Asian Vegetables Basket: Recipes and Tips for Watercress

I finally got my vegetables basket today! It was surprisingly light, but I'm so happy to see these vegetables. I can't wait to eat all of them up. I will probably use up the bean sprouts first, they can go bad quickly. Love the watercress! I use them mostly in soup. Here are some recipes, have fun trying and eating!

Watercress

Watercress soup

This is very simple and easy to make. Use either chicken or pork, with bones. Bones give you really good flavor. Or you can use store bought chicken stock. You only need then watercress, wolfberries (you can get them from Whole Food or an Asian grocery store), and dried red or honey dates. Cut a slit in the dates so the flavor will come out more, you can get rid of the pits if you want, but it will come out by itself after the soup is done cooking. Make sure you be careful and don't eat the pits. If you don't have any dates or wolfberries, it will be fine too, it just won't have the same kind of sweetness. 

Watercress and Chicken Stir-fry

Watercress with Rice Wine Oyster Sauce

And since I'm nice and always considerate the one who got you into the trouble to begin with by suggesting watercress on Noisy Rabbit FB page, I will give you some watercress salad recipes as well, even though they are not Chinese food. (Please don't beat me up if you don't like watercress.)

This particular one looks amazing, plus you can use the orange and basil in the basket this week to make it. I'm a genius, yes you can say that. It is what I always told my husband to say anyway when I came up with some awesome ways to incorporate all the vegetables or if I made some amazing food (that most of time I don't know how it happened and can't seem to be able to re-enact it). I said it plenty of times to myself too, when I'm in the kitchen. Hey, if you spend most of your time in the kitchen, you might as well make yourself feel better. You cook better food that way, trust me. 

Watercress and Citrus Salad

Watercress and Avocado Salad

Or if you still have those red babies (beets) laying around from your last week's basket like me, make this beets and watercress salad. Yes, I'm a genius, you can say that again.

But for me? I AM MAKING WATERCRESS SOUP! 

Which reminds me, I have some frozen chicken feet I can use in this soup! (Yes, chicken feet, not chicken legs. They are not ordinary chicken feet neither. They are organic, free ranged chicken feet. My friend raise organic, free range chicken and eggs. If you are interested you can check Omega Farms out. 

You can also stop saying ewww now. Thank you. 

Asian Vegetables Basket: Recipes and Tips for Ginger

If you are a Chinese, you will have ginger in your kitchen. Ginger is my kitchen staple, I cannot survive without it. If I ran out of ginger, I panic, what will I do without my ginger? Honey, I guess I am not cooking tonight, I am out of ginger. I also feel defeated if I let myself ran out of ginger, my mother probably will think I humiliate her by being a Chinese who don't have ginger in her kitchen. I always toss few slices of it in my stir fry, I use it to make ginger tea (a cup of hot ginger tea chases any winter blue or cold away), I use it in soup, and I grate it to marinate my meat or make homemade teriyaki sauce.
But, first, some easy stir fry recipes that use ginger.

Ginger and Scallion Chicken 

Tips: Scallions is just another name for green onions.

This is a very easy stir fry, and it is my favorite. When I am homesick, I make this. You don't need any chinese cooking wine if you don't have any on hand, just use any white wine, it will work. You can also use corn starch instead of corn flour, I never know the difference.

Or, if you prefer beef like my husband, here are some beef recipes and for American taste buds.

Mongolian Beef

Ginger and Scallion Beef

You can omit the maggi seasoning. If you have some meat marinated in the freezer as I mentioned in the quick tips in this post , you can use them for these recipes. 

Ginger is very good for soothing an upset stomach. It also helps greatly soothing menstrual pain. I have very fond memories of my mother (not my monthly Aunt Flow, of course) making ginger tea, soup (with rice noodle for a mid night chow, I always get more hungry when I have my menstrual), and also fried eggs with sesame oil and chopped ginger. I love how ginger warm my abdomen up and soothe the  cramp. 

So here are some soup recipes.

Ginger Soup

I love mine with lots and lots of ginger. You can use store bought chicken broth. I also like to add Cilantro in mine. May I suggest you use the boy choy or napa cabbage you get in your basket this week? If you like it to be more filling, throw in some cooked rice or noodles. 

If you are sick of Chinese Food, here is a your normal soup recipe using ginger.

Carrot Apple Ginger Soup

Ginger is also good in pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potato soup. I made them a lot for my children for baby food when they were babies to help boast those immune system. 

OK, back to some Chinese food (I'm sorry, I am only but a Chinese!)

If you have a cold or are congested, you gotta try ginger tea. Really, it works wonder, it clears up my sinuses in a minute (although it is not a one time deal, you will be cleared for a while, then it will come back, but keep drinking it). You will get better faster from your cold. No store bought ginger tea can do the same, use the real thing. You can sweeten it up with honey, use less ginger to start with, and put green tea and lemon in it. If my two year old girls can drink it without complaining it's too spicy, you can too. 

Ginger Tea

Or if you prefer cold. (But remember, cold ginger tea does not clear up your congestion as a cup of hot ginger tea.)

Iced Ginger Tea

Head over to this website if you like Teriyaki sauce for the recipe and some tips.

I usually use less soy sauce, less sugar, and I use Japanse rice wine instead of cider vinegar. Start out making small portion, tweak the recipe until you like it, then make a big jar and store it in your fridge. It's great for chicken, beef, tofu, or vegetable kebabs. I grill a lot of food using Teriyaki marinade. 

Asian Vegetables Basket: Recipes and Tips For Coconuts

Coconuts
I miss having fresh coconuts and seeing coconut trees. We have them abundantly in my country. When I was a kid, my mother would make me go to a little grocery store up the street, one of those that is not kept that clean and tidy, but boy, they have everything under the sun you could think of. Most of the groceries are dry good, and things you don't have to keep in refrigerator. Coconut is one of them. You pick out the one you like, hand it to the owner or the worker, they hack it open with a long knife, and grind up the coconut meat for you. You bring it home and make it into coconut milk. If not, my mother would always open the coconuts, it's never a chore I had to do. And what do you know, now that I'm in States, I'm staring at those brown coconuts, so wanting to make fresh coconut milk, but the thought of opening it makes me nervous. Not to say, I don't have my awesome Chinese butcher knife to hack it open. (OK, the truth is, I do not have my mother here to do it.) But, thank God for Youtube.
Here is one video showing you how to open one and how to make coconut milk out from the meat. I just love this tiny Asian lady.

If the coconut water(the clear liquid you get when you open the coconut, or if you drain it first out from its eye) is not sour, you can use it to make rice. I don't remember drinking much old coconut water, we always drink mostly young coconut water (when the coconuts are still green).
The milk you get from straining the ground coconut meat, you can use it in cooking or making dessert.
Here are some curries recipes.

Thai Chicken Curry with Bamboo Shoots

Green Curry

Tips: Use any kind of meat or vegetables you like. Bean sprout can go in there too. Eat it with the rice you cook with the clear coconut water. You can also serve this with Naan bread or Indian Prata bread, which you can get them frozen from the Indian grocecry store. If you have leftovers and are sick of eating it, make it into soup, put in chicken broth to make it thinner, and throw in any kind of rice noodles you like, or you can even use spaghetti if that is what you have on hand (but precook the spaghetti first in a put of water, if not it will soak up all the soup).

Banana, Coconut and Tapioca Pearl Soup

This link has some tips of how to cook tapioca: http://isohungry.blogspot.com/2009/11/che-choui-banana-tapiocasago-pudding.html

Coconut Milk Custard

If you don't like Asian dessert, you can always use you coconut milk to make coconut ice-cream or coconut sorbet.

If you don't want to make your coconut into coconut milk, you can always toast them. I think they will be excellent to be made into granola. 

According to this website, If you’re not going to use all the coconut, place it (either in chunks or grated) in a plastic bag and refrigerate up to 2 days. To keep fresh longer, wrap the prepared coconut in plastic and then in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. The average coconut when grated yields about 5 cups.

Asian Vegetables Basket: Recipes and Tips For Basil

We are getting Asian theme vegetables basket from my local vegetables co-op this week. So here I am, writing, abandoning my half-worked garden because of my dear friend Melissa's order (I'm sorry, I have to give you a hard time :p). OK, the truth is, I have been working in the garden my much neglected and abandoned front yard mess for the pass two days, my arms and back are sore and I need a break. Thinking about food and gathering recipes is a good therapy. In fact, I do it so much (reading through blogs and blogs of Asian food blogs) my husband think us Asians are crazy(too obsess with our food) , he doesn't think Americans or Westernes, as us Asians will call them, write any food blog. Um, someone please tell him I am always right he is wrong and there is plenty of non-Asian food blogs.

OK, now you have do your duty I'll give you some recipes links. I have to start of with the Thai Basil. Basil is my favorite herb! You can do stir fry or eat them raw in a Vietname spring roll, or make basil pesto!
Here are some stir fry recipes links.

Spicy Beef with Thai Basil

Thai Stir Fry Basil Chicken

Tips:
You can use any kind of meat, or no meat at all. Try tofu, or even eggplants. This is also a good way to use up your vegetables. You can also toss in the bean sprouts, peppers, snap peas, green onions, whatever that tickle your fancy. The main ingredients are garlic, onions, fish sauce and basil. If you have these, you are all good. The fish sauce sounds (and smells fishy), but it doesn't really taste fishy. But if you really  don't like the fish sauce it will be fine to be left out also, make sure you season it well with soy sauce. If you don't like your food to be salty, always start off with less than what the recipes suggest for how much soy sauce you need, you can always add more salt or soy sauce later. You can also omit the chili if you cannot take any heat, or if you are cooking for your munchkins, unless your little younglings are some fire-ball spitting or eating creatures, then it is up to you. We always spice ours up after I dish out my kids' portion with some good pepper oil we got from Whole Food. Eat it with jasmine rice.

Quick tips:
Whenever I come by a good meat sale, I buy for what is enough for few meals. Slice all of them up, marinate them in soy sauce, sesame oil, little bit of salt and sugar, divide them into few meals and freeze them. There is your quick dinner meals, just throw in vegetables! You can use them for any kind of Chinese stir-fry (beef and broccoli, anyone?). You can also add more seasoning to it after you thaw it.

Another good way to use basil is Vietnamese Spring Rolls!

 Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Shrimp

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Spring Rolls

Again, use any kind of meat or no meat at all. You can also use all kind of raw vegetables in spring rolls. Before we have kids that somehow are allergic to peanuts(it's a mystery that I will never solve, I thought since I am Chinese, I literally have peanuts in my blood, how can they be allergic to it?) we like to eat ours with roasted peanut. You can roll them up in your spring rolls, or sometime I pound or roll them to death grind them loosely in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin, and put the ground nut in with the spring rolls. We love it! But sadly we try not to have too many nuts around in the house now, except nutty grandparents, we can't have enough of those! 

Next up, coconuts and watercress!

(P/S: No worry, coconuts are really not nuts! Although, how to open them might be a challenge and might drive you nut. )

How Two two and a half year old see the world, No, OK, their mom.

Sometimes you wonder how your children see you.
I got a taste of it yesterday, just a tiny bit, but enough to cast some light on the topic.

We were shopping in Target, and I decided to try on some clothes. Since the girls are not at a sensible age to be left alone outside of the fitting room, and there was no leash around, I did what a responsible and wise mother will do, I shepherd take the two toddlers to the fitting room with me.
In the fitting room, the girls were happy to find a big mirror in there, and they were fascinated by the door knob and lock. But as soon as I started to undressing, all eyes were on me. As I was slipping out of my jeans, my two and a half year old firstborn was first very confused, then concerned, then almost in a panic voice, she squealed,"Mommy!!! Don't go pee-pee here!!!!!" I'm not sure what the people in other booths thought I was doing as they heard that exclamation, but I nearly laughed my head off. I quickly told her,"No, mommy is not going to pee-pee, silly! I am just trying on some clothes!" She then in a somewhat disappointed and much calmer voice said,"Oh."
I thought I had explained the subject clear enough.

Apparently not.

And as it always happen when you have twins, you have to say the same thing, twice.
As I continued to take off my shirt, so I could try on the dress, my two and a half year old second-born looked more and more alarmed, then almost horrified, she screamed,"Mommy!! Don't take off your shirt and pants!!!!"
If you are wondering why she would say such thing, it is because she has a tendency to pull up her shirt to show off her belly button (or more), to invite a tickle; but we have been trying to teach her the importance of being proper and modest in public, as in not showing off her body parts that should be covered. She was horrified that her mother would go against her own teaching and would commit such shameful act, nonetheless in the public.
I then again calmly explained to her that I was trying on some clothes, and it was OK.
They both then said in a somewhat disappointed voice,"Oh." Then they instantly looked bored and promptly turned their attention back to the mirror and the door lock. I was relieved that I was not engaged in their conversation anymore (believe me, you can only talk and answer a two and a half year old so much, not to say, two. And many of their questions, or, demand of attention dialogue/protest/statements are repeated, and repeated, and repeated, even after you acknowledge them.) But soon they were banging on the mirrors and the doors, and attempting in opening the door. (*Gasp!!* Do NOT open the door, girls!)

Dear Target, may I suggest a special fitting room for moms with toddlers? Please provide special seats with chains seat belts. Maybe a roll of duct tapes too. Thank you.

In short, I believe this is how my two and a half year old children see me.
My firstborn: Mad woman. My ma, she is a complete mad woman.
My second-born: My ma? She is a disgrace, always doing silly and weird things in public.
And they cannot, do not believe it and will be disappointed if I do not do anything crazy.
Funny, because I believe I was pretty much a very sane woman before they came along. But alas, such statement will be met with loud protest and arguments from both girls, (as they tend to do with everything you say these days) with very loud and firm "No!","NO!" and "NO!" or extreme ear piercing wailing, or the art of body throwing on the floor, or contemptuous looks, or evil eyes, or words muttering beneath their breath (as every two and a half year old will and might do to show their objection and their strong will in regard to what you say, which is pretty much everything).
In this case, I will choose not to fight the battle. Mad and weird woman? Meh, I have no problem with that. God knows in order to raise these two girls, I have to be a mad and weird woman to survive.

Those who search

The world does not understand. We do not seek out the sadness. The sadness searches for us.
It searches for us, day and night. It searches for us relentlessly. It neither slumber nor rest. It has no mercy.
And when it found us, there is no way to run, there is no way to hide.
When it found us, it found us.
What can a brokenhearted do? We only do what can a brokenhearted does.

The world does not understand.
We do not sit around and think about it all day. If it is possible, oh God, remind me not of my sorrow or brokenness.
Let me be lighthearted. Let me laugh. Let me feel the sunshine on me. Let me hear the bird's singing in the crisp Spring air. Let me heal, let me heal, let me stay here, do not let the sadness find me.
And the Lord is full of mercies. Most of the time I live like there is no difference. I cook. I sit with my children and we play. I watch their silly dance and I laugh. I hold hand with my husband and we go on long walk in the park. I eat dinner with my family and I tell jokes and they laugh.
I do not sit around and mope in my misery. I do not keep hanging on to the fact that I have lost this child. I do not want to mourn all day.
In fact, if it is possible, please, do not let the misery come at all. I can laugh all day, Father, do not let the tears come.
If only it was that simple.
The world tell us to let go. The world said, don't think about it. The world said, for your children's sake, don't be sad, be strong.
The world acts if we are the one who seek out for sadness.
But who wants sadness? Who?
Yes it is well with my soul that my child now is with my heavenly Father. Yes, I am not angry or bitter at my God. But it does not mean that, sorrow will not come. It does not mean that my tears have cease to flow. It does not mean that I do not long for this baby.
It does not mean that, sadness will not find me. It does not mean that, there will not be pain.
For even if we lost a limb, and the wound healed, doesn't the broken body still throb in pain for the losing of the part of it?
How can you not think about the lost limb when the broken part of your body keep throbbing in pain along with your heartbeat, reminding you that you have lost part of your body?
Nay, we wish we do not have to think about it.
We wish it is something as easy as "not think about it" and the great mount of sorrow will be lifted, and we shall see sunshine and weep no more.
we wish it is something as easy as "letting it go" and the sadness will not find us and spear my heart through and through.
How can I tell the world, there is a time for everything, and this is the time to weep for us, and this is the time for us to mourn?
Even though the Lord is merciful and we can still laugh and dance while we weep and mourn, but this season, my love, this season is for us to weep and mourn.
As much as I want the Spring to come, as much as I want this season to pass as soon as possible, as much as I want it to be a time to be born; not a time to die, for my child, my child has died physically, and I have no choice but entered in the season to weep and mourn.

The sadness never cease seek out for us, my love. Neither does pain. Neither does sorrow.
They never stop looking for us. Even if they do not come this time for you, they will come for you next time.
They will come. Eventually.
Has not God himself said,"In the world you will have tribulations"?
Yet He did not stop there, you see. He did not say "in the world you will have tribulation" and left us there alone to battle with them. He said,"In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
He has overcome the world.
He has overcome death.
Even though I have to go through the death of the body on this earth, even though I have to be pained with the separation of love ones, for now, but only for now, only for a little while.
For He has given me a hope of heaven. Salvation of my soul. Eternal life. With no more tears nor sorrow.

Do you have this hope?
Does sadness searches for you day and night too? Does it often time find you in the dark, like me? Does it often time find you alongside with pain and sorrow?
Fear not, my love, for it is not the only one who searches.
My heavenly Father search too. He search for you. Day and night.

"...for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you..." 1 Chronicles 28:9

"I the LORD search the heart
and examine the mind..." Jeremiah 17:10

"For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out."Ezekiel 34:11

"I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick."Ezekiel 34:16

My Father, the mighty comforter, search for you too, day and night.

And so, even if sadness often find me in the dark, with pain and sorrow, I am always not alone. Not alone with sadness, pain and sorrow. But with Him, always with Him I am. 

And although sadness will not rest, my Father will neither sleep nor slumber as well. (Psalm 121:4)

He is always there, for me. And though I still have to bear with the sadness, the pain, the sorrow, I am comforted that my Father is there for me. He listens, He cares, He understands, and I wonder sometime He cries with me.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

The world does not understand. They thought I search for sadness.

I do not search for sadness. I search for my Father. 

I search my Father day and night. For I know without Him I then will be utterly despaired, crushed, hopeless. 

When sadness search for you tonight, whom will you search in turn?

Will you search for the Mighty Comforter? Will you search for Him?

For He has been searching and searching for you, and He is there waiting, waiting for you to come.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.

Go to Him, go to Him and you shall see. You shall be comforted. 

You shall have hope.

Then Unto the Eternal Fountain She Turned

“如果我们能把死去的人召唤回来，那是多么邪恶的一件事！她不是对着我，却对着那牧师说，我在神里得以平安。她微微一笑，却不是对着我，然后转身归回那永生的泉源。How wicked it woule be, if we could, to call the dead back! She said not to me but to the chaplain,"I am at peace with God." She smiled, but not at me. Poi si tornò all' eterna fontana."
《唧唧如晤》C.S.路易斯著
 A Grief Observed, C.S Lewis.

If I could, would I not rather call this child back? This little baby of mine.
Come back, my sweet baby. Come back.
Let me feel the warmth of your skin. Let me stroke your tender face. Let me cradle you in my arms. Let me see the sparkle in your eyes when you smile.
Let me.
Let me be a mother.
That is my will.
But your Father, and also my Father, He has a different will.

His will for you, is to be loved, by a greater love I cannot possibly have the capacity to have given you.
His will for you, is not to have to walk and toil in this broken world.
His will for you, is not to have to be broken and tainted by sin.
His will for you, is not to have to not know Him for a single day.
His will for you, is to know no sin, no sorrow, no pain, no struggling, no darkness, no fear.
His will for you, is to be perfect, from the beginning to the end.

His will for you, is perfect, my child. Perfect.
My will is only out of my fleshly desire and selfishness.
Though I know His arms are a much much better place for you to be, oh, how foolish am I to even try to compare, yet I know my heart's desire is for you to be in my arms.
Yet may His will be done. May His will be done. Even if it means brokenness in this body. But what isn't broken, in this world, my love?
Thus even though I mourn the fact that, you are a child that has never seen light in this world, yet I rejoice that, you, my child, is with the eternal Light.
It is well with my soul.