Roasted chicken is something that I make every weekend. I like it because of how inexpensive it is, how practical it is and you can even use the left overs for more food!

This chicken that I happen to make was 99 cents a pound at the grocer. I put some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper on the chicken and stuck it in a 375 degree oven. I don't remember the poundage but I left it in there for about 2 hours until the juices ran clear when sliced between the leg and thigh.

Normally I like to throw in some herbs de Provence but i ran out so I just used good old salt and pepper and it turned out exactly the same every time. Flavourful, crispy skin and tender meat. I made a dipping sauce of greek plain yogurt, mayo, curry powder, garlic, salt and pepper. Delicious!

For side I made two things. The first thing I made was a cool cucumber soup.  I made a varition of the Korean soup that I'm so used to having during the summer.

• 1 English Cucumber, cut into strips
  
• 1-2 green onions, sliced
• apple cider vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic minced really small 
  
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2T soy sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
• small chili pepper sliced thin

Take all the ingredients and add about 3-4 cups of very cold water, add a few ice cubes and enjoy. Season to taste of course as these are my approximate measurements. I just do it by dumping the ingredients into a bowl and seasoning to taste. :)

The other side is something I make quite often. A yummy, fresh cold whole wheat pasta salad with a lot of nutrient packed veggies.

-1 box of whole wheat pasta
-1 small can of cannenelli beans
-1 small can of sliced olives (black)
-2 small jars of artichoke hearts, sliced
-1 med jar of roasted red peppers, sliced
-1 pint of baby/cherry tomatoes, halved
-some fresh parm/reggiano cheese (fresh)
-extra virgin olive oil
-dried basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to the directions on the box, rinse in cold water and drain. Place all the veggies in a bowl with the pasta, grate fresh cheese over the pasta/veggie. Add olive oil, basil, garlic powder, sat and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and serve very cold.

Not a bad dinner eh? We certainly enjoyed it. Use the left over chicken bones to make stock and make jook (rice porridge), home made chicken soup or whatever you may need it for. If you can't think of anything to use it for, freeze it and use it later. Use the left over meat for fajitas, wraps, sandwiches or another dish asking for chicken. The possibilites are endless. Enjoy!

I've been a little busy to do a video but this is a staple of mine since I always have all the ingredients on hand. Just remember to follow the directions just like the other soup I made in previous entries.

• 1.5 oz American Ginseng
• 3 oz Lotus Seeds (Leen Szee)
• 1.5 oz dried Chinese Yam (Wai San)
• 1.5 dried Longan
• 8 oz of really good lean pork
• half of a tangerine peel (in every soup!)
  
• some table salt

1. Soak yam for 1 hour, then wash. Wash ginseng, lotus seeds, tangerine peel and longan.
2. Chut seoyee (First boil) the pork for a couple minutes. Rinse well.
3. Bring a suitable amount of water to the boil, put in all ingredients... put a lid on pressure cooker or simmer on low heat for at least 3 hours.
4. Season with salt to taste.

Enjoy :) This is one of my husband and my favourite soups... probably because it's something we have all the time and it's so easy to make. Sorry there is no video or pictures, I am making it as I type but the cover to the pressure cooker is on.

à cuire est à l'amour*
i originally was going to move my personal blog here but then i decided that i'd share some cooking that i do on a daily basis. this way i can document through words and video so that in case my future daughter or daughter in law wants to learn - this is a easy way for her to have it :)

i've learned to make a lot of chinese/cantonese food from my mother in law so i wanted to document so i don't forget how to make it :) so here is one of the soups i made two nights ago. (sorry i can't write chinese - i'm korean!)

pear, dried white fungus, spare ribs soup

• 3 green pears
• 1/2 oz dried white fungus (soot-yee)
• 2T almond, few bitter almond (or have a mix called lam bat hun, try to buy skinless variety)
• 1lb spare ribs (pai-gwot)

1. soak dried white fungus (soot-yee) in water for 2 hours. it will grow in size! wash and tear into small pieces.
2. put spare ribs in boiling water for 5 minutes (called chut-soyu; removes impurities) then wash.
3. core and cut pears into thick pieces. keep skin on
4. in a large pressure cooker add spare ribs, white fungus, pears, almonds. bring to boil and then put lid on and wait till your pressure cooker says it's done. or simmer for at least 2 hours. season with salt.