Bone Suckin' Sauce!

Kevin's boss had to go to their Norfolk office for a couple of days a while ago and this is what he got Kevin when he came back. It's supposed to be one of the best BBQ sauces ever. Bone Suckin' Sauce, eh? Hahaha, I love the label though, no nonsense, just straight to the point :P

I decided to try out the BBQ sauce by making some BBQ ribs. We bought a large rack of ribs, put it in an extra large ziplock bag and poured in the BBQ sauce. We then left it to marinade for about 24 hours. The trick to get really juicy ribs is to cook it in an oven bag. So, we cooked it in an oven bag and only took it out of the bag for the last 20 mins or so. I mixed brown sugar with some more of the BBQ sauce and baste it onto the ribs every 5 mins for that last 20 mins. Here is the finish product. We served it with a side of potato salad. Verdict? It's reallllllllly Bone Suckin' gooood!!

We still had half a bottle left so we tried to make BBQ Chicken the following week. This time, instead of just marinating it with the sauce, I added some rosemary too. This sauce is a miracle sauce, it tasted as good on the chicken as it did on the ribs!! Here is a photo of the Roast Chicken with Stuffing and Corn.

Kevin's boss was right. This is the best sauce ever! I have been told that I might be able to find some for sale at some gourmet grocery shops here in NJ. Maybe I'll go check it out! Mmmm Mmm Mmmm...BBQ Ribs :P~~~

Double Delight!

Today is "Sports Super Sunday" here at the Podany household :D The weather was still bad out, so we stayed in to lounge in front of the TV all day! We ordered in some Chinese food and soda, and we were all set for our sports marathon.

Two of my favorite teams had big matches today. The day started with a soccer match from the English Premier League. Man Utd was playing Chelsea at home in Old Trafford! What a big game. I have been waiting all week for this match. Since I moved to America, I don't really have a chance to watch many Man Utd matches, so it was really good. What made it better? The Red Devils trashed Chelsea 3-0!!! What a match! What a day so far!! Glory Glory Man Utd!!

That was followed by the Eagles visiting the Giants at Meadowlands for the NFC playoffs. I don't really care who wins, we were just watching that while waiting for the Steelers game. The Philadelphia Eagles won, which was pretty cool. I'm hoping for an all Pennsylvania Superbowl now! :D

At last, the time has arrived. We were all excited and decked in our Steelers jerseys. The Terrible Towel was flying high and proud. I can just imagine how charged up Heinz Field was on game day!

The temperature was reported to be around 12F! Yeah..it was freezing cold but nothing can stop the Steelers, not when you have all those Steeler fans backing you up. So what if there is some snow? The Steelers play well in any weather. They are not like the wussy West Coast Chargers who are not used to the cold!

The game started and what a great game it was! We were so pumped up and shouting like there was no tomorrow. Final score? 35-24! The Steeler's whooped the Chargers big time!!! No West Coast boys can bring the Steel Curtain down. I am not talking smack, this is the real deal. The Steelers played well and hard today. Go home San Diego Chargers!

Now, we shall wait for the Baltimore Raven's to come to Heinz Field next week for the AFC Championship! We are waiting...

Football Theology??

Kevin is still feeling sick today. Therefore, we did not go out but stayed home all day. Just as well, I don't think we would have gone out even if Kevin wasn't feeling sick. The snow storm started sometime around noon and it's expected to go on until early tomorrow morning. Then the icy rain will start. The weather is really bad out there today. This photo was taken earlier in the day...

Soon, the snow began to fall and in a space of a few hours, there was a total white out!

Brrr....looks cold! I'm glad we are nice and warm indoors. On a separate note, we managed to catch the Titans vs. Ravens game on TV this afternoon. We would usually only watch Steeler games but this is the playoffs. So, we decided to watch. Also, the winner of this game will play the winner of the Steelers vs. Charges game that will be played tomorrow.

Guess what's the score of the game? Titans - 10, Ravens - 13!!! Yup, you got that right! I couldn't believe it either. What an upset. For those of you who don't follow football, this is basically the story. The Titans are ranked number 1 in the AFC conference. They played well all season, only losing a total of 3 times out of the 16 games they played. A lot of people thought that they will go on to win the Superbowl. After playing so well and hard all season, to lose now in this all important game, when it matters the most and be out of the running for the Superbowl, I really feel for them.

This got me thinking about my journey in life as a Christian. I do not want to be like the Titans. Starting out all strong, doing the right stuff and making all the right decisions. After a while, when players get injured or when things get difficult, the team starts to lose focus. In the end, when it matters the most, the #1 team, the team everybody thinks is going to win....fails to deliver. This is just a little reminder to me that not only do I want to start well, but I want to finish well. Sometimes there might be distractions along the way but we must not lose our main focus. One day, when my life on earth is done and the Lord calls me home, I would want Him to look at me and say " Well done, my good and faithful servant" :)

Poor Kevin Is Sick

Kevin complained that his throat was feeling scratchy and that his nose was kind of blocked up last night. He also had some phlegm and had to clear his throat constantly. I made him some Chrysanthemum tea and also told him to take some to work the next day. Chrysanthemum is supposed to have a 'cooling' effect on your body and it's good for people with fever or sore throat. He also took some Halls and NyQuil before going to bed.

He woke up this morning with a sore throat and feeling under the weather but he went to work anyways. I decided to make some Chicken Noodle soup for dinner, just throw everything in the slow cooker and it should be done by the time he comes home in the evening. All the vegetables and chicken will be nice and soft, so it doesn't hurt when he swallows.

We went out to get some more medicine after dinner. The poor guy's throat was hurting pretty bad, so we stopped by McDonalds to get him some ice cream!! He said it helped a little bit..hahaha!

After taking some of the medicine that we bought earlier, he said he felt slightly better. It will be really cold tonight because there will be a snow storm rolling in tomorrow. It always gets really really cold before it snows, I don't know why. He is now all bundled up and asleep. I hope he gets better tomorrow. Poor guy :(

Woohoo! It's here!

I ordered something from eBay a few days ago and I found this in my mailbox earlier today.

Woohoo, it's here! I was pretty surprised that it took the seller only three working days from the time I paid him to the time it arrived at my doorstep. Very very impressed. Want to see what's inside the envelope? :D

There you go! You must be thinking...huh?? Why did she buy a wallet/purse from eBay? Of all the things to buy from eBay, she buys a wallet?

It's not a wallet lahhh, it's a camera case! The free case that came with the new Nikon S610 didn't fit the camera well. It was so big, it looked like it was meant for those old 35mm cameras! Not only that, the camera would move around and I figured that's bad for the camera. So, here is the new camera case! I love how it fits like a glove. It's made from really soft leather and it's lined with some special material (feels like really soft suede) that doesn't scratch the screen of the camera.

I just love it! It also comes with a matching strap. Guess how much I paid for it? $7.00 and shipping is free!! I think it's a very good deal, I just love the design and the nice soft leather. What do you think? You like it? :D

The Coupon Experiment

Coupons...we see them everywhere. You can basically find a coupon for almost anything these days. They come in your mail, in your email box, together with your weekend newspapers..they are everywhere! However, how often do you cut/print them out and actually take them to the supermarket with you? I know that we don't :P

We decided to try something new (well, it's new to us :P) last weekend. With the terrible economy these days, saving a little here and there is a wise thing to do. So, we spent the whole afternoon sorting through coupons online as well as cutting them from the leaflets they slip into the weekend newspaper. Armed with an envelope full of coupons, we headed to do our grocery shopping.

The game plan was to only try and buy things that had store discounts or things that we had coupons for. We basically bought almost the same things as we would have bought without coupons. So, there wasn't much adjustment to our usual grocery list to accommodate the usage of coupons.

Once we were done, it was the moment of truth as we headed to the checkout counters. We would usually go to the self checkout counter, it's way faster and we get to bag the stuff the way we like :P After scanning in all the items, the usual automated voice would come on and say " do you have any coupons?" Usually we would press the NO button but today, today it's different! We have coupons, baby! Eat your heart out computer automated voice person! We have coupons today! :D It felt so good to see the total amount grow less and less as we scan in the coupons. This is our receipt..hahaha. Looks like we have enough food to feed an army or more! It says we bought a total of 40 items.

The total we spent on groceries before the discounts that day was $130.53. After deducting the discounts, we paid only $86.57. Yup, that's right! We saved $43.96 that day by just buying things that were on sale and using coupons!!! That is a LOT of money. It's not just a few dollars here and there. We saved almost 34% of the total bill! What a discovery :D I guess using coupons when you go grocery shopping really adds up. Guess who will be printing out more coupons the next time she goes grocery shopping? :P

Super Spicy Dinner!

Guess what we had for dinner today? :D

Yup! It's so easy to make. Some ikan bilis stock, add in the paste and the soup is ready! My whole kitchen smells so yummmy. The smell brings me back to my Tua Ee's kitchen in Penang. Ok, nothing beats Tua Ee's kitchen..but it's close enough.

Penang Hokkien Mee with loads of shrimp, bak kut (short ribs), hard boiled egg, beansprouts and fried onions. It's a little bit spicy ( my tolerance for spiciness is really low) but it's worth it! :D Kevin and I were sweating and drinking water non stop while eating the Hokkien Mee. It's spicy but it's just too good to stop...hahaha! Kevin had to down a tall glass of milk after dinner just to keep his lips from burning. I didn't expect it to be that spicy, it says "Moderate" on the box. We still had a good dinner though. Nothing beats a little bit of spicy kick on a cold winters night!

Christmas at the Goddards

*ANOTHER BACKDATED POST*

As many of you know, we were back in Pittsburgh for Christmas. We went to a Japanese Buffet for Christmas dinner (since it's just the three of us) because Kevin's sister was spending Christmas with her husband's side of the family this year. However, they invited us over for dinner on Saturday night, one day before we left for home. That was our family Christmas dinner, a little bit late, but hey, it's still Christmas!

Ron (Kevin's brother in law) made some really nice ham and potatoes for dinner. I'll have to remember to get the potatoes recipe from him! :D

Here is Kevin with his nephew/god son Nick and niece Kristen. The kids had to eat outside because there is no space in the kitchen for them...hehehe.

Kristen is still very much in the Christmassy mood. Isn't she cute? After dinner, we proceeded down to the basement to open presents! Here are some photos.

Kristen opening up her presents from grandma. She received a sackful of presents! Three generations in one photo. Cool, ya?

Kevin with the lamp that Kim and Ron got us for Christmas.

Nick opening the present that we got him. A freshwater fishing rod. He looks happy, I hope it he likes it :P

We got Ron & Kim an Ice Shot Glass Maker. It makes 12 ice shot glasses at one time. They recently renovated their basement and had a bar installed. We figured that might like their gift :D

Kristen got us the best presents of the night. Every year, her school would open up a little shop and sell gifts for Christmas. Kristen would go to the shop and buy us gifts with her own money. They are usually little gifts that children might like. What makes it so special is that she choose that particular gift out of so many others, just for us. She could have used her money to buy candy for herself or something else but she chose to buy us a gift for Christmas. She is such a sweet little girl :D

This year, Kevin got a Steelers helmet that you can stick up on the car window.

I got a mug that comes along with a cute penguin with a long red scarf. Thank you Kristen!!

We had a great time hanging out with the family. Too bad we had to leave early though. We had to go to Kevin's Uncle Bob's house (which was about 45 minutes away from Ron and Kims) to drop of some gifts for his boys. Overall, we had a great Christmas in Pittsburgh, just spending time with friends and family. Oh I wish it's Christmas everyday! :D

How To Brew Your Own Beer

Remember the Beer Kit I got Kevin for Christmas? Well, he decided to brew his first batch of beer on New Years Day. Since he is not as familiar in brewing beer as he is with wine, he did not experiment but followed the step by step standard brewing procedure provided by the Mr Beer kit.
This is basically what's inside the box. A brew keg with a lid and tap, a booster pack, the one step sanitizer cleanser, dry brewing yeast and the hopped malt extract ( there are many different types but we got the Canadian Draft from the International Series with our kit).

The first step in brewing a good batch of beer is sanitizing all equipment that comes in contact with your beer. This is to kill microscopic bacteria, wild yeast and mold that may cause off flavor in your beer. Fill up the keg with lukewarm water to the 4 quart mark on the back.

Then add in half a pack of the One- Step sanitizer. Save the other half to sanitize your bottles later on when you are ready to bottle your beer.

Screw on the lid and swirl the keg around. Open and close the tap into a big container so that you can sanitize your utensils in the container. Allow all items to soak for at least 10 minutes and then drain. This sanitizer doesn't require you to rinse.

Now, we are ready to brew! Fill the keg with cold water to the 4 quart mark on the back.

Place the unopened can of beer mix in hot water. This is to warm up the mix in order for it to pour out easily later on.

Pour 4 cups of water into a pot and slowly sprinkle in the Booster while stirring to avoid clumping. Once the Booster is fully dissolved, bring to a boil and remove the pot from heat.

Stir in the beer mix into the water and Booster mixture. Now we have a mixture that is called the wort. By now you will be able to smell the familiar smell of a microbrewery :D

Pour the wort into the keg.

Add in more cold water into the keg until it reaches the 8.5 quart mark. Stir vigorously to mix well.

Sprinkle yeast into the keg and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes. Stir vigorously again and then screw the lid on.

We placed the keg out of direct sunlight, in a corner of our kitchen where it has a consistent temperature of between 68F to 76F. We will let it sit and brew for about 14 days before we can bottle the beer. So now, we wait :)

New Years Eve!

This New Years Eve is a little bit different from the rest. No, we didn't head out to the clubs to party and no, we didn't go to Times Square to watch the ball drop (it was -12C out there that night, no way am I going to stand out there for hours in that frigid cold!). I believe it's the first New Years Eve we spent at home, alone.

We made a nice New Years Eve dinner and pushed out the dining table to our huge windows. Boy, the view was amazing. It was such a clear night, we could the whole skyline of Manhattan, all lit up and looking great! This is what I call a dinner with a view :D

After dinner, we had a couple of drinks and watched the celebrations and countdown in Times Square on TV. Feels great to be able to snuggle in my warm comfy blanket instead of freezing in the super cold outdoors. Anyway, I believe that going out to Times Square for the countdown is an experience you only need to do once. I have gone once and that's enough for me. The crowds, the cold, the long lines to go home after the countdown..maybe when I was younger, but definitely not now. Hahaha!

We were also blessed enough to get to see about 6 fireworks displays from our apartment. Of course there was the Times Square fireworks, then there were a few downtown in the Financial District area, the fireworks from Central Park (which marks the beginning of the midnight 4 mile run) as well as a few from Harlem and the Hudson county in NJ. The ones in the photos are the downtown fireworks as well as the Central Park and uptown fireworks.

We had a nice quiet evening this year and I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed that. I guess it doesn't really matter where you usher in the new year, be it in some loud club with a party atmosphere or your own home. As long as you are with the people that means a lot to you, that's the best place you can be...

Happy New Year, Everyone!