Quick Peach and Pear Pie

I have been craving for dessert for sometime.  I had forgotten that I had frozen pie crust leftover from when I made the chicken pot pie.  I decided to try the recipe I saw from another blog.   I revised the recipe to fit the ingredients which I had on hand.  The prep time only took 5 minutes.   Within 25 minutes or so, the sweet aroma of warm pastries permeated the house.   The hot, scrumptious pie was so delicious that we finished it in less than 20 minutes.   The next time I bake this I will use pears as the filling, for I love eating pears.   If you like pie that isn't too sweet, this is a fantastic recipe to use if you want a quick dessert.

Recipe adapted from Wandering Chopsticks's Pluot apple galette.

Ingredients:

1 Peach, peeled, cored and sliced
1 Pear, peeled, cored and thin sliced
1 tbsp butter (optional)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 frozen pie crust, defrosted

Direction:

1.  Slice the fruits thinly, mix sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together.
2.  Lay defrosted pie crust on a pie plate or greased cookie sheet.
3.  Scatter the fruits into the pie crust.
4.  Sprinkle butter on top of mixed ingredients.
4.  Fold up the sides of pie crust.
5.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes.

Chinese Tomato Eggs 番茄炒蛋

This is a very popular Chinese homemade dish that everyone loves.  It's so addicting that any kid who's picky on food will not resist this dish.  Whenever I have tomatoes at home, I would make this quick and delicous dish  for dinner.  The sweet and sour sauce would make everyone in the family get a second bowl of rice when this dish is on the table.

Although it looks very easy but most people (including myself) did not cook the eggs the right way at the beginning.  After being shown by a friend (who's also a chef) how to do it the right way, this dish has been one of the most requested dishes at our house.  This is a recipe that my kids said I must write and save on my blog.  I made the point to take these step-by-step pictures while I was making this tonight.  You might want to double the portion since the dish will be gone in a blink of the eyes.

Chinese Tomato Eggs

Ingredients:

3 tomatoes, cut into big chuncks
4 eggs, whisked

2 to 3 tsp water

2 to 3 Tbsp tomato ketchup 

1/4 piece of brown packed sugar (or 2 to 3 tbsp of any type of sugar )
1 tsp soysauce (optional)

a dash of salt  (optional)

Directions:

1.  Use this method to make a quick and simple omelet first.  Whisk the eggs, then add 2 to 3 teaspoons of water.  This will make the eggs taste smoother after frying.

2. High heat to heat up the oil, pour in the eggs and swirl around in the pan until a thin layer is formed.

3.  Gently lift the formed layer of eggs onto the side of the pan with a spatula. Tilt the pan to let the unformed eggs drift down to the pan.  Keep drifting and fliiping the eggs until it forms like a loose omelet.  Don't fully cook the eggs and keep it as whole as possible so the mixture doesn't become mushy.

 

 4.  Scoop the omelet onto a plate and set aside.

5. Rinse and cut tomatoes into small wedges.  Remove some seeds if you don’t like them too sour.
Add some oil in the pan over medium heat.  Stir fry the tomatoes for about 2 minutes.  Add in the brown packed sugar, break it into smaller pieces so it will be easier to dissolve,  and sprinkle with salt to taste.



6.  When the sugar is dissolved, add in the ketchup, soy sauce and mix well.



7.  Pour the cooked eggs back in the pan and stir well with cooked tomatoes. 

 

8.  Serve with white rice.

 

Note:

1. It is important to let the eggs set in a form but not fully cooked in the beginning.  It will be cooked when adding back to cook with the tomatoes.  This way the eggs are not too mushy or over cooked.

2. It is best to use tomatoes that are barely ripe.  The tomatoes that are very ripe contain too much juice and will make the dish too watery.   I often leave out the soy sauce or salt and it still tastes fine to me, as I usually don't like my food too salty.  Adjust the ketchup and sugar to your taste.

New York - Day 5 Metropolitan Museum of Art

After we had breakfast, we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and spent the whole day there.

We didn't anticipate to be there for such a long time. The place was huge with so many galleries to visit.  Here are some highlights of the place.

Egyptian Children wears made in 200 -400

Child's hat and shoes 200-900

Egyptian child's tunics 400- 900

Egyptian Hall

A horseman along the silk road

Rodin's Sculptures

Hand of God by Rodin

I was estactic when I saw this original painting by Monet.  This is my favorite from Monet.

It was great to see many of Monet's original paintings here in a room.  All oil paintings were displayed in a room dedicated to each individual artist.  I stood in front of these particular two paintings for a long time and was amazed by the painting technique.  The two paintings below didn't look like they were painted with oil but like a couple of photographs.

Arabs Crossing the Dessert, 1870

What caught my eyes about this painting was the lady in the golden yellow dress on the right.  It was so real like a photograph with all the details. 

For some reason, my little daughter and I love this painting.

We went into this special exhibition from China.  The  exhibited items were rare to see considering they were already over a thousand years old.  The fact that they are still here to be seen is hard to believe.

Altar Set, Zhou Dynasty, late 11th century

Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

Horse and female rider with attendants, Tang Dynasty, mid 7th century

Standing Court Lady with female attendants, Tang Dynasty 618-907, mid 7th century

Silk scroll with story, 12th century

Stoneware Pillow, Song or Jin Dynasty, 960 - 1230

 (12th - 13th century)

Stoneware Pillow, Jin or Yuan Dynasty,1115 - 1368 

 (13th or 14th century)

Jade Basin, Qing Dynasty, 1700

Set of Twelve Silk Scrolls, Qing Dynasty, 17th century

The last gallery we went was the Egyptian.  Carving art and words on stone walls.

Jewelry wore by an Egyptian princess

Gold Wig

Reconstruction of an Egyptian Tomb from Dynasty 5 (2323 B.C.)

We then headed to Empire State Building before going back to our hotel.  The visibility was about 16 miles but our kids said the view was still beautiful from there. 

This was our last night in New York City.  I am glad they were finally able to go up and look at the view before we left.  We were all homesick by that day.  Overall, we all enjoyed the trip and the food very much.   I am sure we will be going back to New York someday.