Quay Po Cooks: stuffed cabbage

Showing posts with label stuffed cabbage. Show all posts

Monday, November 19, 2012

If you have nothing nice to say, better say nothing at all

Some people are experts at running their mouths, and often times they have learned to wait for just the right moment to hurt another person's feelings. How many of you agree with the saying, “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all”? I believe in it but sometimes I forget my belief. From time to time I speak too hastily and forget to put a check on what I am about to say. That is a silly thing to do. It doesn't take long to figure out whether what you are about to say is a mean or too critical a remark. If your check is accurate and you realize you should either not say anything, or find a better way to say it, then you can accomplish much more and feel more peaceful in your life. I think not saying anything is a bit like letting go. By letting go of your irritation and avoiding hurting someone's feelings you are going to award yourself with an instant chance for more inner peace.

Has anyone of you received hateful remarks or comments on your blog before? What do you do when that happens? For me, I usually will just delete it and not even bother to think about it after that. I simply refuse to let their comments affect me. So far, I have had only one really nasty comment after two years of blogging. I deleted it, in sort of the same way that one might toss out the contents of a dustbin in my macbook. It feels good to see the contents disappeared before your eyes. Immediately afterwards, I simply forgot about it.

During a demo event at the baking competition the other day, I overheard one lady in the crowd of watchers that had gathered make a nasty remark about the chef.

Unfortunately the product did not turn out well. I almost wanted to ask the lady why she had said that but then, I bit my tongue and stopped myself from doing that. There is nothing nice I wanted to say to her so I should shut up. LOL!

Honestly, the truth is that when we say something hateful or mean spirited we usually end up regretting it. Nowadays, I try hard to catch myself before it happens.

Now, did I sound like I was preaching too much? Okay time to stop preaching and start sharing. Lets stuff some cabbage.

Stuffed Cabbage

I adapted the recipe from Chef Laura Calder of French Food at Home2 but with modification. I used chopped meat loaf and pomodoro sauce for the fillings. It was a perfect use of leftovers. Click on the picture to go to the link to get the chef’s recipe in case you want to try making his filling.

It was rather challenging for me, and mine did not come out as visually appealing as the Chef’s. In fact it looks messy but it was delicious. I think I should put in more fillings in between the leaves when I make it again.

A LITTLE ABOUT THIS QUAY PO

Before I was married to my "Quay Lo" (Guaylo) husband, I did not know how to bake or cook. Subsequently I learned some baking and cooking Western cuisine from him, and providing his food for him launched an interest in cooking in general. Many of my Chinese friends and family told me that "Quay" is the wrong spelling for devil in Cantonese. The right spelling should be "Kwai" or "Guay". Well, somehow I like the spelling "Quay" better although I have to agree that it does not sound very Cantonese. Try asking a Westerner to pronounce "Kwai" and you will probably hear "Quay" haha. Whether is "Quay" or "Kwai" or "Guay, just know the devil woman is me when you see Quay Po Cooks. My hubby said if people pronounce "Quay" as "Key" is even better because I am the key to his heart. LOL!

Only now, have I started to learn the traditional Cantonese cuisine of my Mum. She cooks fabulously and all her specialties are divine. These two interests, my husband's Western food, and my mother's traditional food, prompted me to document them so they will not be lost.

Here, I wish to share my cooking and baking experience with my readers. I also hope to inspire those who do not know how to cook or bake to do so because, trust me, if I can, you can too.

Something I'd like to mention is that I find that many people are rather unwilling to share their recipes. However, for me, I think differently. I think good recipes should be shared thus allowing as many people to enjoy it as possible. Unless those recipes are for doing business, I don't see why we want to keep them all to ourselves. So if you are generous in sharing your recipes, you are welcome to share on my blog. Send the recipes to me and better still with pictures of the final products and I will be very happy to post them them with credits to you of course.

Our cuisine is a deeply embedded part of our culture. When two cultures come together under the same roof the results in the kitchen can sometimes be comedic, sometimes confrontational, but more often it is a journey full of surprises and discovery. There is joy in our food. If we think upon this, it is intuitively obvious. This blog is a journey of joy and sharing, reflecting what the French like to call "joie de vivre" (joy of living). No one could be more different from one another then my husband and my mother. Yet one thing they share in common is knowing intuitively that food, cooking, and sharing can be avenues of joy in life itself. So herein, help yourself, to a little joy and , if you like it, share it with your own family and friends. Joy is something that should be shared.