Fishing for Trout...

This weekend I went to Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania to spend some time in the woods and sit by the lake with family and friends... I enjoyed my time there. The view is breathtakingly beautiful and the air is fresh. It was a bit hot though but nothing could be done about that. I had to make do with it. 

It was nice to enjoy some barbecue outdoors in the woods. One day we had grilled meat and another day we had grilled fish (trout), which I and our family friends caught together. Last time I fished was when I was a little kid so it was a fun experience. We didn't go fishing in a lake. We went some place where you rent fishing equipment and you fish in the pond using either worms or play dough like bait (which is what we used) and then have the fish cleaned for you before taking it home. It was a bit hot that day but there were plenty of trees so we got to fish in the shade. I think I caught about five trout. I didn't master throwing the fishing rod but I got the hang of actually catching the fish and getting it out of the water. It was a great experience and one I will never forget.

All in all we caught thirteen trout and grilled most of it in aluminum foil with salt, lemon and fresh dill. It turned out really good. I decided to bake the remaining three trout in the oven.  I salted the trout then smothered it with mayo all over and added some sliced onions inside. Then I added sliced onions and oil onto an aluminum cooking tray, placed the trout on top, sprinkled some dried parsley flakes on the fish and popped it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. My dinner was complete. 

Since the fish has bones in it I prefer to eat it by itself but what goes great with the trout is roasted or fried potatoes or sauteed veggies. So I do that before eating the fish.

Baked Trout

Made Artichoke Soup Again...

I made artichoke soup again today making a few adjustments to the recipe. Last time I made artichoke soup with a yellow onion. Today I chose to use a red onion instead. I also used half-n-half that was organic, pasture raised instead of the regular one I usually buy and I added a little more of it than before. It seemed to make the artichoke soup even better. Can't wait to dive into this soup. It's just what I needed on this hot and stuffy summer day.

Want to know how I make my artichoke soup? Just click on the link below to find out.

Artichoke Soup Recipe

 

Making Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken teriyaki is one of the easiest dishes that you can create in your own kitchen. All you really need is some fresh chicken breast, sea salt, roasted sesame seeds and a high quality teriyaki sauce. You can add a few herbs and spices to the chicken breast as well but just sea salt will do the trick. Feel free to add other ingredients to the dish as well like crimini mushrooms, onions or scallions, snow peas, broccoli, string beans or other veggies of your choice. They will only add to the flavor of the dish. 

I always add onions and roasted sesame seeds to my chicken teriyaki dish that I prepare time and again. Sometimes I add snow peas or crimini mushrooms, which are a favorite of mine as I am a mushroom lover. 

Making chicken teriyaki couldn't be easier as chicken breast cooks very quickly. I'd say about 3 minutes on each side is just about perfect. Be sure to keep an eye on the chicken to make sure it is not pink anywhere. As soon as there is no trace of pink on the chicken pieces turn off the heat. If you over cook it the chicken will be too dry and may even taste rubbery. 

There are two ways to make chicken teriayki. One is to slice up the chicken breast before cooking it and another is to just prepare the chicken breast whole without cutting it. I do it both ways so it's really up to you how you want to prepare it. Before cooking the chicken breast always smell it to make sure it is not spoiled. We all assume that things we buy in the supermarket whose expiration date has not yet expired are fresh. But just because the stamped date hasn't yet expired doesn't mean what you buy is necessarily fresh and unspoiled, especially when it comes to meat.  After making sure the chicken breast is good, wash it and pat dry with a paper towel. Also cut off any fat from it as no point to consume it. You are welcome to leave it of course but I prefer to get rid of it. 

Once you've washed the chicken breast and patted it dry, cut it into slices of your choice, place into a bowl and sprinkle with sea salt (and other spices if you prefer). Sea salt alone will do as you will use teriyaki sauce, which is flavorful itself, so no other spices or herbs needed, but you are welcome to add any other herbs you like. Take a bit of teriyaki sauce, I'd say a few tablespoons at least, and pour it over the chicken breast slices, turning them over in the bowl to make sure each piece is coated in the sauce. Let sit for a few minutes or so to let the teriyaki sauce penetrate the chicken breast slices. Then heat a skillet with some canola oil (or whichever oil you use for cooking) and fry the chicken breast until it is no longer pink. Then sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds and enjoy. 

When it is time to serve the chicken teriyaki you can pair it with some steamed or boiled basmati rice (or rice of your choice) and your choice of veggies like snow peas, broccoli, string beans, or mushrooms. Be sure to prepare the veggies before hand. Enjoy!

Chicken Teriyaki with Snow Peas and Basmati Rice

Chicken Teriyaki with Crimini Mushrooms

Freshly Baked Pastry with Farmer Cheese, Apple Filling

I hate cakes, mousses, puddings, and other such desserts. When it comes to danishes, pies, tarts, turnovers and such baked treats, I am a fan. I love eating them for breakfast with a cup of coffee or a cup of chamomile tea. And I enjoy eating them for supper as well with a chilled cup of kefir or a glass of goat milk.

I have always wanted to try baking pastries but have never done it before. This time around I decided to give it a try. I have yet to master rolling the dough into a perfect shape but  I am sure with practice I will get there. The taste is more important anyway.

Making and baking the pastry was easy to make and it tasted delicious. I made the pastry similar to a turnover using the same filling that I use to make blintzes - farmer cheese, apple, and cinnamon. I also drizzled some clover honey on top of the pastry when it was done baking. The baking took about 30 minutes though I think the roll pastry took just a little bit longer to be done.

I made the pastry in two different shape varieties. One was a long rectangular shaped pastry with thin pieces of dough on the top and the bottom. Another was a roll. This one had thicker dough and was much smaller in size than the rectangular one. Both had the same farmer cheese, apple, cinnamon filling. I have to say that I prefer the rectangular pastry more because I am not a fan of too much dough. Pastries taste that much better when the dough is thin. Same goes for pizzas in my opinion.

Rectangular-shaped pastry with farmer cheese, apple,
cinnamon filling

Pastry roll with farmer cheese, apple, cinnamon filling

If you are interested in baking this delicious pastry treat click here.

Making Vietnamese Style Beef Soup

Vietnamese style beef soup

Vietnamese style beef soup is a healthy addition to your meal. You can enjoy it from the comfort of your own home without having to go to a Vietnamese restaurant.

To make the Vietnamese style beef soup you will need three different stocks - vegetable, shrimp, and beef. You can make them simultaneously but you will need three pots. If you don't have three pots you can make them one after the other. But if you do that make sure to rinse the pot each time.

To make the vegetable stock:

Add the following ingredients to a pot filled with water - medium onion, large carrot, few stalks of celery and some Napa cabbage leaves. Add sea salt and place over medium heat. When the water comes to a boil simmer for about 40 minutes. Once done, remove the vegetables from the pot. You can discard the onion but keep the rest of the veggies for the soup. If you feel they are too soft you can throw them away and add fresh ones when you eat the soup but keep in mind that carrots and celery won't be soft.

To make the shrimp stock:

Take shrimp in its shell (at least 1/2 a pound), wash it and place into a pot filled with water. Cook the shrimp until it turns pink. When done remove the shrimp onto a bowl. Remove the shells from the shrimp, place back into the pot of water and let it cook a little bit more to bring in more flavor to the stock. When done remove the shells from the pot. You can use a skimmer to do that or drain through a colander. 

To make the beef stock:

Take a handful of thin slices of beef fat, rinse under running water and place into a pot of water. When the pot comes to a boil cook the beef fat for about 4 minutes.

To make the soup:

Combine the three different stocks in a large pot. Add the cooked slices of beef fat, and the cooked shrimp. Then add slices of carrot, Napa cabbage and celery - from the stock and/or fresh ones. Stir everything. Add some sea salt if you think the soup needs more salt. Then heat and enjoy!

You can also add some Enoki mushrooms. Before adding the Enoki mushrooms to the soup you need to cut off about an inch from the bottom of the stem, separate the strands and rinse under running water. Enoki mushrooms can be eaten raw so you don't have to cook them but they are a bit hard. To soften them, simply add them to the soup when you are heating it up on the stove. If you prefer you can place them into boiled water, cover, and hold for about 3 minutes, then drain, before adding them to the soup. This will make them softer.  

Making Baked Eggplant Boats for a Cooking Contest

I was a member of a cooking group on Facebook where people share interesting, delicious recipes and recipe photos with others that love to cook. Every week there is a cooking competition where participants must create a dish that has a secret ingredient that is chosen by the previous week's competition's winner. The photo of the end product (the prepared/served dish) must be submitted to the competition along with the name of the dish and what ingredients go into it. Once all the entries are submitted the admin of the group posts all the photos (without mentioning the chef's name) and members are asked to Like their favorites. The photo with the most Likes wins. No actual prizes are awarded but the winner gets to choose the secret ingredient for the following week's competition and his recipe photo is displayed as the cover image of the group for one week.

I had never entered the competition before but after hearing that the secret ingredient would be eggplant I became inspired to enter. After pondering about what new dish to create I came up with an idea of doing baking stuffed eggplant and called the dish baked eggplant boats, which I thought was very creative since the eggplant resembles a boat shape-wise. I already had eggplant in the fridge waiting to be cooked and I already had other ingredients that I could use for stuffing. There was no need to go shopping, which saved me time. 

The ingredients I used for the stuffing included eggplant (of course), red bell pepper, carrots, onions, Kumato tomato, Enoki mushrooms, Basmati Rice, dried basil, Ketchup/Aji Mirin mixture and a mix of four shredded cheeses (Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Parmesan). 

It was fun making this dish and also challenging at the same time as the most important part of the recipe was to remove the flesh from the eggplant so that I could stuff the shell with all these great ingredients. I had never done this before so it took a bit of time to get this done so as not to break the eggplant shell or make holes in it. After finally mastering this step everything else that followed in the recipe was a breeze. It still took a fair amount of time though but that was okay. I couldn't wait to try the end product and to present it in a beautiful way on a plate for the competition. 

I used two eggplants for this recipe that were medium-sized. After I removed the flesh from the eggplant, made the stuffing and placed it inside the eggplant shells along with the four shredded cheeses I popped the tray in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes or so. Once done cooking I turned off the oven and removed the tray onto the table. To create the competition photo I used two halves of the eggplant and laid them out on a square plate, putting a bunch of Chinese basil leaves in between them and garnishing the plate with crushed dried parsley flakes. 

Baked eggplant boats stuffed with Basmati Rice,
eggplant, Enoki mushrooms, Kumato tomato, onions,
organic carrot, red bell pepper, and four shredded cheeses
(Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Parmesan)

For the full recipe including instructions and recipe photos head to this link: Baked Eggplant Boats.

After I laid the eggplant out for the photo and snapped one, I dived right in and found myself in heaven. The baked eggplant tasted so good that I ate one whole half of the eggplant in one sitting. I was so happy that the dish turned out delicious (especially since it was my first time making it) and was excited to enter it into the competition.

The deadline for the submissions was Sunday 10pm. I emailed mine on Thursday. I waited to get a reply email letting me know that the submission was received but never got any email. At first I thought about emailing them to see if they got my submission but then I thought that perhaps they don't reply to submission emails so did nothing about it. On Sunday, when less than an hour was left to submit recipe photos I decided to ask if mine was received just to be sure. Their reply was no. I couldn't believe it. After I had spent so much time preparing this dish and working on its presentation the last thing I wanted was to not be a part of the competition. After communicating back and forth with the admins of the group and resending them my submission it turned out that my email was in SPAM. Out of everyone else's entries mine was the only one that made it into spam, which frustrated me big time. Why the heck was it in spam? I certainly wasn't spamming anyone! Thank God I asked the admins if my submission was received. Had I not asked the them about it I would have never been part of this competition, which would have been quite a disappointment. Turns out they do reply to submission emails, so from now I know that if I take part in this competition again but don't receive a reply email that means my email never went through or went straight into spam. I hope that doesn't happen again!. 

I will not lie, I was so sure I would be the winner of that week's competition. I envisioned my recipe photo being displayed for all to see as the group's cover image. I imagined all the praise comments and likes I would get and lots of people asking for my recipe. In the end though my dish didn't win, getting only about 59 Likes. But people wanted to know my recipe, which made me feel proud. 

The dish that won had double the amount of Likes. I was bummed that I didn't win but was still proud of myself for entering the competition and for creating something new and delicious that I know I will be making again and that others want to make too. 

After finding out that I lost to someone whose dish (a set of three separate dishes in one) was made from recipes Googled online instead of being made from the chef's own imagination/creativity, which was revealed only after the dish had won, I became pissed off big time. It is unfair to the other participants when one of them enters the competition by Googling recipes online instead of creating ones from his/her head even if they are slightly altered. They should be disqualified from the competition if they do that. But I guess in this group entering someone else's recipes into the competition is allowed.

Learning that the winner "cheated" left me with no desire ever to compete again if I would be up against people like that. But I have changed my mind. I will enter again, if the secret ingredient will inspire me. I want people to see my creations and to hopefully try creating them on their own. I am not a professional chef, in that I don't do this for a living, but I do have the talent and the passion for cooking and I want to showcase it to the world. No one can take that opportunity away from me, not even those whose creativity means going online and Googling recipes, and then making them. That's considered "cheating", even if it doesn't seem that way to those doing it and shouldn't be allowed in competitions. 

Enjoy a Delicious Bowl of Farina Creamy Hot Wheat Cereal

You don't have to be a kid to enjoy a delicious bowl of Farina creamy hot wheat cereal. It is delicious, filling, and comforting too. This is one of my favorite breakfast foods and I never get tired of eating it. Sometimes I even have it for supper.

Making a delicious bowl of Farina creamy hot wheat cereal, to enjoy in the morning or even at supper time, is not difficult whatsoever. All you need is an eight ounce glass of (organic) milk, three tablespoons of Farina creamy hot wheat cereal, a pinch of sea salt, a tablespoon of sugar and some butter. 

Take a bowl and mix the Farina creamy hot wheat cereal with a tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt. Then pour the milk into a pot, stir in the Farina creamy hot wheat cereal and place over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring the pot to a boil and then lower the heat, letting the mixture thicken. Keep on stirring it occasionally so it doesn't stick to the pot or form into clumps. When done, turn off the heat and remove the contents onto a bowl. Add some butter, whether already melted or from the fridge, and stir. Enjoy!

You can eat Farina creamy hot wheat cereal as is, or you can liven it up, as I do, by adding some roasted sesame seeds and some dried or fresh berries. For an even greater variety, I sometimes add slices of fried Mortadella to it and perhaps even some fried onions. Of course when I do that I leave out the berries. :) It tastes great and I love it every time.

Farina creamy hot wheat cereal with melted butter,
roasted sesame seeds and dried berries -
wild blueberries, strawberries, Zante currants,
montmorency cherries.

Making Homemade Pizza

I never thought I'd be making homemade pizza because I thought it was a very complicated process and that it involved making my own pizza dough that I didn't know how to do as I had never done it before. After my uncle told me about the pizza that he made at home, how delicious it was, and how easy it was to make I decided to make one myself using some of my favorite ingredients - Crimini mushrooms, apple smoked bacon, marinated artichokes, mixed olives, and four cheeses (Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Parmesan). 

Turns out I didn't have to make my own pizza dough. It is actually sold in supermarkets. All I have to do is buy it, defrost it (if frozen), place it onto a large cutting board, and roll it with a rolling pin. Then I have to pop it into the oven for about ten minutes, take it out, add the ingredients, and pop it back into the oven for about fourteen minutes or so. And the pizza is done!

Making my own pizza was certainly an interesting experience. Even though I didn't have to make my own pizza dough I still had to roll it. I had never done it before so this step of the recipe was a bit time consuming. I wanted the dough thin and in a perfect rectangular shape. Getting it to be that way was a challenge because it never came out quite the perfect shape so I gave up on that. The ingredients of the pizza and the taste of it after it's been cooked is more important than having the perfect shape after all.  

It was also a challenge when it came to transferring the pizza dough from the cutting board to the aluminum tray. My uncle had suggested I first roll it onto the rolling pin and then unroll it onto the tray. When doing so I forgot to spread flour on the rolling pin, so the dough got stuck to itself and to the pin and I couldn't unroll it. I had to tear it to pieces just to get it off the rolling pin and then I had to start rolling the dough from scratch to get it thin and as close to a rectangular shape as I could get. When I finished that I decided not to bother with the rolling pin again and just transferred the dough by hand. For me it was much easier to do, and it actually worked without me having to do it all over again.

Working with the dough took a bit of time and was a bit frustrating for me. But this was my first time working with dough so it was definitely a learning experience and I don't regret deciding to make my own pizza because in the end it turned out great. 

The pizza tasted so good that I ate most of it myself. I just couldn't stop. I would have ate the whole thing had I not become full. It was that good. And I have to say it was way better than the slice of pizza I had at a pizza restaurant recently. Goes to show that homemade pizza can actually taste better than pizza bought elsewhere, especially since it is fresh and the ingredients are fresh and "real". Nothing artificial added. No added flavorings. Just "real" ingredients and a lot of love. 

Homemade pizza with tomato paste, mixed olives,
marinated artichokes, Crimini mushrooms,
apple smoked bacon, and four cheeses
(Mozzarella, Monterey Jack,
Cheddar, Parmesan)

Check out some great tasting homemade pizza recipes, like the one I wrote about here, that you are sure to love.

Homemade Pizza

Happy cooking and happy eating everyone!

Tomato Carrot Soup with Basmati Rice

Tomato soup is a favorite of mine. I always order it at a restaurant if it is on the menu but I am not always lucky. Often enough it is either not available or not offered at all, which leaves me very disappointed.

I thought about it and decided to make tomato soup myself. It's not complicated and I can enjoy it whenever I want to without having to search for a place that serves it that day. 

There are many varieties of tomato soup. The one I came up with is Tomato Carrot Soup with Basmati Rice. It is hearty and delicious and oh so easy to make. 

The next time you crave for some tomato soup give this recipe a try. You are going to love it and even may find yourself making it again and again. Click on the link below for the complete recipe along with a full list of ingredients, step-by-step instructions and relevant recipe photos. 

Tomato Carrot Soup with Basmati Rice

Tomato Carrot Soup with Basmati Rice

Yuca Root - A Great Alternative to a Potato

Potatoes make for a great side dish but what happens when you are tired of potatoes or simply crave for something new? What else can you include in your meal as a side dish that will be different yet tasty? Well, you can try yuca root.

yuca root

Yuca root is a great alternative to a potato. It is brown in color and has a starchy flavor that is pleasant and not too strong. It will liven up your dishes and will satisfy your hunger any day. You can eat yuca root as a side dish to go along with your favorite prepared meats, fish fillets or sausages or you can eat it by itself with steamed vegetables or vegetable salads.

There are different ways that you can prepare yuca root. You can boil it, bake it, roast it, or boil it and then mash it. So far I have only eaten yuca root boiled or mashed. I plan on baking and roasting it the next time I buy it. I may even try frying yuca root. If potatoes can be fried than I am sure yuca root can be fried as well. It will be a fun experiment making fried yuca root and I am looking forward to doing it. 

Boiled Yuca Root

Mashed Yuca Root
With Portobello Mushrooms and Onions

If you want to know how to cook yuca root and are looking for some yuca root recipes just follow the link below.

How to Cook Yuca Root? - Recipes Included

Sandwiches Instead of a Pizza

I love a good slice of pizza but I prefer to eat a delicious sandwich instead. I make my sandwich on German pumpernickel rye bread with pesto sauce that I buy from Trader Joes, slices of fresh salami from the Russian store, slices of Kumato tomatoes sprinkled with olive oil and dried basil, and shredded cheese on top. 

I love Parmesan or cheddar cheese but I usually use whatever cheese I happen to have on hand as I don't have a store near me to go out and buy the cheese I want. Sometimes, if I don't have pesto I use Hellmann's mayonnaise that has olive oil in it. Some other ingredients that I may add to the sandwich are sprouts (alfalfa, broccoli, etc.) or sweet pea shoots. I may even substitute the pesto or mayonnaise with baba ganoush or avocados and/or salami with slices of mortadella (that I slightly fry in a skillet) or roasted turkey breast. It all depends on what I feel like eating at the moment and what ingredients I have on hand. 

When I am done preparing the sandwich I pop it into the microwave for about a minute so the cheese has a chance to melt. Once done I take out the sandwich and am ready to enjoy it. Before I do that though I take out some mixed olives and perhaps slices of avocado or a slightly hard boiled egg to go along with the sandwich. 

This sandwich tastes mouthwatering and to me it is way better than stuffing myself with a slice of pizza no matter how good it is. 

Sandwich with salami, tomato and melted cheese
with slices of avocado and a hard boiled egg

 

Sandwich with baba ganoush, salami and alfalfa
sprouts with orange grape tomatoes

Tri-Color Carrot Salad

I have recently discovered maroon and yellow carrots. After giving both of these carrots a try I can say that maroon carrots are my favorite out of the two, though the yellow carrots are not bad at all. I have to say that I prefer maroon carrots to the regular orange ones. 

Now I am no expert here but it seems to me like maroon carrots are a hybrid of orange carrots and beets. Maroon carrots are the color of beets and the inside is partly orange just like a regular orange carrot. I also seem to taste a slight beet flavor, but maybe that's just me. 

Since I love carrots I decided to mix these three types of carrots together and create a carrot salad. I washed and peeled one of each type of carrot and shredded it using a food processor. It is much faster than using a manual shredder. Then I added some salt, Hellmann's mayonnaise, and grated Parmesan cheese. I mixed everything and sprinkled with some dried parsley. The salad was so delicious that I ate a huge bowl! 

It's definitely something different. I think I prefer this salad to the carrot salad with raisins that I make. The individual flavor of each of the different types of carrots really blends well together for a rich, tasty flavor. 

Give this tri-color carrot salad a try sometime if you are able to find yellow and maroon carrots anywhere. I have discovered that those types of carrots are rare to find in supermarkets or fruit and vegetable stores :(. I got both of these at a local farmer's market. If you have those in your area they are your best bet for finding these types of carrots. 

Now I haven't tried this yet but I am thinking of adding sweet pea shoots to this salad. I've made them with just orange carrots before and the taste was very good. Of course I didn't use mayonnaise in that salad but I think it doesn't matter. Sweet pea shoots can only add to the flavor of the dish.

tri-color carrot salad

Avocados - Health Benefits and Recipes

Avocados are not just delicious but they are also healthy and beneficial for our bodies. It is a great idea to include avocados in our diet. That is what I do. 

I always eat avocados and I never get tired of them. Sometimes I eat avocados on the side to go along with sandwiches or the main entrees. Sometimes, I use them in salads, or better yet in omelets. Omelets taste that much better with avocados in them and so do salads for that matter.

There are different avocados out there. I prefer the Hass avocados but I've consumed other brands like it and they weren't bad at all. I have been tempted to try the Florida avocados for quite a while now but have never actually done it yet. Those are huge and are always hard as a rock. Probably that is why I've never tried them. But I should. I'll buy one the next time I am at the supermarket.

To find out about the health benefits of avocados along with recipes and recipe ideas click here. Enjoy!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite foods to eat. I have been consuming them for years. One of my favorite ways to prepare sweet potatoes is roasting them. Up until now I have always used orange sweet potatoes/yams but recently I have switched to Japanese ones, which are purple on the outside but white on the inside. The taste is very sweet and I love it.

 

Making roasted sweet potatoes, no matter the variety, is easy to make. The ingredients are few, the preparation takes very little time, and the taste is delicious. Here's my recipe for roasted sweet potatoes. I hope you enjoy it!

http://lovebuglena.hubpages.com/hub/Side-Dish-Recipes-Roasted-and-Mashed-Sweet-Potato-Recipes

 

roasted sweet potatoes

 

The Many Uses and Recipes of Quail Eggs...

Ever since I tried quail eggs I have been hooked and now prefer them to chicken eggs. I enjoy eating quail eggs hard boiled, sunny side up, and as an omelet. There are so many recipes you can create with quail eggs. Below are photos of a few of them that I've been making.

Quail egg omelet with baby  bell peppers and white
onion. Slices of corn bread and mortadella and mixed
olives on side.

Slices of fried mortadella, hearts of palm, quail egg
omelet strips -all sprinkled with dried basil -
and corn bread garnished with avocado on top.

Quail egg omelet with boy choy in teriyaki sauce.

Quail egg omelet with scallion or chebolita onions and
oyster mushrooms on the side. Garnished with
hearts of palm.

Quail eggs sunny side up

I have yet to try quail eggs soft boiled. I am tempted to do so but not sure how I will manage eating them when they are so small. No spoon will fit inside it.

I know that you need to consume many quail eggs to equate to one chicken egg. I have been eating three quail eggs at a time. Perhaps that is not enough to equate to one chicken egg but that doesn't matter. I believe I still get enough nutrients from these eggs so that's good.

Sesame Chicken Dishes at Chinese Restaurants

After having some fun ice skating at Manhattan's Bryant Park I decided to grab a bite to eat. I was in the mood for Chinese food and went to a restaurant that was very close to Bryant Park. The restaurant is called China Sun and is located on 39th Street and 6th Avenue. 

This was my second time going to this restaurant and I chose to order the same thing as last time - corn egg drop soup and crispy sesame chicken. Both were delicious and I really enjoyed my meal. The decor was nice as well and the service was very good, which made my dining experience a pleasant one. I would definitely recommend this place to others. Granted I was the only customer in the restaurant this time around but it made no difference to me. I knew the place was good, having been there before, and it didn't matter to me if I was the only one there.  

After enjoying my sesame chicken dish at this restaurant and knowing how good it tastes I became a big critic of this dish and started comparing it to the same dish served in other restaurants. Having ordered the same sesame chicken dish at a restaurant in Brooklyn (Kung Fu on Bath Avenue near 20th Avenue) I became very disappointed when it tasted nothing like the one in China Sun. It wasn't that good and I didn't enjoy it one bit. Granted the dish wasn't called crispy sesame chicken but simply sesame chicken and maybe that was the reason it wasn't that good, but the sauce was different too - not as good as in China Sun. Who would have thought that sesame chicken dishes would taste that much different depending on the restaurant and the borough where the restaurant was located? But it's true.