Chilling Aiyu Gel (爱玉冰）

I went to Taiwan with my parents en route USA, it was fun and we had lots of great food there...

One of the dish that I really enjoyed was this Aiyu jelly, I liked it so much that I decided to buy some Aiyu seeds to make this home. Apparently it is very easy to make, and it requires no cooking at all!

Home-Made Chinese Red Yeast Rice Wine and Vinesse （Foo Chow Ang Jiu & Ang Chow)

Grandma used to make this homemade rice wine for anyone who is due for baby in the family, it is an essential for the lady's confinement we used it in every dish we cooked for the mother within 30 days after the baby is born, this period is called confinement period.

Grandma also made sure to make a few more bottles of this wine for my house, my brothers and I are big fan of Rice wine chicken.

My aunt was teasing me the other day that she remembers me asking for mum's confinement foods when mom gave birth to my youngest brother....

Now that grandma is no more. I just feel that this increasingly disappearing tradition should be remembered and recorded.

Nagaimo/Chinese Yam with Mulberry Jam Dessert

I made some mulberry jam a few days ago, and mum thought of the dessert she had in Shanghai before.

It was made with Dioscorea opposita (nagaimo, Chinese yam, Korean yam) and some fruit jam, she liked it very much as it was very nice and crunchy.

Coincidently the same day when we shop for our grocery at the local supermarket, we saw that the workers were busy displaying the fresh nagaimo/Chinese yam! We immediately bought two to try out this recipe!

Mulberry Jam

I went home to Malaysia for almost three months around Feb-April 2012. It was fun spending time with family. We celebrated my youngest brother's wedding, and welcome another bundle of joy in the family --- my first brother's youngest son, Timothy... it was such a good time back home that I almost feel bad coming back to the states.

The only good thing is that I brought mum with me this time... she wasn't used to the quietness and space here at first. She misses home so bad that she even cried one day.Thank god that as the weather gets better, gardening and walking outdoor keeps her occupied and she started to enjoy the lifestyle here...