3rd Baby & Videos

Once I experienced the beauty of picking veggies from my own garden, there was no turning back.

We installed another veggie bed this year in our garden. It’s our third baby.

IMG_4176_m There’s no need to till the earth, just cover it with paper or cardboard.

Thanks to Skye for building us a veggie bed using recycled wood.

Thanks to Mahesh and Paul for transporting the veggie bed. 4/18

IMG_4281_m 4/25 This veggie bed is located at a cooler spot. So, I planted some lettuce and peas.

On the day this veggie bed was born, Karan’s grandpa passed away. So, I thought it was poetic to dedicate this veggie bed to him.

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5/12 Came back from Hawaii trip and what a surprise to find some green babies emerged from the earth already.
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5/12 Cover the soil with grass clipping (it’s free!) to prevent weed from growing. I certainly don’t want to spend my whole summer weeding!

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6/16

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6/16 Ready to be harvested!

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Total travel distance to dinner table= less than 25 feet

Total time from harvest to plate= less than 10 minutes

With no chemical fertilizers and no wasted fuel for transporting the veggies!!

Can food get fresher than that? I truly felt that the veggies were still breathing when I ate them.

Here are some short videos of my veggie garden. I don’t know how to edit videos yet. So, I took several one minute short footage. If anyone knows any easy to use and free video editing software, please let me know. Thanks!

These videos are in Mandarin. I recorded some with little bit of Taiwanese accent (I don’t know why I tend to carry Taiwanese accent when I recorded these videos). I actually don’t have much chance to speak Mandarin here, so I might sound a little funny. hahaha. 🙁 I did record a couple videos with Malaysian accent! It was fun, fun, fun! Enjoy.

Kalua Egg Panini

5/3

K & R came back from sunrise shoot before noon, feeling exhausted.

Since I stayed home and was feeling soooo refreshed, I volunteered to make lunch. I was pretty sick of eating out anyway.

There were some leftover kalua pork and poke, so I thought yummy paninis would make perfect lunch for all of us.

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Tropical breakfast

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Kalua pork/egg/cheese panini, poke. I didn’t have any panini maker with me. So, I placed heavy plate on top of the panini.  That worked perfectly. 🙂

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I got tired looking but happy customers!

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happy chef!

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happy chef does a happy jump (Wearing sarong, I totally represent Malaysia!)

Smoothie Smooch

I am the type of girl who needs eight hours of sleep every night and will wait till the last second to roll out of bed every morning. :rtwakeup:

As you can imagine, my work day morning routine is never calm and peaceful. I am always running after time. Get up, take shower, get ready, feed the dog, etc. It has always been my fantasy to get up early and enjoy a proper breakfast at home before heading out to work.

So, how can I have nutritious but super easy breakfast every morning?

Hmm…

It’s gotta be a smoothie, hands down. :kehappy:

For a super fresh smoothie, I usually make it in the morning and take it to work. If I feel like I want to take it easy the next morning, then I make the smoothie the night before. It’s still way much fresher than the store bought version!

I’ve never checked out any smoothie recipes. I made my first smoothie my way and it worked for me. So, I have been just experimenting on my own. You are welcome to share your favorite recipes with me. 🙂

Here’s the simplest smoothie recipe from me. (Note: I don’t measure, I just eyeball. So, always add/subtract based on your preference.)

IMG_5038_m ~ 1 ripe banana
~ a handful of strawberries
~ 1 cup of yogurt
~ 3-4 dates (natural sweetener, optional)
~ electric hand blender

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1. Clean and cut the fruits (chunky cut is fine, doesn’t have to be perfect, since they will be blended in the blender!)

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2. Combine all ingredients, blend until smooth

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3. Done! (no kidding!)

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Optional: Garnish with raspberries. Sprinkle granola on top.

This is enough for 2 people plus little extra for an afternoon snack! I always keep a bowl of granola with me in the office. Granola goes well with smoothie and it’s substantial that will keep me full past breakfast.

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Pack and go

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Sambazon’s Acai puree is now available at Everybody’s.

I love my electric hand-blender (Braun 300 watts). It’s easy to clean and it’s portable. I take it with me when I go on trips. 🙂

Now, are you ready to make your first smoothie?

If summer is not the season to have smoothies, I don’t know when! A lot of fruits are and will be in season. Be sure to experiment with different combinations. If there’s any combination that you don’t enjoy, big deal, just take note and modify the recipe next time.

Some ideas:
~ milled flax seeds

~ tropical theme – pineapple, mango, papaya, coconut

~ allergy to dairy – how about substitute it with cracked ice

~ frozen banana and fruits

~ milk

~ honey as sweetener

~ juices: blueberry juice, orange juices, cranberry ,etc

The possibilities are endless! Explore and discover your favorites.