The Road To, Part I

Living in the Pacific Northwest for the past 20 years, I've been introduced to a variety of architectural splendor and nature's beauty. From the Vista House to the Portland City Hall, there's never a lack for sources of inspiration. What draws me the most about living in a Oregon is the fact that there's an abundance of "green" - that is, hiking trails, mountains, rainfall that leaves trees glimmering, plus fruits & vegetables at the farmer's markets.

Hence, the collection below exemplifies a small snippet of my every day life. Through the lens of an iPhone, the essence of nature's bounty, lines of symmetry in buildings, Mother Nature, and outdoor activities all enhanced by the beauty of today's times coupled with the simplicity of being close to nature.

I truly believe that everyone deserves to live in a place that they love, and I am fortunate to be able to do so. So I encourage you to go out, take a walk, go to the nearest river, down the street, or your neighbor's yard, because you never know what you may find. Take a hike just to experience the quietness and smell the fresh air, for in today's busy, fast-paced world, we are constantly on the move and it's nice to be able to sit still, breathe in and out, and do absolutely nothing for awhile.

Below, I share some of my favorite places to be & things to do.

Angel's Rest is on my top favorites list of places to hike. But then again, I like any hike that's a little bit challenging - because it allows me to complain a little bit, but in my mind, I'm ready to troop on, even with these rocks and the possibility of slipping is near me. Here I caught my husband trying to take a picture of the view below. We'd only just begun the hike.

Ask any parent of a typical toddler, you'll find out that their child loves to splash in puddles. My daughter is no exception. Recently, a rainy day hit us with a big puddle of rain in the parking lot, and once I took her outside, she couldn't stay away from it. She splashed and splashed and splashed. Her curiosity and naivete (she didn't care about getting wet) is inspiring to me as a parent, and reminds me that I should just let kids be kids.

People 'bathing' at Horsetail Falls. I stopped here briefly before heading off to my REAL destination, Oneonta Falls.

Dog Mountain is definitely one of my favorite places to hike to. Its paths are windy, narrow and awe-inspiring. On a chilly day at the end of last year, my husband and I descended up this path to be presented with one of the most beautiful views of the Pacific NW ever - from the Washington side, we could see into Oregon and the Columbia River.

Down this street (NE 41st & Davis St) is where I'd often park my car to allow my daughter to take a nap. It's a street filled with beautiful homes with perfect landscaping, flowers and bushes. Underneath a shady tree, I'd sit here and admire the view and daydream about how I'd like to own a house on this street someday. If only I make 125K per year...

I am lucky enough to live near Laurelhurst Park, where turtles, birds, and ducks graze the giant pond in the middle of the park. Often times, we'd go with my daughter Lily and in one of those times, this guy was preparing for flight. This is bird watching at its best - 20 minutes away by foot.

It's funny how when it's cold and dreary in Portland, everyone complains about it, especially myself. On such a day as evidenced above, I was outside with my daughter, who was happily trotting away down the path towards our apartment. Now, when I look at this picture, it reminds me of a moment to treasure - and that fall is beautiful.

Every year, thousands of blooms arrive at the Rose Garden in Portland. Although we don't go as often as we'd like, this is one of those places that a visitor should consider seeing, if not just for the photographic opportunity, but also for a picnic. It's truly a place where you can "stop and smell the flowers."

Although the path towards Dog Mountain in Washington was long, and the hike was a slightly challenging uphill battle, the view of Oregon on the other side made it a much better experience and provided plenty of inspiration to reach the top.

And finally, at 17 months, my daughter, still sporting her short bob, sprints off on her own at the Rose Garden.

Success and Failure for Millenials

A few days ago, I was doing my usual Instagram browsing when I came upon a post from someone I follow. In it, she lamented that she'd just reached another birthday - 26 this year - and instead of being excited, she gave herself a pity party and out came feelings of disappointment, as if a year has gone by and she didn't accomplish enough. This really caught my eye because for one: she is 26 years old. TWENTY SIX!!! and two: what sort of "things" can a person succeed more in at age twenty six than to get married, have kids, and start a business, all of which she has done. It baffled me for awhile, and it got me thinking about myself.

When I was in my mid-twenties, I also felt the same way, so I understood well why she felt the way she did. Although through another person's eyes (mine) she has already accomplished quite a few things - marriage, children, a good job - in her eyes, it wasn't enough. Time flies, and before you know it, you are a year older and you start doing self reflections, judging by what you've done and haven't done in comparison to your peers. What this girl hasn't realized, and what I certainly didn't realize at the time - is that it is absolutely unnecessary to be so harsh on yourself, to leave yourself in the shadow of doubt and disillusionment. As you get older, you gain a certain amount of wisdom, and dwelling on your failures should not be one of them.

Dilbert, 7.28.15

I remember on two consecutive birthdays - 24th and 25th - I was unemployed and quite unhappy. I was already married, yes - and happily so - I didn't have any kids yet and I was so confused about what to do for a career. I landed myself in a job that barely covered the bills, a job that made me cry when I came home. After a year of being miserable and two years of being uncertain, I left that job and found myself in the banking industry, where I stayed for the next four years.  For my 26th birthday, I was employed and relieved. But happiness from that job never truly materialized.

Granted, I didn't ask to graduate college only to face a recession. But the feeling was still there - personal failure. Who goes to college only to end up working entry-level jobs? I know now that I was just one of many, but at the time, it felt to me like the biggest failure. I did not feel successful in my twenties at all - and every year, on my birthday, I'd start to feel depressed, thinking that I needed more time to accomplish things and that a year has gone by too quickly.

I got to thinking WHY - Why is our generation (the Millenials, born between 1984-2004, roughly) has gone all harsh and no flexibility? Why do we keep judging ourselves and utilizing others as a crutch for our success? Why can't we define our own success, create our own path instead of trying to imitate what others are doing or what society is telling us?

With that said, I listened to a podcast from NPR's Ted Talk Radio Hour (scroll down to #22) on the subject of success and failures to gather some perspective on the concept. In it, I learned several interesting things. For example, the fact that we live in a world that is extremely past-paced. Nowadays, we have deadlines and limited time frames. Hence, the concept of time plays a big role in how we define success. It makes sense, really - because for me (and others of my generation), it feels like there's not enough time to do all that I want to do. There's only so much time during the day, hence we all have to make tough choices as to what we want focus our attention on. We can't all be good at our jobs AND be good at home at the same time. One has to give. It is a true balancing act, especially for women, where child rearing and evolution and relationships come into play. Life is no longer as simple as the Leave It To Beaver days, or even Full House days.

Secondly, as the human race becomes more advanced in technology, medical breakthroughs and the like, it becomes increasingly important to set high expectations, both for work and for personal. I think I got trapped in the 'high personal expectations' phase for a long time. I may have been born in the '80s and grown up in the '90s, but coming from a generation that did not have a lot of resources or opportunities, my parents placed even bigger claims to my chances for success. As with many Asian parents, they expected me to do better, to be better, hence I grew up with high expectations of myself. So when college came to an end, and jobs were scarce, it became difficult to grasp with the fact that I was facing a lot of competition.

Not only that, we face competition from our peers. As mentioned above, life is no longer as simple as the 50s. The shifting of the agricultural mecca to the Industrial Revolution made way for the un-simplifying way of life. College is no longer a choice based on  whether or not you have the money to go - it is a necessary path towards a better life, better job prospects and better understanding of our role as citizens. Due to competition, or rather because of it, we have become a generation that propels competition and comparison. We judge ourselves based on what others our age/status have achieved.

Think about this quote...

"When we think about failing in life, when we think about failure, one of the reasons why we fear failing is not just a loss of income, a loss of status. What we fear is the judgment and ridicule of others." - Alain de Botton, Ted Talk, 2009

I am absolutely guilty of that, and I'm working on changing it.

Oh, as for the Instagram chick? I told her to keep setting achievable goals for herself, but she also has a lot of time on her hands, so don't she shouldn't be so hard on herself if she doesn't achieve them by a certain time.

"Get Your Kids To Eat Vegetables"

It may feel ages ago, but from May 2013 to January 2015, my mother lived with us in a 600 sq. ft. two bedroom apartment. She moved in when my daughter was 2 ½ months old, both for economical reasons and for relationship building reasons. Prior to this experience, my mom and I didn’t have the kind of best-friend relationship that some girls have with their mothers that I yearned for all my life. It was not uncommon for us to go weeks without talking to each other. Our rocky relationship was set aside when my husband and I decided to invite her to live with us. Those who know us only had a tiny inkling as to why she was living with us, but not the entire story.

My mom, like many women today, was/is a working woman. I was borne to her when she was near 40, after two boys and many years of working and believing that she’d never have any more kids. It is my personal belief that this factor contributed the most to our unstable relationship. So when Lily was born, I felt torn about leaving her to go back to work. Nonetheless, in today’s society, it becomes necessary for a woman to work in order to contribute to the household income. Hence, I went back and for a year and a half, my mother stayed with Lily during the day while hubby and I worked full time (and my husband had an extra job of going to school), and thus began a foray into the many eccentricities that only comes from living with a parent as an adult.

I’d like to think that along with an improved relationship, my mother also left behind a legacy of her recipes when she moved out earlier this year. When I was growing up, I saw her as the main chef in our family. My dad hardly cooked – it was unheard of for men to do so in my village, so it fell on her to make our meals. However, my mom is not the type of person who enjoys cooking very much. She let this fact be well known to me. Her ‘enjoyment’ from cooking only comes from providing sustenance for a group of people, not for herself. So when she lived with us, she cooked rarely, and I don’t blame her. You get tired from spending a whole day taking care of a baby. When she did cook, it was simple and quick meals, all paired with rice. We are a big rice-eating family. 

But on Sundays, it was different.

Sunday is her day to go to church, her day to relax. Because I always had Sundays off, I spent time with my daughter while she was free to do as she pleased. Ironically, she’d often cook dinner for us. After church, she’d stop by the grocery store and decide what to make that night, and for several hours in the afternoon, she’d hole herself up in our tiny kitchen and create these elaborate Vietnamese soups that involved at least 15 ingredients; or she’d ask us what we’d like to eat, and she’d make it. As you can see, I looked forward to Sundays very much.

It wasn’t until she was physically in our household and making her Vietnamese dishes that our eating habits changed, and I'm glad it did. During this time she introduced quite a few dishes to our family repertoire. My mom is not only a strict Catholic, but also a strict Vietnamese-food-only eater. Even though she munched on burgers, crackers and other random bits of American fare while she was working, she’d always default on Vietnamese food for her main sustenance. And because my husband and I are both fans of Vietnamese food already, we always ate her food with diligence and eagerness.

If there are two things that I’m grateful for the most from my mom’s food, it’s the fact that 1) she introduced Vietnamese food to my daughter at an early age. As soon as Lily was old enough to eat solids, she’d often feed her rice, with soy sauce, fish sauce, and her many rounds of soups and vegetables, and 2) she brought on the simplest pickled vegetable recipe that one could ever ask for – bok choy. 

Packed with many vitamins and nutrients, these dark leafy greens (also known as Chinese cabbage) can be cooked in many different ways – but the best way is by pickling it. Pickled bok boy is no doubt one of my top favorite foods growing up, and not surprisingly, my husband went crazy over it when it was introduced in our household. He asked my mom for the recipe, only to be responded with a vague "I don't have one." My mom is, and always have been very old school - she cooks by taste and looks, not by exact measurements. Eventually, through observation and taste, he got the recipe. These days, it’s not uncommon for Lily to gobble up a big portion of these guys along with her rice. It is best used as an accompaniment to a rice and meat dish.

Ly’s Pickled Bok Choy

Adapted from my mom 

INGREDIENTS

1-2 lbs. of bok choy (preferably ones with dark, leafy stems) or preferred vegetables

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

3 tbsp. vinegar

2-3 cups of water

A few slices of ginger

STEPS

Prep the vegetables – chop into small slices, roughly 1-2 inches in length

Combine all the ingredients (except for the vegetables) in a pot. Bring to a boil.

Take it off the stove and let it cool to room temperature. 

Add the veggies, including the ginger, and wait at least 24 hours before eating.

NOTE: The ginger is only added for flavor, not for eating.

Rain (Or A Lack Thereof)

[Taken Spring 2014, iPhone]

I came to the realization of two things lately--one, how long it has been since we last had a rainstorm. Sure, Mother Nature managed to muster a few drops sometime last week, but it was hardly enough to call 'rain'; and two, how it's been a while since I've taken out my DSLR for some photography practice. So I decided I had to change that.

However, while going through my extensive collection of photos on my hard drive, I came upon my Beach Trips folder, and was tempted to share some of the lovely blue-hued that brought back another time and memories. It wasn't until I looked out the window of my bathroom that I saw rain had indeed come, just as predicted in the weather forecast for today, and immediately I took out my 'fancy' camera and took some snapshots.

What I love about rain is how fresh it makes everything look outside. The air smells fresh. The birds are more prominent in my ears. The flowers and the vegetables in the garden get a little TLC.

Alright, enough of the boring weather talk. Here's some of what I took today

[Taken today, DSLR]

Well Preserved Traditions

My husband and I just celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary almost two weeks ago, and over a decade of being together. Throughout the 13 years that I’ve known him, he’s always been very open about trying new foods. For both of us, food is deeply rooted in our childhood upbringing, albeit different styles of cooking with different parents. He was born to very young parents, and with one being in the military, his childhood cuisine consisted of LOTS OF potatoes (mashed or otherwise), Hamburger Helper, hot dogs, and canned peas mixed with chili, i.e. lots of fattening foods, otherwise known as quick-and-easy boxed meals. These days, at the mention of Hamburger Helper, he shakes his head in disgust, and within a minute, he looks like he’s about to throw up. On the other hand, I grew up with much older parents--a father who rarely cooked, and a mother who doesn’t particularly enjoy cooking, but nonetheless she can cook some fantastic meals. For a long time, she made these little jelly dumplings by hand every morning, and would carry them in two large baskets propelled by strings and take them around our district to sell. It was tough, back breaking work, but she did it to ensure that we’d all survive.

With that said, you’d think that I’d be more exposed to food and therefore learn to cook at an earlier age, right? Wrong. My husband and I’s upbringings led us in opposite directions. Dameion learned to cook for himself when he was young – not surprisingly, one of the first things he learned to cook was mashed potatoes, something that didn’t come out of a box. As for me, I was not allowed in the kitchen very often by my mother, and with being fed good food all the time, I didn’t have a lot of motivation to learn to cook myself. This continued all the way into adulthood.

As a teenager, Dameion went to live with his dad, who believed in standard American fare, hence his teenage years involved A LOT of chicken patties and near-expired milk. It wasn’t until he became friends with a Chinese/Mien kid that he was introduced to the Asian culture and its food offerings. Then he met me shortly after, and from that point on, his palette changed completely.

To this day, we eat a lot more Asian foods than American ones. It’s not to say that we would reject steak and potatoes if offered, but we tend to digress towards Vietnamese or Chinese foods (sometimes Japanese, however they are hard to make). In our household, we have a collection of Asian cookbooks, as well as many other Asian-inspired recipes stored in his phone. Not to mention, we go over to my mom’s house quite often, and he’s been introduced to different dishes cooked in different ways. What I love about my husband is that he’s always willing to try new things. As in the past decade or so, Vietnamese food (pho, anyone?) has blossomed as a food culture in Portland, we’ve been eating Pho for years. These days, if my mom or sister-in-law offers him something that he’s never tried before, he’ll eat it.

When we’re not being spoiled by my family, he comes up with his own recipes. Over the years of cooking (and working in the food industry), he has come up with a variety of dishes, adapted to his own liking. One in particular is my favorite, which I’ve included the recipe below. It is a simple chicken recipe consisting of using chicken thighs with certain spices and sauces and letting it work for itself through simmering. This recipe is a collaboration of sweets, spices, and savory—served with rice, it makes a very fulfilling dinner.

Dameion's five-spice chicken thighs*

Adapted from a random, unknown Chinese cookbook

Dameion's five-spice chicken thighs*
Adapted from a random, unknown Chinese cookbook

INGREDIENTS

5 teaspoons olive oil
5 chicken thighs
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice*
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
Sliced green onions
Eight mushrooms* cut into slices 

DIRECTIONS

In a heavy bottom pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 8-10 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. In a small bowl, whisk water, brown sugar, orange juice, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, pepper flakes and five-spice powder. Pour over chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30-35 minutes or until chicken is tender, turning chicken occasionally. Keeping chicken in pot cut it with shears into chunks add mushrooms to skillet and cook for 1min. Sprinkle with green onions. Serve with rice. 

NOTES:

*You can use any type of mushrooms that you’d like; we typically use white since they are more economical, however this time we used crimini and they were also quite delicious.

*As far as tools are concerned, very little is needed except for either a 12-inch frying pan or a small Dutch oven. Both will cook the chicken quite nicely.

*Substitute OJ for lemon juice if you don’t have it, but we’ve found that orange juice works the best in this recipe.

*Optional: serve with a dash of sriracha and a few slices of cucumber.

It's cherry season !!

I thought I'd start a series of "Friday Inspirations" - things to look forward to this summer/fall/whenever...

Everywhere I go, I see cherries in the stores...and they're CHEAP. As you can tell, this is my Friday inspiration (taken about a month ago).

HAPPY FRIDAY. 'Nuff said.

Anniversary, Part II

Last weekend, in addition to hiking in the Gorge, my husband and I first stopped by a well-known, local restaurant for breakfast. I had first heard of Tasty N Sons wayyyy back - I don't remember when - but it was probably through a magazine, since they are well known for their prime location (in the up-and-coming neighborhood of N Williams Ave in Portland) coupled with their food and ambiance, it's considered to be a "hot spot."

So, of course, for a special occasion such as an anniversary, I corralled my husband to this place for a little munch before our hike. We arrived right before 10:00 a.m. (they opened at 9:00) and little did we know the place was already PACKED...before 10:00! It must've been because it's the weekend...regardless, we had to put our name on a waiting list to be called. The wait wasn't too bad - about 20 minutes - and another 20-ish minutes before we got our food. Both our tummies were growling by that time. Needless to say, when the food arrived, we devoured it quickly.

The Hangtown Fry (Saturday special)

Auntie Paula's french toast

For someone with a sweet tooth like me, Auntie Paula's french toast fits the bill perfectly. I felt like they overdid the fruit jam, but it was still one of the most delicious french toasts I've had in a long time. I can't speak for my husband - he had the Hangtown Fry - but after a small sample from his plate, I also thought it was delicious.

For more of this 'tasty' restaurant, check out my Flickr page here.