Mongolian Scampi for Daddy!

Hey there mates!

It's been a while again since my last blog. I know it's my fault. Sigh. I've been really busy with a lot of things lately most specially with work and I feel a bit exhausted. I kept telling myself few weeks ago that I owe my blog a Father's day post. So I hope it's never too late to pay tribute and give my hats-off to all the good fathers all over the world.

Every person on this planet has his or her own side of the coin. I take the side of my Dad and I consider myself as a Daddy's girl ever since I was a little girl. There are deeper reasons behind it and I cannot itemize everything here. But I have tons of little anecdotes why I always like to be with my father.

When I was small he always take me to his office at the advertising agency he used to work with during his younger days. Then often bring us to movies and eat out on fancy restaurants or cool fast food place. He also bought us stationery and other stuff we need not just when we were small but also until we grew up. He always brings me to his work related activities before that's why my exposure to advertising world started at an early age. I may not be the ultimate creative person in my industry but in my heart I know that my creativity and being an artist is in my genes. And I owe my father for that.

Now that I am a grown-up lady, I am still in advertising and I still keep my hobby as a painter. Those things that I am busy about on a regular basis, reminds me of my father often. He still helps me whenever I need him big and small help. And time tested everything that during my trying times he can still be there for me.

I thank my Daddy for my existence in this world. I continue to dream a lot of things for myself and for my family as well. Sometimes things are just hard to achieve but I do believe a positive mind can bring me to the road where dreams can turn into real. I still have plenty of dreams that haven't been immortalized. One of them is buying my Dad a big billiard table. There is still a lifetime ahead to hopefully fulfill this. In the meantime, here's a hearty recipe for Daddy.

MONGOLIAN SCAMPI

Ingredients:

• Prawns
• Squid
• Shitake Mushrooms
• Red / Green Capsicums (sliced diagonally)
• Bean sprouts
• White Onions (sliced into rings)
• Garlic
• Paprika
• Salt / Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Butter (of course)

Procedure:

Peel the prawns and slice the squid into rings and set aside. Heat wok in medium heat then add butter and a bit of olive oil. Add garlic and onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add shitake mushrooms and stir-fry for about a minute. Then add prawns followed by squid and stir-fry again for a few minutes. Then quickly add the capsicums. Stir-fry again for 3o seconds then add paprika, salt and pepper. Then lastly add the beansprouts and stir-fry everything for about a minute or two. Then when it's cooked prepare a small bowl. It's good to eat this dish with your chopsticks and some Thai Jasmine rice.

Hope you like my post Father's Day blog! :-)

big hug,
joan xxx

Shitake Mushroom Bruschettas

The beautiful month of June has arrived and before I knew it, it's more than ten days had pass and I am just writing my first blog. Recently I had a photo shoot at Geisha (the cafe where I work during weekends) with my recipes on their menu. I did the food styling and the photography out of generosity. Today, I am posting this lovely and colorful Shitake Mushroom Bruschettas to represent how colorful life can be. It's just my way of musing things and giving meaning to the food I concoct.

For the recipe click here to see my recipe contribution at JamieOliver website

Back home, June is considered as the wedding month decades ago. But through the years things have changed. Couples are detaching from the old school mindset of choosing to get married on the month of June. So to speak, December to February is now the popular choice because of the cold weather. April also climbs the chart because of the summer heat and the beach wedding theme. A lot of people are now breaking the traditional rules of the boring and repetitive ways of executing a wedding occasion. Every couple just wants to be different. And in the future I would assume I am not an exception.

Autumn. Probably my most favorite season of the year. I like the turning of leaves into tangerine and the falling from the branch of trees. And look how lovely the Autumn flowers are? Thanks to OnceWed for the photos here. It serves as my daily inspiration on how to see my matrimonial event as simple, exclusive yet colorful in an opaque or subdued tones.

To every woman, wedding day is a fairytale but for me it's not. I don't even want anyone to witness how I exchange my I DO's except for the priest or who ever will conduct the ceremony and that's it. It's the solemnity and exclusivity that matters to me. Many people ask me why? Don't you want us to see you walk down the aisle? I don't know what to say. Maybe because half of my life I had this inferiority with the crowd. I hate to deal with so many people. Even with friends I am most likely happy to deal with just one constant companion. I always like intimate bonding than a group of crap.

This appetizer called bruschetta hails from Italy and it is my all-time favorite appetizer. Have you heard of Torino, Puglia, Positano, Siena, Verona, Amalfi coast, Cinque Terre and Fiesole? These are some off-beaten paths that I am currently eyeing to visit as I go to Italy this September for quite a long period of time. I am excited to bask under the Tuscan Sun and feel the breeze of the wind during Autumn. I would love to have the Italian cuddle once more. More to speak, I miss everything about Firenze. They say our fate is a fair share of what is destined for us which we are not in control of and half is something we have to put our actions. For me fate is like Newton's third law of motion. In every action there is an equal or opposite reaction. So I am taking a big leap and risk whatever my palm is holding right now to seize the moment where life and fate takes me. I always wanted to break my routine and as much as possible I risk eloping from the ordinary life. I believe life is colorful and I hold the responsibility to choose the color palette I want. Whatever is bound for me in Italy, I know my heart will be happy to discover whatever it is.

In the meantime, I still love the world of advertising as I exert my creative juices on a daily basis. In a few days I am off to fly to Bangkok again for a photo shoot.

big hug,
joanie xxx