Beebs

Oh boy, do I ever!!

Argh! I failed this challenge before even starting! This week I ADDED chicken thighs and a couple packs of frozen lox..... On the other hand, freezer space is maxed out, Super Bowl is coming up and I'll expect to use up some stuff. I did randomly on purpose pull out frozen Corn to go with roast Chicken with Cilantro & Thai Chilies....

Well, the Seahawks aren't in it this year, so.....no horse in this race. Last year we hosted a Chinese New Year Super Bowl Birthday Party, which was interesting. Think we'll keep it low-key this year. I'll provide a main, a snack, and everything else is potluck. I've got some freezer stuff I want to use up, but it won't be part of Anna N's freezer game, since I don't want to plan around pulling out random stuff. Not sure what to serve yet.

Fun idea, Anna N! I'm game, but probably won't get to it for another few days. (DH just filled the freezer back up with dumplings - hope I don't get dumplings and uhhh...doughnuts. Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Perfect tomato soup? It's one that comes with a grilled cheese sandwich! I'm partial to pappa al pomodoro - Tuscan bread & tomato soup. I use canned whole roma tomatoes, leftover rind of parm, and drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top.

Nail brushes are great for carrots, potatoes & squash!

The black ones are wood ear fungus. Cloud ear fungus are generally white/beige/yellow and fluffy-looking - like little clouds. Used in sweet soups. White cloud fungus I googled for white cloud fungus rather than just cloud ear. They're both rather bland and flavourless on their own, more of a texture thing.

I just bought a bunch of these from IKEA, different sizes. The lid has a rubber gasket, so it fits snugly - important, because of my pantry moths problem. The description says "jar", but it is a stackable plastic container.

Favourite: soft boiled. When we went to Singapore, we learned to eat them barely boiled. Whole raw eggs dropped in hot boiled water, off the heat, covered for 5 mins. They were so soft you'd have to crack them into a shallow dish and slurp it up with a bit of dark soy. Kaya toast and condensed milk coffee on the side. Least favourite: Hard, dry scrambled and hard, dry fried eggs. Ick.

Ugh. I confess that deciding what to cook on a work weeknight is one of my most despised chores. I like cooking & eating, of course, but weeknight meal planning sucks. So I'm one of the staring-at-the-fridge-contents-hoping-a-meal-will-magically-appear types. On a practical level, I guess I just see what's available at the store, what's in season, what pantry/freezer items I have, and whether I want to cook asian or western.

Cilantro! Love a cilantro, mint, green lettuce salad! Especially with larb. My favourite dressing for cilantro salad is the basic Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham) of lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, red thai chili. Sometimes I'll riff on it and add toasted sesame oil, soy, shallots or garlic.

Anchovy vinaigrette. Essentially caesar dressing without the egg/mayo. Sometimes I'll do a vegan version (heh!) and use nutritional yeast & tahini/ground sesame in place of the anchovy & Worcestershire.

I caved. Bought it this weekend from Costco. It's my reward for fixing our collapsing cookbook shelf & thinning out my collection. I'm especially excited about the savoury cookie recipes. Has anyone tried them yet?

Great report, thanks for sharing! I haven't been back to HK for almost three decades, even though one of my parents is from there. Hoping to make a visit soon - I'm sure a lot has changed since then!

You lucky gal - I love eggs & wish I had your problem! All the desserts! Flan, custard, ice cream, iles flottantes, angel food cake, pudding, pavlova, lemon meringue pie, lots of cake with custardy fillings.... A pile of soy sauce marinated eggs or tea eggs. The world's largest omelette? Biggest bowl of egg salad ever??

+1 for eating it! But, more importantly, care to share the recipe? It sounds delicious and I've a couple potlucks coming up!

I have Taikoo brown sugar cubes in my cupboard. I use it for Old Fashioneds. Makes a much tastier drink than white cubes.

Winter melon is often used for sweets, like dessert soups and candied. I suppose one could do the same with hairy melon. Not sure if there would be any texture issues - hairy melon is more like a zucchini than a melon, I think.

Yay! Another Anna & Kerry blog! Looking forward to all the mischief you two are getting up to! Yup, that's a hairy melon. It's been awhile since I've had it, haven't cooked it myself (those hairs......). IIRC, mom just chucks cut-up pieces in a chicken/pork based soup. I don't remember her adding red dates, but maybe there were dried goji berries. You can also stir-fry it with ginger & a bit of garlic. And as I'm sure you found out when it attacked you - wear gloves when you peel it!

I like beans, generally. But I dislike certain preparations. I don't care for the 3-bean salad you find at every potluck, lentil soup & lentil salad or any other kind of cold vinegary bean dish. Sweet red (adzuki) bean soup - just GAK! I will eat these dishes, but won't really enjoy them. On the other hand, two thumbs up for red bean paste, other bean soups (especially navy bean and split pea), edamames, and Puy lentils.....

Aka. Arrowroot? "Fen ge" in Mandarin (second link posted by Thanks for the Crepes). Mom puts it in soup - very tasty soup, although the souped-out arrowroot is rather dry, bland & unappealing.

Hahaha! Oh my gosh, I was totally joking, made it up!!! Can't believe it's an actual thing!

Bread loaf holder. It looks like a loaf of bread would fit on it very nicely. (ETA: Loving your journey so far, ElsieD, gorgeous scenery! And now I want to eat an entire basket of toutons.)

Puffins & moose! I hope they'll show up for you - I've always wanted to see one in real life! Timmy's - I like their brekky sandwiches (better than McD's, I think), sour cream glazed donut, honey cruller, maple pecan danish. And Timbits. Everything else - meh.

Can we look forward to cod tongues and seal flipper pie? Never been to the East Coast, but it's certainly on my must-go list. Can't wait for your foodblog, Elsie D!