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.

Braised Salmon with Pineapple and Mushrooms

Everyone who loves to cook loves to experiment with new dishes and new tastes. I feel compelled to explain most of the dishes that I have created in my blog, which are a combination of my knowledge for so many years of helping in my family restaurant and working in the California Pizza Kitchen. From those experiences, I like to have some recipes that are made with the Westerner's taste in mind. Most dishes are cooked on a stovetop and quick to prepare. Most ingredients are familiar to the reader and most of them are sold in American grocery stores for the reader’s convenience. My recipes are ideal for busy moms or college students who want to prepare home-cooked meals without stress.

Ingredients:
1 lb. salmon with skin and bone in
1 cup fresh pineapple cut into big chunks or 8 oz of canned pineapple chunks
5 fresh button mushrooms, each sliced in half
1 knob ginger, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sweet onions, chopped
1 cup fish stock or chicken stock
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs sake or dry sherry
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs peanut oil or vegetable oil
3 green onions, sliced

Directions:
Cut fish into 4 big chunks. Sprinkle with salt and let stand for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a heavy pot and fry fish until brown on both sides.

Add sweet onions, ginger, garlic, cook, and stir for 2 minutes.

 Add the remaining ingredients except the green onions and bring to boil.

 

 

 Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Uncover and add the green onions. Cook for another 5 minutes or the liquid is reduced until almost evaporated. Serve with rice.

Three Valuable Best Things

Three things in life that you cannot have back when they are gone:

•           Time

•           Words

•           Opportunity

Three things in life you shouldn’t lose:

•           Relaxation

•           Hope

•           Faith

Three most valuable things in life:

•           Love

•           Self-Confidence

•           Friendship

Three things that do not last long in life:

•           Dreams

•           Success

•           Property

Three things that create the value of a person:

•           Hard Work

•           Honesty

•           Success

Three things that destroy a person:

•           Selfishness

•           Conceit

•           Anger

Source: Internet

Fish Cooked With Oyster Sauce

In Asian cooking, especially Chinese, fish and all kinds of seafood are popular and lend themselves particularly to quick cooking in a wok, and it is so simple to do. Choosing any kind of fish that is available or in season is the way to save money. Many recipes are interchangeable, so choose wisely the sauce for each recipe. A small change of taste depends on the fish that is used, but it will not make a dent on the recipes. I have this recipe to prove that.

Ingredients:
Two 6 oz tilapia fillets
2 tbs peanut oil
3 scallions, chopped
1 knob fresh ginger, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
2 tbs oyster sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 cup fish stock, vegetable stock, or water

Directions:
Wash and dry fish.
In a sauté pan, heat 1 tbs of oil and fry the fish on both sides until brown, turn over only once. Remove from the pan.
In the same pan, add the other tbs of oil. Stir in ginger, garlic, scallions, and mushrooms until lightly brown. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Cook for 1 minute. Add the stock and bring to boil. Return the browned fish to the pan, bring to boil and simmer for 3 to 6 minutes. Turn over only once. Serve.

Fried Taro-Tofu Sausage Patties

In our lifestyles today, we are realizing that eating healthy is very important not just for us individually but also to express our humanism to society. I am truly a Buddhist follower, so, when I was young, my family always reserved four days every month to eat just vegetables on those days. If we vow to eat more vegetables and less meat every day, more animal lives will be saved. However, eating more vegetables is primarily to make us healthier, calmer, and our brains more intelligent. Some studies have shown that just before animals are killed, their bodies produce more toxins, and we the consumers will put them into our bodies. Anyway, vegetables, grains, and tofu have as much albumin, fiber, or fat as meat. Therefore, I would like to introduce this recipe that will create all the protein that is necessary for healthy living and a delicious dish for the beginner like vegetarian.

Ingredients:
1 small taro root, cooked and mashed (about 2 cups)
1 small yam, cooked and mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup cooked mung beans, mashed
1 cup cooked black beans, mashed
One 8 oz. firm tofu, drained and mashed
1/4 cup roasted sesame seeds
1 cup rough-chopped button mushrooms
1/2 cup celery chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup red bell pepper. chopped
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup canola oil

Directions:
In a large sauté pan, add 2 tbs oil. Sauté shallots and garlic until fragrant. Add mushrooms, red bell pepper, celery and carrots. Cook these vegetables until wilted. Let cool.
In a large mixing bowl combine, cooked taro, yam, tofu, two kinds of beans, cornstarch, green onions, cilantro, and the cooked vegetables. Season with salt, black pepper, soy sauce, sugar, and cayenne. Mix well.
Form the paste into 3 inch diameter patties. At this point, if not using all patties, they can be wrapped with plastic wrap and frozen until ready to use. Let it thaw in the refrigerator.
In a sauté pan, add enough oil to fry patties on each side for about 3 minutes or until crispy, as you like. Serve with sweet soy dipping sauce.

To make soy dipping sauce:
In a glass jar, combine 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup red vinegar, and 1 cup hot water.
Cover lid and shake well. The soy dipping sauce can be refrigerated for month. Add minced garlic and hot chili to the sauce each time served. Adjust this sauce to your own taste, but this is good as directed.

One and a Half Friend

Long ago, one hero established relationships with so many people. Before he passed away, he told his son, “Do not assume that because I have known so many people in the world they are my friends. The truth was all my like I just have one and a half friend."


His son was very confused, and then the father said, “You follow my words and go meet my one and a half friend. Then you will understand what a friend is."

First, the son came to see the person who his father thought was "one whole friend". Following the father’s advice, he said, “I am the son of Mr. XX. I am a fugitive, and I am the end of my rope and that is why I came looking for you and hope that you will help me." After listening, this man did not hesitate to ask the son to come into his house and then to ask his own son to exchange clothing with the fugitive son to help him escape.

At this time, the son realized that at the moment between life and death, this man did not hesitate to sacrifice himself and his own son to save a friend's son. That is a true friend.

Later, he came to see the "half friend" who his father mentioned. The son said the same thing to this man. This man looked at him for a while and said, “Well, this is a big problem, and I don't think I can save you, but I will give you food and enough money for you to run away to save yourself. I promise that I won't tell the authorities about you.”

Now the son understood clearly. When you face a difficult situation, and someone understands the situation that you need help to save yourself, but he will not be completely on board with helping you, he is only half of a friend.

 

Source: Internet


 

Rice-Quinoa Cake

I posted this recipe a year ago, but today I will introduce another recipe for rice cake. After carefully studying about how beneficial quinoa is, I wanted to add this wonderful grain into this recipe. Why not, when we feed our body, we have to think about all the good-healthy foods that are available to us. Most of us don't have much room in our body just to eat anything. Therefore, choosing the right food for our body is the best decision that one can make for healthy living.

Ingredients:
2 cups rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup mashed potato
2 tbs dried shrimp, soaked in water and ground to fine
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbs oil
2 1/3 cups water

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients listed above in a medium pot and mix well. Place the pot over medium heat. Use the whisk and constantly whisk rice mixture until almost thick. Prepare an 8 inch round baking pan by lining the pan with plastic wrap at the bottom of the pan. Pour the rice mixture into the pan. Place another plastic wrap cover the entire surface of the rice cake. In a steamer over high heat, steam the rice cake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Refrigerate until completely cool. If not using it right away, this rice cake can be wrapped with foil and put into a Ziploc® and frozen.

 

Vietnamese Meatballs or Xiu Mai

Making meatballs one already thinking about ground beef, pork, and veal; also some kind of cheese and simmering in marinara sauce. What a yummy dish it is! As always, I want to cut back on most of the fat and calories on most of my recipes, and this one is one of them. Vietnamese meatballs are similar to a Chinese dish called Shu Mai, served at the dim sum hour, which contains ground pork. I created this recipe using a combination of ground turkey and chicken for a leaner dish. I guarantee that this dish will fulfill the desire for meatballs – either Italian meatballs or Chinese Shu Mai.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 lb ground chicken
1/4 cup white onions, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs cornstarch
Sauce;
2 fresh tomatoes
1 cup fresh pineapple
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper
1 tsp cayenne

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients listed above Sauce and mix well. Form the meat paste into meatballs about the same size as a golf ball.
In a large sauté pan, add 2 tbs oil. Fry the meatballs until nearly done because I like to simmer the meatballs more in the sauce. Chicken and turkey tend to dry easily, so not overcooking them is helpful.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Slash an X on top of each tomato and blanch them in the boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove them and place in cold water. When the tomatoes have cooled enough to handle, peel off the skin. Place both tomatoes and pineapple in a food processor and blend them into a sauce.
In the same large sauté pan, add 2 tbs oil. Cook onions for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until onions and garlic are fragrant.

Pour the tomato sauce into pan and bring to boil.

Place fried meatballs into the tomato sauce and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.

Season the sauce with soy sauce, salt, black pepper and cayenne (if you like a thicker sauce, then mix 2 tbs of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and pour into the sauce).

Serve the meatballs with hot cooked rice or on a baguette for breakfast.

Love without Words

My father never seemed to express his love.  The happiness in the family was mostly contributed to by my mother. Every day, dad worked from morning until late at night. However, when he heard about all the mistakes that we made during the day, then he would lecture us nonstop. One time, I stole a piece of candy from the candy store near my house. My dad knew that, and he insisted that I have to return the candy. Not only did he have me return the candy, he forced me to clean up that store to redeem my mistake. At that time, only my mom knew that I was just still a child. I played soccer and broke my leg. On the way to the hospital, the person who was holding me was my mother. My dad stopped his car in front of the emergency door , but the security guard asked my dad to move his car to somewhere else because the parking space was just for the emergency truck. My dad was so upset. “What do you think about our car? Was it a traveler's car?” On each of my birthdays, my father never looked like a father with me on those days. He just focused on blowing up all the balloons, preparing the tables and chairs, or helping with some other little things that needed to be done on those days. Mother was always the person who placed the candles on the cake and brought it to me to blow the candles out. Looking through our albums, our friends always asked, “Where is your dad?” Well, only God knew because dad was always the photographer. Mother and I are the ones with smiles on our faces, and we had many photos. I remember one time when my mother asked my father to teach me how to ride a bicycle. I begged him not to let go of the bicycle with his hands, but he was so sure it was time for him not to keep holding onto the bike. So when he let go of the bicycle. I fell down, of course. My mother ran quickly toward me and helped me to get up, and my father just waved off my mother, signaling her to stay away. At that moment, I was so angry, and I wanted to show my dad that I did not want any help. Anyway, I suddenly got up on my bike and rode away alone to prove to my father that I got it. However, he stood there and smiled. While I was at the University, my mother is the one who wrote all the letters to me. My father only sent the money and one short letter in four years, and the content was about when I left home and nobody played soccer on his lawn anymore. As a result, his lawn was greener and healthier. Every time I called home, my father seemed to want to talk to me, but finally he always said, “I will call mom for you!” Finally, I got married, and only my mother cried. My father just looked at me, fought back his tears, and then left the room. Since I was young until the day I grew up, my father always said to me, “Where are you going? What time will you be home? Does your car still have enough gas? Do not do that and do not go..." Father really did not know how to show his love, or, perhaps, he did show a lot, but I was unable to feel his big love for me.

Source: Internet

Fried Mock Shrimp

Here I am again one more time trying to convince the readers to get into the habit of eating vegetables. This recipe includes some root vegetables. I use some veggie burgers to have some protein to support these recipes. I make my own burgers, but good store-bought brands will do. This "shrimp" dish can be served as an appetizer or a main dish with a cup of soup or a bowl of salad. Nothing is so fast and easy as to create a simple healthy meal like this one.

Ingredients:
2 sheets of dried bean curd, soaked in water, drained, and allowed to dry
A few strands of spaghetti, cooked
1 shallot, sliced
1/4 cup leek, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carrot, cut into thin strips
2 oz daikon, cut into strips
1 large king oyster mushroom, cut into strips
2 veggie burgers, cut into strips
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp of black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
Annatto oil for color or red color
Coconut oil or peanut oil for frying

Soy dipping sauce

Directions:
In a sauté pan, heat 2 tbs oil. Stir in shallot and leek, and cook for a few minutes. Add garlic, stir, and cook on low heat until fragrant. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch the daikon and carrots.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cut veggie burgers, the shallot-garlic mixture, and blanched vegetables.  Season with salt, pepper, and a little sugar (1/4 tsp)
Cut the soaked sheets of bean curd into 10 small square sheets (about 5” x 5”).
Lay each small sheet of bean curd on the countertop. Fill each sheet with a few carrots, daikon, mushrooms, strip of burger. Fold the bean curd to cover the vegetables. Make a shape look like a big prawn. Secure the “prawn” with pasta by tying the tail of the prawn.
Dip a pastry brush in the oil and brush over the prawn.

In a deep skillet, add about 1 cup of oil.  Fry prawn until golden brown. Serve.

Quinoa-Lentils Veggie Burger

I have posted many recipes for veggie burgers already. I always like to improve the taste of the veggie burger and add more protein for healthy living. The question is always who does not want to have a veggie burger loaded with all the protein needed and yet feel satisfied afterward. My veggie burger recipe here accomplishes both with the vegetables for sweetness and with quinoa and lentils for protein that is needed. Nothing is better than handmade veggie burgers to avoid the unhealthy preservatives that are always added to commercially produced veggie burgers. Spend a little bit of time to make your own veggie burgers at home to save money and healthier living.

Ingredients:
2 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup cooked lentils
1 cup cooked mashed potatoes
1 cup cooked okara (optional)
4 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup sweet onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
5 button mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs cayenne
1 beaten egg
1 cup breadcrumbs or ground corn flakes (for people with celiac disease)
1 cup sesame seeds
Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch the spinach for a few minutes and quickly immerse in cold water to preserve the bright green color. Squeeze out the excess water from the cooked spinach and rough chop.
In a sauté pan, heat 2 tsp of oil. Add onions. Stir for 2 minutes. Add garlic. Cook until fragrant. Stir in the corn, celery, mushrooms, and carrots. Sauté the vegetables until wilted.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients together. Mix well.
Shape mixture into patties as you like, roll the burger with sesame seeds. Refrigerate for an hour. If not used immediately, then wrap the burgers individually with plastic wrap and freeze.
In a sauté pan, add a small amount of oil and fry each side of burgers for 2 minutes or until they become golden. Serve on hamburger buns or on a bed of lettuce.

Quinoa-Lentils-Tofu Wrapped in Nori

A vegetarian diet and meditation are two of the hot topics that gain echo among business man, women and rich people. The vegetarian diet used to be popular mostly among the poor and Buddhist followers, but as our societies have become more and more like a speed of light, people are more concerned not only about the health of their bodies but also their minds. So many studies indicate that eating more grains, vegetables, nuts and fresh fruits will help to fight most of the deadly diseases, which are still of most concern for us. For most of my childhood, growing up in Vietnam without much food available to us, eating vegetables was normal to me. Also, because meats were the dish only served on some special days of the year, this helped me to adapt to a vegetarian diet easily even though inexpensive meats are always available. For some people, switching completely or mostly to a vegetarian diet will be hard at first, but they should think about the benefits of consuming more vegetables and less meats. I have this vegetarian recipe loaded with good nutrition that I think is good for people who want to begin a healthy path for their bodies and minds.

Ingredients:
One 8 oz. firm tofu, drained
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup cooked lentils
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup sweet onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (the green part only)
1 tsp salt
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs sesame oil
5 sheets of nori
5 sheets of dried bean curd soaked in  water (drain and let dry)
1 cup cornstarch
Enough oil to fry about one cup

Directions:
In a sauté pan, heat 2 tbs of oil. Stir in onions and shallots. Cook for 3 minutes and add garlic. Continue to cook until fragrant.
In a food processor, combine tofu, lentils, and quinoa. Use the pulse button to combine these three ingredients together. Do not blend to become mushy. Pour this mixture into a medium size bowl and add in the cooked onions mixture, green onions, and red bell pepper. Season with salt, sugar, soy sauce, black pepper, and sesame oil. Add 1 tsp cayenne if you want a small kick of it. Mix well.
Cut the piece of soaked bean curd sheet a little larger than the nori sheet. First, lay a bean curt sheet on the counter top, then the nori sheet follow.

Spoon about 1/2 cup of the filling onto the nori sheets and start to roll up tightly as a log. Make it as tight as possible.

At this point wrap each of these log in the plastic and freeze. When ready to serve thaw them in the refrigerator over night.

Place the cornstarch on a shallow dish. Cover the log completely with the flour.
Heat the oil in a shallow sauce pan. Fry the log in a low-medium heat until is golden brown. Let it cool completely before slicing to serve on a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, and sweet soy dipping sauce.

Mock Fish

This fish is very easy to make and provides good protein, which is needed for vegans. I revised the recipe that I had published before into this new one. It is quite simple to make because all the ingredients are cooked. I use roasted olive oil nori to favor the fish. A small amount of the vital wheat gluten flour to make the fish a little crunchier. The cooked beans can be any kind that suits the taste. This fish can be grilled or stewed as "Ca Kho" and served over hot cooked rice.

Ingredients:
One 8 oz. firm tofu, drained and water squeezed out
1 oz dried bean curd sheet, soaked in water
1 cup okara (soy pulp left after making soy milk) – optional
1 cup cooked mung beans, black or pinto beans
1 pack of olive oil nori

10 sheets of nori for wrapping the fish

Salt, pepper, and sugar to taste
2 tbs garlic powder
1/4 cup fresh minced ginger
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten flour

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the soaked dried bean curd sheet for 5 minutes. Drain.
In a food processor, combine tofu, bean curd sheet, okara, olive oil nori, ginger, salt, pepper, sugar, cayenne and garlic. Press start to blend the ingredients together.

Slowly add the flour into the mixture over the open mouth of the machine. Let it run for a few minutes or until the flour is mixed with the rest of the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into a microwave-safe dish, Cover and microwave for 3 minutes.
Cut each of the nori sheets into four.
Lay each sheet onto the countertop.

Put about 1 ½ tsp of the fish paste onto each quartered nori sheet and start to roll it up into a small sausage or log.

Continue until all the filling is finished.
If not used immediately, place sausages into a zip lock and put into a freezer until ready to use. It can be kept for a few months in the freezer, so feel free to go making a large batch.

Just Five More Minutes

Life has a long priority list. What is your priority? Give your loved one just 5 minutes of your busy time each day.

On a bench in the park, a woman sat next to a man near the children’s playground.

“He is my son", said the woman talking and pointing toward a young boy wearing a red sweater who was playing on the slide.

"He looks very healthy", the man replied, “and my son is the young boy in the blue sweater".

After saying that, he looked at his watch and said to his son, “Let’s go home, Todd". The young boy, named Todd, turned and looked at his dad and insisted, “Just 5 more minutes, Dad, please, 5 minutes.".

The man lightly nodded his head, and the young boy continued to play with joy on his face.

After the five minutes passed by, the man stood up and said, “Could we go home now Todd?". Todd, one more time, asked his father for another 5 minutes.

The man one more time nodded his head and with smile on his face said, “All right". 

The woman saw it and exclaimed, “You are really a patient father".

The man smiled and slowly said, “My oldest son, Tommy, died last year by a drunken driver when Tommy was riding his bicycle nearby. I never set aside my time for Tommy, and now I would trade everything that I have just to spend 5 more minutes with him. I vowed to myself that I will ever never repeat that mistake with Todd. Todd thought that he had 5 minutes to play, but the truth is I had 5 more minutes to watch him play”.

 

Source: Internet

Many Priciest Ones

"Each of us has only one heart to help preserve our purity. The most perfect heart is one that has shared the most love from it."

Everybody will have only one mother. Mom is a person who gives us children love forever. A mother’s love is unconditional. Mother is the priciest property that we have since the day we were born. Someday, when we did not feel her arms around us, it means she passed away.

Everybody has just one heart to keep pure. The perfect heart is the one that shares the most love.

In life, we can experience many great loves – the first love is very hard to forget, but the last love will be the beautiful one.

A person who knows how to love the right way is the person has his or her heart to warm you when you feel cold.

Always believe in love because there is one person reserved for someone else.

One honest  friend is enough to help us feel peaceful, confident, and safe in every bad or dangerous situation, and that is the special gift of life.

One warm look says more than tasteless conversation.

One smile can create many fantastic things.

Everybody will has at least one best capability, but they do not realize what their ability is.

Each person has one mouth to be careful when talking. Don't use it to dirty your mouth and to damage someone.

One good book might change someone. The book with bad contents will destroy the reader, but nobody can be successful with just one good book.

A person with big cash only is not as valuable as a poor one with intelligence, creativity, experience, and goodwill.

One dollar created by hard work is more valuable than a thousand dollars created by unrighteousness.

We just have one life to live, work, and love.

The past has already gone, the future will have more surprises. We just have one present to live, and we should enjoy every second and minute of it.

There are many opportunities that will come to us during our life, but only one can be the most valuable.

In the entire world, you may be nobody, but with someone, you will be the world to them.

Do one thing that is helpful to life.

 

(Source: Internet)
 

Save Time by Mother Theresa of Calcutta

Save time for thinking because it is the strength.

Save time for praying because it is the most powerful omnipotent.

Save time for laughing because it is the music of our soul.

Save time for playing because it is the secret to being forever young.

Save time for looking and loving because it is the heart, the intelligence, the benevolence and life.

Save time for giving because day is too short for living selfishly.

Save time for reading books because it is the root of being clear-sighted. 

Save time for friendliness because it is the path to happiness.

Save time for working because it is the price for becoming successful.

Save time for compassion because it is the key to heaven.

Easy Coffee Flan

I have had this recipe for quite sometime. Lately, my sister, Kim, requested it. This is a very delicate dessert served after meals in some upper class restaurants. However, most Mexicans claim this one is from their country. It happened to me when I used to work at the California Pizza Kitchen and my co-worker, who is Mexican, shared this recipe with me. However, I like the very light version of the French flan recipe better. The ideas of how to make this dessert are quite similar and even the ingredients are very much the same. I believe each cook needs to change the ingredients a little to create his or her own classic flan. Anyway, it is basically eggs, milk, and sugar baked in low heat and in water bath.

 Ingredients:

The Caramelized Sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
The flan
4 eggs and 2 yolks
2 cups whole milk or skim milk (healthier)
1/2 cup sugar
2 shots of espresso or 1 tbs instant coffee, dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
2 tbs Kahlua
9 inch diameter glass baking dish

 Directions:

In a small heavy saucepan on low heat, cook sugar undisturbed until the sugar is almost melted and starts changing color, swirling the pan constantly.  Add hot water. Continue to cook for a few more minutes until the sugar changes into a dark amber color.

 

Quickly, pour the caramelized sugar into a glass baking dish.

 

Turn oven to 325°.  Line a paper towel on the bottom of a roasting pan.
Without putting air in the eggs, whisk eggs and egg yolks together in a light motion, and then set aside.
Bring the milk and sugar to almost boiling. Remove from heat and slowly add some of the hot milk into the beaten eggs. This procedure is called tempering the eggs, so the egg mixture is now the same temperature as the milk and  pour the rest of the hot milk into the egg mixture. Whisk with slow motion and add espresso and kahlua. Mix well and drain the custard  through a fine sieve into a bowl. Carefully pour into the caramelized-sugar lined baking disk.
Put the dish into the prepared roasting pan and add hot water halfway up the side of the disk. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Do not let water boil or disturb the custard while baking. All of the cooks believe this is the ''secret" to having a velvety smooth custard, and also the paper towel works as the way to stabilize the baking and to keep it from moving around.

This dessert  is at  its best when prepared a day in advance and refrigerated, so the flavor has time to mellow.

Living a Simple Life Will Make You Great!!

Life faces so many salty and bitter situations and that is a reason why our sweat and tears are salty. If we can have everything in life, then that is not life. Therefore, greedy people will face shortages and wanting. Committing suicide is the action to avoid facing bad situations of life, and it is never has a good result.
So, there are many familiar lessons about greed and selfishness, but we always make that mistake. The internal spiritual and emotional punishment is more severe than the physical pain of the body. Therefore, when start doing something to the extreme, we have to know the stopping point of it. If we cross that point, there will be some disaster to follow.
Tomorrow starts from today, but today has already started from yesterday. Everything has its own reason and logic. If one can withstand the suffering, then the happiness will eventually arrive.
Everybody will have the same status. The reality of life, such as being rich, poor, from high or low classes, ugly, or beautiful is just to make our life more colorful.
“Laughing at someone occasionally who will laugh back at you even more" never fails. Because of that, we should never disdain anybody. Everybody that we have a chance to meet in life will teach us at least one vital lesson.
Love is the strongest force to help us climb the highest mountain and forgive people. A mother’s love is the biggest love of all, but sometimes we abuse this kind of love from our mothers.
A lover is not only a person who just looks into our eyes but also a person who can look at the same direction with us.
Living a simple life will make you great in people’s eyes.
Use your intelligence to cure yourself. The more you know the fewer mental disorders you will have. Continuing to improve your education will improve your intelligence, and your range of visibility will be higher too. Understanding the sciences and having deep knowledge about life will make you become erudite.
Do not ask people too much about yourself because you are the only one to know the truth about yourself.
Some things do not belong to you, and you should not accept them. Therefore, we always have to be aware and alert to recognize those things. However, sometimes in life we have to receive some things that don’t belong to us, but we should only accept them temporarily.
Always remember,  life is complicated, but you can learn how to make your life as simple as you can, and it is the only way to find happiness.
 
Source: Internet

Beautiful Isn't Necessarily Valuable

A wildebeest went down to the river for a drink and looked at his reflection in the river water. He admired and was so happy with his big, powerful, beautiful horns but was so sad and dissatisfied with his weak, ugly, skinny legs.

Suddenly, a lion approached him. The wildebeest was startled and ran as fast as he could. After just a few minutes, it was already far away from the lion. He continued to run fast, but when he got into the jungle, its horns were too big and caught in the tree branches, and he could not get himself out of it. After the wildebeest struggled for a while, the lion caught up with him.

At that moment, the wildebeest felt sorrow and pain because his ugly legs were saving him, but his beautiful horns were hurting him.

The moral:

Beautiful things aren't always valuable and valuable things aren't always beautiful. Therefore, we should first judge things not by how they look but how they can be valuable to us.

Fable

Happiness as a Priority (from http://dontsweat.com/)

 

I love this article I hope you will too. Go to his website to read more of these.

 

http://dontsweat.com/

 

Happiness as a Priority

dont sweat August 20, 2013

 

By Richard Carlson
It’s always been interesting to me that the average person (go ahead and ask them), spends ten times (or more) the amount of time watching television than he or she does even considering happiness.  In fact, in one poll that I conducted, not a single person out of more than 30 people admitted to spending even one second thinking about how they might go about becoming happier!  Some of these people spent anywhere from 2-7 hours a day in front of a television set, yet not one minute contemplating what could amount to the most important question of one’s life—how can I be happier?  One of the first rules of any venture is that in order to get somewhere, you need at least a general idea of how to get there and, at very least, where you are going!

We’re really lucky in a way as learning to be happy is a very easy thing to do.  In fact, happiness is our natural state.  If left to our devices and if we could find a way to stop interfering with the flow, we’d be extremely happy right now. So while life did not come with a instruction book on happiness, it really didn’t have to.  By following some really simple principles and also knowing how to get out of our own way, we can become extremely happy, regardless of our present circumstances.

Most people would agree with the notion that when a baby is born, he or she is a fairly clean slate.  In other words, they aren’t vicious, reactive, judgmental, dissatisfied, prejudice, jealous, or angry.  Instead, they are simply little beings who are curious and open to learning.  Unfortunately, most of the time they eventually learn some pretty negative thinking which leads to some pretty unhappy times.

We are taught that our thoughts are real and that we should pay attention to them.  Problem is, they aren’t real, they are just thoughts.

Think of a time when you were, say, driving home from a baseball game and on the last play of the game, your favorite player, dropped an easy ball and blew the game and the season for your team and all the fans, you being one of them.  You’re now in the comfort of your own home and the outcome of the game is brought up by other members of your family.  You start to think about the dropped ball and you start to get depressed. You launch into a lecture about how the team needs new outfielders!  Yikes, it’s happening all over again!
It’s as if the dropped ball is happening all over again in your living room.  As you think about it, you get more and more distressed, after all, you rationalize, he “did” drop the ball!

That’s true he did drop the ball.  But let me show you how easy it is to dismiss that thought now that the event is over.  You’re about to see that while the unfortunate event did occur, it’s now only a harmless thought with no power over you other than that which you give it.  And once you realize this, happiness will be moments away.

Have you ever been driving and some other driver nearly knocks you off the road---maybe even comes within a foot or two of killing you?  It’s happened to me a few times in the almost 30 years that I’ve been driving.  Whether it has ever happened to you or not, pretend for a minute that it did.  Imagine the thoughts that would be running through your mind while you were still heated.  I can imagine the thought “I should kill that guy,” being one of your thoughts, or something similar, relating to some sort of revenge.  Now the question becomes, “would you do it?”  I mean it.  Would you kill the driver?  Of course you wouldn’t.  And other than the facts that it’s against the law and that you’re a moral person, why wouldn’t you act on that thought?  The reason is simple:  The thought was just a thought---like the thousands of other thoughts that run through your mind every single day.  You realize it was just a thought and you promptly dismiss it.  This doesn’t mean you aren’t a little spooked or that you don’t care—of course you do.  But by dismissing the thought, you put the event behind you, opening the door for you to move into the present moment and be happy in this moment instead of caught up in a thought that is just a thought, like all other thoughts---including the thought of the baseball player dropping the ball.  Today, as we live our life, that event is merely a thought carried through time, via our own thinking As long as you see it, not as a reality to contend with, but as a simple thought, you are free to live right now, in this moment. Because thoughts are just thoughts (all of them) you have the power to drop any thought, at any time. You are absolutely in charge and have the last say!  This is the ultimate in taking responsibility for your own thoughts and feelings.
Here’s a little more food for though.  Let me ask you a funny question.  Would you ever, even for a moment, consider writing yourself a nasty, mean-spirited letter and then mailing that letter to yourself?  Then, when you get the letter you open it and you’re immediately offended by the mean and obnoxious content!  You storm around the room and act all out of sorts!

Of course this would never happen in a million years, but why?  The reason is that you would be aware that it was you who wrote the letter.  How silly would it be to write a letter and then become upset by that very letter?
We’ll that’s the exact same logic we can apply to our thinking.  Think about it carefully.  Why would you ever have a thought—any thought, no matter how negative or scary—and then become nervous, reactive, angry or in some other way bothered by it?  Remember, it’s just a thought you’re having, just like all the others. And what’s more important, you’re the one who produced the thought to begin with. Being upset by your own thoughts is a little like smashing your head against a wall and wondering why your head hurts.  Remember, you wouldn’t act on a scary thought like killing another driver, no matter how bad he or she was—why?  Because it was just a thought.  The secret to a happy life is to realize that all of our thoughts are just thoughts.  True; things happen all the time, but once they are over---or if they haven’t happened yet, they are just thoughts.  Before I close, take one last look at that ball player who dropped the ball.  Regardless of how high the stakes were, it’s now, today, right now, nothing more than a thought---no more or less important than any others!  Try applying this logic to all of the thoughts that run through your mind and, pretty soon, you’ll be dropping any negativity you’ve been burdening yourself with---and what you’ll be left with is, you’ve got it---happiness!!