Black sesame peanut brittle 【黑芝麻花生糖】

As Chinese New Year is just less than 30 days away, I am in the mood to make some Chinese New Year treats for the celebration. A Chinese New Year treat are normally sweet, which symbolize a sweet and happy year ahead.

I made a batch of this Black sesame peanut brittles, similar to the Peanut Sesame Chikki that I have made before.

再过一个月就过春节了，我趁着假日做了点年货甜品。希望吃了可以热热闹闹甜甜蜜蜜的过下一年。

这款黑芝麻花生糖和我之前做过的花生芝麻糖 类似，只是用了冰糖来做，口感更脆，色泽也更好看。

Hand-ripped noodle seared with red oil 油泼辣子扯面

I am a freelancer and I have to go to downtown Manhattan often time for work, one of the reason I liked working in NYC despite the dreading commute is the foods out there.

One of the place I really liked and will definitely visit is this small restaurant called "Xi'an Famous Foods" which is known for their Western Chinese cuisines. I love their signature hand-ripped noodle, some called it "Belt noodle" (裤带面) very much, the texture of the noodle is chewy and very flavorful.

On this long weekend I attempted this noodle twice and I have to say, I got the texture and technique right the second time!

我经常需要到纽约市去工作，虽然很不喜欢新泽西到纽约的堵车，但能到纽约去工作我还是开心的，主要是纽约是分布着好多特色小吃和餐厅让我可以经常尝尝鲜。

市中心好几家餐厅是我很喜欢的，其中一家就是“西安名吃”，我喜欢他家的手扯面，面条筋道，味道也很好。

这个长周末我在家试着做了两次扯面，第二次抓到了诀窍和煮面的火候，用了自己磨的辣子，味道着实不错哦！

Sweet Osmanthus Jiuniang Tang Yuan 桂花酒酿汤圆

It is winter solstice (冬至） today in lunar calendar, the tradition in my home is to have Tang Yuan, a type of glutinous rice ball cooked and served in sweet soup.

I made some Tang Yuan with my son A in the morning and made this Sweet Osmanthus Jiuniang Tang Yuan for breakfast, a hearty breakfast in below zero degree winter morning!

今天是冬至，在我家乡那是吃汤圆的日子，每年的冬至那天我们都会围着厨房的桌子帮妈妈搓汤圆，汤圆的经历应该是家乡每个孩子学习搓圆子的第一步吧！

今早和儿子一起边听儿歌“卖汤圆”边搓了些汤圆，然后做了一碗桂花酒酿汤圆做早餐，零下的温度喝一碗酒酿汤圆很舒服哦！

Tang Yuan in Ginger Syrup 【红糖姜汁汤圆】

It is winter solstice (冬至） today in lunar calendar, the tradition in my home is to have Tang Yuan, a type of glutinous rice ball cooked and served in sweet soup.

On this very day every year, we will all gathered around in the kitchen to help mom rolling the rice ball. It was my first experience of making edible balls, it should also be for many kids in my country. 

Mom will then boil the rice balls in a pot of water while preparing another pot of ginger and pandan leaves infused syrup, the rice balls will then be served in the syrup as our afternoon snack.

I loved playing with the dough and making it into balls and have countless memories and laughters making it with my siblings.

I wanted to recreate a similar experience for my son A. We woke up early today to make Tang Yuan while playing the song "卖汤圆" song at the background, it was fun! 

今天是冬至，在我家乡那是吃汤圆的日子，每年的冬至那天我们都会围着厨房的桌子帮妈妈搓汤圆，汤圆的经历应该是家乡每个孩子学习搓圆子的第一步吧！

我喜欢一家子围着准备东西的感觉，喜气洋洋的让人感觉很温馨。妈妈会煮上一锅加上几片斑斓叶的姜汁糖水，搓好的汤圆另起一口锅用水煮熟，然后加到糖水里一起吃。

今天儿子起得早，我们娘儿俩一起边听儿歌“卖汤圆”边搓了些汤圆，很有节日的气氛呢！

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins 【南瓜小麦芬】

A friend of mine invited me over for Halloween dinner, thus I decided to make something pumpkin for the event.

万圣节那天朋友请我们吃饭，我想应该应节做点南瓜点心。就做了这个南瓜麦芬，顺便送几个给邻居吃。

Chinese Mustard Congee 芥菜粥

Half of the mustard greens that I harvested from my backyard earlier were made into Mustard Green Rice/Dua Cai Peng the remaining half were made into this congee 2 days later. A very healthy dish to let us eat more vegetables and warm the body.

秋末收的最后一茬小芥菜一半做了闽南芥菜饭，另一半我给做了这个粥，秋末凉凉的天里喝一碗菜粥即营养又暖胃呢！

Pumpkin Soup 【奶油南瓜浓汤】

I like pumpkin and was amazed by the varieties we have in the USA.

I like making pumpkin soup during winter, it warms the body and nourish the soul, it's perfect for a light and simple dinner!

前几天买的一大块南瓜一半做了香辣南瓜，一半留着做这个南瓜汤。

南瓜浓汤是我们家冬天的保留菜。我和老公晚餐都吃得比较少，一个汤加上一个沙拉或者一块面包，是个让肠胃不负担又很暖身的晚餐。

Ear Biscuit 【耳朵饼】

This spiral ear biscuit brings back feelings of nostalgia, it is one of my favorites snacks when I was a kid. It is savory, hard yet crunchy and is very addictive.

Mom sent a few packets of this biscuit with auntie Lisa not long ago, my son A enjoyed it and was asking for more. I got curious and started searching online for a recipe. I made the first batch with the recipe I found online, it turned out good, but lack of the taste of fermented Tofu (Fu Yu) and was a tad too crunchy for what I remembered.

I modified the recipe and came up with another batch. This time the taste, shapes and looks turned out just the way I remembered! I am so so pleased. 

耳朵饼是我小时候很爱吃的一款零食，咸甜香脆的，让人停不下来。这些年来超市里卖的耳朵饼和我记忆里的味道渐行渐远，口感也变得越来越差，渐渐地我就不再买来吃了。

前阵子妈妈托阿姨给我带东西，里边有几包耳朵饼，俊宝很喜欢，都不肯和爸爸妈妈分享呢！妈妈送来的虽然不错，口感还是比我喜欢的要差一些。

俊宝吃完了家里带来的耳朵饼还跟我要，我就想着给他做一次，网上抓了个食谱做了一批，味道不错，口感也不错，但我总觉得差点什么。

第二批我做了点更改，也抓到了诀窍，制作出来的耳朵饼和我记忆里的味道几乎一模一样哦！

Sweet Pumpkin White Fungus Soup 南瓜銀耳羹

Here it comes another pumpkin dish made with the pumpkin planted by Auntie Lisa.

It is again very dry and cold these days. I will made this white fungus soup, it helps me fight cold and dryness.

Note: White fungus or snow fungus is a slight yellowish dried fungus, after soaking and cooking it will become white and almost translucent in color.

White fungus is believed to be a good immune stimulant, it fights infection, inflammation, cold and cough, studies have also found that it has anti-tumor property, could lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or the "bad"cholesterol). It is also believed to slow the aging process, though I am not sure if there is any scientific research supporting this!

天气开始变得干燥的时候会炖一锅银耳羹做早饭，刚好冰箱里还有阿姨送的南瓜，这次就炖了个南瓜银耳羹，排毒养颜润肺，还很饱肚喔！

Lotus Seeds Snow Fungus and lily bulbs Soup 【百合莲子银耳羹】

Fall and winter are both very dry seasons.I for one always suffer dry and itchiness during these seasons. Lotions or oil won't help much. This sweet soup is supposed to help prevent dryness during cold weather. It is a pretty good breakfast too!

每每一到秋冬我就觉得皮肤容易干燥痕痒，用很多润肤霜喝许多水都没用。炖一锅百合莲子银耳羹来调理一下，据说能养颜润肤哦！

Watercress soup 【老火西洋菜汤】

I learnt to enjoy Cantonese soups from my cantonese flatmate when I was in England. I also think a good pot of soup can only be made using claypot.

I have been wanting a good claypot for a long time now and did not see anything of my liking, until one afternoon when I visited Chinatown in PA, I saw this simple claypot sitting right on top of a shelve. and I knew that it is mine.

我很喜欢老火汤，但家里没有一个适合炖汤的锅，就一直很想找个适中而且质量较好的瓦煲。新泽西的几个华人超市我都找过了，都是看起来很漂亮设计很精美却让我没有什么信心的瓦煲。

上星期刚好到费城附近上班，去了中国城吃烧鸭，吃饱后顺道逛逛唐人街，就给我看到这个瓦煲了，价钱还不贵，马上就淘回来了。

晚上向在加州出差的老公说起。他就说：“是呀，我看你也找了很久了嘛！”原来傻大个也有细心的时候，有在留心我的需要喔。