Chinese Salt and Pepper Duck

Went to a potluck party on the weekend and it's my first time trying this recipe out. Quite a few people asked me about the recipe but the original recipe is in Chinese only. Here is the translation. I added some curved green onion and cherry tomatoes to make it festive.

Chinese Salt and Pepper Duck (Cold Dish)

Ducks can be very fatty sometimes and this recipe offers en excellent way of bringing out the refreshing and tender flavor of duck. 

Ingredients

1. Duck (~2 to 2.5 kg), trim the fat

2. 3 tablespoons of sea salt, 1 table spoon ground Sichuan pepper .

3. One piece of green onion, 5 slices of ginger, 1 star anise, 2 clove flower bud, 1 tablespoon salt

Preparation

1. Mix ingredients 2 and cover them allover the duck. Massage duck and let it marinate for min 24 hr (~ 24 to 48hr) in fridge.

2. Rinse the duck

3. Add ingredients 3 in water and bring it to boil in a big pot. Make sure there's enough water to cover the entire duck. 

4. Put the duck in the pot. Turn down the heat right before water is gonna boil again. Simmer at low for 30 mins. 

5. Turn off the heat and let it cool down to room temp.

6. Put the duck in the fridge for a min 4 hrs.

7. Carve and serve. Enjoy!

Chinese version and photos are originally from Maomaoma.

荼蘼 Life plan A and B

最近刚看了一个台湾的电视剧《荼蘼 Life plan A and B》，一共6集，与以往的台湾爱情很不一样。荼蘼是一种花，是春季最后盛开的话，用来比喻某事到结尾了。女主人公需要在爱情和事业中做选择，于是有了计划A和B，就像是PARALLEL UNIVERSE. 两条不可复制亦不可相交的人生路线，在不断的后悔，懊恼和痛苦中进行着，最后女主人终于想通，不再纠结。人生本来就不完美，咀嚼人生百味，方可享受任一方案。

cooking

最近长智齿了，希望不会影响我吃东西啦。放一些最近做的菜。

 红白排骨汤

满园春色

荞麦冷面

烤trout （菜谱见下）

烤鱼酱 （有点咸~）

pear and avocado sandwich

糙米糖藕

卤猪尾

avocado and cheese sandwich

avocado and shrimp salad

卤肉饭

random

was talking to a friend about how her classmate from middle school all got a very good life, wealthy, have their own business, making her want to do her own business and have a full filling life.

What is life all about, make lots of money, live in a big house, drive a super fancy car? Everyone has their own answers. To me, I do not need a big house but a warm home, I do not need a fancy car but a proper transportation to take me wherever i need to go safely, I do not need lots of money but enough to spend for me and my family and maybe a bit extra to help others, I do not need lots of friends to hang out every day but a few true friends that I can call anytime.  Do something makes you smile everyday, that's life.

背影

母亲回去了，走之前的前一晚和我说了很多，突然明白了为何给我起单名卓了，她把所有的希望都放在了我身上，一心培养我，栽培我。人的一生有很多选择，如果选错了，如果可以即使改过来也很好。如果一直错到底，那就只能自己接受。都说事情都是有好与坏两面的，也许多从好的一面去看看，积极的面对才是对自己最好的交代。

不善言辞的我，有时候和母亲顶撞，有时候冷漠的对待母亲的话语，让母亲说话变得有些小心翼翼。

送机之前的那个拥抱，纵有千言万语，却一个字都没有说出口，眼泪会自己悄悄地留下来，是心疼母亲，还是觉得突然自己又是一个人了。总是孤单的一个人过，习惯了一个吃饭，一个人看电影，一个人做所有的家务，一个人旅游，似乎只有属于我自己的记忆才是不会被别人打搅的。不用去刻意的去遗忘，不用去刻意的去掩盖。

$2.5

what can you buy with $2.5?

I'm the team manager of a Dragon boat team this year and also in charge of the money. We have $2.5 left for everyone, just trying to think what i can get for everyone. It's very hard since if I go online and shipping fee alone would probably cost $10. I also tried to google "what can i buy with cad $2.5?" all the search results are showing stocks or Canadian dollar being weak etc, Maybe i should invest this $50 dollars and use this for next year's race. If i buy a penny stock, i can buy a lot.

what is travel is all about?

what is travel is all about? why do people travel? i travel far to see elephants enjoying a mud bath, to have a conversation with local people in the pub, to tastes the local fresh white asparagus that i would never have in Vancouver, to understand my airbnb host's life. She is an amazing woman, also a single mother who is proud of her son, an immigrant who lacks sense of belonging, a musician who is passionate about her music, an artist who creates arts presenting her home country. I reflect myself in her, in my trip, in my solo time.

travel is all about experience

Netherlands and Germany

I just came back to Vancouver and try to stay awake for jetleg. Figured I will share my itinerary for my one week trip in Netherlands and Germany. Since I only have so many vacation time every year, I only took one week off this time. It was short and sweet.


Itinerary:

Day 1: arrive in Amsterdam, traveled to Den Haag/Hague

Day 2: day trip to Rotterdam and Den Haag/Hague

Day 3: train ride to Koln, the Dom

Day 4: Koln/Cologne and Bonn (birthplace of Beethoven)

Day 5: Koln/Cologne and train ride to Amsterdam

Day 6: Alkmaar (cheese market and trading center), Amsterdam

Day 7: Country side: Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Marken, Amsterdam

Day 8: fly out


most of the time was spend on either commuting or museums. The cities list above are pretty walkable except Amsterdam. I stayed close to Koln Central and Amsterdam Central, which are pretty convenient. I can spend more time in the city sigh seeing without needing to worry about getting back to hotel too late.

Day	location	point of interests	accommodation
Day 1	Amsterdam, commute to Hague	Hello Europe! pick up Holland Pass at GWK Travelex - Schiphol airport landside - Arrival Hall 3/ 4.
Day 2	one day in Rotterdam and Hague	Rotterdam Central Station,  Cube Houses, (silver pass, save $3) Markthal, City Hall, Kunsthal, (silver pass, save $12, closed on Mondays) Erasmus Bridge world trade center
Day 3	half day commute from Hauge to Cologne (4 hr train ride)	7am train from Hague - Cologne Cologne 1. Gothic Cathedral (guided tour, Monday – Saturday 10.30 am and 2.30 pm, Sunday and Feastday 2.30 pm, http://www.koelner-dom.de/index.php?id=home&L=1 2. go to any public museum or Cologne Tourist Board Kardinal-Höffner-Platz 1 get museum card. Mondays - Saturdays: 09:00 a.m. – 08:00 p.m.	air bnb
Day 4	cologne, Bonn	Cologne: 1. Romano-Germanic Römisch-Germanisches Museum 10am-5pm Tue-Sun 2. Museum Schnütgen Mon closed Tues to Sun 10 am – 6 pm Thurs 10 am – 8 pm http://www.museum-schnuetgen.de/default.aspx?s=1909 Bonn: 1. University of Bonn, 2. Beethoven house: birthplace of the renowned composer Ludwig van Beethoven	air bnb
Day 5	half a day in Bonn, train from Bonn/cologne to Amsterdam (4 hr train ride)	Cologne:Wallraf-Richartz Museum, with most monet (i only saw one, lol) collection, Tues to Sun 10 am – 6 pm arrive at Amsterdam 1. take 10pm night canal tour 2. check out the red light district, Randy Roy's Redlight Tours everyday 8pm plus10pm Fridays and Saturdays (I didn't end up doing tour, but review of this tour is very good)	hostel in Amsterdam
Day 6	Amsterdam	Amsterdam 1. Rijksmuseum, gold pass, Open daily 9:00-17:00 2. Van Gogh museum, gold pass, (9 am to 6 pm and Fridays until 10 pm, Tip: visit the museum from 9 am to 11 am or after 3 pm. The busiest times are between 11 am and 3 pm.)	hostel in Amsterdam
Day 7	Amsterdam	Amsterdam 1. country side morning tour start from 8:45am, pack a light lunch or eat at Volendam 2. Amsterdam market 3. Royal Palace 4. Dam Square	hostel in Amsterdam
Day 8	Amsterdam	Goodbye Amsterdam!

A few tips:

1. It's a good idea to buy international train tickets ahead of time Tickets can be sold out. They can be booked online or at the computers at all the information booth at main train station. Print out the paper tickets and conductors will check time to time.
2. I bought a Holland pass for Netherlands travel, there are also Amsterdam card and museum card, depends on what you want to do. Google Holland pass vs Amsterdam card, you will see the differences.
3. Holland pass gives me voucher for museum tickets, which I still need to go line up to exchange for museum entrance tickets. There are difference line up for voucher and tickets.
4. Ann Frank house is one the most popular places to visit in Amsterdam. If you are interested in history and it's highly recommenced to reserve your tickets and they will be sold out!
5. Royal Palace is where dutch royal greets guests but it's not super fancy and even the Queen does not like it. I did\t go inside and just took a picture.
6. Last canal cruise is at 10pm and I was able to see the night view of Amsterdam. All the bridges are lighted up and quiet. Quite different from the Amsterdam's day life.

alternative itinerary:
i have met people that travel to/from Berlin, Germany and Paris, France. Flights may be cheaper than trains sometimes. so check the price before you go.

world cam

这几天一直在研究欧洲旅游的事情，学到了好多东西，从一开始3个地方，加到7个地方，看来还是不现实，还是减少到3个地方吧。

发现了一个很酷的网站，http://worldcams.tv/ 全世界著名景点都有的live camera，现在温哥华是晚上9点38分，Amsterdam 是早上6：38， 17度，dam square 有高清的摄像头，360度一直在转，我在想，如果一直盯着看，是不是可以看到一些有意思的事情发生。有辆车掉头了，摄像头每次都会zoom到一个阳台上，那里是有活动的时候有重要的任务出场的，或者是有表演的时候演员的舞台？此时此刻伦敦阴天，巴黎下雨，艾菲尔铁塔完全看不到。再过几天我也会到dam square了吧，想想就开心啊，就像是时空穿越一样，哈哈。。。

Amsterdam， 我来啦
http://worldcams.tv/cities/amsterdam-dam-square

母亲

妈妈又生病了，她的身体状况一直不是很好，高中的时候是校篮球队的，可是现在年纪大了平时也不锻炼了，只忙着工作，照顾外公外婆老爸，就是一操心的命。突然很害怕，会不会哪天她就突然离开了，我还没准备好呢，我还没有能力养他们，给他们大房子住，房车开，让他们去环游世界。12年夏天，老爸老妈第一次来加拿大，自驾游去了banff，路上全是trailer，就开玩笑说以后有了外孙，外孙女，一起带着他们到处旅游。

今天把家里的家具挪了位置，沙发靠窗了，躺着能看到天空，火烧云，转眼就不见了。望着Kingsway上的车水马龙，幸好还能看得见一些人烟，如果一个人住在house里，会害怕的吧。

我幸福快乐，这才是爸妈最大的欣慰吧。遥祝老妈身体快点好起来，母亲节快乐~

Fort McMurray

这几天Fort McMurray 大山火，全城清空，昨天想给red cross 发短信捐钱，结果没反应。只好上网站捐钱。今天居然抽奖中了昨天公司楼里的头奖，真开心，哈哈。

加拿大很人性，red cross 鼓励大家短信捐款$5，方便又实际。一方有难，四方支援。

future

i gave away everything to forget about you, to not remember about you. saw the post card you mailed to me today, just realized how much i miss you. time to move on, Jamie. future is in my hand. Good luck, to you and me.

Acumen, Mincome

my coach said i have creative thinking, jumping over things. there are so many things i want to talk about, and they need to be in an organized and relevant way. as usual, i wrote down many random thought and come to a conclusion:

DRAFT

Hi Naomi and Malcolm,

Thank you very much for such a wonderful experience last night! I like the how the environment is very welcoming. I don’t feel like being judged and everyone is free to express themselves. It's exciting to meet with so many people are passionate about making a better world.

Aha! moment:

key words: dignity, what can we learn from a small community?

The environment didn’t change. What have been changed is my perspectives.

Naomi taught me how to look from a positive side. I am always looking for more, what Naomi has taught me is that I can apply what I have learned and what I know of towards what my passion is.

Social media

What I didn't know is that homeless people also have cell phone and maybe we could do something from creating some apps that would encourage and help them to learn some skills or make some money.

Struggle to live and survive, live like an animal

it's also interesting to hear that some people think Canada is finally moving from developing country to developed country back in the 70's and people finally have a right to choose what they like and live for a higher standard of life instead of just making money for survival. I came to Canada in 2005 thinking that Canada is a developed county, compared to China. China still have lots of catch up with.

Mincome, pilot program

I am also interested in learning more about Acumen and looking for expertise in different field. I have always believed the power of teamwork and collaboration.

————————————————————————————————————————

email actually sent out

Hi Naomi and Malcolm,

Thank you very much for such a wonderful experience last night! I like the how the environment is very welcoming. I don’t feel like being judged and everyone is free to express themselves. It's exciting to meet with so many people are passionate about making a better world.

I got so many inspirations but most important Aha! moment for me is the people there. There are eight of us bouncing the ideas, trying to come up with a practical and economical solutions that can be started with a local community. Isn't that the most exciting thing? Collaborations and connection between people.

Cheers,

Jamie

friends forever

stayed at Nanaimo for one night for work, went to a Greek restaurant with pretty decor.  10 old ppl were sitting across me and they were chatting and laughing all the time. they are all with white hair, so probably around 60 to 70's, I hope I will have some friends to hang out when I get older as well. cheers to friendship!

connect the net

i was doing an exercise called Connect the Net. it asks me to list the most important contacts in my network and they are the people that i rely on for key information, expertise, advice and creative inspiration.

it took me a long time to think which names to list, then i realize i have such a limited social circle. some of the ppl, i don't even contact that often, maybe once a year. there is no problem having a small social circle, as long as it's a high quality one with trust, support and allow vulnerability.

I'm recently reading the 21st century business written by Robert Kiyosaki. it starts changing my mindset about money, asset, wealth building. i was not born in a rich family, but my family is not poor either. my parents have been working very hard to make money but I never had to worry about money. I have always thought i will just go to university, get a job and work the entire life. but when it comes to financial freedom, i have none. i will be scared to make mistakes at work, i will be scared to be laid off, i will be worried about not being able to pay my mortgage. i want the financial freedom to allow me not worry about making money for the sake of the money. why work for others' dream? work for my own.

sunny weekend

Sunny weekend with beautiful cherry blossom (previous weekend) and kits beach. 

Listening to Studio Ghibli Cello on YouTube, it's so beautiful. Thank YouTube, thank artists made this possible and make me feel relaxing.  

Had dinner with a friend that i haven't met for five years. he is married with a two year daughter. Time really flies. need to set some goals for myself and work on it before time runs out. 

food food food

dinner one day, i eat like a panda, LOL

  

油焖笋 stir fried bamboo shoots

pork chop with mushroom sauce

breakfast, a piece of banana cake

veggi platter

Food

Crispy chicken thigh with beans and cherry tomatoes

1. dry chicken thigh with paper towel,
2. lightly bread and season,
3. bake 420F for about 20min, turn once

avocado and mixed green salad with black sesame dressing

breakfast: omelette with Greek yogurt and soy milk

Wild mushroom risotto with pork rib

seafood stir fried rice

baked beets

the best Good Friday

Try something you are afraid of.
Finally get to try skiing today, after being in Canada more than 10 years. It was fun, exciting, and not as hard as i expected at all. Friends are the best supporting, encouraging, peer pressuring, lol. The worst case is falling on the snow and it doesn't even hurt!
I was so worried about trying skiing and i kept thinking this is a difficult and dangerous activity that i should stay away from. I was just sacred and kept worrying but never tried. It's not as bad at all.
You are very brave today, good job! Very proud of you, Jamie!

Also managed to stop the lift once, my feet didnt touch ground and it just turned around, lol, i thought i was gonna take another round.

What makes a good engineer

I live in a world full of expectations and ppl not happy if i dont deliver something they wanted. Maybe they are jealous, maybe they want me to fill/support their eager, whatever it is, it's others dreams. I shall protect my own dream and stand my ground. When im over loaded and didn't even realize and see the big pictures, that's when the risk/danger come from.
Wear a mask may be the best way.

It really sucks when you thought everything is going well and all a sudden, nothing is right. It sucks. What is going on? I just dont have enough capacity yet, like doing exercise, stretch to a certain degree is fine. if stretching too much and over a tipping point, it hurts the next day. Keep learning, keep growing, it's okay, Jamie. Dont blame on yourself. Focus, one thing a time. Promise what you can deliver.

Feeling not secure, being judged, upset

Do I need Internet?

Do I need internet? Shaw cable prom price jumped up to more than double after half year promp price. I called them and try to negotiate the price and did not succeed. I was really disappointed and canceled their service right away. went with a different company instead, much cheaper price. Shaw treated me like i had no other options.

but, Do I need internet? that's the question I start thinking of. 20 years ago, i would spend time on my super slow computer and using internet through phone cable. my mom used to complaint all the time about how she cannot call in. nowadays, internet is so convenient that you can talk to pretty anyone on the world any time you want. Information is so accessible, world is so small yet big.

happy v day

前几天同事一直和我吐槽，主要还是relationship，看她那么down，我只好鼓励她。 我其实也是表面上开心，有时候自己会一个人不开心，但也不想表现给同事看，没有人会同情你，个人生活本来就是要自己安排好的。没有人可以帮你。

今天valentine's day，想起了以前自己经历过的一些事，似乎还是自卑的，更多的时候可以为了别人着想，而没有了自己的原则，到头来痛苦的还是自己。父母的婚姻不是完美的，让我对婚姻有恐惧。从好的一面来看，其实也是很好的借鉴，是否可以互相信任，是否可以在金钱上坦诚，是否有共同目标，是否可以一起成长。

在自我表达上也有待提高。say what you really mean.

overall，还是在慢慢的成长的，you are doing great, Jamie! keep growing! you will meet your Mr. Right one day! :) Happy V Day! I want to spend next year's V Day with someone!

keep learning

every time i talk to my supervisor about some technical problems, i notice there is a huge knowledge gap. it makes me think am i really getting what engineering is? or is this really for me? if i understand something, would it be like an instant thing? or would it actually takes time and efforts?

2016 invest in myself

2016 goal: Invest in myself
learn something new, get new experience, invest in myself, family, and friends. build up strong relationships. friends do not need to be perfect, accept who they are and help them when they need.

health and happiness

health needs consistent exercises, it doesn't need to be hard and intense. small steps at once, it will build up.