RECIPE: Tofu ankaké with kale & carrots over a bed of rice / Easy change-over from kids meal to adult meal!

"What's 'ankaké'?" you ask!

Well, the word is pronounced 'an' - 'ka' - 'ké'  (pretty straightforward no?)
and it basically means a thick starchy sauce that is made of corn starch
This type of sauce is poured over rice, noodles, meat, quinoa...whatever food you want to jazz it up with a thick sauce :)

There, you had yourself a lil' Japanese lesson :)
That'll be your word of the day!


S o   l e t ' s   b e g i n !

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS: 

- About 4 stemfull of kale, chopped ( if you want you can use spinach instead...or both! )

- One medium size carrot, peeled and sliced

- One stem of broccoli!  Yup, that's right, the stem!  No wasting food for me.  Stems are just as good, nice and crunchy :)  Just make sure to peel the skin as it is very stringy, and slice away!

- 4 cloves of garlic, minced

- 4 blocks of silky tofu.  My favourite brand of tofu! So delicious.  I calculate about one block of tofu per person.

Place in a bowl and let the water come out of the tofu.

Pour water out before adding it into the pot when cooking :)

- 3 cups of water, keep in a bowl
- About 3 TBS of corn starch mixed in about 1/2 cup of water, keep in a separate bowl

- One chicken bouillon gel.  For vegetarians, you can use vegetarian bouillon :)
- And NO SALT!  nope nope nope, no need for salt as this bouillon, although still 25% reduced salt, contains enough sodium to taste! :)

- And lastly, some olive oil to cook




HOW TO:

- In a sauce pan, heat some olive oil and garlic together over medium heat

*** Once the garlic starts to sizzle (do not overcook), everything is FAST!  Meaning this dish will only take about 5-6 minutes to finish! 
So I have created a video to show you how! :)

SPICED UP FOR ADULTS!!

Here's what you'll need!

- 2 green onions, chopped

- About 1 TBS of spicy sauce of your choice!  It can be Sriracha, Sambal Oelek, etc.  I chose this one from the Korean store.  It's called GOCHUJANG and it's basically a chili pepper paste.
* please spice it up to your liking!  1 TBS can be too much for some.

- Simply mix in the spicy sauce into ankaké (the heat is still turned off)

- Serve over a bed of japanese rice, garnish it with the green onion and enjoy!

Hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do!

A dish that can be turned from a kiddy meal to a spicy delish  for us adults! 

Super quick to cook once all the ingredients are ready to go and super healthy...

just the way a busy mom likes it!!

xo

"May I have some Sah-Kee, please?"

YAAAAY!!!

F i n a l l y ! ! ! 

Now, THAT is how you write Saké!!!

Exactly how it is pronounced!!!!  BOOYAH!!

Okey, so here's the story,

It had gone to a point where I was fed up of hearing the word Saké  being pronounced "Saki", or "Sah-kee"!  I was compelled every time to correct my friends and colleagues...but the proper pronunciation has never stuck around.  

I have always wondered and suggested that the letter "e" should be "é" with the accent to represent the Japanese alphabet "え " in "さけ " ( Saさ　ké け).

I was thinking all along, that the french alphabet "e" with the accent "é" is a perfect way to represent the pronunciation of our alphabet "え ", so why not use it!  Or why have we not used it already!!

é  = え

Just when I had given up on the whole thing...

hubby brings home this bottle from SAQ.

I rubbed my eyes with disbelief!!

I thought, "What???  Is there an accent???  Fo real!?!?!?! "

I was relieved to say the least!

I was jumping for joy!

So there you have it, ladies and gents.

Please pronounce it properly, especially if you are ordering one in Japan!

They won't understand what you mean by "saki" or "sah-kee"

lol

It is Sa-ké 

Two syllables

If I was to best represent it in complete french, it would probably be better this way...

Ça Qué

lol

xo

Spirituality: What's in a number? My encounter with the meaning of the number 444

My encounter with the meaning of the number 444

In Japan, the number "4" represents "death".

In japanese, "4" is pronounced "shi" and as the sound "shi" resembles a Chinese character ("kanji" in japanese) "死" , this number has been considered to have bad karma.

Just like in north american culture we don't have level 13 on buildings, well, in Japan we don't have level 4 and level 9 in buildings for such superstitious reasons.  

( 9 is pronounced "kyu", aka "ku", and the sound resembles a kanji "苦", meaning "suffering")

Thanks to a very special book I have encountered, this number 4 has now a completely different meaning.

Here's the story...

About 4 years ago when my oldest was 7 years old and my lil' one just 2, my husband left to work abroad to Los Angeles for an entire year.  

Being a strong, open-minded and positive girl as I am, I could not have been more supportive and encouraged the fact that he had this great opportunity to work in the heart of one of the amazing cities for the film industry.  I sent him off with pride, happiness and with the mindset simple positivity.

Back at home, I was busy.

Busy being a mom, a self-employed artist who have just started back in the industry.... my everyday was filled with things to do.  I missed my husband terribly, but I didn't have time to dwell on that emotion on my day to day basis.  I actually felt bad for him, for not having his kids around.  I felt lucky to have them keeping me going.

About 3-4 months into this journey, I was starting to feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of keeping everything "good".  I truly felt what a single parent goes through without any break from all the chores and workload.  

I was starting to feel...worried and scared.

This is when I started to notice the number 444.

At first my thought was..."great!  death, death death!"

What the hell does that mean???

Then when I was least expecting it, it would appear at very odd places....and many times in the day...

- Johnson and Johnson's babywash is 444ml  (did you know!?)

- license plate on the car in front of mine while driving  

- wake up unexpectedly at 4:44am

- glance at the clock in the afternoon and happens to be 4:44pm

- purchase items at a store and the bill is $4.44

After a good few days of this, I was FREAKING OUT!!!

Heart started to palpitate

Getting cold sweat

Panting...

clearly, you can imagine, I was not happy!

After telling this story to my mum, she insisted we go to our angel store on Rachel East called "Ange Neige".

As I entered the store, not sure what to look for, I felt guided to move towards my right where the books and cards were displayed...

And I almost fainted!!!

Out there amongst many large books, was this lil' tiny book...so small and yet it was the only book that stood out for me...

Angel Numbers 101

The Meaning of 111, 123, 444

and other number sequences

I froze

Again, heart palpitation, cold sweat and all...I was scared and yet excited to finally get the answer I was looking for!

I mean, it's from an angel store, it can't be bad...right?!

I dashed to the cash register, panting, and immediately paid for the book all while telling the store owner my story, in a nutshell.

"Well, go ahead then!  Read it!", says the owner to me.

I rushed to the page.

My fingers trembling.

It read...

444

There are angels - they're everywhere around you!

You are completely loved, supported, and guided by 

many heavenly beings, and you have

nothing to fear!

SAY WHAAAAAA!?!?!?!?!

Smiling from ear to ear, I could not believe what I was reading!

All that tension, the fear, the aches and pain in my heart, overwhelms, everything just lifted off of my shoulder and felt a sudden sense of relief...

I was protected.

With this guidance and knowledge, I went through the year with the absence of my husband without any fear or worry.  Every time I felt such things, the number appeared out of nowhere, letting me know that I had nothing to worry.

And now, surprisingly...

Since he's been back, the number 444 no longer appears in front of me.

It will appear once in a blue moon, when I am in a state of "worry" or "fear" wether for work, when my kids are sick etc. 

Knowing that the angels and spiritual beings are out there protecting me and reassuring me, I feel safe.

Many may not understand or comprehend that there are beings out there that no naked eye can see or feel...

However, I truly believe it does exist.  I cannot explain why...it was something I had in me since little and something I never felt the need to question.  

This world is a very special place, and I believe there is so much to grasp and comprehend. 

A lil' spiritual side of me that I am starting to reveal :)

It is only meant for sharing, in hopes to reach out, attract those with similar senses, and to give a smile to those who wants to learn more :)

xo

Wine Review: A Spanish wine called La Vendimia

WINE :  La Vendimia   Rioja

Country:  Spain

Year:  2012

Price at SAQ:  $16.80

Comment:   It's semi-corsé about 2/3 of the entry.  A good "tang" at the beginning -somewhat citrus...that gives that "sour" taste but not gross or anything :)  Then followed by a light entry down the throat BUT has a slight bitterness at the end that rests on the palette, not bothersome though.  

Note:  As hubby states, and I agree, it's wine that is "still young".  It needs time to mature :)

Rate:  I give it a .... ★★★☆☆  Good for a young wine no?  I would like to taste it again in about 2 years :)

xo

RECIPE: My Asian Spicy Garlic Sauce! Sauce that goes with everything!! :)

Here is a sauce that can top any meat, fish, rice, vegetable...just about anything you wish to jazz up with asian spicyness :)

This sauce is, may I say so myself, very delicious and the recipe for this sauce is highly requested amongst my friends.

So here it is!  

Love to share and hope you'll share it too :)

Serves 4 - 5 adults

*Extremely spicy...so not for young children

INGREDIENTS

In a bowl, combine all ingredients together

- about 3 green onions, finely chopped

- 3 TBS of Kikkoman Soya Sauce

- 1 TBS of Sesame Seeds

- 1 TBS of Sesame Oil

- 1 TBS of water

- 1 Tsp of Dried Red Chili Peppers

- 1Tsp of Chili oil

- 1/2 of medium sized lemon, squeezed

- 2 TBS of Olive Oil

- 4 large cloves of garlic, grated

And, that's it!

Mix well with a spoon just before drizzling on whatever it is that you want to drizzle on...

and enjoy!

When this photo was taken, I had drizzled it over some chicken.

I bought a grain-fed whole chicken.  Cut it up in pieces for a quicker roast in the oven.

Chicken pieces were then flavoured simply with very little sea salt and some black pepper.

(the asian sauce already has 3 TBS of soya sauce, so go easy on the salt! :)

On a plate, we had some japanese rice, this oven roasted chicken and lightly stir fried kale & carrots, and had drizzled this sauce all over to taste.

DELISH!

SPICY!!!!! YAUZAAAA!!!

Hope you'll enjoy it too :)

xo

Oh, and ps...

Make this sauce first before you prep any dish so that the flavours from all the ingredients will blend in and mix well together.  

Also, left over sauce can be kept in the fridge (cover with saran wrap or keep in a tupperware) for upto 2 weeks!