Cherry Blossoms

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.”

--Walt Disney Company, Mulan

University of Washington

In Japan, the cherry blossoms represent the fragility and the beauty of life. It’s a reminder that life is almost overwhelmingly beautiful, but it’s also tragically short. We should enjoy life to the fullest, so we can reach our goals and not have any regrets in life.

Spring has arrived. During this season it seems that everything is coming to life. Flower bulbs are coming out from the Earth, and leaves from trees started growing and are getting greener. Some flowers are blooming; it’s a magical process, like a princess waking up from a long, deep sleep. Every time this season comes, it reminds me of one of my favorite animated movies, Mulan, where her father compared her to a cherry blossom. Despite being a woman and having to face the hardships she went through, she brought honor to her family. In the end, she saved the whole dynasty from being invaded.

Cherry blossoms symbolize beauty, strength of character, perseverance, and commitment… all of these developed through the harshest seasons. It’s true to life, too, that amidst trials and hardships, God has an amazing gift to us, the beauty of life.

This season, the University of Washington had a cherry blossom festival.

Also, there were cherry blossoms in the St. Joseph Church.

Winter Recap

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step" - Lao-Tzu

It was still snowing and freezing last month, but now it’s officially spring. Seasons come and go, but there’s always beauty that was brought to us. Every season is unique and they give different memories and experiences to our life.
We didn't do much this winter except for the holiday rush, so I got the chance to do more blog posts and did a lot of baking. I tried a lot of recipes and experimented with ingredients that can be added to my cooking repertoire. My resolution for this year is to have a healthy lifestyle, although it's challenging, I'm getting there one step at a time.

I did a lot of reading too, since my goal is to read two books a month.

Here are some of the highlights and activities from this winter season:

Here are our pictures from the holidays.

Here are some of my food from my past blog posts.

Celebrating the Seahawk's first Super Bowl win in history!

The only snowfall of the winter season.

Books I've Read: 

"The decisions of our past are the architects of our present" - from Inferno

Inferno: This book is like a tour guide to Italy. It is extremely informative about the culture, history, art, and facts. It's also as if you are experiencing an adventure in the book; the events are very realistic that they are life-like.

Da Vinci Code: This book was like a scavenger hunt; it was a definite page-turner. This book began with a surprise, a certain "code;" but as you try to unravel the mystery, it leads to more questions that need to be solved.

Presumed Innocent: This story is about a man's obsession which puts everything he loves and values on trial - including his own life.

The Apostle: It follows the character of Scott Harvath as he is sent on a top secret assignment for the United States Government to save a kidnapped American doctor. 

He Sees You When You're Sleeping: The mother and daughter reunite for a heartwarming holiday, a tale of redemption and love. 

Insurgent: This story is book two of the Divergent trilogy wherein Tris continues her journey being in the faction she chose. She discovers a secret from her old faction involving her parents that put her life in danger. She wonders if being divergent was really a gift or a curse. 

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated annually on March 17^th. It marks the death of the most recognized patron of Ireland, St. Patrick.

This day commemorates St. Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, as well as the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrating the holiday generally involves public parades, festivals, and wearing green attire or shamrocks.

I prepared some food for the holiday, like corn beef. It’s essential for St. Patrick’s Day. You can celebrate it with Irish food, like Irish bread, shepherd pie, shamrock pizza and any other green food. And don’t forget beer, and also wearing something green! If you don’t wear any, you’ll get pinched!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Shamrock Donuts

Shamrock Donuts and Other Treats

Shamrock Donuts

Chicken Alfredo Pasta

Corn Beef with Steamed Vegetables

Pork Tapa (Cured Pork )

Tapa is a popular dish that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. A traditional version of this cured meat requires a few hours of drying and it usually uses beef. There are lots of ways to prepare this, but to make it quick and easy, you can use pork and marinate it with common seasonings for four hours or overnight.                                                                                                                                                                        
In the Philippines, it is usually served for breakfast, along with eggs, fried rice, and fried eggs. They call it tapsilog, a combination of three Tagalog words ( tapa + sinangag + itlog ). This can be found even in famous fast food chains and restaurants.

Ingredients

2 lbs. pork sirloin  (thinly sliced)

3 tbs. olive oil

6 cloves garlic minced

4 tbs. soy sauce

3 tbs. lemon juice

1/4 cup pineapple juice

2 tbs. sugar

1/2 cup soda (sprite or 7up)

3 tbs. oyster sauce

2 tbs. sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. In a bowl, combine the pork and the rest of the ingredients, except for the olive oil. Mix well and marinate for 4 hours or overnight.

2. Place the marinated pork in the pan and let it boil. Then, lower the heat and simmer until the water evaporates. 

3. Then add the olive oil and fry it until brown. Add some onion slices and stir.

 

4. Serve with tomatoes, rice, eggs, or side dish with veggies of your choice.

Garlic Bread with Olympic Rings

“Winning isn’t everything; it’s how you played the game.”

Last week, the Olympics ended, so this is a late post. I’ve been busy, so I wasn’t able to post this on time.

The Olympics is an international sports competition bewteen countries to give recognition to the greatest athletes of the world and bringing world cultures together.

The spirit of the Olympics is to have taken part fairly, and to have done one’s best. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have played well. It’s a two-week competition being held every four years.

I have always watched the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremony and my favorite is the ice skating and hockey.

I prepared a snack, a garlic cheese bread, during the closing ceremony. There aren’t many things better than a warm, buttery cheese bread in a form of Olympic rings.

I also got this recipe from this site: http://www.laurenslatest.com/fail-proof-pizza-dough-and-cheesy-garlic-bread-sticks-just-like-in-restaurants/. It’s from one of my favorite bloggers.

This garlic bread is also perfect with baked spaghetti!

S'mores Bread

It’s been snowing since Thursday and it’s freezing outside. So, I’ve been stuck inside my house. There’s nothing to do, so I decided to do a blog post during this weekend. This recipe, which was inspired by a similar recipe, is the traditional s’mores with a twist. I used a basic sweet bread dough and baked it into perfection. This can be eaten as a snack or dessert, perfect with tea or coffee.

Ingredients

1 lb. bread dough

2 tbs. melted butter

1 1/2 cup pecans or honey maid graham crackers crushed

2/3 cup bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 can sweet condensed milk

1/2 cup marshmallow creme

Instructions

Roll the dough into a 12 x 16 inch rectangle. Mix the melted butter and pecans. Spread lengthwise, down into the middle third of the rectangle. Sprinkle ½ of the chocolate chips on top of the pecans. Drizzle ½ of the condensed milk. Spoon marshmallow crème over everything. Make 1 ½ inch wide cuts along both sides of the rectangle within 1 inch of the filling.Then braid strips left over right and right over left. Finish it by pulling the last strip over and tucking it under the braid. Carefully lift the braid with both hands and put it into a sprayed baking sheets. Drizzle the remaining sweetened condensed milk over the top of the braid and sprinkle it with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F for 20- 25 minutes. Enjoy!

Snowballs

The holidays are finally over, so it’s time to do a post again on my blog. I’d also like to share a recipe with you all. It is called “Snowballs.” Since it’s the winter season, I thought that this treat would be a suitable dessert to make, and my co-worker had also shown it to me. Here is the recipe:

Recipe

1 pkg (8 oz) low-fat cream cheese softened

1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple well drained

1 cup chopped pecans

3 cups Flaked Coconuts

1 Tbs Flax Seed

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese and pineapple until they are combined, and then fold in the pecans and flax seed, cover them, and refrigerate them for 1 hour.

Take them out of the fridge and roll them into a 1-inch ball. Roll them in coconut and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Also, the Superbowl is coming and if you’re planning a party, you can make this as a dip for fruits, vegetables, and crackers.

I’m sure this could be a hit with your guests.

This dip is good for bagels, used as a spread. You can use plain cream cheese to make it more flavorful and add more nutrients to your breakfast. Pair it with tea or coffee and you’re good to go in the morning.