Green onion pancakes

Right before my roommates and I left our apartment for a few days of break, I decided that I would use up all of the perishable foods in the refrigerator. It turns out, the only perishable foods were a block of tofu, eggs, and a bunch of green onions. What can you make from that?

After some soul-searching on youtube land, I decided that I would make green onion pancakes accompanied by a soup of tofu, tomato and eggs. The green onion pancakes seem difficult to make because they required rolling out the dough to a nice and thin consistency and fold in oil as if I am making a French pastry. I remember eating excellent, flaky, light, and onion flavored pancakes bought from the street vendors when I was little, but now I was attempting to make it at home with youtube as my only help. But my roommate cheered me on by saying, “You can do it. I’ll eat whatever you make.” So off I went.

The video that I saw requires a working knowledge of Chinese and the ability to withstand a lot of enthusiastic Chinese chattering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTZPDa0wiqQ

But you can watch this very similar version without everything I have described above. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OJbkqUvHxI

I can’t say that the whole process went effortlessly. I confess that I almost burnt down the house by leaving the pot on the stove with oil still in it. Unsure of what to do, I took the pot off and waited for the oil-lite fire to die down while frantically screaming my roommate’s name for help. After the fire died down, I used the “Abby Butcher” method of fanning smoke away from the fire alarm (which I learned as a freshman living on my own for the first time) to appease the ear-ringing sound.

I have completely ruined the pot, but my roommates were so kind that they simply laughed and thought that it was funny, given that I didn’t actually burn down the house. Then they told me that I should pour baking soda on a grease fire. So now I am going to research health and safety in kitchens during my leisure time.

Gardening adventures episode 1 - Inspirations

Spring is the time of life, and I surprised myself with my sudden intrigue with plants and keeping something alive.

It all started when one of my roommates was given the charge of keeping a plant named Henry George, whose species is still a mystery to my roommate and I, alive. It's a beautiful plant with long lush leaves and no stem. My roommate had been apprehensive about plant-sitting because her plants have always met a misfortune or two. But out of her love for our friend, she is determined to keep this one alive. A week or so into our charge, this poor plant began to die leaf by leaf. Unwilling to present a dead plant to our friend, my roommate geared up her efforts, bought new pots and soil, replanted the plant, and nursed it back to health.

Inspired, I began to think that I may give growing plants a try. To be honest, the only plant that I ever kept alive was a small generic house plant that a sister at AMC, a church in Maryland, had given me after I stayed with her. I had been proud that this little plant grew a little and didn't die in my dim apartment at Duke. When I brought it home over the summer for my mother, who has the greenest thumb I know, it literally doubled in size and gave off several new shoots. Flabbergasted, I decided that I had better leave that plant at home with my mom where it could grow happily ever after.

Now I am going to try to grow a plant again, with the thought that if my roommate can put in such efforts to keep Henry George alive, then I can keep something alive.

So off I went to various plant nurseries in search of a suitable plant that's not too expensive least I kill it in one go. My brother and I found a nursery right outside our neighborhood. I never knew how delightful it is! Besides the beds upon beds of plants they had, they also had a gift shoppe with glass decorations that looked like colorful rain drops and mushroom from Alice in Wonderland.

They also had an exhibition garden where you could pick herbs for free. One of the workers even invited us to try their freshly picked English peas that burst with sweetness in our mouths. I took the liberty to buy their freshly picked strawberries, which filled my car with a warm, sticky, and sweet aroma that I wish someone can make a car scent mimicking it.

Alas, I decided not to buy my plant from this nursery and chose, instead, to buy the basic sweet basil and rosemary from the farmer's market. But it was incredibly fun just snooping my nose around this nursery and that, and finally bought the plants that I will attempt to grow.

Until next time! Follow me through my adventures of growing a plant :-).