Corn on the cob

It's corn season! Try to eat as many ears of corn as you can because they are whole grains. I love corn on the cob, but to my surprise, many people think it is too hard to prepare. Trust me, it's very easy, so don't be afraid of buying a few fresh ears to cook for yourself. I even did it at work, to show my co-workers how easy it was.

First use a pair of scissors to cut the top, peel a few layers, wash it, and microwave it for 3 to 4 minutes. Microwave only 1 ear of corn at a time so it can be cooked better.

When it is cooked, you can just peel the husk with the hair right out, then use the scissors to cut the husk at the end.

Eating corn of the cob should not be as messy as you think. Start with about 4 rows, only these rows are allowed to be messy. After that try to pick up only 2 rows at a time. This way you can eat your corn in a very clean, orderly fashion.

Just be cool!

And cute!

100 Vegetarian dishes (Chinese)

I can't read Chinese either, so sorry I cannot translate, but the food pictures are nice to look at...
100vegetariandishes

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Cucumber information

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5 Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Pass this along to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems.

Tomato pie

My favorite place for tomato pie is The Couch Tomato in Manayunk. But homemade is still much better.

Dough:
. 1 packet yeast (I use Red Star brand)
. 1/2 cup lukewarm water
. 3 1/2 cups flour
. 1 teaspoon salt
. 2 teaspoons dry oregano (or any flavor of your choice, basil, cilantro...)
. 1 cup warm water
. 2 teaspoons olive oil to coat

1. Mix yeast with 1/2 cup of water, set a side.
2. In a large bowl mix flour, salt, and oregano well together.
3. Pour in water and yeast mixture.
4. Kneed until dough is not sticky to your hands.
5. Cover the dough, let rise for 1 hour. (You can let it rise slowly overnight by put it in the refrigerator.)
6. Brush baking pan with olive oil, roll dough flat onto the pan.

Tomato sauce:
. 1 tablespoon olive oil
. 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
. 1 can 35 oz. crushed tomato
. 1 teaspoon salt
. 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or sugar)

In a 6 quart pot, add oil, when oil is hot, add oregano, add tomato, salt, and maple syrup. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes in medium heat until sauce is thicken, stir occasionally.

Bake:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degree F.
2. Brush dough with olive oil.
3. Prick dough with fork.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Spread tomato sauce on top, bake 5 more minutes.

Spicy pastries (bánh cay)

These pastries are always deep fried. I toast them (or you can bake at 350 degree F) to make them healthier.

. 1 medium casava (yucca root)
. 1/4 teaspoon tumeric power
. 1/4 teaspoon paprika (optional)
. 1 teaspoon salt
. 3 teaspoon maple syrup (or sugar)
. 1 teaspoon oil
. 2 tablespoons rice flour
. 1 hot pepper, minced (or more to taste)

1. Peel the casava, split into 4 pieces length wise, remove the stringy thing in the middle, cubed.2. Grind casava in a food processor3. Mix everything in a bowl, shap like an orange section or a thumb.
4. Arrange in a single layer on a greased baking toast pan, brush each piece with oil.
5. Set toaster oven to dark toast.
6. Toast 3 times (or more to taste), turn over each time.

Mid fall festival pastries (Taiwanese style)

I learned to make these pastries from the Gold Mountain Temple in San Francisco. After the Lunar New Year, if you have extra fruit candies (mứt), you can make these.

Makes 20 pastries:

Dough:
Oil dough:
1/2 cup oil
1 cup all purpose flour
Mix oil with flour well until the dough is not sticky, don't need to kneed

Water dough:
1/2 cup water
1 cup all purpose flour
Mix water with flour well until the dough is not sticky, don't need to kneed

Cover both doughs with wet towels. Let rest for 1 hour.

Filling:
. Fruit candies, a handful of each, winter melon, coconut, lotus seeds, tamarind, lemon, kumquat, tangerine candies...Put everything to a food processor to chop into fine pieces.
. Roasted nuts: a handful of each, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, cashews pumpkin seeds, sun flower seeds... Roughly chopped in a food processor
. Orange rind: peel an orange with a peeler to avoid the white part of the skin. Roughly chopped in a food processor
. Dry fruits: raisins, banana... Roughly chopped in a food processor
. 10 shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
. 2 tablespoons oil
. 1/2 cup sweet rice flour

Stir fry filling:
1. Add 2 tables spoon oil to a heated wok, add mushrooms stir fry for 1 minute, add orange rind stir fry for 1 minute, add the rest of the filling, one at a time, stir fry for 1 minute each. 2. Sprinkle sweet rice flour to bind everything together. Mix well until verything gets sticky.
3. Remove from heat, while the filling is still hot, use wax papper or aluminum papper to line your hand to make 20 balls. It is very hard to form a ball when the filling is cool, so do it quickly.

Wrap:
1. Form oil flour into a roll, cut into 20 pieces.
2. Do the same for water flour.
3. Kneed 1 piece of water flour flat, wrap it with 1 piece of oil flour.
4. Kneed flat, roll, kneed flat, roll again, and kneed flat again (to form multi layers).
5. Wrap with filling ball.
6. Repeat the last 3 steps for the rest of the dough.

Bake:
1. Preheat oven at 350 degree F.
2. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.