Lychee, dried lily petal & job's tear sweet soup

I bought a can of lychee from Chinese supermarket last week, at first I just want to eat some lychee as fruit, I miss its taste :) I didn't plan to make something specifically,  yesterday I saw a recipe of Chinese sweet soup with lychee and job's tear... haha I know I should try it out since I have a can of lychee.

As I posted a recipe to cook job's tear before, I explained that job's tear is for humid weather. You can see more info about job's tear, click here.

Important: Do not consume it while you are pregnant!

Ingredients

20g dried job's tear (either raw or cooked)

20g dried lily petal (you can buy them in Chinese supermarket)

20g rock/crystal sugar*

130g lychee**

honey (in the original recipe, it is 30g) 

*If you use the can lychee, you can use the syrup water, in this case you won't need to add any sugar

**It is net weight - If you buy can lichi, you will see the net weight of lichi and the weight of lichi with syrup water written on the can

Instructions

1. Soak dried job's tear and lily petal in water for 2hours

2. After 2hours, drain the water out, pour them into a pot, pour in water - at least cover the ingredients, if you want more soup, then add more water

Add sugar

3. Turn on the heat and boil it, after it is boiled, lower the heat to low/medium heat for 30mins

4. After 30mins, add in lychee, turn off the heat and let it cook for another 10mins

5. When you serve, add honey according to your taste

Serve either hot or cold

Enjoy!

Masterpiece - takeaway from my first women's retreat

Last Saturday I attended my first women's retreat, I was asked to play in the worship team :) The whole day was wonderful!

The theme of the retreat called masterpiece, yes we are God's masterpiece, each of us is precious. God is our great creator, praise Him!

So we made our own masterpiece on a canvas, about ourselves before and after (now). That is why you might see the head and the shoulder in the picture. It is me.

At the beginning I was quite nervous because I am not confident in making it beautiful :s I tried to paste some newspaper, having fun with my sister at the same time. Then I started feeling inspired, and I kept developing it. I was almost the last to finish because I was slow... anyway, I found that ugly at first but now I appreciate it because I got my story behind it.

The story is this: I before(= Newspaper) followed the pattern of this world, I had pride and envy in me. Then I knew Jesus, who shed the blood for me (= the red threads in the form of blood), I got touched and became christian. 

God (= thread in heart shape) lived in me, Holy Spirit (orange and yellow) filled in me. I change.

I'm still surrounded by the world (=black at the background), sometimes I got influenced by the world (=brown color around my cheek), sometimes when I serve the Lord I give positive effect on the others (=yellow color around the top of my head).

I hope one day I will spread more positive energy to the others, to lighten the world.

Lord, please help me to sanctify and purify myself, be the light shining on the others.

What I learnt: Creating an art piece is not only about the beauty of it, of course it is important, but the story behind shouldn't be neglected. I learn a new way to appreciate an artwork - to be more curious about the story behind each one.

I enjoyed the retreat and I will definitely join it next year, and also play again next year!

Job's Tear lemon water

I saw somebody posted on facebook about Job's Tear water, that makes me want to make some too :)
Job's Tear is healthy food in Asia, during humid period, we consume Job's Tear to "remove" humidity in the body. Also it can be used to "remove" heat in the body.


However, it is not suitable for women during their period or their pregnancy!

I usually cook Job's Tear with red bean to make sweet soup or just "water" :) this time I'll try to make with lemon, to have fresh drink :)

Another important information is that there are 2types of Job's Tear - raw and cooked. Cooked means it is fried, they look bigger than the raw ones.

You can buy Job's tear in the Chinese supermarket, be careful do not mix it up with Pearl Barley.

Ingredients
50g cooked Job's tear
50g raw Job's tear (you can use 100g raw ones if you couldn't find the cooked one)
2L water (including the soaked water)
1 lemon, sliced

optional: honey/sugar

Instructions
1. Wash Job's Tear several times, drain the water away, pour fresh water and soak it for 1 hour
Note: raw Job's Tear = soak for 1hour, cooked Job's Tear = soak for 0.5hour

2. Place the Job's Tear in a pot, pour water and boil them until the boiling point, then you can reduce the heat to low heat, cook for 1hour

3. Turn off the heat, add in sliced lemon
Serve hot or cool down to serve cold

You can keep it in the fridge for 2-3days

Enjoy!

Bagel is my favorite quick meal

I haven't made bagel for long long long time! I make it again today and it doesn't take lots of time to make some when compare to other breads :) Just realized that it is so easy to make, I'll make more in the near future :)

I just use the recipe of pretzel in fact, but it does tastes like bagels! I believe that they share more or less the same recipe.
So click here to get the recipe.
You can put grains on the top of the bagel to make it even healthier!

What to put inside the bagel? There are lots of variation. Personally I think the base should be cream cheese, with:
1. smoked salmon
2. salad/ fresh spinach
3. tomatoes
4. slices of cheese like brie
5. ham/ smoked ham 
6. bacon
7. chicken
8. pickles
9. honey
....

I like the combination of 1+2, 2+4+9, yummy!!

It is perfect for a quick lunch, or picnic. Easy to eat.

Enjoy!

Homemade hash brown

We had brunch at my friend's house last Saturday, she made some hash brown, I was quite happy because it has been long time I haven't had it. It was my favorite food during my childhood (you know, the McDonald ones... yummy), they are crispy and smell so good. 

My friend said she knew people at the military base, that's why she got those :) hmmmm... hash browns are very American indeed. That means I have no way to buy it here :( okay... let me make some by myself :)

Ingredients

3 medium Potatoes

1 egg

1/4cup flour

Salt

Pepper

Instructions

1. Peel off the potato skin, wash them, dry them

Chop potatoes into smaller pieces

2. Mix all the ingredients (you can add salt & pepper at the end) in the food processor until they are well mixed

3. Heat the oil over a pan at medium heat, if you want the hash brown to be crispy, you need to pour the oil all over the pan. (I know it is very fat... you can pour less oil but it won't be in golden color on both sides)

4. When the oil is hot enough, use a table spoon to place the potato mixture on the pan, and use the back of the spoon press the mixture gently and evenly like 1/2inch thick

5. Cook until the bottom become golden color, flip the hash brown, cook another side until it is golden color

6. Serve it hot with ketchup

Enjoy!

Chocolate chips cookies with flowing chocolate filling

I am not fan of cookies, I rarely eat cookies and I rarely make cookies. I found this special cookies in a French supermarket, then I think I want to make it - so here is the recipe.

Ingredients
125g butter at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract

2cups + 3 tbsp flour (you might need to add more)
1tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

1tsp Nutella per dough

Instructions
1. Mix butter with sugar, mix well. Then add in eggs and vanilla extract

2. Add in flour & baking soda, you might need to add more flour. When you touch the dough with your hands and it doesn't really stick on your finger => ready

3. Add in chocolate chips, mix briefly
Preheat the oven at 180°c

4. Use a table spoon to scoop the dough, then gently press the dough on your palm, it shouldn't be too thin

5. Use a tea spoon to scoop the nutella and place it in the middle of the dough

6. Wrap the side of the dough towards the center and form a ball
Place the dough on a tray lined with baking sheet

7. Bake the dough for 12-15mins or until the cookies become golden color

Enjoy!

Coconut milk ice-cream with ginger and lime

I have a friend who made this ice-cream for her husband's birthday, she told me that they loved it and she recommended me to make it ;)

My husband said it is one of the best ice-cream I have ever made! I am sure he will want me to make again :)

It was quite time consuming when I grated the ginger by hand (but my effort worths since my husband is happy). 
If you want to make it in hurry, then I suggest you mix all the ingredients in a blender.

Ingredients
113g fresh ginger (peeled)

1 cup brown sugar (original recipe = 1cup & 2tbsp white sugar)
2 (380g-400g) cans chilled unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup chilled half and half (you can use at least 30% cream)
5 tbsp fresh lime juice of about 2 limes
1 tbsp grated lime peel of 2 limes
Pinch of salt

For decoration (I didn't use it)
2 mangoes (peeled, pitted & sliced)
1 lime (thinly sliced)

Instruction
1. Finely grate ginger, then chop very finely. Set aside enough chopped ginger (including juices).

2. Whisk coconut milk, sugar, half and half, lime juice, lime peel, salt, and reserved grated ginger in medium bowl, keep whisking the mixture until sugar dissolves. 

3. Transfer mixture to ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer's instructions. 

4. Transfer ice cream to container; cover and freeze until firm, about 3 hours.

5. For decoration - garnish with mango and lime.

Note: If you like ginger flavor, you can add more than written in the recipe, but be careful it can become spicy if you add too much!

Enjoy!