A Lazy Cook's fall-of-the-bone Baby Back ribs

This is a super-easy Baby back rib recipe. I got it from Allrecipes.com.

2 lbs baby back ribs

1 bottle of store bought BBQ sauce

Salt and pepper

1. Cut ribs into single pieces

2. Sprinkle some salt and pepper onto the ribs

3. Cut about 4 pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil (about 15" long)

4. Put 3-4 ribs in each of the foil and smother BBQ sauce all over, fold over into small pouches

5. Marinate for 4-5 hrs or as long as you can (overnight is preferred)

6. Preheat oven to 300 degrees

7. Put the aluminum pouches into an baking pan (in case the sauces spill over).

8. Bake for 3 hours

9. Carefully remove the ribs from oven, and the ribs out of the pouches. Discard the remaining juices inside the pouches

10. Brush additional BBQ sauce on the rib and serve!

The meat will be super tender and will fall off the bone!! Absolutely delicious!! I personally like to use the Hickory Smoke BBQ sauce, but you can choose any you like. There is a lot of variety in supermarkets to select from.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.0

Sarah ABCs

Sarah loves to hear us sing the ABC song to her. Watch for her “bored” expression before and after the song…and all her smiles in-between! Enjoy

Return to the 80's?

I could barely contain myself when I saw this at GAP the other day. Stirrups!! This is sooo 1980's! My gosh, we used to wear this with sneakers I think, maybe with leg warmers too??...definitely not with fancy heels for sure. It's bold to suggest that the stirrups should be worn like this - no skirt or longer shirt to cover up. Truth is that one MUST have a perfect butt & small hips to wear this... which is of course NOT me! Fell into that trap years ago and learned my lesson. Sorry lovely stirrups, I'm not your buyer! By the way, GAP also has skinny jeans with ankle zippers - remember those??

According to this website, here are the top 10 1980's fashion trends. Admit it, I'm sure you own a few pieces!!

• Shoulder Pads
• Mini Skirts
  
• Leg Warmers
• Big Earrings
• Fingerless Gloves
• Parachute Pants a la MC Hammer pants
• Members Only Jackets
• Units (oh yeah!)
  
• Stirrup pants
  
• Oversized tops
  

I also remember these, especially during the middle school years: Keds shoes, Ciao denim bags, Patagonia jackets, hmm...what else? what else?

TJ products

Garlic Bread - $1.99

This is found in the freezer section. Bread is about 6" long, 1 side only, and needs to be baked in the oven 425 degrees. I find the taste more "cheesy" than "garlicky." It's OK for me, although my husband liked it a lot. The good thing about it is that it didn't give me a nasty after taste. Would maybe buy again, once in a while.

Pork Gyoza Potstickers - $2.99

I love these! There are about 24 - 28 in a pack and it's perfect for a quick meal when you can't think of anything to eat. Don't need soy sauce or any other sauce. They are perfectly seasoned already. Pan fry for 1 minute in high heat, and then add water & simmer under low heat for 5 minutes. It comes out really good every time. Would buy again.

Mango & Cream Bars - $3.49

If you like mango, you would love these. They totally taste like the real fruit! The bar is small, probably the length of your tallest finger. 8 in a box. The bars don't come with a wooden stick so it makes it necessary to eat really fast before it melts 'cuz it can get messy. But you totally can eat this in 3-4 bites because it's really good. Would totally buy this again.

Dried Cranberries - $2.99 ?? don't remember

one of my favorites. They are not too sweet nor too sour. Just right. Perfect. I eat these to snack - although you can also use these to bake. They are really addicting. I can finish 1/4 of a bag in one sitting.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

Meet Sarah

I wished I had remember to post this video earlier. My sister MT made this for me when I was in the hospital. It's of little Sarah when she was only 2 weeks old. I absolutely love it! I enjoy every second of this video - where has time gone?? She looks so different already. *sniff* *sniff*

A Letter to Sarah at 3 months 10 days

Today I am going to start a new category in my blog called "Letters to Sarah." These entries are to document what Sarah has been up to lately. It's a list of things about Sarah - it's my way of remembering her little silliness. And maybe one day, she would like to read these when she grows up. :-) I'll start off with 10 things I noticed about Sarah recently.

Hi Sarah,
Lately...

1. you love to lick your wrist. Yep, not your hands or fingers, but your wrist. It seems like you like to do this as you doze off to sleep
2. you're about 2 feet long, according to your daddy's measuring tape. I don't remember if he included your 2" hair
3. you get excited when we recite the ABC's to you and you especially love the letter, "R." You can curl your tongue for the "R" just like us. Daddy thinks you may be a pirate in your past life
4. when we wake you up in the morning, you move your head from left to right, left to right, again and again. This can go on for over 5 minutes as you stretch
   
5. after you're done stretching and actually have your eyes open, you always give mommy a Good morning smile :-)
6. you no longer cry during tummy time. You used to hate this exercise, but now you seem to really like it. We can actually get a smile out of you
   
7. you love your swing and you can finally pull the ring handles to make the swing play music. And yes, you still love your birdie friend, who sits just above the swing. We think that you like your birdie friend so much because its facial characteristics resemble you - so it's kind of like looking into a mirror
   
8. you are wearing 3-6 months clothes and Size 1 diapers
9. you have discovered your tongue and are constantly sticking your tongue out. With your mouth open all the time, you drool a lot too. I sometimes think you're teething, but you're only 3 months now, so not likely. We have to put a bib on you.
10. you have strong legs - one of your favorite game to play is "standing up and sitting down" with your Daddy.

Strike a Pose!

HK-style Baked Pork Chop over Rice (焗豬扒飯)

Baked Pork Chop over Rice is a very popular dish in Hong Kong style cuisine. Every restaurant will have some variation of this dish, but for the most part, the main ingredients include pork chops, rice and a tomato sauce. This dish is baked. My all-time favorite restaurant in the Bay Area that serves this dish is VIP Coffee and Cakes in SF Chinatown. They do it right... their pork chops are tender; sauce is excellent; and it is served with fried rice rather than plain white rice. I attempted to make this dish for dinner tonight and I must say that it turned out not too bad at all!! Husband-approved! Yay! So here I'll share with you my recipe. Sorry I didn't do exact measurements!

Ingredients: (serves 2-3 people)
For the pork chops

• 1.5 lb Thin Cut Pork Loin Rib Chops (about 5 pieces)
• 2-3 TBS of light soy sauce
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 TBS of rice flour
• oil for frying
  

For the tomato sauce

• 1/2 of small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
  
• 3 TBS ketchup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp rice flour
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1/2 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese
  

For fried rice

• 1-1/2 cup rice, cooked
  
• 3 eggs, beaten
• about 6-8 large mushrooms, sliced
• 8-12 baby carrots, diced
• salt and pepper, to taste
  

Directions:
1. Cook rice, set aside
2. Marinate Pork chops (can do this in advance or day before)
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
4. For the sauce - using a small pot with some oil, fry the onions until limp (about 5 mins). Add in tomatoes until soft and broken
5. In a measuring cup, add water, ketchup, oil, rice flour, sugar, mix well. Then add mixture to the onions and tomatoes. Bring it to a boil and set aside
6. On a frying pan, fry pork chops until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes on each side). Remove from pan
7. Using the same pan, fry 2 beaten eggs until done. Add mushrooms & carrots. Stir-fry until mushrooms become cooked but not brown (about 5 minutes). Do not overcook
8. Add cooked rice, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes.
9. Add remaining beaten egg onto rice until the watery party is cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste
10. Pour the fried rice into a deep baking dish. Add the pork chops on top. Pour tomato sauce on top of the pork chops.
11. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Put into oven for 20 minutes for cheese to melt

The recipe above is my simple version. This is not a hard dish to make, but quite time-consuming due to the different parts and prep time.

Enjoy!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

Red Egg & Ginger Party

Yesterday, we celebrated Sarah's 100-day birthday with a Red Egg & Ginger party at Kome Sushi Buffet in Daly City. Traditionally, the celebration happens at the baby's 1 month mark (known as "Full Month" in Chinese). But in the Bay Area, most parents choose to celebrate the occasion around 3 months. This is preferred because at 3 months, the baby is more awake and less "fragile." And Mommy feels more energized too!

We had about 70 guests and the party lasted from 1:30 to 4:00. Hoped everyone enjoyed themselves, because we surely did! It was so nice to catch up with friends and family. Sarah slept about half way through the party but fortunately did wake up in time for a few photos.

Here is a photo of Sarah and her friends, Chloe and Sheldon. Sarah is blowing bubbles and Chloe & Sheldon probably thought it was gum and wanted some. LOL


Thank you all for sharing this special day with us and for all your wonderful gifts and blessings!

YAY! She did it!

I always worry about Sarah's ability to raise her head up just because we don't make her do enough tummy time. First of all, Sarah sometimes throw up her milk and so we are careful not to move her too much after each feeding. So we give her tummy time before feeding - but that sometimes fail because she gets hungry. And when she does get tummy time, poor little Sarah just has a hard time. She's able to lift up her head a little bit but most of the time, she cries and cries in agony and gets sweaty hot. We can't bear to see her in such discomfort so we let her "off the hook." I know, I know, we're such easy parents!

So up until last week, Sarah's head (or should I say neck?) still wasn't strong enough. In fact, when we went to Sears last week for her 3-month portraits, all her tummy pictures didn't turn out nice at all. But this week... she DID it!! I couldn't believe it! Not only did she lift up her head, she held it long enough for me to capture a photo of her and her smiley face!! I am so proud of you, baby girl!

Trader Joe's products

I've always been a fan of Trader Joe's but in the past, the only one in the city was on Geary. The location is a bit out of the way for us so we don't make it out there often. However, now there are two new locations that are much closer: Stonestown and Daly City's Westlake. Today I went to TJ in Stonestown and tried some out some new items (not necessarily new in TJ, but new to me). I'm going to try to document the items I've tried - as a reminder for myself.

Carne Asada-$6.99 per pound
It is marinated beef sirloin, used primarily for tacos. I used it as stir fry and it works just as well. The taste is peppery and a hint of lemon/lime. The beef is tender. The taste for me was "just OK." I was mistaken to think that that the meat was already sliced (as per the package) but they are not. They come in 3-4 chunky slices in the package. I am not fond of cutting already marinated meat because I always feel like all the marinade is gone by the time I'm done cutting. That may be just me.

Organic Strawberry Lemonade - $3.29
Okay, probably not as good as the strawberry lemonade from Cheesecake Factory but this is close. The juice is not too sweet nor too sour. I can taste the strawberry which is a plus. Contains 21% juice.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

Don't sweat over the small stuff

I realize that I always sweat over the small stuff. Maybe that’s why I have tons of gray hairs. I worry and stress over every little thing (I’m sure I got this from my Mom). I sometimes don’t know that I’m doing it until someone points it out.

Story: This past Saturday (9/4), my husband and I took Sarah to Sears for her 3-month studio portraits. We ended up buying a 10×10 framed portrait with 4 poses. We also had her name printed on the portrait, in pink. SQ questioned if I really wanted her name in pink, and I said, yes, because the pink matched the shirt Sarah wore. But then this morning, I woke up at 6:30am contemplating about the decision I made. I woke up SQ and said, “oh no, I think the pink might not show up on the white background…” I got worried because we paid good $$ for that frame and it was the only thing we ordered. I didn’t want it to be not perfect. Then SQ said, “why are you worrying so much about the name? so what if the name doesn’t show up? It’s the photos you want to see, right? that’s more important.” And at that moment, I knew he was right. Why sweat over a few words if the picture is what I’ll treasure more!

P.S. Happy 3-month birthday today, my little Sarah!