Tracking boots

I was quite excited over the weekend, taking out the trekking boots that had been hung up on the shelf for a whole two years!

These boots had been with me through the snowy mountains of Huang Shan, cycling through the villages of Yang Suo, walking through the night markets and meanders through the rivers of Gui Lin.

Oh what a journey through China!

It was bought in hk during the clearance sale. I love how it had high ankle support and sturdy soles. If not for these, I would have sprained my ankles up there in the ulu mountains or fall on my butt from the slippery ice. Oh oh, and one more thing to mentioned, it is waterproof! It is really a must wear for rainy trips. =D

Will update on my latest trekking trip next. Stay tune!

Kcan

Winter meals 4

In my pantry, I have a packet of organic polenta which Eric bought when we. Were still living in Canberra. I still remembered the reason we bought that. To use as 'dusting flour' for pizza. For some reason, I remembered the pizza making course I had back in primary school days, and the instructor used corn mill to stop the pizza from sticking to the base. Anyhow, the pizza still stuck to the stone, and we left the polenta flour in the pantry and it got travelled with us to sydney. 

So two weeks ago, I found the packet of polenta sitting miserably at the corner of the pantry. 'Ok', I thought to myself, 'It's time I try making something out of you.'

And so I go to my trusty Mr Google, and found a good basic recipe for making polenta cakes.

To compliment this dish, I made beef curry (curtesy of Ayam Brand Beef Massamam curry paste), and my garlic rosemary flat bread.

Yummy curry with lots of veges! Potatoes, egg plant, carrots, onions and my home grown long bean!

The curry is a great dish for the cold winter nights. The polenta has such great texture and absorbed the curry sauce into it so well. I will definitely make it again and have it as a rice replacement.

Here you go, my polenta cakes with beef curry and flat bread.

Kcan

Photo blog

We were out shopping the other day, when we saw those big Ibis sitting on top of the tree.

Our last uncomfortable encounter with Ibis was at the rubbish tip last year when we drove a full 4WD load of recycled paper. Passing by the general rubbish collection section, we saw many Ibis, salvaging through the rubbishs, looking for scraps. >_< 

And because they are soooo big, (like that of a crane), it's quite a scary sight seeing them ramaging through the rubbish heap. 

So our association of Ibis=Rubbish tip scavengers.

Therefore it caught us by surprised when we see them up there on the tree. Can you spot them?

I didn't know they can fly!!!

This photo taken on a way back from one of the Ikea trip at sunset. This is another famous bridge in Sydney, called ANZAC bridge.

Hope your Wednesday was a good one.

kcan

Winter meals 3

I love making my own flat bread. It taste so fresh and easy to bake too! I saw on TV that people in Turkey and Greece, loves to have hummus together with this flatbread. So I decided to give it a go. But that is not without any hurdles....

Hurdle 1: Eric and his sis dislikes chick peas! Let alone eating hummus! =( 

So I must make it yummy or else I won't be able to make it again >_<

Hurdle 2: I didn't have any good hummus recipes. So off to Mr Google. Found this recipe that uses peanut butter instead of the sesame paste. The reviews given were good, so I gave it a try.

Hurdle 3:In order to let Eric appreciate and likes the hummus I'm about to feed him, it will be good to let him know more about how his food was made. So I got him to help me out in the kitchen. That's not an easy task 'inviting' the boss to get off the computer screen and pick up the stick blender. Haha. Anyhow, Eric helped me to blend the chick peas n garlic into paste, and he seasoned the paste with salt, fresh limes. In the end, this was his master piece!

Oh it's so yummy! Like what many people commended online n in TV, hummus should be eaten warm! Not cold. And indeed the flavour were just right with the flat bread n lamb mince. 

And you know what, this hummus recipes is a keeper! Both Eric n his sis loves it! =D (yay! I can make this again!)

The hummus recipe is from http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/peanut-butter-hummus.

For my lamb mince, my favourite seasoning are cumin, coriander seeds and black pepper. This gives seasoning like that of Northern Chinese and middle eastern crusine flavour. 

Roast coriander seeds n whole black pepper in frying pan. When hot n fragrant, crushed them in motar n pestle with a pinch of coarse sea salt. Pound them into fine powder. Add cumin powder to the mix. Marinate the lamb with these spice seasoning. I never use measuring spoons for the spices, maybe a pinch each? 

In hot frying pan, panfry the marinated mince lamb with some oil. When 3/4 cooked, take it out. Add in onions, carrots n other veges you like into the frypan n fry till cooked. When almost done, add back the half-cooked lamb. Add some water if too dry n create some sauce. Season to taste if needed. 

Lamb taste best when served hot.

Enjoy!

Kcan

Australian Red Dates

For our Confinement Care clinic, we searched high and low for farmers sells Australian red dates. It was quite tricky as we do not know any wholesaler contacts. Therefore we went directly to the farmers! 

We found two major red dates growers in Australia with several smaller ones. We ordered some to try and we were so surprise by its sweetness and freshness! Farmer Bernie is really friendly and told us many things about his farm and his red dates. Apparently, there are many variety of red dates! (Wow)

Australians called red dates Jujube, and he grows four varieties in his farm. And they are ORGANIC too! No wonder it is so sweet!

I packed them up in the glass jars. Look at how big they are!!

This is really great news for us. We want to sell products that are locally sourced as much as possible. It was really a bonus that it was organically grown too. It sounds strange I know, but I rather get Australian grown red dates than the Chinese grown ones.Now a days, I tend not to get things from China, because of poor regulations and monitoring of pesticides, fertilizers and heavy metal content. Who knows how long ago the dates are harvested too! (Just like how the apples you get in supermarket these days were picked like a year ago at least) 

The dates that I can get in Asian shops are mostly dried and rock hard, while the ones we got from Bernie was only harvested last year! And they are currently harvesting this year's crops. Will be putting my order in to get them soon. 

Because they are so massive in size, I only need to use 3 when making soup/tea. I threw some in when I make chicken soup one night, and it tasted fantastic! (natural sweetness in soup!)

Let me know if anyone is interested in getting Australian organic red dates! 

kcan

Winter meals 2

What's winter without lamb!!

I had strange cravings for lamb last week. So I decided to buy some lamb mince from the butcher to make some yummy meals. I had lamb dumplings in mind, but I don't have the time to excecute that. So shepherd pies it will be!

Yummy lamb sauce with soft fluffy potato mash, topped with tasty cheese. 

Delicious! Great for the cold wintery night.

Kcan

I got the job!!

Praise and Thank God for His provision. 

I received the call today early in the morning (shh.. I was still in bed at that time), letting me know that I got the job! I was very surprised. I mean, VERY surprised. At the same time, I was perplexed and confused. Last night (the interview was yesterday afternoon), Eric and I had a late night chatting (at 1 AM), talking through about whether I should peruse this job if I got it. 

Why??

The main reason to why I wanted to quit working in my previous job in Canberra, was because of the money making industry of the clinic in IVF industry. I did not like the environment where the clinic director charges astronomical prices for patients despite showing no respect and care for the many poor couples, desperate to have a baby. The only ones that he 'loves' were the rich people, while the others were pushed aside, neglected, sometimes forcing them to take medication which were not the right one for their situation for months. (sigh)

I saw a lot of greed and self gain in this industry. I do not want to be apart of this.

But now, I am granted this job opportunity again by God. I wonder if this could be a new start for me in the fertility industry again. I thank God for the opportunity I had in granting me the skills I had in my previous work place, which these experiences in turn helped me to get this current job. I pray that I will not forget to look back every now and then to re-access myself if I am being suck into the vicious cycle of greed and self gain in this IVF industry. 

I look forward to the opening of doors and opportunities, forming better and closer relationships with the fertility specialist, and help uphold the TCM industry in fertility care. Pray that I will use my skills to assist the patients that comes through the doors every Saturday. 

I will be working at their new clinic (only 8 months old!) on Saturdays. There will be plenty of opportunity for me to spread my arms and work on other days in the near future as the only acupuncturist in the clinic. =D Pray that I will be wise in managing and not be overdrained. 

Next week I may sit in to observe how they operate in the clinic. So I may start work as soon as the week after. =)

Happy. ^_^

kcan

Winter meals 1

It's the time of the year where the thick woolen clothing are drag out from the cupboard and the trees turn colourful to show their true colors.

In my kitchen, I will try to cook food that not only helps to keep us warm, but also keeps itself warm through dinner!

Nothing beats having warm food for dinner in this cold freezing night. It can be super annoying having to re-heat the first few dishes that you cook at the end of cooking, cause it had been sitting for too long on the table, or rush n eat the meal, cause the food will gets cold if you are a slow eater like me. 

So last week, I made chicken, leek and potato pie! My secret ingredient for making the saucing for this dish is the: Continental Chicken and corn soup powder!

Just sprinkle the soup powder into the cooked fillings (chicken, leek, potatoes, carrots, corns, veges...) and add some water. It will thickens slightly, making a perfect sauce for this pie.

I pour the cooked sauce fillings into the ramekins cups, cover it with frozen puff pastry, make a few holes on top ( or in my case, carve out the initials of the person), and bake it in the oven!

20 mins later, there it is! YUM!!!

Crispy top puff pastry, with yummy hot fillings inside. I love dipping the crust into the sauce. BEST!

And what's more, the thick ceramic ramekin bowl keeps the pie warm for a long time! Not needed to rush and I can enjoy my yummy pie. *thumbs up*

kcan

Interview

I'm now sitting in the waiting area for my interview. 

What job am I applying?

I'm applying to be the part time acupuncturist at the Genea IVF fertility clinic. This hopefully will give me an exciting opportunity to be able to work more closely with IVF specialist and also allows me to keep up with my experiences and skills from my work in Canberra. 

So, do pray that I will ace and able to form good relationship with the inteviewer at the interview!

Kcan

Happy 1 month Angelique!

Eric and I went to our friend's baby one month celebration on Saturday. Eric went to uni with the mum back in uni days a long while ago. Apparently, there were three cliques in his Industrial design class. The Hong Kong group, the Aussie group, and the Indonesian group. After graduating, the hk n Indo group merges and start hanging around together, catching up annually at Christmas n many other big events like weddings n birthdays. And now, it's baby's one month!

Little Angelique is born into loving family of Aussie dad Trevor n Indo mum Christina. The one month celebration is held at another of our friends's Indonesian restaurant: Pinang Bistro. 

Proud dad and mum.

The proud grand parents! Oh look at the yummy Indonesian food there!

Apparently, it is a tradition for the parents of the new born to take and eat the tip of the yellow rice tower. So here you can see Trevor and Christine trying to 'cut' it off the top. 

The yellow rice is sooooo yummy! Will definitely go back for this dish at Pinang Bistro next time. 

Their home made noodles were a big THUMBS UP too! I enjoy so much that day, eating authentic Indonesian food that day (it's not like everyday that I can have malay food, somemore the restaurant is like at the other side of town!)  Loves their curry and sambal sauce too! *drooling as I typed this*

It was also a tradition to help yourself with takeaway at the end of the one month celebration. So we happily filled our boxes (3!!) with satay, noodles, yellow rice, fried mash potatoes, cup cakes...., to share with Eric's sis for dinner later that day.

We were given a one month gift pack before we leave. And to my surprised, it contained so many yummy goodies!!!

I so miss the kuehs!! YUMM! 

Thank God for this wonderful opportunity to catch up with many of Eric's uni friends too. I personally feel that I am getting to know them better and able to share my life with them a lot more now than when I first met them. (haha, that's the problem when you get married to someone older than you, whom grew up with friends you have not met till wedding day. )

Happy One Month Angelique! May you grow up strong and healthy and bring much laughter and joy to your parents. =)
kcan

Cucumber harvest

My dear cucumber plant has provided me with its 2nd lot of harvest! Two Japanese cucumber!

Thank God for the rains which kept the cucumber plant happy with the water, and also the fences which keeps the possum away. 

Strange thing about this cucumber, it has spiky spikes around the body section of the melon. I wonder why. Did anyone had this issue too? At the photo above, I used a teaspoon to scrap off the spikes before washing. 

Kcan

Autumn breeze

It had been quite a big change of temperature during the last 3 weeks. The two weeks of rain around ANZAC day, had really brings the reality of the coming if winter. Looking at the weather report, Canberra had minimum temperatures of 1-2 degC almost daily!

Over here in sydney, we are blessed with more mild winter, though 10 degC at night can mean needing three layers of blankets at night. Glad that I now have a personal heat pack in bed, which I can hug for warmth or push away if too hot. Hahaha.

The house we are staying at the moment has no heating at the moment. So it is very difficult for us to get out of the bed at night or in the morning in the cold weather. Having floor boards instead of concrete slabs made things worse as cold air can just seep through the gaps between the floor boards, through the carpets, and into the room space. The heat from the afternoon sun were quickly dissipated as well from the plasterboard walls in the rooms. That's why people need better insulated materials to build houses!

We made little progress in the business side of things as most suppliers are still in their Easter break! >_<

A photo to end my post, this is the Dong Po meat I made last week. Fatty pork belly, cooked thrice to perfection. It uses boiling, pressure cooking and steaming. I even have broccoli to serve and decorate it nicely for dinner. Haha. That's a first! 

Have a good rest of the week!

Kcan