Our Indoor Herb Garden

We were in Home Depot on Saturday to pick up a few things for a project that Kevin was working on. While walking around, we were talking about how nice it would be if we had a garden. We could BBQ as well as plant our own vegetables. I commented that it would also be nice to grow a herb garden, so that I can cook with fresh herbs everyday. Kevin said that we do not need a garden to have a herb garden. We can have our own indoor herb garden! So, we went to the Garden Center and looked for stuff to grow our indoor herb garden. Kevin actually loves gardening and plants (he enjoys taking care of our rubber plant as well as some other potted plant in our apartment), so he was very gung-ho about this project.

We went around looking for the pots, seeds, soil, rocks as well as plant food. Look at how happy he was! This is what we bought. Four Terracotta/clay pots with a dish each, potting mix, small river stones, Miracle Gro plant food as well as Oregano, Sweet Basil, Rosemary and Parsley seeds.

The first thing Kevin did was to fill the bottom of the Terracotta pots with small river stones. This is to make sure that the water is not clogged up in the pot but has room to flow out of the hole in the bottom of the pot. Terracotta or clay pots are the best type of pots to use when you want to start an indoor garden. It's because it allows air and water to circulate. Small pots with a diameter of 6" at the top would be an ideal size as it's small enough to compact the plant but large enough to allow the plant to grow.

Next, he filled the pots with potting mix. Just fill it to the top.

He then used a toothpick to make tiny holes in the potting mix.

Once he was done making holes in the potting mix, he sprinkled the seeds into the holes.

We then moved all the pots into the kitchen. It's time to make some plant food to water the seeds for the first time.

Using the measuring spoon that comes with the plant food, he measured out the amount needed in a plastic container. Just follow the directions on the box.

He then filled it with water.

We placed all the pots in the sink. This is to prevent water from spilling everywhere (since there is a hole at the bottom of the pot). Once that is done, he slowly watered each pot with the plant food.

Once most of the excess water has drained out from the pots, Kevin moved it to the window sill of the kitchen window. This will be the location of our new indoor herb garden!! The best place for the plants is next to a large window where they can get at least 5 hours of sun everyday. Also, keep it away from the kitchen stove or anything that will cause the plants to experience extreme temperature change.

We are supposed to mist the soil every day to keep it moist. We should be able to see some growth in about 10 - 14 days. I am really looking forward to this and hope that they will grow well. Isn't Kevin the best husband in the whole wide world??? Just mention "oh I wish I had a herb garden" and POOF! Suddenly I am on my way to having one!! I'll post more pictures once they have started growing. I really hope they do. For now, I'll just keep my fingers and toes crossed!

Prana Restaurant & Lounge

Since we didn't go out to celebrate Kevin's birthday on the actual day, we decided to go somewhere nice for dinner tonight. We went to Prana in Bloomfield, NJ. It's a really nice fine dining restaurant tucked away in suburban Bloomfield. Truthfully, it looks and feel too chic and 'New York City' like to be in a residential neighborhood :P They serve a fusion of Asian, Middle Eastern and Western cuisine (very interesting).

We arrived at Prana at around 7pm, a little early for the dinner crowd. The restaurant has two levels, a big bar and dance floor with some seating on the ground floor and some booths and regular sitting upstairs. The restaurant doubles up as a trendy and hip club (wayyy to hip for us old folks la) after dining hours :D

We were lucky enough to get a booth since we were early. It's really nice, with flowing drapes and suede seats. The lights in this section were turned down low and the decor is just so very nice!

The waitress brought over some pita and pompadums (yeah! pompadums :P) in a basket with three different kinds of dips while we were looking through the menu. I just love the dips. One was hummus, another was a refreshing mix of yogurt and something else and we couldn't really place the third one. It tasted something like BBQ sauce but tangy with a slight hint of sweetness. All three were really really yummy.

The selection in the menu wasn't very large. In fact, there were only eight appetizers, eight entrees and five deserts to choose from actually. However, everything on the menu looks good. We learnt that the head chef Jarette Bennette actually had his training at the Bellagio and MGM Grand in Las Vegas as well as St Regis in NYC. So, we were pretty excited to taste his food.

We knew that we would not be able to finish our entree if we each ordered our own appetizers. So, we shared an order of Duck Samosas ($12.00). Thank goodness we decided to share. There were five pieces and it was huge! The Duck Samosas was served with thick slices of Granny Smith apples and Quince sauce. The pairing of the duck and apples were really good, I certainly enjoyed the appetizer.

The birthday boy ordered Grilled Rib Eye Steak ($32.00). The Rib Eye was served on Horseradish Mash Potatoes with a tall stack of Buttermilk Onion Rings on top and Peppercorn sauce drizzled all around. Kevin wanted it to be medium-well and it came out exactly the way that he liked it. Nice and brown on the outside and juicy with a slight hint of pink in the inside. He said that it was really yummy.

I ordered the Potato Crusted Halibut ($23.00). Boy, was it yummy! The Halibut was served on a bed of Grilled Eggplant, with tiny Cherry Tomato halves and Scampi Beurre Blanc sauce. The Potato crust around the Halibut was so crunchy and nice. The whole dish just came together, the taste was just amazing.

By the time we finished our entrees, we really didn't have room for desert :( I was looking forward to try the Chai Tea Custard but I really couldn't take another bite. We were just too stuffed! Overall, we had a great time. It's nice to go out to a good restaurant once in a while to celebrate a special occasion. It's also really cool that we do not need to go all the way to the city to dine in such a fine restaurant but we managed to find such a gem in our own backyard!

Prana Restaurant & Lounge
21 Belleville Avenue,
Bloomfield, NJ 07003
Tel: (973) 748 6669
Fax: (973) 748 5891
Web: http://www.prananj.com/

Grilled Sandwiches - Ol Skool Style

We were in the mood for some grilled sandwiches as a late night snack a while ago, so we decided to take out the sandwich maker to make some grilled sandwiches. We searched high and low for it but we just couldn't find it (it goes to show that it's been a while since we last used it). Actually, come to about it, I think it might still be in one of the many boxes that we left in Kevin's mom's attic. Soooo, we had to use this!

Yup, its a super old camping grilled sandwich maker that has been in Kevin's family for as long as he remembers! Kevin used to use this lots when he wanted to make grill cheese sandwiches in the middle of the night when we were still students back in Uni.

We made two types of sandwiches, tuna salad and peanut butter & banana. To make the tuna salad sandwiches, you would need a small can of tuna.

Chop up some cucumber into tiny pieces and add it to the tuna.

Add in some mayo and freshly cracked black pepper. Mix it all up. It's done!

Butter two slices of bread.

Place one slice of bread in the sandwich maker, buttered side facing down.

Scoop in some of the tuna salad.

Place another slice of bread on top of it, buttered side facing up.

Cover the sandwich maker and secure the little hook at the bottom to keep it close. Place it on the stove top on low heat. Flip it to the other side after about 3-4 minutes.

To make the peanut butter and banana sandwich, just spread a thick layer of peanut butter on one slice of bread.

Slice up some bananas and put it on top of the peanut butter. Butter both sides of the bread, place it in the sandwich maker and grill it just like the tuna salad sandwich.

Wanna see how it looks inside once it's done grilling? There you go! Nice and brown :D

It's really so yummy to eat. Both the tuna salad as well as the peanut butter & banana just oozes out the moment you cut it into half. Mmmm mmmm mmmmm....

What a lovely midnight snack! Grilled sandwiches..the ol skool way ;P

Simple Chicken Parmigiana

I went to the oral surgeon this morning to remove the stitches from my gums. He said that it looks like it's healing great and the pain will go away very very soon. Actually, since yesterday, there wasn't much pain anymore. I was able to eat a small piece of chicken (just cut it into tiny pieces :P) and some other solid food. Soooo, after I got back form the oral surgeon, I decided to start making regular food for dinner tonight. Something simple, fast and yummy!

This is my own version of Chicken Parmigiana. The first thing to do is to debone some chicken thighs. Just remove the bone and all the excess fats from the thigh.

Once you have done that, it should look like a flat large piece of chicken chop.

The next thing to do is to coat and marinade the chicken. I used my favorite thing ever...Shake N Bake! It's just to easy to use and yummy to eat (if there is no Shake N Bake available in your area, just mix some Italian breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste). Pour some Shake N Bake on a plate.

I know that the correct way to Shake N Bake is put the chicken pieces into a plastic bag, pour in some Shake N Bake and shake it around to coat the chicken pieces. That method works well with small pieces of chicken but not large ones like this. So, just pour it on a plate and coat the chicken well on both sides.

Pour some Marinara/Pasta Sauce into a baking dish. Make sure it covers the entire bottom of the dish.

Place the coated chicken thighs (skin side facing upwards) on the Marinara sauce.

Pour some Marinara sauce on top of each chicken thigh.

Put it in the oven at 400F for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Once it's cooked, remove it from the oven.

Put a slice of cheese on top of each chicken thigh. I used Swiss cheese but your can pretty much used any type of cheese. Mozzarella and Provolone taste pretty good too. Pop it back into the oven for about 8 minutes or until the cheese melts.

There you go! A very simple and yummy tray of Chicken Parmigiana.

I served the Chicken Parmigiana on top a bed of Butter & Herb Spaghetti. To make the spaghetti, just cook the spaghetti til al dente and toss it in butter and herbs. Quick and simple ;P

April Fools Day

When I was very much younger (during my primary and secondary school days), I used to love April Fools Day. My friends and I would plan elaborate tricks/jokes days before and wait eagerly for the day to come. These days, it's just another regular day for me. However, I did notice some pranks pulled by various bloggers and companies online. It ranged from downright stupid like what kennysia.com and cheeserland.com had in their blogs to some pretty interesting ones. Here are my top three favs for this years April Fools Day jokes.

I found it to be quite funny that Youtube had changed their format for the day and everything was turned upside down. I can just imagine some poor uncle or aunty trying to figure out what's wrong with their computer when they log in to see their daily dose of silly clips of the day or something like that. They might think that the Conficker worm had attacked their computer!! Haha :P

I also liked how they offered flights to Mars for only $99 per day on Expedia. When you carry on with the booking, it will lead you to a page that tells you that it's been fully booked until next year :P However, you can get a coupon code for $25 off a two night hotel stay that is valid until April 5, 2009. Not too bad, eh? I think you can rent hotel rooms on the Moon on Hotels.com.

My all time favorite prank this year is on Gmail. There is a big notice that they just launched a brand new CADIE technology that enables autopilot in your email box. It will scan every incoming mail and then send out a perfect reply. We can even customize the settings to the amount of emoticons and typos that we desire! It is so elaborate, they even have a Introducing CADIE page, Technical Specification page as well as CADIE's own blogspot homepage!!!

Ahh, so that wraps up my favorite online pranks for April Fools Day 2009. I hope everybody had a great day playing tricks on others and hopefully some of the tricks didn't go too far :P