How to choose and prepare dired mushrooms

Just discovered, from watching this video, that instead of soaking dried mushrooms to soften them, I can also opt to steam them.

These are the steps if you do not have time to learn more by watching it:

Message for my children

Stop thinking that a future event will occur that will make our life better.

Generally, we think that life will be better:

-only after we have completed our education.
-only after we have established our career.
-only after we have found our soulmate.
-only after we have started a family.
-only after our children are all grown up.

The list never ends if we keep waiting for an external event to improve our circumstances. We should focus on what we can control.

This mentality can prevent us from finding value in the present moment and be grateful for what we already have.

Today, I read the following quote from James Clear's newsletters:

American novelist Ursula K. Le Guin reminds us that change always begins by taking responsibility for how you live:

“You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.”

This is what I have gathered:

If you are looking for a rapid change in your life, don’t wait for things to happen. You may be waiting in vain when you could be the wheel of your own revolution.

To start this revolution, we must have a purpose to achieve.

Once we have achieved it, we should not rest on your laurels. What we need to advance further is inspiration. We can begin by looking around for it because it can add years to our life.

P/S:  I am glad to be able to use these quote posters I have created to share a life lesson.

What is a simple and unexpected way to use leftover brewed tea?

Do you know that tea has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties? You can brew your tea to drink or leave it to cool down to use as follows:

-as a toner for your skin to calm redness, reduce puffiness or minimize pores.
-to fight signs of aging.

Don't throw the tea leaves away as you can add them into your face mask or scrub to use. If you brew your tea with tea bags, you can also chill them and use them as compress for your tired eyes. So, don't throw away your used tea bags either because you are going to discover many more ways to use them after watching this video.

Now that you are aware about this, here is a cost saving idea for you.

When you are on a holiday, do you keep the complimentary sachets of coffee or tea in your hotel room? I have a collection of tea bags and mini sachets of instant coffee like this at home.

You will wish you had collected them once you know that you can make Dalgona Coffee or Dalgona Milk Tea with them.

You can learn how to make Dalgona with what you have at the following link:

How to Make Dalgona Coffee

Love reading anything about gardening

Though I love reading about gardening, I cannot say that I am proud about the way I landscape my garden.  But I am definitely prouder than neighbours who have weeds growing all over their gardens.

Currently, my favourite job at gardening is weeding.  I like to weed barefooted.  I then collect them and throw them in the compost pit I have dug in my garden.  Once I have covered that pit with soil, weeds will start growing over that patch.  If I am lucky, sometimes seeds from my kitchen waste grow out from it.  

If you follow the correct procedure for creating compost, you will know that you have to aerate it by turning the material in the pit occasionally. However, I have never done that for my compost pit but cucumbers managed to grow out from it successfully.

I am happy if they grow but I am fine if they do not as they make great compost.

This winter melon was another surprise I found in my compost pit. It was harvested just in time before it turned into compost.

I like the idea of planting over raised beds and through my experience, the cheapest way to build a raised garden bed is to dig a compost pit at the spot where most of the weeds are growing in my garden.  These are information I shared on Quora in my answer to, "How do I build a raised garden bed cheap and easy?".

As I dig the pit, I will pile the weeds I have dug out on one side and the soil on the other. Once the hole is at least 3 feet deep, I will dump any of the following waste I have on hand:

-weeds that I have dug out or pulled out by the roots.
-cuttings from my garden.
-grass clippings.
-dried leaves and twigs
-kitchen waste, such as, fruit and vegetable peels or scraps, egg shells, coffee or tea grounds or bags.
-shredded paper like newspaper or used paper towels or napkins or empty egg cartons.
-cardboard from my bike shop or from shopping online.

If I want to increase my collection of green or yard waste, I can look out for them along road sides or at parks in your neighbourhood.  Sometimes, the municipal workers cut grass in our neighbourhood and leave bags of the clippings behind for collection later.  I can also tell my neighbours to keep their cuttings and grass clippings for me the next time they trim their plants or mown their lawns.

There are other ways I can increase the composting material.  I can be friendly with the staff at food stalls I often eat at or at grocery stalls I tend to buy from. From such places, I should be able to collect:

-coffee or tea grounds.
-egg shells.
-kitchen waste.
-coconut shells and husks.
-pet shops (ask for pet/fish food that have expired)
-cardboard boxes.
-ash or small bits and pieces of charcoal leftover in bag or grill (eg, satay stalls or Korean BBQ restaurants that use charcoal for grilling)

I found out from reading the following article that adding charcoal to a compost pile quickens the composting process. You can also burn coconut shells or wood to create your own activated charcoal:

4 Surprising Ways to Use Charcoal in Your Garden, According to Experts

I like this composting guideline provided by the City of Yellowknife in Canada. You can learn how to layer your composting material by looking at this diagram they shared:

Since the intention is to create a raised bed, once the pit is heaped full with compost material, I will place sheets of cardboard to cover it before adding the soil I have dug out. Then I will add potting soil over it so that plants can be grown over it right away. You can save on buying fertilizers as over a period of time, the material in the compost pit will have degraded to add more nutrients for your plants. The sheets of cardboard will prevent the top soil from sinking too much into the pit as the material degraded. Once the plants you have grown have taken roots, they will hold the top soil together. You can add more soil over the raised bed as it sank further into the pit over time.

You can watch this video if you want to follow the right procedure for creating compost for your raised bed. By following the instructions, you will also be able to speed up the process of composting.

Do you know anyone in the timber industry? Check with them if they have any of the following timber waste from logging or from processing their end product:

-sawdust

-bark

-chips

-slabs and offcuts

One of my neighbours had a company building wooden furniture and gazebos. I had received many free bags of wood chips from his factory. I use them as mulch in my garden to prevent weeds from growing in my planter box. All such timber waste can also be added to the compost pit.

I have seen logs like these in my former neighbourhood park before.

Some are from trees cut from the homes of residents living there. Sometimes municipal workers cut or trim trees by the road side that would pose a hazard to public safety as they have overgrown to obstruct traffic signals, streetlights, and signs. If you can get your hands on logs like these, you can build a raised bed the German way. It does not matter even if the logs have rotted to a crumbly pulp as it will help to retain more water for growing your plants so you do not have to water your plants as much.  The technique is known as Hugelkultur and you can learn how to go about it by watching this video.

If there is space constrain in your garden, you can build your raised bed upwards in a spiral manner with:

-bricks

-stones

-cinder blocks

-chunks of concrete

-logs

-bottles

Though it is called a herb spiral, you can grow flowering plants if that is what you prefer. If you do a search at Pinterest for “herb spiral”, you will find many methods to build one. Here is one I found built with stones and cardboards laid down at its base, to prevent weeds from growing through the spiral.

This diagram shows the type of plants that should be grown around the spiral to optimise growth.

This is how the herb spiral will look like if you use bricks or cinder blocks.

Watch this video to see if this is what you would like to do as it provides a very clear tutorial on how it should be build.

You can then refer to GrowOrganic blog for written information about the material you need and the steps to do it.

If you use your creativity, you can re-use many material that would have been discarded to build your raised beds. These are how raised beds can be made with coconut husk.

Are you good at woodworking? If you are, see if you are able to get your hands on pallet.  You maybe able to find them discarded at factories or at industrial estate. If you can get them free, you can build a raise bed with the planks. Here is a good example I found on Pinterest.

You can learn how to make one by following the instructions provided at the following link:

DIY Wooden Planter

You can easily find other designs on Pinterest by doing a search for “make raised bed with pallet”. I like this design as PVC buckets are more durable than liners.

If you are bad at woodworking, you can just lay the pallets on ground and fill them up with potting soil. You can also place your pallet vertically against a wall to grow your plants. You can watch this video to learn how to prepare it for your garden.

You can use the planks from the pallet to build a 4’ by 4’ bottomless box to grow your plants, the square foot gardening way.

You are good to start, once you have located a spot that has good drainage and 6-8 hours of direct sun per day. This simple concept will make it easier for you to harvest what you need. It will also help you to:

-cut down on your gardening chores.

-save space, money, water and seed.

-grow healthier plants.

You can learn how to go about it at the following link:

Easy steps to square foot garden success

I usually save (pin) articles, useful hacks or tips about it on my Pinterest board about Gardening.  

Here is a tip that you should take note of.

Do you know that coarse builder's sand used for mixing concrete or laying paving can be added to garden soil to improve drainage and aeration? Buy them bagged from a plant nursery that you trust. It is not a good idea to take them from construction sites. My husband took back some leftover sand for his job site and spread it all over our garden. He was not aware that there were seeds in them. Within a few days, weeds that we have never seen in our garden before started growing.

Looking for a particular book to read online?

Are you searching online for a particular book to read? 

Do what I always do when I am looking for a book recommended by others. Google “the title of the book” followed by “author’s name” and end it with “.pdf”.

I came across this question on Quora, "Where can I download The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) Third Edition in PDF format?" and took up the challenge to find it.

I googled “The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell .pdf” and found many links related to it.  If, like me, you are not willing to pay for it, don’t click on links to bookstores or Amazon. 

I found one posted by “rosenfels.org”.  I am always wary about downloading books from sites that are unknown to me.  I did a google transparency search on “rosenfels org” to make sure that it is a safe site to browse.  This book was first published in 1949 and this is the link to its third edition printed in 2004 and noted as a Commemorative Edition:

The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

If you do not have time to read a whole book, find summaries or reviews about it. Do the same search but end it with “summary” or “reviews”.  In fact if you google "rosenfels The Hero With A Thousand Faces", you will be able to read an AI overview about it.  This is what I have extracted from it:

"The Hero with a Thousand Faces; the book was written by Joseph Campbell. Campbell's 1949 book argues that many world myths share a common structure known as the "monomyth" or Hero's Journey, which involves a hero who leaves the ordinary world for a quest and returns transformed. 

About the book

Author: Joseph Campbell, a mythologist and writer.

Publication: First published in 1949, it became widely known after a 1988 PBS television special with Bill Moyers called The Power of Myth.

Core Concept: The book outlines a universal "monomyth" or "Hero's Journey," a recurring pattern in heroic myths across cultures.

Influence: It has been highly influential in fields like literature, psychology, and film, famously influencing George Lucas's Star Wars saga. 

The Hero's Journey

The journey is described as having three main stages, though it can be broken down in more detail:

Departure: The hero receives a "call to adventure" and crosses a threshold into the unknown.

Initiation: The hero faces trials, battles, and temptations, often being tested in profound ways before achieving a form of enlightenment.

Return: The transformed hero returns to their world with a gift or newfound wisdom, which can benefit their community."

I am glad I made the effort to find it.  It was introduced by Screenwriter, Michael Lengsfield, who teaches scriptwriting at the University of East Anglia. I was then taking his free online course on “AN INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING” at Future Learn.

I noticed that whenever I try to help others find answers, I have a tendency to find leads to answers I have been looking for.

So, the phrase "one good deed deserves another" is true for me in a reversed manner:

Helping others helps me (in many interesting ways).

On top of that, I am a hoarder for (free) information.

Do you have a fulfilling hobby?

Have anyone praised you for what you have made? Being acknowledged for your efforts can be fulfilling. So, work on what you are good at doing and explore ways to make it better or unique. And, what do I mean by that? For example, everyone can take a photo but you can make it unique this way.

As with any hobby, to be able to get to that stage takes time and practice.

So, if you think that taking photos as a hobby could be relaxing for you, make your photos stand out by picking up tips on ways to take your shots creatively. You can easily find them online by doing a search for “unique ways to take photographs” or “photography hacks”. That was how I found the above video.

What is considered a relaxing hobby for one person could be a struggle for you if it is something new to you, especially if, you have issues with attention or focus. Some creative hobbies require a significant amount of mathematics. Crochet is one of them that I enjoy working on since I was a kid. I enjoy making my work unique by making it versatile. This fanny pack that I crochet is a good example as I can use it in 4 different ways.

For me, writing is a very relaxing hobby. I find it very fulfilling to be able to share useful information or teach what I have made. It is nice to know that one day when I am no longer around, my children will still be able to learn from my blogs. Are you curious to know how I am able to use the fanny pack in four different ways? I shared the information and instructions on how I make it at the following link:

Create a Versatile Bag

If you take up crochet and there is a mistake in one of the stitches half way through, you will have to unravel your work because even a missing stitch can be obvious.

Similar for craft like quilting. Precise measurements is required to calculate the amount of fabric you need to complete your project. Lots of measuring is required to get the geometric shapes, patterns, and proportions right. To make your finished work stands out, you must also have an eye for mixing fabrics of different colours and patterns. If you lose your focus and have sewn mismatched patches together, the mistake will stand out due to the patterns or orientations. Do you like the idea of ripping the seam of the incorrect pieces to reposition and re-stitch them correctly?

If quilting is what you are aiming for, you can start by:

-choosing project with patches in similar shapes and sizes.
-working on a smaller projects.
-copying what others have already made.

But before you start buying all the tools and materials you need for whatever hobby you want to venture into, try to improvise with what you have on hand. For example, when I wanted to learn to weave to create a necklace, I managed to make my own weaving tool. Instead of buying yarn, I used cut strips of plastic bags. It is very fulfilling for me, when I am able to use material, that would otherwise be discarded, in my craft project. I call my efforts, “Creating Abundance from the Abandoned”.

My favourite source for crafting ideas is at Pinterest. It is where I go to if I need inspirations to start a project. I will save (pin) on my board “Abundance from Abandoned” at the following link, any craft ideas that can be made with discarded material:

After looking through them, you will realise that you do not even have to buy craft books to learn because you can find many free instructions for craftwork there. Beware! It can be addictive. I can get locked up there as I am an information hoarder for DIY projects and anything that interest me.

If you want to start sewing or quilting as a hobby, you can consider upcycling clothes that you or your family members have outgrown.  Are you able to get your hands on leftover fabric from friends who sew?  There are also many types of hobby you can consider starting with leftover materials that you have on hand.  You will find crafting ideas by doing a search for "create craft with leftover scraps" on Pinterest.

You will never lack material to work in your hobby if you work with PVC material. I am sure your friends and neighbours will gladly give you their empty PVC bottles if you tell them that you want them for your craft projects.  Trust me, it can be very fulfilling if you can use your creativity to create practical things for your home without spending money on materials. 

Check out this video if you need more inspirations to start.

Your relatives and friends will be amazed by your new found hobby when they visit your home. Likely, some may even request you to make them the same. See if they are willing to pay you for your time and efforts because making extra income can be fulfilling too.

What are the Different Types of Pork Ribs?

Sign up for free newsletters from Woks of Life and you will keep getting very useful tips like this. 

Cooking with Air Fryer

My first airfryer was a gift from my sister because she does not know how to make full use of it.  My son was the first one who experimented cooking with it and I got hooked.  When he moved out, I gave him that unit and got him to buy me a unit in larger capacity since I am cooking for three in the family.

Many people think that an airfryer is just a gimmick.  I can only say that they are just not playful enough to create interesting fusion of Asian or Western dishes with it.  I use my airfryer to:

-thaw and cook frozen food and ready to eat meals.
-reheat food and continue to keep it warm by leaving it inside.
-deep fry frozen food without oil.
-toast my bread, pancakes, pizzas and wraps.
-melt my butter.
-make my deep fried food crispy again.
-roast.
-bake.
-grill.

Any dishes you can cook in an oven can be cooked in your airfryer and in a shorter time too, even though you have not preheated it.  It is more economical to use an airfryer, especially if, you have a smaller portion to bake.   This video gives you a general idea how you can use the airfryer to cook which is possibly why you think cooking with it is such a hassle.  

However, you may reconsider using an airfryer if you use the tips I shared below:

Try to avoid cooking food directly in its basket by using a metal container.

From the video you can see that the ingredients are placed on the basket to be cooked.  I don't do that.  I have many round stainless steel food containers with lids like these.  

They are handy for storing food in the refrigerator and for steaming food over a pot of soup or in my airfryer.  Most of my meat are marinated ahead and stored in such round metal containers.  When it is time to cook, I just remove its cover and place the container on the basket to airfry.  Once the meat has thawed enough, I separate them to cook further.  By doing that I save the time and hassle of cleaning up a my heated airfryer to cook the next dish, 

Spread oil in your metal container. 

If I am cooking room temperature raw ingredients like meat or fish, I will spread garlic oil in the container before I place the food inside it to cook.  The oil will prevent the ingredients from sticking to the container which will make it easier for me to turn them over to cook further.

To avoid burning raw minced garlic, use garlic oil instead.

I prefer my greens with sauce, so, I will not consider cooking them in an airfryer.  Also, instead of adding minced garlic in to airfry, consider using garlic oil.  You make it by deep frying minced garlic in a pot of oil.  When it is time to cook, just place the ingredient in a metal container and spread 1-2 tablespoon of garlic oil over it before airfrying.

Use a piece of bread to catch oil drips.

It will be easier for you to clean your airfryer if you place a piece of bread below the basket to catch oil dripping out of food like bacon or fried chicken you are airfrying. 

Don't wash the airfryer to cook the next dish.

You can use a piece of kitchen towel to wipe down and remove any bits of food still sticking to the basket.  That will also help maintain the heat of the airfryer to cook the next dish.

You can easily find recipes for dishes that you can cook in your airfryer.  Webspoon World shared 7 such recipes that have gone viral on TikTok that should interest you to try making.

These are the ingredients he used:

Cloud Bread in AirFryer 

● 3 pcs egg whites 

● salt

● 80g cheddar cheese 

● 1 tbsp bagel seasoning 

Air Fryer Rice Paper Feta Burek 

● 100g feta cheese 

● 1 egg 

● 50g mozzarella

● egg

● 3 rice paper 

● sesame

Crispy Gnocchi Caprese Salad 

● 250g gnocchi

● 1 tsp paprika 

● 1/3 tsp salt 

● 1/2 tsp Italian herbs 

● olive oil

● 100g mozzarella cheese

● 100g сherry tomatoes 

● basil

Air Fryer Garlic Tortilla Crackers 

● 3 tortilla 

● 1 tsp dried parsley

● 1/2 tsp salt 

● 1/3 tsp chili flakes 

● 50ml butter (melted) 

● 1 clove garlic 

Viral Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

● 500g chicken wings 

● 1 tsp salt

● 2 tbsp honey

● 2 tbsp ketchup

● 3 tbsp soy sauce

● 1 tsp garlic powder

Apple Pudding in Air Fryer

● 2 apples 

● 2 eggs 

● 60g sweetened condensed milk

● 1 tsp cinnamon

Air Fryer Chicken Sticks

● 500g chicken breast 

● 1/2 tsp coriander powder 

● 1/2 tsp garlic powder 

● 1 tsp salt

● 1 tsp paprika

● 1/3 tsp chili pepper 

● olive oil

If you want more recipes and tips on how to use the airfryer efficiently, you can find them on my Pinterest board at the following link:

Air Fryer

You can also find dishes I have cooked with my airfryer if you do a search for airfyer on this blog. 

Cooking with Spare Ribs

As a frugal mom, unless I am cooking Bak Kut Teh, I will not consider using spare ribs to boil soup since it is the more expensive cut compared to soup bones or chicken carcasses.  Moreover, I boil soup on a daily basis.  

On days when I want to cook a dish with spare ribs, I will add about 6 to 8 pieces of them to the pork or chicken soup I am boiling for the day as this will help me save time. I like it that the additional spare ribs added will also enhanced the flavour of my soup.

If you do not plan on making soup or soup stock, you can just boil the spare ribs in a pot of water. You want to boil them till they are soft enough to bite into but not falling apart, which is about 30 minutes on high heat or about 45 to 60 minutes on low heat.

Once they are ready, you can remove them from the soup or stock and stir fry them in a wok with:

-8 to 10 table spoons of water (or soup/stock)
-1 Tbsp of white or brown sugar (or honey)
-1 Tbsp of garlic oil.
-1/2 Tbsp soya sauce.
-1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce
-Dash of black or white pepper or
-1 Tbsp BBQ Sauce

Stir fry till the liquid is reduced and the sauce thickens to glaze the ribs. If you have been too heavy with the sauce, just add more water. You can then thicken the sauce by whisking together 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 2 tablespoons of water to create a slurry. Once the sauce starts to boil again, add the slurry in bit by bit while stirring till it thickens.

Here is another way to reduce cost to purchase a larger quantity of spare ribs if you plan on cooking for more people to eat. Boiled spare ribs can be kept in the freezer. Each time you use them to make your soup stock, you can store them in an airtight container. Once you have accumulated enough in your freezer, you can thaw them to marinate for at least an hour or store it overnight in the fridge a day before you airfry them to serve.  Watch this video to see how it is cook in the airfryer.

You can watch the video from the beginning if you would like to know how the Char Siu Sauce (BBQ Sauce) is prepared and how it can be used to cook other dishes.  These are the ingredients used in the video to make the Char Siu Sauce (BBQ Sauce) for 1kg pork spare ribs:

This is how you prepare the spare ribs to airfry.

If you plan on using BBQ sauce from Lee Kum Kee, watch this video and learn some Cantonese phrases along the way.

This sauce can also be used to make char sui with the following parts of the pig:

-pork butt or shoulder 
-pork collar
-pork belly (very fatty)
-pork loin (leaner option can turn out dryer when cooked)

How to Make Potato Tart

A tart is a pastry dish with opening so that you can bake it filled with sweet or savoury ingredients like:

-fruit
-custard
-chocolate
-cheese
-mushrooms,
-curry
-pastry cream, also known as, crème pâtissière

Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or flan.  To make a basic shortcrust pastry you require:

-plain flour
-butter
-milk
-a pinch of salt

Sugar can be added for sweet shortcrust pastry.  Some recipes use an egg yolk to to create a richer, more tender, and flavourful crust with a golden hue.  A thin layer of egg yolk can also be brushed on the blind-baked shell to seal it and prevent the filling from leaking.

You can watch this video to learn how to make it.

You can learn more about tart from Hali, a French-trained baker, at the following link:

A guide to tart crust

Do you know that you can make your "tart" with mashed potatoes?  You can learn how to make it and cook the fillings from this video:

I prefer the simpler version as shown in the following video:

Crispy Potato Tart recipe

I will use pork instead of chicken to cook it.  These are the ingredients required:

I will consider using my sardine with onion dish as fillings:

 Or my peppers, onion and carrot dish:

I wonder if it will taste good with scrambled eggs and tomatoes added as fillings.

Should I can mash the potato from my curry dish to make the tart and tear apart the chicken to add as filling?

I can also use this filling for making chicken curry puff.

That's your mom

We are not Christians.  We do not celebrate Christmas.  But here I am, sharing information on social media on how one can use trimmings from a living conifer tree on display for Christmas to start a simmer pot of homemade air freshener.  It just shows that I am a hoarder of useful tips and I enjoy sharing them to help others live a more eco-friendly life aka frugally.  Continue reading if you are interested to learn how to save money on buying scented candles or fragrance oils.  

I found out from reading some newsletters from Martha Stewart, that you have to trim the conifer tree you wish to display for Christmas.  This is to ensure that you will have plenty of space between branches for decorations to hang freely. From what I have read, you don't have to throw away thoes trimmings.  You can start a simmer pot by boiling them with pear slices and one or two sprigs of rosemary for an aromatic scent of winter in your home.  

This video will give you an idea what a simmer pot is all about.

You can check out the other ingredients you can use from your kitchen to start a simmer pot from this articles shared by Martha Stewart:  

7 Simmer Pots Recipes to Fill Your Home With a Customized Scent

If you like the idea, do a search online for "Simmer Pots .pdf".  Through this search, I found more tips about starting a simmer pot from Compost Simmer Pots.  You can even toss the peels from fruits you have eaten or juiced into the simmer pot. 

This is the process for making a simmer pot:

-add all ingredients to a soup pot.
-fill with water almost to the top.
-boil over high heat.
-once water is boiling, reduce heat.
-let it simmer for as long as you like.
-you can keep it in the refrigerator between simmers to extend its lifespan.
-repeat each day until the mixture loses its scent.
-compost the ingredients in the pot for your garden. 

Cooking Clear Soup or Stock

I discovered chef, Jaques Pepin, while reading a question answered on Quora.  If you would like to boil clear soup or stock watch him in this video.  

Here are some tips I picked up from watching this video:

-start boiling the chicken (meat) with cold water so the scum (solidified gelatine from the bone) from it will come to the top.
-do not cover pot while soup is boiling as it will become cloudy.
-remove the scum with a little skimmer during the first 10 minutes of boiling the soup. 
-push fat with ball of laddle and skim it out.
-season soup (he used bay leaf, thyme, black peppercorn, rosemary, and clove).
-reduce heat to simmer soup for 35 minutes.
-turn off heat and let it cool down.
-remove chicken to remove skin and debone it.
-put the bones back into the soup to cook further for 1 hour.
-strain the soup to remove bones and fat by putting a paper towel or two in the strainer.
-you can also keep it in the fridge overnight so that it is easier to remove the cogealed fat.
-wipe pot clean with a paper towel and pour strained soup back in.
-add vegetables to soup to boil for only 20, 25 minutes (he used leak, onion, carrot, butternut squash, mushroom and cabbage).

You can reduce your salt in take in the soup by bringing the flavor up with:

-dry spice like hot pepper, fennel seed, oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc.

-fresh seasoning like onion, parsley chopped, scallion, garlic, the rind of lime and the rind of lemon, cilantro, tarragon, ginger, etc.

-sweet like honey or maple syrup mixed with sour like vinegar, tomato or lemon.
-crystallized the top of meat or fish by heating it on very high heat.

The tips can be applied for making Chinese soups too.

Knead your Dough with a Ziplock Bag

If you do not have a hand or stand mixer or a breadmaker and you do not like the idea of using your hands to knead sticky dough, you can prepare it in a ziplock bag.  I agree with Left Brain Craft Brain that it is a fun way to initiate a kid to cook anything that requires dough prepared. 

Watch this video for making Fried Dough Balls" and you will get an idea. 

You can also use the same method to prepare dough for baking bread.  This baker is able to shorten the resting time of the dough by microwing a glass of water for 2 minutes.  She then put the dough in the ziplock bag to rest for 30 minutes in the microwave oven with the glass of heated water.

 

I first came across this idea on Cookrate Facebook page for making Ham and Cheese Bun.  If you are going to use a breadmaker to prepare the dough, you can add the ingredients "3" to "10" in the order I have written it in the following table. 

Lotus Roots Soup and Its Variations

I often shared that I can save my gas by heating or steaming other dishes above my pot of boiling soup.

I will never do that when I am boiling Lotus Root Soup.  The flavour of the soup will be imparted on the other dishes being heated or cooked above it.  I will also not use chicken or boil pork ribs in it so that it will bcome tenderise enough to cook other dishes.

There are two ways that Lotus Root soup can be made.  At home I use the basic soup ingredients to make it.  But during Chinese New Year when you have to boil enough to serve every member of the family who are home for the reunion dinner, you can add the optional ingredients to make it more flavourful.  That was how my mother-in-law boiled the soup.

The arrowroot  and chicken feet will thicken your soup and you can omit them if you want to. If you like your peanuts to be soft, soak them in hot water for 2 to 3 hours before boiling them in the soup.  You can also soak them in cold water and leave it overnight in the fridge.  

Chinese soups are cooked by boiling the water with the ingredients.  Once the water is boiling, you can turn down the fire to let it simmer.  Most soups will take at least 1 hour to cook but if you have root vegetables or ingredients that are denser, you will have to cook it for about 2½ hours.  Check the condition of your peanuts.  If it is not soft enough, you can continue boiling.  You can add water if the level has dropped too much and you need to boil a little longer.

Since I buy my groceries online, I am usually not able to get the exact amount of lotus root I need to make the soup.  I am not worried if the lotus root I received is too large as it will enhance the flavour of the soup.   If I do not have enough lotus root to make the soup, I can either reduce the amount of water I usually use, which is about 1½ to 2 soup bowls, or make adjustments to the other ingredients. 

These are the ingredients that will enhance the flavour of the soup, which I can increase the quantity required or reduce it, based on the size of my lotus root:

The basic 
-soup bones
-arrowroot (it thickens your soup and can be omitted)

You can include all or pick any one of these optional ingredients to add to your lotus soup.
-dried oyster
-dried squid
-peanuts
-chicken feet (it thickens your soup and can be omitted)

It is not a good idea to increase the amount of dried oyster and dried cuttlefish as they will make the soup taste fishy.  It will be best not to include peanuts if you are boiling soup with less water as they take a longer time to boil to soften.  

The ingredients that will sweeten the soup are:

-dates
-dried honey dates

You can reduce the amount used if you are someone who do not like drinking sweet tasting soup. I will omit the dried honey dates but not the dates. The number of dates I use depends on the size of the dates I have on hand.  If they are large, 4 pieces will do and if they are smaller, I will add accordingly, up to a maximum of 7 pieces.

If you have made a mistake by adding too much water to your soup and it tasted bland, instead of boiling it down, you can save it by adding a few pieces of sengkuang.

This is the way I will cut my lotus root if I plan on removing them to cook another dish with.

These are the sauce ingredients I often use to flavour ingredients such as meat or lotus root that I have removed from the soup:

-garlic oil

-a few tablespoons of water or lotus root soup

-sugar or honey

-soya sauce and/or oyster sauce

-black or white pepper

I pan fry them till the liquid thickens and sticks to the lotus root.  If you like to eat your lotus root crunchy, you can blanch the sliced quantity you want in the soup for about 45 seconds.  You can find ways to add flavour to the lotus root from your soup by doing a search online for "lotus root dishes".

You can cut the lotus root in large chunks if you have no intention to eat them. 

If you do a search online for "lotus root soup, you will find many other variations for making it.  Here is one from The Woks of Life, which is totally different as their ingredients include seaweed/kelp, ginger, dried goji berries and scallion.  Check out links to their glosarries if you are wondering what some of the ingredients in Chinese recipes look like.

I have posted many other useful tips about making soups on this blog.  I have collated some of the information in the following question I answered on Quora:

Do you like soup? If so, what is your favorite soup?

I save soiled tissues. Don't you?

I usually keep my store bought buns and homemade bread in the fridge. 

I can easily heat them up in my airfryer when we want to eat it. 

Are you aware that you should place a piece of tissue or kitchen towel on the plate in which you will be serving your heated bread, pastries or pizza? If you don't place a piece of tissue or kitchen towel under your heated food, vapours will form on the plate which will make your food soggy. Most of the time, the tissue used is still good enough to be reuse. So, I have been saving them in a plastic container after making sure that all crumbs sticking to it have been removed.  I started this habit after discovering Vinda kitchen towel. The paper is so thick that it is such a waste to discard if it can still be re-use.

When I need to clean my stove after cooking, I will use these tissues instead of a cloth. Though soiled, they are still good for absorbing oils and any drips on the stove. In doing that, I now no longer have to wash my table cloth as often. 

In the long run, that saves me time and water as I can just discard the tissue or kitchen towel once I am done with them. 

You can also consider keeping your used tissue or kitchen towel if you have only used it:

-to wipe your hands dry
-to wipe your mouth
-to dry up containers, pots or pans

It is best to save your soiled tissue or kitchen towel in an airtight container. That will prevent any ants from getting to them if there are still crumbs or residue from food left that you have missed removing.

Here is another good reason for you to save soiled tissue or kitchen towel. It is also handy for wiping off sauce and stains on your table before you wipe it with your table cloth.

I would have had a hard time washing such stains off my table cloth if I had not use a piece of tissue first.

I also re-use soiled tissues to wipe sauces and residues off my plates, containers, pots and pans before I wash them.  

By doing that, I can save the water for rinsing them for other purposes. I will share how I store and re-use such water in my next posting.