Everyday is Valentine's Day..

I've been sick for a very long time now and I realize that when you are sick, the ones you love take care of you making you realize even more how much they mean to you. Tiger really took good care of me while I was sick this week.. I lost almost 5 pounds just from being sick, so in effort to put some more meat back on my bones, this was one of the dinners he cooked for me. A different recipe from mine but just as tasty and very delicious!!

Of course, I had to repay all of his kind attention to me by also cooking him dinner the day after. I was sick at home with nothing else to do anyway, so I decided to do what I enjoy most. Cook for the TIGER! Not just cook, but cook for the Tiger. It's the truth: I started cooking immensely more when I started to fall in love with Daniel. I never really cooked these fancy dishes for just myself. It is always more enjoyable when you are doing it for someone you love.. ^.^ This is my blackened Orange Roughy over portabello mashed potatoes made from scratch. Topped with asparagus and lobster tail cooked in butter and a squeeze of lemon. BUTTER is always the key to good food. haha..

Then came Valentines Day..

 He had been so sweet to me the past few days while I was sick that I didn't think I needed a Valentine's Day.. because he made everyday seem like Valentine's Day. :) However, Tiger did come home today with a vase of flowers and a huge smile on his face :)  He seemed really excited to give me something so I asked him what it was, and here is what he surprised me with! These beautiful flowers were brought to me as I was finishing up my lessons.. then he had a package he wanted me to open.. the wrapping wasn't anything fancy lol but what was inside was priceless. While I was opening the package, Daniel told me he was going to start a new tradition for us and give me a special gift each year that would remind us of the Valentine's Day that year.. It seemed like he had put a lot of thought into this gift because he spoke for a very long time while I was clawing at the package that seemed impossible to open.  Finally, I opened the first box and out came a beautiful jewelry box with our names engraved on the front along with the date. He said that this was the first of many more traditions to come and it would be something we could look back on and share with our kids in the future. It wasn't just the gifts, but the things that he was saying while I received these gifts that made it such a special, poignant moment.

  He gave me another box then, which I opened to find two necklace chains with charms on it. Our nicknames were engraved on the front and on the back, the engravings read: "My One and Only" and "Always near my heart". He said he spent a very long time pondering what he was going to have engraved on the back of our charms and that was the best way he could describe me. When I read this, I couldn't help but tear up a bit.. :) I felt like he gave me so much by giving me such a memorable gift that I nearly didn't want to give him my gift, which was tickets to the Mavs vs. Knick's game in March. Haha I knew he would love it because we have recently become huge groupies of the "LINsanity" crew.

 But it still did not seem to compare to Tiger's special gifts.. Here are a couple more clearer pictures of the engravings. It was really hard to get the engravings to show in the light because of the glare. hehe.. this has been one of the most thoughtful gifts Dan has given me, so I will cherish it forever and always. Below, it shows how our puzzle piece charms fit together to become one~ A perfect fit!!! Just like us.. :)

 And just when I thought all of the surprises were over, he cooked dinner for me!! A lovely Valentine's Day dinner: Steamed Lobsters with Ribeye Steaks and Stuffed Mushrooms on the side!! YUMMY!! It was SO DELICIOUS!! BON APPETIT to Tiger and Tiny!! :)

Chef Tiny's: Yummy Pasta in 10 Easy Steps!! :)

9 out of the 10 times I invent a different sauce or a different dish that I like, it is purely by accident. Most of the time when something does not go the way I planned it, I assume it's an utter failure until I taste it. Then it's, "Oh, well that's not so bad either!" Much like the rest of my life.

So before I begin I would just like to say, I LOVE PASTA. Honestly though, how could anyone possibly go wrong with anything with noodles in it? This little creation of mine is also one of my, easy-to-make-and-fast-homemade-dishes!! lol and it is called:

Chicken with Mushroom Broccoli Cream Sauce over Angel Hair Pasta. 

Step 1 - When I cook, I like to have everything out in front of me before I get started. I like too SEE what I'm working with.. u know, so I look like a hardcore chef? Lol actually, it's just so that I don't forget anything. -.-" So depending on what kind of meat you want going into this sauce (it can be anything of your choice: chicken, fish, sausages) have it out because that is what we'll start with as far as cooking goes.

Step 2 - Wash a big pack of mushrooms and 1 or 2 broccoli crowns. Wash thoroughly because nobody likes eating dirt. How much of everything should you cook? Well, I always make sure I have plenty of mushrooms washed before I start cooking this dish in case Tiger comes around and steals some off the counter when I'm not looking lol. If you don't have a tiger culprit, you could probably just use 2/3 of the mushrooms and put the rest in the fridge. ;)

Step 3 - If you don't want to make your own sauce (bc it takes a lot of time), you can just buy an alfredo sauce in a jar from the supermarket and that will work as a sauce-base very well. Lastly, but not leastly, have your pasta out. I normally use Barilla (they have the BEST pasta) Angel Hair Pasta.

Step 4 - Let's start chopping!! Chop each mushrooms up into 3 pieces (you don't want them to be too small because then they will not be as juicy). Once you have a nice heap of mushrooms on your cutting board, start on the broccoli. Once you've chopped up all of the broccoli, start cooking whatever meat you have out.

Step 5 - If it's chicken, you can grill it or bake it and then chop them up into tiny pieces. If it's sausages, you can chop them into small pieces and fry them until they start curling around the edges. If it is fish, you can spray it with some salt and pepper before also putting it on the frypan. Cook it until it is fully cooked. In this case, I used chicken (which I think tastes the best with this alfredo sauce).

Step 6 - I like keeping things open and not telling people exactly what kind of sausages, chicken, or fish to get because I feel like cooking is all about accomodating your own taste buds and needs.. and since everyone's taste buds are different, what I like may not be exactly what you like! So it's time to experiment!! :) While you are cooking your meats, put the broccoli crown in boiling pot of water for 7 minutes and then drain it.

Step 7 - Take the Alfredo Creme Sauce you bought and dump it into a fairly large pot. (Normally you'll need at least 2 jars of it.) put the cooked broccoli into the sauce first. Now, this is a broccoli cream sauce we're making so the point is to "over-cook" the broccoli until it starts blending in with the sauce. (Which is why you want to boil the broccoli before putting it into the sauce. It will not be a good turn-out if you try to cook the broccoli in the sauce.) Add the chopped mushrooms in as well. We want the mushrooms to cook IN the sauce so that the sauce can soak all the natural juice flavors of the mushrooms.

Step 8 - While the sauce is cooking, boil a big pot of water on high and add some salt to it before putting the noodles in. (This will keep the noodles from sticking to each other). It really won't take long for the pasta to cook (maybe 5 minutes at most) especially if it is thin pasta. You don't want to over-cook it either because then all you will have is a big piece of tangled mulch. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the noodles!!

Step 9 - The sauce at this point should be a nice creamy (not as thick as when it came out of the jar) kind of texture. This is because the juices from the mushrooms have added water to your base, making it lighter. The broccoli at this point should also be blending into the sauce as well. We are now going to add the meat!! Add whatever meat you have cooked, into the sauce and stir the sauce on medium heat. You can add a bit of pepper as well, if you like. Please don't, if you are allergic. -.-"

Step 10 - Put the sauce over the noodles (there is no such thing as too much cream so make sure you use every ounce of cream in your sauce) on a plate and serve HOT!! BON APPETIT!! :)

the sauce, in the making!!

In my kitchen: Cooking in my kitchen in my PJ pants is one my favorite things to do!! :)

Love Is Kind..

Going for a walk in our backyard.. I absolutely adore the golf course behind our house. It is so scenic and beautiful.. especially at sunset.

my favorite moccasins

"That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day."

- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Colors Colors Colors!!!

We spotted a hot air balloon and tiger followed it!! tehehe :)

Chef Tiny's: Omerice In 10 Easy Steps!!!

This is called, "Omerice." Why? Well, it's an omelette with rice inside!! Duh! lol

Cooking for the Tiger is one of my favorite things to do! I've experimented with so many recipes and created new ones during the years but I wanted to share one of my simpler recipes today! This is for people who like to eat something home-cooked, but don't want to spend a lot of time cooking it haha.

This dish is very Korean (which is what I am -.-") and a lot of Korean people eat this as one of their easy-to-make dishes. To put it simply, it is basically fried rice with egg and ketchup over the top. However, it can taste very different depending on how you make it. Some people like to add Kimchi (spicy Korean vegetable) in their rice to give it a kick. Or, in my case, I just like to use sausages (mostly because it's easier to just chop up sausages). 

So here are the steps:
 

Step 1 - Get the rice in the rice cooker (you don't want to have everything else cooked and then realize you forgot the rice -.-")

Step 2 - You get all of your favorite vegetables (onions is a must) and meats and you chop them all up. Let out all the stresses from your day and just CHOP CHOP CHOP!! Then, chunk them into a skillet. You can add butter or some kind of cooking oil that you have and continue to fry everything until it turns into this nice yellow glaze. You should cook your vegetables and meats for about 5 min. You will know if they are ready because a lot of the juice from the meats and vegetables will start forming in the frypan!

Step 3 - Your rice should be ready in about 30 min (which is how long it takes you to chop everything up and throw it in the skillet). So now take a bunch of rice out and put it in a giant bowl.

Step 4 - Now, you don't want too much, or too little rice in the skillet so you have to kind of measure it out. Start by putting 2 scoops of rice in and stirring the skillet. A lot of juice from the vegetables should be soaking into the rice. After stirring, if there is still a lot of juice and your rice is starting to look like rice soup, add 2 more scoops of rice (so on and so forth).

Step 5 - Cook the rice until it is not white anymore and all of the natural juices from the vegetables has seeped into it.

Step 6 - Once everything is stirred and mixed well, there are two things you can do. You can add a little soy sauce to enhance the taste.. or you can add some pepper. OR you can do both. (You can also add some salt if you like but I normally don't).

Step 7 - Woops! almost forgot about the eggs!! hehe, now you're going to take a couple of eggs out, depending on how many you want (I normally crack about 6 of them) and put them in a bowl. Make sure you mix them up well in that bowl so that it comes out smooth when you pour it into the frypan. Nobody likes lumpy eggs!!

Step 8 - Put some butter in a new skillet or fry pan and let the heat melt it. Then pour the eggs in the bowl into the frypan. You don't want to cook the eggs too long because then they will get dry. Put a top over the frypan so the egg can cook evenly.

Step 9 - Once your egg looks cooked, You can put it over your fried rice and VOILA!! There you have it! But wait!! We forgot the most important thing!!

Step 10 - Make sure you have ketchup somewhere (and a lot of it), because this is really what makes the dish good. You can put however much of it on there as you want. You can also make different shapes or put a giant smiley tiger face on your egg like I do sometimes. :) Just for fun!

So there it is!! In 10 easy steps!!! Now, it's time to enjoy!! BON APPETIT! :)

Foodies we like to EAT :)

Tiger's favorite food.. we went to a seafood place next to the New Orleans Riverwalk. It was the "Royal Bucket" haha.. 2 Lobsters, Dungeness Crab, Alaskan Crab, Clams, Mussels, Potatoes, and Corn all in one big bucket!! It doesn't get much better than that!! :)

At the French Market in New Orleans: Seafood Platter- my favorite was the Charbroiled Oysters!! yummm

This is called, "Tang Soo Yook". It is a Koreanized Chinese dish.. one of our favorites!

This is a seaweed noodle soup from the same Koreanized Chinese Restaurant.. it is sooo delicious!!!

Beignets at NOLA!!

I love creme brulee!!! While we were in NOLA, I got a dessert that had three different kinds of creme brulee and it was the best dessert ever!! The flavors included the regular one, chocolate, and I believe white chocolate!!

Eating breakfast at our Hotel Monteleone..

While we were in San Fran we went to a small Italian place that had Cioppino so we both tried it for the first time. Very good!!

Bread bowl clam chowder at the same restaurant.

Almost forgot this one!! At NOLA cafe: These are stuffed chicken wings appetizer.. I have never seen or tasted anything like it!! I didn't even know you could stuff something as small as chicken wings!! They were mind BLASTING!! haha

A Walk in the Park..

So where does the name "Tiny" come from? Tiger claims that I am the tiniest person alive.. -.-"

"So dear I love him that with him, All deaths I could endure. Without him, live no life"

-William Shakespeare

 Serene.. Scenic.. When someone you love takes a picture of you.. you can capture the love through the lens of a camera.. :)

 I love pictures that tell a story..

 

 

 "Two souls with but a single heart, Two hearts that beat as one.."

 

Where does the nickname, "Tiger" come from? Take a good look at him.. especially those tiger brows! If he's not a Tiger I don't know what is..kaka :)

NOLA!! :)

Here's a little something from our recent travels..

                Who knew New Orleans was so beautiful? Antique Chandeliers from France..

It wouldn't be Nawlins without some yummy GUMBO! At Palace Cafe.. it was by far the best gumbo we'd ever had!

On the streets of New Orleans..

"She walks in Beauty, like the night of cloudness climes and starry skies, and all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes..." -- Lord Byron

In front of the Mississipi River for the first time in my life :)

                  So masks seemed to be a big thing in New Orleans~ everywhere we went there were masks and beads!! How festive!! :)

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP!!
We were lucky enough to go to the BCS Championship Game while we were in New Orleans. We decided to be funny and go as "House Divided". Never would we have known that we would get so much attention for that haha. Starting with small comments like, "Only she can come in the elevator" to "House divided! How's that workin out so far?" It was a fun experience because we got to see a lot of famous people and just be a part of the crazy hype. Tiger got to take a picture with Roman Harper, who is a New Orleans Saints football player and I, got to meet Cedric the Entertainer!! :)

Tiger and Roman Harper!!

Mardis Gras World!! They had so many floats of the past and current floats in the making.

Me trying to be like Tiger :)

Do you like my new hat?? Taking a stroll through the city.. We did some shopping at the French Market (which is kind of like their flea market). I bought some vintage hankies and a cute little jewelry box. Everything in NOLA is bright and shiny!! :)