Nail Art 3: Seeing Stars

Last time after I posted the nail art for "Dot by Dot", I spilled wax all over my hands and had to remove all my nail polish! I was uber sad about the short life those nails had. But on the other hand, it was pretty good timing as that was the last weekend I had before I became super busy.

So anyways, the theme this time is stars! I had many little shiny gold star pieces for nail art but I never used them. So I decided to use those to make the pattern on my nails. The colors and polish used was base coat, white polish (2 layers), top coat, stars, and top coat again (2 coats).

This pattern is very easy and you can do it with any other shapes you have (hearts, circles, etc). These little stars can probably be bought online or at places that specifically sells beauty supplies. If you are in San Diego, you can get these supplies at Marukai's! They have so much nail stuff!

Drunken Chicken 2

(This is Christine's picture. I will explain later why I don't have a finished picture of my own.)

So, like I told you guys in my last "Drunken Chicken" post, you can use the left over sauce for another recipe. We can all thank Christine again for this wonderful recipe. It is basically drunken chicken again except it can be eaten as a cold appetizer dish.

Ingredients:
- Chicken leg (remove the bone and keep the skin) about 3-4 pieces
- Sauce from Drunken Chicken enough to soak all the pieces of chicken completely
- salt just a bit for each piece of chicken
- White pepper just a bit for each piece of chicken
- Chinese rice cooking wine use as needed
- Veggies (optional)

Instructions:
1. Wash the chicken clean and remove the bone (There is a step by step picture guide on Christine's webpage at the bottom of this post). Remember to keep the skin. Rub both sides of the chicken with a bit of salt and white pepper.
2. Roll the chicken up and wrap it into sausage form with plastic wrap. Tie knots on both ends.
3. Steam the chicken for 20 mins. Take out chicken to cool then remove the wrap.
4. Soak the chicken in the sauces and put it into the fridge for about 6 hours.
5. Cut into pieces and serve with sauce drizzled on top.

After I cooked the chicken I just put it into a big ziplock bag and pour the sauce in to soak it. I have a picture of my wrapped up chicken but I don't have a picture of the finish product because I ate it with my friends and it was so yummy I forgot to take a picture first... <.<

The uncooked chicken in the wrap:


Read more: http://www.christinesrecipes.com/2010/08/drunken-chicken-legs.html#ixzz1601tyZiY

Drunken Chicken 1

I was feeling a little bad because I have not cooked anything at all last week and I used to cook everyday. So last Friday I decided to try out some more recipes I found from Christine's Recipe. Since it WAS Friday and I didn't have anything on Saturday, I thought "O What the heck, I'll do Drunken Chicken."

Here is my translation of her recipe:

Ingredients:
- Chicken 1.6 lbs (I used chicken leg)
- Chinese Rice Cooking Wine 1L
- Mirin 2 cups
- Palm Sugar 90g
- Water 3 cups
- Soy sauce 200mL (Optional)
- Wolfberry 30pieces (optional)

Instructions:
1. Put the chicken in boiling water and take the chicken out when the water boils again. (This is a method for quick removal of blood water and fat). Dry the chicken.
2. Add the rice cooking wine, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and 3 cups of water in a deep pot. Stir until and heat until sugar is all melted and mixture is boiling. Turn the fire to low, put in chicken, replace the lid of the pot, and slow cook for about 45-60 minutes. Use a skewer or knife to cut the thickest part of the chicken and check for blood. If there is none then the chicken is cooked.
3. Plate the chicken and pour the sauce over. (If you choose to use wolfberries, you can sprinkle pre-boiled berries, green onions, celery strips, or whatever plating vegies you would like to add) This dish is yummy with rice! :D

I cooked mine in small portions since I was the only one home for dinner (and I have a very small pot). So I reduced all the ingredients by 75%. The end product was yummy but maybe a little bit strong on the alcohol taste. But then again I don't drink much. Please let me know how this goes for you if you decide to try it!

By the way, you should save the left over sauce because my next recipe (which will be posted within 24 hours of this post) will show you another recipe where you can use the sauce. If you don't think you will be able to use the sauce within a week, you can freeze it and thaw for use later.

Original recipe at: http://www.christinesrecipes.com/2010/08/masterchef-drunken-chicken.html#ixzz15znf36rw

DIY: Ribbon Earrings

I went to Michael's After my volunteer service yesterday to get a spare part for a necklace that I broke by leaving in the washer. The I saw these Earring parts and got an idea to make my own earrings. Since I have been on a ribbon streak lately, I decided to make ribbon earrings. I bought two different styles of ribbons and made 2 sets of earrings. It is so easy to make! All you need is:

1. Hot glue gun


2. earring parts from Michael's (This picture is dark because I had to shade it from the light for you to see)


3. Ribbons of your choice


So all you have to do is tie a bow and glue it to the earring parts. I tried cutting the ribbon off either slanted (plain black ribbons) or exactly perpendicular (polka dot ribbon). I find that cutting perpendicular looks better and will last longer. While the slanted cut allows the ribbon threads to come apart too easily and it doesn't look like a clean cut. But I guess it's really up to your own preference. Have fun! :)

Nail Art 2: Dot by Dot

So I did my nails again 2 nights ago. I originally wanted to do something with black and white dots but I ended up using some of the shiny dots I have but never use (they have a rainbow color shine on it). And then I added crystals to make it shine even more. I don't use any expensive or particular brand of nail polish. I just use whatever is cheap and works. The bottom layer of my nails is coated with Sally Hansen's Diamond Strength Black Diamond #94.

Banana Diet Experiment

Recently OtakuUpdate showed me a youtube video of this girl who tried out the banana diet. Apparently this diet was so popular in Japan last year that it was almost impossible to buy a banana in Japan when the book regarding the diet came out. Here are the rules to the banana diet:

1. Eat banana and drink room temperature water for breakfast. (you can have as many as you want until you are 80% full)
2. You can eat whatever lunch, snack, and dinner you want but only until 80% full
3. Eat your last meal before 8pm
4. No eating 4 hours before sleep time
5. Sleep by 12am
6. No consumption of dairy products or alcohol during the diet period.

I did some research online and found that the science behind losing weight through eating banana might come from the fact that bananas "are said to improve digestion and boost metabolism. Another possibility is that bananas are high in resistant starch, which is a type of fiber that can promote the feeling of fullness and may block the absorption of some carbohydrates." (From Everyday Diet)

Since the rules to this diet is so simple and there are so many positive response to this diet, I went and bought some bananas today and will start the diet starting Saturday as an experiment. Everyday I will go through a checklist and record my weight changes and if I break any of the above rules. And at the end of every week I will record my measurement changes.

If anyone is interested in trying this out or if you have tried it out, please comment on how this worked or is working out for you! Hope this works! :)

Source of Banana Diet info in this post: http://www.everydiet.org/diet/banana-diet

Steam Sweet Egg

This is a recipe from one of my old blogs that I feel is worth moving over. Last year I found a online recipe for Steam Sweet Egg. It's a very simple and yummy Chinese dessert that my dad used to make all the time (one of the very few things that he can actually cook lol). That was the first time I tried to make it myself! The resulting product was a little bit sweeter than expected but the surface is very smooth and pretty looking! :D


(The bowl is chipped... Whoops <.<)

The original web page can be found here on Christine's Recipes: http://www.christinesrecipes.com/2008/04/steamed-eggs-with-milk-dessert.html
Since the recipe for this is in Chinese, I will translate it for you guys! This recipe makes about 2 servings.

Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 30 grams of sugar (amount can vary depending on personal preference)
- 250 mL of milk

Directions:
1. Beat the eggs until it becomes a uniform mixture. Warm the milk in microwave or sauce pan until lukewarm (do not let milk boil).
2. Stir together the milk, egg mixture, and sugar. Use a spoon to remove the bubbles floating on top (I usually just let it sit for about 5-10mins).
2. Use aluminum foil to cover the bowl (or bowls) and put it into the steamer. Use medium to high fire to steam for 12 minutes. Open the steamer's cover every 4 minutes to let out the steam.
4. Eat while warm or chilled in the fridge(I like it chilled X3). ENJOY! :D

Nail Art 1: Tokidoki Nails

Last weekend I got bored and decided I want to paint my nails again. I've been interested in nail art for quite a while now. I've collected some books, tools, and etc but I only do my nails once in a while. Reason for this is because I can't work with long nails and I tend to break them easily doing activities like volunteering or karate. That's why I only paint on my actual nails now. However, I find it uber difficult to draw on my right hand which is why I don't do nail art often. Anyways, I was bored and I decided I want to do them again and so I drew Tokidoki characters (the super simple ones) on my nails for fun!





I have a very small collection of nail polish colors so for some of these drawings I used a mixture of polishes or acrylic paint. It works just fine! :P

If you guys love nail art and want some ideas for patterns, you guys should definitely check out this blog! It was on the front of yahoo last month! Have fun! :)
http://daily-nail.blogspot.com