The gifts from my clients

Being a psychotherapist is a humbling experience. To remind myself to be one humble being and honor the presence of my clients in my life, I decide to record all the things I have learned from my clients and their families. These stories are about their strengths and resiliency.

香脆烤雞腿肉 Oven-baked Chicken thighs

香烤雞配馬鈴薯和沙拉 Oven baked Chicken, served with  roasted potatoes and arugula salad 

久不久，我們便想吃炸雞。不過，我們知道炸雞很不健康，也要用上很多油，所以我們都不會在家中煮。如果要吃，我們一般都在外面吃。可是在外面吃，不但油多，而且在美國的炸雞常常會被蓋上一層很厚的粉，吃起來乾乾的，我通常吃完又膩又後悔。如果想吃炸雞，但又不想吃進一大堆油和負擔，以下這個食譜可能會幫到你。

我們家中有一堆吃不完的面包，每包都只有一兩片，零零碎碎的，通常都會被Honey K在壞掉前放入冰箱，他說這樣變不會放霉，而這也是事實。我不喜歡吃冰過的面包，所以只好把他們變成而烤麵包粒 (Croutons) ，把它們碎掉成麵包屑 (Breadcrumbs)後，便可以拿去包著雞肉。


Croutons 烤麵包粒

平日做的烤麵包粒可放西湯或沙拉。

材料 Ingredients﹕

1. 剩下來的麵包
Stale Bread (I used 2 garlic bread stick from Olive Garden, 2 high fiber bread from Harvest Moon and 2 very small slices of sourdough from Panera. Honey K loves bread!)
2. Olive Oil (for drizzling on the top of the chopped bread)
3. 鹽和黑胡椒粉 Salt & Pepper
*4. 香草粉 Dried Basil/ Oregano/ Thyme (whatever you have in the pantry)
*5. 蒜粉 Garlic Powder 

*Optional Ingredients
可有可無的材料。沒有的話，只是會少了一些香料的味道，但是口感還是一樣的脆。
Skip the herbs if you don't have them handy. You will only miss some fragrance from the herbs. It will still taste crispy.

做法 Procedures﹕

1. 首先把烤箱預熱350度。
Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. 預備麵包，把它們切粒狀 (約1 x 1 cm)。
Prepare bread, take them out from the fridge and dice them into cubes.
3. 加入適量的橄欖油、香草(Basil, Oregano or thyme) 、蒜粉、鹽和黑胡椒粉，搞拌均衡。
Add in a decent amount of olive oil, dried basil, oregano or thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix them well. 
4. 放入烤箱，烤約 10-15 分鐘至金黃色。
Put them into the oven, bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden. Do not over bake them. 
5. 拿出來冷卻。
Take them out and cool down.

家中有三種不一樣的麵包 (High Fiber Bread, Garlic bread, Sourdough)，它們放上有一個月了。

把你家中有的麵包切成小粒 These are what we have at home. 

加入適量的橄欖油、香草(Basil, Oregano or thyme) 、蒜粉、鹽和黑胡椒粉
Depending on how much of bread you have, coat them with a decent amount of olive oil, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

義式麵包屑 Seasoned Breadcrumbs

1. 把以上的烤麵包粒放入攪拌器(Blender) 或Food Processor。

Place the above croutons into a blender or food processor. 

2. 加入 **Cayanne Pepper (1tsp), garlic powder (1 tsp), salt (1 tsp), pepper (1 tsp), mustard powder (1 tbsp), Basil (1 tbsp), Oregano (1 tsp), ginger powder (1 tsp)，然後與烤麵包粒搞拌。 

Add in Cayanne pepper, garlic powder, salt, pepper, mustard powder, basil, oregano, ginger powder. Mix well with the croutons. 

3. 按鈕碎掉，變成麵包屑。

Press the button and let the machine turn them into breadcrumbs. 

** Optional. Ingredient is spicy. 

*** If you don't have a food processor or blender, put the croutons and seasoning into a plastic bag. Smash them until they turn into crumbs. 

香脆烤雞腿肉 Oven-baked Chicken thighs 

份量﹕ 5 片雞腿肉 

 Make 5 pieces of chicken thighs 

材料 Ingredients﹕

5 片開邊的雞腿肉 

麵包屑

美泣滋

芥醬

1. 預熱烤箱400F。 

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

2. 把雞肉洗淨後，用紙吸去水份。

Clean the chicken thighs. Absorb the water with a paper towel. 

3. 把以上的麵包屑放在一個長盆或高身的碟上。

Put the breadcrumbs in a long deep dish or a big enough plate to hold them. 

4. 把美泣滋 (Mayo) 和芥醬(Djorn Mustard)混合起來，然後塗在雞肉上。

Mix mayo and djorn mustard. Paint the mixture on both sides of the chicken thighs. 

5. 把雞蓋上一層薄薄的麵包屑。

Coat the chicken with the breadcrumbs. 

6. 放入烤箱30分鐘-40分鐘烤至熟透。

Put them into the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and cooked. 

開動了! Enjoy your dinner. 

天然洗潔精 Simple Homemade Natural Dish Soap

我們上星期到過了芝加哥的綠色節 (Green Festival)學到了很多綠色生活的方法，恰巧昨晚看了Epic，故事其中的名句﹕ "Many Leaves. One Tree" 讓我覺得我們和大自然的關係更接近。今天，我決定立刻自製天然的洗潔精，減少吃進化學物和生產廢物。

We went to the Green Festival in Chicago last week and we loved it. We learned many ways to lead a green life. Incidentally, we watched Epic last night and we were really inspired by the concept "Many Leaves. One Tree." We are all interconnected and we need to learn to live sustainable manner. I decided to wait no more (or procrastinate no more). I made my first homemade dish soap with a few ingredients this afternoon within 5 minutes.

在綠色節的收穫 Gifts and Souvenirs from the Green Festival 

天然洗潔精的做法Simple Homemade Natural Dish Soap

Homemade Natural Dish Soap

圖中為所有的材料Everything you will need for this recipe

所需時間 Time required﹕ 
5-10分鐘 (including your material gathering time at home)

材料 Ingredients﹕
橄欖香皂 1杯 (Pure Castile Soap 1 cup)

橄欖香皂 1杯 (Pure Castile Soap 1 cup)

過濾水 2 杯 (Distilled Water 2 cup)
白醋/ 檸檬汁 1 湯匙 (White Vinegar 1 tbsp)/ Lemon Juice 1 tbsp
* 茶樹油 10滴 (Tea Tree Oil 10 drops)
咖啡濾紙1張/餾斗1個 Coffee filter paper 1 piece/ Funnel 1

*如果家中沒有或不喜歡味道可減去。
Skip tea tree oil if you don't have it handy at home or you dislike the smell of it.

方法 Procedure﹕

1. 這個洗潔精做法很簡單，我首先拿了一個舊的玻璃水瓶，用水洗過後備用。你可以用不同的水瓶或以前用過的洗潔精瓶子。
Clean a used bottle with water. Rinse it well. I used a glass bottle from Kevita. I removed the label around the bottle without using much energy. It was easily peeled. You can use any kind of bottle as long as you find it easy to use. 


2. 把液體橄欖香皂加入空瓶中，然後加入清水。

Pour liquid castile soup into the emptied bottle. [1 part of soap, 2 parts of water]

3. 最後加入白醋或檸檬水和約十滴的茶樹油。完成。
Add in vinegar/lemon juice and 10 drops of tea tree oil. Its basically done. 

完成。That is it! Our first homemade natural dish soap!  

這真的是一個十分簡易的方法，不但可以吃少一點化學物，更可以廢物利用。告訴我們你們覺得這個洗潔精怎樣，我們還在研究當中。
This is one simple efficient recipe. Effectiveness? Tell me what you think. We are still in the process of experimenting with this. 

更多有關天然清潔家居的方法﹕
http://3004kitchen.blogspot.com/2013/10/homemade-natural-cleaning-supplies.html

用色彩斑斕的墨西哥菜去迎接春天的第一天 Tacos Night!

今晚來個墨西哥卷餅夜(Tacos Night!)

好不容易春天終於來了，可惜我和Honey K還是在零下六度過日子，沒有甚麼，我只可以欣然接受這是明尼蘇達。

今天是春天的第一天，外面還是堆滿了幾吋的積雪。環境改變不了，只可以用心情來轉換季節。工作一整天後，我回家開大拉丁美洲的音樂，隨著讓人興奮的節拍搖擺著身體，在廚房「休養生息」，等待他回來一起慶祝春天的到來。認識我的朋友都知道春天是我最喜歡的季節，每當春天到來，我心情便會大好，可能是萬物充滿生機，讓我精神百倍。說起來，我真的希望開滿花的日子快到，然後我可以在綠草如茵的草地上野餐和做瑜伽。聽同事說，這樣要等到五月。我也只可以欣然接受，因為這兒是明尼蘇達。

春天讓我想到色彩斑斕的墨西哥菜。我們家中剛好有一大堆新鮮的材料，我便做起以下這個自助式的墨西哥晚餐。墨西哥菜偏重口味，但是只要減省調味料，其實可以是很清新的菜式，更特別適合郊遊之用。這個晚上我準備了一個卡菜沙拉(Kale Salad)，雞柳 (seasoned pan fried chicken thighs)，洋蔥炒青椒 (fajitas) ，青檸米飯 (seasoned rice with lime juice)， 蔥花 (diced green onions)，青檸檬 (limes) ，藍玉米墨西哥脆餅(blue corn crispy tacos)和莎莎 (Salsa)。整個準備過程大約是45 分鐘。

他後來吃飯的時候告訴我，他以為我去了做瑜伽了。不過，他到二樓就聞到陣陣的飯菜香，便知道我已在家等他回來吃飯。

Honey K，春天快樂，讓我們用色彩斑斕的墨西哥菜去迎接春天的第一天。

卡菜沙拉 (Kale Salad)

卡菜是我最愛的蔬菜之一，它擁有一股濃濃的青草味，切菜時是一種味覺的享受。這個菜跟醬油和芝麻油都很配，平時我會加入蒜頭和洋蔥炒一下。今天做沙拉，加入了檸檬汁，十分開胃。

1. 把卡菜切成幼絲，放在一旁備用。
2.  在一個碗，加入1/8 杯的橄欖油、1個檸檬的汁、1湯匙的芝麻油、1 湯匙的鹽和黑胡椒，以及1 湯匙的蜜糖，搞拌後，把這樣的沙拉油加入卡菜，然後用手加以按摩2分鐘，這樣卡菜會變軟身易吃。


香煎醬油雞柳 (pan fried seasoned chicken thighs)

1. 預先把2 湯匙的醬油，2湯匙的味林，適量的黑胡椒和Cayenne Pepper 把約六小件雞腿肉調味 (30 分鐘)。
2. 在鍋中加入兩湯匙的橄欖油，用中火預熱鍋子。
3. 加入雞腿肉用中火煎至熟透，約十至十二分鐘。

洋蔥炒青椒 (fajitas)

1. 把半個大紅洋蔥和1個小黃洋蔥切成幼絲，放入用橄欖油預熱過的鍋上炒。
2. 加入兩顆切片的蒜頭用中火繼續炒。
3. 然後加入已切成幼絲的青椒，以及適量的鹽和黑胡椒調味。把所有材料炒至熟透，洋蔥呈金黃至咖啡色。

以下提供幾個不同的吃法﹕

Vegetarian Option素食者﹕ 飯加卡菜和洋蔥炒青椒

Vegetarian Option:搞拌後，可配上莎莎和玉米片享用

好吃!

可以把材料放在墨西哥卷餅皮上，加上莎莎，包著一起吃。我們家用Ancient Grains做的皮。

不能少的是這種藍玉米脆餅，加上青蔥特別有口感。

剩下來的當然是帶便當了!

基本柚子蛋糕 Basic Grapefruit Cake

Moist and sufficiently sweet. This is the best grapefruit cake ever. 

Disclaimer: This is a recipe modified from Thomas Keller's Grapefruit Cake. See the original recipe. 

It takes me awhile to perfect this recipe to the degree that Honey K and I absolutely love.  This is a very moist cake with intense grapefruit sensation. You can definitely smell and taste how wonderfully the grapefruit syrup and the cake marry each other. I have tried many ways to adjust the original recipe as it is too sweet for us but we love the fragrant of the grapefruit in this cake. So, I remove the icing and reduce the sugar level. I attempted making a honey grapefruit cake in the past but it was slightly more complicated than necessary. It was also difficult to bake with honey as it made the cake easily burnt. Anyway, here, I present this easier version with slight adjustment from the original recipe. Basically, I added more grapefruit zest because I love the fragrance of grapefruit. I reduced the sugar to 2/3 cup. I used vanilla soy milk instead of milk. Everyone loves this cake!


材料 Ingredients﹕
低筋面粉 Cake Flour -  2 cups
發粉 Baking powder - 1 3/4 tsp
鹽 Salt - 1 tsp
蛋 Eggs - 2 
糖 Sugar - 2/3 cup
蜂蜜 Honey - 1/8 cup
香草精油 Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
柚子皮 grapefruit zest - 1 grapefruit
低脂牛奶 2 % skim milk/ 豆漿 Vanilla Soymilk- 1 cup
芥花子油 Canola Oil - 3/4 cup

基本柚子蛋糕的做法﹕
1. 把烤箱預熱 350F.
Preheat the oven into 350F.
2. 混合低筋面粉、發粉、柚子皮和鹽，放在一旁，備用。
Mix together cake flour,  baking powder, grapefruit zest, and salt. Put them aside.
3. 把蛋、糖和蜂蜜打在一起，加入芥花子油 和香草精油，再倒入牛奶，繼續搞拌至均衡，然後加入 (2)搞拌，注意千萬不要過份搞拌。
Mix together egg, sugar and honey. Add in canola oil and vanilla extract. Pour in milk or soymilk and mix well. Then, Pour in (2) and stir them together. Avoid over-stirring.
4. 把 (3)倒進一個長方蛋糕盆 (約5 x 9吋) ，放入烤箱烤30分鐘，然後轉一下烤盆，再烤30分鐘。*在長方蛋糕盆下放一盆水可以保持蛋糕的濕度，確保蛋糕不會烤得太乾。
Pour (3) into a rectangular baking tin (approx 5" x 9"). Bake about 30 minutes and turn the baking tin to the other side. 
* Put a tray of water underneath the baking tin will allow the cake to be moist.
5. 蛋糕出烤箱後，用筷子穿進蛋糕中(不要穿過底部)，然後慢慢拿出來，這樣可以檢查蛋糕是否完全熟透。如果蛋糕熟透的話，出來的筷子應該沒有東西(或只有很少的蛋糕碎) 黏著。
When the cake is done, use a chopstick to test if the cake is cooked. Poke into the middle of the cake. If it is cooked, your chopstick should come out mostly clean.
*6. 最後，用筷子在蛋糕針上一些小孔 (約十來多個)，然後按個人喜好，塗上適量的柚子糖漿，柚子糖漿會從一個個小孔滲透蛋糕中。
*Optional: poke several holes on the cake (about 10), depending on personal preferences. Brush on the top with grapefruit syrup when the cake is still warm.

Serve with fruit tea or flora tea. What a wonderful afternoon snack.  

柚子糖漿的做法﹕ Grapefruit syrup recipe 
*在烤的時候，可以準備約1/3杯的鮮柚子果汁，然後加入1/3的白糖煮至糖完全溶化。
When the cake is baking in the oven, prepare 1/3 cup of grapefruit juice and add in 1/3 sugar. Cook them well and until the sugar is dissolved. [I was lazy. I just put them in the microwave for this process.]

黑莓鬆餅 Blackberry Muffins

新鮮的黑莓鬆餅出爐了! Freshly Baked Blackberries Muffins 

找了大概三個月的工作，我在「生日」(2.28.2013)當天收到The Emily Program的通知，說我順利通過面試，成功得到後博士一職。實習過後並拿到博士學位以後，我便可以在九月正式上班。我整個人從上星期高壓的心情轉化成愉快輕鬆的，自覺得心情終於調整過來，鬆一口氣。(呼!) 昨天我打電話回家跟奶奶報喜，奶奶說她一早就知道我會拿到這份工作，我問她怎樣知道的，她說她上星期祈福時有問黃大仙，然後黃大仙給她兩個很好的「杯」，所以她知道一定沒有問題。順帶一題，由於我十分希望得到這份夢寐以求而求的工，從面試當天開始，我和Honey K便一直向天父爸爸祈禱，果然心誠則靈。謝謝奶奶和Honey K的祈求，也感謝天父爸爸和黃大仙的保佑。小女子十分感恩，我會繼續好好工作以答謝神恩。

說到這份夢寐以求的工作，不得不提就是它和食物有莫大的關係。在以後的日子，我將會接受更多有關飲食失調的訓練，並專注於這方面的發展。無論是厭食、暴食或和食物沒有良好關係的，我都希望可以一一學會治癒，然後成為這方面的專家。

在這一個鬆一口氣的周末，我來做個黑莓鬆餅，好好舒壓一下，並慶祝在三十歲前的最後一個生日。

份量 Serving﹕ 12 鬆餅 muffins 

這個黑莓鬆餅不會太甜，配上熱咖啡，當早餐點心吃剛好。
These blackberry muffins aren't too sweet. Serve with coffee as a breakfast item or snack.

材料 Ingredients﹕

*全麥面粉 1杯 whole wheat flour 1 cup
白面粉 1 杯 all purpose flour 1 cup
**白糖 約2/3 杯 (保留約2湯匙) sugar 2/3 cup (hold on to 2 tbsp for later use)
發粉 2 茶匙 baking powder 2 tsp
檸檬皮 1 個 lemon zest 1 tbsp
香草精油 1茶匙 vanilla extract 1tsp
***冰鮮或新鮮黑莓 2杯 blackberries 2 cups
奶油/牛油 8 湯匙 1 stick of butter or 8 tbsp (room temperature)
牛奶 Milk 1/2 杯 cup
雞蛋 2 隻 2 eggs
鹽 Salt 1/4 tsp 茶匙
****玉桂粉 Cinnamon powder 1/4 tsp 茶匙
****肉豆蔻 Nutmeg 1/8 tsp 茶匙

* 如果沒有全麥面粉可用普遍白面粉代替
Substitute with all purpose flour if you don't have any whole wheat flour
** 喜歡甜的可以增加至1杯糖
If you like sweets, you might want to add in 1 cup of sugar instead of 2/3 cup of sugar.
***用冰鮮黑莓，要先解凍。沒有黑莓可用藍莓。
If you use frozen berries, they have to be defrosted first. Substitute with blueberries if desired.
**** 可有可無。
Skip them if you don't have any in your pantry.

方法 Procedures﹕

1. 預熱烤箱至375 F.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. 把處於室溫的牛油和3/4 杯糖打至成一體。
Cream the 1 stick of butter and 3/4 cup of sugar together.
3. 在另一個碗，混合以下乾的材料，包括面粉、鹽、發粉。
In a separate bowl, mix the following dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt and baking powder.
4. 把約1 杯的黑莓壓碎，加入(2)中搞拌。然後加入1/4 杯牛奶、檸檬皮、2隻蛋和香草精油繼續搞拌。這個時候，先加入一半的(3)作搞拌.
Mash about 1 cup of blackberries and add them into mixture (2). Mix well. Then add in 1/4 cup of milk,lemon zest, 2 eggs and vanilla extract, as well as half of mixture (3).  Beat them all together. I used Kitchen Aid Mixer to help me in the process.
5. 再加入剩下來的1/4 杯牛奶、(3) 和黑莓作最後的一次搞拌。這個時候用刮刀搞拌便可以，這樣可以免黑莓給完全的打碎。
Then, add in the remaining 1/4 cup of milk, mixture 3 and the rest of the blackberries. Stir them well with a spatula, so you can still taste the blackberries.
6. 在一個小碗，混合2湯匙的白糖，1/4 茶匙的玉桂粉和1/8  茶匙的肉豆蔻。
In a separate small bowl, mix 2tbsp of sugar, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1/8 tsp of nutmeg together. This step is optional.
7. 把已混合好的面漿倒進烤鬆餅用的Muffin Tins，多少可按個人喜好。我大概把面漿加入至滿，這樣的鬆餅出來便會高高的。最後在每個鬆餅上灑上(6)，多少也是看個人喜好，不好玉桂粉的可免卻這個步驟。
Pour the mixture into muffin tins. You can adjust how much you like to put in each muffin tin. I added the amount that would make the tin full because I like it to rise a bit. Sprinkle the sugar mixture (6) on top of each muffin.

You can adjust how much you like to put in each muffin tin. I like it almost full. 

8. 最後，放入烤箱烤約25-30分鐘至啡黃色。烤好的時候，拿出來冷卻，此時請等至少20分鐘才把它們從muffin tins 中拿出來。
Finally, bake for 25 to 30 minutes until they turn brownish yellow. Cool down for at least 20 minutes before removing them from the muffin tins.

They look just gorgeous. 

You can still see the crystal sugar on the top of each of them. 

小提示 A small tip : 
如果不知道鬆餅是否熟透，可用牙簽或筷子在鬆餅中間穿過檢查。當拿出牙簽或筷子時，牙簽或筷子應該是完全乾淨的。這時候便不用再烤了。
To check whether they are cooked through, use a chopstick or toothpick to poke through the middle of the muffin. When you take out either the chopstick or the toothpick, it should come out clean.

Roasted butternut squash soup 烤奶油瓜濃湯

Roasted butternut squash soup 

明尼蘇達這邊冷冰冰的，最近還一次又一次的降到零下二十幾度，冷到手指頭都要變硬了。好趁周末來到，我便做了一個十分合宜寒冬飲的濃湯，飲下去寒氣盡消，實在是冬日的暖胃良品。這個濃湯帶有蘋果的微甜，薑的點點辛辣，還有一點含蓄的羅勒香，配上自家製的全麥面包粒，便是簡單健康的一餐。

材料 Ingredients﹕
Serving:　(3-4人份)

奶油瓜 Butternut Squash 1 磅/ pound
馬鈴薯 Russet Potatoes  2個
蘋果Apple 1 個
中等黃洋蔥 Medium Yellow Onion 1 個
牛奶 Milk 2 杯/cup
雞湯 Chicken stock*  3 杯/cup
蘿勒青醬 Pesto sauce 2 tbsp
奶油 Butter 2 tbsp
黑胡椒 Black pepper to taste 適量(按個人喜好)
橄欖油 Olive oil 3 tbsp
薑末 Grated ginger 2 tbsp

*Vegetarians: you can use vegetable stock!

方法 Method ﹕ 
1. 把馬鈴薯和奶油瓜去皮，然後切粒，再混入橄欖油，放入預熱425度 (F) 的烤箱烤約20 至30分鐘。
Remove skins of potatoes and butternut squash. Dice them into small cubes. Pour over with olive oil. Put them into a 425F oven. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until tender. Avoid over-roast.
2. 把蘋果和洋蔥切粒。預熱煮湯用的鍋，加入奶油、薑末和洋蔥，用中火炒至熟透，然後加入蘿勒青醬拌好。之後，把蘋果加入其中，煮熱備用。
Meanwhile, dice an apple and an onion. Preheat the pot with 2 tbsp of butter and add in the chopped onions as well as the grated ginger. Use medium heat to cook the onions. After 2 to 3 minutes, add in pesto sauce, stir well. When they are well mixed with each other, add in the diced apples. Cook until tender. Your kitchen should now smell like heaven.
3. 當馬鈴薯和奶油瓜烤好的時候，把它們混進(2)，此時馬鈴薯和奶油瓜應該是軟軟的，十分容易爛掉。
When the potatoes and butternut squash are ready, put them into the pot (2). The potatoes and butternut squash should be tender and easily smashed.
4. 把牛奶和雞湯加入湯鍋中，用中火讓所有材料煮沸。
Add in milk and chicken stock. Use medium heat to cook until it boils.
5. 把鍋中的湯料連湯倒進搞拌機 (Blender)，用慢速打成濃湯狀 (puree)。
Pour all the ingredients and liquid from the pot into a blender. Puree in slow speed until done.
6. 加入黑胡椒拌好可立即享用。
Stir in black pepper and it is ready to serve.