T-Ball

E's first T-ball practice. Oh, he had so much fun! His abundant energy finally has a place to go! :) The funny thing was to see all the little ones running around the field not knowing how to play but just having fun!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

I don't like cookies usually but this is yummy!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes.

Potato Watercress Soup

I never could use the watercress I bought and now I found a great way to use this nutritious vegetable. I loved this soup!

Potato Watercress Soup:
1 pound baby red potatoes
1 sweet onion
4 cloves garlic
1 t red pepper
1/2 t paprika
salt + pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (Lucini Italia)
1/4 cup sherry
4 cups organic free-range chicken broth
2 bundles watercress

Slice up your onion along with peeled and crushed garlic and add them to a large pot with the oil. Season with paprika, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes or until the onions begin to brown. Scrub clean the potatoes and half-heartedly peel (good to leave some skin). Chop into quarters and add to the pot. Toss the potatoes so they are well coated and cook for another 8 minutes. Add sherry and cook off for 1 minute. Follow with chicken broth and let simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes can be easily punctured with a fork. Add the watercress for 1 minute—just long enough to keep the lovely bright green color. Remove from heat and add small batches to your blender until entire mixture is smooth. Garnish with a few raw watercress leaves, s+p, dollop of olive oil drizzle, and a pinch of paprika and/or truffle oil.

Easter 2011

I found myself focusing on the meaning of Easter this year without too many bunnies and eggs. We talked about Christ's atonement, crucifixion and resurrection throughout the week. Last Friday, we read a lot of scripture stories of Jesus. On Saturday we talked about Jesus visiting the Spirit World to preach the gospel and organize His work. We went to church on Sunday to celebrate this glorious event of His resurrection. I felt strongly that I would see my beloved family again face to face because Jesus's precious love and sacrifice for us. I felt very peaceful and grateful!

We did some fun stuff with E too. It's his spring break last week but the weather has been storming and raining crazy. The design of the Ark is on our to-do-list now. :)

While We Are in Trials

Baba joined 13.7 millions of unemployed people in the US last November and we have been praying for a job. We are grateful for all the prayers and help we get. Although things have not changed yet, we feel peaceful and hope for the best. Mama is teaching 3 to 7 classes a week and tries to pay off her tuition. Life is not easy but we still count our blessings. God has His will and we have our hearts open and wait for whatever might come.

Mama and E made the snowman together. We had some good snow and it's quite a cold winter. We are all ready for the warm weather to come.

Yes, there was a big hole on the ceiling and it's quite a scary accident. Mama was in the eves one day getting some clothes and fell through. She was hanging in the air with legs in splits thanks to years' yoga practice. :) Baba had to fix the big hole and put the real floor up there.

E's favorite activity is to build legos. He's quite creative and imaginative. He also loves to read and draw. We stay inside a lot in winter and Baba enjoyed spending time with E playing legos, action figure and Wii. Baba's favorite time every day is to read Harry Potter to E. They started last December and are already on book six. Every time when they finished one book, we got to have a Harry Potter movie night. It was really fun!