Yummm.... Daikon Cake

All my life, I have known this dish to be "white carrot cake" until last night. This is one of my all time favourite dishes to order at dim sum. It's such a comfort food, and so tasty.

Anywho, this weekend, Daikon was on sale at the local supermarket (4 for $1) and some we bought a bunch. Last night, my mom decided to make this Daikon cake, and teach me how to do it, as well.

If you know me, I'm a 30 minute kind of cook. One of the things I learned about Chinese cooking is that there can be a tonne of preparation. And me, well, I'm all about the short cuts. There were no short cuts about this dish, so I was a bit skeptical if I would ever tackle it on my own.

Turns out the dish was quite simple to make, though it did take some time. I think I can do it.

This is my mom's quick recipe. (I have to check the packages for sizes)

Ingredients:
2 medium sized Daikon shredded
1 package of rice flour
1/3 package of wheat flour
sugar, salt, pepper, sesame oil and green onions to flavour
stirred fried mushrooms, dried shrimps, sausage (whatever you like)
water
oil

1. Peel and shred the Daikon. Cook in boiling water.

2. Mix rice flour, wheat flour, and seasonings together. Slowly add water to mixture and mix until it is a creamy consistency. Add a little oil to mixture.

3. Pour in creamy mixture to boiling Daikon mixture and stir.

4. Turn the heat to low and continue stirring out lumps. Add in stirred fried ingredients and mix.

5. Transfer mixture to a well oiled pan and steam for about 40 minutes.

6. Serve "soft" or pan fried (must wait for it to cool overnight, first) with your choice of sauce. I like my dad's fish sauce with hot sauce.

I know the directions are rough, but I found another site with a recipe that seems more precise.

Though I still stick to my 30 minute meals, this could be a nice for special occasions :)

My summer jeans.

American Eagle Low Waist Hipster. My favourite pair of jeans last summer. It was perfectly stonewashed and faded. It fit around my everything just perfectly. Until Cuba happened. And Montreal happened.

For me, traveling = food, lots of food. Usually all the walking and sweating compensates, but there's not much compensating lying on the beach. That's when I learned my metabolism had indeed slowed down.

Now, I don't have a bad body image, and will always be a foodie. But it just hurt my ego - just a little - when my favourite jeans didn't fit last term. Or this term. Until ... TODAY!!!

Oh, the perks of stress and school. How I will miss thee. I can now fit - quite snugly back into them. Now if only I had the cash to go shopping...

Un question pour Monsieur KFC...

What's wrong with dad cooking??

C'est tout.

Writing...

"When I write, I can hear my voice. And it's a lot nicer than the one I hear when I speak."
-- Eve

I have missed thou...

Being at school, without a TV, I have been on a Food Network "diet" so to speak. So this morning, while Connie and Elaine went to their spa day, I stayed at home and treated myself to many many hours of my favourite channel of all time.

In the last few weeks of school, mainly due to exams, I felt like I haven't seen Con in a while. It was so nice catch up with her. I had some things on my mind, and it was so nice to finally tell her. This was one of the main reasons I could not make that move to Portland. Family time is priceless.

To be honest, I actually had a terrible birthday, and I really thought it was all my fault. So the parts of it that were sweet and thoughtful (my parents, my sisters, Harneet, Alex and Jason) I really appreciated it. I'm sure you don't know how much your actions meant to me. :)

It's funny how growing up, I've always been the big sister (by default) but a lot of the times, I feel like she's my big sister. Coming home and having a heart to heart with my sis, she put a lot of things into perspective for me. She reassured me, no, I wasn't a terrible person nor was I a terrible friend. Even though I felt that way. She points out somethings out that I didn't even consider.

She really is the best. If she read my blog, she would know how much I gush a bout her. And Carolyn, too, of course. Below a picture of me and Con. I mean, Con and I.

She even dug out her history notes so I could have a starting point on my research for my Egypt trip.

Now, I'm going to do some research... with the Food Network in the background. Seriously, I can multi-task. Seriously.

My Dad.

I was reading another blogger's post on her dad, and thought, what a great time to write about mine!

My dad. A loving and supporting husband, father, uncle and friend.

I am the oldest of his three daughters. Yes, he always gets teased about being out numbered by females, but don't you worry. My dad can stand his ground.

Growing up, my dad hasn't always been the same person to me, and I haven't always been able to relate to him the same way. My parents have always been very strict, and when I was little, I would be afraid of my dad. I dreaded when he found out about my mischief.

My dad has this presence that can be very intimidating. Just ask my ex-boyfriend (lol....).

My dad was never the type to give me money to go out and buy new clothes or electronics. In fact, I didn't own a cell phone until I could afford my own.

My dad taught me to value money and work hard for it. I had part time jobs during high school, and have paid my way through (most of) my university.

My dad did not take my family on vacations to exotic beaches and islands, we were too poor for that. My dad took us to CNE and Ontario Place (with those free tickets, of course), Wasaga Beach, the zoo, and camping every summer without fail.

Every weekend, we would drive over to the local library and take out a stack of books. Though I'm pretty sure he'd rather stay at home and watch tv, instead of running around with 3 crazy little girls. He's a trooper.

My dad didn't take us to fancy restaurants for birthday celebrations, ie. no Chucky Cheese or Discovery Zone. Instead, he'd whip up his specialty fried noodles with chives and garlic, a dish of steamed fish, and my mom would steam a cake. I was embarrassed as a kid, and would only invite my best friend over.

Only recently, we start going to restaurants for these special occasions. It wasn't that great. We quickly told my parents that we preferred celebrating at home. Though, it's a little sad that we didn't realize how great we had things until we're older.

Even though we didn't do poorly in school. My parents would always go to a parent-teacher interview if we had less than an A+ on midterms. Seriously. Talk about pressure. But now I know they did it because they cared. Though, they did have high expectations. Asian parents. **shakes head** =)

Through the years, my dad went from being someone I feared, to someone I really respected. Now, he is someone I can also talk to and relate at the same level. Much like a friend. We have come a long way. I can tell him what's on my mind, and I think he can, too.

I can talk to him about my break up, and he understands my pain. But also encourages me to learn from it, cherish the moments and move forward.

I tell him about my fears of stepping into the working world, and feeling like I have to be a grown up, when I have more unanswered questions and thoughts than answers. He reassures me that things will work out just fine.

I tell him of my thoughts of moving to the west coast. He tells me he'll miss his little girl, but will be happy to support me if that's what I want to do.

There's a million other things I could write, but then, this post will never end and I'd probably end up with tears on the keyboards (therefore, cementing the imminent death of my laptop), and you'd have fallen asleep from boredom.

My dad. The greatest, yet most humble man I know.

I'm so lucky to have a such a great role model.

Below is a picture taken last summer of my parents, and my dad and I when we were in Cuba.

You can't cheat your first kiss

For a kiss to be really good, you want it to mean something.
You want it to be with someone you can't get out of your head.
So that when your lips finally touch, you feel it everywhere.
A kiss so hot and so deep you never want to come up for air.
You can't cheat your first kiss, Nicole.
Trust me, you don't want to.
Because when you find that right person, a first kiss, is everything.

One of my favourite scenes from Grey's. Alex Karev can have his moments. This is one of them.

Ma Musique Favorite!

I think that is spelled correctly en Francais, minus the accents.

I have finally fiddled around with this Playlist thing long enough to figure how to add my favourite tunes on this thing! 3 cheers for cat! (No, seriously, if you knew what a clueless block I am with technology, you'd be impressed.)

These are my favourite tunes of all time. Well, some of them. I need to find more. Some of them are current, recent, others are from my elementary or high school days, and others are from my parents' generation. I love them all. I know the words to all of them by heart, and sing along. A lot. If I could, I would sing as I run with these tunes on my iPod. Working on that. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the songs.

University Reflection Numero Uno: Opportunity to Learn

This will be a start to a series of my "reflections" at the end of my last undergraduate term. (read: cat procrastinating...)

As I was heating up my food this morning, I turned on the tv, and World Vision was on. One of the children featured who needed a sponsor was a little girl named Jessica. Jessica is 9 years old and lives in Columbia. Her parents are very poor and she is a little behind in school. She is now in grade 2, and her dream is to be able to finish school and eventually go to college.

Through this brief introduction, Jessica's story pulled at my heartstrings, and I got a little emotional. Though only about half a day's plane ride away, her world is completely different than mine. My parents used to make us watch World Vision when my sisters and I were kids. They explained they didn't want us to grow up ignorant and wanted us to know that not everyone was as fortunate as us - people are not born into equal opportunities.

I guess I don't really think it's a big deal to graduate university. I mean, a bachelor's degree today is equivalent to what a high school diploma was during my parents' generation. However, when I get my degree, I will remember that this is the dream of so many little girls like Jessica. I will be thankful for the opportunity and also try to give back to help them achieve their dreams.

Chicken Tikka Masala Fettucine ...

... with carrots and peppers. Yummy. (My creation using end of term left over stuff in my cupboard and fridge)

I'm a complete foodie. I love different ethnic foods and Indian food is no exception. After eating Indian, Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Italian and other cuisines last term in Toronto, I wanted to take a stab of recreating these yummy dishes at home (while still maintaining a poor student budget). This sauce is my favourite of the PC Indian sauce line by far.

Did you know...

Yesterday was my last day of undergraduate classes. Ever. It feels strange to say that I'm finished. Well, almost finished.

This is called an "engineer's cap." How fitting. It's my favourite hat to wear to my 8:30am engineering classes. Mine is more of an olive green colour.

PS. I just added music to my blog. Not sure if it's a good idea, let me know if it gets annoying or takes up too much bandwidth.

Sunday

I know people usually have interesting things to do on their weekends - especially when the weather is this gorgeous. Me, I'm stuck at the library writing a report, and putting up with people who are NOT using their indoor voices. Random lessons of my day.


1. It's not a good idea to wear a white t-shirt and eat chili. Tomato sauce WILL stain a new white Campus Crew polo. Something to do with the laws of attraction, I believe.





2. No matter how many different foods I try, this will always be one of my favourites. Fried dace with black bean sauce. Mmmm! Mix it with rice, and you've got a super salty, super fishy, super oily and therefore outstandingly delicious meal.

Cyberspace honesty...

So, I am doing some work early - actually its more like running a whole bunch of optimization simulations in an excel macro on the lab computer (which crashes very often, might I add) and then reading blogs on my laptop. I call it multi-tasking.

Wow, is all I can say to some of the blogs I read. Kudos to the bloggers out there who are so honest and share some really difficult personal stories. Some of the stories, I've read really touch me, and stir up some pretty strong emotions. I admire their courage, honesty and grace in the way they share their stories. I'm not sure if I can ever blog at that level of raw emotions, but I thank them for sharing their stories. :)

Life as a Student

My life as a student is coming to an end, soon. And as much as I dislike assignments and projects, they really aren't so bad. After four years of school, I know how much effort / time I need to put in to get a decent mark. About time, eh? Anyways, as the end of the term comes closer and closer, there are a few things I'd like to reflect on. (Mind you, I may do another "refection" after I am officially done, as well).

LIST OF THINGS I WILL MISS ABOUT BEING A STUDENT:

Getting up whenever I want to.
Sure, I have a couple 8:30am classes, and I usually make it there at some point. Yes, I am notorious for being late for class. Sometimes I really have trouble getting up, in which case I either skip, or get up at 8:15, put on a hat, throw on jeans and sweatshirt and walk out the door.

Wearing whatever I want to.
Not that I wear PJ's to class or anything. I usually try to put in some effort to put myself together. But if I'm running short on time, feel lazy, got up late, etc etc. I can always feel comfortable hiding under my hat. Won't be able to do that for work...





All the fun and cheap extra curricular sports and clubs.
I think I took advantage of this in my 4A and definitely my 4B term. Salsa, bellydancing, yoga, dodgeball, volleyball, swimming, etc etc. Where else can you join a dodgeball league for only $7 per person?! Or $110 per team?! Or $25 for an entire 4 months of yoga!? There is definitely nowhere cheaper where you can do all this than school! Not to mention all the fun people you meet.


The classroom or dynamic learning environment.
I guess things can get the "same old" and pretty boring in engineering classes, but what I was referring to was my Speech Communications (SPCOM) class. Everyone was there to improve their pubic speaking, and we were all very supportive of one another. It was a very nurturing and encouraging environment where we all shared in our fears or speaking, but also shared in how we all overcame it and enjoyed it.




Being a poor and starving student.
I use that as both a reason and excuse for not spending money. Whether it be on eating out, or buying things, going places, jumping at great bargains and hearing the word "sale" from a mile away. I can just say that I'm a poor, starving student and everyone nods and understands. When I become a working professional, I will be expected to be generous, buy things at regular price and what not. I no longer have an excuse for being stingy... (Having said that, I got my student card renewed until 2013, and will continue to buy the SPC card until then!)


There are more things, but I must be getting to sleep now. It is, after all, 11:30pm on a Friday night. I've been lazy all week and plan to get up early for a run and do lots of work tomorrow. I'll try to live my life as a student to the fullest in the next few weeks. Before I become a grown up and must conform to the ways of the working world. This is kind of scary just thinking about it. But like Mufasa from the Lion King says, "It is time."