Monday, April 8, 2019

Singapore / Malaysia Lor Mai Gai

At first I was following the recipe from rotinrice but I just cannot appreciate this taste. In the end, I tried making with lor mai gai with recipe from nyonyacooking.com and this is much much better.

From the layout and the way the information is given; I feel nyonyacooking is a better recipe and website. Sorry Auntie RotinRice.... No disrespect but the five spice and amount of oil in the rice is quite disgusting.

Hmm... after a day, I realised I do like the taste from Auntie RotinRice for the glutinous rice, maybe take away five spice and vegetable oil. Keep the rest.
The chicken is sort of tasteless so I will marinate the chicken overnight.


I will MERGE the two modified recipes below to create a better taste and efficient workflow (both for chicken & for the rice).

Modified Auntie RotinRice for preparing the rice:-


For the glutinous rice
  • 2½ cups glutinous rice (soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight) (500g)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground pepper
  • ½ cup water (120ml)
  • 1 tsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced

Prepare Glutinous Rice
  1. Prepare a steamer and allow water to come to a boil.
  2. Drain glutinous rice. Place in a deep bowl. Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, pepper, and ½ cup (120ml) water. Mix well.
  3. Combine vegetable oil, sesame oil, and minced garlic in a small microwave proof dish and microwave for 1½ minutes on high. Remove and pour over the rice.
  4. Place rice in steamer, cover with lid, and steam for 45 minutes.
Preparing chicken
  1. Combine chicken, Shao Hsing wine, and soy sauce in a bowl. Grate ginger over chicken. Mix well and allow it to marinade for 30 minutes.
  2. In the meantime, fry prepared lap cheong until lightly brown in a medium size pot, about 2 minutes. There is no need to use any oil. Remove fried lap cheong, leaving the oil in the pot. Set aside.
  3. In the same pot, sauté minced garlic until fragrant. Add marinated chicken and mushrooms. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in dark soy sauce. Pour in corn starch mixture and allow it to cook for 2 minutes. Sauce should come to a boil and thicken. Turn off the stove.

Modified Nyonya Cooking for preparing the rice:-

Preparing glutinous rice:
  • shallot(s)    
  • garlic clove(s) 
  • 0.5 tbsp oyster sauce   
  • 0.5 tbsp dark soy sauce 
  • 2 tsp soy sauce 
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  1. In a pan, heat oil over medium heat to sauté sliced shallots and minced garlic until fragrant. Reduce the heat to the minimum. 
  2. Microwave: oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil. 
  3. Transfer glutinous rice to a plate. Add the sauces in and mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of mushroom water. Steam for 45 minutes.


Preparing chicken:
0.5 tbsp dark soy sauce 
1 tsp shaoxing wine   
1 tsp sesame oil 
1 tsp sugar 
0.5 tsp ginger
0.5 tbsp oyster sauce    
100 g chicken meat

Chop chicken into bite sizes. Marinate chicken and hydrated dried mushrooms with the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, oyster sauce and minced ginger together with four tablespoons of mushroom water.



Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Vegan Butter

So recently I had a hard time trying to get vegan butter sticks for baking.

Here are some recipes for vegan butter that I would love to make and then create my own butter in case I don't have any.

https://lovingitvegan.com/homemade-vegan-butter/

https://www.vegan.com/recipes/bryanna-clark-grogan/bryannas-vegan-butter/

https://nutritionrefined.com/vegan-butter/

And the absolute holy grail of vegan baking @ http://www.veganbaking.net/recipes/fats/vegan-butters/vegan-butter



Sunday, March 31, 2019

Vegan Custard

I've missed custard so much. Imagine my delight at finding how to make custard here: https://amylecreations.com/vegan-custard-tarts/ and https://veganlovlie.com/custard-sauce-vegan-eggless/

I am going to try and see if I can make a custard berry pie today.

Friday, March 29, 2019

Vegan Quiche Recipe

I missed quiche every since I found out about our allergies. I've made a vegan version with modification from the recipe here: https://createmindfully.com/spinach-and-broccoli-vegan-quiche/

Tips: 
  • Don’t skip cooking the veggies before baking the quiche. Even though you’re baking the quiche, the veggies need to be cooked ahead of time for overall taste.
 Cuisine vegan, gluten free
 Keyword tofu quiche, vegan quiche
 Prep Time 10 minutes
 Cook Time 45 minutes
 Total Time 55 minutes

Filling

  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 6 cups spinach (or 2 cups chopped broccoli & 4 cups spinach)
  • 14 ounces firm tofu
  • 2 tablespoons white gluten free miso paste
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium gluten free tamari
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Filling: Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent.
  2. Add garlic, broccoli, salt and pepper. Cook until broccoli is crisp tender.
  3. Add spinach and cook until it is wilted.
  4. In a food processor combine tofu, miso paste, tamari, and nutritional yeast. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Pour the spinach broccoli mixture in. Pulse to combine. 

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Vintage or Reproduction Website Read

Just found this website. Will check out the information on this before I go further.

https://www.realorrepro.com/

Friday, January 25, 2019

Plant UML with Mac OSX

Followed these instructions from: http://macappstore.org/plantuml/

About the App

Install the App

  1. Press Command+Space and type Terminal and press enter/return key.
  2. Run in Terminal app:
    ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)" < /dev/null 2> /dev/null
    and press enter/return key. 
    If the screen prompts you to enter a password, please enter your Mac's user password to continue. When you type the password, it won't be displayed on screen, but the system would accept it. So just type your password and press ENTER/RETURN key. Then wait for the command to finish.
  3. Run:
    brew install plantuml
Done! You can now use plantuml.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Vegan Spiced Banana Bread Recipe

Prepping Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Yield: Bakes 2 loaves of banana bread

Ingredients



Dry bowl

2 cups (500ml) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon (7.5ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5ml) baking soda

Egg Bowl

5-6 mashed ripe big bananas
1/2 cup (123ml) coconut milk (this is used to create a softer crust)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) lime juice*
1/2 cup (125ml) white sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) brown sugar / demerrera
2 eggs  (1 Tablespoon Ener-G egg replacer powder into fluid)
1 teaspoon (5ml) cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) salt

Butter Bowl

1/2 cup (125ml) vegan butter, softened / melted
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x3 inch loaf pans. Whisk "Dry Bowl" ingredients ; set aside.

Mash "Egg Bowl" ingredients together in a large bowl with a fork until well combined. Stir in the "Butter Bowl" ingredients mix, then fold in the flour mixture until a batter forms and no dry lumps remain. Pour into the prepared loaf pans.
Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

eBay Canada Newbie Help

I've just started to sell on eBay as I am really hooked on selling after using Kijiji and FB Marketplace.

These are the helpful FB groups for eBay:
eBay Sellers Helping Each Other 
eBay Sellers Anonymous 
Be On Look Out BOLO Buddies Resellers & Thrifters

eBay Thrifters Camp
EBAY Warriors Grow Your eBay Business

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

eBay-ing in Toronto, Canada

A few things happened. I've moved to Toronto, Canada. I've also started to go with eBay selling as I'd like to widen my client-base to the country and even USA (after getting into reselling at Kijiji.ca and Toronto FB Marketplace). I just don't seem to find enough information on eBay selling in Toronto or maybe I didn't search well enough. I will chronicle my findings here so I can refer to in future.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Antiques and Vintage Resources

Beginner's antiques know how

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/leila83/antique-facts-and-design/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Potteryandstuff/

Image / Faster Search
Search Ebay faster: https://picclick.com

Biggest Source for Antiques & Collectables

Kovels (I am a free member)
https://www.kovels.com

20th Century Forum
https://www.20thcenturyforum.com/

20th Century European Ceramic
https://www.ceramic-signatures.com/

Biggest Source for Vintage Clothing Labels

Vintage Fashion Guild
https://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/

Vintage clothing cleaning guides
https://www.racked.com/2014/10/27/7571855/thrift-store-vintage-clothing-stain-removal

Why you should thrift

https://thriftbewithyou.com/2016/11/02/7-reasons-why-you-should-be-an-op-shopper/

How to care for fur

How to wash & fluff your down jacket

Wash: https://www.livestrong.com/article/1002641-can-down-jacket-washed-instead-dry-cleaned/
Wash: https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/expert-advice/how-to-wash-a-down-jacket/
Fluff: https://www.livestrong.com/article/1000939-fluff-down-feather-jacket-after-dry/


FB Groups

To identify antiques

Antique Identification and Valuation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/75273609478095/

Crystal & Glass

My collection of knowledge base for crystal identifications.

Beginners start here:


Acid stamp (Baccarat & Waterford)

Crystal Identification Database

Compare by Pattern: Replacements

https://www.replacements.com

http://www.tgldirect.com/category/replacements/crystal/

EAPG?

By Marks

http://www.great-glass.co.uk/index.htm

By Name & then by Pattern


American Cut Glass

http://www.cutglass.org/

Pressed Glass

How to identify pressed glass

https://www.thespruce.com/faq-about-old-pressed-glass-149098


Miscellaneous

Cute history of Bohemia & Waterford

http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-Bohemian-and-Waterford-Crystal&id=6423168

How to identify Waterford

https://www.ebay.com/gds/How-to-Identify-Waterford-Crystal-/10000000178674594/g.html

Glass Bottle History

https://sha.org/bottle/websitemap.htm

Monday, March 26, 2018

Pottery Marks & Identifications

Japanese Pottery Marks

One of the most accurate and complete site 

http://modernjapanesepotterymarks.blogspot.ca

Most modern Japanese Pottery Marks are Otagiri. Check here first:
http://modernjapanesepotterymarks.blogspot.ca/2017/01/otagiri-mercantile-company-omc.html

To find out more about Imari marks:
http://modernjapanesepotterymarks.blogspot.ca/2011/05/aritayakiimari.html


Another reference:
http://litaxulingkelley.blogspot.com/p/japanese-porcelain-marks.html

Japanese Collectables Research by Ebay seller
http://www.japanesepotterymarks.info/

Gotheborg Modern Japanese Marks
http://www.gotheborg.com/marks/20thcenturyjapan.shtml


Most Complete For Chinese & Japanese Marks

http://www.gotheborg.com/

Canada Pottery Mark Identifier

Modern American Studio Ceramics (1946 onwards)

Searchable! Check here first:
https://www.themarksproject.org/search-marks


Pinterest, American Studio Pottery
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/kitschnware/american-studio-pottery-identification-marks/

Mostly American Pottery & Glass
http://www.cajunc.com/articles/pottery/


West Germany Pottery (from 1950s to 1970s)

http://www.potsandpots.com/

British Studio Pottery Marks

Mostly British Pottery Marks with some foreign
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Potteryandstuff/studio-pottery-marks-1/
https://www.pinterest.com/Potteryandstuff/studio-pottery-marks-2/
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Potteryandstuff/studio-pottery-marks-3/
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Potteryandstuff/studio-pottery-marks-4/

Worldwide Pottery Marks Identification
http://www.ceramic-link.de/icd/pages/marks/marksindex.htm


Australian's Pottery Marks
https://australianpottersmarks.wordpress.com/

To ID pottery marks

https://www.20thcenturyforum.com/


Van Briggle Markings

http://www.clemhull.com/BottomMarkings.html


Beautiful Pottery Websites


What beautiful pottery these are!

Cute handmade pottery

Craftd Ceramics
Shiragaki Ware

Wednesday, March 30, 2016