IT'S FRIDAY NIGHT. TIME FOR TRIVIA. MARCH 3.2023

Hi Sheba. The room was freezing. I left after the dinner was served and I must admit it looked awful. Some kind of meat or hamburger in tons of gravy. No potato, no veggie. Both men wanted pizza. But I could not order one because it was too much carbs for hubby. May make a salmon or tuna salad tomorrow for both men.

Hi Sheba, left you a post on your thread. Nine years, congratulations 🎊 👏👏👏💐💐 💐

@xango,

Hello sweetie thank you I will respond soon. ✨🌹

Hi maxienne. Not to worry. I do a little each day. Right now I am a happy camper. The new flooring for our den is down and looks great. Our bouvoir chair arrived the same day and it is beautiful and so very comfortable. Now I wonder if I should have purchased two (LOL).

On another note that you mentioned last week. I enjoyed the Oriental markets. We have two, though not near us, we do go and make it an adventure. I enjoy the Asian pears and the veggies. And yes, they are less expensive than a regular market and sometimes even our Farmer’s Market which is in reality a great grocery store. I usually purchase their chicken and ribs. And many times I use our Chinese recipes. We even have a huge market near us when we head North . One of the things I picked up there was a flowering stalk that turned out to be cauliflower. Cannot wait to see if they still carry it when we return. Have not seen it in Florida. I also like purchasing the tea, noodles and some bakery items. Guess you missed my posts about NYC and Chinatown.

By the way, maxienne, one of the things I love to make at this time of year is Winter Melon Soup.
I make mine with chicken broth as a base. I add carrots, onions, pork ribs (that are cut with the bone about an inch), bok choy. Instead of winter melon which is at the Chinese market, I use honeydew melon. It’s sweeter and really adds to the flavor. Sometimes if I’m in the mood I will make wonton skins to throw into the soup when done. I also use the green parts from the green onion to add coloring. I do not use any spices. I let the veggies do their thing. Yes, I even use broccoli and also brussel sprouts. On the bok choy I use the whole thing which includes the leaves.

Salivating! Do you do the ribs first, and for how long before you add the veggies?

@oodiebom,

Knock, knock I am at your door I flew in on my broom. 😎🌹

Hi Sheba. You are most welcome. However, I only discussed the recipe. I haven’t made it as yet. Need to get the pork. I have all the other ingredients. I will need to check our shed to see what I have in a thermos. You just gave me an idea to make this for hubby and his roommate. That room was freezing and I figured to go out to the car to get my jacket, I might as well head home.
So for once I drove in daylight. However the beginning of the sunset was beautiful. And the sun wasn’t too shabby either.

@oodiebom,

Xango have been talking about how pretty the sunsets are there.
What is going on?

All OZ have is grey clouds and rain but hey spring is around the corner.

I can see the moon tonight.

Haven’t seen the moon, but the stars are twinkiing. On Wednesday, I had to look twice at the stars, especially when stopped at the traffic light. From the vantage point of the van, it looked like a huge airplane. At the traffic light you could really see that it was the way the four stars were hooked together.

I add the carrots first followed by the onion. I like the carrots a bit soft, in other words, easy to bite into. The ribs (these are the same as the ribs you see in dim sum) I add later. It takes about 15 minutes to a half hour (depending upon thickness) and then the veggies. Use your imagination on the veggies. The bok choy I purchase are the Singapore babies. I do not skin the carrots. From beginning to end it takes about 15-30 minutes depending upon the setting you use on top of the stove. At the beginning I use medium heat and then go to low just before removing from the stove top. I actually love this soup all year round. Also, don’t be afraid to add some fruit. I use pineapple as well as Dragon Fruit. Sometimes I add fresh corn when in season. The hardest and longest part is the food preparation.

I DID miss your post abt NYC/Chinatown. Here’s another suggestion. IF your generic Asian store has an Indian section, get canned mango slices/pulp from there. Or you could get it from ANY Indian grocery store. BUT, there’s a caveat. The can should have Alphonso or Kesar on it. (mangoes are indigenous to India, and we have as many varieties of mangoes as there are apples here. ) These mangoes are great for shakes/desserts . Don’t have great texture, like almost any canned fruit. Highly sweetened tho’ so watch it.

maxienne, I do watch the canned goods at the Oriental markets. Some have more salt than your daily dose and also lots of sugar. It’s funny though that you mention the different variety of mangoes. Our Farmer’s Market, does have them occasionally. Last week they had the cocoa plant and they were breaking some apart so the customers could try it. It was very sweet. Have you ever tried Dragon Fruit. Both varieties are delicious and I love mine with blueberries.

Hi xango. I am in a pretty good mood tonight. Hubby looked real good though his back was giving him problems.

Hi pbjelly. Sorry you didn’t get any points. I would try it again, because it accepted my answer. Maybe there is a glitch . Wouldn’t be the first time.

You’re not leaving us already????? We’re just getting started…….

@maxienne,

How are you this evening? Good to see you. ✨🌹

Doing just fine, especially now that winter’s almost done. How about you?

Oz is raining but I am over my cold. 🌹✨

Good evening fem and barbo. Great to see you both tonight.

Thanks for the answer maxienne. I was going bananas on this one.😃😃😀

For the Winter Melon Soup recipe, do not overdo the veggies. They should be a bit crisp. You want that crunch. So, you throw the veggies into the soup and let cook no more than one minute or 15 seconds more. if necessary. This is why I love asparagus. I make these on top of the stove with garlic, dill, and olive oil. Just cook to heat. Overcook and it’s stringy. Goes for green beans as well. If you like Oriental food, you will notice that the veggies still have a crunch.

Oh another thing I enjoy is Congee. When I first heard of this I thought it was eel. But I later learned that it was rice that still has some water left in the pot. This is actually Oriental Oatmeal and I like this more than cream of wheat or oatmeal though you can do the same thing to both of them. I put the congee into a soup bowl. On the top I add nuts (walnuts, almonds and cashew). The nuts are pick up raw at the Oriental market and may just heat in some oil or just add the way they come out of the package. Then I add already cooked shrimp, and any fish I have made previously (maybe the day before), pineapple, apples, dragon fruit, blueberries. A great breakfast. Unfortunately, I cannot use frozen fruit or veggies because of the preservatives. But you can, if you wish. Just watch the sugar and the salt. For some reason they also add corn starch and corn syrup. These last two ingredients are high in sugar as well in my case are sulfites.

can u use ANY type of rice for Congee? I routinely stock basmati, jasmine, Uncle Ben’s and Arborio, depending what type of food I’m going to cook. As an aside, small world, in the Southern part of India, (where my sister lives) they eat the same thing, albeit with different toppings, and it’s called Cunyee.!!

maxienne, Speaking of being hungry……..

Dinner tonight was scampi with linguine. But that was 3 hours ago, and your winter melon soup recipe makes me want a second go.