Getting to the Root

Almost 6 months later, I realized that my blog has been empty and lifeless.  So many events have taken place in my life I don’t even know where to begin.  A few months in a lifetime is not much, yet it seems like so much has changed.  Truthfully, time is not what dictates the course of our lives, but rather our ability to live in depth the experiences we encounter.  To me time has always been one of those things I truly cherish and never want to waste.

I suppose this was the image that truly made me stop and take a look at my life last year when I decided to do the “cleanse” in my life.  Seeing the days pass by with only 86, 400 seconds truly woke me up.  Every day the simple beauty of what comes my way without fanfare amazes me.  My gratitude for life and just being alive continues to grow by the day now.

Last year around this time, I didn’t feel so positive nor so gracious about time and life.  All I saw was my time ticking away and others wasting it.

I blame myself really.  I let a lot of negative energy into my life and it took me quite awhile to get it out.  It wasn’t that I was just unhappy, I was weary.  Weary of this life.  Weary of trying so hard.  I felt scattered inside.  Like a lost soul.  If you know me then you know I am rarely lost.  I always have a goal and I am always out there achieving something or doing something with myself.

Humans pass through so many phases in the course of their lives.  There are moments when we have the impression that an outside force is pushing us to be everywhere at once.  Duty calls.  Especially for a Chinese girl, such as myself, raised in a very traditional manner.  I constantly struggle between my own heartfelt desires and doing things to make others happy.  There are so many calls to respond to at once – looking after aging parents, running two companies and taking on a third business, helping a friend who feels the chaos or emptiness of life, trying to maintain a happy and loving relationship without being stepped on and on top of all that trying to still achieve my goal of having my own TV show and making that a reality.  We can only be in one place at a time.  When these moment arrive, the heart is caught between the desire to help and the weight of reality and its limits.  At times I felt guilty and sad.  I really want to be able to do more, especially for my parents.  The funny thing I found out is, the more pressure we feel the more we try to do.  We recognize our lives so as to fit in more.  Often, we take on more responsibilities but leave less life for ourselves.  Until I felt completely overwhelmed and wanted to scream.

And that is when I came upon this quote.  I read this and began asking myself questions.  What am I really doing with my life?  What is my mission in life?  What is my reason for being?  What makes ME happy?  What does Nicole want?  When I started asking myself the right questions and answering them, it became clear to me like fog lifted on a cloudy day.  I went back to the basics and started a new way of living and thinking.  It doesn’t happen in a day but now, finally now, I am at peace and am able to communicate again and come out of hiding.

There are small lessons in our daily conflicts; the misunderstandings; the unforseen that jostles our core, and every so often those little reminders teach us to let go.

Letting go is one of the toughest things anyone can do in life.  It requires a great amount of mental strength of which most of us do not possess.  I was somehow magically able to find that strength within me and told myself that I am the only one who can change my life around.  No one else can do it for me.  And that starts with letting go of the pain and anger that eats me up inside.

The moment I was able to do that was the day my life turned around and I began to feel like my normal self again.  The person I am meant to be.  Happy.  Just really happy.  I am working towards my mission and my dream is about to happen.  I can feel it in every part of my mind and my heart.  Once it does I will gladly share it with each and every one of you who have been there to support me this whole way.

In this sense, I, Gourmand Chic, am back.  Having moved on and listened to the signs that life has sent me and guided me along the way, I am happy to have taken the fear I felt last year which almost paralyzed me, and am now taking one step at a time to move forward and enter the flow of life that is meant to surround me.  I now step into the big game that life represents.  I am ready to move forth on my journey.

Let me leave you with these last words.

I invite you to give meaning to your life, to blossom and become who you are, to succeed by acting based on who you are, and to find fulfillment by accomplishing the ultimate goal of your being.  We all have the power to create our life.  Don’t waste another second.

 

100 Day Program

I have decided that in order for me to move forward and progress as a person, I really need to cleanse my life inside and out.  That means to be free of any garbage that is still lingering in my life mentally, physically and emotionally.  To be the best we can be is a challenge in itself but something everyone should aim for; to set our goals as high as we dare and take our place amongst those that make a difference in this world.

Thus, I embark on my 100 day journey to cleanse my life!!!

Wish me luck

 

 

Long Lost Friends and Home Cooked Meals

I am not the kind of girl who makes friends easily. Most people would find that baffling coming from me because I seem so sociable and friendly on the surface. But being friendly and actually cultivating a strong and true friendship are completely different things.

Recently, my friend Michelle and her husband, Sang, moved back to LA after having left me here 6 years ago to move to Colorado. When she moved I was really sad as she was one of the few close friends I had in LA. That same year my best friend moved back to Hong Kong and another good friend of mine moved to San Francisco. I felt like all of a sudden I didn’t have anyone to bear my chest to and I was left with acquaintances I wasn’t sure I wanted to get to know further.

When I heard Michelle was moving back I was almost in disbelief. Could this really be happening? I was ecstatic when 2 weeks later she really was back and settled in.

The first moment I saw her was a bit strange, admittedly. I mean, how are you supposed to feel when your good friend comes back after 6 years of not seeing each other? I was fearful that our friendship had changed and that we had grown so different that we wouldn’t be able to pick up from where we left off.

My worries were put to rest and I realized that nothing had changed between us and it felt like no time had passed. It was as if Michelle and Sang never left.

This past Friday I went over to have dinner for the first time. They made me their traditional Korean dinner, which I loved.

We had Kalbi and Kimchi Chige amongst other typical small Korean side dishes paired with a nice bottle of red wine.

Needless to say I had a great evening with my long lost friends and a warm home-cooked meal. We talked and talked and the evening flew by.


You all know I love food but food shared with good friends cannot be beat. There is something to be said about the old adage “Old friends are like gold” because a true friendship is as hard to find as gold. So treasure your true friends because they are hard to come by.

As for me, I am just so happy to have Michelle back in my life again. And home-cooked Korean food

 

Egg Whites for Treating Burns

I was forwarded this email today and decided to share it with you my dear readers! I actually have tried this before and while it may not be a miracle, it did soothe my burn! 

Healing Miracle for burns:  A young man sprinkling his lawn and bushes with pesticides wanted to check the contents of the barrel to see how much pesticide remained in it.  He raised the cover and lit his lighter; the vapors inflamed and engulfed him.  He jumped from his truck, screaming.  His neighbor came out of her house with a dozen eggs, yelling: “bring me some eggs!”  She broke them, separating the whites from the yolks.  The neighbor woman helped her to apply the whites on the young man’s face.  When the ambulance arrived and when the EMTs saw the young man, they asked who had done this.  Everyone pointed to the lady in charge.  They congratulated her and said: “You have saved his face.”  By the end of the summer, the young man brought the lady a bouquet of roses to thank her.  His face was like a baby’s skin. 

Keep in mind this treatment of burns which is included in teaching beginner fireman this method.  First aid consists to spraying cold water on the affected area until the heat is reduced and stops burning the layers of skin.  Then, spread egg whites on the affected are.One woman burned a large part of her hand with boiling water.  In spite of the pain, she ran cold faucet water on her hand, separated 2 egg white from the yolks, beat them slightly and dipped her hand in the solution.  The whites then dried and formed a protective layer.  She continued at least one hour to apply layer upon layer of beaten egg white.  By afternoon she no longer felt any pain and the next day there was hardly a trace of the burn.  Ten days later, no trace was left at all and her skin had regained its normal color. She later learned that the egg white is a natural collagen and The burned area was totally regenerated thanks to the collagen in the egg whites, a placenta full of vitamins.

 

See’s Candies or Godiva Chocolates?

I don’t think I have ever met a female who doesn’t like chocolate. I for one love chocolate, specifically dark chocolate. In fact, I try not to eat any other type of chocolate but dark chocolate. I like the fact that dark chocolate is actually good for you (no, this is not something I am saying to convince myself!). On top of that it is also an aphrodisiac! What is not to love?

So lovers of chocolate seem to fall into 2 categories:

1. Those who love See’s
2. Those who love Godiva

I fall into the first category, hands down!!! I love going into See’s and buying a one pound box of chocolates handpicked by myself. Chocolate nougat, , scotchmallow, marzipan, dark chocolate covered almonds, caramel, dark chocolate raisins…I can go on and on and on…

My love for See’s began when I was just a little girl of 6. My grandma always had many different boxes of chocolate hidden away in her room. Everytime I visited Taiwan, where my grandma lived at the time, she would always summon me into her room and tell me to pick the chocolate of my choice from her stash. This would be the highlight of my day. I would pick a chocolate and lay on her chaise lounge munching away while she lay on her bed smoking away. See’s was always a staple box amongst Godiva and Nestle! Fond memories I have of days spent in Taiwan as a child.

So tell me, are you a lover of chocolate? If so, do you prefer See’s or Godiva? Or maybe something else entirely? Does your love for chocolate bring back childhood memories?

Now, here are some decadent pictures of chocolate everything!!!

 

Sausage and Potato Goulash

So I decided to cook and try out more recipes from various cookbooks to push myself to make dishes not in my regular menu, so to speak. The great thing by doing this is that I really get to learn from other wonderful chefs out there and at the end of the day I have delicious food!

The first cookbook I have on the table at the moment is “Apples for Jam” by Tessa Kiros. This is her third cookbook and is arranged by “color”. I love this concept and picked my first goulash dish I have ever made at home.

This recipe was easy to make, quite quick and very tasty! I ended up making it for a few of my friends (my lucky friends who get to be my guinea pigs) and we had a wonderful meal filled with good food and good laughter.

So here is the recipe if you’d like to try it at home yourself. It is important to use good quality sausage. I used Italian sausage for this.

Ingredients:

- 1 3/4 pounds good-quality sausage of your choice
- 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large red onion, finely chopped
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 5 to 6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite size chunks
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups hot water
- salt to taste
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Method:

1. Slice the sausages into rounds about 1/2 inch thick

2. Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy-bottomed pan (cast iron is good)

3. Sauté the onion for a couple of minutes over medium heat

4. Stir in the paprika and then add the sausages

5. Continue cooking, stirring fairly often, until the sausages turn golden in places
6. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, cinnamon, bay leaf, and 2 cups of hot water

7. Season with salt and bring to a boil

8. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for approximately 20 minutes until the potatoes are softened and the goulash is thick and stewy
9. Stir with a wooden spoon from time to time and loosen the bits at the bottom to make sure they don’t stick
10. Garnish with parsley and serve hot or even at room temperature

Voila! Dinner is served!

 

Why so serious?

I often think of creative ways to have fun with food and not be such the “serious Chef” all the time. As with life, my approach to cooking is that you do it with passion, creativity and most of all have fun with it!

Breakfast is one of the meals I experiment with the most. Breakfast just allows you to play with all kinds of fun food such as waffles (oh the things I do with that), pancakes (I created an oreo pancake once), eggs…and cereal! YES! CEREAL!

Here I created a fun bowl of Fruit Loops with strawberry and blueberries topped with whipped cream! All these with milk – delish!

What are some creative things you have done with food?

 

People That Come Into Your Life

I found this when I was on StumbleUpon and wanted to share this with you all because it really speaks to me.  As we go through life and sometimes come upon hardship, I hope words like this will help some of you.

 Enjoy!

 Gourmand Chic

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be (possibly your roommate, neighbour, co-worker, longest friend, lover, or even a complete stranger) but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

 Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some people move our souls to dance.  They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom.  Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints in our hearts, and We are never, ever the same.And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realised your potential, strength, willpower, or heart. Everything happens for a reason, nothing happens by chance or by means of luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless. The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience help to create who you become.Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.Make every day count!! Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in yourself; it will be hard for others to believe in you.You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets. 

 

 

 

Brie Soup with Truffle Oil Recipe

 

Gourmet ingredients like Brie, truffle oil, leeks and cream make this soup a special-occasion indulgence.

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp plus 1/4 lb. butter
2 finely diced leeks (whites only)
2 finely diced shallots
1 bay leaf
1 branch thyme
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock; heated
1-1/2 cups 32% cream
Kosher salt and ground white pepper
1 cup diced ripe Canadian Brie (with rind)
Truffle oil and fresh thyme leaves for garnish

via House and Home

 

Cut-Out Cookies

Cut-out cookies are made from a firm dough that is chilled thoroughly then rolled out into a sheet. Various shapes are cut out of the dough before baking. Many of the rich tart doughs, Pies and Tarts, can be used as cutout cookie dough. Dough for rolled or cut-out cookies freezes well and can be stored well wrapped in the freezer for up to 1 month. This dough should be thawed in the refrigerator overnight before using as directed in the formulas. A light dusting of flour on the work surface and rolling pin helps keep the dough from sticking when making cut-out cookies. A sprinkling of granulated or powdered sugar may also be used with some formulas. When the dough is especially high in fat, rolling on silicone baking mats or between layers of parchment paper or plastic film is advised. For best results, cut-out cookie dough is rolled to a thickness of between ¼ and ⅛ inch.