May the Lord and Lady shine down upon you
Random Ramblings
Super Sexy Wedding Ring? Or Awesome Halloween Costume Prop!
I’ve been married 18 years this coming March 18th. I never asked for, nor cared to have a diamond engagement ring, till today when my friend Bebe Buell posted a photo of the coolest ring EVER by Dior.
I have yet to locate the exact price, but I’d imagine it’s as luxe as the ring itself!
Chinese Steamed Chicken Buns ~Bread Machine
When I was in Jr. High School my mom worked with a gal Keng, from Singapore. Occasionally Keng would bring in food that she had prepared. Sometimes it was noodles and once in a while it was these deliciously savory, fragrant and chewy steamed buns. They were like nothing I had ever tried at any Chinese restaurant.
I was recollecting Keng and her amazing steamed buns and decided to make them. I had just bought an industrial size pack of boneless, skinless chicken breast and was tired of oven fried chicken, I needed something more complex and savory. Sadly, I cannot honestly recall what the meat was in Keng’s buns. I believe it was ground pork. That would be amazing too.
I found a recipe or two online and one in my bread machine cookbook and combined them all to create my own recipe. My girls and husband were crazy about them and The Mr. promptly said “You can make these anytime you want!” I laughed and assured him, it was going to be a while before I did these again. Not because I did not enjoy them, but they are a lengthy project to undertake. But, yes… they are mighty tasty!
Dough Ingredients:
5/8 cup lukewarm milk
2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon room temp butter
1 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
Pour the milk into the bread machine and add the butter. Sprinkle the flour to cover the milk. Add the salt and sugar into separate corners and put the yeast directly in the center. Use your dough cycle on your machine. Allow the dough to rest after the cycle ends. I allowed mine to hang out for about three hours after the cycle ended.
Filling Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 inch piece of ginger root finely minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder (*this seems like a small amount but the flavor is needed)
8 ounces chicken breast, thinly sliced and cut into 1″ pieces
3 scallions chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro chopped
Salt and pepper
Mix all of the ingredients and marinate for at least 1/2 hour. Heat a non stick skillet and add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the skillet is hot add 1/2 of the chicken and stir fry for approximately 3 minutes. Remove from skillet and add the second batch of chicken. Cook for 3 minutes and add the the first batch. Let rest for 1/2 hour to cool the ingredients.
Vegetables For Filling:
1 small can sliced water chestnuts ~ Drained
2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
1 small onion roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
Add all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the vegetables are well chopped. Add the chopped vegetables to the chicken, once the chicken is cooled and easy to handle.
Dough Preparation:
Sprinkle your work surface with flour and roll the dough into a log shape. Cut the dough into eight uniform segments and cover with a tea towel.
Take the first piece of dough and roll it into a 5″ round. Recover and roll out the remaining dough balls into 5″ rounds, covering the dough as you work to keep it from drying out.
Heat approximately 6″ of water in a large stockpot and place your bamboo steamer on the pan. Heat the water to a boil.
Take one round of dough and add about 2 tablespoons of filling and pull the dough out a bit. Run a small amount of water around the edge of the dough. Bring the sides of the dough to cover the filling and pinch the edges together to seal. Place the bun on a small square of wax paper or parchment. This is used to keep it from sticking in the steamer.
Cover the completed bun with a tea towel as you create the remaining seven.
Load the buns into the steamer, being careful not to allow them to touch the sides of the steamer or each other. Keep in mind that the buns will expand as they cook. It’s quite surprising how much larger they get while steaming.
Steam the buns for ten minutes and serve immediately.
Take Out Style Orange Chicken Wings
Spicy, sticky, sweet! It’s not a party till the beer and wings come out!
http://allrecipes.com/video/344/spicy-orange-chicken-wings/detail.aspx?prop24=RR_RelatedVideo
Lusting for Lusterware
Antiquing yesterday with The Mr. was great fun! I found a great lot of vintage peach Fire King Lusterware plates, bowls and side plates for just $13. What a bargain!
Since my old plates have gotten worse for wear, I decided to treat myself to some *new* plates for our new pad. These little vintage shimmery gems are so pretty! Originally, I had picked them up to re-sell but when The Mr. said, “Those will be cool in our new place!” I quickly changed my mind to keeping these and starting a new collection!
And so it begins.
Abandoned – The Photography of Alicia Rius
This chick has some of the coolest photography I’ve seen in quite some time. She finds amazing abandoned places to shoot and juxtaposes interesting objects into the shot. Sublime beauty.
http://aliciariusphotography.com
Will You Be My V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E?
Mechanical Valentines $4.95
If you want to woo your honey on Valentines Day, our friends at The Victorian Trading Company have some really cool gifts!
Valentine Towels $24.95
I have to say, I ordered quite a few things from them over the holidays (kept a few things for myself too!) and I was impressed with the quality of the goods and how they lovingly packaged my items. Jewelry came tucked in velveteen pouches… a special touch!
Valentine Postcard Pendant and Rosary $29.95
“Being crazy isn’t enough.”
While shopping at the antique mall, one of the things I’ve been noticing re-surge more and more are Victorian Crazy Quilts and all of their lovely styles and forms.
Since I cannot begin to touch an authentic Victorian Crazy Quilt, I’ve decided once again to start one. See, this is not my first attempt at this. About 24 years ago, I saved and salvaged bits of velvets, silks and brocade fabrics leftover from my interior design work. I had an enormous bag of various bits and bobs. It was GORGEOUS.
Then came the yard sale prior to downsizing from our ample Victorian farmhouse to in town living.
Downsize = Get Rid of EVERYTHING hon.
http://www.caron-net.com/featurefiles/featmay.html
Free Online Baking Classes by King Arthur Flour!
Learn how to make amazing cakes, breads and pastries online at your own pace!
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/baking/online-baking-classes.html
Winter at Newfane, Vermont
We lived in Vermont for over six years, had our youngest daughter there and have some amazing memories of our days in Vermont. It’s one of the few places, I would strongly consider moving back to.
Spending Christmas at this lovely B&B (Four Columns Inn) at Vermont. Arrived this afternoon. Check out the pictures =)
The house we’re staying. It snowed a couple of days before. Hope it snows again next few days for a perfect winter wonderland look =P
Reading room
Cosy bar area to hang ard after dinner
Coffee area with hot cider, tea/coffee and cookies to welcome guests =D
Restaurant at the inn
Our bedroom (yeah! we have our own fireplace)
Can u believe the size of the attached bathroom!?
Pond (frozen) outside the inn
Octavia's Vintage 