Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

The Frito-Lay, a division of Pepesi Co., Inc., offers a variety of snacks. Fritos, Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos, and Rold Gold pretzels.

Lay’s chips, anyone? Lay’schips are made of farm grown ingredients (potatoes, corn and grains), cooked in natural oil (sunflower and corn), and topped with sprinkling of salt or seasoning.

I’m always amazed by some innovative and artistic merchandise displays, which often spotted at supermarkets. This is one of them.

From left: wavy original, BBQ, dill pickle, ketchup, salt & vinegar, cheddar & sour cream, sour cream & onion, and classic.

Doritos, flavoured totilla chips. They are made of ground corn, corn oil, and seasoning.

Doritos, also a product of Frito-Lay.

Unidentified Flavour. Taste the bag of chips and name it! It’s a contest for Doritos lovers.

Couldn’t make up your mind? How about getting chips with two different flavours (hot wings and blue cheese) in one bag?

Two samosa vendors at the market? Yummy Samosa arises as a competitor of Samosa Delite since fall 2008. The latter has built up a good reputation over the years and seems to be doing well, despite the presence of its rival. One thing for sure, the local community will benefit from the variety of samosa available; in terms of taste, flavour, and price.

According to the owner of Samosa Delite, 7,000 to 10,000 pieces of samosa sold in a day! Or more accurately, half a day (6 a.m. until 1 p.m.). That’s amazing! Patel’s was the first to offer samosa in this community, but they’re no longer in business. Many people missed their samosas; thin and crispy pastry skin, with spicy goodness wrapped in them.

Besides the food vendors, which locate mainly outside the main building, there are different stalls in the building itself. Meat, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, beverages, handicrafts, baked goods etc.

The meat stall. Meat is freshly cut upon request.

Handicrafts that are unique and stylish. Great as souvenirs!

Freshly-squeezed orange juice. Fruit smoothies are available too.

Not surprisingly, groceries from regular stores are usually less expensive than those you get from the farmers’ market. Nonetheless, food items sold at the market are fresher; and best of all, by local producers. Some uniques items can only be found exclusively at the market, such as pure maple syrup, craftworks etc.

W. W. Boyce Farmers’ Market has been serving the Fredericton community since 1951. It opens year-round; every Saturday from 6 a.m. until 1 p.m. Hearty breakfast, delicious hot & cold beverages, baked treats, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as local meats and seafood etc. You name it, they have it!

The main entrance of market.

How can you possibly miss the food vendors at the market?

Popcorns bagged in different sizes; “Little Bag”, “Almost a Little Bag”, and “Not So Little Bag.”

A German food stall. Wiener Schnitzel (slice of pork coated with breadcrumbs and fried) served with sauwerkraut and onions, on a bun. Besides, the menu includes chicken burger and Oktoberfest sausage.

A busy crowd in the morning.

Craving for some Greek food? Check out Pano’s!

Chicken souvlaki, beef donair, and chicken donair.

Greek Souvlaki, served with pieces of meat and vegetables on a grilled skewer. Donair, a variation of Döner kebab; thin slices of beef or chicken served on rolled pita bread with donair sauce, diced tomatoes and onions.

The famous samosa!

Samosa is a famous South Asian snack. It is a triangular pastry stuffed with minced meat (chicken, beef, turkey, lamb etc.) and spices. Vegetarian samosa is available too!

Samosa with dipping sauce.

The hot beef samosa. Yummy!

Without fail, there’s always a long lineup at the Tim Hortons drive-thru every morning. What are some specialties on the Tim Hortons menu?

The famous Timbits from Tim Hortons are bite-size doughnuts that entice your taste buds!

Timbits come in a box of 10, 20, or 40.

Assorted Timbits.

Strawberry-filled Timbit, dusted with icing sugar.

Yummy strawberry jam…

Apple Fritter Timbit.

Chocolate Glazed Timbit.

Sour Cream Glazed Timbit.

Old Fashion Plain Timbit.

Old Fashion Timbit coated with sugar.

Of course, Tim Hortons’ doughtnuts are always a great hit!!

From top left (clockwise): Honey Cruller, Sour Cream Glazed, Chocolate Dip, Honey Dip, Cherry Chocolate Bloom, and Blueberry Fritter.

Tasty chicken salad, on store-baked and toasted wholewheat bun.

What’s new in Tim Hortons? Check these out:

Chicken Wrap Snacker. Pick your favourite: ranch, BBQ, or chicken salad.

Cherry Cheese Danish. Delicious cherry jam and crispy pastry.

Mochi, a Japanese rice cake that made of glutinous rice. It comes with assorted flavours and fillings. Needless to say, freshly made ones are always the best!

Nonetheless, I’m contented with the boxed mochi that’s available at the Chinese grocery store.

From top: black sesame mochi, taro mochi, and peanut mochi.

They smelled good and looked delicious.

Taro mochi has smooth outer skin and creamy taro filling. My favourite :) Yumm…

Peanut mochi contained peanut butter filling and dusted with finely crushed peanuts.

Black sesame mochi contained sweet black sesame paste and coated with black & white sesame seeds.

This is a delicious sweet potato treat that I shared previously. A modified version of the onde-onde found in Malaysia, which is typically green in colour and filled with “gula melaka (a.k.a. palm sugar).”

Ingredients:
700 g sweet potato
1/3 cup + 3 tbsp white sugar
4 cup glutinous rice flour
2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:
1. Peel sweet potato and cut into small chucks. Cook them in a pot of boiling water.
2. Let boil on medium high heat for 20-30 minutes, or until tender.
3. Drain water off the pot. Mix sugar into potatoes and mash them.
4. Pour in glutinous rice flour gradually, until a pliable potato dough is formed. Use ~ 1 tbsp dough for each ball. Roll balls with both hands.
5. Drop sweet potato balls into a fresh pot of boiling water. Cook on medium high heat for about 15 minutes, or until they appear on water surface.
6. Drain water off the pot. Let cool. Roll balls on a plate of shredded coconut. Serve!

* Yield: ~ 80 pieces

It was Sugar Bush weekend on Mar. 21st and 22nd this year. Special events were held at the Kings Landing Historical Settlement, which generally opens to the public only during the summer and fall seasons.

The busy crowd has taken me by surprise when I arrived with a group of friends around 10 a.m. last Saturday. There were long lineups to purchase admission tickets. After standing in line for fifteen minutes to pay for the ticket and breakfast, it was an hour later before we were being seated for breakfast. The busy crowd was unbelievable. I had been there in the previous years and it was usually quiet in the morning. Everyone decided to be there early to beat the crowd this year, I supposed. Unfortunately, things are unpredictable sometimes.

The pancake and maple syrup breakfast is an annual fundraiser event organized by the York Sunbury Search & Rescue. A hearty and delicious breakfast. It was worth the wait!

The volunteers in orange shirts were busy serving the crowd.

A generous serving of breakfast; two pancakes with maple syrup, toast, two sausages, two strips of bacon, baked beans, and scrambled eggs. Yummy!

Horse-drawn wagon rides were offered to visitors.

Maple sap was boiled in iron cauldrons over an open fire, as a demonstration of maple and sugar making 150 years ago. A lady in costume was scooping out some piping hot maple syrup to make maple candies.

A sweet treat of candy-on-the-snow was sold for $2/stick.

The making of candy-on-the-snow: pour hot maple syrup on snow, and roll the slightly harden candy with a stick when settled.

The super sweet maple candy. It was a nice treat!

How much maple sap is required to produce pure maple syrup? The ratio of maple sap needed and pure maple syrup produced was a stunning 40:1!! The making of maple syrup is highly weather-dependent; slightly above freezing point during the day and a few degrees below overnight is perfect for maple sap flow. The harvest season again, is weather-dependent; usually about three weeks. Pure maple syrup is costly.

A demonstration of wool processing with a spinning wheel.

An iron cooking stove/oven in a farmhouse.

A close look at the ancient cooking stove/oven.

A sampling of buckwheat cake was offered.

Subsequently, we made our way to the Joslin farm to visit some animals; sheep, chickens, pigs etc.

Sheep in the barn.

The grist mill and frozen stream.

Winter view at the waterfront.

I’ve been participating in the Sugar Bush weekend for the past few years and truly enjoyed it. It’s a must-see for those who like to experience the welcoming of spring in a traditional New Brunswick fashion.

The level of hotness and spiciness of hot chili peppers is rather subjective, depending on individual taste and cultural background. Capsicum is the genus of these plants.  As a little kid, chilies fall under the “adult food” category; I didn’t have a clue why adults enjoy them so much. I had no desire to give them a try, since it was perceived as a torture to taste buds! I used to dislike peppers, be it chili peppers or the regular green peppers. My “adult food” list included coffee, alcoholic drinks, raw garlic and onions, bitter melon, phoenix claw (a.k.a. chicken feet) etc.

Eventually, I learned to appreciate the unique taste of “adult food”, including hot chili peppers. I like the taste of food on its own, don’t get me wrong. A hint (or splash, when in a greater amount) of these miraculous hot spices add a distinct flavour to food.

What is your tolerance threshold for hot, spicy food? Is there a standard measurement for the spicy level of chilies? Wilber Scoville developed the Scoville scale in 1912. “Scoville Organoleptic Test” was performed as a subjective measure of the heat level of chilies. Testers sipped a solution of sweetened blended pure chilies, with  increasingly diluted concentrations, up to a point where there is no more burning sensation to the mouths. A number was then generated for individual chili peppers, on the basis of how much water needed for the dilution before the tasters can no longer taste or feel the heat.

The heat factor is expressed in the multiples of 100 units. 1.5 Scoville Units are based on one part of chili heat factor in 1 million drops of water. Pure capsaicin (the main hot ingredient in chili peppers) is rated between 15 and 16 million Scoville Units! It creates burning sensation in any tissues that come in contact; an irritant for humans and other mammals.

With the emergence of advanced technology, liquid chromatography is a more scientific and accurate measure of capsaicin levels.

These sweet bell peppers have zero Scoville Units.

Jalapeno scores between 2,500 and 8,00o Scoville Units.

Finger hot chilies are slightly hotter than jalapeno.

Thai chilies, between 50,000 and 100,000 Scoville Units!!!

“Mysteriously Hot Peppers?” Hmm…

“Dried Hottest Chili?” Perfect for cooking!

What about habanero peppers? How hot are they? The orange habanero chili is between 150,000 and 325,000 Scoville Units, where as Red Savina habanero is between 350,000 and 575,000 Scoville Units!!!!! The latter is also known as the Dominican Devil’s Tongue Pepper or the Ball of Fire Pepper in Guyana.

Who is the hottest of all? With Scoville Units greater than 1.04 million, Naga Jolokia is crowned with the title of “hottest chili in the world,” by the Guinness World Records. Ghost Chili of Ghost Pepper are some alternative names given to it.

The tolerance of hot chili peppers comes with years of practice. How to make the hot chilies hotter? Snap or cut chilies into smaller pieces in cooking, without removing seeds. Another proven experience is that previously frozen fresh chilies (i.e. green Thai chilies) taste hotter! There are different kinds of hot in dishes prepared with chilies: spicy hot, numb hot, sour hot, burning hot, tearing hot etc. The best ones would have to be those that are appetizing, with its pleasant smell and astonishing great taste; the more I eat, the more I enjoy!

Pumpkin, butternut, buttercup, and spaghetti are some of common winter squashes. There are various ways to cook them; bake, stir-fry, steam etc. I’ve cooked pumpkin and buttercup squash in the past, and found them delightful. Nonetheless, peeling the thick skin and cutting up the firm texture of squash requires some great effort. I’ve been wanting to prepare spaghetti squash since a few years ago, but haven’t had a chance to do so.

Finally, I decided to get a spaghetti squash when I went grocery shopping recently.

Winter squashes (from left): buttercup squash, spaghetti squash, and butternut squash.

How to cook a spaghetti squash? Here is an easy and common way to do it:

1. Cut the squash into half, lengthwise. Remove seeds with a spoon.
2. Then, place it on a baking sheet, with cut sides down. Prick surface with a sharp knife, on a few random spots.
3. Bake it in preheated oven at 400F, for 30-40 minutes, or until it’s tender.
4. Using a fork, remove stringy pulp from squash. It tastes great with salad or even on its own!

The stringy pulp that shares a close resemblance with the spaghetti pasta. A healthy vegetable with natural sweetness.

Shopping for a pair of warm and nice gloves for winter? After a preview of what to wear for winter as far as clothing is concerned, here are some general guidelines for choosing a suitable pair of winter gloves.

Leather gloves: These are cool! They look great and match well with almost any clothing. Having said that, keep in mind that those with 100% cashmere lining are not very warm gloves. Unless there’s extra lining (i.e. fur, wool etc.) to go with the genuine leather for extra warmth, it’s not recommended to wear them below -10 °C.

Ski gloves: These are warm gloves and perfect for outdoor activities, e.g. skiing, building snowman etc. The water resistant nature and 100% polyester lining of these gloves keep hands warm at all times! The Velcro straps around the wrists help to lock in the position of gloves, as well as to avoid the exposure to snow and cold wind.

Is there any disadvantage? Sweaty palms can lead to freezing cold hands under low temperatures. This has happened to me before, during ski trips. Any solutions? Choose gloves made with breathable materials whenever possible; otherwise, avoid wearing them for long hours without allowing palms to be in contact with fresh air.

Mittens: Polar fleece mittens that made of 100% polyester are rather common. Acrylic and wool are some other materials widely used in mittens. Mittens are generally nice and warm. Disadvantage? There’s very limited finger joint mobility when wearing mittens. To snap pictures in the cold weather, I’ll have to take them off and use bare hands instead. It won’t take long for hands to turn blue and purple. Ouch! It hurts! The freezing cold hands will then need to be “thawed” under room temperature. :P Picture taking in the winter can be rather challenging!

Gloves: These are the common type of gloves, typically made of polyester, acrylic, and/or wool.

Mitts-gloves hybrid: This is what I’d name them, since I’m not sure if there’s a specific name for them ;) These are my favourite! I got a pair of them last winter and have been wearing them almost every single day during winter ever since. The outer shell and lining of these gloves consist of 100% polyester. What’s so cool about them? The part on finger tips can be popped open! This enables great flexibility for finger joint movements for various activities, e.g. shooting pictures, controlling light switches, locking/unlocking with keys etc. What an awesome invention!

Have you made up your mind what to get yet? The best thing to do, is of course to keep several different pair of gloves. Wear a suitable pair, depending on weather and according to special needs.

It was St. Patrick’s Day yesterday. Go GREEN with a big GRIN!! Wearing a green shirt, putting on St. Paddy’s costume and accessories, and drinking green beer are some of the ways to celebrate this Irish national holiday. It’s widely celebrated in many places around the world; North America, England, Australia, and New Zealand.

This special day was celebrated in local Irish churches during early 17th century. It’s an annual feast day (usually Mar. 17th) to celebrate Saint Patrick (c. AD 385-461), a patron saint in Ireland. St. Patrick is believed to have used shamrock (a three-leaved plant) to explain Holy Trinity to the Irish. St. Patrick’s Day is known as a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland. It’s a major celebration for those of Irish decent, with an increasing number of non-Irish people participate in the celebration each year.

Besides some exciting parades held in different cities worldwide, Chicago river (Chicago, Illinois) is dyed green annually for this special occasion. Furthermore, Calgary Tower in Canada replaced its top exterior lights to green compact fluorescent lamps in conjunction with St. Paddy’s Day celebration this year.

Looking for a special treat for St. Paddy’s Day? How about a slice of yummy chocolate cake, coated with incredibly delectable ganache and sprinkled with candied shamrocks? Best of all, it contains a secret ingredient which has a lot to do with Irish! Guess what? Two cups of Guiness stout in this cake! Surprisingly, I didn’t taste the beer at all. A very “chocolatety” cake, loved it!

Habanero pepper, the main source of spiciness for insanity wings. It’s known to be one of the spiciest chili peppers on earth! Habanero means “from Havana,” and it was brought to Yucatan Peninsula from Cuba.

These peppers are small, but HOT! When I said hot, they are REALLY HOT!! They can be found at various grocery stores, together with other peppers. Habanero is commonly used to prepare hot sauce.

Habanero pepper is so hot that I don’t think you want to eat it on its own. Hmm… how about habanero fried rice? If you crave for super hot & spicy food, give this a try! Not everyone can handle it, but it’s certainly worth a try. Myself? I don’t mind eating it once in a while. Having said that, there are consequences after the delicious meal; numb taste buds, burning and uncomfortable stomach etc.

Habanero peppers at the grocery store.

The deceiving habanero fried rice that looked so yummy :P

Fascinated by the co-existence of sun and moon that came into view during an evening walk, I couldn’t help but paused to admire this gorgeous scene at dusk. It was a full moon! Walking on the moonlight-lit street that would otherwise be pitch black, I felt a sense of peace in me.

The picture below was taken on a different day, at dusk. The setting sun in the winter that splashed a palette of colours into the sky was simply mesmerizing!

What do you think of winter, after viewing some unpleasant winter scenes that I’ve posted previously? The “consequences” of a beautiful winter involved some great effort wading through high piles of snow (which is one of the most exciting things to do in winter :P), walking on yucky puddles from the melted snow, gliding on sheen of ice under deceiving layers of snow etc.

These scenarios are weather dependent. Curious to find out how these scenes might look like? Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure ;)

Snow everywhere… Hmm….how am I supposed to get to the bus stop?! Dive in! :D

The rising temperature resulted in melting of snow. A pair of waterproof winter boots would help, when walking through puddles.

This is the tricky one. Ice!! A pair of skates would come in handy!

What other exciting winter activities can you think of, besides downhill skiing and cross-country skiing that I previously blogged about? How about skating? It can be enjoyed even in some warm countries such as Malaysia! I’m glad to be given the opportunity to learn skating at a young age with my siblings, at an indoor skating rink inside a shopping mall, in Malaysia.

The thrill of gliding on ice gracefully is fascinating! Falling is part of the learning process, just like skiing. Gloves are highly recommended for skaters; not only to keep you warm, but also to protect your hands from injuries when you happen to fall (hard ice surface and blades on other skaters).

In north America, you get to enjoy outdoor skating as well! In Fredericton, outdoor rinks can be found at various parks. Here are some interesting skating spots I visited:

Rockefellar Center Ice Rink in New York City.

Skating rink at the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta. The largest mall in north America!

Willie O’Ree Place in Fredericton that offers free skating during noon hours, in the winter.