Fruit Smoothie

The bananas are ripening fast and the apples are turning into soft mushy sweet candy. I blend them together with water and smoothie on the way. It's very sweet like candy. Two fruit loaded with good stuff.

Dear Birds

Yes I've been waiting, I've been waiting patiently until the day...

The cherries are getting red, darker red every day, closer to its sweetness and maturity. Soon it will be harvest time and I can't wait to try them, savor them one at a time and enjoy them like Cleopatra does with grapes. Every day I would visit my cherry tree and check as it slowly changes from pale green to a shade of yellow, changing shades of red, getting darker each day.

Then one day, I find out that a lot of the red ones are on top of the tree. The part which I cannot reach because I'm only 5 feet tall. I got a ladder so I can reach the ripe ones and discovered something is going on up there without my knowledge.. The birds were having a feast while I was sleeping. I was not happy, I was getting mad and wish they didn't eat the ripe ones as I have been waiting for the right time.  Do I have the right to be mad with the birds? Should I have been greedy and covered the whole tree so no one can enjoy the cherry tree except me? Oh greedy, selfish me! I'd say. Deep inside, my emotions and rationality is struggling to understand - why can't I enjoy the cherries like the birds do?

Let's be fair to one another so here's a letter to the birds.

Dear Birds of the world,

I am writing to you to all of you to let you know that I wish you'd share. You see, I did not cover the cherry tree because I'd like to share. I just found out all the reddest  cherries were all contaminated with your saliva if you have any. I have been waiting, I have been waiting so bad and watch the cherries ripening each day. Did you ever wonder how it felt to wait and not have any good cherries to enjoy? I understand that we were all created to enjoy the beauty of the world, the abundance of food and the kindness of every creature. I would really appreciate if you could save some for me while you enjoy some of the cherries. I know that birds have a very strong sense - eyesight, smell, and you soar to heights with your ability to fly. I wish I could fly like you so I can see the red cherries, the green ones, the sweet ones, and to shoot for it. The only problem is you peck on one without finishing and then go to the next one, and then continue to the next one leaving all red cherries dented, halfway done. Could you please finish one and then continue to the next one? That way there'll be less waste and I can have some as well. Oh, how I wish you'd understand...

Thank you Birds of the same feather  and I hope to enjoy the cherries next year.

This year, my waiting was in vain. I may have been waiting patiently but there's no more counting cherries left for me for the birds came at dark when it's time to sleep and during the day when there's errands to do. As the cherries come back every year; I await with open hope next year, a bountiful cherry tree for all to share.

Moringa Plant Or Not?

The plant I have

Here is a picture of an a plant that blooms a red flower, green leaves in three and grows fast if given lots of water. Someone gave me seeds a year ago, believing it to be Moringa but turns out different from what I have seen of a Moringa. The similarities are the way the branches are arrange but the leaves are way too big compared to a Moringa, noting the shapes totally don't resemble. Someone said to me that the rich soil may have contributed to the bigger leaves, unlike Moringa's leaf the size of a medium fingernail. This plant's leaves are almost three times bigger and there's only three while Moringa has lots. The seeds are tiny as a dot and pitch black. Any idea what plant is this? For now, I pose the question - Is this moringa plant or not?

Moringa Tree I have seen

Garden Vegetable

Finally, the long wait for fresh vegetables is here. Summer is here and the garden sprouted just as heat creeps in, getting hotter everyday, I suspect. I know Zucchini is not a popular vegetable but they're easy to grow and produces abundantly! Someone told me that people roll down their windows when driving through a street in Kansas because locals who has abundant Zucchinis kinda insist passersby to have some. Too bad, I wasn't there for any vegetable is good for me, being easy with anything goes, not picky. So, here's my two Zucchinis, big and small, ready for stir fry tonight.

Can't wait to taste the freshness of garden vegetables.

Liver And Rice

For the price of $1.30 and a cup of rice, my lunch is perfect!

I know some people are not fond of hearing the word "liver". People even say yuck as soon as the word jumps out of one's mouth, instantly visualizing it as a gross thing when in fact everyone on earth has it.  Well, I for sure is not one of them and love it! I grew up having Liver moment at home. Yesterday, I bought some from our local grocery and plan to make a lunch for me today. Just thinking about it brought memories from my childhood years and it was all good. So I got this little tab containing a few chicken livers for  the price of $1.30, enough for a meal or two, depending how much of the memories come back.

My saliva starts dribble inside my mouth and can't wait to have some although I don't really buy too often because of some concerns but whenever I miss home, it does help the homesickness feeling. My dad usually makes liver with onions but this time I decided to make it a little different. I use garlic instead of onions and it turned out good just like home.

Prepare rice - one cup of rice, 2 cup water and let it boil. As soon as it starts boiling, turn down the stove, letting it steamed until liquid disappears.  I am not an every rice eater so a rice cooker is out of my budget.

Next, wash the liver by running hot water through in a bowl and drain.

Ingredients:

3 Tbps vinegar

3 Tbps soy sauce

6 garlic cloves

3 Tbps olive oil for cooking

First, I heated the pan with the olive oil in it. I'm using a cast iron pan which I really enjoyed using. As soon as it starts heat up, grab the drained liver and transfer to the pan.  Stir them around, cooking each side at least 2 minutes, oil covering each of them. Then add the vinegar which will sizzle a bit, add the soy sauce and lastly the mince garlic. Garlic is a good antibiotic and the vinegar will cook the liver easier plus other benefits of vinegar. Mix them all up and cook a little bit more for 10-15 minutes, depending how you want it to be cook. The longer you let it cook, the liquid will turn stickier and liver drier.  And you're done.

Serve with rice. Yum!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

Dough:

1/4 -ounce package yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup scalded milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter or shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan

3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside.

Mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg in a large bowl.

Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth.

Add yeast mixture.

Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle.

Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch down dough.

Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle.

Spread melted butter all over dough.

Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough.

Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, roll up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Glazed? I do not like it so, no glaze for me.

A Whole Trout, With Head On

A friend shared some trout to me last week, fresh from the lake through fishing. Excited to taste its freshness, I decided to cook it immediately after cleaning all the gut section. No recipe. Just whatever suits me, a whole trout will soon be served to please my appetite.

I sautéed some onions, peppers and cut mushrooms until the juice start flowing and add the whole trout in it, cover it and let it cook on top of a wood stove. When the eyes turned white, it means almost time to be served. I added some ginger, add a dash of salt and pepper just before serving and it was simple but tasty.

This one trout not only taste so good but filled with memory of sharing and freshness of what nature can bring. It was a good time! Oh, wait. Squeeze some lemon juice before you plunged your fork and the aroma will make you want more of the trout.

Ingredients:

Onions - cut lengthwise and clean the gut

Ginger - grated

Yellow Peppers - cut in triangles

Mushrooms

Whole Trout

Lemon

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

pumpkin pie mode

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of pumpkin purée (can or Fresh)

1 1/2 cup heavy cream or 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs plus the yolk of a third egg

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

1 good crust

Mix sugars, salt, and spices, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Beat the eggs and add to the bowl. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Stir in cream. Whisk all together until well incorporated.

Pour into pie shell and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes reduce the temperature to 350°F and Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Note that the pumpkin pie will come out of the oven all puffed up (from the leavening of the eggs), and will deflate as it cools.

Mung Beans with Brussels Sprout

 

My wood stove is calling. The heat is going pretty strong and there was nothing on top to cook. It took a second to remember Mung Beans would be best in this kind of given situation and make the most of it. The fire is going, heating the house and maybe cooking for free too. I got some bones to boil for the meat stock. I do not need a lot of meat in this dish as the Mung bean itself is so filling. I washed the Mung beans and add some water to the pot. The bone with little meat around it would be perfect to make my recipe tastes so good!

When the Mung bean opens up from rigorous boiling, it is time to add everything in it. Some people like to sauté the onions for desired aroma but I am trying to avoid oil this time. The bone itself will produce a little bit oil from whatever is attached to it, I'm sure and the stock made from boiling the bone will enhance the flavor of this recipe plus extra soup. I add the salt last to taste. The onions, garlic and salt, is something I enjoy personalizing by how I want the outcome of this recipe. In my case, onions and garlic are two of the few spices I always add when cooking. And a lot is what I want.

Since I only have Brussels sprout on hand, a few were thinly cut for the greens and added just before serving the dish. I like the taste of Brussels sprout cook swiftly less than a minute, sweet and the right crunch!

Ingredients:

2 cups Mung Beans

4 Cups Water

1 Whole Onion

1 Whole Garlic Cloves

1 Coconut Milk in can

Salt

Pork Bones/ Beef Bones 

Whole Wheat Rolls

Whole Wheat Rolls

Ingredients:

2 T yeast

1 cup hot water

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c oil

1/2 cup honey

1 t salt

1/2 cup condensed milk (can)

3-4 cups Whole Wheat Flour

In a bowl, scoop 3-4 cups of the whole wheat flour, salt and add yeast. Prepare another bowl for the oil, honey, milk to mix and warm a bit by adding the hot water in it. I use a measuring cup to add all the liquid ingredients to minimize on washing. After all, everything is measured to 1/2 of oil, honey and milk. It was easy that way. I used a smaller measuring cup for the water. I drop the eggs into the already mixed liquid of honey, oil and milk and beat it with the rest. After mixing all the liquid smoothly, add to the dry ingredients. Mix all with spatula, kneading for about 15 minutes, enough to mix dry and liquid ingredients together. Let dough rest to rise until doubled. It took an hour for my dough to rise since the room temperature wasn't high enough to activate the yeast but the result was fine.

It came out moist, soft and delicious. The sweetness was not overwhelming and the softness, inviting, smooth to the throat. I'm loving it!!!

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