Fresh Goji Berries

My grandma grows a goji berry plant in our front yard. There are plenty of fruits every year (the joys of planting!) and the taste is sweet with a punch of bitterness/spice.

I don't think I like fresh goji berries that much (because the spice leaves a funny aftertaste), but it's good for my eyes apparently, so I shall suffer through.

It's interesting how nature opts for complementary colors though, it feels so intentional.

Taste Test: Tarte Asian Yogurt

I was in a local grocery store (see Old MacDonald's Farmer's Market) and saw that there was a new locally made yogurt, so I decided to try it.

        

Even though there was less sugar in Tarte than regular yogurt, it had a weird aftertaste that stayed in your mouth for a long while. I don't think anything was that special about it other than the odd flavor. 

Note to self, probably won't buy it again, but it's fun to go out of my comfort zone and try different variations of products in the grocery store. I feel like I often end up buying the same thing over and over again, so as long as I make a conscious decision to diversify, I can experience a lot more flavors and each bite could be a new adventure.

Green Bean Stir Fry Simple Chinese Recipe

I love this super easy and delicious stir fry recipe because it uses super accessible ingredients and is fun to make!

Excuse the blurriness, it's the steam.

Ingredients

1 cup Green Beans

1/2 cup Shredded Carrots

1/4 cup Shredded and Marinated Pork (see below)

1 Tablespoon Oil (or even less)

1/4 Tablespoon Salt

3/4 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1/2 Tablespoon Sugar
3 Tablespoon Water

Optional: 1 tablespoon pickled mustard (Zha cai)

Preparation

• Green Beans: Select small, straight, and fresh green beans from the supermarket. This is very important for optimal taste. Wash, cut off the two ends, and use your fingers to break the green beans into two or three small pieces each. (Do NOT chop, breaking retains taste)
• Shredded and Marinated Pork: Buy a piece of pork and chop into small, thin, long pieces. Add a bit of rice wine, salt, and soy sauce. Oil the wok and stir fry until the meat changes color from pink to light brown. Take out of wok and store in the refrigerator. 

Cooking

1. Turn cooktop to High. Heat the wok. Once the wok is heated, add the oil, and wait for the oil to heat up as well. 
2. First add the shredded carrots and start stirring until the carrots soak up most of the oil.
3. Then add the prepared pork into the wok. Keep stirring in the process. Finally, put in the green beans. Add water. Put the cap on the wok. Wait for a minute or two. Add the salt, soy sauce, and sugar and keep stirring until desired crispiness. When the green beans become more vibrant in color, they are ready. 
4. Optional: When the green beans are ready, add a little bit of pickled mustard into the wok and stir fry super quickly.
5. Pour contents onto a plate and serve!

Notes: My grandma likes to make a little hole in the middle of the dish for presentation purposes.