Chinatown, NY

It was very intimidating being in New York City and not being able to tell what's what. In Chinatown all the signs are in chinese, not just the store signs but also in the grocery stores, restaurant menus and such.

South Street Seaport, NY

Last week my BF and I stayed in New York City. This is a view from South Street Seaport.

My apples

The two little apples of my eyes, my nephew Jonathan @3 and his sister my niece Lily @8 months.

Curried haddock with green mangoes

I love cooking with green mangoes but unfortunately only shrimp and fish goes well with it. The tartness works well with seafood, I guess very much so in the sense that lime works with it as well.

Total cook time and prep time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
· 2 table spoons of Shan curries mix [or 2 tablespoon curry powder]
· 1 teaspoon garam masala [nice to include but can be excluded]
· 1 teaspoon ground cumin
· 1 medium onion, diced
· 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
· 1 small green mango chopped [any way you want]
· 1 large ripe tomato quartered
· Pepper to taste
· Salt to taste
· 2 tablespoon olive oil
· 1 lb halibut cut to one inch squares [halibut can be substituted for any type of firm fish]

Directions
1. Mix the Shan curry [or curry powder] in a medium size bowl. Add garam masala, cumin, onions and garlic, mix together
2. Add 2 tablespoons water to the mixture, stir so that the water absorbs the powders
3. Pour oil into pan, heat over slow fire on stove
4. Add mixture to the oil; keep turning the mixture from the bottom, making sure that it does not stick to the pan. Keep turning until the onions become transparent
5. Add chopped green mango, tomatoes, salt, and pepper to taste as well as 2 cups of water to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil over slow fire. Keep cooking it this way until the tomatoes and mangoes become soft – usually takes about 10 minutes
6. Add the halibut to the sauce; make sure that it is completely covered by the sauce. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 10 minutes so that the fish soaks up all of the seasonings.

You can cook it for less time if you prefer After 10 minutes turn off the stove and let the curry sit for about 5 minutes, then it is ready to serve. Curry such as this can be eaten with bread, over rice or just by itself

Shan Curry Mixes: http://www.shanfood.com/. Any type of curry such as chicken or vegetable will do for this recipe, if you don’t want to use this mix, you can use curry powder instead Green mangoes can be substituted with tomatoes

Mix ingredients in bowl, combine with water

Simmer in pot

Add chopped mangoes, tomatoes and water

Endicott, Johnson City NY

Due to work obligations [my boyfriends'] I found myself upstate New York in Johnson City. Besides the view of the mountains, there isn't much else to report. Here are some pictures that I took.

Mini berry pies

Ingredients for filling

* 2 cups of mix berries: halved strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and seedless cherries

* 2 packets of splenda [less if prefer more tart]

* 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

* 1 box Betty Crocker pie crust

Directions

Preheat toaster oven to 325 degrees

1. Place berries in a large bowl, mix in splenda

2. Add cornstarch, gently toss to make sure that all the berries are coated

3. Line a 6 muffin pan with pie crust

4. Spoon berries into each cup halfway, do not fill completely

5. Bake in oven until crust is golden brown

6. When cold lightly sprinkle with icing sugar or if you prefer splenda

You can add pudding or any type of paste at the bottom before adding the fruit filling, however, I don't because I like the tartness of the berries without too much sweet or nutty

Mix fruit in bowl with splenda and cornstarch

Place mini shells in muffin pan

Add filling