Egg tomato dough drops soup 【番茄鸡蛋疙瘩汤】

My tomato plants didn't thrive very well this year during the summer, whatever we harvested mostly go to my son A's dinner plate.

I made Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes for A one day and he likes it very much, I then made this Egg, Tomato dough drops soup for him some days later. He finished the whole bowl on his own!

今年夏天可能不够热，后院的番茄收成不算好，收成的就尽量留着给儿子吃了。

秋季的最后一批番茄拿来做了几次番茄鸡蛋疙瘩汤，儿子非常喜欢。明年要是还种番茄的话，还要经常给他做。

Japanese Katsu Curry カツカレー 咖喱猪扒饭

This curry rice is one of my comfort foods, I fell in love the first time I had it in Japan years back. I also often order this dish whenever I visit Japanese restaurant here in US, or when I work in NYC, some of the Japanese Deli/Restaurants sell very good Katsu Curry Bento.

I bought a box of very good Kagoshima Kurobuta (かごしま黒豚, "Kagoshima black pig") chop from Japanese Supermarket few days back. 

Since it is long weekends here, I made my favorite Katsu Curry and rice and had one of the best home cook meals in months! 

在日本的时候最喜欢的其中一道美食就是咖喱猪扒饭。来美之后天凉的时候我就爱到日本餐厅叫一客咖喱猪扒饭，吃完觉得元气满满的，可以继续努力工作。

前几天买了非常好的日本黒豚肉排，趁长周末，做一次咖喱猪扒盖饭。今天的午餐是这几周来吃得最满意的了！

Masala Chai with Spiced Syrup 印度香料奶茶（附加香料糖浆食谱）

My husband loves Spiced tea and could have it several times a day. I used to grudge at the chore of repeatedly boiling and cleaning the utensils to make tea. 

Then one day when I was making this Mint Syrup , it suddenly dawned on me that I can also infuse spices in Syrup and make tea with it!!

That way, I can make as many teas as hubby liked and not having to wash pots several times a day!

So I didn't wait too long to take this thought into action, I made a jar of Spiced Syrup and made Tea for my husband, he couldn't tell the difference from boiling the spices in water!

俊爹很爱喝香料奶茶，只要在家一天要喝好几次。刚结婚的时候对于每天要熬制几次奶茶这件事情我是略有怨言的。来美之后因为俊爹工作的关系，需要做茶喝茶的次数见减少了。我也只在周末比较空的时候才会给他做香料奶茶喝。

前阵子熬制薄荷糖浆的时候我灵机一触，觉得加入香料熬制糖浆岂不就是香料糖浆了嘛！制作一大瓶放在冰箱里，要喝茶的时候岂不是就很方便啦？

于是我就制作了这款糖浆，周末早晨用它做了杯奶茶，俊爹完全没发现是糖浆做的哦！还只说味道真好。

Autumn Pear Paste 【秋梨膏】

Autumn Pear Paste or Qiu Li Gao/秋梨膏 is a type of traditional Chinese herbal remedy that was created in the Tang dynasty, initially for the Royal family. 

It is a type of natural throat demulcent and expectorant that is used for the relief of sore throat, coughs, hoarseness, and loss of voice.  

As the weather gets colder and dryer by the day, it is time to make a bottle of this herbal paste and be ready for the winter !

秋梨膏也叫雪梨膏，相传始于唐朝。以精选之秋梨（或鸭梨、雪花梨）为主要原料，配以其它止咳、祛痰、生津、润肺药物熬制而成。

秋梨膏可用于治疗因热燥伤津所致的肺热烦渴、便干燥闷、劳伤肺阴、咳吐白痰、久咳咯血等呼吸道病症。秋梨膏过去是宫廷内专用的药品，直到清朝由御医传出宫廷，才在民间流传。

趁萝卜和秋梨盛产之际，做一瓶秋梨膏，秋冬寒冷干燥时可以给家人宝宝冲水喝，生津解渴还可以预防感冒。

Pickled Celtuce/Guan Tao Cai Sim 自制罐头菜心/酱莴笋

When I was young, whenever I was under the weather, my mom or grandma will make some simple rice congee to go with Canned pickled celtuce, it is supposed to be light on the tummy and helps to get well. 

Grandma's version is a little fancier, she will mince some meat with this pickle and make a simple meat sauce, it is still one of my favorite dishes to go with congee, one that I missed whenever I am not feeling well.

小时候只要感冒或不舒服了，妈妈就会熬一小锅白米粥，再开一罐罐头菜心让我就着吃。

这款罐头菜心也是我阿嬤在生时很爱吃的一款酱菜。阿嬤喜欢加点肉和这款酱菜一起剁然后煮成肉酱吃，拌饭下粥都很适合。

今天早上有点时间，熬了小半锅粥，就着新腌好的酱菜心和昨晚炖猪蹄的花生，这样的早餐吃着真正舒服啊！

Homemade Indian Cottage Cheese 【自制印度奶豆腐/农家奶酪】

I made Rasmalai few weeks back for Diwali Celebration and was left with half big jar of whole milk. Since my fridge is very full and I did't want to waste the milk, I turned it into Paneer so that I can use it for cooking later and for easy storage.

前几周过印度排灯节的时候我做了印度甜品奶汤圆后冰箱还剩下大半桶牛奶，为了节省空间，而且一时半刻也喝不完，我就顺手做了这款奶豆腐/农家奶酪。

即方便储存，也可以做几款俊爹爱吃的菜。

Braised Chicken Wings with Red Wine 【贵妃鸡翅】

I have half a bottle of leftover red wine from our weekend get together, since I don't drink, I used the wine to make this Red wine braised Chicken Wings. It is a very good way to use the left over wine!

The dish has a very interesting name in Chinese，it is called Imperial Concubine Wings as it is said that Imperial Concubine Yang (杨贵妃) in Tang dynasty loved to have chicken wings and loved it braised in red wine/grape wine, that is where the name of this dish came from.

相传，杨贵妃生平最爱吃两种美食，第一种是荔枝，第二种就是鸡翅。

杨玉环曾一度失宠，京剧艺术家据此演义《贵妃醉酒》这出戏、该剧主要是表现杨玉环在宫内备受宠幸，偶尔尼疏，在百花亭独饮，不觉沉醉而哀怨自伤。

后来，有厨师受到这出戏的启发而创制了“贵妃鸡翅”一菜。此菜用葡萄酒煮制鸡翅，具有贵妃醉酒之色韵，巨翅善飞，飞与妃音喻，故得名。