Everyday happiness

Location: gym

Time: 7PM (post shower)

Action: lotion application

and I thought how is it possible that this little act makes me so happy everyday?  It might sound pathetic, but it does, the 5 min post-shower-lotion-application makes me really happy~~~ I dunno… maybe I’m weird :shock:. And then I realized that there are so many little things that make me happy everyday. Things like

• waking up rested
• morning coffee
• a long nap
• a good workout
• a movie that makes me think, like Blue Valentine
• chat with a good friend
• receive/write a email from a good friend
• a clean home
• chocolate souffle like this one

etc.

maybe they are all small things; maybe they only give me 5-10 min of happiness, but they sum up! 😀 If someone asks me what do you need to be happy? I’d say nothing. Of course I want many things, but even though I want them, I am not sure that once I have them they’ll make me happy. What I am sure is that these little-everyday-things do make me happy~~~ So instead of wanting more of things that probably make me happy, why not just let these little-everyday-things happen? 😀

I finally made a new breakfast!!! 😆

two clementines with a wrap filled with LC, pumpkin puree

and scrambled egg whites

YUM YUM~~~

I worked in the morning (TA duties). For lunch I add some bok choy and brown rice noodles to the chicken soup

Look the snow storm we had last night.

I went to the gym, surprisingly the gym was packed! Look for outfit prepared for the snow

For dinner I made a veggie stir fry with tahini-miso sauce

simple sauté onion, carrot, cabbage and mushrooms with oil, and add a sauce made with 2 tbsp of miso + 1 tbsp tahini + 1 tbsp mirin.

as dessert: steamed kabocha! I love this! I think my favorite kabocha is the one that has yellow-green meat (I don’t this pic does not reflect that) instead of orange because it is less sweet and the texture is more like yam.

Q: What’s your everyday happy moment?

 

 

Day 2 & rambling

Day 2 of Petit Macro went well. I really enjoy savory breakfast. It satisfies more and makes me crave less sugar.

miso, tofu, shiitake mushroom and daikon soup

boiled cabbage and carrot with toasted sesame seeds

Packed lunch: apple + nuts + sandwich

The original recipe calls for sourdough because it is easier to digest, but I didn’t had any so I used Rudi’s spelt bread

spread was a tofu mayonnaise made with 1 tbsp olive, 1 tsp dijon mustard and 1 slice of silken tofu

The vegan mayonnaise was rich and slightly tangy. I like it.

Dinner

steamed cauliflower with more tofu mayonnaise

a pickled salad of cucumber and radish in a sweet and sour sauce made with equal part of mirin and rice vinegar.

Hato mugi vegetable stew

Hago mugi is the best grain for improving the condition of your skin. It’s hard and has a slightly bitter taste, better cooked with sweet vegetables.

A very satisfying meal indeed. I didn’t need dessert or snack afterwards.

******

Totally unrelated rambling

We need to be thankful of everything we have. I know that. But sometimes it is hard to ignore the tiny part of life that is missing or I don’t like.

We need to love the person we are with just the way they are. It is impossible to change anyone, so do not ever try because failure is guaranteed.

Perfection does not exist. There is no perfect job, perfect person nor perfect life. I know that, but why do I keep looking just to realize over and over again that I’m just being stupid.

As we age, we become less emotional and more rational. It is good and bad. I don’t want to feel extremely depressed but I don’t want to feel nothing when something terrible happens either. Being excited about something for days seems ancient history and I’m not that old yet.

End of rambling. Ignore me. Don’t ask. I’m just feeling blue today. I know I’ll be fine.

Q: Do you care about weddings? Do you like wedding planning? I need to start thinking about my wedding but I have no clue. Any advise?

Two cooking tutorials

I got a couple of emails from readers requesting more chinese food posts. I’m glad that you like it. I strongly encourage all of you to be adventurous and try some of the non-traditional (from the american point of view) but traditional (from chinese point of view) food that you see here! They’re usually more healthy than what you find in chinese restaurants. You  probably have wondered: “how’s possible that chinese people eat these oily foods and stay thin?” Well… the answer is “They don’t eat that“.

Yesterday I prepare a dish called: 白菜虾米 cabbage sauteed with dry shrimp. 3 ingredients dish~

I like black fungus a lot so I add some too. For those of you who don’t know about black fungus. Here’s a brief description: It’s also known as wood ear. It has more protein, iron and vitamins. It has the reputation of “meat among the vegetables”. It helps to prevent various forms of bleeding, for example, blood in feces, hemorrhoid bleeding, excessive menstrual flow, etc. Its translucent brownish beige flesh is gelatinous but firm, crunchy and relatively tasteless. They absorb the liquid in which they are cooked and take on the taste of the other ingredients.

I got the compressed black fungus but you can use any kind, they always come dry

Soak with warm water. It hydrate very fast. Just 2 min later

15 min later it’s done. Wash them and they’re ready for use.

Ingredient # 2: dry shrimps. Soak it with water for 10 min and they’re ready to use

Ingredient #3: chinese white cabbage

Heat 2 tbsp of oil and add rinsed dry shrimps

cook for 2-3 min and add black fungus

Sautee it for few minutes and add cabbage

It seems a lot at first but cabbage has a lot of water so it will reduce its volume a lot later.

Add salt and cover

Let it cook for 5-6 min and add 1 tbsp of sugar

Mix everything and done!

Simple? I think so 😉

I also made sauteed chinese green bean with rice vinegar, salt and sugar.

Extremely simple! 😉

served with black rice cooked with oatmeal

Yesterday I went to my gym’s spa because they were launching a line of organic products and I got a gift bad 😉

okay. Tutorial #2. A reader asked me how I steam my kabocha to make it not watery. So here’s my method, really simple but has some tricks 😉

cut it in bite pieces

put it in the steamer. If you don’t have steamer, no problem, just use a steam basket, but make sure the kabocha has no contact with the water directly. trick #1

Set for 25 min

Trick #2: Let the steam go out. If you cover the pot completely, the steam will become water and it will soak the kabocha.

25 min it’s almost ready.

Trick #3: Freeze it for 15 min. It makes a big difference. It makes the texture solid and dense 😉

ENJOY~~~ 😀

Hope you find these tutorials useful. If you have any request, email me or leave comments. I love doing tutorials for you!!! 😀