Dolores Park

Wallace and o took a nice walk to Dolores Park. We met a couple of nice dogs there that he played with a bit. We were lucky we went out when we did. It got really cold and cloudy soon after, and jailed after we got home. You wouldn't know from these pics.

Wallace and Yuki

Nothing but smiles when Yuki comes over to play!!

Doodle Romp with Special Guest

We had a special Doodle Romp at Crissy Field because our Instagram friend, Samson, was in town!! It was a beautiful morning. Everyone had such a great time playing together.

Instant Pot Creme Brûlée

Yesterday I made Creme Brûlée in the Instant Pot to have as dessert in the evening.

I used this recipe that I found online:

http://www.thispilgrimlife.com/healthier-instant-pot-creme-brulee/

It was incredibly easy, and turned out delicious!! The only thing I didn't do was caramelize the sugar on top, as I don't have a kitchen torch. We'll be ordering one, now! 😊

Tim Gok Treats

I spent the afternoon with my Mom and Auntie Betty making Tim Gok, a sweet Chinese Treat with peanuts, coconut, sesame seeds and sugar inside a deep fried wrapper. 

My Grandma Chow used to make these for us, and I just loved them. I hadn't thought about them in a long time until last week when my friend, Bea, posted in Facebook that she was making them. Apparently they are a Chinese New Year treat, but my Grandma may have made them at different times of the year.

Bea told me that the So Kok wrappers are only available during Chinese New Year, and are sometimes hard to find. She very thoughtfully brought over some Tim Gok (she calls the So Kok) last week, but also brought me a package of the wrappers!! I asked my Mom if we could try making them together and she was up for it!! She invited my Auntie Betty to come make them with us. None of us have ever made them before, but they turned out great!

Here's the recipe I followed:

• 1 package of So Kok wraps. (if they're not available Siu Mai wraps can be substituted)
• 1 Cup roasted peanuts, chopped (fine or coarse, it's up to you)
• 1 Cup toasted shredded coconut
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup to 1 cup roasted sesame seeds (I go with ¼, it really depends how much you love sesame seeds)
• 1 egg beaten
• Oil for frying (peanut oil works best)

We had a lot of fun making these together, and they turned out great! My Mom did such a great job deep frying them, and they are beautiful and delicious.

Sent from my iPhone- please ignore any inadvertent  autocorrect typos. :)

McLaren Park

Wallace and I went to McLaren Park for the first time today. Kayak and Mike have been a few times before. We loved it!! It's huge, with so many trails, trees, a very cool pond (with ducks!) and even an amphitheater!! Looking forward to going back to explore some more!

Instant Pot Pho Ga

I'm still in love with my Instant Pot, and probably use it at least once every other day or more.

Tonight's dinner: Pho Ga!! I never would have ever attempted to make Pho from scratch, but this recipe made it very easy!!

Dick and I both liked it a lot. I'd give it a solid B, with room for improvement, but a very good recipe already. Next time, I'll try letting it Naturally Release fully, rather than the 10 minutes that it suggested. I'm hoping that may make the flavors a little more potent.

Here's the recipe I used:

(Only change was I used two medium sized onions)

https://www.platingsandpairings.com/instant-pot-chicken-pho/

Sent from my iPhone- please ignore any inadvertent  autocorrect typos. :)