People Along the Way

What's for Dinner?

So right now it is pepper drying season. Peppers are laid out on the ground and hanging from strings out windows all over the entire city. This is very important because believe me, these people like their food to have some kick to it. It could be worse, there are other places with even more spice, I have almost gotten used to it.

Another important product of the region I live in that is about to be in season is pomegranates. Yup- you can buy a glass of fresh squeezed at the market if you like it sour, I prefer the kind you can buy in the stores here that has a little bit of sugar. All year round every where you turn in town you can find dried fruit and nut sellers. We have 70 different kind of grapes- yeah- 70- seems a bit excessive for my taste!

And believe it or not there are pecans though I haven't tasted them. The nuts here are expensive so I don't often buy them. The fruit is wonderful especially the grapes which my region is famous for and in the boxes there is a type of peach that is shaped like a doughnut with no hole. They are also good.Pineapple anyone? On a stick or freshly cut for you to take home.Steamed corn is a popular street snack.

This is where the food starts to get good. This is Nan Pizza, a specialty of the foreigners here. There is a local bread that is perfect for already cooked pizza crust. You just add some sauce, cheese and whatever toppings you want and pop it in the oven for a few minutes. This is a popular minority noodle dish...

You pour the meat and veggie sauce from the bowl on top, mix, and dig in with your chopsticks. This is the same minorities rice dish- it has lamb and orange and yellow carrots in it. Yup we have yellow carrots, kind of crazy.

This is an Asian birthday cake they look nice enough on the outside but I must warn you that they have hardly any sugar in them and sometimes the frosting includes green bean or tea flavors and there are often unidentifiable chunks inside the cake! Make a wish! Now on to some other strange things that get placed before you when you sit down to eat with locals. This is some kind of meat pie in the front with a spicy cold noodle dish behind it. Not too awful but not what I would order.

Oh in the bottom left corner above- the clear/white looking noodles- that is some kind of cold jelly or tofu noodle with really spicy sauce. I have never managed more than a single bite. Ugh!


This is a semi-spicy meat and onion dish with little pieces of bread to wrap around it.

Below we have more spicy indescribable noodles- they make noodle shapes out of everything rice, egg, wheat, tofu, potato, bean...

The green stuff behind it is bokchoi which I often eat to try and avoid other unpleasant dishes on the table but really it's a green veggie with no flavor that involves a lot of chewing.

This I have not eaten but I thought it was a creative way to cook fish and definitely picture worthy!

This is the more common fish dish. I am not a big fish fan but it really tastes pretty good if you can pick around the bones. The other dish is black and white fungus with cucumbers. I am not a big fan of mushrooms but silver ones which are a type of white fungus are really good.

This is a good food to grab if you are on the go. Inside the bread is often lamb and pumpkin.Everything can be sliced, stir fired, and covered with spice.

Now we are moving on to my favorites... stir fried green beans, stir fried seasoned carrots and beef, and tomato and egg cooked together. All ready to go on a bowl of white rice. Oh and the brown and white swirly thing is a type of bread that again doesn't have much flavor or fluff but is filling and cheap.
Here we have sizzling plate of chicken white has meat, peppers, onions, and carrots- my absolute favorite. Tomato and eggs again, green beans cut and stir fried, and sweet and sour chicken- much better than back home, trust me. Oh and the white roll of crepe paper on the table- that's the napkins- no joke.

Cauliflower with tomato, peppers, and seasonings which I have learned how to cook is another favorite.

Here we have Beijing Duck- you either like it or you don't- I don't! Here a specially trained chef cuts the meat off the duck. This food was originally only for the Emperor but now everyone can have a taste.

The duck gets sliced to where every piece has skin, fat, and meat on it.

You are suppose to take the meat along with plum sauce and onions and wrap it up in these thin dough wrappers. Then it's ready to eat.

Last but not least.... the tortilla family.

Outside the gate of my university there is a little vendor family that makes tortillas. The mother or sister rolls out the dough...

...and the dad or brother cook them. Unless we request them plain they crack an egg mixed with green onions on one side of the tortilla and fry the egg and tortilla together. It makes a great breakfast or late night snack.

You can see the skillet part up top for them to cook and then for an extra touch he puts them below near the fire. They are so good and only 20 cents each!

Doughnuts

There are several things I miss from home especially in the area of food! One of those things is doughnuts. My friends and I found a recipe and decided that we would make our own one night. In fact we turned it in to a cooking party and while waiting for the dough to rise watched episodes of Top Chef from the States! It was a fun time- check it out.

Here we are adding the ingredients and mixing them together.

Here I am kneading the dough- an art degree has to be good for some type of skill right?

We improvised and used a plastic cup to cut out the doughnuts...

...and we used a bottle cap to cut out the doughnut holes!

Not too bad for our first time and living in the middle of know where Asia!

Then we filled a wok up with oil and dropped the doughnuts in.

It was really easy, you just wait until they turn brown, flip them and wait again, then take them out with tongs and let them cool.

While they are still hot we put glaze or cinnamon and sugar on them.

YUMMMMM!!!!!

If you have ever watched Top Chef then you will enjoy the video clips of us recreating our own 'Quick Fire Challenge'!

Here is the recipe if anyone would like to try and make some of their own!

Combine and soften:
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 cup warm water
¼ cup sugar
Add:
1 egg
¼ cup margarine
3-31/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Mix well. Knead until smooth and pliable, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl. Turn once to bring greased side up. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise 1 ½ hours or until double in bulk. Roll out on floured surface to ½ in. Cut out. Let rise uncovered, on floured surface for 40 minutes or until double. Fry in deep hot fat, 400F(205 C). Turn when first side is golden brown. Drain.
Makes 1 dozen doughnuts

Glaze
Combine:
1/3 -1/2 cup hot water or evaporated milk
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dip or brush the glaze on the doughnuts

My Roommate

Many of you know that I am not a big fan of living alone. I don't necessarily need a person to live with me, anything that breathes is good! To help with this my friends here got me turtles for my birthday. Now I only have one turtle because the other one died but this one is entertaining enough all on his own. I would like you to meet Joe.

Joe is a baby red ear slider turtle. In the US turtles this small are illegal but in Asia they are a dime a dozen out of a little bowl on the street. Yep- he was bought from some woman on the street and cost around $1! This should give you an idea of how small Joe is. Here he is next to a regular size Tootsie Roll!

Joe lives in a bowl that sits on my night stand or end table.

He likes to bask on the rocks that are above his cave.

He also does some turtle yoga in the evenings!

This is him in his house before we made him a cave in his bowl.

Sometimes if Joe has been good we let him run around on the floor! He is tiny so watch out!