Im a happy Vitamixer :)

I am not a big smoothie person, but I was motivated by my constant efforts to get more greens into my body and my kid. Green smoothies sounded like a great way to do this painlessly. I have wanted a Vitamix blender for a few years now ,however, I just couldn't see myself parting with the $500 to get one. However, after watching the demo at Costco, and then tasting the spinach smoothie .... red cabbage ice cream , I was sold. And I'm not disappointed. I would have bought it a long time ago if I knew how great it was.

A lot of people complain about the Vitamix being a little too high to store under the counter but its not a problem in my kitchen :) The cleaning part is very simple , you put some hot soapy water in the container and blend, and then rinse . 

  I dont like eating veggies and have never wanted to eat kale or pears or fresh cranberries ......and i can't just believe that im eating them everyday 

I no longer juiced oranges . The white pithy part of oranges contains lots of vitamins and important nutrient with antioxidant and anticancer properties while juicing extracts water and nutrients and discards all the fiber .  It's recommended that women eat 25 to 30 grams of fiber each day to decrease the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as some types of cancer including breast cancer.
Fiber is aslo filling , without fiber in the juice , you will be hungry again quickly   .This explains why i started eating less  but still feel full longer , great !!! ;-) its just exactly what i need for my healthy diet  *wink*wink*

I love my smoothies thick and smooth (like jamba juice) Thanks to the vitamix , we are now enjoying healthy smoothies at anytime we want . 
Look at how i throw all sorts of things in there:honeydew ,pineapple ,pear ,orange, kale, spinach, chopped walnut , 10-grain power , chia seeds , dried dates , fresh cranberries , grapes ...lots of things that we can hardly finish them all within ... a few days  

But now they all go into our bodies easily everyday , I can't say enough good things about this baby  

  I hope this helped and happy Blending :)

Homemade Christmas dress for little girl

I can't just believe it's been a month i had not checked my page , lots of things happened last month but im glad they turned out great after all . Today , a day after mom flew back home , house still feels so quiet and empty , me and little one decided to do something fun together ,so  we cleaned up , folded the clothes ,  reorganized the closet and i just realized there were so many clothes that we had not had a chance to wear ... Just like moms out there , i have also made lots of mistakes of buying clothes online and felt regretted ... so , when Adele asked if i can make her a few more dresses , i thought it's just perfect to recycle those unused clothes and give them some brand new looks :)

So , i took out the looooong black dress i bought at 21 a few years ago , still i did not understand why i bought it :) i think it was ..super cheap lol , anyway ,  now i like it because its plenty of fabric that can make enough a dress for little one  , and ...another skirt for ...mommy haha 

I also pulled out Adele's 18 month dress that she quickly outgrew very longggg time ago ...these 2 colors are just perfect for this holy season . My little girl already has lots of dresses but it never seems to be enough , so when i told her i would make another dress , she just right away turned off  her favorite Sponge bath channel , ran to get the sewing machine and helped me set up the work station ..There the fun went on ...

the little red dress was cut in half , i kept the half top , cut the half bottom into 2 sleeves , wanted to make long sleeves but there was not enough fabric

and tada ...2 hours gone by quick with lots of fun

the front : 

And as usual , she could hardy wait to put it on ...its just what i imaged how it would turn out . It's a little long so she can wear her leggings underneath to keep her warm :)

She was just having so much fun with the " new dress " and the tree ....

Silly face melted my heart :)

finally .......there is a smile ...

oh ...and another fake one .... 

Bed time ! I'll update with a few more dresses  later .

Review on the Hann steam mop

I am so  so so excited to share with you one of my favorite household items that i just purchased 3 months ago . It was actually a recommendation of the sister in law who had visited us and boy i can't thank her enough for it  .  Even though my house is a shoes free zone but having an active toddler and 2 little chihuahua dogs  means vacuuming and mopping constantly since i can't stand the thought of having her crawling around and laying down on dirty floors . Oh boy this machine truly saves my backache and i just wondered how i had not heard about it that long ...Now i never  want to go back to the traditional way : mop and water bucket . Look back at the $10 mop i have used for 6 years and how happy i am to say goodbye lol 

And here's my back saver . I bought it at Kolh's . It's very light ,  looking great and doing a nice job cleaning and keeping the floors shiny and i love it when it cleans without using any chemicals . My house has 3 different type of floorings : hardwood , tiles and carpet and this baby does it all . Its very simple to use : fill the water , turn on the unit , wait for a minute for the water to be steamed and off to glider across the floors ...now having to cleaning the floors twice a week is not a problem at all :)

Haan Select Sanitizing Steam Mop (Google Affiliate Ad)

I love the way it leaves no streaks on the hardwood floors , it dries up too quick that sometime i got to touch the floors to see if it was actually working lol

The water tank looks small but i still have some water left after cleaning 1000 sfq living space 

And yes , like any mop ,you need to sweep first . I vacuum before using this machine and my floors feel clean and look great . Im so happy with this machine and hope it lasts :) 

Banh Bao - Vietnamese steamed buns

Ingredients : 

1 bag mixed flour to make 8 buns - ( i prefer any brand made in the us )

Milk , mushroom , sausage , yellow onion , green onion , 

1 lb Ground Pork ,1 lb Shrimp ,4 Eggs 

making dough : 
1 cup milk + 1/2 cup sugar + 1 teaspoon salt + 1 teaspoon vinegar : stir well

In a large bowl , mix flour and milk for 5 minutes or until  soft dough 

                                 

Hand knead for 5 more minutes , let the dough rest for another 1 hour to double in size . 

Making filling while the dough is rising 
Boiled eggs : cut each in half
Sausage : half finely minced , half thinly sliced
Mushroom , yellow onion , green onion , finely chopped
In a large bowl ,ground pork + shrimp + mushroom + green + yellow onion +  minced sausage +  some black pepper + sugar + 1 teaspoon sesame oil + 1 tablespoon soy sauce : mix well
Adjust the taste of the mixture by microwaving some meat . Add salt if needed

here's how i make the meatballs : 1 scoop of meat - 1 pc egg  - 1 scoop of meat , 2 pc. sausage on top

Note : 1 bag of flour makes only 8 big buns so divide the dough into 8 equal pieces .

 I used more flour to make 10 buns so there i cut it into10 pieces

Microwave the meatballs for about 3 minutes . This helps the ba'nh not to be soggy  after steam

 roll  dough ball flat but not too thin , place a meatball in the center ,  making pleats in dough and twisting tight to seal it .

When water boils  , pour 1/3 cup of vinegar to the boiling water ,  placing  the buns in the steamer a few inches apart , steam for 15 minutes .

  

you can make a bunch of these ahead , steam ,plastic wrap and freeze . They make great breakfast treats .

And if you're vegetarian , just eliminate the meat and shrimp and  use all of your favorite veggies to make healthy vegetarian steamed buns . Happy cooking :)

Vietnamese grilled pork chops -suon nuong .

This is one of the famous dishes on the menu at most Vietnamese restaurants , usually served with broken rice ,  lettuce,cucumber , daikon and carrot  pickles and some mixed fish sauce . We sometime serve it with vermicelli and lots of veggies or sandwich for a quick breakfast . Whatever it goes with ,  it always makes a great dish . My recipe is always this simple :

6 thin sliced pork chops 

1 teaspoon  lemongrass  (the store bought minced lemongrass can be found in any Asian market in the frozen section )

3 shallots + 3 cloves garlic finely minced 

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

6 teaspoons honey

4 teaspoons oyster sauce

2 teaspoons  fish sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cooking wine

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl .

Make sure the entire meat is evenly coated , let it rest overnight or at least 8-10 hours

preheat oven or the gas BBQ to 400F , grill 3 minutes each side or longer depending on the size and the thickness of  your meat .

Here's my breakfast - a great combination of grilled pork chop , sunny-side up egg ,some steamed rice , a small bowl of soup and mixed fish sauce .

Happy cooking :)

Kitchen gadgets

Today i'd like to share with some of you who might have wondered what kinds and how many kitchen gadgets there are in my kitchen . Here's a list of some of them that i use on a regular basis and would recommend .

1:  http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KFP750OB-700-Watt-12-Cup-Processor/dp/B0002MH3OC/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1349323042&sr=1-2&keywords=kitchenaid+12+cup+food+processor

i had wanted to have this baby looooong time ago , but i just bought it after Adele hit  a year old with a purpose of making her homemade food and now i want  tell you how much i wish to have it sooner . I've been using it very often , i use it to to make vietnamese white ham -cha lua , ground pork paste -gio song ...and dough too....i absolutely loveeeeeeeeee  it ! 

2 : Kitchenaid Professional 600 Stand Mixer (Google Affiliate Ad)
i bought this one at amazon when they had rebate and cash back program and it was on sale for a really good price so i bought it  , yes, because it was on sale !  I do believe a hand mixer is good enough to do the job ( and yes i had one too but handed it down to my mom ) but i think its nicer to let this one do the job while cleaning up or drinking a cup of water :) I used to bake a lot  but stopped after having Adele and  recently just resumed this hobby because   Adele gets to the age that she loves being around the kitchen to help and to explore my tools and showing a lot of interest in playing with the flour . So now we get to use it more often than before .

3 :  Hamilton Beach 33966 Set n Forget 6 Qt. Programmable Slow Cooker (Google Affiliate Ad)

I spent $50 on amazon to bring this baby home . Its such a nice addition to my collection and i like the fact that i can just throw everything in there and let it cook through the night and my meal is ready by the next morning . I use it mainly for chicken broth , beef stew , or simmering the herb like ginseng and it becomes really handy especially when I'm tired and sick . 

I like it and  think its worth my money .

4 : Jack Lalannes Power Juicer Express (Google Affiliate Ad)
This baby is my first juicer ever . i think its 6 years old and so far so good . It is powerful ,easy to clean , running quiet and juicing  most of fruits and veggies , but its pretty big , heavy and take quite a lot of room on my counter so i store it in the cabinet all the time . Why store bought juice when you can make fresh juice everyday  and for the price  , I highly recommend this product .

5:http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_011W707945110001P?sid=KDx01192011x000001&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=31-38237029-2
Uhm...i have this one for a few years and always feel like its a waste of money .  It looks really nice and functions just as well as the others , but we just don't use it everyday like we estimated . Its been stored in the cabinet all the time and is still shiny . The only good thing i feel good about it that is it was bought on sale . I paid less than 20 bucks for it when its original price is around $40 dollars .

6:Black & Decker TRO480BS Toaster Oven / Broiler (Google Affiliate Ad)
This baby is nothing fancy , its just a basic portable appliance , looks great on my counter , matches with my kitchen and does a really nice job , it toasts evenly . I have it for a few years and been using it almost every day for almost everything , like reheating / cooking a small fish , meat , toast , bagels ......and for its price under $25 , i believe i made a good pick .

7:http://www.foodsaver.com/product.aspx?pid=8793
I have this one more than a year and i'm not surprised  to see this one is one of the top sellers . After throwing a lot of frozen foods due to  freezer burn , we wanted to invest to something that can help extend the lifetime of the foods , keep the leftovers longer and prevent freezer burn and this is it . It takes up very little room and  looks beautiful on my counter . Though i have to buy the bags  and they're pricey , but the machine still saves me a lot of money because there's no more wasted foods . We're able to freeze lots of fresh salmon from last season enough for 6 months  .This is also a  great way to package of home prepared foods for camping as well :)
I can't live without it !

8 : http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/cooks%25e2%2584%25a2-5-in-1-rocket-power-blender/prod.jump?ppId=1b38c49&searchTerm=cooks+blender&dimCombo=null&dimComboVal=null&catId=SearchResults

I bought this small blender at jcpeney when it was on sale and thought i should give it a try and wow , it does a really nice job for the price and fits my need . I like the fact that you can use the blender jars as tumblers to drink from ,and for $20 it comes with 2 big cups and 2 blades and a small cup - a perfect size for my little one .  I have the set for more than a year and its working just fine and makes great smoothies ,  if the cups were glass , I'd definitely  buy it again and again .

9:http://www.amazon.com/Proctor-Silex-72500RY-2-Cup-Chopper/dp/B00006IUX0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349322736&sr=8-1&keywords=proctor+silex+food+chopper
I'm so excited to introduce you this baby food chopper .Its a must have in my kitchen . I bought it on sale at BiMart for under $10 bucks and gosh , this one is built to last . I gave the 5 year old one to Goodwill just because it was old and i wanted  a new one . It helps chop and mince veggies , fruits , herbs , cheese . .. .. .and many many more in no time . 

10: http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-830-WafflePro-Waffle/dp/B00004RKG0/ref=pd_sbs_hg_1

i didn't plan on getting this one but it was on sale ( again ) for a good price and i couldn't resist myself lol i dont use this one often , maybe once a month and it makes great waffles evenly in a heat beat .