Tania’s Ginger Wine & Cognac Chicken

Tags

food with love, ginger wine chicken, home cooking

One of my favorite chicken dishes! When i cook for family and friends, i don’t stinge on the wine, and i add cognac for an extra oomph! Please note that if you use cheap wine and cheap cognac, it will be reflected in the taste of your dish. I like my dish more ‘soupy’, since most of my friends don’t stop at one bowl; that’s why i add in that many cups of water and wine!

Ingredients:

• 1 large whole chicken, cut into pieces
• 1 large ginger, sliced
• a handful of dried black sea fungus, soaked & sliced
• *Optional: 10 pieces of dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water beforehand for about 20 minutes
• 2 tsp soya sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups Kosan wine or Shao Hsing wine (mixing the 2 is also fine, but i personally prefer Kosan)
• *Optional: 2 TBS cognac
• 1 TBS extra tablespoon sesame oil for frying ginger

Method:

Marinate the chicken for 10 minutes or more with the soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil.

Heat 1 TBS sesame oil in wok, fry ginger till fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add in sliced fungus and chicken, fry for another 2 minutes to seal in juices. (Add in the ‘tung-ku’ mushrooms, if using them). Add the water and bring to the boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked and liquid reduced. Add the wine and cognac, and bring to the boil again.

And voila! 🙂 Serve piping hot with rice.

Rainbows And Lemon Drops

Tags

Christmas, Decluttering, gratitude, Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, New Year, Rainbow, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, What A Wonderful World, Wishes

 

I love the few days between Christmas and the New Year. After the excitement of my shopping & wrapping frenzy of presents, luncheons and dinner parties, rich foods and desserts, my attention now switches to de-cluttering mode and thinking of what i’m going to do next year. 

I love to sit quietly away from chatter, pets by my side, wine in hand, Christmas tree lights on, and watch festive movies on tv. Then when the mood strikes me, i begin to

13 Things Mentally Strong People DON’T Do

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change, dwelling on the past, happy alone, mentally strong, taking responsibility

A list of things that mentally strong individuals DON’T do. The list below is compiled by Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and adjunct college psychology instructor, as posted in Lifehack. 

1. They Don’t Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves

Mentally strong people don’t sit around feeling sorry about their circumstances or how others have treated them. Instead, they take responsibility for their role in life and understand that life isn’t always easy or fair.

Treat A Migraine

Throbbing pain in the head, sensitivity to light, your eyeballs hurt, your jaw and teeth hurts, feeling nauseas. These are all familiar symptoms of a migraine attack. Last night i had one.

My initial response was to swallow a couple of painkillers. It didn’t help. I still wanted to rip my eyeballs out. With everything in my head pounding, i thought an ice pack on my head and over my eyes would help; but the ice only served to numb the pain a little, not solve the problem.

Voices For The Voiceless…

Glenda was in the kitchen today, merrily humming to If You Wanna Be My Lover which she heard from last night’s It’s Pawssible performance 🙂 It was a fun night, a variety of talents doing what they do best, entertaining us with songs, dance, and jokes. All in the name of love and charity towards dogs and cats.

The angels on earth are at it again, first with the launch of PAWS Animal Mobile Clinic, and then It’s Pawssible charity concert.

Minced Beef Stroganoff Over Tagliatelle

Tags

Beef, Cook, cooking cream, Pasta, recipe, sour cream, stroganoff, Tomato paste

I’ve cooked this dish many times, using different meats such as pork and chicken for my Buddhists and Muslim friends, but find that beef is still my favorite with the combination of these spices and herbs. It’s real easy to cook; and you can cook larger batches to keep in smaller containers, in the freezer 🙂 Be adventurous and experiment with different herbs, use sour cream instead of cooking cream, add in a few hot chili padis, mix in a dollop of roe to your plate etc. I had some Lumpfish Caviar leftover from lunch 

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Forgiving does NOT mean forgetting. Do not waste your energy and time “trying to forget” because that’s pointless. Remember your mistakes made and lessons learned, so that you will not make them again.

Forgiving does NOT mean you’re telling that person that what he/she did was ok; forgiving means letting go of the anger, hurt, resentment, insecurities, low self-esteem, guilt, regret etc. etc. etc….whatever is holding you back from moving on.

Forgiving does NOT mean you have to let that person back into your life. Forgive your previous blindness, naivety, trust, and let go.

1st-round is a mistake, 2nd-round is plain stupidity.

Attitude Of Gratitude #5

It is easy to take life for granted. We’re accustomed to some sort of routine in our life, like waking up, doing what needs to be done, going to work, having our meals through the day, socializing with the usual suspects, hanging out at our favorite places, going to sleep. We’re accustomed to a routine or schedule which we’ve created for ourselves.

Because we have been doing this day in and day out, everything around us starts to become familiar, becomes something we take for granted to be there, to be available, accessible. How many of us practice awareness? How many of us rest in bed and give