We are Chinese

Writing this article, simply because of the news of today's major media:"Chinese aunt blackmailed foreign guy."

But the fact is: the foreign guy drove the car without a license and knocked aunt. The aunt asked him to send her to hospital, but only received his abuse. One passenger took pictures and uploaded it with text that led to the misunderstanding. However, he refused to apologize, even claimed that his action is completely out of overflowing sense of justice. In the spreading of rumors, our media should take the blame.

In recent years, the foreign media deliberately discredit China in all aspects. In some ways, though not agree, but I can understand their behavior。 It is nothing more than fear, jealousy, and a lack of understanding of China. But in recent years, some Chinese behavior made ​​me feel really incredible.

Chinese media said the Chinese tourists washing their feet in the pool in front of the Louvre. But it did not tell you, the government never prohibit such behavior. The local kids running around in the pool in summer.

Chinese media said the Chinese tourists having picnic in the grass in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. But it did not tell you, lots of western tourists also eating in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

A foreigner, dare to hit and abused to an aunt in our capital. Perhaps because he felt that there must be a fawning and self-righteous Chinese who will stand up for him.

Known as the world's second economy, but it has never received commensurate recognition and respect.

Because we don't respect ourselves, how can we expect other nations to respect yourself!

I want every media person, should be able to uphold his own integrity and conscience.

I hope that every foreigner will give our nation the respect it deserved.

I hope that every Chinese person, have the courage to defend their precious self-confidence and dignity.

Because we are Chinese.

Beef Chili

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds beef round, cut into 1-inch chunks
salt and pepper
6 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 to 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
2 tablespoons fine corn meal
2 tablespoons tomato paste


Direction
Season the beef with salt and pepper. 
Heat the oven over medium heat with 2 teaspoons vegetable oil; sear the beef in two batches, adding up to 2 teaspoons more vegetable oil, until browned on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes per batch. 
Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the beef to a plate as it browns.
Reduce the heat to medium. 
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot; add the onion, red pepper. Cook, stirring, until onion is soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the chili powder; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
Add the corn meal and tomato paste and cook until the tomato paste sticks to bottom, about 2 minutes. 
Stir in 6 cups water, scraping tomato paste from bottom of pan; bring to a simmer.
Add the reserved beef; partially cover the pot and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer until the beef is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Pumpkin Pies

Ingredients:
  1/4 cup pecans
  1/4 cup sugar
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  6 tablespoons butter, ice cold
  2 to 3 tablespoons ice cold water
  1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
  1/2 cup dark corn syrup
  1 tablespoon sugar
  1/2 cup canned pumpkin filling
  1 teaspoon vanilla
  1/4 cup pecans, chopped plus 24 halves for garnish
Special equipment:
  2 (12-cup) mini muffin tins

Directions
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  For the dough:
  In a food processor, pulse pecans with the sugar, salt, and flour, until the nuts are ground and the ingredients are combined. Add in butter and pulse until dough resembles coarse meal. Slowly pour in ice water through the feed tube, pulsing, until the dough comes together. Remove from processor bowl onto clean work surface sprinkled with flour.
  Form dough into a ball and divide evenly into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and evenly press into each cup, until the bottom is covered. If the dough is sticky, dip your finger in flour first.
  Bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the crusts are very golden. Check periodically to make sure they don't get too brown.
  Meanwhile, make the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and yolk with the corn syrup, sugar, pumpkin filling and vanilla. Stir in the chopped pecans.
  Remove dough from oven and spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into each cup. Top each with 1 pretty pecan half. Return the pans to the oven and continue baking, for 12 to 15 minutes more, until the pumpkin filling is set. Allow to cool before removing from the pans.

  My friend made it for me once, it was so delicious. Then I tried it myself. The first batch I made of these came out kind of dry because I used extra flour while shaping the dough since it was too sticky. The second batch came out much better. Next time I will use pumpkin pie filling and see what that tastes like!

Halloween !!!

Halloween is not a important day in China, most of Chinese don't know much about it. So I'd like to talk something about Halloween.

Time:
October 31st is Halloween

Origin:
The Celtic peoples lived over 2,000 years ago in the place that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France. Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. For the Celtic peoples, the New Year was celebrated on November 1st of every year. This date marked the end of Summer and the beginning of Winter. And this time of year often associated with human death.The Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred as the dead searched for the afterlife. Thus, on the night of October 31st, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth to cause mischief and trouble.

Traditions:

Many of the traditions associated with Halloween can be traced back to the ancient festivals of Samhain, such as costuming, trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving.

People have been making Jack-o-lanterns on Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man known as “Stingy Jack.” Stingy Jack one day invited the Devil to have a drink with him. Not wanting to pay for the drink, he tricked the Devil into  turning himself into a coin, and then put the Devil into his pocket next to a cross that prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack freed the Devil after the Devil promised not to bother Jack or, should he die, claim his soul. Eventually, when Jack did die, God would not take him into Heaven, and the Devil, who had promised not to claim Jack’s soul, could not take him into Hell. Thus, the Devil sent Jack’s spirit into the night with only a  burning candle to light his way.  Jack put the candle into a  carved turnip and has been roaming the Earth ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then simply as “Jack-o-lantern.”

Spider For Halloween

Attention! Halloween is coming. In addition to traditional food with pumpkin, this time let's eat spiders!

Ingredients
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet morsels
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
6 cups pretzel sticks

Directions
Place parchment paper on baking sheet; set aside.
In a large glass microwave-safe bowl combine chocolate chips and peanut butter. Melt on high for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and stir until smooth.
Stir in pretzel sticks. With clean hands grab pretzel sticks and drop on prepared baking sheet in clusters to look like spiders.
Place in freezer for 5 minutes or until to chocolate is hardened. Remove and serve.

I loved these because they were a tasty and cute dessert for Halloween! However, I found these a little difficult to assemble and the legs broke off or if I pushed them into the body of the spider they started to distort the shape.so I had to work with them some. Great creativity and taste!

Salmon

I really like seafood, but the only thing I can find there is salmon. Today, I'll talk about how to cook it.

Ingredients
hot sauce
dark brown sugar
smoked paprika
cayenne pepper
light mayonnaise
snipped chives
stalks celery
small red onion
center-cut skin-on salmon fillets, about 1 inch thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil

Directions
Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan on medium high.
Mix together the hot sauce, brown sugar, paprika and cayenne in a small bowl. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the mixture to a large bowl and whisk in the mayonnaise; set aside the rest of the sauce. Add the chives, celery and onions to the bowl with the mayonnaise and toss well.
Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper. Brush the grill grate lightly with oil. Lay the salmon on the grill, skin-side up, and cook until distinct grill marks appear and the salmon releases easily from the grate, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and brush the fish with some of the reserved sauce. Continue to cook the fish, brushing the pieces periodically with the sauce, until the salmon fillets are glazed and just cooked through, 13 to 15 minutes more.
Transfer the fillets to individual plates and serve with the celery slaw.

This is an excellent way to make salmon. It has a little kick to it, but not too spicy. I didn't cook it as long as the recipe states. I did 2 minutes on each side and flipped it twice. It came out perfect, moist and tender not dry.

Food on Italy

  I went to Italy during this vocation,and eat some traditional Italian dishes. Today, I want to talk something about the food on Italy.
   Traditional Italian meals generally have four to five parts. First is table manners, then antipasto. As the antipasto, salad and soup is an ideal choice. it is crisp and appetizers, and it is recognized by almost all western countries.

Then main course. Usually it is steak or chicken cheese with pasta and red wine.Nothing says Italy like its food, and nothing says Italian food like pasta.Wherever Italians have immigrated they have brought their pasta and so today it is basically an international staple. It is estimated that Italians eat over sixty pounds of pasta per person, per year easily beating Americans, who eat about twenty pounds per person. And also like pizza. Pizza is a kind of food originated in Italian， it is a world-popular food.

The last part is dessert. It can be ice cream, cheese bread, or tiramisu. Cheese bread has become a real crowd-pleaser among many bread makers these days. With so many different kinds of cheeses and flavors, the choices seem endless. Cheese can be made from corn, eggs, milk, sugar, salt and oatmeal. And It is said that ,During the World War II, an Italian soldier has been sent to the battlefield . Before he leave , his wife mixed all the biscuits, bread they have into a whole cake and give it to him .that’s why it is called “Tiramisu cake”. Whenever the soldiers on the battlefield ate tiramisu, he missed home and his wife.