Trace my footsteps

Crepes at Blossom Bee, Dublin

2012-01-07T15:37:00.000-08:00

My daughter and I had been exploring the new city recently and found this little place in the nearby city. The Blossom Bee is an excellent place for crepes. We ordered each of the savory and dessert crepes from the menu. The crepes were made of wheat flour and the portions were big. We also ordered an Thai milk tea to go with them. We were so glad to come to this place because the crepes and tea were great.

Inside this savory crepe, there were smoked salmon,chunky tomatoes ,baby spinach, red onion, capers ,cream cheese with fresh dill and some pesto sauce, A green salad on the side with a little sesame seed in the honey mustard dressing.

We chose this sweet dessert crepe with peaches, pineapple, banana. The fruits were carameled with brown sugar and a little cinnamon. Sprinkle on top was this really fragranted toasted coconut. A scoop of vanilla ice cream, whip cream and sour cream with some sliced mangos and banana.

Both crepes were tasty and flavorful. After checking out the ingredients, I am sure they are really simple to make at home and wll definitely try to make them soon for the family. This is why I like to experience food at different restaurants. We were really full and satisfied wth the lunch. This is one place we will definitely come again to try their other crepes from the menu. .

Blossom Bee

7335 Village Pkwy

Dublin, CA 94568

(925) 999-9250

Christmas Dinner At Home

2011-12-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

For years, we have spent our Christmas dinner at friend's or relatives. This year I decided to have our families and friends gathering at our house. I do not have much experiences baking a turkey or making meal for a big party. I was a little nervous but with well planning, the dinner turned out well that night.

This 13 pounds turkey was marinated with sea salt, black pepper and five spices the night before. I massaged in some butter, soy sauce, sesame oil with some chopped thyme and rosemary an hour before I put the bird into an 350F degree oven. Aftr three and half hour of baking, the turkey not only was fully cooked but also flavorful.

Stove top stuffing with onion, celery, and carrots. I should have added more chicken soup to make it more moist.

Green onion baked with fried onion

Stir fry corn with onion

Vegetable Christmas Tree

By unrolling the Pillsbury pie dough, I made this apple pie for the first time, serve with vanilla ice cream.

Our friend brought this sweet and fresh fruit basket from Edible. I love the gingerbread man. It actually was pineapple covered with semi sweet chocolate.

Friend also brought some appetitzers and focaccia. The spiral ham was from Costco and everyone said it was really good. Everyone love the way we have our dinner set up as buffet style. I am happy to find that after all the cooking, I wasn't even tired and everyone really enjoy the party on that evening.

Blackhawk Fall Course

2011-11-21T13:19:00.001-08:00

Life has been hectic ever since we moved to San Ramon. The Golf season started in the mid of August. My little daughter was able to join the school girl golf team and has been busy going to practices and tournaments ever since. I, of course, was busy taking her to different site of golf courses. The golf season ended two weeks ago and I finally can relax and start blogging again.

The Blackhawk Fall course in Danville was the one my daughter and their team mates practiced most often at. It was the most beautiful golf course I have ever seen. It's located inside the country club and it's not open to the public. We were fortunate to be able to get in only because of the team's practices. The golf course itself is basically surrounding the front or backyard of the beautiful homes there. The scenic drive was just breath taken once we enter the gate of the country club.

Unfotunately, I have mistakenly deleted the folder that contains many of the photos I took in the last few months of the new area I visited. These are a few pictures I was able to recover from my daughter. I hope they will be practiced at the same golf course next year so that I can take more pictures to share with you all.

This is the song the coaches picked to include in the golf DVD for the team member. It represented the team has shared their amazing supports for each other and how close they were to each other during the season. I am grateful that the friendship from the team member has given my daughter a nice beginning in the new school and that we are all enjoy living in the new area.

Secret of Making A Tender Pork Loin

2011-10-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

I learned this from watching a cooking show yesterday. What prompted me to try and make it immdiately was the chef 's simple way of of making a tender pork loin. I was really excited to see it because it is hard for me to figure out how not to get a dried pork loin. According to the chef, the pan has to be heated on high first, then turn down to medium heat after the pork loin is added. Then let it cooks for 2 minutes and turn over to the other side for another 2 minutes. I didn't have pork chops at home so I tested out by slicing the pork loin I have from the refrigerator. I am happy to say the pork was really tender and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 pork loins
4 cloves garlic,minced
Salt and pepper
2 TSP honey

Directions:

Wash pork loins and pat dry with paper towel.
Heat pan on high, then add oil.
Place pork loin in and turn to medium heat.
Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top, let them cook for 2 minutes.
Turn pork loin and sprinkle a little sat and pepper, now add minced garlic around the pork.
Cover and cook for another 2 minutes.
Brush honey on top and turn over the pork loin and brush honey on the other side.
When both side of pork turn golden brown, take them out immediately because honey brown and burn easily.

This only take 5 minutes to make. You can stop here and serve this over rice, with some soup or sauteed veggies. The following side dishes were part of the meal that the chef made during the show.

Side dish 1(make sure you eat this with pork loin):

Mix breadcrum with peperino cheese and mince garlic.
Place on a dried pan and stir on low heat for few minutes until lightly brown.

Side dish 2:
Sautee garlic and add baby spinach for 2 minutes.

Place spinach on plate first, then layer pork loins on top, breadcrumb and spinach on the side for visual effect.

Tips:

When pork is cooked, the flesh turns white, if you see pink, put them back in the pan,cover and cook in low heat forr 1 or 2 minutes until done.
Substitute any fresh cheese you have on hand. I used fresh shredded mozzerella cheese.
Substitute any fresh vegetable you like, carrots, green beans,etc.

San Ramon, California

2011-10-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

It is excited to move to a new city. San Ramon is predominantly urban and residential. The houses are mainly built on rolling hills. I was not used to driving on those roads in the first month but now I quite enjoy the scenery drive everyday when I have to drive down the hills for errands. The weather here is really warm and dry. It was still at Farenheit 90 degree at seven o'clock in the evening everyday until two days ago. We suddenly experience a 20 degree drop due to storm and rain. The area filled with fresh air after the rain and it is chilly today.

The city of San Ramon is well sorrounded with trails and parks. Every morning I would take different trails to explore our neighborhood. This one here is my favorite trail to walk on now.

I enjoy the view while walking downhill on this trail

Minute across a major busy street., a trail leads to this unexpected beautiful scenery. All I can hear was just the bird's chirping and the wind blowing.

This is what I came to see every morning. Breath taking scene without hiking up the hill at all.

There are some beautiful front porches that I must take pictures of in the adjacent townhouses. Even though these are small front porches, but the details of the decoration just make you think what does the interior look like behind those doors.

Love the shelf with the plant on

I like the way the Flower pots were hanging in 3- tieres.

Me-Time: Imagine sitting on this lounge chair with a book for a quiet alone time.

Cute idea: Mickey and his friends keep you company while you relax , that gives you a happy feeling.

There are more porches I like, but couldn't fit too many pictures here. Overall, San Ramon is so beautiful and I am glad I finally get to move here. There will be more later to share with you with the new places I have explored. Stay tune...

Open House

2011-09-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

This summer was really busy for me. We have decided to sell our house in Fremont where we have lived for over 28 years and start a new life in another city. We held our open house in early April and sold the house in a week which was insanely fast in this terrible economy. We moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Fremont soon after that. House hunting was another story - I will blog about that later.

Thanks for all of your messages throughout the months I was absent from the blogging world. I am still unpacking some of the boxes but thought I should start posting and unloading the tons of pictures I took over the past few months. These pictures were taken when we had our open house.

Breakfast Nook

Family Room

Dining Room

Living Room

Mater Bedroom

Master Bathroom

View from family room and breakfast nook

Backyard

High Fashion at Barney's New York

2011-05-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

We stopped by the Barney's New York at the Carlsbad Premium Outlet Mall while visiting San Diego area. I have always loved to look at the high fashion at this store. There were a few pieces I found very interesting this time and thought to share them here for fun.

The black straps on this dress was what attracted me.

I love the combination of this outfit. The gray print scarf with a chiffon dress. Very light and airy, plus...

laces on the back, what a surprise.

This is elegant. Beige and black, love the flowy design of the dress.

Here comes the shoes department. If you have nice legs, imagine wearing these with shorts and layer with a longer jacket outside, so chic. This is one pair I love to own.

Suede Booties, the chunky heel is actually not chunky. It's tappered downward but gives a chunky look.

What's unique about this is it deliberately showed the buckles and zipper. The stilletoes just make it more faminine. Very nice combinaton.

I like the little details that were placed on this. See the silver strap at the ankle?

Clutch is everywhere these days. The silver accents added a little nice touch on this grayish leather clutch.

Metallic gold and ruffle leather clutch

Now, this is really unique. This wrap is leather weaved with silver beads.

Doesn't this look like a curtain? I only like the color combination.

Shall we go see something else, where am I?

This pink hat is really nice on me but the pink is ..... too pink.

Perfect for this spring - stripes. I like the pattern on pattern design.

It's too bad that I didn't have time to check out the jewelry section. I should do that next I go to Barney's New York again.

Barney's New York

Carlsbad Premium Outlet Mall

5620 Paseo Del Norte

Carlsbad, CA 92088

(760)804-9000

Humprey La Jolla at Sheraton Hotel, La Jolla

2011-05-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

During spring break, we visited San Diego again. This time we stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in La Jolla.

A beautiful hotel to stay in at a special rate of $110 for that night. We were also told the hotel restaurant is offering 50% off the entrees from the menu that night only. We were estactic to hear that and went there for dinner. We walked through the beautiful poolside area before arriving the restaurant around six o'clock that evening.

The Humprey La Jolla is located inside the hotel. There was a lounge before entering the dining area.

We were seated at this right sided booth. The place had a very nice ambiance and comfortable seating.
The sourdough bread was still warm when the waitor brought it to us. It was so good that we asked for second before our food arrived.

We ordered fried calamari as appetizer. It was cut and fried into long strips, not what we expected. We were dissapointed at the taste too.

I have never had beef wellington before. This was a little bland in my opinon but it's not a bad dish.

I ordered the fillet mignon. It was so delicious that it just melt in your mouth.

My daughter ordered this salmon with resotto, and it was just to die for.

I couldn't remember what this is. I think this is mahi mahi. All the side dishes went really well with the fish.
All the entrees were around $19 to $28 originally. With the half off, we were very happy with the delicious meal. That was a very nice and fine dining experience.

Humprey La Jolla
3299 Holiday Court
La Jolla, CA 92037

(858)453-5500

Mayfield Bakery and Cafe, Palo Alto

2011-04-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

I went to see my long time friend at Los Altos hill yesterday. She and I went to this really nice cafe restaurant in Palo Alto for lunch. There were not many customers when we arrived before noon. At 12:30pm the place was already packed. We were seated at the last booth on the right of the picture below.

My friend had been here before. She was going to order the thin pizza but decided to order the samething I ordered.

Grilled California Yellow Tail, Leek Fondue,Wilted Fava Leaves, Shimeji Vinaigrette, $19

The dish was well presented with a little bit of vinaigrette taste. It would be pefect if the fish is little bit undercooked. I always like my fish medium rare but they had cooked it medium. It was still ok not too dry. I like the fresh vegetable and they were just cooked right. Very nice combination dish.

The bread they served was just unbelievable good with thick crust. The sourdough bread was only a slightly sour. It's really hard to explain the fantastic taste of the bread.

For dessert, my friend ordered the Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding with carmael sauce, Vanilla Gelato, $8.00

This is way too sweet. If you don't like something too sweet, skip this one.

I ordered the Citrus Crème Brulee, Madeleines $8.00

I like this dessert. This had a generous portion and citrus flavor. It was smooth and not too sweet with a thin sugar crust on top. It came with two pieces of madeleines, chewy and nice citrus flavor too.

The bakery next door prepares all the desserts and bread at the cafe. There were big slection of buns,pastries and desserts. I bought these buns home afterward. They each tasted differently and were really good.

Left to right: sugar bun, brown sugar bun, hot cross bun ( Price around $2+ each)

.

This place is located in Town & Country, which is closed by Stanford Shopping Mall. It would be nice to have breakfast or coffee breaks after shopping in the area. Ask for weeknight Harvest Dinners if you want to enjoy and get a better deal for a complete dinner

Mayfield Bakery and Cafe
Town and Country Village

855 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 853-9200

Stripes In The Spring

2011-04-12T23:21:00.000-07:00

The fashion trend for this spring is all about stripes. I always love the black and white stripes but was afraid to wear them. After reading this article: Horizontal stripes make women look thinner, I was excited to try on all the stripes fashion that are availalbe at the department store.

After experiencing all the difference clothing, I have found only certain type of cut and width of the stripes that across the body gave the slimming effect. Here are what I found:

Medium size horizontal stripes that are in darker color are better to wear. It gives a depth of curve and hide area that you don't want people to notice. I found it is important to not wear top that's fits to the body. It should not be too loose or too clingy. It definitely gave a curvy look with a supported bra.

With broad stripes across the top gives an illusion of a bigger bust and narrower waist.

Bold wide stripes works better on a loose garment

I love this diagonal and vertical stripes blouse which elongates the body.

I particular like the look of a broad stripes cardigan over thin stripes top. This cardigan is similar to what I have at home but mine has broad and even stripes across.

If you are one not into stripes but still want to keep up with the trend, layer a plain cardigan or jacket over a top like this:

or use these cute accessories:

I bought this infinity scarf for my daughter. She looked so chic when she wore it with her solid black long sleeve top.

There are also many colorful stripes around to have fun with this season. Colorful stripes accessories can really make a simple outfit "pops". It's best to avoid yellow color when pair with black and white stripes as it would seem like a "bee" costume. I hope everyone is having as much fun as I have with this trend.

Easy Avocado Tofu

2011-04-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Tofu was believed to help lower choleterol and also good for the skin. This tasty recipe was given to me by a friend who is a vegetarian. I like the fact that I can prepare this healthy snack in no time and fill my stomach with no guilt at all.

Ingredients:

Soft or silkienTofu
Avocado
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Black pepper

Direction:

Cut tofu and place sliced avocado on top. Drizzle some sesame oil and soy sauce over. Sprinkle some black pepper.

Notes:

For variation, sprinkle some shredded roasted seaweed or green onion. Or substitute soysauce with prepared cold noodle sauce.

Bun Bo Hue Vietnamese Deli

2011-04-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

After our big feast at the Boiling crab. We went and find this deli which was known for their excellent bread and sandwiches. This little Vietnamese deli was just on the back side of the Boilign Crab.

After all the saltiness from the "whole shebang", I wanted a cold drink and my friend said her colleague loves to drink Avocado bubble drink. I decided to try it. Oh my goodness. It tasted so declious with a bit of rich but refreshing taste. I asked the owner what's in it. He said only milk, sugar and whole avocado. That was one recipe I have to try to make at home.

We both ordered the sandwich for our kids. I ordered the number 1 combo sandwich and it was about one foot long. I had tried a small bite of the sandwich. The bagguette was crunchy with really fine grain. I have to remember to come to this place again to buy more sandwiches the next time I come to The Boiling Crab.

Bun Bo Hue Vienamese

(408) 270-7100

2060 Tully Rd, San Jose, CA 95122

The Boiling Crab - San Jose

2011-03-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

When my friend mentioned that we should go to this restaurant for dinner again and I was already drooling. We both couldn't wait for another day and decided to go that night. This Cajun crawfish chain restaurant is owned by Vietnamese-American. It has now grown to 10 locations in Texas and California.
It was popular in the Southern California and my friend brought me here few years ago when it open its first chain in the bay area.

The first time we went there we had to wait for 2 hours. We decided to get there early this time and we were really happy to find that there was no line at 5:30pm.

The nautical decor was quite interesting to me and made me feel like I am at fisherman wharf. There were already many customers inside the restaurant. The waiter first set up the table by covering the table with butcher paper. She then brought us bibs and a roll of paper towel after handed us the menu.

Here's the menu. Most seafood are $9.99 a pound and others are also within reasonable price.

We ordered our favorites: one pound of shrimp and 4 corns with the "whole shebang" which has lemon pepper, canjun spices,garlic and butter. They were served in a plastic bag and no plate or fork were given at all. Everyone just peeled and tossed the shells on the table.

The fish and chips were really good and portion was big for $9.99. They were really good.

We also ordered the fried oysters for $9.99 a dozen. That was so delicious and I wished to get another order.

We tried the clams. It was good but it was really salty with the "whole shebang".

We both were really stuffed after eating all these. We couldn't resist ourself ordered some corns and shrimps to go for the family.

That was a very good dinner except I would have to remember to tell them to cut the salt in the "whole shebang" next time I come again. We had tried their fried sweet potatoes and crabs last time. The crab was overpriced in my opinon but was really good if you don't mind the price.

There is another Boiling Crab now open in the bay area. This restaurant is so popular any night that unless you show up before 6p.m. It can be a 2-hour wait so plan to get there as early as possible.

The Boiling Crab
(408) 532-6147
1631 E Capitol Expy, #101
San Jose, CA 9512

Snow Ears Soup

2011-03-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

My daughter was coughing a little lately. I was looking for ways to ease her dried and itchy throat. I found and tried this recipe yesterday. Snow ears is a type of dried fungus and was believed to have calming effect with coughing and also good for the skin. The almonds and Lo Han Guo have also the same effects too.

Ingredients:

3 Snow Ears
1 oz. North Almonds
1 oz. South Almonds
1/2 Lo Han Guo
1 lb. lean pork
2 slices of ginger root

Directions:

1. Boil lean pork with some cold water,bring up a boil then discard the water.
2. Add a pot of cold water, add all the ingredients.
3. Bring to a boil in high heat, then simmer for 2 to 3 hours.
4. Add salt to taste.

Ume Sushi Restaurant

2011-03-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

If you like Japanese sushi rolls, this is a place to try. There was a menu devoted to many interesting sushi rolls at this UME Japanese restuarant in Pleasanton:

The place is quite big and there is a sushi bar on the right side once you walk into the restaurant.

We were going to order the Padora but decided instead to order the Simba roll with Hamachi, cream cheese, and avocado inside with house special sauce on top.

The bento box lunch was quite well-priced with a choice of 2 for $8.95 or 3 items for $11.95. We chose 3 items this time since it was only $3 more to try an additional item.

Yakiniku (Sliced beef),tempura and sashimi bento

Salmon, tempura and sashimi bento

The portion of the lunch box was big and the roll was also fresh. The next time I come, I will try the Pandora and other rolls.

UME Sushi Japanese Restaurant

4855 Hopyard Road
Pleasanton, CA 94588

(925) 734-0996

Oede Japanese Restaurant

2011-03-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

My friend and I were hiking toward Mission Peak this morning as our morning routine walk. After the two hour walk, we were so tired and ready to have a good meal. She took me to this nearby Japanese restaurant. I had not been to this restaurant for over 10 years, since I became a full-time stay-at-home mom.
The name of the restaurant had been changed to Oede. I was surprised that the lunch was really cheap but the portion of the food was good. Check the menu here for price.

I ordered the saba from the lunch menu. I was surprised to see that the portion was big and filling for lunch. The deep fried tempura was not greasy and the saba was really good. I loved the salad dressing as well.

My friend ordered the Teriyaki chicken and sashimi as her choice from the lunch menu. The portion was big too for the price.

This sure is a place I will take my kids to, because the price is good and it is also very close to visit.

Oedo Japanese Restaurant
46573 Mission Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94539
(510) 770-9999

Rosie McCann's Irish Pub - Santana Row

2011-03-14T01:20:00.000-07:00

After days of raining and windy weather, the sun finally decided to shine on the day I met with my friends for lunch at Santana Row. I have always loved to come to this part of town just to enjoy a peaceful walk and window shopping on a sunny day.

It's always in the early morning whenever I come to Santana Row and I didn't realize it was so difficult to find a parking space at lunch hour. I was supposed to meet my friend at noon time but it took me a long time to find a parking space. It was already 12:30 when I finally found my way to Rosie McCann's Irish Pub.

It was a big place for a pub and one would not miss a big bar once you walked into the door. There were not many customers for lunch inside the pub. I met up with two friends from the UK and a friend who just moved here from New York. It was interesting to hear four of us speaking English with different accents. Although we were all speaking English, my New York friend and I were having a little hard time understanding one of the UK friend's heavy accent. Apparently she's from a different part of UK than our other UK friend. It was so funny that the other UK friend had to translate for us whenever we seemed puzzled.

It seemed strange to me that three of them ordered beer or some kind of alcoholic drinks at a Chinese restaurant while we had Dim Sum for lunch last week, but they didn't order any of that at the pub this time when there were all kinds of alcoholic beverages here. We all ordered soda this time.

I ordered my favorite seafood pasta as usual. The portion didn't look impressive when the dish arrived, but it was very rich and delicious. Both my UK friend and I could only finish half of the plate.

My New York friend ordered this salmon; she said it was really good too.

The other UK friend ordered a shepherd's pie. A shepherd pie is a common English dish in which the potatoes were mashed and baked with ground meat and cheese. I assumed it was good too, because they have always spend most of their weekend eating and drinking at this pub.

Rosie McCann's Irih Pub

355 Santana Row

(408) 247-1706

Sozo Japanese Restaurant

2011-03-10T12:54:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen my friend for almost 10 years, but we finally got together again. She took me to a restaurant in Pleasanton for lunch. The place was located in a small shopping center. It was a small place, but already packed with people. We sat down and ordered the dragon roll:

My friend and I ordered the same lunch box. Look at the $9 lunch; the portion was big. I liked that they included many selections in one lunch.

That was a very satisfying lunch. I would go back again to try their other rolls and lunch selections. Here is their address if you want to check out their menu: :http://www.sozosushi.com/

SOZO SUSHI
2835 Hopyard Rd
(between Secretariat Dr & Valley Ave)
Pleasanton, CA 94588

(925) 484-5588

La Moose Cafe - Thai Fushion Food

2011-03-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

I got a phone call at noon time while shopping at the mall last Friday. My friend had called to ask me to have lunch with her at a Thai restaurant. It only took me five minutes to arrive this Thai fusion restaurant.

I was really surprised to see the small cafe was already packed with customers when I got there at 12:30. My friend and I decided to share the dishes so that we could try a few dishes together. I ordered a fresh coconut drink which was really sweet and refreshing.

My friend had tried the Pad Thai before and she said the way they made it was very different from other restaurants. I decided to try the dish. The Pad Thai was made with crab meat instead of shrimps. It came with a salad on the side. I was really disappointed with the dish because it was very salty and fishy. My friend said the last time she tried the dish it was very good.

What was so interesting about this place was that there was a station where they made all kinds of French crepes from savory and vegetable to sweet desserts. French crepe in a Thai restaurant? Who would have thought? According to Yelp, this place is the place for great crepes.

My friend ordered a Thai curry crepe. There was chicken, mushrooms, and vegetables with melted cheese inside the crepe and green curry sauce on top.

It had an interesting combination taste. It tasted little sweet on the outside, a salty filling inside, then it was also spicy. It was rich with cheese and we could only finish half of it. It was not great, but not bad. When I went to talk to the owner whom my friend knew, she was making a vegetarian crepe. It looked very delicious. But I think I will order a dessert next time, for i like eating dessert crepes.

Another friend came and joined us for lunch later. She said she had been here many times and the place was always busy. She also said the salad here is really good. She ordered a fruit salad and let me try some of hers. After the rich dishes I was really happy to have this refreshing dish to end the lunch before I left.

It was so delicious that we asked the owner how to make it. She told me the secret was to use Ken's Asian salad dressing. I looked at the salad and did a mental record of the ingredients. The ingredients included lettuce, crunchy fried noodle, sliced strawberries, oranges, pineapple and cucumber with Asian dressing mixed in. This is one delicious salad I will definitely order next time I go there or make it myself at home.

There are many interesting dishes on the menu for under $10. Even though their food had not met my expectations, I would still go back and try their other food to experience the interesting combination. This is a nice little cafe to go to with friends if you want to experience something different.

La Moose Cafe

5014 Mowry Ave.

Fremont, CA

(510) 745-7288

Puzzles Fun

2011-03-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

When the kids are out of school during summer and winter breaks, we all looking forward to great moments together as a family without all of the demands of the school year. In the past few years, my kids and I have developed a love for puzzles time together.

I have taught my kids how to do jigsaw puzzles since they were toddlers. They since have developed their own ways to sort and finish the puzzles in a more efficient time. If you have never tried doing puzzle before, try it with a smaller box first like 250 pieces for a starter. A big piece of cardboard is necessary for easy mobility and avoid losing pieces. The edges of the puzzle and corner pieces are usually located first and placed on the board so we can see the actual size of the puzzle. Sorting the pieces by colors into a different boxes will make it easier to find the pieces you need. After the puzzle is done, we used a puzzle glue to brush on the puzzle and let it dry before we frame it.

Here are a few interesting puzzles we have done in the past.

Thomas Kinkade's Oil Painting

We bought this Degas's from Metropolitan Museum of Art while visiting New York. This is undeniable a good qualtiy puzzle. I will definitely get more puzzles the next time I visit any museum.

We also bought this Glow-In-The-Night Puzzle in New York city.

This 3D puzzle was done many years ago. We bought it from Seattle.

We listened many songs while doing puzzle and recently this is one of the songs from Glee that I love to listen to.

Ah Niu's New Tuxedo

2011-02-25T00:37:00.000-08:00

This is a true story. It was about twenty five years ago. My friend brought these stuffed animals from Hong Kong and gave them to us as wedding gift. They have always been together and have been sitting on top of our headboard in our bedroom since the first day we were married. They moved with us to several houses and they were always placed in the same location, even we moved to different houses.

They went through the ups and downs with us all these years. They witnessed how we raised our kids. If it hadn't been for the valentine's card I received from my husband, I would have not remembered that we had been married for almost 25 years. I then realized Ah Niu (the groom's name for the cow) and his wife had been with us all these years.

I noticed Ah Niu had lost his hat and tuxedo. I also noticed his shoulder was beginning to fall apart.

But his wife still looks just as good as the first day she arrived.

I feel very fortunate to still have these two stuffed animals with us after all this time. After days of futility to find Ah Niu's tuxedo, I decided to make a new tuxedo for him. Because I don't know how to sew, I went online to search for some tutorial videos hoping to learn to sew properly. Unfortunately, I didn't find any clips to show how to cut the pattern for a stuffed animal. So I began to brainstorm myself with whatever I learned from the internet.

I used a vanilla card board to roughly measure Ah Niu's body and cut the pattern out first. Then pinned the fabric on the pattern and cut it quarter inch bigger as seam allowance. It was a little difficult to deal with when it was time to sew the shoulder area. I left out the sleeves and collars, since I wasn't good with sewing. I was afraid it would look terrible after all the effort; that's why I only made a simple tuxedo. I remembered Ah Niu originally had a golden chain. I then looked through some old jewelry and found these gold chains that I bought from Singapore and thought they were perfect because they both have the same sentimental value to me.

I added a new bow tie on him. Now look at the handsome Ah Niu:

I thought I should also give something new to his wife. I used the broach I found from the box and pinned it on as part of her necklace. Look at them now, aren't they a lovely couple?

It was fun to do this project. Not only I get to save something sentimental, but it's always good to learn something new. The internet is a great way to learn anything you wish these days. All you need is some willingness to explore.

Lamb Time

2011-02-22T21:18:00.000-08:00

It is still chilly outside even though we had seen some signs of spring is coming. I was craving for some lamb to keep the body warm. There was a dish that I liked a lot from the Chinese restaurant I went to during the Chinese New Year. I tried making the dish at home. I believe I had success in making it as close as I possibly could. It tasted like a spicy stir fry beef. It was really tender and didn't even have that funny smell from the lamb meat.

Lamb chop with XO sauce（XO醬羊肉）

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Lamb chop, sliced
3 cloves of garlic
3 slices of ginger
1 stalk green onion
1 pkg. Fresh Japanese organic mushroom
Marinate sauce: cooking wine, cornstarch, sugar, oysters sauce, 1 tbsp each.

Directions:

1. Marinate sliced lamb chops with oysters sauce,sugar,cooking wine, cornstarch.
2. Stir fry fresh mushroom on dry wok to dry up the liquid, scoop out and set aside.
3. Heat oil, add garlics and gingers, then 1 tbsp XO sauce.
4. Add in lamb chops on high heat, stir fry quickly.
5. Return mushroom and stir fry together for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in green onion, stir well and serve hot.

I also tried to make a stew lamb in claypot which I really love to order at restaurant. I was really happy it turned out well that the meat was tender and not too salty after stewed for two hours.

Claypot Stew Lamb（枝竹羊肉煲）

Ingredients:

4 pcs. Fermented tofu
3 cloves of garlic
3 slices of ginger
1 tbsp cooking wine
half piece of rock candy )or 1 tbsp sugar)
1 tbsp black bean paste
a little soysauce
1 lb. Lamb chop with bones
5 sticks dried bean curd sticks
Fresh gingko nuts 銀杏（白果）10顆 - optional
5 Waterchestnuts 馬蹄 (optional)

Direction:

1. Break bean curd sticks into 2 inches long and soaked until soft.
2. Peel and cut across waterchestnuts into slices.
3. Heat oil in a wok or regular pan, add garlics and gingers stir until fragrant.
4. Crush and add fermented tofu pieces and mix well.
5. Add lamb chop and brown with above for 5 minutes,add soysauce and sugar.
6. Sprinkle the wine around, stir in waterchestnuts,gingko nuts and mix well.
7. Cover and cook on high to bring to boil, then turn to low to simmer for one and a half hour.
8. Transfer the meat into a claypot, continue cook in low.
9. Drain the bean curd sticks and add into the claypot.
10. Cook with meat for another half hour.
11. Serve with claypot while it's still hot.

Chinese New Year Dinner - Asian Pearl Restaurant

2011-02-15T21:47:00.000-08:00

Traditional our family would go out for a family feast to celebrate Chinese New Year. This year we had our dinner at the fancy Asian Pearl restuarant. The place was huge and comfortable. They have many fancy food listed on their menu. A lot of delicatesen such as whole abalone, shark fins soup, bird's nest and other expensive gourmet dishes were on their menu. We ordered these common dishes from the menu:

Honey walnut shrimp

Crab sauce over greens

Shrimp stuffed mushroom with vegetable

Fried milk over fish filets - not that good

Fish cake with chinese broccoli - not crazy either

Scallop fried rice

We also ordered a dish of drunken chicken and stir fried lamb chops which I really liked. I forgot to take pictues of them. Most of the food were good but they were really pricey. They also have great selections of dim sum everyday during lunch hours.

順峰魚港

Asian Pearl

43635 Boscell Rd,

Fremont, CA 94538

Tel: (510) 979-1368

San Francisco War Memorial Opera House - Madama Butterfly

2011-02-11T01:22:00.000-08:00

It was a few years back my husband and I had an opportunity to watch Madama Butterfly at the Opera House in San Francisco. I remember it was a very long drive because of the heavy traffic. We arrived at 6:30 that evening. It was a very cold night, but we enjoyed the opera very much.
This is the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. It's a very old but beautiful buidling.

We waited a while before we were let into the theater. Here is a gorgeous interior picture I found online:

I was lucky to find these videos from You Tube. There were two screens hung on each side of the theater. It was a good thing that they shown the English subtitle on the screens through out the entire play. This is a story about a 15 years old Japanese girl who fell in love in Japan with a U.S. Naval officer. Unfortunately the officer had to go back to America. She waited for him to come back to reunite with her and their son. After 3 years of waiting, she found out he had already married and brought the new wife with him. She was so devastated and commited suicide. For more detail on the story, you can read Madama Butterfly here.e

Here is a song most of us are familiar with:

This is the finale where Madama Butterfly wanted to commit suicide:

It was worth the time to experience the opera for the first time. Ever since that time, I fell in love with opera and had watched a few since then.

Artist Paint Brushes Holder

2011-01-31T13:35:00.000-08:00

Artst paint brushes and tools are expensive. I have been wanting to make a paint brush holder to protect all the artist painting tools I used in my oil painting class. I did not want to make a fabric holder which you can roll up and go. I wanted to use a hardboard that can protects brushes from damage. It also needs to be great at displaying and transporting the brushes, pencils and small tools.

I went to Joann Fabric store and see what I could find. The ladies from the store gave me these cardboard to use.

I randomly found some fabrics and ribbons at home and started to do some designing. I covered the board with fabric first, and then measured and sew the slots for the tools that are going to be inserted. I also stitched elastic band to hold the brushes/pencils in place for easy access.

This is what it looks like when finshed:

This project only took me two and half hours to finish. The great thing was I didn't have to spend any money by looking for recyling scrap items that were laying around everywhere.