Today I Learned... ChatGPT corrects me

I initially wanted to talk about discovering something about tap water... however, ChatGPT cross-referenced for me... and told me I might be wrong... here are the highlights of the conversation

The title of this blog will be changed from Today I Learned... Tap Water to Today I Learned ChatGPT corrects me.

Contrary to what people are saying... ChatGPT and other A.I.'s do correct us when we are wrong... 

Today I Learned: Pickles and Christmas

What is the significance of pickles and Christmas???

Today I learned the significance of pickles and Christmas

It is a quirky American tradition where a pickle ornament is hidden on the Christmas tree, and the first person to find it receives a reward or good luck for the coming year.

Who knew? :)

Today I Learned... green!

 

Today I learned that humans can see more shades of green than any other colour!

Today I Learned....? width of thumb

 Today I (sort of learned) that the width of your thumb is a rough approximation of an inch (mine's 3/4 inch 😊 )

Today I Learned... Toasters

 

Today, I "learned" that the dial on a toaster represents the number of minutes your toaster toasts your bread!

I quickly realized that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet—or rather, not all toasters are created equal. 😉

After reading that the numbers on a toaster supposedly represent the minutes, not the toast intensity, I decided to put mine to the test. Lo and behold! When I set my toaster to 3.5, it only ran for 2 minutes and 21 seconds. So much for precision! 😅

This proves we shouldn't blindly trust everything we read on the internet—clearly, not all toasters follow the "minute rule," so take it with a grain of salt and use it as a guideline rather than a hard fact!

Today I Learned... Pinecones

 

closed vs open pinecones

Today I learned the difference between open and closed pinecones.

By default, they are open, but when wet, they close to protect the seeds inside).

I picked up the opened ones (ones on the right) yesterday when it was bright and sunny, and the closed ones today, after a huge rainstorm. I was curious when I saw that they all closed today, and after an observation and a quick Google search (to confirm my observation), they close when it is wet and cold.

These pinecones have a mind of their own :O

Today I Learned... Sphynx cats

 

Today I learned that Sphynx cats originated in Canada?? More specifically Toronto... given our cold Canadian winters, I am surprised this cat survived here, much less, originated here :O :O :O

Today I Learned: Fried Chicken and Japanese Christmas

 

popeyes

Another delightful Popeyes fried chicken night! :) I'm not exactly adhering to the Japanese tradition of having fried chicken for Christmas—I simply crave it.

Have you ever wondered why the Japanese opt for fried chicken on Christmas? It turns out, they associate KFC's Colonel with Santa Claus! 🎅

Today I Learned: Garlic intensity

 

Today I Learned on Japanese TV, I learned a valuable culinary tip: how to control the intensity of garlic flavour in your dishes. On the chart they presented, the most intense garlic flavour which is positioned on the left, with the least intense on the right.

To see all the things I have learned on Japanese TV, please click and follow this label: http://cutiepiestephanie.blogspot.com/search/label/thingslearnedJapaneseTV

Today I learned: Croissants

these croissants are made from real butter

 

Today I Learned that different shapes of croissants mean they use other ingredients to make them.

If the croissant is in a crescent shape (like a crescent moon): they used margarine (plant-based, man-made butter) to make the croissant.

If the croissant is straight: they used real butter to make the croissant.

These are labelled correctly... the ones on the left are "straight" so they are butter, while the ones on the right are crescent shaped... and do not contain butter, but margarine.

Today I Learned: Chipotle

 

Today I Learned that Chipotle (pepper) is a smoked and dried Jalapeno (pepper) :O... who knew??? all this time I thought it was another pepper 🤦‍♀️ 

Today I Learned: how to prevent heat stroke

 

Happy Summer!! It is officially summer today!!

I wanted to share some things I learned on a Japanese TV program about preventing heat stroke.

Drink one sip of mugicha (麦茶 - むぎちゃ roasted barley tea) every 30 minutes. This will prevent your body from dehydrating

This also applies to comfortable, cool (AC-cooled) environments. Most people don't realize how important it is to keep the body hydrated and neglect this when they are in comfortable settings (e.g. cars, malls, and houses).

If your shirt is drenched in sweat, change into a dry one. A wet shirt will trap your body heat and cause heat stroke.

Eat Pork. If you have the choice of food, choose pork, pork contains Vitamin B1 and can prevent heat stroke.

That's all! Remember these tips, stay hydrated and enjoy summer! :)

To see all things I have learned on Japanese TV, please click and follow this label: http://cutiepiestephanie.blogspot.com/search/label/thingslearnedJapaneseTV

Today I Learned: warm yogurt aka sour milk

 

Today I learned the best way to eat yogurt (the best way = healthy way to get the best health benefits) is to heat up yogurt. The purpose of eating yogurt (from a healthy perspective) is to intake more Lactic Acid Bacteria (乳酸菌). Lactic Acid Bacteria (乳酸菌) is good for the intestines and creates an acidic environment aiding the growth and development of good bacteria.

The best and most convenient way to heat up yogurt is to put the yogurt into the microwave and heat it for 30 seconds. This will warm the yogurt up to about 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and become hot sour milk.

When you heat up yogurt, it changes the yogurt into a warm milky "soup" like texture. Some call this "sour milk". 

At 40 degrees Celsius, yogurt's Lactic Acid Bacteria (乳酸菌) count increases. You may add fruits and honey to this mixture to make it sweeter and enhance its nutritious value.

To see all things I have learned on Japanese TV, please click and follow this label: http://cutiepiestephanie.blogspot.com/search/label/thingslearnedJapaneseTV

Today I Learned: Chopped condiments and their benefits

Today I Learned that chopped garnishes/condiments can benefit us in different ways. These include keeping us warm, protecting our stomach, boosting our immune system, helping our blood vessels stay healthy and allowing us to lose weight.

Grated white radish, green onion pepper, and condiments to keep our bodies healthy.

Starting from the bottom and working out way up:

5. Grated white radish 大根おろし protects our stomach and intestines

4. Grated ginger　しょうが boosts our immune system's effectiveness

3. Grated garlic にんにくhelps our blood vessels stay healthy

2. Grated chilli pepper 唐辛子 helps our bodies burn off fat

1. Grated spring onion 長ねぎ helps keep our bodies warm

So next time you are looking for condiments, pay attention to these benefits!

To see all things I have learned on Japanese TV, please click and follow this label: http://cutiepiestephanie.blogspot.com/search/label/thingslearnedJapaneseTV

Today I Learned... Onion Rings

 

Today I Learned that Onion Rings are (surprise!) good for you. We can eat these greasy snacks in peace knowing that it does good for our bodies (yeah!) :D

According to a documentary on Japanese TV, onions, especially onion rings (which must be fried) are good for us as they help boost the immunity of our bodies. 

Onions contain a high amount of prebiotics and fibre. These improve the gut's health by aiding digestion, strengthening the immune system and lowering inflammation.

In addition, onions contain immune-boosting nutrients like selenium, sulphur compounds, zinc, and vitamin C. They are also one of the best sources of quercetin which is a potent flavonoid and antioxidant that has antiviral properties. 

So you can eat an onion... why must it be fried?

It must be fried (because that is one of the best ways to cook onion and NOT ONLY fried but it has to HAVE A BATTER e.g. tempura, onion rings... etc), during the frying process, the batter helps conceal the onion's nutrients within a "pocket" which creates a "steaming" effect allowing the onions to properly release nutrients (within the batter/shell) and help the body fully absorb all the nutrients and get all the benefits of an onion! :D

(Another way is to finely mince onions to break down their fibre and release their nutrients for the body to absorb). 

So next time you crave onion rings, there is no need to feel guilty... :D

To see all things I have learned on Japanese TV, please click and follow this label: http://cutiepiestephanie.blogspot.com/search/label/thingslearnedJapaneseTV

Today I Learned: Smoke

Today I Learned about the different colours of "smoke".

If it is black, it means it is still burning, if it is white, the flames have "gone out" and are no longer burning.

Black smoke does not give off a burning scent, only white smoke does (think, birthday candles).

Today I Learned: summer, the season of 通菜

 

青通菜

The summer season brings 通菜 (translates to hallow veggie...?). They are called water spinach in English. These are named hallow because the stem is hallow :) 

It is also known as 潺菜.

One of my food highlights of summer is being able to eat these hallow Water spinaches. They are only available from late June till early July of the Lunar calendar.

There are two types: 白骨通菜 (White Water Spinach) and 青通菜 (Green Water Spinach).

The White Water Spinach is grown in the water, also known as Water Lily. The Green Water Spinach is grown in soil, it is known as the early/Morning water lily.

The White Water Spinach has thicker stems and leaves and tastes crispier than the Green Water Spinach. The texture is smooth and rigid. However, farmers (and Chinese) recommend eating the White Water Spinach after the rain (the significant rainfall that happens in the middle of summer) because it is extra crispy and more flavourful.

My family opted for the Green Water Spinach because it is softer in texture.

Today I Learned: Vitamin C and the sun

 It is officially summer!

You might already know that Vitamin C skincare products cause your skin to be sensitive to the sun ☀️ 

But Today I Learned that even intaking Vitamin C (in tablet form or juices such as Orange juice, lemon juice, apple juices, etc) can also cause your skin to be sensitive to the sun!

So having that glass of OJ for breakfast isn't as good for you as we thought.

The reason your skin becomes sensitive to the sun is that Vitamin C contains Psoralen.

Psoralen causes your body/skin to take in more UV light making your skin vulnerable to the UV rays and making it "sensitive" to the sun.

To see all things I have learned on Japanese TV, please click and follow this label: http://cutiepiestephanie.blogspot.com/search/label/thingslearnedJapaneseTV

Today I learned: fried tofu and dementia

Today I Learned that Fried Tofu prevents Dementia!

First, here is a list of foods that can prevent dementia

• fried tofu
• lecithin
• vitamin E

One of the reasons that Fried tofu is better than regular tofu is that it is moist and can hold in more nutrients with its oily barrier.

But an important point is: when pan-frying Fried Tofu, there is no need to wash the fried tofu, if you do, you remove the nutrients, there is also no need to add oil, the oil on the fried tofu is sufficient to pan-fry it.

Here are some ways you can cook it

Stuffed Fried Tofu

1. slit the fried tofus so they are like little pouches.
2. put various mushrooms and cheese
3. sprinkled with salt and pepper.
4. panfry them (WITHOUT oil)
5. once the fried tofus are crispy, and the cheese has melted, they are ready to serve!

Fried Tofu Salad

You can add Fried tofu to any Japanese-style Salad.

Fried Tofu Nabe (hot pot)

Slice Raddish, carrots and Burdock (牛蒡) and put them in a hot pot

Add soy sauce, bonito flakes (or some kind of Japanese dashi) and water

Then when it boils, add the fried tofu

To see all things I have learned on Japanese TV, please click and follow this label: http://cutiepiestephanie.blogspot.com/search/label/thingslearnedJapaneseTV

Today I Learned: Black Fungus

This is part two from yesterday's post where I said I will talk about the methods they use to prepare 黒菌, 黑木耳, Wood Ear, Black Fungus.

Tempura

one of the benefits of tempura is that the oil preserves the Vitamin D in the fungus.

Egg and Black Fungus

Eggs help the extract the Vitamin D from the Black Fungus into your body, so it will be good to eat them together

Cook with Rice

You can add black fungus as you are cooking rice in a rice cooker, this method helps retain the Vitamin D in the Black Fungus because the rice will absorb the essence of the Black Fungus.

Miso Soup

You can add Black Fungus to Miso soup. Boil it first, then add green onion and then miso paste.

Natto

You can try adding Black Fungus when you are eating natto, this can increase your immunity by 70%.

To see all things I have learned on Japanese TV, please click and follow this label: http://cutiepiestephanie.blogspot.com/search/label/thingslearnedJapaneseTV