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After a little pre-birthday happy hour with co-workers and a couple of old friends yesterday, I got the news that my grandmother (we called her i-shing ah-ma, which literally translates to Dr. Grandma) on my mom’s side passed away. I am still processing the information as I have never experienced the death of a grandparent or other close family member that I have a clear memory of from the last couple decades.

I am very thankful that I got to see her and my mom’s side of the family last year and also in 2007. I also got to spend 3 weeks the summer of 1996 in Taiwan, and I remember our wonderful trip to Indonesia. Since I was a child, I was always told that I look just like Dr. Grandma. When you’re 7, you can’t really picture yourself as a senior citizen already, but I still take it as a great compliment because she aged beautifully. Perfect skin and such a sweet demeanor. I hope I grow old just as gracefully as she had.

I’ll be spending the next few days, going back and looking through old pictures. I’m glad I’ll see my mom next week before she leaves for Taiwan to the funeral.

With my grandparents and cousin Jia-Li

I love this picture. I imagine my grandmother resting peacefully in her home, with a view out the front window.

Dr. Grandparents, surrounded by all their daughters and a few of my uncles, aunt and cousins

… and see this beautiful country…

Driving through Utah, 2005, Photo by George

I’m ready to see some new places. Here’s the route I’m planning for April after I get my GTI.

Our route to North Carolina for April 2010

We’re having a potluck in the office next week with a Mardi Gras theme. I’m thinking of doing this slow cooker recipe as my contribution.

Louisiana Red Beans & Rice
Source

Ingredients

* 1 pound dried red beans, soaked overnight
* 10 cups water
* 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced into rounds
* 1 large sweet onion, chopped
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
* 8 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning, or to taste
* 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
* 1 ham hock
* 4 cups cooked rice

Directions

1. Place the beans and water into a slow cooker. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage in the skillet; remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon and transfer to the slow cooker. Reserve drippings. Add onion, green pepper, jalapeno pepper and garlic to the drippings; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer everything from the skillet to the slow cooker.
2. Season the mixture with pepper and Creole seasoning. Add the fresh basil leaves and ham hock. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours, or until beans are tender. If the bean mixture seems too watery, take the lid off the slow cooker and set heat to High to cook until they reach a creamy texture.

I did like this person’s comments and will try her adjustments.

To make these red beans taste like the ones I grew up on in Louisiana, I did the following: Omitted the jalapeño. Cut the bell pepper by half. Used a generous amount of Tony Chachere’s cajun seasoning. Subbed chicken broth for water & cut it down to 7 cups. Used the back of my spoon to smash up enough beans to make the whole pot creamy. Must! Use! Andouille! even if you have to order it online this is the ONLY way to get the authentic and unique flavor of the sausage right. Regular sausage just isn’t seasoned the same way or contains the same amount of spiciness

I’d never eaten brussels sprouts as a child. The first time I tried them was last year at a restaurant in Atlanta. They were rather good despite their reputation. I ordered some brussels sprouts and chorizo at Belly Shack in Chicago last week, and that was good too. I thought it was high time I try a simple roasting on my own.

I found this VERY easy looking recipe on foodnetwork.com

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
* 3 tablespoons good olive oil
* 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt, and serve immediately.

This looked simple enough, although I’m missing a few of the ingredients. The last time I made a black bean recipe, it was in the slow cooker and ended up a lot sweeter than I would prefer. We’ll see what I can do to adapt this recipe to what I have in the fridge and pantry.

Moros y Cristianos (aka Black Beans and Rice)
Source

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:

* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
* 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
* 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 Tablespoon olive oil
* 1 cup rice
* 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chilies
* 1 can (15 ounces) black beans or 1-1/2 cups cooked dry-packaged black beans rinsed, drained
* 2 cups water
* 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
* 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:
Saute onion, bell pepper, garlic, cumin, thyme, crushed red pepper, and bay leaf in olive oil until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in rice, tomatoes, black beans, water, vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 4 main-dish servings (about 1-1/2 cups each) or 8 side-dish servings (about 3/4 cups each)