Quick & Easy Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread

After Christmas, I had some pumpkin puree' left from making a pumpkin pie and also some cranberry sauce for the turkey. I think that making pumpkin bread is another way to finish all of the leftovers. This quick bread recipe is so simple and so good. With this recipe, replacing the pumpkin and replacing it with other ingredients, such as ripe bananas or sweet potatoes, will also make delicious bread. I think there are always leftovers after holiday meals. Finding the easiest way to clean up our refrigerator and to contribute to good health is “a good thing” (Martha Steward famous ending phase).

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup soft butter
2 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup cranberry sauce
 
Directions:
Grease a 9” x 5” loaf pan and set aside
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except the cranberry sauce. Use a hand mixer to beat the mixture until blended. Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Add half of the cranberry sauce. Pour the rest of the batter into the pan. Top with the rest of the cranberry sauce. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 30 minutes before slicing the bread.

 

 

 

 

Chicken Skewers or Dakkochi

Most people traveling abroad find that foods sold on the street are very good and are much cheaper than in some fancy restaurant. I did not travel a lot, but as grew up in Vietnam, I agree with this statement. Reading more and more in the travel magazines makes me interested in finding out more about all the recipes which create a simple but tasty street food. Let's start with this South Korean Dakkochi recipe. It is a chicken skewered with green onions and its spicy sweet sauce. The chicken is marinated with cooking wine, such as sake or dry sherry, then threaded by a soaked bamboo skewer and grilled over charcoal. This method makes the chicken soft and juicy. I added more vegetables to make a complete meal out from it, and it does not change the taste from the original one.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken thighs and breasts
2 tbs sake
1/4 tsp black pepper
Sauce:
2 tbs chili paste (Korean style)
3 tbs ketchup
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbs olive oil or peanut oil
Vegetables:
A few green onions
1/2 sweet green bell pepper
1/2 sweet red bell pepper
1/2 cup red onions
A few button mushrooms

Directions:
Wash and dry the chicken. Cut chicken into cubes (about 1 inch).
Cut all the vegetables the same size as the chicken.
Soak the bamboo skewers in the water for 10 minutes. This method prevents the bamboo skewers from burning during grilling.

Thread the skewer through the chicken and then through each of the vegetables. Do more or less vegetables or meat as you like.

In the summer, you can use the BBQ oven outside, or this can be done inside over a stovetop grill or nonstick pan.
After raising the surface temperature of the BBQ, stovetop grill, or nonstick pan to high heat, add some oil and then place the skewered chicken/vegetables onto the heated surface. Cook each side of the skewer for 2 minutes,(4 sides) , brushing the spicy sauce all over the chicken and vegetables.

 

 

 Be generous with the sauce because in this recipe the spicy sauce completes the taste of this recipe. Serve with some crushed peanuts on the side.

Lemon-Garlic Baked Fish

A simple lemon-garlic marinade with lots of fresh herbs and Creole seasoning used in this fish recipe makes for a quick hearty dinner. Any kind of fish can be used for this recipe. Keep this meal simple by serving with green beans, any steamed vegetables, or small potatoes.

Ingredients:
Two 7 oz fillet tilapia, cod, or haddock
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Creole seasoning
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Spray nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray.
Combine the lemon juice, garlic, salt, black pepper, and Creole seasoning in a mixing bowl. Add fish and marinate for 15 minutes. Place fish onto the baking sheet. Top each fish equally with fresh herbs, lemon zest, and red onions. Drizzle each fish with one tablespoon of olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and serve.

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

Pumpkin is the fruit with a thick orange skin with seeds inside and is a good source of vitamin C, A, lutein, and beta carotene. There are varieties of pumpkin that come from the squash family. The Jack O' lantern is the big pumpkin that is always used for decoration at Thanksgiving and Halloween. The pumpkin filling in the can is used for a variety of pumpkin, and properly the Jack O’ lantern could be one of them. For economic reasons, most of the big pumpkins are better than the small like Japanese pumpkin, butternut squash, or honey pumpkin. When thinking about making pumpkin pie, I believe that using the fresh pumpkin should be better tasting than the commercial pumpkin puree' in the can. Once the skin is peeled off, the pumpkin can then steamed, cooked, or baked. After this process, the pumpkin can be mashed to make the filling for pumpkin pie. It sounds complicated, but it is easy because the process of making pumpkin puree' can be done ahead of time then frozen until the pie can be made. The pumpkin puree' will last a few months in the freezer. When pumpkins are in season, try to buy as many as possible. The reason is not just for making the pie but also for the soup, breads, and other dishes that can be prepared with pumpkin for a healthy eating habit, too.

Ingredients:
One butternut squash (other pumpkins can be used)
One 12 ounce can of evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp vanilla
One 9 inch uncooked pie shell (homemade or store-bought)

Directions:
Wash the butternut squash, cut in half, and remove the membrane and the seeds.

 

 Preheat oven to 400°. Place the squash cut side down and bake for 1 hour. 

Let squash cool enough to handle. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and place flesh into a bowl.

Now the pumpkin is ready for making the filling.
In a Vitamix blender, add the pumpkin flesh (about 3 cups), eggs, sugar, salt, evaporated milk, and all the spices. Turn machine on and let it puree' into well mixed.

Pour the pumpkin puree' into the pie shell.

 

 

Bake in the preheated oven set to 425° for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350°. Bake the pie for another 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool and serve with whipped cream.

Chocolate Yule Log

When I was still a young girl living in Vietnam, Christmas decorations were my favorite holiday celebrations even though my family is Buddhist. I used to walk around a big street in Saigon and looked into the storefronts where they had the lights and especially into the bakery window where the Yule logs were always the most memorable baked goods for me. My eyes and mouth were wide open every time I saw the Yule logs displayed on the glass showcase with all the lights and fake snow around. Saigon had never had a Christmas with snow, but at that age, I dreamed about some other place with snow falling and being in a cozy cabin with a wood burning fireplace where the family sat around during Christmas and continuously keeping the logs burning and the room warm. All of this dreaming is about the Yule log that makes my teeth want to sink into the luxurious chocolate cake. I always thought that someday I have to learn how to make this Yule log cake. However, after more than a decade of delay, this Christmas I finally decided to make a Yule log. Thanks to all of my wonderful memories as a young girl that give me the motivation to complete this cake. I was surprised that the Yule log is not difficult to make except the time necessary to decorate the cake.  I am using the technique used by the chef, Sandra Lee, of buying all the frosting from the store. It turned out that my Yule log looks great and tastes wonderful. I will improve my skill level by next year and will make the Yule log with all the fancy decorations as are in my memories.

Ingredients:
6 eggs separated
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbs butter softened
Filling and frosting:
One can of chocolate frosting (Betty Crocker or other brand of your choice)
One can of rich and creamy vanilla frosting (Betty Crocker)
 
Directions:
Line a 15” x 10” jelly roll baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the paper with butter and set aside.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and set aside

Preheat oven to 350°.
Divide sugar into half. In a KitchenAid stand mixer bowl using the flat beater, beat the egg yolks with 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture into the yolk mixture and continue to beat until well mixed.
With the stand mixer, use the whisk to whisk the egg white until foamy. Add cream of tartar and the other half of the sugar slowly. Continue to whisk the egg white until soft peaks form.
Stir some of the white into the yolk mixture using the folding technique.  Add a little more of the white mixture into the yolk mixture and then the rest of the white, making sure there is no streak of the white remaining. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the cake springs back from the sides (do not overbake this cake). While the cake is baking, place the linen towel on the countertop and dust the linen towel with 3 tbs confectioner sugar

 Remove the cake from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Invert the cake onto the linen towel

 Remove the parchment paper and roll up the cake in the linen towel. Let cool in the rack.

When cake is cool, unfold cooled cake and spread the vanilla frosting inside the cake to 1/2 inch of

the edge. Roll up the cake again. Spread the chocolate frosting over the cake and start the decorating.

 

Use a fork to make the cake frosting look like bark by going back and forth (I guess you have to have the experience of doing this the same way I did).

 

Maybe, you will have to do this many times to make it look beautiful – just be patient.

Bacardi Rum-Walnuts Cake

I visited my family in California last week and had a chance to eat a piece of rum cake being offered from a very special friend. The cake was very wonderful but also made with a very secret recipe. The reason for the secrecy was that a friend of my sister did not want to share the recipe with anybody. She only wants to make that special cake just for my sister any time my sister requests it. Even though I am not a professional baker, I usually have some idea about the ingredients used when tasting any kind of cake. With the wonderful internet and very generous cooks out there, I was able to find a rum cake recipe that is similar to the one of my sister friend. I hope my rum cake recipe will contribute to the wonderful selections of the rum cake already out there.

Ingredients:
Dry ingredients:
2  cups all-purpose flour
1 package instant vanilla pudding (3.4 oz.)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Wet ingredients:
4 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup soft butter
2 tbs chia seeds gel (combine 1tsp chia seed with 1/4 cup water)
1 /2 cup Bacardi rum
1 tsp vanilla
Glaze:
4 tbs butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup rum
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour a 10 in. Bundt cake pan.
Place chopped walnuts at the bottom of the cake pan.
In a medium bowl, mix the rest of the dry ingredients together.
In a KitchenAid stand mixer bowl using the flat beater attachment, whisk the butter, coconut oil, chia seeds gel, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg one at a time and beat well. Follow with vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients with the egg mixture and beat for a few seconds or until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt cake pan. Use a spatula to smooth the surface. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
To make glaze:
In a sauce pan over medium heat, add water and sugar. Bring to boil and add butter. Stirring constantly until sugar is melted and becomes thickened (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and carefully pour Bacardi into the hot butter mixture. Stir until well mixed. Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze onto the cake. Use a fork to prick a few holes on the cake so the rum sauce can soak into more of the cake. Let cake stand for 30 minutes before serving.

 

 

Spicy Eggplant and Ground Chicken

This is one of many Chinese vegetable recipes using shrimp or ground beef together for a simple main dish. I like to prepare this dish with chicken instead of beef or, for vegetarians, tofu can be substituted for the meat. This recipe is very attractive and delicious as is or can be accompanied with hot cooked rice or on top of noodles – either egg or rice noodles.

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant, diced
1 chicken breast, diced
1Tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cooking wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1 tbs peanut oil
Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp chili sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs cooking wine
Cornstarch:
1 tbs cornstarch
4 tbs water

Garnish with chopped green onions and sweet basil

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and mix well.

In another small bowl, combine the thickening ingredients and mix well.

In a small bowl marinate chicken with soy sauce, cornstarch and wine for 30 minutes.

In a large sauté pan, add oil until hot. Sauté ginger and red onions until softened.

Stir in garlic and cook for a few seconds (do not let garlic burn). Add chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through (about 4 minutes).

Stir in eggplant and sauce. Bring to boil.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover and add the thickening. Continue to cook until the sauce has thickened.

 Sprinkle with green onions and basil. Serve.

Sweet Potato Pie

The sweet potato is one of my favorite vegetables, and it is also a good substitute for sugary sweets every time I crave a sweet thing. I can eat a steamed, baked, or fried sweet potato. I have always wanted to make sweet potato pie, but I never brought myself make it. I know that eating too much fat will risk developing heart disease, so that is one of the reasons preventing me from making this sweet pie. However, I found a recipe that uses very moderate amounts of fat and sugar, and the recipe presented here cuts back some of the fat and sugar even more. I made my own pie crust, so I know exactly the fat content in the crust. In the supermarket, there are many low-fat piecrust available, which is very convenient. The sweet potato is already naturally sweet by itself. I am very happy with the results of this pie.
 
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, baked and mashed (about 3 cups total)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tbs butter, cut into cubes
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp vanilla

One 9 inch uncorked pie crust (homemade or Pillsbury)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine mashed potatoes, sugar, eggs, milk, coconut oil, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and ground ginger and whisk the mixture until well mixed. Pour the mixture onto the pie crust. Dot the top with butter. Bake in the oven for 55 to 60 minutes. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Roasted Chicken in Egg Flower Soup

After reading about how people can maintain their health by changing their attitudes about life, including eating and drinking moderately, I felt inspired to make this refined soup. However, this is an old recipe from a Chinese cookbook that I read a long time ago. In the original recipe, this soup is made with ripe cantaloupe and steamed chicken. I want to create my own recipe as a combination of the recipe for egg flower soup and that of a Chinese steamed chicken soup being served in take-out restaurants or the soup offered as an appetizer. I used a roasted chicken from Costco, and it saved me half of the time necessary for preparation; in addition, the bone of the chicken was used to make stock. For a healthier version of chicken stock, I added a piece of dried kelp thirty minutes before the stock was done.  I was very super happy with this newly created recipe because it has all the ingredients that are so healthy, such as cooked tomatoes, roasted chicken adding more flavor, and dry black mushrooms giving the soup an interesting taste. I think this soup is so simple, yet so good.

Ingredients:
2 ripe but firm tomatoes, blanched in hot water, skin and seeds removed, cut into tiny pieces
2 tbs minced scallion, white part only
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs sake or dry sherry
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp fresh ginger minced
2 cups roasted chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
3 dried Chinese black mushrooms or shitake mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes and chopped
2 tsp peanut oil
Soup base:
5 cups chicken broth, homemade or store-bought
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbs cornstarch
3 tbs water

Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro

Directions:
Put the oil into a heavy soup pot and heat until very hot. Add  ginger, and scallions and stir-fry for 10 seconds or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add soy sauce and wine and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, mushrooms and chicken. Season with salt and pepper and bring to boil. Simmer for 7

 

minutes. Mix the cornstarch with water and add the thickener into the soup, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Skim off any impurities that may have risen to the surface. Turn of the heat and slowly add the eggs in a thin stream, pouring in a circular manner the pot. Stir once or twice. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls. Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro on top.

Thinking about Life

Everybody knows that life is the priciest gift, and you only live one. However, not everyone knows life is beautiful and worth living. This depends on each individual's attitude and purpose in life.

What is life?

Maybe it is short, and is generally answered with such as the following:

The purpose of life is to be successful and happy. Some other people have a long list with so many things on it to make them feel comfortable and happy: money, health, and fame. Some other people with high morals think about life as life without greed and selfishness and life that follows the idealistic to help and give happiness to others. Therefore, depending on each situation and the goal, each person will have his or her own answers, which will be different. That is why you have to live as you feel right and go to some place in your heart that guides you as the famous comedian, Charlie Chaplin, said: Life is a play not practiced before. Therefore, let’s sing, dance and love every second and minute of your life before the play ends without any clapping hands.

Many are wasting things in life

Health: when young, people think they are healthy and they work like crazy, play all night, and eat without moderation. Therefore, the body gets tired and ages fast. When old, they try to hold on to their health, but it is too late at this point.

Time: every second and minute is gold, and when it passes, we never can have it back. However, some people throw their eight hours a day working through the window. Each day, we should look at what we have accomplished. If the answer is "nothing", then we have to rethink about our time.

Money: many people spend money without thinking. Therefore, when they need a small amount of money, they have to borrow. People who do not know how to save money will never have a big property

Youth: it is the time when people have a lot of health and knowledge to do the big things, but many people do not know about this simple statement: “ when young you  play when old  you regret". This is also good advice for people who have wasted his or her youth for things that are not important.

Opportunity: this does not come easily into our life. One good opportunity can change you to become a successful CEO or a billionaire with a lot of money. If you do not pay attention, that opportunity will pass and you will miss the fortune and you will not get ahead.

Beauty: this is the best weapon that women possess. With beauty, you will feel more confident and get more favors than other people. However, beauty has a short life also. It is wasteful to let beauty slide downhill. Let’s take care of our beauty every day.

The Five Things that we should do:

First thing: read carefully a book. A good book will make your heart melt.

Second thing: hold on to one job. Being good at one profession will make your life much easier and will feed your family. Do not be careless on a small job because a small but unique job will become very valuable.

Third thing: have a good family. No one says that we have to do a big thing like run for a big office or change the world. For most people, this seems too hard to accomplish, but building a good foundation for family is a task that can be done.

Fourth thing: always carry good sentiments inside. If we always have a good feeling, then the world will fill with sunshine every day. The way to have a good sentiment is to have a heart that knows how to love and in that heart is only contended love.

Fifth thing: be a good person. Do not ignore the small charity and do no small evil act. Keep doing small good things more and more will make you become a better person. The world will not need a lot of heroes or many geniuses, but it needs many good people.  Try to do a simple thing mentioned above, and your life will be shining .Maybe your life is not glorious, but your heart is sincere. You do what you can do and live right by yourself and with the world.



14 Words of wisdom from Buddha:

1- The biggest enemy in life is yourself

2- The biggest idiot in life is a liar

3-The biggest failure in life is a big ego

4- The biggest tragedy in life is jealousy

5- The biggest mistake in life is to lose yourself

6- The biggest sin in life is being ungrateful toward parents

7- The most pitiful thing in life is a low self esteem

8- The biggest admirable quality in life is rising up after failure

9- The biggest bankruptcy in life is hopelessness

10- The biggest properties in life are health and intelligence

11- The biggest debt in life is sentimentality

12- The biggest gift in life is forgiveness

13_The lack of understanding in life is helplessness

14- The biggest comfort in life is doing charity

Source: Internet

Do Not Listen and Do Not Talk

Okonio (Japanese) before become a monk, He works as a government employee. One day a co-worker came to him with a serious face called to him and said, “Okonio, have you heard? In the past few days our company whispered a story about someone and that person was....”

Before his co-worker finished his sentence, Okonio, pretending to be very important, asked, “Was it related to me? And was it beneficial or damaging to me?”

“Oh! It was not beneficial or damaging to you. Well, I just heard that from someone!”

The co-worker who seemed perplexed a little replied,

“How about you, was it beneficial to you?" Okonio asked.

"Oh! It had nothing to do with me," replied the co-worker with a light blush on his face.

"Was it beneficial to our company?" Okonio continued asking.

"Oh, not at all. Actually."

"Aha! I understand now. The story will benefit the person who is in this story right?"

"No, no, no, it is not beneficial, but ...maybe damaging." The co-worker was really uneasy.

Okonio kept pressing. “Do you have some resentment toward that person?"

"No, on the contrary, I like that person."

Okonio smiled and softly said, "You see. The story was not beneficial to you, to me, or to our company and, most importantly, was not beneficial to the person you wanted to mention. I think that you should not waste your effort, energy, or time to talk about that. The best thing is that we just work as normal. I do not listen and you do not talk about this story to anybody else.

Grilled Tuna with Lemon Butter Sauce

I spent ten days in California with my family, and on the last night there my sister, Kim, invited us to a seafood restaurant in El Toro. This restaurant is famous for fresh seafood and the breads that are baked each time an order is sent into the kitchen. We had a wonderful time. However, as a cook, I wanted to create some of the dishes that we ordered in that restaurant. I read some of the descriptions and noted some of the explanations from the server about each of the dishes that we ordered. I feel confident enough to create this dish at home.  This is yet another way to satisfy my taste buds when I find myself missing some of the dishes that were served in some restaurant. For a healthier meal, I use skim milk and cut back on the butter.

Ingredients:
Two 8 oz tuna fillets or swordfish
Sat and pepper
1 tbs olive oil
Butter Sauce:
1 lemon zest and juice
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sweet onions, chopped
1 tbs drained capers
2 tbs green olives, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup skim milk
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Fresh parley for garnish

Directions:
Sprinkle tuna with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil. Place tuna onto the sauté pan and grill each side for 3 minutes.
While fish is grilling, use another sauté pan. Add butter and oil and heat until foaming. Add shallot and onions. Cook until fragrant. Add white wine, lemon juice, and zest and bring to a boil. Cook wine until reduced in half. Add milk, capers, and chopped olives. Stirring constantly, season with salt, pepper. Continue to cook for a few minutes. Pour over fish and serve.

Escape from Worry about Money

Lại Thế Luyện- 

I read this article written in Vietnamese. I attempted to translate exactly what the author tried to say. Some ideas are lost in the translations due to language differences. I will post the Vietnamese version below.

Each of us always has the worry that money weighs on our soul. Working hard all day with money worries is troublesome, but even at the times of relaxation, our minds are still obsessed about money, which makes us lose sleep. It is so true that life is so hard. Instead of using our precious free time to relax and enjoy what should be the happy time for our spirits at the conclusion of working hard all day, we use those times to worry continuously about money. Therefore, our lives will never have a peaceful time.

 So many people think that when they become rich, their minds will be at ease. Is it true? The truth is that many rich people will not find peace of mind as they should or that deep inside of their souls are still feelings of emptiness and uselessness. 

The deceased musician, Trịnh Công Sơn, wrote a song with the title, " Ở trọ", translated as "Temporary Living". He wrote " A bird temporarily is living on the top of the bamboo. A a fish temporarily is living under the narrow river". (Con chim ở đậu cành tre. Con cá ở trọ trong khe nước nguồn). As humans, we are temporarily living in this world. It means that nothing can last forever. Each of us is like a visitor that comes into this world. However, why do we whirl, hurry, and work hard for all of our lives? Either we can go fast or slow, but at some point, we are going to go into the same place!. Therefore, why do we hurry? Why do we try to hold on too much to this world? Do not cling too much onto this life! Isn’t it better to live a simple, calm, and relaxing life?

Many people after facing the end of life realize that all the greed to be rich or the selfishness will disappear soon. They only wish to be alive and enjoy a meaningful life.

SIMPLE NOBLE PURPOSE OF LIFE 

As of right now, do you think that your life is full of meaning or is your life every day meaningless? Do you love what you do every day? If you are truthful with yourself, your life probably does not have a lot of meaning. The majority of people are living within the narrow confines of their life without knowing the true meaning of life. They don't know what they go after? They want everything, but they do not know exactly what everything is. So many people waste their lives because they do not know their exact purpose and do not know how to contribute to life.

Sometimes, I feel that  my life is very ordinary and insipid or tasteless-work follow the hours, try to avoid some of the sadness feeling, try to fulfill my life with some social activities and my thought is simple "just need some thing to do". How many people among us do not like their works? Is it we just work to make a living and not concentrate on finishing working?

Many times when I look at myself, I see that I have so many times when I am just living with feelings of emptiness and sadness. What I am trying to say is this: In our lives, the happiness and the recent are always present. On those days of feeling empty and sad I forgot the presence of a wonderful life. I always question the meaning of life. What do I have to live for? Also, why do I not stop the feeling that my life is so useless and unhappy? So many nights I did not sleep because I am so thirsty for a meaningful life.

How about you? Are there some moments in your life when you suddenly ask yourself, what am I looking for in this life?

THIRST AFTER A MEANINGFUL LIFE

Many times I try to find the meaning of life by looking outside of myself, but I have not been successful. I use my time to listen to the deep voice inside my soul. I realize that saving the sorry feeling and the emptiness in my heart will not make things any better. They cause the delay in life. Today, I ask myself why am I living? Where am I going? And how can I contribute to life? If I will think seriously about all these questions, I will write them down in my diary – in life, what is the most important thing?"

Finally, I found the answers. The reason I did not feel the whole meaning of life is that I do not know the exact purpose for my life. Everything I do every day does not fit with the nobility of life, which deep in my heart I thirst after. Definitely life are not long days and nights passing by with no directions. Everybody needs to have the purpose of life for himself or herself. Another way to say it is that every one as an ordinary of us has the range of visibility for actions.

Every day, through our work, we contribute to creating our future. We know exactly where we are going to be, and we will be successful and feel happy as life should be. If we don't, life will stir us as ordinary as the duckweed, and cloud won’t get us anywhere. With no directions in life, the works that we do every day is wasted. Living without directions is like living in desperation on lifelessness.

Live in time with many changes, people will easily be swayed in different directions. Therefore, we have to make a special request clearly for the purpose of our life. Even though in life nobody can know what will happen before hand, we can direct our life depending on the purpose of life that we put forth

Struggling with knowing the purpose of life is to open the door for us to a path in the forest of life. People who know how to nurture the noble purpose of life is to know the truth of life. Being on the wrong side of life will create more reasons for us to reach higher. Around us there are so many people who devote themselves for the noble purposes in life. These things help them to forget all the worry, the disease, the wrong side of socially, just to live in higher purpose of life. 

Still struggling to find the purpose of life for yourself means that life still has the whole meaning for you!!

 

Grilled Tuna with Orange Sauce

I have bean preparing food to bring to my family to celebrate my dad’s memorial for a few weeks. All of the food are vegetarian; therefore, today I have created this simple dinner with a quick technique for grilling. In the summertime, we can prepare a hot grill outside with charcoal, but in the winter months, the stovetop with a good sauté pan will work. I love to grill fish, or it can be pan-fried as this method shows. I always think that fish is the easiest meal to prepare because fish is delicate and is really quick and easy to cook. Pairing with grilled mushrooms, baked squash, or steamed broccoli will make a complete healthy choice for dinner.

Ingredients:
Two 8 oz tuna fillets
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
Sauce:
1/2 cup of orange juice
Zest of one orange
2 tsp fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 green onions, sliced
Garnish:
Mushrooms and squash

Directions:
Sprinkle fish with pepper and cayenne. In a sauté pan, add 2 tbs of peanut oil. Place fish into the hot pan and pan fry each side of the fish for 3 minutes. Remove and keep warm by covering with foil.
In the same saucepan, add a little oil and add ginger, garlic, and green onions. Stir and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the rest of the sauce into the pan and bring to a boil. Season the sauce, if needed, and cook until the sauce is reduced in half. Pour sauce over fish and serve.
On a baking sheet, place butternut squash and mushrooms. Drizzle with oil and herbs of your choice and bake for 40 minutes in a preheated oven set to 400°.
An easy way to serve mushrooms is to grill them together at the same time of cooking the fish and steaming the squash.

How to be happy

You can learn how to be happy in every period of trying to reach your goal. If you want to change your life, then education becomes very fun and is most important.

Moreover, if you do not choose to change your spirit at the present moment, then you can not reach to the top from the starting point.

Looking for happiness somewhere "outside" never seems the right way to do. Therefore, you should not waste your time to find happiness from the situation happening around you,, which is like chasing after a rainbow. You will be very disappointed when you realize that there is nothing that can last with you other than looking right "inside" of yourself.

Of course, you can be very ecstatically happy at the moment of going shopping or getting a new friend, but that is all help from the outside. Remember, all the feeling of happiness only lasts for a short time. Therefore, the best way to find true happiness is to look deep inside your soul. Pay attention to everything, whereby focusing on them will create the reality for you. Therefore, if you just focus on something that makes you happy, then you can be stimulated, and joy will stir up inside. All those feelings that you now own are the gifts that God already gave to you.

By looking deep inside of your soul, you will attract many positive things because they share the same frequency – the valuable and the natural characteristics that you represent. The ability to take control of the happiness will bring you more self-confidence and relaxation. Also, it is the way for happiness to slowly enter you.

Respect the small changes in life, such as always doing things that bring joy and relaxation, to wake up the happy mood in you. Perhaps meditation, watching a comedy movie, having conversations with people with positive outlooks on life, exercising often, and just remembering to change clothing is appropriate for you.

Doing all the things that make you happy will contribute to your spirit and attract all the beautiful things in life. You never can change the reality if you do not change your affected state of mind. Therefore, when you always pay attention to the positives of the situation at the moment it happens, you will see the conversion.

The truth is that when you start choosing your happiness without any reason, you are creating the signal in your mind that you are converting yourself into the more positive. Because many people feel strange when they think about happiness without reason, their narrow confidence will quickly bring them back to the past situations. The past feelings never had any change.

For example, in the situations when you choose to have joy while you work on familiar jobs or read an old book, these tasks seem very ordinary, but suddenly you feel very interested. However, if you hear a voice in your head saying to you, “Why are you happy?” There is nothing to be happy about. You haven't finished all the important things in your life, never reached the goal that you wanted to, and not even did you see any signal that you will be successful. In conclusion, you do not like this reality.

After hearing all these noises in your head, you start to doubt and feel guilty when allowing yourself to be happy. Therefore, you are dragged back to the last state of mind – negative at this reality. When this situation happens, you will surrender to the old habits, and this way of thinking will stop the happy feeling trying to come in. A better future never has a chance, but what should you do?

Always remember the results that you receive in life won't be a complete evolution right away because the state of your brain will not change that quickly. A metaphoric image is to sow new seeds around the weeds.

The secret is you have to stay calm and relaxed even if at the moment the change appears to be just a small signal and so insignificant in life. However, if you solemnly respect the small changes, then the big changes will quickly come to you

Now, be aware and appreciative about the small things: small amounts of money come to you, an invitation to a party, or meeting an old friend. And the happiness will appear in your mind if you got a compliment from someone.

Source: Internet

Quick Ginger Bread

Fresh ginger is used in many Asian dishes. Ginger is also the best medicine to fight colds or sore throats. I want to use fresh ginger in as many dishes as I can. This easy bread will be one of them and with a ginger scent. It is lovely to serve with hot lemon tea or even with some tropical fresh fruit for dessert.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup nonfat yogurt
4 tbs fresh grated ginger
Grated rind of one lemon
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup peanut oil or coconut oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Top with 1 tbs butter cut up and sprinkle with 1 tbs sesame seeds

Directions:
Combine oil, egg, yogurt, milk, ground lemon rind, and salt. Mix lightly until everything is well blended.

Sift the remaining ingredients into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of this mixture. Stir the milk mixture into the well and stir all together just until smooth.

 Do not overmix.

Grease and flour a 9” x 5” x 3” loaf pan.

Pour the batter into the pan. Top with butter and sesame seeds.

Bake in a preheated oven set to 350° for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes and remove from pan.

Cherry Pie

I like to make pie, but I was always afraid of making pie crust at home. Recently, I bought a new KitchenAid tilt head stand mixer. I decided to give the new mixer a chance with this task. I followed the recipe in the mixer’s booklet exactly. With my fingers crossed, I hoped that this time I could get the fear of making pie crust out of my mind. I remember that cherry pie is one of my brother, Dzung's, favorite desserts, and this one is for him--in spirit.

Ingredients:
KitchenAid pie pastry:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening, well chilled
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, well chilled
5 to 6 tablespoons cold water

(I do not recommend this recipe because the list of ingredients provided does not produce a sufficient amount of dough for an 8 Inch diameter pie.)
Directions:
Place flour and salt in mixer bowl, Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to stir speed and mix about 15 seconds. Cut shortening and butter into pieces and add to flour mixture. Turn to stir speed and mix until shortening clumps are the size of small peas (30 to 45 seconds).
While continuing on stir speed, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time, mixing until ingredients are moistened and dough begins to hold together. After removing from bowl, divide dough in half. Pat each half into a smooth ball and flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

For two-crust pie:
Trim pastry even with edge of pie plate. Using second half of dough, roll out another pastry crust. Add desired pie filling. Top with second pastry crust. Seal edge. Crimp as desired. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Fold edge under.


Cherry filling ingredients:
2 pie dough crusts
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
1 ½ cups frozen blueberries
2 tbs cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
I found this easy recipe for cherry and blueberries pie on the Pillsbury website. It is so simple to use for entertaining guests. Especially since Thanksgiving is around the corner.
Heat oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch, and cinnamon. Stir in cherry pie filling and blueberries. Spoon into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust. Seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.

I do not decorate this pie well.

20 Ways to Get Rid of Stress

1) Love things that you do. You will feel happy and work better.

2) Look at all the factors to cause stress. Try to get rid of the elements that cause the useless angers.

3) Do not try to please everybody. You should understand that you cannot do that.

4) Live truthfully with yourself. Do not waste your energy on useless things.

5) You first for pleasing, and happy.

6) sometimes, bring yourself to solitude and look deeply into your mind.

7) Try to express the feeling by talking out what you are thinking and the sensitive feeling.

8) Avoid the troublesome and face the issues right away. Do not delay for the next day the things that you can do today.

9) Do not let so many important changes in life continue happening in the short time together. Stress on top of stress will make you feel that you do not have enough time to solve them.

10) Save time to do the things that you are fond of or just sit still and dream.

11) Set aside 15 minutes a day for meditation. Twice is even better.

12) Exercise to use some of your energy. Hans Selye said, “When we are hungry, taste is better, and we need to be tired to feel completely relaxed".

13) Sometimes, leave your car at home and walk to your destination.

14) Do not sacrifice your leisure time.

15) Live moderately, have enough food, eat at regular times, and get enough sleep.

16) Start every day with a good nutritional breakfast.

17) Smile with everybody around you. The relationship will get better.

18) When feeling angry, take a deep breath. Count to 10 and the anger will subside in half already.

19) Learn how to love (with your eyes, soft voice, or gentle touch). Love is the best medicine for spirits.

20) Avoid some noises. Try not to watch TV while eating. Try to find yourself more and more in silence and quiet time.

Source: Internet

Stir-Fried Chicken with Water Chestnuts

Chicken is always perfect for stir-fried dishes. It is quick to prepare and tastes good. This is a recipe for a lazy weekend dinner. If the pantry is stocked with a can of bamboo shoots or a can of water chestnuts, and dry shitake mushrooms, that is all that is necessary.

Ingredients:
One 8 oz. chicken breast, sliced
5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water
8 oz water chestnuts, sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper (about 1/2 tsp)
3 tbs peanut oil
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs white wine or dry sherry
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white onions, sliced
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs water

Green onions and cilantro for garnish

Directions:
Mix together the soy sauce, 1 tbs cornstarch, and dry sherry and pour over the chicken. Cover and marinate for at least one hour.
Drain the soaked mushrooms and slice.
Heat the peanut oil with onions, garlic, and salt on low heat until fragrant. Add the chicken with the marinade. Stir-fry for 3 minutes until the chicken is lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and water chestnuts and continue to stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. If the sauce has not thickened sufficiently, then mix the rest of the cornstarch with water and stir into the sauce. Cook until the sauce is thickened. Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro and serve.