I am who I am...

Ever since Joe and I got married in May, the "name change" topic has always been a mystery for Joe's family. They have never asked if I would be changing my name. Somehow along the line, they think I would have changed my name by now, and that it is a natural thing to do.

The reality is that I do not see a need to change my name just to show my hubby how much I love him. Besides, I spent the last ten years shaping my career path, and throughout time, I have built my reputation in the industry and changing my name will simply create un-necessary confusion. Joe and I discussed about this before we got married, and Joe is pretty cool with it. :-)

Since late November, wedding invitations and christmas cards have slowly made their way to our mailbox. Every card we received, it reads " Louisa & Joe Vautour"... the first time I saw it, I felt weird seeing my name and Joe's last name being put together. Throughout time, I begin to feel that I have lost my identity. I feel that I have become part of Joe's possessions and being a feminist, this bothers me a great deal.

I am who I am. I am proud of what I have achieved career-wise in the last 10 years. I spent numerous winter nights staying late at work to meet the deadlines of various projects. I spent countless weekends, in my sweatpants, working to implement a "next-to-impossible" project. I chose working over dating on the weekends back in my single-gal life. Though I still put in long hours at work, I am happy to see that I have gone a long way to get to where I am today. I embrace future work challenges with an open arm. I love my husband, I love our life together, I do not see the need of a name change, I love being a Pang... I am who I am... and hello... my name is Louisa Pang!

Diary of a Cooking Challenged Part X

Just for the Salmon*

* This dish I made last night was adapted from Crazy Plates' Just for the Halibut. Due to the snowy condition, I did not go to the grocery store to pick up halibut and zucchini, so I had to make do with salmon and red bell pepper.

From Drop Box

Ingredients:
1 tsp EVOO
1 cup diced zucchini* (I had no zucchini so I used red bell pepper instead)
1/2 cup minced onions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
4 halibut steaks* (I had no halibut steaks, so I used salmon fillets instead)
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Heat EVOO in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add red pepper, onions and garlic. Saute for 6 mins until onions turned brown. Remove from heat and add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper.

Rinse salmon fillet and pat dry with paper towels. Spray a medium baking pan with PAM and place fish in pan. Spoon 1/4 tomato-pepper mixture over each fillet. Top with feta cheese.

Bake at 450F for 12-15 mins (I baked for 20 mins, and the salmon fillets came out nicely done!)

One Snowy Day...

I was worried when I went to bed last night, knowing that this morning would be a complete chaos driving to work. I like the snow, but I hate driving in the snow. On the other hand, Joe loves the snow and he does not mind driving in the snow. When I told him my concern last night, he was like, " Relax! It is just snow, can't be that bad!"

This morning, Joe and I, as usual, got up at 5:30am. When I looked out of the window, it was all chalky white. I said to myself, "Ok! It is not too bad! It's just snow". Joe walked the dog while I was still in the shower. I was drying my hair when he came into the bathroom and said, " Your wish has come true. It is better that we stay in today." I spent most of my morning looking out of the window. I saw a car trying to get out of the driveway, but the wheels were spinning and the car was going nowhere. I also saw a car parked in the middle of our street, it seems like the driver got frustrated and decided to abandon his car and then walked to work?

From Drop Box

Diary of a Cooking Challenged Part IX

Although I spent most of the day baking away... I managed to put together a hearty yet healthy dinner together.

From Food Oct 19,08

Salad (from Costco) Artisan Salad Mix with cranberry, walnuts, permesan chesse, white balsmic vinegar (I put in extra dried cranberries and some feta cheese)

Wok this Way (from Eat, Shrink and be Merry)
1 lb sirloin steak (I bought a package of stir-fry beef at Independent, about $4.50)
3 tbsp Asian fish sauce
3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp canola oil
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips (I used yellow bell pepper instead)
1 medium red onions, sliced
lots of fresh basil leaves (I have a basil plant in the kitchen... it comes in handy all the time)

Place steak slices in a shallow bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, gingerroot, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes. Pour over steak. Marinate steak at room temperature for 30 mins. (Being a certified food safe manager, I do not believe in leaving out raw meat at the "temperature danger zone", so I marinated the beef strips in the fridge, for 4 hours.

Heat oil in a large non stick wok over medium heat. Remove steak from marinade and shake off excess. Reserve marinade. Cook steak in hot oil just until cooked through, stirring constantly. Cook steak from wok and set aside. Add yellow bell pepper and onion to work. Cook and stir for about 5 mins, until vegetables are tender. Return beef to work and add basil and reserved marinade. Cook 1 more minute, until basil leaves are wilted and beef is hot.

Christmas Baking

Saturday morning when I woke up, before I had my very first cup of Starbucks, I said to myself, "Today I can't allow myself to get lost in the world of mortals, werewolves and vampires... I seriously NEED NEED to get the Christmas baking done." Seriously... there were TONS of baking to be done!

After two days of continuous baking, I have made batches of everything:

1. Chocolate Lollipops for Joe's nieces and nephews (this is by far the easiest thing to make, though it is time-consuming)

Melt chocolate wafers, pour the chocolate into the moulds, freeze for 20 mins.

From Drop Box

2. Mrs. Fields' Chocolate Cookies

1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 12-oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350F
2. in a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract
3. in another bowl, mix together all dry ingredients
4. combine wet and dry ingredients
5. stir in chocolate chips
6. place golf-ball sized dough portions, 2 inches apart on an ungreased cooking sheet.
7. bake for 9-10 mins

From Drop Box

3. Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies
1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2 cups flour
1 tbsp poppy seed
1 tsp of finely grated lemon zest

Preheat Oven to 325F
Cream butter and add brown sugar. Beat together for 5 mins
Bet in egg yolk, sift in flour, poppy seed and lemon zest. When combined, roll into teaspoon-sized balls, flatten with a fork on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 mins or until brown. Remove from oven and cool.

From Drop Box

4.Lemon Bars (I made this because Joe loves lemon bars!)
Base:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
Filling:
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

Blend base ingredients and press into a square pan 8" x 8:. Bake at 325F for 20 mins

Mix filling ingredients and pour over base. Bake for 25 mins until nearly set.

Remove from oven. When cool, divide into squares.

From Drop Box

*** Joe had a small square, and he said, "This is different than what I had when I was a kid, but it IS way better!!!!" See it is not hard to make a guy happy... the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! :-) My mom is right! HAHAHA

5. Banana Oatmeal Cookies -- Joe loves this the most! :-)

From Drop Box

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter (very soft)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup mashed banana (1 medium banana)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper
In a small bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in egg and banana, then vanilla extract.
On low speed, add in flour mixture
Stir in oats and chocolate chips
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepare baking sheet.
Bake for 11-14 mins at 350F.
Let cookies cool for 5 mins on the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack
Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Jigg's Dinner

Every time when Joe and I go grocery at Sorbeys, he would bug me about making salt beef. Two fridays ago, we went grocery shopping after dinner. He was nagging and at the end, I finally gave in.

Saturday morning, I looked at the big tub of navel beef... and I was like, "what was I thinking last night?"

From Drop Box

Joe found this recipe of salt beef on the internet:

2lbs salt beef
1cup yellow split peas
6-8 med potatoes
6 carrots
1 med turnip, peeled and cut in chunks
1 med cabbages, cut into wedges
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

soak meat in cold water for 6-8 hrs. Drain meat in large pot. Tie peas in cloth bag, leaving room for expansion, and put bag in pot with beef.

From Drop Box

cover beef and peas with water. heat to boiling, cover and simmer for 2 hours
prepare vegetables

From Drop Box

after meat and peas have cooked for 2 hrs, add vegetables and cook until tender. add cabbage last.
remove peas from bag, place in bowl and mash with butter and pepper to form peas pudding.
remove meat and cut into serving size pieces.
arrange meat and vegetables on platter
serve the peas pudding in a separate bowl

Diary of a Cooking Challenged Part VIII

Greek Style Stuffed Peppers (I made it last weekend and hubby loved it! Though it involved a bit of chopping here and there... time spent was well-worth!)

1 pound lean ground beef
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 medium zucchini, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)
1 small onion, minced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup bulghur
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, cores and ribs removed
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium stewed tomatoes, finely chopped
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl combine the beef, spinach, zucchini, onion, bulghur, egg, oregano, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Arrange the pepper halves cut side up in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and fill each pepper half with the meat mixture. Pour the tomatoes over the peppers and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the meat mixture is completely cooked and the peppers are tender, about 25 minutes longer.

I made wide mushroom risotto to go with the stuffed red pepper... it was a yummy meal!

From Drop Box

Diary of a Cooking Challenged Part VII

On Golden Prawns (shamelessly adapted from Crazy Plates, but I did make modifications...)

1 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup minced onions and minced red bell pepper (I used yellow bell pepper)
1 clove garlic, minced (I love love garlic... so I put two cloves)
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground coriander (I did not have ground coriander, so I used the whole... big mistake!)
1/2 tsp curry powder (I love curry... so I used 1 tbsp)
1 cup light coconut milk
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 pound uncooked jumbo shrimp, peeled
* I added 1 pound giant scallops, chopped into bite sizes (as hubby loves scallops, while I love shrimps)
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I did not have this, so I skipped this)
4 cups hot cooked brown rice (I used whole wheat fusili)
* 2 tbsp sour cream (I put too much curry powder, so I used sour cream to tone down the curry flavour a bit so hubby would not complain.)

heat oil in a large, no stick saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, yellow pepper and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 mins

Add cumin, coriander, and curry powder. Cook for 1 more minute. Add coconut milk, sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 2 mins.

Stir in shrimps and scallops. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook and stir until shrimp is cooked through. *Since I put in scallops so I cooked for 6 mins here (recipe calls for 4 mins only)

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 1 tbsp water. Add to shrimp mixture. Cook until sauce begins to thicken and bubbly. I also added sour cream as well. cook for 1 min.

Pour over pasta.

Hubby loves this pasta dish! :-)

Confession...

I have a confession to make. Between christmas baking and indulging myself in the world of mortals, werewolves and vampires... I hardly have time writing the blog these days.

It started off by picking up a copy of Twilight at Costco three weeks ago. It then turned into frantically driving from the west end to the east end just to pick up a copy of Eclipse at another Costco location, just because the one next to my office had completely sold out Eclipse. I spend most of the evenings and weekends reading, reading and more reading. Joe thinks I am nuts. The last time I "acted" weirdly was when the Harry Potter books first came out.