Looking within yourself

Haiz,  it’s been awhile I haven’t done anything much to this corner, I must have been so busy or so lazy,  I guess both.
Life has been hard for me, no I choose to be that way, I want to improve myself,  I want to get better pay, better life so I keep myself busy from studying and working.
This year,  will be more fun to come, I mean more work and study,  but every hard work now will be paid off in the future.

I always remind myself,  keep my eyes open, one is looking outside world and the other is looking within myself anytime,  anywhere.

Recycling – Christmas Tree decoration

Every year, once Christmas comes, I’m so excited preparing for the season, decorating the house, setting up the Christmas tree and wrapping up presents.

I can’t stay still with the same look, I always make it differently each year, but of course it will cost a lot if I have to buy new stuffs and then we have nowhere for storage after the season is gone. Therefore, I came up with my own ideas, I make them different with just a little touch, here and there, it works perfectly for me and it might work for you as well.

Let’s the holiday start by crafting with Bee.

What you will need :

• A roll of fiber paper with the color of your choice.I choose golden for my theme color this year.
• Old Ornaments.
• Wire, scissor

And here it is, how my Christmas tree turned out.

Garlic breadsticks

Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour,plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons unsalted butter,softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fine salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter,melted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of dried oregano.

Directions:

Make the dough: Place 1/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a mixer; sprinkle in the yeast and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, butter, sugar, fine salt and 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons warm water; mix with the paddle attachment until a slightly sticky dough forms, 5 minutes.

Knead the dough by hand on a floured surface until very smooth and soft, 3 minutes. Roll into a 2-foot-long log; cut into 16 1 1/2-inch-long pieces. Knead each piece slightly and shape into a 7-inch-long breadstick; arrange 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a cloth; let rise in a warm spot until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Make the topping: Brush the breadsticks with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt with the garlic powder and oregano. Brush the warm breadsticks with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with the flavored salt.

This recipe I’ve posted on my Vietnamese blog, I just want to repost it for one of my Indian friend, hope she find it useful.

Enjoy baking!

Bird Nest – A surprise from the backyard

Image

In life, there are many things to discover, many things surprise you day by day. You would never know unless you spend time with it. Yesterday, I was trying to clean up my backyard, I’ve found a tiny bird nest, it’s too cute. I don’t even know which bird made that nest, but it doesn’t matter, just look at it made me happy.

 

Veggie soup

Ingredients:

 -1 cup Carrot, cut in cubes

-1 cup broccoli

-1 cup potatoes cut in cubes

-1 cup onion chopped

-2 tbsp butter

-Salt and pepper

-1 can chickent broth or beef broth ( optional)

Method:

 – Heat up a large soup pot add butter, onion, carrot with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stirring ocassionally, until carrot are tender. Add broth and potatoes, cook for 25 minutes then add broccoli, cook until all the vegetable are tender.

 – Let the pot cool down in 5 minutes then transfer into the food processor, blend until all the veggie are smooth, then pour them back to the pot, stirring in low heat for few more minutes, taste with salt and pepper then it’s ready to be served.

– The broth will be thicken just with the potatoes, it brings a better taster than using flour.

Enjoy!

Van zyverden . 2

Dates milk shake

As I’ve known, dates are really healthy fruit, you might learn more here about its nutritions .

Summer is coming, don’t miss a healthy milk shake with dates :), it’s simple just with 1/4 cup dates chopped, 3/4 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 cup of ice cubes blend well in a blender, you will have a milk shake as you wish.

You might add banana, blue berry, strawberry if you want fruits flavor 🙂

Enjoy!

Ground turkey meatloaf

For whom on diet but still like eating same with me 🙂
Actually this is my hubby favorite dish, I call it meatloaf but it’s a cottage pie.

Ingredient:
-2tbsp vegetable oil
-1 onion finely chopped
-1 carrot finely chopped
-4oz chopped mushroom
-11/4 lb ground turkey( you can use ground beef as you want)
-11/4 cup chicken broth or water
-2tbsp all purpose flour
-1 tbsp tomato sauce
-11/2 lb potatoes boiled
-2tbsp butter
-3tbsp hot milk
-1tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
-Salt and pepper for marinate
Method:
-Heat the oil in a pan over low heat, add onion , carrot and mushroom stirring for 10mins, add in ground meat about 8 mins then set a side.
-Blend a few full chicken broth with the flour then stir into the pan then add up the rest of the broth, stirring constantly.
-Mix all ingredient, salt, pepper and pour into a baking pan, bake for 15mins over 375degree F, until liquid evaporated.
-In the meantime boil potatoes until soft then mash with butter, milk and seasoning.
-Take out the baking pan, cover the meat with a layer of mash potatoes and mark the top with the prongs of s fork to have a nice design.
-Bake again for 25 mins the serve while it’s still warm. It would be tastier with a bit of ketchup over on top, so yummy.
Enjoy!

The sunset where I can see

Every day, out family has as least one activity going on, if we can’t play tennis , we play pingpong, if not we go swimming together, or just walk down to the beach to enjoy the sunset.
The sunset always change in difference angle that you look at, even it just from the same sun 🙂
From my vision, sunset is always beautiful, romantic and it could bring you sadness, but anyway I still love to watch sunset where I live.

Mother and son