Happy New Year Everyone!
It has been a crazy 2021 (both personally and for my career- but in a good way), much has been accomplished over a continued year of uncertainty, pivoting and reinvention. And a lot has to do with being flexible, having a can-do attitude and above all, a dose of optimism. #entrepreneur #myownboss
From being featured on Fête Chinoise, a cultural platform that aims to empower individuals to deepen the connection between identity and Chinese culture, to raising funds for food insecurity in my online Cook For A Cause series, teaching cooking classes virtually with youths, to bringing awareness on Anti-Asian racism issues during its height and celebrating Asian heritage month of May in after school online events, producing healthy demo cooking videos for The Neighbourhood Table (to support food security in Etobicoke coupled with Food Share produce boxes) and for Michael Garron Hospital in conjuction with the Healthy Together program for young families, conducting a Health and Wellness Chinese cooking class over lunch at Nestle Toronto's head office and catering family meals (for 3 full days) for a friend who was sick, it sure has been a year of helping, contributing and supporting in the names of culture, friendship and community.
Last but not least, certainly THE highlight of my Asian culture contribution of 2021- some people get a covid pet but I got a covid cookbook, started and launched in 6 months- a remarkable feat! I even went on my first ever Instagram Live to promote my book and hot pot 🥘♨️. Here is a gallery to recap the latter part of an Amazing year!
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| The cherry on top of a fun Kimjang event in November. |
Peek A Boo... I see you! Talk about nappa cabbage mountain ⛰- 300 pounds of it for kimchi-making #kimjang #koreantradition
So thrilled to be participating again in this important time-honoured tradition in Korea 🇰🇷- Kimjang of making and sharing kimchi (recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013) reminding Korean communities to live in harmony with nature. This celebrative time in Korea is also a symbol of powerful compassion of giving and community- paying it forward with kimchi for the poor and destitute!
It was so Amazing reconnecting and meeting new food-loving friends/chefs at my friend and organizer Susu Han's place (chef, entrepreneur, Korean cooking instructor at GB and food educator) on Day 2 of the kimchi process. The day before was salting and brining. This day, all day vegetable and seasoning prep before marinating the cabbage to ferment for weeks!
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| Cooking with Susu, Susan, Janet, Joanne, Joey, Ngoc and Ema. |
It was an honour talking about my new hot pot book #hotpotcookbookforbeginners with @carolharrison.rd on an IG Live @sparkrds- A nutrition communications platform for Dieticians. We covered broths, Chinese Chinkiang black vinegar as a trendy vinegar to have in your pantry and the communal aspect of hot pot cooking. The 20 min. session with the full video is available on IG @sparkrds 🥘♨️
I can't thank my friends and family enough for their incredible support and feedback 📖💞! We were out of stock the first day after launch (November 30th) on Amazon.ca due to preorders but it was back in business in time for the holidays🎁😉! Also available on Chapters-Indigo.
Here are a few review highlights on Amazon.com
Friends, keep those pics coming in including your family hot pot renditions 🥘♨️!
In other projects, here was a look at the first of a new series of cooking demo videos in collaboration with Child/Maternal and Diabetes Departments @michaelgarronhospital.
"Hi there, my name is Susan Ng. I am a Chef, Food Educator, Cooking Instructor and a mom to 3 boys.
I will be sharing with you material and learnings from Healthy Together. Healthy Together is an innovative and unique family education program that brings together families to learn to make healthier choices and build healthier relationships.
Today, we will cover Breakfast and Better-for-you drinks. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We will look at some healthy food ideas and tips to start your family's day off right. We will make crunchy fruit and nut granola, yogurt parfait and breakfast burrito. For drinks, we will look at some simple healthy choices you can make that are delicious and reduce buying sugary prepared drinks on the market such as smoothies and real fruit-infused water!"🍌🍓🥝🍎🥚🍳🌯🥥🥛
"Hi there, my name is Susan Ng. I am a Chef, Food Educator, Cooking Instructor and a mom to 3 boys.
I will be sharing with you material and learnings from Healthy Together. Healthy Together is an innovative and unique family education program that brings together families to learn to make healthier choices and build healthier relationships.
Today, we will cover Breakfast and Better-for-you drinks. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We will look at some healthy food ideas and tips to start your family's day off right. We will make crunchy fruit and nut granola, yogurt parfait and breakfast burrito. For drinks, we will look at some simple healthy choices you can make that are delicious and reduce buying sugary prepared drinks on the market such as smoothies and real fruit-infused water!"🍌🍓🥝🍎🥚🍳🌯🥥🥛
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| Homemade granola and yogurt parfait |
I even starred my 12 and 9 year olds 👨🍳👨🍳💗 in a Cook With Kids theme to cap off my series of Healthy Together demo cooking videos to help families eat better and to build healthier relationships.
"Today, we will talk about cooking with kids. What are some helpful strategies and tips, look at kitchen tasks by age, and get in the kitchen with my kids to make tacos and banana blueberry muffins.
Cooking together with your family is one of the most important factors to healthy eating. Making the change from cooking for your kids to cooking with your kids can feel like a leap but it's all about taking one small step at a time. Gradually your kids will be more proficient, independent, their confidence will grow and you will reap the rewards of building a stronger family connection and eating more healthily just by cooking together. Of course, it's easier and less messy if you just do it yourself, but if you allow your children to take part in some of the preparations, you will give them a sense of ownership and pride in the final results. And it can be a superb way to motivate fussy eaters to try new tastes and gain confidence with a variety of foods."
"Today, we will talk about cooking with kids. What are some helpful strategies and tips, look at kitchen tasks by age, and get in the kitchen with my kids to make tacos and banana blueberry muffins.
Cooking together with your family is one of the most important factors to healthy eating. Making the change from cooking for your kids to cooking with your kids can feel like a leap but it's all about taking one small step at a time. Gradually your kids will be more proficient, independent, their confidence will grow and you will reap the rewards of building a stronger family connection and eating more healthily just by cooking together. Of course, it's easier and less messy if you just do it yourself, but if you allow your children to take part in some of the preparations, you will give them a sense of ownership and pride in the final results. And it can be a superb way to motivate fussy eaters to try new tastes and gain confidence with a variety of foods."
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| Banana Blueberry Muffins |
I had the great honour to collaborate with my previous colleague from our time in Kraft Kitchens- the lovely Cayla Runka, RD who leads the Corporate Wellness role and nutrition team at Toronto's Nestle Head Office as Nutrition Director.
To keep their staff healthy and well, they run several wellness months throughout the year to keep things top of mind. For Oct/Nov, they ran a Cultural Food month to support diversity and inclusion at work but also to celebrate multicultural month. I had the opportunity to showcase my heritage through Cantonese Cuisine in a lunch time virtual cooking class with Cantonese Chow Mein 🤗🥘🥢.
Awww 😍 *** Repost by Jennifer Uy @riceflower888🌹***
But I was incredibly tired. My son caught an awful cold. Dishes piled up. Food prep chaos. Clean ups. Lunch box packing. I couldn’t drive for groceries. Take out didn’t have the balanced meals we needed. Etc etc
Susan more than came through and offered to help. She’s given me this week’s food so I can focus on other things including rest. She’s taken a load off my mind and I’m so grateful.
She not only prepared all this but delivered it to my home. Knowing I don’t have access to my car. The following weeks I won’t be as spoiled as she has other engagements but she’s given me some resources I can follow up on.
She gave me the best gift - peace of mind. Thank you so much 💖🙏🏼
Taiwanese braised pork with egg and ginger
Pang Pang Chicken chicken noodle
Korean chap chae
Greek quinoa salad
Poached salmon with lemon and dill
TCM health soup- Pork Cole Soup
As I mentioned in my last post, I will be teaching an online Food Business program to newcomer women in my new role as IRCC 'Willing To Work' Project Coordinator at Newcomer Kitchens. Beginning next week, I am excited to e-meet my group of ladies comprising of 7 from Yemen, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and China, and work with them over 12 weeks!
Let the new challenge and new learnings begin... Stay Tuned!
