Huri and Matt

Traveling and Food

Posted on June 1, 2019 by Blog 0

I have traveled quite a lot, and I’ve discovered what I enjoy from the places that I’ve traveled to. Now, I know what I am looking for when I travel. For example, I love places where you can see cultural touches and traditions. This makes me realize there is so much more out there and I have so many things to learn and explore. It is a great feeling to see and learn about new countries and cities just by walking through the streets.

For me food is very important. It is the way to get to know the people and life style. In the USA, you can see long lines in the restaurants for take-out. There are so many fast food restaurants. Even though not all, many people who live in the USA just want to have a quick meal and do not want to cook and clean. You can also see that cooking has a different meaning in the USA.  For many people, cooking means microwaving a frozen ready dish.

In contrast, Asian countries the food culture is totally different. I will talk about China since I lived there for almost 2 years. China is a country with traditions, unique language, lifestyle, and a long history. It is a country where food plays a huge role in life. Authentic Chinese food has a unique taste and variety of ingredients.  Also eating is a hobby there, at least for so many of them. It is not just having a meal, but it is a family get together, having a conversation with family and friends, and of course drinking happily. Sometimes these dinners may take up to 4-5 hours.

I remember the first lunch I was invited to in China. We went to a Hot Pot lunch. At that time, I did not know what hot pot means. It was a middle-class, small restaurant. They brought a big pan and inside it had spicy soup with a big fish. They placed the pan in the center of the table, where there was a hot surface so that we could experience the cooking. There was an area that you could pick the vegetables that you prefer to cook with the fish. I liked it and it took me 1 hour to enjoy the meal. I tried some vegetables that I knew and tried some new ones. I looked at my watch and I realized that we were there for almost 2 hours.  My friends were still eating and bringing more vegetables to the table. I was shocked to see that they could still eat because they look so fit and could eat twice as much. I could not leave the lunch until everyone was done, because we were sharing the bill and I did not mean to be rude. Also, I was so worried about the bill but later on I found out that this would be one of the cheapest meals I had in China.

It was one of the unique experiences I had. Who knew that this lunch would introduce me to one of my favorite meals! At that time, I was not aware, but it did not take me long to try another hot pot meal. This meal is one of the reasons why I always try to experience local cuisine when visiting new places.

How to Make Chinese Hot Pot

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Blog 0

The Hot Pot is the most Authentic food I have ever tried and became addicted. I love most of the Asian dishes, but the Hot Pot is a magical food for me. It is a big meal, which you can eat several hours, and chat with close friends and families. Living in China widen my food culture and changed me forever now i cannot imagine life without Hotpot and Sichuan spicy dishes.

I would like to share with you a homemade hotpot recipe.

What we need
An electric oven, and if possible divided pan (especially if you prefer spicy and not spicy soup base)
Hot Pot Spice Soup Base
*2 tablespoon oil
*6 slices ginger
*10 cloves garlic
* 5-star anise
*1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
*Dried red chilies as many as you wish
*1 package spicy hot pot soup base
*Bone or Chicken Broth or just water
*Coconut milk if you like Thai style (we added on one section)

Dipping sauce:
Sesame paste (we sometimes just drink the soup)
Chopped cilantro
Chopped garlic

To eat with your hot pot:
Thinly shaved beef, lamb, shrimp meat and meatballs
Tofu sheets and slices of firm tofu
Soy puffs (fried tofu puffs)
Straw mushrooms
Shiitake mushrooms
Wood ear mushrooms
Noodles
Chinese rice cakes
Bok choy
Any kind of potatoes
Napa cabbage
And my favorite vegetable lotus root

To prepare the soup base; first, we will fry 2 to 5 min the ginger, cloves garlic, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, dried red chilies as many as you wish. The second step is to add these items on our broth with the hot pot spicy sauce and coconut cream. Then place your soup on the oven at the table, and add desired veritable or meat. In China mostly meat is served first but for us, we start with  the tofu and mushroom and continue cooking other ingredients we wish.

Why are American parking lots filled with loose shopping carts?

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Blog 0

I do not know if is it the same for other countries too, but in America shoppers always leave the shopping cart at the parking lot, instead of returning them to the dedicated location in the parking lot or take them back to the shopping center.

I am sure most Americans know what I am talking about. If you are not from here or can’t picture it; here are some examples I took yesterday.

It is the same almost everywhere, at Walmart, Kroger, T.J. Maxx, Target, Hobby Lobby.

It is hard to understand the reason behind it.  Some reasons my husband and I came up with;

– People are lazy

– People think there is a paid person, whose job it is to collect carts from the parking lot

– They may think they do a favor for other shoppers by leaving the carts to close to their cars

– They want to harm other people’s cars or give extra work to the people who work at the shopping center

Aldi has a good solution to this problem. If you need a shopping cart, you can borrow with 25 cents, and you can take your money back when you return it. I must admit it does not solve the problem because you still see carts next to cars in the parking lot.

The only thing that can fix this is to educate people and make them aware that a disabled person may not park his / her car because someone left a cart there. These carts can damage parked cars. And show respect for  people who have to collect carts from all around the parking lot, in the cold.

I invite everyone to pay extra attention and never leave their cart at the parking lot,and if any of your friends, relatives do it then please warn them and set an example by taking the time to return carts if they can’t be bothered. It may seem like a small action, but let’s all try to leave the environment better than we find.

Having respect for others and the environment around us is truly how we make ‘America Great Again’

 

 

 

 

 

How we met

Posted on February 17, 2019 by I believe in Magic 0

After a 2016 filled with travel, Matt’s last work assignment of a 10 week stint was to Rogersville, Tennessee. He had been invited by Yeliz (who would turn out to become his future sister in-law) who was program manager for a new project to be launched in the Rogersville plant. Having worked with Yeliz on a couple of topics with

Think Twice Before You Shop at Macy’s Department Store (Macy’s Twelve Oaks) 

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Shopping 1

Having lived in the USA for the past four years, I never thought that there would be a store which does not take responsibility the product they sell. Yesterday, I was surprised to find one!

Less than two months ago I bought Under Armour running pants for my husband and, after one wear, it pilled.

We went to Macy’s and wanted to return the pants. We showed them the receipt and explained the situation. The first manager told us that, because the clothes were worn, they could not  be returned, and all returned products must be saleable. I assumed the person to whom I was talking was new at her job and did not know how to handle returns.

I wanted to talk with another manager and that lady, called Angie, said the same thing. They even suggested that we were lying to them, and had worn and washed the pants multiple times.

I asked to speak to another manager. The last manager (her name was Astride) also very rudely told us that they would not accept any product if it did not have a tag on it and if it was not resalable.

I was shocked, that the store, where I bought an item, was not prepared to return or replace an obviously defective product. I was not asking them to resell the product, I wanted to return it to Under Armour, investigate the situation and call me back. However, they said it is my responsibility to talk to the manufacturer on this matter.

Feeling that I was not getting anywhere, I did not want to waste another minute of my Friday night arguing and left the store with an empty and unhappy feeling.

It is true that, when you look at the back of their receipts it says ‘ Macy’s merchandise may be returned for up to 180 days, with certain exceptions. All returned merchandise must be in saleable condition. But this apparently absolves Macy’s of all responsibility, when they sell a product with questionable quality.

I will send an e-mail to Macy’s customer services again, but I do not think I will ever buy another item from there.

I am just warning, please think twice when you shop at Macy’s you will be on your own when the product they sell is not fit for purpose, and definitely do not remove the tag until you are sure you are happy with the product…

Our First New Year

Posted on April 15, 2018 by I believe in Magic 1

During the last hours of 2016 (the year we met) Huri tried to teach me a little more Turkish, in particular how to wish someone Happy New Year in her language. The result was a set of awkward but sweet (at least that’s what she told me) videos where I fumble through the different sentences 🙂

Little did we know these videos would have quite the effect on her little nephew Atilakaan.

Congratulations Huri and Matt!

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Blog 1

Our lovely sister and our best friend Matt! Wishing you lots of joy and happiness on this very special day and for the rest of your lives together! We love you guys sooo much.7th of April 2018 is a very special day for all of us!!

This website is our first gift to the lovely couple 🙂

Yeliz&Kaan

About Me

Namaste and Laugh: There’s No Shame in the Fall

I’m a Project Manager with a deep passion for both professional and personal growth. Designing and building the next generation of vehicles is incredibly rewarding, but it comes with its challenges—especially for someone as emotionally invested as I am!

Professional

Huri Bagdat Larner, PMP, CQE