One time a special friend comes over to our house and when we prepared a meal for us in church, he asked about the method the food was cooked. He liked it that he ate so much. Our cuisine is not complete without it, stir-frying. Here is a good method and tip:

To stir-fry is to put the ingredients into a very hot wok over high heat and turn over and over until done. Stir-frying is a very quick process. And because of that, I prepare all the sauces in advance, including the cornstarch and water used to thicken the final sauce.

When several kinds of ingredients are used in cooking, the difference in tenderness of each ingredient will sometimes require that…

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Before stir-frying, meats are precooked briefly in hot oil or boiling water, until slightly tender, then removed. (Pork, beef, chicken, fish or shrimp are usually sliced or shredded, seasoned, and coated with cornstarch before precooking.)

To prepare the wok: heat the wok then add 4 Tbsp. Oil, swirl it in wok to cover lower two-thirds of surface; remove excess oil. (This will prevent ingredients from sticking.)

Reheat wok; add enough oil to cover ingredients (1/2 c. oil, if using non-stick wok, reduce accordingly); heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add food. Stir quickly to separate ingredients, stir-fry until ingredients change their color then remove. (Add 1 Tbsp. Oil to ingredients and stir before frying. The ingredients will separate easily.)

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There are many recipes available about making chicken a la king. All of them are good. But here is one simple but delicious variation you can try.

Ingredients:
1 can (8 fl. Oz.) nestle table cream
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
½ cup nestle carnation evaporated milk
¾ cup chicken broth
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
6 oz. sliced mushroom
Cooked egg noodles

Procedure:
Combine first five ingredients in medium bowl, set aside.
Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes. Add chicken; cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through. Add mushrooms; cook until mushrooms have softened. Stir in…

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This is one of my friend’s very healthy backyard garden. It is such her joy and pride and the food we cooked that day straight from her garden was just so tasty and delicious, a homegrown flavor. If you look closely, she is behind one of the plants.

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The very first garden, that of Eden, was the real paradise in abundance and perfection, and I was wishing mine will be blessed with healthy plants. In this part of the country, Louisiana, it is so hot in the summer so I planted my crops in the place where they get sufficient shade and not be baked by the hot sun, for you know these days, the heat is different from years back, some call them global warming, which is true anywhere. My garden spot is far from the back of our house near the woods down the hill. Gardening is really a good hobby or activity, and in my setting, a good exercise for my legs climbing up and…

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Somebody awaken me from my nap. When I opened the door, this is what awaited me:

Seeds worth more than a year’s supply for our garden. According to the National Gardening Bureau slogan that “great gardeners use seed”. Why seeds? Well, it is like raising a living thing right from the start and witness it develop it’s life and beauty. It is also cheaper than those vegetables and herbs that are ready to plant.

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I usually eat cucumbers fresh, peeled and dipped with some vinegar and soy sauce, mouth watering, yummy, but you could actually cook it too. Just like with eggplants, you can dip largely sliced cucumber into breadcrumbs and beaten eggs and fry. Give it a try and tell me if you like it. Next time I will share some other recipes where cucumbers are cooked differently.

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