Turkey & Hmong

Hi Eyes,

I know, I know, I have not been on here for a while, or posting as I should, but I will try to commit to this. How? I will try to blog once or twice a week--or more, if I have the time. But I will commit to Mondays DEFINITELY! Any who, moving on.... I hope you all had a great thanksgiving. I had a BLAST! I had TONS of turkey, yummy turkey.

How yummy? Very! This turkey recipe was influenced by many factors of the Hmong way of cooking and keeping some of its American originalities.  By American originalities, we kept the celery, potatoes, carrots, butter and the bread stuffing. The twist to this turkey’s faith are the basic Asian herbs, chicken gizzards and chicken livers and as always with every Asian dishes, Soy Sauce (Panda Brand), and Oyster soy sauce. I use both of these soy sauces; because I believe that the Panda Brand oyster soy sauce gives a pinch of sweetness to the dishes. It’s not as overwhelming as the Hoisin Soy Sauce (I don’t recommend using), the Panda Brand complements the flavors. The other Oyster Soy Sauce is savorier, and a bit salty in which I think balances the dish as a whole. This is what makes this turkey super unique, and delicious "Qhab Heev"!  When all of these ingredients come together, and marries in, it’s an explosion of flavors. Kind of like "Foie Gras" but better. Again, this is for the taste buds of the inquisitive. Trust me, the flavors are way over the top, you won’t even question it.

 Personally I don’t eat it with mash-potatoes or gravy, because of the flavors that the turkey brings, it wouldn’t be a good marriage between the two—three.  Preferably, I prefer this Hmong influence turkey to be served with a side of white rice and peppers..... And we prefer it buffet style. We don't do the whole turkey set up thingy, we usually shred the whole turkey, and mix it with the stuff and the droppings...YUMMMMmmmmm.  (The pepper, containing a mix of: Minced Thai chili, cilantro, green onion, garlic, fish sauce, and fresh squeezed lime juice) Talking about this makes me hungry….

We baked two turkeys, and everybody finished it all! And by everybody i meant the whole village..... I’m going to go off subject here for a bit, but a little background info for the unknown; In the Hmong culture, we are and value our collectivist culture, as with any other culture outside of the United States. Not only do we value our community, but more so our immediate clan members. Within every Hmong, is a Last name, (18 last names to be exact) and within every Last Name, is the dialect of the language, (So far the very common ones here in the U.S, Hmong white, Hmong green/leng), and within every dialect is its own clan with a clan leader. Now to clarify this, in every last name, there can be numerous clans, and clan leaders, however, no Hmong member is without a clan or a clan leader unless... Anyways, If you are Hmong, you belong to a clan, and are led by a clan leader. And it is in the best interest of the clan leader to invite his whole village to any of his feast, big or small. By village, I meant clan members--family member... :)

Overall, this holiday was very cheery, and I'm very thankful for everything, and everybody in my life. Again I said that I'd be random, and random I am... Cheers... :)

Pictures of The Twist to my mothers Delicious Turkey..... enjoy 

Culantro

Asian Coriander

Ginger

Garlic

Kaffir Lime Leaf

Lemon Grass

Green Onion

Cilantro

Chicken Gizzards

Chicken Liver

Panda Brand Soy Sauce

Oyster Soy Sauce

Last but DEFINITELY not Least,

Hmong Pepper....

Sorry I didn't take any pictures of our feast, it would have been a great picture.... :( Next Year.... :)

Sisters

So yesterday, while i was looking for pictures for my monday blog, i came upon two pictures who reminded me of my silly cousin Nerd and sister, Nancy.

This first one, reminded me of my beautiful cousin, Nerd, who i personally referred to as "bay". She is Beautiful, and has the personality of the world but sometimes, she forgets that she comes first. She is too busy, fighting the world for the little minions that follows her around, and looses herself. I may be wrong but i believe that you should always put yourself first before others because you are still young, bright and not to mention, a bachelorette. Love yourself, and take care of yourself. Be the gorgeous nerd i once knew. I know that we all have moved on in life, and we are taking our own path in life, unlike when we were all still single and carefree, but that should not stop you from being yourself. I don't know why you surround yourself with the little minions, maybe its because we were a crowd before, and now that most of us have taken our own route, that you feel the need to surround yourself with others, to feel comfy again, but you shouldn't. It really makes you look like mother goose bay. And I'm sure that's not the picture you want. I mean you still have Pon, Ut, and Nancy. You four could open a new chapter, a new addition to what we all use to have. Don't forget yourself. The Nerd i used to know was gorgeous, funny, and beautiful. You come first. I <3 U.......

And so after i saw that picture, i came upon this one....

When i saw this one, i had a GREAT laugh, because it reminded me of a time, when Ms. Nancy Yang called me. I forgot what i was doing, but i got a call from Nancy, and she was speaking to me in a quiet voice, and she sounds kind of breathless... For a second there i couldn't understand why she would call me when she was jogging, maybe something important came up..... No, nothing important came up. It was just that she decided to call me because she was about to walk past her ex-boyfriend at the mall. Trying to look busy... hahahha When she got outside of the mall, she said, "Guess who i just walked passed?" I asked who, and she said that she just walked past --- that's why she called me. Funny, but the first thing i said to her was, "Do you look good?" because she always does.... And on this unfortunate day, she said, "I knew it! I knew, that i was going to run into him today. [she laughs hysterically] I had a feeling i was going to see him. [laughs] And I look like sh*t today, because i just got back from the garden. [laughs]"..... But its ok, i mean its not like he hasn't run into you, on a day where you were gorgeous looking.... hahahha any who I'm sure this taught her a lesson to always look gorgeous when shes outing...
I believe that no matter where you are going, you always have to look good and or decent. Even on days, where you want to be a scrub. You can definitely look good scrubby. Anyways, talking about these two love, is making me a bit nostalgic of a time, when i was young and carefree..... Well anyways, i think we are coming to a good end, so ill leave you all with a few quotes and pictures.... till then, my readers, we shall be eye to eye again.... take care... ~KarissaMLYang

"For there is no friend like a sister, in calm or stormy weather, to cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands." ~ Christina G. Rossetti

"Sister to sister we will always be, a couple of nuts off the family tree." ~ Anonymous

A quick look into the past,

a moment cherished forever......

Us all back in July of 2007

Me and Nerd Dec of 2007

Maowee, Me and Nerd, Dec of 2007

"To the world, we grow old; to our sisters, we are as we always were" ~ Anonymous

Navigating

Hi,

So i know its been awhile since I've blogged, but, sigh... I've been busy busy busy BUSY. One thing about being a student in college is, I am ALWAYS, and when i say always, i mean i am ALWAYS worried, about my homework, quiz, exam, and studying. Its like, I'm filled with anxieties all the time. i don't know if any other college student experiences this, but, sigh, i do and its not an easy feeling. When will there ever be a time of relief? i mean even between breaks of semesters, i try to settle in, relax, and just have the hugest brain fart ever, but it doesn't settle in as easy. it takes time, it takes time to re-condition myself to thinking, "OK, its over now, you can relax." And taking time sucks, because two weeks is not enough time. By the time i have settle a bit and have just gotten the habit of relaxing, its like someone pulled the trigger and said, "nope, times up, its time to hit anxieties again, LETS MOVE IT." Sheese...... Of course i can easily give up and do other things, but this is more of a "need and want" then a "have to" situation here. 

On the other hand, there is a positive side to this anxiety building-- thingy?!.... this might be a bit cliche', but like that quote, "Pray for the worst, hope for the best, and expect the unexpected" by anonymous, which is what life is kinda like for me. Well, kinda i guess, when i am at my wits end. i mean i don't go through life, doing stuff half-a$$. Who would, especially when its SUPER tedious, time consuming, and it cost tons..... Any who, back to my point, i get great gratification when i achieve. i actually feel like my brain got bigger.... (literally, your brain is fully developed when you are 20, and its not getting any bigger) Its very rewarding and satisfying when i know that i am on the right track and i am  understanding the materials. I'm not saying there isn't a time of down time for me, believe me there are. Its just that i try not to be too hard on myself and resort to self-destruct, i pick myself up, get my act together, and see where i went wrong, what i am not understanding, and where and what i need to concentrate a little more on.  However, I'm not going to lie, i LOVE college. if elementary through high school had the same concept of teaching and class scheduling, i believe that so many students would actually want to participate in scholar institutes. Overall, the VERY first two years of college i believer are the hardest two years. why? i believe that it is because of the broad topic that a converging adolescent has to cover, let alone transitioning, that makes it super hard. Kinda like getting dropped off in the middle of the dessert with a map, food and water, and told to find your way to point B. it could be easy if you knew how to navigate your way around that dessert or easily utilize your resources, but if you dont, it can get pretty ugly.But once you have reached point B, you are more then ever, more familliar with what road you want to take in life..... And so you are wondering, where am i in this abyss? i am proud to say that after 5 years, i have arrived at destination B. what took me so long??? stay tune....... :)

-Karissa MLYang

Introduction

Ello,

Somehow, in the midst of doing online homework, something prompt me to start a blog....
Well, actually, that prompter or the "prompters" are my two sisters.......
Anyway, i wanted to see how interesting i can be/get, or how boring i am or can get.... but only you all and time can tell..... Hoping for the best, but if it gets ugly, we might find ourselves, or actually myself M.I.A and or deleted, along with the other failures, in the abyss of the cyber worlds trash can....

I'm sad to end my beautiful start here, I have homework to get back to, so till then, my little readers, we shall be eye to eye again... soon... i hope, that's if i don't get too caught up in my work.... sigh, oh dear, this is starting to sound like a fail already-- and slowly the white flag rises.... No, no it wont.... ill try to be committed to this.... like all the other trials..... anyways....

adios