Around the World

Yen, Jeremy and Tyrus have trekked half way across the world… or is it the whole way?  Canada, Hungary, and now Australia where they’ll spend the rest of the summer.  Here are a few more photos of their trip so far.

Get ready.  There’s a bunch.

The Calm Before The Storm

It’s a quiet and peaceful Saturday afternoon. Nguyen is visiting a friend while I am watching a movie and anxiously awaiting this little bundle inside to make his appearance.  The crib is ready to snuggle a sleeping baby.  His clothes are folded and put away. Our hospital bags are packed. The doctor says Ethan has dropped and I am effaced, so he could come at any time. I have spent many a moment thinking and dreaming and planning to be a mom. I know it will be a life changing transition and I am eager and nervous. Yet all there is to do is wait. So, as I listen to raindrops hitting against window I wonder if I am ready even though everything else seems to be. This is the calm before the storm. The stormy nights of a crying baby… the waves of immense emotion which I already have a difficult time controlling… the pure joy of having a child. What a new and wonderful life it will be.

Watermelon Time

We got back from the grocery store and are just about to sit back to enjoy a big bowl of fresh fruits when we got inspired.  In other words, this is going to be long. 

We love fresh fruits. As it is summer, there’s not much like a big juicy watermelon. Emily and I will normally go through one in a day (2 days at most) so we have to limit the times we buy watermelons.

It never fails.  Every time we’re picking out watermelons, someone next to us asks, “how do know which one’s ripe?” The fact is, it’s rather difficult to pick out good melons. But there are tricks that I use to facilitate the process.

Don’t feel like reading all of this?  Skip straight to step #5.

This is easy when you’re buying from a street vendor. You just ask the merchant to pick one out for you. Most of the time, they’ll pick out a good one because they know their crop and they want you to come back… and recommend friends. Sometimes I would ask them their shop schedule. I’d tell them that if it’s good, I’ll return to buy a few more.  With the rate that we go through melons, it doesn’t take long before we’d return for more.  Of course this doesn’t always work as sometimes the person selling them to you are hired hands or relatives who don’t actually have much experience in identifying the good melons from the rest.  Or in the case of my last experience, the merchant relied on his 3 year old daughter to choose for him.  She was very cute but it was the worse melon we’ve had in a long time. 

In a large grocery store, you’re left to fend for yourself most of the time. There’s no doubt that someone has told you to thump the melon. You’re supposed to hear a thump or a thud. One is better. I don’t know about you but I never remember which I’m supposed to listen for. This trick has never worked for me. However, there are other things I look for when picking out a watermelon. It’s not an exact science but here’s what I look for.

1. Does it have seeds?

   I know that many people love seedless watermelons but I don’t prefer them. Don’t get me wrong.  I like them fine.  I just like the regular watermelons with seeds better. I’ve never found a seedless watermelon to be as good as a good regular watermelon can be. Unless you’re making watermelon balls for an upcoming shower, seed is the way I’d go. If you get a good one, you’ll be rewarded with a sweeter melon than any seedless can be.  I think it’s worth the gamble.

2. How does it look?

   Is it well formed? Is the overall shape symmetrical? Are the patterns/lines spanning somewhat evenly from one end to the other and bright in color? Does it have a light “belly” on one side? Is the stem dry, clean, and hollow?  If you scratch it with your fingernail, does the rind come off easily?  You want to be able to answer “yes” to all of these questions. You also don’t want a melon with any punctures or bruises. Any penetration through the surface allows bacteria to get in. It only requires one puncture wound to spoil the entire melon. Unlike cheese, with fruit, you can’t just can’t just cut off that bad part.

   So what about that light yellowish spot?
   Although this is actually a blemish to the surface of the melon, it tells you a little history about the melon.  It tells you that the melon was heavy at one point. It had time to sit and dig into the ground.  That light yellow, and somewhat flatter, spot shows that it sat, grew, and had time to ripen on soft dirt.  Watermelons without the lighter belly may have been picked too early, did not receive a proper nourishment, or has been tampered with often while it was growing. Of course, the smaller the melon breed, the less prominent the belly would be since they would naturally be lighter.  The light belly spot is usually a good thing as long as it’s not soft or damp to the touch. You don’t want any spot of the melon to be soft.

3. How does it feel?

   It’s a watermelon, it should contain a lot of water. As water is extremely heavy, so should be your watermelon.  If you find it to be a good bit heavier than it looks, that’s a good thing.

4. What about the sound?

   OK so the flat, light belly tells you that it was ripened on the vine while sitting on flat ground. The weight tells you if it is still juicy. The bright color tells you it received a good amount of sun. The dried, hollow stem tells you that it was was not cut too early. But what about texture? It could be ripe but am overripe, mealy melon is no good.

   **I don’t recommend doing this at a farmer’s market or street vendor. At a large grocery store, break loose and go wild. Most likely they won’t know what you’re doing. Just make picking out the watermelon the last thing you do so you’re practically on your way out anyways.

   Place the watermelon on the ground in front of you with one end pointing forward and away from you… the melon should be parallel to your feet. Crouch over it as if you’re about to hike the melon-football. Place both palms on to the center of the melon, ends of your palms together, and fingers fanned out to the sides. Are you still with me? Now do a sharp and short pump straight down on the melon. You’ll hear and feel one of two things… a crisp “snap” or a gritty “crush”. That’s tells you the texture of the melon. The snap (or pop) sound is what you want. It tells you that the watermelon flesh is dense and tight. The alternative, a crushing sound, tells you that the melon is mealy.  If you were to cut the latter melon open at that point, you’ll find that the insides literally crushed under that pressure.  This is why I don’t recommend doing this when buying from a local farmer’s.  They might get mad at you.  For a big box grocery store… well they shouldn’t be selling an old gritty melon anyways. 

   OK so that’s not all. There are a few flaws to step 4. One of them being that if someone had already tested the melon this way before you, you won’t hear a pop or a crush sound. If the melon is too small, you may hear or feel it either. Maybe you don’t want to look like you’re playing with a watermelon in the middle of the grocery store. Or maybe you don’t want to go around crushing watermelons all day. Read on…

5. So can I thump it?

   Give it a good slap.  The sound you’re listening for is a hollow one.  This may be difficult to identify so just take 3-4 melons and give them each a good whack with your palm to compare.  You want to one that sounds hollow and echo-y.  Still don’t know what you’re listening for?  Balance the melon on one hand when you do this thump test.  If you thump it lightly with one hand, you should be able to feel relatively strong vibrations in the other.  This tells you that the melon is solid enough for the vibrations to resonate through the melon.  That’s a good thing.

That’s it!   There are many different ways to pick out different melons but these are the things I look for when choose a watermelon.  If you do try this method out, tell me how it goes. If you have any other tips, I’d like to hear of it too. Good hunting.

Photos of Yen, Jeremy & Ty

So I’ve been slacking on the posting of photos.  Yeah I know.  Yen would so diligently and consistently send them to me yet all I do is horde them as my very own.

These photo are actually from way back in May in their travels to Ontario, Canada… then way over to Budapest and Siofok, Hungary.  Ty’s already a world traveler.

Fried Rice Like Mother Used To Make

I‘ve always enjoyed some good fried rice but, if you live anywhere like I do, it’s not always very easy to find a restaurant that put much care to this traditional dish.  A lot of places seem to believe that simply mixing rice, soy sauce, and sesame oil makes fried rice.  Maybe.  But that’s not how my mom made it when I was growing up.  This is why I typically choose white rice over the fried varieties in most restaurants.  Once in a while, I’d just make a big batch at home.  Homemade fried rice is actually very easy given you have the right tools and ingredients.

Ingredients:

8 c  Rice, cooked and refrigerated
4 ea  Bacon slices; cooked and chopped
1/2 lb  Shrimp; peeled
3 ea  Eggs, large
3-4 ea  Green Onions; chopped
1 ea  Onion, small; diced
12 oz  Mixed veggies – carrots, peas, green beans, corn; frozen until ready to use
2-3 clv  Garlic; minced

1 T  Thick soy sauce
3-4 T  Sesame oil
1-2 t  Butter
Soy sauce

Seasoning Salt:

1/2 T  black pepper; ground
1/2 T  garlic powder
1/2 T  kosher salt

Directions:

Cook your rice following instructions specified by your rice cooker.  Cool and refrigerate overnight… or 2-3 nights.

Before you start, get everything ready and within arms reach.  You’re should be working with extremely high heat.  You don’t want your ingredients to sweat much and you don’t want it to overcook.

In a hot wok, brown your butter with fresh garlic.

Remove the garlic, set aside (or further up the side of the wok). Pour in your eggs and scramble until just cooked but still wet/shiny.

Add onions, a pinch of seasoning salt, and a very light drizzle of sesame oil.  Saute until it just starts to turn translucent (about 2 minutes).

Add shrimps and a pinch of seasoning salt.  Mix until slightly pink (less than a minute).

Pile on the rice, thick soy sauce, about 3-4 tablespoons of regular soy sauce, sesame oil, the browned garlic, and a good helping of the dry seasoning (reserving about 1-2 teaspoons).  Mix well until you work out all the clumps and the rice is rather uniform in color.

Create a well in the center of the rice and pour in the frozen veggies.  Fold the rice over the veggies, cover, and allow to veggies to steam for about 3 minutes.  Depending on your pan or wok, you may need to slightly reduce the heat to not burn the rice.

Mix and add more soy sauce and seasoning mix to taste.

Continue cooking for about 3-4 minutes tossing occasionally.  If you are wanting to add more delicate vegetables like bean sprouts, add it a couple of minutes before you finish cooking. When it’s done, mix in the chopped bacon and green onions, and remove from heat.

Extra Notes and Rambles:

This is sometimes confusing in recipes so I’ll take the opportunity to clarify.  I listed 8 cups of cooked rice… which is about 2.5 cups uncooked.

Traditionally fried rice is made from cold leftover rice.  It provides a firmer texture and wont mush while cooking.  Depending on the rice that you use, you may not need to refrigerate it over night.  You can also substitute for brown rice if you’d like.  I use the classic Thai jasmine rice (long grain) but you can opt for anything from whole grain brown rice to Japanese short grain sushi rice (aka round-grain or pearl-grain).

Wok cooking, as with most Asian pan stir-fry cooking, requires extremely high heat and ultimate control over that heat.  That’s why the round, tapered walls of a wok on a high powered gas range is best.  I, unfortunately, currently have an electric range… so woks, even flat-bottom woks, don’t give me the control I want.  Then comes in the electric wok.  It’s the next best thing to a big thick wok on jet burners.  I currently own the Breville EW30XL and I’m pretty happy with it so far.

Tips:
When I make fried rice, I like to make a lot… so I end up cooking rice specifically for this meal instead of using leftover.  One trick that I like to do is to immediately spread the freshly cooked rice out on a long sheet of foil to cool.  Make sure it’s even and leave about an inch on the sides of the foil.  Once completely cooled, gently roll up the foil, close the sides, and set in the refrigerator over night.  Spreading it out on the foil will prevent it from collecting too much moisture and getting soggy.  It also provides for a clean and compact way to store the rice.  When you’re ready to use it, unroll the foil and crumble any large chunks of rice in your hands before transferring to your wok.

This particular recipe is fairly different from most restaurants’ as it won’t taste very “fried” at all.  The timing and technique is key.  The egg is cooked first so that it stays separated from the onions… you taste more egg and it stays as fluffy pieces instead of just remnants or an afterthought.  The onion is added second as it requires the most time of the remaining ingredient.  Slightly cooking the shrimp in the pan allows the flesh to tighten and pick up some salt before it’s covered and steamed by the rice.  The veggies are left frozen until cooking so that they won’t mush.  The ice also helps them get steamed in the rice instead of being cooked by the pan or oil.  The cooked bacon is added after the cooking is done so the rice doesn’t get greasy.  The green onions are added last to retain it’s crisp, fresh taste and is only softened slightly by the residual heat.  So really the eggs, onions, and rice gets fried… the rest of the ingredients are actually steamed.  The end result will be bolder flavors. It’s also a bit healthier.

If you want, you can also add more veggies like bean sprouts, broccoli, soy beans, zucchini, etc.

SOS…Laundry Fairy Needed

So you may be wondering, “A post about laundry? It must be a slow day at the Nguyen house”. Well, this is not just ordinary laundry… this is the first load of baby laundry! That’s right, we are finally organized enough to start washing all the baby things. This is momentous because it marks the first load of thousands of loads to come in the future for this child.  I thought that was worth noting. Now, if someone could just send the laundry fairy my way… it looks like I will be doing baby laundry for a really long time!

Baby Shower Homecoming

Recently, some family friends from DeRidder gave Nguyen and I a wonderful baby shower. I had the privilege of spending time with people I grew up with and had always looked up to and admired. They have been incredibly supportive throughout high school, college, weddings and now babies too! I am blessed to have a community of support from my home town. Thanks ladies, for a wonderful morning of games and food and marvelous company!