Quay Po Cooks: new rules

Showing posts with label new rules. Show all posts

Thursday, December 1, 2011

New rules for 2012 from my Quay Lo

Can you believe that we are now in December 2011? Another 30 days, we will be entering into 2012. So here are the new rules that was sent in an email to me from my Quay Lo. I think finally after 15 years of living with this "hard to live with" Quay Po aka "Lucy", he finally speaks up! LOL!

Here are the new rules:
Wives like to set the rules of the house. Now here are the rules from the husband's side. These are our rules! Please note these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE! That’s because they are all equally important.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If you find it up, then put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us crying about you leaving it down.
Quay Po’s answer: How about renovating the bathrooms so that you get a “He” and I get a “She” bathroom?

1. Birthdays, Valentines, and Anniversaries are not quests to see if we can find the perfect present yet again!
Quay Po’s answer: For a Chinese Quay Po, no need to waste your time searching for the perfect gift, GIVE LAH Ang Pau (money in a red packet), BIG BIG one! hahaha

1. Sometimes we are not thinking about you. Live with it.
Quay Po’s answer: Ok lah, just remember, turn-about is fair play.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.
Quay Po’s answer: I am not a shopper and if I shop, I prefer to shop alone so this is not a problem at all.

1. Crying is blackmail.
Quay Po’s answer: No it is not, it is being a woman! Live with it, I cry easily and all the time. I am a cry baby but not "Big Cry Ten" (Tai hum sup - in Cantonese usually used to describe someone who exaggerates) LOL!

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!
Quay Po’s answer: I think with you it works.. I hinted a lot of things and I always get it. I will not give up hinting because it works in your case.

1. We don't remember dates. Remembering them is not a test of our undying love. Mark birthdays and anniversaries on a calendar. Remind us frequently beforehand.
Quay Po’s answer: Ya, that is for sure, no worries, I will remind you. Given your early senility, I think I will lose out if I don’t. LOL!

1. Most guys own three pairs of shoes - tops. What makes you think we'd be any good at choosing which pair, out of thirty, would look good with your dress?
Quay Po’s answer: I think you owe more pairs of shoes than me. You have good taste and offer your opinion most of the time and I appreciate it. Don’t stop doing that.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
Quay Po’s answer: That’s the problem with men, everything you tell them, they want to fix it for you, they do not know how to listen ONLY!

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.
Quay Po’s answer: Oh ya? Sorry we women keep it for a thousand years. Just get use to that!

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.
Quay Po’s answer: What?! You want me to retune my ears after fifty-six years?

1. Let us ogle, we will anyway. It's genetic.
Quay Po’s answer: Same with us women, we ogle too! Fair and square. (p.s. I like broad shoulders)

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. We suggest that if you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
Quay Po’s answer: Of course lah, besides, if I waited for you I've learned it won't get done. Who fixed the the kitchen faucet last time?? Hmmm?? :D

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during the commercials.
Quay Po’s answer: That’s why I am on my computer when you are seeing TV. I can’t keep my mouth shut, so I type it out.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
Quay Po’s answer: Scratch all you like, knock yourself out! (ps When I say that here, it does not sound so annoying as when you say it):P

1. We are not mind readers and we never will be. Our lack of mind-reading ability is not proof of how little we care about you.
Quay Po answers: Point taken, I will try to speak my mind. Make sure you can stand it okay?. hehe

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
Quay Po answers: No, you don’t. You always want of to find out why. You are such "Gay Po Chi" (busybody)..hehe

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine. Really.
Quay Po’s answer: I think that’s true. That is because I have good taste and what I wear usually makes me look good. Wahahaha!

1. By the way, I am in shape. ROUND is a shape.
Quay Po’s answer: I love ROUND shape so you are fine.

1. It isn’t that I don’t want you to use the remote control. It’s just that …it’s mine.
Quay Po’s answer: You can have it, I don’t care!

1. Thank you for reading this; Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight, but did you know I really don't mind that, it's like camping.

Quay Po’s answer: You sure? Oh but your Quay Po is very kind, she will not do that to you. In fact she will reward you for speaking up honestly with your favorite dessert. I would like to thank you for still loving me the same despite sometimes your "Lucy" can be a "BIG B"!

Rhubarb strawberry Galette

Adapted from Laura Calder with modification

Ingredients:

Pastry

1 2/3 cups flour

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup butter, cut into small pieces

About 2 to 4 tbs ice cold water

Filling:

1/2 c ground almond, lightly toasted

1tbs flour

1/4 C sugar

3/4 lb strawberries sliced

3/4 lb rhubarb, cut into small chunks

Method:

Pastry:

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and work with the fingers to a mealy texture. Mix with the fingers to crumbs. Mix the water in quickly until the dough just holds together. Pat into a disk, wrap, and refrigerate half an hour.

Filling:

Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Mix the almonds, flour, and sugar. Roll out the chilled dough into a circle and set on a baking sheet. Spread the almond mixture over, leaving a 3-inch/7.5 cm margin. Toss the strawberries and rhubarb with the sugar and arrange on top. Fold the edges of the galette dough up over the berries and bake until the crust is crisp and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream, flavoured with vanilla or cinnamon.

Note: I am submitting this to the Christmas Giveaway in The Sweet Spot

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.