Crisp Baked Lemon Catfish

I'm sure you all had a wonderful Mother's day celebration.   I would like to share with you the meal my daughter made for me on Mother's Day.  She made everything from scratch. This is Catfish Meuniere with homemade garlic potatoes and roasted bell peppers.  It doesn't look very good in the picture but it tasted delicious.

Catfish Meuniere

She also bought me a Tiramisu, that was so delicious.  I couldn't stop eating it!

My little one made me a beautiful pearl bracelet that I now wear it on my wrist.  She also made me a lovely and touching card as usual. I always enjoy reading her card.  She has always been good in writing and creating beautiful card ever since she's very young.

Since there were still two catfish fillets left in the refrigerator, I tried this simple recipe I found from Living magazine.  I didn't have the same ingredients the original recipe called for.  I substituted with what I had at home and we liked the taste.  I think I will try it again with the cod next time.

Crisp Baked Lemon Catfish
adapted from Martha Stewart's Living Magazine - Crisp Baked Lemon Cod

Serves 2
Ingredients:

1 cup honey nut cheerios, crushed*
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro*
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
3/4 tsp coarse sea salt
2 catfish fillets, skinned*
4 cups baby spinach*
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp cooking oil
Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Combine cereal, oil, cilantro, zest, and sea salt.
2. Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet.  
3. Press fish in crumb mixture, turning to coat.  Transfer to wire rack.
4. Bake until golden brown, and cooked through, about 14 to 16 minutes.  
5. Heat a saute pan and add cooking oil.
6. Saute garlic until brown but not burned, scoop up, and set aside.
7. Add spinach in the pan and saute for a few minutes and then add salt to taste.
8. Divide fish and spinach onto two plates and add cooled garlic on top of spinach.

Note:

I preferred to have cooked spinach, so I just prepared it the way I like it.  Baking the fish on a wire rack allows the fish to get crisp on all sides. Squeeze lemon wedges over fish for a more tangier taste.

*In the original recipe, the cod, toasted rice cereal, and flat leaves parsley were used. Spinach was prepared as salad with lemon juice drizzled over it.

Polka-Dots Outfits

I have been into polka-dotted fashion lately.  This picture immediately caught my eye when I saw it from one fellow blogger.  I like the combination of  yellow and polka-dots.  It gives it a little edgy but modern feel.

It made me want to go shopping to get a polka-dotted shirt right away.  I know I wouldn't be interested to getting the polka-dotted jacket because it's not that versatile. A polka-dotted shirt is more versatile in this case.  I got so inspired by this outfit combination.  My brain started to think of what could I do to mimic this look. I didn't think I owned any clothes that were in polka-dotted until I checked my closet.  I found a scarf and a summer skirt.  I pulled out all the similar components that I needed to mimic the above and started to play with them.

The fabrics used in this ensemble were all light weight to suit the spring and summer weather.  The white jacket came with a white belt, but I replaced it with a yellow belt and balanced it off with a pair of orange shoes. I used the polka-dotted scarf to mimic the polka-dotted look of a shirt.  I also used a black pencil skirt .

I have an A-line polka-dotted skirt and came up with this look. This is a little more casual but still a chic-looking ensemble.  I paired it with the same jacket,shoes and belt, but changed it to a yellow blouse underneath.

I could also pair it with a yellow handbag I bought last year and change the shoes to white or black to avoid the outfit matching too much. I also have a yellow scarf but it's a wool blend and it doesn't have the right weight for the season. Now that I've got this idea, I can always swap my accessory to come up with other ensembles for the season in the future.

Happy Mother's Day

This is the first year I am having a Mother's Day without my mom.  My mom passed away last year.  It still hurts when I think of her.  My daughter made a video and gave it to me for Mother's Day last year.  I was very touched by the content of the video and the lyrics of this song.   I would like to dedicate this song to my mom.  I picked the video with lyrics so that you all could understand the precise meaning of the song.  To all the mothers in the world who gave and still are giving their best to their children, this song is also for you!  Happy Mother's Day!

Because You Loved Me

Lemon Grass Pork Chops

We love to eat grilled pork whenever we go to Vietnamese restaurants.  I attempted to mimic the taste and cook these for dinner.  I found that lemon-grass was the key ingredient that made the difference.

Ingredients:

1 Lemon-grass
4 Pork Chops
2 Cloves garlic
1 Yellow onion
3 Tbsp Mae Ploy Thai chicken sauce

Marinating sauce:

1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp peppers
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

1. Pound and thin the pork chops with a meat mallet.
2. Add marinating sauce and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
3. Heat and add cooking oil into grill pan.
4. Add in garlic and onions, saute until fragrant.
5. Add pork chops and let cook for 5 minutes on each side.
6. Pour the chicken sauce over the pork chops and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn and cover both sides with sauce.
7. Serve over rice.

Japanese Pumpkin's Tapioca Soup南瓜西米露

Japanese pumpkin is also called Kabocha squash.  It has a dark green skin, and the color of the inside is orange.  The skin is really hard, so cook lightly in microwave will help cutting it easier.

It  is believed to have an effect of lowering the cholesterol.  It has the sweetness texture like sweet potatoes but with a slight melon-cucumber flavor.  I often sauteed it with garlic and black beans.  On Sunday, our friends came to visit and we had barbeque at home.  She taught me how to make this dessert right after dinner.  It's very simple and quick to make this dessert.

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Serve 6 people

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Tapioca
1 Japanese pumpkin
6 Cups water
1 can coconut milk
Rock Sugar

Directions:

1. Soak tapioca in cold water.
2. Place pumpkin into microwave and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Peel and cut pumpkin to pieces.
4. Turn heat high, add water and bring it to a boil.
5. Add rock sugar until dissolve.  .
6. Add pumpkin and cook until it is soft.  Turn to low heat and mash the pumpkin to smaller pieces
7. Taste and add sugar to prefer sweetness.
8. Drain tapioca and stir into the pot, stir constantly until tapioca tunrs clear.
9. Pour in coconut milk and bring it to a boil then turn off heat.  Serve it while it's hot.

Polymer Clay

My little daughter really likes to work with polymer clay.  She is very talented in art and crafts.  She learned to sculpt with it a couple of years ago.  This craft requires a good amount of time and patience to finish.

She made these when she first learned how to sculpt with polymer clay.  The photo frame, vase and glass votive were all made from polymer clay.

This is the necklace she made for her sister as a birthday gift.  She designed this pendant and put it on to the sterling silver ring and chain.

I requested a tiger figurine. She made this tiger freehand for my birthday.

She had fun creating these cute animals during her leisure time.  These animals are one of a kind. 

She

Whenever she doesn't know what to give us for presents, I always tell her to make jewelry or anything from polymer clay.  When she told me she never made a sketch before actually sculpting them, I told her she's so good with this craft, she could sell them at Etsy.  She just laughed and I am glad she has the talent and enjoys making these crafts.

Everything From Papers

My kids love to make crafts in their leisure time.  I thought you might be interested in looking at these fantastic crafts made from papers. These are 3D origami my older daughter tempted to make. They are complicated to make but she enjoyed the challenge.

These are 3D stars.  I think this is the first origami she learned many years ago while visiting Hong Kong.  It's very popular for the young people in Hong Kong to make a thousand of stars, put them in a glass jar and give it to their loved ones as a gift.  Beautiful strips of printed paper and clear glass jars are so popular and easily found in any Asian books and gifts shop here in the U. S. now.

 Beautiful paper flowers:

She made this to separate and store her earrings:

This is how she organize her earrings in the jewelry box:

This barrel is made of magazine papers:

 A framed 3D art:

My little daughter also likes to craft with papers.  She cut the red envelops from Chinese New Year and collaged them into new cards:

She also liked to print these pictures out and fold them, aren't these cute?

She gave me these flowers for mother's day a few years ago when she was still in elementary school.