Easy Orange Chicken

One of my favorite Asian cuisines have always been orange chicken. I learned this easy recipe two years ago and never forgot it. Most of the time comes from preparing the chicken. I recommend using boneless chicken for ease.

Orange Chicken

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast

1 jar Orange Marmalade

1 packet of Onion Soup (like Lipton)

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Oil for Frying

1.) Cut the boneless chicken in pieces and dust it in a mixture of flour, salt, and pepper.

2.) Warm vegetable oil on medium heat and dip chicken in oil to fry.

3.) When the chicken reaches a golden brown, remove the pieces from oil and set aside.

4.) In another large pan, mix orange marmalade with a dry packet of onion soup mix. Stir under heat until the orange marmalade/onion mix becomes a liquid form.

5.) Stir the chicken in the orange marmalade/onion mix slowly for even distribution.

Enjoy!

Feel the Music!

Lately I have been trying to practice musicality during belly dance practices. It seems so beautiful when dancers are involved in the music. This has become a goal of mine. It's like they are playing the instruments themselves. In the Dance Spirit article, "Musicality Matters: How To Become a Musical Dancer" , Wade Robson described the meaning of musicality. "Musicality is understanding music on a technical level, and then dropping all of that knowledge so you can sit deep inside the music.” In practices, I tried to think less of what moves I should do next. When I didn't focus on how I performed and how I should execute moves, I was able to enjoy the music.

There’s one technique mentioned in the article by Robson that really helps me:

Find a song you like and listen to it as you normally would. “Just take it in,” Robson says. Then play it again, but listen only to the drum. Block out every other sound and follow the drum through the entire piece. Does it change? Does it stay the same? Play the song a third time, focusing on another instrument, like the piano. Repeat this exercise until you’ve followed every instrument in the song. “You might have to listen 20 times, depending on the complexity of the song,” Robson says. “The last time you listen, take in the whole song again. You’ll be able to hear both the instruments individually and the tune as a whole. And you’ll be able to freestyle and dance to rhythms you never heard before. It will change your life as a dancer.”

By listening to a song repeatedly, the memory of the melody becomes familiar. Sometimes a song I've known for years would suddenly sound different as if I listened to it for the first time. It made dancing feel easier and more enjoyable. I highly recommend this article. It has plenty of valuable tips for dancers of all styles. By learning musicality, it could help me become a better dancer. In order to help me understand music better, I created a playlist for each mood of music.

1.) Smooth Moves ( Slow music, instrumentals, nonrhythmic taqsims and other music)

2.) Veil (The same as above but with more drums)

3.) Hip Pops (Drum solos, Upbeat Tribal Fusion music)

4.) Belly Hops (Turkish, La Caravane Passe, Energetic music, zills)

The last two titles were funny at the time...

Reconstructed Crop Top (Tutorial)

I am in dire need of more costume pieces, so I looked in the closet for reconstruction projects. Making costumes from scratch have always been overwhelming for me so recreating clothes is the next best option. The blouse I chose was very familiar with belly dancing because it was the shirt I wore on the opening night of Lady Morrighan's BellyRoom in Hammond. What a coincidence!

This is the shirt I chose for my project:

All is needed is a blouse, a pair of scissors, a sewing machine (or needle and thread), straight pins, safety pins, and elastic.

1.) Try on the blouse and measure how high you want to cut. Keep in mind to leave room for threading in the elastic.

2.) Fold the edge of the blouse wide enough for the elastic and straight pin the seams. Do not place the elastic in yet. Use the sewing machine or hand sew.

3.) After you finish sewing the edges, make a small, delicate, slit inside the middle back seam like this:

4.) Stick a safety pin inside the elastic and thread it through the slit. In order to make sure the amount of elastic used is comfortable, connect the safety pin to the other side of the elastic and try on the blouse. After you find the appropriate amount of elastic to use, cut and sew it together.

VOILA!

Stir-fry #1

For my first attempt at stir-fry, I used these ingredients:

Above: Zucchini, onion, frozen vegetables, mince garlic (not included: soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and vegetable oil)

After slicing the zucchini and dicing the onion, I placed the onions (and garlic) into a wok with vegetable oil to saute on medium heat.

QUICK AUDIBLE! At the last minute, I decided to try a new bottle of dried diced garlic I bought from Big Lots. You can use bottled (as seen in the first picture), fresh, or dried garlic if you wish, but it does effect the order you place the ingredients in the wok.

As the diced onions and garlic begin to turn light brown, place the zucchini and frozen vegetables in the wok and cover.

Add soy or Worcestershire sauce if you wish. Let it cook down for 10-15 minutes and you will have this:

Enjoy!

Stir-Fry Challenge

Lately, I have filled myself with junk food, sugar, and starch. If you listen closely, you can hear your body asking for attention. My body is begging for mercy.
This has resulted in a short junk food break. When I mean short, I mean until I feel "up to par." I restocked the fridge with much needed vegetables at an affordable price for stir frying. Some vegetables were freshly grown, some were frozen and packaged. I long for home-grown produce, but I needed something for lunch that's not high in starch for a week...

Below: (6) Bags of Frozen Vegetables, (3) Zucchinis, (3) Cucumbers, and (5) Tomatoes

Thai Cucumber Salad!

A couple of friends and I went to a lovely Thai restaurant the other day to eat before our Beats Antique trip. My first visit to the restaurant was vague, so it was an eye-opener when trying the appetizer, the Thai Cucumber Salad. The cucumbers were filled with a delicious sweet and spicy flavor that was so unusual to me, I just had to attempt the dish at home. I found this recipe from B's Cucumber Page labeled under Thai Cucumber Salads and Relishes. Although I alternated the sliced red peppers and red onions with red pepper flakes and yellow onions (and let's not forget a favorite of mind, garlic), it came out relatively close to the Thai restaurant's dish. I do intend to prepare the salad again with the original instructions in the future.

Renaissance Festival!

The Renaissance Festival has wrapped up and I've came back with memories and a new completed top!

Before

After (The young lady on the left is a fellow troupe dancer, Lady Bonnie.)