My Playlist (Part 1)

For this blog I want to try something a little different

Instead of writing I want to tell a story through music

I hope you like it :)

August 28, 2011.

And I arrived...

 (LOL)

Anyways, so time passed, and sometimes...

But then,

 

Life's hard sometimes. Sometimes, this is what I think

But then, we can always:

And

and

and also

(^I want to learn this dance!!^)

But especially, this is what we did

Until one day

To be continued...

白果腐竹薏米糖

I had this dessert when I was in Hong Kong, and I miss it a lot here in Canada.
I guess you probably can find it in any Chinese restaurant, but I haven't had the time to look for a good one so I decided to make it myself :)

It's very simple actually, and it only takes a few ingredients.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of pearl barley (you can put more if you like)
1/2 cup of ginkgo nuts (shelled and pitted)
several sheets of dried bean curd skin
Rock sugar (to taste)
1.5 - 2 litres of water
1 litre of sweetened soy milk
2-3 pandan leaves

Fried bean curd skin, pearl barley, and ginkgo nuts (these ones are still in its shell, but you can buy them de-shelled in the  refrigerated tofu section in most Chinese supermarkets)

Instructions:

1. Break fried bean curd skin into smaller pieces, maybe about 1"x1", or depending on how you like it in the soup. Soak it in warm water for at least half hour. This ensures that the bean curd skin will be soft and smooth when you put it in the soup.

2. Put 1.5 litres of water in the pot and bring to a boil. Then add the barley, ginkgo nuts, and pandan leaves and boil for about 30-45 minutes or until the barley is almost cooked.

3. By this time the water will be reduced, so add the soy milk into it. You may not need more or less of the soy milk; it depends on the soup:contents ratio that you like. I like it to have more soup so I add more. Add the rock sugar as well at this stage to taste. Since the soy milk you used will most likely be sweetened already,  add the sugar little by little so it's not too sweet.

4. Drain the bean curd skin; add to soup. Boil for another 15 minutes until the flavours are mixed or until the bean curd is completely soft. Some people like it in little broken pieces in their soup, and if this the case for you, the bean curd skin can be added earlier to cook further. I like mine in larger pieces, so I add it later.

Serve warm or cold! Enjoy :)

Serve warm or cold :)

Benefits of drinking this soup:

• Ginkgo nuts are low in fat and cholesterol and a good source of protein, soy and barley are also said to help decrease and lower your cholesterol levels
• Ginkgo nuts are a good source of complex carbohydrates (good energy source)
• Has a lot of good vitamins and nutrients ( read this article for more information)
• Improves memory and attention span
• Good for your skin! 
• Good source of fiber (from the barley)

To make this soup even healthier, you can substitute the regular sweetened soy milk with light, fortified soy milk. This is also sweetened but is fortified with calcium and vitamins. Do NOT use soy milk that is vanilla flavoured. For best results, use an Asian type of soy milk. For some reason, I think the smell is a bit different than Western soy milk, but that may just be my opinion

BUT!

Don't eat too much of the ginkgo nuts. Some people maximum serving per day is 5 nuts, and others say 10. But the main point here is to take it in moderation. Too much of these nuts can give you nausea, gastrointestinal discomfort, dizziness, and restlessness among other things.

Other than that, this is a really easy, yummy soup to have both during summer and winter months.

Comment me on how your soups turn out or whether you have suggestions on things you can add to the soup :)

Enjoy!

New day, new blog :)

Hello :D! It's finally the next morning so I can post another blog without seeming too weird haha.. I never knew blogging would be such an interesting activity. But then again there is just such an allure in being able to bare it all to the world and (hopefully) not have to hear criticism. Of course any comments/remarks/criticisms that any of you have is welcome; as a writer I am open to suggestions and am excited to hear feedback!

Today, I just want to tell you a little more about me. I know everyone's favourite subject is themselves, but I am doing this because I feel maybe it will give you a bit more insight about me when reading future blogs? I haven't made a plan or anything about what I'm going to write next, but I think this is all just basic information that you all should know about me :)

I think, for someone 21 years old, I am still quite naive. Perhaps that seems young to some of you and old to some others, but to me, I feel like this is an age of distinction. This is the time when you discover most about yourself, what you're capable of doing, your limits, how your personality is like. Recently, I have discovered that I am naive. I said naive not innocent because I think I there is a huge difference. Innocent refers to when you don't know about the bad things in life and think you live in la-la land. But naive, I think, is when you know about all the bad things in life and STILL believe in la-la land. So I think that's me. I am aware of all the bad things going on around me, bad possibilities, etc. but I still believe the best in everyone and thus choose to ignore all the whistles/bells/warnings that usually goes off when you are about to encounter a dangerous situation. I guess that makes me a hopeless romantic... wishing for a fairy tale ending wherever I go. But then again, that's just how I've always been, and maybe it can be taken as both a good and bad thing. But I believe the best in everyone and that, if given the chance (and a bit of nudging), they will choose the right thing.

Also, I feel quite lucky and blessed that I have such an awesome support group of friends. Actually my closest friends aren't even the ones who are physically near me. Of course I have close friends at home that I can trust and rely on, but the majority of my best friends all live either in a different country or province. This realization dawned on me yesterday that I have always had internet friends haha. But of course I didn't meet them online. I met them somewhere else, we clicked, and we just happen to live very very far away from each other =( But I have to say that I am quite proud of all of us that we were able to keep our friendship going and can still say that we are like best friends even after not seeing each other for almost 4 years! Recently, as you all know I went to Hong Kong and there I made another incredible set of friends. After living together for 4 months, they are almost like family now. We talk with each other still everyday and I hope that our friendship can stand the test of time (and distance). Really, the best experience in Hong Kong was being able to experience it all with such great people from all over the world! Actually, if you like to read about cars, or food, or see and read about our experiences in Hong Kong, you can go to one of my friend's blog. He's a much more eloquent writer than I am and takes very nice pictures too!

Lastly, I have realized that my life has always been like some kind of drama. This has been happening pretty much all my life. I thought that now that I am older and about to start career phase of my life, this was over but I guess I was wrong, things that happen to me I think are a at one degree higher than what happens to everyone else. I am not trying to brag; I am merely saying that even the normal things that happen to me somehow have an added twist to it that makes life so much more.....interesting.


Aside from all of the above, I am extremely spontaneous (maybe this is an adverse affect of being a "stick up the @ss" planner all this time). I like to make split second decisions and just act on my feelings. Maybe this is why my life is so dramatic haha... I don't always think things through. But I live on the principle that if you never try, you'll never know. And then you'll regret. So from now on, this is what I am going to do and live life to the fullest. Of course it also helps that you're doing this with your friends so you have some kind of support if your plans end up being bad. Or to tell you that your plan is bad to begin with. Point being is, seize all opportunities, but never do anything rash, especially when you are emotional. Then that could lead to some really nasty situations.

Ok, that's all I can think of for now. Today I'll be going to Waterloo to pick up my sister for the reading week! Yay to no classes for a week! But of course I have about all of my readings to do + extreme job hunting so that will be fun.

Be expecting more posts from me next week! Haha I tend to procrastinate when I am busy, so actually, I post more things when I have a ton of stuff to do.

xoxo,

Jessica

This is addictive

I got addicted to blogging on my first day LOL