(Kind of) free fruit in your neighborhood

People who know me well, know that I love to eat fruit.  I prefer fruit over sweets such as ice cream and chocolate. (not that I would necessarily turn the other two down if offered!)  So when I found out that there was a website called Falling Fruit that listed the locations of "public" fruit trees for the (considerate) taking, I was so excited!  I found blackberries, plums, persimmons and even fig trees in town.  Expanding the search area, I found other interesting varieties such as apricot and loquat.  Nut trees are also listed.  I haven't visited the locations yet but it was comforting to know that if I was strapped for cash, I could forage.  The database isn't comprehensive; it depends on people's contributions and willingness to share locations to the public.  For example, I went to check for trees in Hawaii, as Kaleb and I had found mango trees growing wild on the hiking trails, but not very many were listed.

picking mangoes from trees in Maui

Of course, just because the fruit is free for the taking, doesn't mean that it's good for you.  There could be chemicals, pollution or pesticides depending on the tree location, so use your good judgement.  Don't forget to wash fruit and peel the skin (if possible) before consuming.

You can read about good etiquette on public foraging at the Urban Edibles website based in Portland, OR.

Happy gathering!

#TBT - Old memories found in boxes

I recently had some time to go through two boxes filled with old possessions that I had left at my parents' house (which they gladly packed up for me), some dating back to my elementary school days.  It was funny to read that I was "a bit chatty" on my 4th grade handwritten report card along with multiple "a pleasure to have in class" printed in dot-matrix on several of my middle school report cards.  I also was reminded of the one B+ I received in high school PE which dropped my GPA to 3.96, spoiling my chance to be one of the valedictorians at graduation. (we had 7!)

Perhaps the following items will trigger memories in your head?

does anyone use Pee Chees anymore?

I couldn't afford a Trapper Keeper so I just got a folder

Duran Duran centerfolds from Bop magazine

I don't think I referenced crib sheets much for tests even though it took me hours to create them

more stuff I don't remember, such as this work in chemistry

I don't use calculus at work

I didn't pursue any of these professions

5.25" floppy disk

I saw that most of my notebooks from class were half filled with information, half with doodles of things like "I heart Don/Eric/etc.", signing my first name with a crush's last name, bands I liked, random drawings of whatever was on my mind that day.

I found a shoebox full of handwritten notes, folded in many different styles, which were entertaining to read since they talked about the "problems" we had in our middle and high school years:  the standard question of "How's your love life?", crushes on guys, friend stealing other friend's crushes, interpreting some guy's actions as him noticing or liking us, guys making moves on us, girls being mean to others, how much homework we had to do, how we were "so bored", exchanging locker combinations, etc.  I still can remember how to fold a few intricate designs.  I also have a collection of snail mail.  Kids nowadays probably can't comprehend waiting for a letter from a friend every week or two in this age of texting and email.  I also remember getting sore ears while talking on the (corded) phone for two hours straight in the evenings.  With no call waiting at the time, my parents would constantly tell me to get off the phone as someone might be trying to get through.

Going through my junior high yearbook was entertaining, reading messages such as "KIT!" (keep in touch), which most of the time, we did not.  Comments like "You're such a sweet person!  I'm so glad we were in English class together!" meant either, "I have no idea why you want me to sign your yearbook as I don't know you very well but I'll think of something nice to say" or "I'm signing all the yearbooks I can get my hands on".  In the end, I still am in contact with a small group of people from middle school and high school.  Facebook is great for "keeping in touch".

we look so young

Other memorabilia:  School awards, including "Perfect Attendance" (is that still given out nowadays?).  Embarrassing school photos.  College acceptance letters.  Paystubs from summer jobs.  My driver's education certification and permit.  I'll always remember the first time my dad took me on a practice drive, him grabbing the passenger seat and door handle in a death grip as the vehicle moved forward.  Really, he had nothing to worry about because I learned all of my slick driving skills on the Atari and in the arcade:  Pole Position, Enduro, Outrun, Spy Hunter, and my favorite, RoadBlasters.

I gladly recycled all of my old class notes and homework, but I saved the sentimental items to remind myself of what it was like during those years, especially when my future children get to that age and have "problems" or get into mischief.  However, Kaleb can have the honor of taking the kids out for driver training!

Adventures in cooking Chinese roast pork

I have a Nu-Wave Pro portable oven, a hand-me-down from my mom.  She didn't have a need for it anymore and I was curious if I could make Chinese roast pork in it.  My mom had tried before, but it didn't turn out as expected...the skin wasn't crispy enough.  This past weekend, I gave it a shot, especially after finding what looked to be a good recipe (Christine's Recipes) on the internet that used a similar type of oven.  Using the Nu-Wave versus a regular oven seemed like it would help cut down on the clean-up, plus save energy and not heat up the house during the summer.

I purchased a slab of fresh pork belly (skin-on) from Koreana Plaza.  The fat and meat layers weren't perfectly proportioned, but since this was my first attempt at roast pork, it would be good enough.

not the most perfect piece but it worked

I blanched the pork belly in a pot of gently boiling water for about 10 minutes, then placed it on a plate to cool down.  I dried the pork with a paper towel, then proceeded to poke holes in the skin using a bamboo skewer.  It would be faster if you had a "skin poker" tool. (a picture of it can be seen in Nasi Lemak Lover's blog)  I also scored the bottom meat layer in order for it to soak up the spice mixture.

not too long to poke as it was a small piece

scoring the meat layer underneath

I changed the spice mixture to the following:  4 tsp sea salt, 2 tsp palm sugar, 1/2 tsp five-spice powder.  I've had tasty results using palm sugar in other recipes I've cooked, such as curry, so I thought it would be good here too.

I rubbed rice wine all over the pork belly, applied the spice mixture to the sides and bottom (not on the skin, as directed by Christine), then wrapped it in foil, exposing the top.  It sat overnight in the refrigerator to marinate as well as dry out the skin.

pork belly the next evening

The next evening, the skin was pretty dry.  I poked it again with the bamboo skewer (much harder this time as the skin was cold and hard compared to just-boiled) and put it in the Nu-Wave oven, set on the highest temperature (around 350 degrees).

baking in the Nu-Wave

Unfortunately, since that was as high as the Nu-Wave could go, and Christine's recipe called for 390 degrees F baking and 430 degrees F for crisping the skin, around the end of bake time, I had to do something to get the skin crispier.  I ended up jury-rigging a higher platform to bring the skin closer to the heating element at the top, using inverted small glass bowls.

raising the pork belly closer to the heating element

It helped to blister the skin more, but now that I am more familiar with the Nu-Wave oven, I think I will try a different approach next time.  I also may try a different method to poking the skin.

The end product was very tasty, almost restaurant-quality, except for the skin, which certainly was crispy, but not "flaky" enough if you know what I mean.  The skin texture didn't stop us from inhaling the meat!
 

voila!

looks like restaurant-quality!

Since I placed a sheet of foil on the bottom of the Nu-Wave oven, clean-up was a breeze.  I just had to wash the clear plastic dome and the rack.

Not too bad for a first timer, but I endeavor to improve on the skin next time!

***

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Inaugural post, plus playing with my birthday gift - an AeroGarden!

Dear loyal readers of WITWIKK and new visitors,

I decided to start a new blog documenting snippets of my "everyday life", as I don't travel year-round, even though the entries in "Where in the world is Kat Kong?" look like I am on vacation all the time.  Thus, here is the debut of "What in the world is Kat Kong doing now?" (witwikkdn.blogspot.com)  Hope you find this new blog at the very least entertaining.  I hope it'll be helpful sometimes.  Perhaps even eye-opening.  I'm sure there will be days where I get flamed; that's fine with me as we all have our own opinions and I invite you to share yours.

Enjoy!
Kat

***

For my birthday this year, my fiance Kaleb bought me an AeroGarden Ultra. I had seen the ads on TV and thought about growing an indoor garden.  However, I didn't recall mentioning to Kaleb that I was interested in getting one.  I interpreted this as evidence that he could actually read my mind, contrary to what all relationship self-help books preach.  But in reality, it wasn't hard for him to know he hit a home run - I love to eat, and if all I have to do is pop the seeds in, fill the tank with water and nutrients, push a button and food comes out a few weeks later, I'd think it was the best!

The seed pods that came with it consisted of 7 herb varieties:  two kinds of basil (Thai and Genovese), mint, parsley, dill, chives, and cilantro.  It was easy to set up and fill; the hard part was waiting for the plants to grow.  I was pleasantly surprised that several of the seed pods had germinated within a few days, faster than what the instructions had mentioned.  There was a paragraph saying that distilled or reverse-osmosis (RO) water would be better for the garden; we filled it with RO water, so that may explain the quick growth.  Some days, the plants would seem to grow in front of our eyes.  By the third week, I was already harvesting basil for my Thai curries and dill for fish.  Kaleb used the mint in a mint julep and I plan to use it in spring rolls later this week.

herb garden at around 27 days; will be even bigger next month

Almost a month has passed now and you can tell from the picture that the seeds grow at different rates.  Unfortunately, the cilantro has not germinated (lower left corner).  AeroGarden has a warranty on the seed pods and will send you a new one for free if you call and let them know.  The parsley pod on the lower right corner has been the slowest to develop, though it was the first to show signs of germination.  Thus I call it "a shower, not a grower".  :)

Since the garden was a success, I plan on owning a couple more:  one to grow tomatoes and the other to grow salad greens.  There are seed kits for other plants like peppers, strawberries, and flowers.  If you want to grow your own seeds, they have the Grow Anything kit but you'd have to use trial and error to see if they'll survive in a hydroponic garden.  Some gardeners use the AeroGarden to quickly germinate seeds, then plant them outside when they are big enough to survive.  There are also forums on the internet such as aerogardentalk.com to learn what others have been planting and their successes and failures.

I'll keep you posted on how the garden is doing as time goes by.  I'm having a lot of fun watching the herbs grow as well as eating the bounty!

***

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