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Chinese Style Eggplants with Ground Pork

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 Medium eggplants
  • salt
  • 1/4 cup minced pork
  • 1 tsp. minced ginger
  • 1/2 tbsp. Chinese cooking wine
  • 3 tbsp. cooking oil 
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 thumb ginger , sliced
  • 2 green onions, white half and green half divided
  • 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1/8 tsp. sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Instructions

  1. Remove the ends of Asian eggplants and then cut into small cubes (for the best flavor, try to cut each cubes with some skin). Transfer them into a large pot filled with water, add pinch of salt and soak for 10 minutes. Add a weight if necessary to make sure the eggplants is well soaked. Set aside to drain completely.
  2. Marinate minced pork with minced ginger, a small pinch of salt and Chinese cooking wine. Set aside.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in wok and fry the eggplants for 6-9 minutes until the eggplants become soft and withered. Transfer eggplants out and leave the oil in.
  4. Add marinated pork in to stir-fry until the color changes into white. Transfer out.
  5. Re-heat around 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in wok and fry green onion white parts, garlic, ginger, and doubanjiang until aroma. Return the eggplants along with fried minced pork, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Mix well.
  6. Garnish chopped green onion (green parts) and serve with steamed rice.
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London’s Sir John Soane Museum

A fascinating museum that not many people get a chance to see.

In the middle of London’s legal heartland, the 17th century houses that make up Lincoln’s Inn, this museum is testimony to its delightfully eccentric founder, an architect and obsessive collector. It is packed with Egyptian sarcophagus, stained glass from the medieval Palace of Westminster, Greek vases and Roman bronzes but the setting is as important as the exhibits.

Although Soane died in 1832, his will dictated that the collection remain intact and that entrance is free.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahturner/2017/03/25/the-ten-best-museums-in-london-and-theyre-free/#aba405875cf0

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The National Gallery in London

The National Gallery is at the very center of the Trafalgar Square. Started in 1824 and regularly refreshed through the centuries by strategic purchases and donations from the collections of impoverished aristocrats, the cut-off date for art works is 1900.

Still, there’s plenty left to enjoy including a cluster of Leonardo Da Vincis, Botticelli and a superb capsule collection of Post-Impressionists, including Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Seurat’s Bathers at Asnieres.   

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahturner/2017/03/25/the-ten-best-museums-in-london-and-theyre-free/#aba405875cf0

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Shallots

Shallot

Shallot

Pronounce it: shal-lot

Related to the onion (as opposed to being a younger version of it), shallots grow in clusters at the leaf base. Most varieties are smaller than onions, have finer layers and contain less water.

The flavour of a shallot is much milder and sweeter than that of an onion, so if a recipe specifies shallots, substituting onions won’t give the same results. Their lower water content means they need to be cooked more gently than onions.

Choose the best

Look for firm shallots, with no soft spots, damp or mouldy patches. Brown (also known as English or Dutch) shallots are the most commonly available. Small, with a light brown skin, they have a mild flavour, and sometimes have more than one bulb inside.

Banana shallots are the largest variety and are named for their size. They have a smooth, tan-coloured skin and are slightly milder than other types. As they’re larger, they’re swifter to prepare than the same volume of smaller shallots.

Pink shallots have a pink skin and a crisp texture and their flavour is pungent, but not harsh.

Prepare it

Trim off the top and peel (standing the shallots in boiling water for a minute or two after trimming makes peeling easier). Then slice finely or chop. If you’re using banana shallots, their longer size means you can use the same method to chop as you’d use for onions, as follows. Cut in half from top to bottom. Put the cut side down and make a number of horizontal cuts towards, but not quite reaching, the root. Then make as many vertical cuts through the shallot, again not quite reaching the root. Holding the shallot very firmly and with the knife blade at right angles to the first set of cuts that you made, slice down vertically – the shallot will fall away in small pieces as you go. Continue cutting until you reach the root, which you can now discard.

Store it

In a cool, dark, dry place with good air circulation- they’ll keep for several weeks.

Cook it

Roast (20 minutes); fry (2 minutes). Use in dressings or in soups and stews.

Alternatives

Try spring onion.

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Vanilla Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/4 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

  1. Turn oven on to 375 degrees F.
  2. Put butter in mixer and beat at medium speed until smooth. Add all the sugar and beat until nicely frosty.
  3. Add 2 eggs without the shell.
  4. Mix well then add: vanilla, baking powder, salt, flour, and milk.
  5. Beat until smooth
  6. Pour into individual baking cups, until they are about 2/3 full.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  8. Makes about 24 cupcakes

Courtesy of : https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/amy-sedariss-vanilla-cupcakes-236125

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Storing Fruits and Veggies To Make Them Last Longer

Happens so much (especially if you shop at Costco!) – food spoils before you eat it. Best thing to do is to know how best to store things so they last the longest time. Here are a few charts that will help

I know that NO ONE has a fridge that looks like this, but they were actually designed to handle different foods.

This chart does have one mistake. Tomatoes should be stored UPSIDE down, at room temperature until they are ripe. Then put them in the fridge.

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Shopping for Kid’s Gifts?

One of the hardest decisions every day (I mean Christmas season) is deciding which and how many toys to get for your kids. The thing is, at least when they are young, they pretty much deserve everything. (That can also be read as “Everything you didn’t have”).

So what do you do?

I don’t know. I just like buying them stuff so I do. Even knowing they will forget about it within a week. I just love seeing their faces light up when they get a gift.