed Spare Ribs

This looks good and trust me, it tastes even better...

Cooking Diary - Curry Mango Chicken

I had curry mango chicken at a Thai restaurant once and fell in love with it.There's something about the combination of mango and chicken that just works. I tried my own version of mango chicken two days ago and it tasted GREAT! The secret source for this dish is "cream"...

Movie Diary - Julie & Julia

I am a big movie fan! I can watch movies all day (4-5 movies) and still have the excitement and attention to each story on screen. I am always curious and fascinated about how the next story will be told using the language of camera. I have a library card that allows me to rent movies for free but I have not used it for a long time. What a waste! Anyway, I began to rent movies recently from the library and found some that I really liked. I will start with my recent favorite.

Sweet! Charming! Yum!
I love food movies. From Disney cartoon "Ratatouille", romantic comedy "No Reservations", to Ang Lee's " Eat Drink Man Woman", these movies have drawn many interesting connections between food or cooking with love, faith and life. So does Julie & Julia. The story itself is interesting enough, not to mention Meryl Streep and Amy Adams' brilliant performance. It makes me want to laugh, want to live passionately and most important, want to cook! I am impressed by the French cooking and inspired by these girls. It makes me want to try a new dish every day as well (probably every other day, more realistically speaking). Maybe it is time to start a project like Julie Powell...

Cooking Diary- Chocolate Mousse Torte

I made my first chocolate mousse torte today and it definitely made my day! It is my second attempt to make a "fancy" dessert and I remember my first one is a black forest cake. It was so fun and I absolutely loved it! Here is the link for the recipe and everything.
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/chocolate-mousse-torte-114021.aspx
I am sure I will make it again sometime. Although I bought almost every ingredient with less fat, I still need to forget how much sugar, chocolate, cream cheese and cool whip I add in when I am enjoying my cake!

An Inspirational Message for Today!

Love this video. I feel inspired and strengthened and so proud to be a mom!

Emma is a month old and happy Valentine's day!

Emma is (finally)a month old yesterday(Jan.13). She has grown up a lot during the first month and brought so much joy into our lives. She is the first grandchild in both of our families and quickly become the center of attention of several generations. During the spring festival break, my parents and my two grandmas wanted to see her in skype everyday. They all gave me plenty of tips from how to hold her, how to feed her to how to educate her at early age every time we chat in skype. She is a lucky girl - so many people love her so much! Not to mention my mother-in-law, who stays with us since she was born, she is helping me take care of her everyday. I am sure Emma will be blessed with a very happy childhood with so much love, support and attention (just as I did).
Today is Valentine's day. It is our first valentine's as parents and it feels great. Hope that we can still be valentines to each other no matter how many children we have, haha....

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday is my 25th birthday. Jack bought me a black-forest cake.It looks great and tastes even better! It is my first birthday to celebrate with my new born daughter.It is very special to me. Being a mom has brought me infinite joy, fun,satisfaction. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to take care of this precious and beautiful little thing in my life. I will grow with her and share my life with her. I also appreciate my relationship with my parents more. I called them on skype on the morning and we gave each other birthday blessings on video chat. Since we have the same birthday(Feb.1), it is always the happiest day for my family every year to celebrate our birthdays together. My parents are very excited about their new status as grandparents as well. Emma reminds them me as a baby and them as new parents. It is the circle of life, the circle of love.

Superman Ruturns!

I brought Emma to church for the first time today. I was a little worried she would be fussy and noisy there but she turned out to be fine. She slept for the first 1.5 hours and woke up. After I changed her diaper and fed her, she was awake but quiet. Then she started to cry during the last half an hour so I had to walk out and calmed her down. It was not too bad though. It was so nice to be able to take her out and meet friends. I could not wait to take her to church next week. She will receiver her baby blessing soon!

BTW, she always makes funny poses when she is sleeping. This classic pose is called by her dad "Superman Returns"!

Dinner with Friends

This Saturday, we had dinner with Wonnacotts family. It was a great night, wonderful food, wonderful conversation, wonderful people... We enjoyed it very much. Emma was sleeping on the sofa most of the time. She was such a good baby that night!

Cooking Diary - DIY Lobster Meal !

Cooking Diary- "Scaring" Fish Head Soup

Integrates:
Two fish heads
Chopped green onions
Water
Salt

Preparation:
1 Clean up fish heads
2 Fry fish heads with oil until it changes color
3 Put fried fish heads into boiling water
4 Boil for half an hour and put chopped green onions inside
5 Done

Baby Is Fun!

Emma is a week old now. She is such a fun little thing. I can spend hours watching her sleep, yawn, burp, smile, cry, make all these funny faces. I am always amazed by her cuteness and sweetness and just enjoy spending time with her. She sleeps much longer and better now so that I can do my own things occasionally:)

Emma, mommy has a song for you:

She
May be the reason I survive
The why and wherefore I'm alive
The one I'll care for through the rough in ready years
Me
I'll take her laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I've got to be
The meaning of my life is

She
She, oh she

Our Angel- Emma Dong!

The movie "Babies"

Just watched this movie today with my mother-in-law. It is cute, ingenious, funny and exquisite. OK, I admit I get a little bit bored in the middle of it for like 10 minutes but I love most of it. It is a documentary film that describes the first year of four babies coming from very different cultural backgrounds: Namibia, Mongolia, Japan and San Francisco.The film uses no interviews, no narrators, just pure imagery to communicate with the audience. It works great since the babies speak for themselves. They look different and are raised in very different environments but they all end up growing into happy, healthy, adorable toddlers. It is sweet to watch the whole process. I know I am going to experience this in real life so soon. Baby Emma, mom is a little scared...

Cooking Diary- Pork Ribs Soup

My mother-in-law cooked this amazing pork ribs soup for us today! It tastes fantastic and very nutritious as well. I have to share this since it tastes special and is very very easy to cook!

Ingredients:
5-6 pieces of pork ribs
1 tomato
1 potato
salt

Preparation:
Wash pork ribs and put them into boiling water to boil for 1 hour
Chop tomato and potato into big pieces to put them into the pork ribs soup
Add salt and boil for another half an hour
Done!

Cooking Diary- Teriyaki Beef

Ingredients:


1 green pepper
1 onion
2 cups of shaved steak
Hoisin sauce, salt,vegetable oil

Preparation:
Cut up one green pepper
Chop up an onion
Stir-fry shaved steak with vegetable oil until it turns brown and put aside
Stir-fry chopped green pepper and onion with vegetable oil for 3-5 minutes
Mix shaved steak, green pepper and onion together and add hoisin sauce, salt into it. Fry together for 2 minutes
Done!

Cooking Diary-Salmon Fried Rice

I am 38 weeks pregnant now (finally)! Doctor asks me to eat more fishes so I decided to cook Salmon Fried Rice tonight.
Ingredients:

 

2 pieces of Salmon
2 cups of mixed vegetables
1 egg
some salt, black pepper,
1 cup shredded cheese
3 cups of cooked rice

Preparation:
Chop salmon into small pieces and mix with egg.Add some salt and pepper.
Heat sesame oil in a large skillet or wok. Stir-fry salmon and put aside.
Stir-fry mixed vegetables and put aside.
Stir-fry cooked rice. Put salmon, mixed vegetables in the rice and fry together. Add salt, pepper or other seasonings you like.
Put salmon fried rice in a glass pan and add 2 cups of shredded cheese on top of it. Bake at 300 for 5-8 minutes until the cheese melts.
Done!

Cooking Diary-Random Dishes

After my mother-in-law came to live with us in December 2010, I am so glad that I have someone to cook with, which makes the cooking process more enjoyable. She is a great cook and can cook very authentic Shanghainese dishes. I have learned too much from her. The followings are some random dishes we cooked and they are very yummy!
Honey Shrimp


Bacon Scallops with Vegetables


Wu Dong Noodles

Cooking Diary- Pineapple Fried Rice

Last time, I won my first cooking award with pineapple chicken wings. This time, I am trying to cook a new dish- pineapple fried rice. Please forgive my obsession with pineapples, I just love the sweet and sour taste and bright color of this fruit!
I order pineapple fried rice at a Chinese restaurant once (though I think it is a Thai dish) and it looks like this :

I really like the idea of using half of the pineapple as a bowl and putting shrimps and nuts inside the fried rice. So I copied it and cooked my version my pineapple fried rice at home. It tastes fantastic! Mine looks like this:

But I was cooking for six people that night and used up three big, fresh pineapples. What a meal!

Cooking Diary - Frist Cooking Award Ever!

I have never cooked before I came to U.S.A. Well, I fried eggs and boiled instant noodles occasionally but I do not think that should count. In college, I got a apartment with a kitchen and still cooked occasionally. Then I thought cooking is just for fun but not for survival. My then boyfriend (now husband) was a better cook than me when we were dating. He got his 2-3 killer dishes and he cooked for me a lot (I wonder why this rarely happens after we got married).He taught me some basic cooking skills that I still use today so he is technically my first cooking teacher. After we got married, there was a period of time that I was so excited and ambitious that I tried to cook something new every day. But soon, I just stick to several easy ones and repeat them day after day. Long story short, recently MIT CSSA(Chinese Students and Scholars Association)held a cooking contest and Jack encouraged me to participate. I was not taking it too seriously and thought there must be many much better cooks among the students. I presented my dish- pineapple chicken wings that night and surprisingly won the second place! Wow! I was thrilled. The award is a blue iPod shuffle. To me, it is the most beautiful iPod shuffle ever. I can not believe that I would win a cooking award in my life. I think my mom will have a good laugh when she hears it. She still does not know that I can cook other things besides fried eggs...

Baby Shower in 2010

Thanks my friend Mikaela for planning a wonderful baby shower for me in December 2010. I have only been to one baby shower before and am still a little confused about the whole thing.My husband is surprised to know that there is such a thing that you just need to show up and receive gifts as well : ) Anyway, it turned out great. I am so grateful that these girls came over and showered me with these baby outfits, toys, lotions, gift cards, etc. I am surprised that they even helped me write down the gift list and organize the gift bags. Thank you all for being so sweet to me!