New York City Does Sleep

The hustle, bustle
stops. The city no longer
hops. Cars take their naps.

Easy Vegan Ketogenic Gluten Free Asian Slaw

I served this slaw at the labor day picnic at Matt and Wendy's place today and everybody liked it. The simple, straight forward quality of the dressing made it a crowd pleaser. This is a salad that is easy to prepare and yet packed with an Asian appealing flavor. It is a keeper for picnics especially with people with varied needs.

My son in law, Matt, is into the ketogenic diet while I follow the vegan lifestyle. I adapted the recipe from this site to satisfy both of our dietary needs.  I further simplified the original recipe and deleted ginger root in the dressing and chili in the salad. I also made the cilantro leaves an optional garnish since I was serving this to some members of Matt's family with an aversion for spices.

To make the dressing ketogenic, I used stevia instead of maple syrup and was I impressed with the result. The bitter taste associated with this non glycosidic plant derived sweetener was not at all present in the overall taste of the slaw. It gave what would have been an otherwise tart dressing the sweetness associated with most Asian slaws.

I skipped the addition of Ramen noodles customarily done with some Asian slaw recipe to make it gluten free. Neither did I use the flavor packet that comes with this noodle soup packet. Nuts were also not added to make it suitable for those with nut allergy.

Despite being a minimalistic recipe, this is packed with addictive flavor. You will love it.

Easy Vegan Ketogenic Gluten Free Asian Slaw

Salad

• 1\2 head of green cabbage, cored and shredded
• 1 cup baby carrots, shredded
• 4 -6 napa cabbage leaves, shredded
• 6 stalks green onions, sliced thinly

Dressing

• 1 1\2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 1\2 tbsp soy sauce
• Stevia to taste
• Juice of 1 lime

Optional garnish

• 1 tbsp white Sesame seeds
• Bunch of cilantro leaves

Place the salad ingredients in a large salad bowl.  Whisk the ingredients of the dressing in another bowl and add the mixture to the salad ingredients. Toss or mix with your hand. Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro leaves if you like.

Prayer Meeting at Sue’s (Wilkins Prayer Group)

CSJA Associates in the Monroeville area have three prayer groups that meet once a month that they could join. They are: Paula's Prayer Group, the St. Bernadette Convent Prayer Group, and the Wilkins Prayer Group that meets at Sue's house.

I have been giving you handouts from the first two groups in the past and this time I am sharing these ones conscientiously prepared for us by Natalie during our meeting yesterday at Sue's house. Sue and her husband John have generously opened their house and hearts to us for these monthly meetings these past few years.

We started with a prayer shown below which especially is uplifting during times when we have to deal with challenging unexpected circumstances in our lives.

Natalie also shared an inspiring article on Holy Doubt with a focus on St. Mother Teresa and her struggle with it. This piece came from the Maryknoll magazine.

The next handout shown below was taken from the following book by Richard Rohr and deals on how our responses to the outer world become our reality.

We also listened to the readings of the lyrics of two songs below. I happened to find the YouTube video of Kathy Sherman's song which I am sharing with you.

We ended with the following prayer from a Meditation book.

Let us pray for one another. God is good and merciful. He or She always takes care of us.

Thanks for responding to the invitation to be one with one another as we  read and contemplate the thoughts in these handouts. Have a good day.

Thanks Natalie and Sue.

My Proactive Pittsburgh

Take a bow. From smog
filled skies and murky rivers
a masterpiece now.

Seeking God

To seek God is not
to know about him but to
know him. Thus love him.


Note: Inspired by Dom Bede Griffiths ' reflections.

Stronger

Never know our strengths
till we rise tho' slowly from
our weakest moments.

Slow Cooker Chicken Satay

I recently watched a movie on TV, Yours, Mine and Ours, that featured a story of two families that combined to form a 19 member one by marriage.  In one scene the parents were in a hurry to go to a party and the mom granted permission to one of the older children to have friends over. Well the parents did not know it was going to be a wild huge party. The younger kids of the bunch stayed in a room with huge bins of popcorn, chocolate  candies and other goodies provided by the older siblings to keep them away from the party. At the end of the party, one of the younger kids is shown near comatose saying dreamily the word chocolate.

I do have problems sometimes figuring what to give my grandchildren to eat when they visit. They can be very picky and unpredictable at times. I am sometimes tempted to just give them chocolate which I am sure they will eat. One weekend, to my surprise they ate a dish for dinner that I served them with gusto. It was chicken satay. Could it be the peanut butter in the dish? Or they were just hungry from playing in the sandbox? Who knows but this chicken recipe is a keeper. Easy and delicious. And you know already it is kid friendly.

Slow Cooker Chicken Satay

Adapted from this site

• 1 lb chicken breast
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 1/2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
• 1 tsp garlic chili paste
• 1/2 cup coconut milk from can
• 1 tbsp cornstarch in 1\2 cup water
• 1 cup baby carrots

Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook for 3 hours at high setting or 6 hours at low.  I cooked mine in an Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 2 hours at slow cooker setting.

Serve with rice and steamed vegetables.

Open Up

Do not be contained.
Like wheat open up and share
yourself to others.

Thirst For Inner Peace Quenched

By stopping to drink
from the fountain of strength that's
always within you.

Note: Photo taken at the St. Peter's Square during Pope Francis' blessing from the window of his papal apartment at noon, Sunday, August 5, 2018.

Paula’s Prayer Meeting August 9, 2018

Sr. Paula  prepared the wonderful handout that is shown above for our prayer meeting on August 9, 2018.   She played the song "As Long As I Am In the World" by Kathy Sherman, CSJ to go with the theme during our meditation. Click on the YouTube video below to listen to this song as you reflect on the message of the handout.

She also read a poem which is very similar to the one below.  It is about sharing our light to the world. She also reminded us to not forget the two words in the phrase "love others as yourself".

The Lamp Post – https://joysofjoel.wordpress.com/

Keep the faith
and make it stronger

Not by just keeping it inside
or holding on to it

Truly when it is shared
that you see and feel the light.

And when you see the rays
that reached beyond yourself

You’ll be awed
for it doesn’t only light your path

But also gives meaning
to the purpose of your being

We are all one
regardless where we come from

Where we’ll be going
and how we’ll be leaving.

Slow Cooker Fried Chicken

Can you really prepare fried chicken in the slow cooker, I had always wondered? Will I be happy with the result?  I researched the internet of ways to do it and settled on following  the one on this site. I did some tweaking as usual and here is the recipe.

The verdict: the result is very close to oven baked chicken that has been breaded. I did not use butter to drizzle over the top before cooking that would have made the coating crisper. It still tasted good, thanks to the seasoned salt that was sprinkled on top before cooking. I looked at the ingredients of this type of salt and I did not see MSG listed as one of them to my relief.

My husband gave this two thumb up. So there you are. You can indeed prepare fried chicken in the slow cooker and be happy with the result.

Slow Cooker Fried Chicken

Adapted from this site.

• 8 chicken legs or 3 six oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 egg
• 1\4 cup milk with 1 tsp vinegar or buttermilk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp each black pepper, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, salt
• Seasoned salt to taste

Spray the crockpot bowl with cooking spray. 

Whisk the egg and milk in a shallow bowl. In another shallow container mix the flour and spices except seasoned salt and in another place the Panko crumbs.

Dip the chicken pieces one at a time in the egg milk mixture, then the flour spice mixture, then the egg mixture again Then dredge the chicken in Panko crumbs.

Place the chicken in the slow cooker  side by side and  sprinkle with seasoned salt to taste.

Slow cook for three to four hours at high setting. I used a Crock Pot brand slow cooker  casserole.

Maddie's Milestone Cakes, It's All About the Memories

Maddie has just turned five this July. To recall every year of her life so far, I have used in this blog post the cakes that were created to mark the milestones. After all, it is all about the memories.

The Reveal
It was during the Christmas holidays in 2012 when we got a call from my daughter, Wendy, that they were expecting a baby. I screamed with joy of course. They decided not to open the letter from the doctor as to the gender of the baby and instead turned in the envelope with the reveal to Oakmont Bakery. The color inside the cake would indicate whether it was a boy or girl. During the small reveal party I noticed that only my other daughter, Bettina, and I were screaming with joy when the icing between the layers was pink. My son in law, Matt, his brother and his father were quiet. Were they disappointed it was not a boy that could join them when they scream over hockey games on TV? My daughter's mother in law told me they'll get over it. Note her family has been an all boy affair with her having only two sons while mine was all girls with only two daughters.

The Baby Shower
The cake was created by a friend from the  fitness club, Curves, I belonged to. It had buttercream icing  and topped with a baby carriage. Beautiful! Bettina and I made souvenir paper baby shoes by hand even when I could hardly sit because of a recent knee surgery.

First Birthday
Maddie was lovable. Still had a healthy appetite and was chubby. For her birthday, I made pistachio cupcakes using  polka dotted pink cupcake paper holders I bought from Tuesday Morning. I was a fan at that time of both cupcakes and Tuesday Morning where I bought stuff to decorate  the remodeled first floor of our house. I delivered the cupcakes to their house and they made the number one figure with the cupcakes.

Second Birthday
I was told not to bring cupcakes to her daycare to celebrate her birthday since the icing could be messy. I decided to make a butterscotch chip cookie cake  instead. For the theme, I imitated the cake made by Giant Eagle for the party held earlier that weekend at her house and also used the decorations, Elmo and his gang.

When I got to the daycare, they woke Maddie up from her nap. She did not understand why I was there  and was still recovering from her deep nap. She could not wait to  eat the cookie cake and was also pointing to the door indicating she wanted to go home. Well she had to wait for her classmates to wake up, go to the bathroom and sing and eat the cookie cake with her before I took her home. She enjoyed the butterscotch chip cookie cake and ate it with gusto.

Third Birthday
This was the year of the pig for Maddie, the adorable Peppa Pig, which I made the theme of the cake. She had been watching Peppa Pig videos on YouTube and was enamored by this adorable character. I used the tiny plastic figurines of her little Peppa Pig and his family to decorate the cake. Maddie was very excited to blow the candles and relished the singing by her classmates and the whole hoopla. She finally got what it was all about and showed  her delight openly and unabashedly.

Fourth Birthday
When I arrived, Maddie was beaming but subdued, starting to show a little bit of shyness. This time I used Paw Patrol characters to top the cake. Her brother, Luca, who loves Paw Patrol too, was able to join us. Maddie's classmates were  chattery at this age and excited to recognize the characters on the cake.

Fifth Birthday
I had to decide what theme to use for the cake. As usual, I liked using little toys she played with to decorate the cake. Her Aunt Bettina loves buying her so called LOL Surprise toys. They come in round containers with dolls and accessories you detach from its walls and be surprised since they do not reveal what they will be on the wrapping. Thank God Maddie's collection of LOL dolls and accessories were stored in one bin or they would have been difficult to find among her other toys since they were so teeny weeny. I did have to dress some of the dolls to grace the cake because Maddie loved to dress and undress them. During the party, her girl classmates enthusiastically talked about their own LOL dolls and one even had one with her, a testament on how popular they are.

Maddie was beaming from ear to ear from the time she saw me waiting for them to go through their bathroom break to the time she blew the candles on her cake. She was not as talkative as her classmates though. She was able to blow all the candles by herself without any help though it took time. Yes my little Maddie is five and a big little girl ready for kindergarten. Her brother, Luca, joined us but reluctantly. Will I be starting this cookie cake tradition with him? Time will tell. He is one dimensional and just loves to play with one thing, little cars with moving wheels. That will make decorating the cake easy or maybe not.

Life goes on and children particularly grow fast. I find it pays to keep the memories of how they look and what they love to do and play with every year. I also love recalling how they react to the celebration every year and observe changes. I find the milestone cookie cakes I have done every year help keep these  details alive. I  actually had warm feelings as I reminisced as I was writing this blog post. Priceless! I am grateful. And one more thing, a food for thought below.

On. Holy Ground

On Holy Ground. Feel
the past, hope for the future,
give thanks for present.

Slow Cooker Asian “Steamed” Tilapia

Steamed fish is a common fare in a Chinese buffet. Fortune Buffet in the Miracle Mile in Monroeville, PA had steamed sole the last time we ate there. I fell in love with it and could not get it off my mind. I happened to have tilapia in the freezer and green onions and ginger and decided to try steaming the fish in my Crock Pot brand casserole slow cooker. It has a low setting which I found could be used in cooking fish. I did not have to use a steamer basket like what I had to use if I had employed the usual stove steaming approach. I just used aluminum foil to envelop the fish and other ingredients.  I even used frozen tilapia fillets and just increase the cooking time. The fish came out moist and flavorful. The texture was perfect.

Slow Cooker Asian "Steamed" Tilapia

• 1 lb tilapia fillet (5 fillets)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce 
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sugar or to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 2 inch ginger, julienned
• 3 stalks green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces 

Mix the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, garlic, sugar and black pepper in a small bowl. Take a piece of aluminum foil twice the length of your crock pot. Place.on crock pot and fold in half. Put the fillet on top of half of foil. Pour soy sauce mixture over fillets, then distribute the ginger and green onion on top. Fold over the other half of the foil and crimp the sides.

Cook at low setting for 2 hrs if fillets are thawed or 3 hrs if frozen. I cooked mine frozen for 3 hours in a Crock Pot brand casserole slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Vegan Pasta E Fagioli

After Sunday Mass, my husband and I go out to lunch and one of our favorite places is the Olive Garden. I usually order their "eat as much as you want" soup and salad. I eat a variety of their soup offerings among which are chicken gnocchi, zuppa toscana and Pasta E Fagioli. The latter is my favorite.

I decided to make a vegan version of the Pasta E Fagioli and researched both vegan and non vegan copy cat versions. I found a slow cooker recipe in this wonderful site. The recipe I have below is an adaptation. I skipped the oil and sauteing step and substituted some ingredients with what I have. The result is amazing. The soup is a dead ringer for the Olive Garden version even without the meat. My carnivore husband loves this and opted to eat the leftover over other carnivore choices in the fridge last night.

Slow Cooker Vegan Pasta E Fagioli

Adapted from this site.

• 8 ounces small pasta (I used elbow macaroni. Ditalini is the traditional one used)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1- 15 ounce can stewed whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, cut into  small cubes
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2- 15 oz cans cannellini beans (or use one kidney beans for one of the cannellini)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon  black pepper

Cook the  pasta according to package instructions and set aside.  Place all the other ingredients except the pasta in the slow cooker. Cook for three hours at high setting or six hours at low. I cooked mine in an Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker for two hours at slow cooker setting. Add the pasta the last ten minutes or as a side dish.

From Longaniza to Hot Dog. Part 9. East Meets Midwest

I have tackled the biggest cultural shock when I moved from the Philippines to the United States. Why then was I apprehensive about moving to Ames, Iowa from Washington DC, I asked myself while I was on the plane enroute to the midwest. They are both in good old USA after all.

Perhaps it was the caricatures that my classmates at George Washington University were painting as they brought me to the airport. Mitch pointed to a guy with a cowboy hat and remarked I would see a lot of those. Then another warned me about preparing for a lot of snow. They went on and on.

When I was on the plane I met a family who told me people in Ames have special equipment for snow removal. The young daughter excitedly described a big roller type with brushes on both sides to sweep the snow.

When we said goodbye, the family looked amused on how worried I was and gave me reassuring smiles. I took a shuttle to Iowa State University and I passed by fields after fields of corn and just soaked in the flat landscape.

I arrived at the L shaped graduate dorm, Buchanan Hall, and got into the suite I was occupying with my roommate from China. On the adjacent room were two ladies from Iran that we shared  a bathroom with. The room had  a bed and desk ready for me. The only additional piece was my roommate's refrigerator.  We each had built in closet with a mirror and sort of dresser attached to it. Down the hall I met Filipino graduate students, Nieva and Manny, who shared meals together.

More than fifty percent of the graduate students at ISU are  from different countries and that could be gleaned from the people in the dorm. All continents  were represented. Down the hall from our room was a small kitchen where one would savor the international feel of the dorm from the different aromas emanating from the food being cooked by the  students.

Across from the dorm was the University President's residence on top of a man-made knoll. Just a short walk from it was the Memorial Union and right beside it the famous Campanile. Both  were located where the beautiful quadrangle was. I would be passing this peaceful scene with its trees and flowers and large patch of grass in the middle on my way to and from the dorm to my office in Gilman Hall which housed the Chemistry Department during my stay in Ames.

I noticed that every street corner in Ames was practically graced by a church of different denominations. At the St. Thomas More, the Catholic Church at the University, I finally met people from Ames. I did not meet any men in cowboy hats like Mitch said. From then on caricatures were gone and so were all my worries of culture differences.  This  was now home for me. Everybody I had met so far had made me feel so.

This is Part 9 of the series From Longaniza to Hot Dog which recounts my immigration to the United States from the Philippines. You might want to read the following:

From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 1 Brooklyn and Sao Paolo From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 2 Muito Obrigada and Baden Baden

From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 3 Life Changing Question

From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 4 Second Thoughts

From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 5 Places I Lived At In Washington DC

From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 6 People and Places

From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 7 At the Crossroad

From Longaniza to Hot Dog Part 8 . Much Needed Break

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Easy BBQ Sauce and Slaw

Martha Stewart scores big on this BBQ sauce. I give it an A+ with some tweaking. I had an option to choose other recipes but I chose hers when I saw the word quick in it. Indeed the list of ingredients is short.  I did add garlic and onion powders to it and used smoked paprika rather than just plain paprika.  I also did use the optional cayenne pepper.  I used this barbecue sauce when I prepared my pulled pork with the easy slow cooker approach and the result is OMG perfect.  Just the right sweetness, tang and heat.   I decided to prepare an equally easy slaw (recipe below) from Allrecipes.  Have an easy (excuse me for repeating the word), relaxed time preparing your dinner, lunch or picnic with this meal.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Easy BBQ Sauce and Slaw

• 1 lb pork shoulder or butt
• 3/4 cup catsup
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder

Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker except the pork and mix well.  Add the pork whole to the sauce.  Cook for 3 hours on high setting or 6 hours on low. I cooked mine in an Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 2 hours at slow cooker setting.  After cooking shred the pork with two forks or chop with a knife.  Serve on a bun topped with the easy cabbage slaw (recipe below) if you like.

Easy Cabbage Slaw

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp vinegar
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups shredded cabbage

Mix all the ingredients except the cabbage in a medium bowl.  Add the slaw and mix well.  

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Jazzy Vegan Chicken Salad

This vegan chicken salad is inspired by the one I saw prepared on the TV show Jazzy Vegetarian on the Create Channel.  I added dried cranberries and nuts to the garbanzo beans and carrot mixture in the original recipe to add more flavor and crunch to the salad. This can be served as an appetizer as shown on the tv show on baked tortilla cups.

Jazzy Vegan Chicken Salad

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard or Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Place the carrots and garbanzo beans in a blender or food processor and blend just enough to shred the carrots and coarsely chop the beans. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the other ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

You can serve this on baked tortilla cups, recipe below.

Baked Tortilla Cups

• 3 to 4 - 8 inch tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut one inch squares from the tortilla.  Place them carefully into a mini muffin pan.  Spray with cooking spray and bake for 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Assembly:

• spinach leaves
• tortilla cups
• chicken salad

Add one piece of spinach leaf on the baked tortilla cup and spoon the chicken salad on top. Enjoy!