JEWELED RICE

This would have to be the prettiest rice dish I've seen in a long time .....

Jeweled Rice .... even the name sounds pretty !!!

via here

A BROOKLYN GATHERING

Beautiful photographs from the second in the Kinfolk Dinner Series, this time it was held in Brooklyn ....

 (the first one was here) .....

..... I'm totally envious and very inspired !!!
more here

A LITTLE GIVEAWAY

 I have a giveaway, actually it is my first give away here on
16 HOUSE ..... and I must say it's pretty special ..... a copy of Kinfolk magazine ....

I adored Kinfolk volume one and volume two (which is up for grabs) is just as inspiring ....

sooooo ......

leave a comment and you may get lucky ....

you can also purchase your own a copy online here
  or you can visit LivedIn or Magnation - Australia's first stockists of Kinfolk magazine ...

  read more about the concept behind Kinfolk here
 and be sure to check out their journel for regular updates  .....

Good Luck !!!

Chrysanthemum, Chinese Delicacy Siew Mai

Chrysanthemum

( My daughter G gave me this stalk of Chrysanthemum on Chinese New Year. Actually She gave me two other flowers. )

Last night, at our social Lunar New Year Function, Siong asked what flower signifies Chinese New Year. I didn't know except I was told by the Singaporeans thathttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif on the 1st and 15th, they used it to place on their altar of the Ancestors' worshipers. Once, I bought some not on these 2 days, because I fell in love with Chrysanthemums when I was at the winter gardens in Auckland, the florist explained to me.

With an auspicious meaning for Chinese New Year, the Chrysanthemum symbolises perfection, optimism and joy. To some it is an object of meditation. Usually in yellow and orange, it comes in small and big blooms, beautifying the garden or the living room. http://jollytan.hubpages.com/hub/Chinese-New-Year-Flowers-and-Plants--Singapore

Making Siew Mai.









When I was growing up in Sibu, Borneo, we didn't have Dim Sum or Yum Char. As kids, we longed for one dish when we went for wedding or birthday banquets. It was the Siew Mai in my Cantonese dialect. Most of the restaurants were Foochows, I am not sure Siew Mai was a Cantonese specialty or a Foochow's. It is also called Sio Bee.

Later, my mum visited Singapore, and came back with the Har Gow, the translucent prawn Dim Sum. She was so good that she gave cooking demonstrations when she was the Deputy leader of the Women's Institute and Patron of the Girl guides.

The Har Gow remains our family's favourite. Partly because it was Mum's. It is extremely difficult to make. In my adult life, I made it only once. I refused to make them again because the water engineer walloped them before I could come out with the next batch. He claimed that I should feel privileged that he appreciated them so much as they were so delicious. I did not revel in flattery.

But with Siew Mai, it is by far much easier to make. Tonight, the Mt Albert Baptist Church Chinese Fellowship is celebrating Chinese New year. For a change, instead of cooking my curry, I am making Siew Mai. I haven't made them for a long time, as I had learn in cooking school, I must not say, " I haven't made them before." I am going to be bold.

Ingredients :

800 gram of ground meat (pork or chicken)
200 gram of shrimp (roughly chopped)
6 dry wood fungi (soak and cut small)
6 dry shitake mushroom (soak still soft and diced small)
4 stalk of spring onions - finely chopped
2 eggs
4 tsp of corn starch
1 tbsp of oyster sauce (Optional)
1 tbsp of soy sauce (optional)
1 tsp of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp salt.
1 tsp of sugar.

60 pieces round dumpling wrappers, these are ready made Jiao Ji Dumplings that the Northern Chinese use. (You can roll them out yourselves,)
some green peas or grated carrot (for garnish)

1) Mix all the ingredients for the filling.
2) Cover with glad wrap, Chill for 30 minutes.
3) Spoon one teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper.
4) Thinly grease the plate you are going to place your Siew Mai to steam.
5) An important step as this stops the Siew Mai from sticking to the plate.
6) Shape the wrapper up around the filling with a small space at the top.
7) Sit the Siew Mai flat at the bottom.
8) Press a green pea on the top of half the Siew Mais.
9) Press some finely shredded carrot on the top of the other half.
10) I use a rack and a special tray with holes the Chinese use for steaming.
11) Steam over high heat for 12 minutes.
12) Serve warm with chili sauce. I prefer the Thai sweet chilli sauce for chicken.
13) Arrange them alternately, one green one orange for nice presentation, and the small bowl of chilli sauce in the middle.


Verdict: All 60 Siew Mais were gone in a flash!

Comment: I think the authentic Siew Mais were made with crab roe instead of grated carrots. I wasn't going to use crab roe because I might get people say, "what's that? I am not going to eat crab roe." Besides, I am too stingy to use expensive crab roe.

Macro Flower Saturday
Macro Flower Saturday Macro Flower Saturday ">
href="http://flowers-macrophotography.blogspot.com">Macro Flower Saturday

http://blueberrycraftandhobbytime.blogspot.com/p/join-my-photo-challenge-flowers-on.html

HOLIDAY (AT HOME) THINGS

This Christmas and New Year break has been so lovely, it's the first time for as long as I can remember that we haven't gone away either for Christmas or a New Year visit to The South Coast (my husbands parents and family live there) ....
this year they visited us for Christmas and the rest of the time has been a lovely relaxing holiday time at home catching up with friends and just hanging out ....
some nice things have been my new Nigel Slater cookbook ....
(I want to try everything !!!)

 flowering pots ....

 a new little chair purchased from a New Years Day car boot sale ...

our new addition to the coat rack, my husband's new Akubra hat, a Christmas present from his mum
(I must say he wears it very well !!!) ....



 afternoons on the deck ....



 Hydrangeas from the garden ....

relaxed dogs ....

.... and this book, good bedtime reading, it's written by one of the Guinness girls and it's quite an interesting read so far.

 We also saw a few films, my favorite was Melancholia , there have been a lot of mixed reviews but I loved it ....

as well as quite a few trips to Sydney and quite a few pizzas at Pizza e Birra,
the seafood and prosciutto and rocket are our favorites .....

..... and quite a few trips to Gelato Messina

as well for their burnt fig gelato ...

soooo good !!!

I will get back into some more regular blogging next week ....

I've got a few new photos to show you of our newly painted and revamped home and the mantel I showed you a while back ...
(I love it !!!)

.... in the meantime I hope you have a really lovely weekend

XXX

skywatch friday and Winter Solstice aka Dōng zhì aka Guo Dong

It was mid winter, cold and crisp. But the sky was very clear.



The Winter Solstice Festival or The Extreme of Winter (Chinese and Japanese: 冬至; Korean: 동지; Vietnamese: Đông chí) (Pinyin: Dōng zhì), (Rōmaji: Tōji), (Romaja:Dongji) is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the dongzhi solar term on or around December 21 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the dongzhi solar term. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice

In my Cantonese dialect, it is called GUO DONG. Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of Tangyuan (湯圓, as pronounced in Mandarin Pinyin: Tāng Yuán) or balls of glutinous rice, which symbolize reunion

These Tangyuan comes in various form. Most of these golf ball sized dumplings have a sweet filling like sesame seeds, peanut fillings, eaten either in a sweet syrup or dried rolled in a ground peanut powder. Of late, this festival is revived in Singapore with grand mothers and mothers invited to schools and community centres and demonstrate making these dumplings.

My small Cantonese dialect group, the Kwong Nengs make a ball of dumplings and we serve it with duck soup. This is served at the beginning of the special feast, in a small bowl of about 5 dumplings.

I never liked this because these glutinious dumplings are very filling, and sit in your stomach so you have no room for anything else. I kept this secret until about ten years ago, when I found out my Dad had the same idea. Mother had died prematurely at 60, and her sisters rook care of Dad. That particular year, just before my Dad died, my youngest aunt told me to take her shopping. She wanted to make these special dumplings for dad, as he had been living in Australia, and probably had not eaten these home made Tangyuan for a long time. She enthusiastically served a big bowl to Dad. Dad discretely told me to get a small bowl and give him one Tangyuan so he had symbolically eaten her precious dumplings. I LOl with him, both of us are guilty of breaking with tradition.

These days, you can buy frozen Tangyuan all the time. They no longer symbolise what they meant.

When I went to Singapore 20 years ago, there were a lot of children's Chinese singing competition. This MAI TANGYUAN or selling Tangyuan was a very popular song. Children dress up in traditional Chinese clothes. Do click on this .

http://youtu.be/BirNV2gNa2I



http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Just Juice Orchard

http://www.kiwimummyblogs.co.nz/

As part of the Kiwimummyblogs, I am invited to review products. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

It is summer here in New Zealand and hence a good time for summery fruit drinks. This Just Juice Orchard is one I would like to endorse. As a very discerning drinking, I like to have juice available during a party for people who don't drink.

I watch a lot of cooking shows, and pay attention to the judges advice that people eat with their eyes first. The new packaging of Just Juice Orchard comes in a slim, sleek package. My young 20 something friends say it is "Cool" Kudos to the designing team.

I tried all three juice, the Sun Kissed Orange, Farm Style Apple and the Summer & Kiwifruit. I served them in a tall stemmed wine glass to add the air of style.

The Farm Style Apple appealed to my taste, it is sweet but not too sweet. The Summer & Kiwifruit was very pretty.

There was something I didn't like in the orange. Besides, the moment I cast my eyes on the orange packaging, I said, Oh oh!, doesn't that resemble a old old brand from a giant country that likes to take little people to court over something that remotely resemble them? There was once small business in a small town in New Zealand who couldn't use their family name.

Otherwise, Good job and Ka pai. I like to go to a party which serves non alcoholic drink, which is healthy for you, and is very reasonable at $3.99 a litre.

NICE

Really liking the decor of this Restaurant in New York.

via here

PEAR TART

 We made the yummiest pair tart on the weekend .... 

it was a combined effort, my daughter made the pastry and I made the filling ....

pretty simple and pretty healthy too ....

 the pastry is made with spelt wholewheat flour, LSA mix, sugar, olive oil and sea salt .....

and the filling is just pears (skin left on) a little brown sugar, lemon juice and lots of cinnamon ........

.... and we found the perfect use for the garden sieve that I picked up here a while back ....

 (you may remember it from this post) ....

because really, I was never going to use it for soil, I just liked the look of it, so I'm glad it has a purpose now, I think I might even have to buy a couple more !!!

WEEKEND THINGS

 Hydrangeas from the garden .....

morning shadows .....

a favorite Sunday brunch .....

eggs from my mums chickens, on a big thick slice of this bread, kale, beetroot leaves and baby spinach from our garden and oven roasted tomatoes ....

 washed down with lots of tea .....

 

so yummy .....

   

.... and we moved a favorite chair out of the house and onto the deck for the summer months,

a perfect spot for weekend paper reading !!!

Hope you had a nice weekend

XXX