Jiao Zi Just Like Mom Used to Make

This past weekend we took a little trip back to Kansas City and I had an opportunity to do some cooking with my Mom. We decided to give Jiao Zi (Chinese Dumplings, pot stickers, etc.) a try. Having had some initial training while living in Beijing I was optimistic that we could come out victorious in this challenge! We decided to go with the traditional mixture of pork and leek filling. As it turned out they were not too bad for a first attempt and we now have a pretty good idea of what will be improved on for the next time!



Here's a couple of shots of camera shy Mom rolling out and filling one of the wrappers



One of the steps involved in the process

Showing off the stuffed jiao zi prior to cooking. Not the prettiest ever made, but edible!


One of the side dishes, Sichuan style cabbage and glass noodles. The other side (not pictured) was Sichuan style green beans! Yum!








The rest of the weekend was spent clowning around with our grandson and meeting up with some old friends.

Of course I couldn't resist trying this on!

One of my old track and cross-country team mates (John) who has been managing Ponak's (our favorite Mexican restaurant)for nearly 20 years now! If you're in the KC area stop by Ponak's and say hey to John for me!


One of the guy's (Darrell) that I used to run around with from our old neighborhood. It was fun remembering stories and people we grew up with while talking with both of these good friends!







It was a short trip, but it was good to get back to KC even for just a couple of days!

Why Do I Own a Camera?

About a week ago we celebrated the anniversary of our first date, on St. Patrick's Day! This year we decided to celebrate by making our own corned beef from scratch and it turned out great, but did I take any pictures? No!

This past Friday evening Lightnin prepped 2 different types of ribs, Orange ribs and Root beer ribs (using a local KC brand root beer courtesy of my Christmas present from Bro J). Again they both came out fantastic, but did I take any pictures? No!

This last Saturday it was an absolutely beautiful day so we met up with two other couples with motorcycles and rode, pretty much all day. It was a very scenic route and we even took the camera with us, but did we take it out and grab photos from the road? Again the answer is NO!

So my question to myself at this point is: Why do I own a camera?

Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll try to answer that question!

Seen in Beijing...

Lightnin here...just a few of the things we saw in Beijing. I"m pretty sure they are self explanatory! You may have to click on one of the bumper stickers to be able to read it. It's also my favorite!



















And yes this was in China too!

The Hutongs of Hou Hai

I snapped these few pictures of the hutongs as we walked through them on our way to the Black Sesame Kitchen. These are the most traditional style of housing in and around Beijing. They are not only shops and restaurants, but the owners typically live here too!






















I think that's about it for this last trip to Beijing so I hope you enjoyed it!


It looks like the weather is finally turning for the better here so pretty soon you'll see some pictures from the road as we tour around on the bike!

Cooking School at Hou Hai

I had the pleasure of attending a dinner at the Black Sesame Kitchen in Hou Hai, a suburb of Beijing, with a couple of our friends. Unfortunately Lightnin was ill and was not able to go with us on this adventure!

The Black Sesame Kitchen is not just a place to eat dinner, but they also teach cooking classes on Chinese cuisine. It's a tiny place located in the hutongs (back ally's) of Hou Hai and you sit sort of family style with friends and strangers depending upon how many people you have in your group.

This is a picture of Michelle and Sissy, in the forground, the managers of the restaurant and school. Although it's not exactly a flattering picture of Sissy

The menu for that night

Me posing with the head chef

The head chef showing the proper technique for cooking Jiao Zi (pot stickers) to Sissy and one of the assistant chefs

Pan full of Jiao Zi

Beer braised duck and sitr fried shitaki mushrooms and vegetables

The conversation was so lively at our table that nobody else even noticed this picture being taken

Possibly one of the strangest textured foods: Black Sesame sticky rice balls










The food was fantastic, as well as the atmosphere, but the most fun part was being able to watch and interact with the chef and staff while they were preparing the meal!

I should also mention that I have in my possession an autographed copy of the book "Serve The People" whose author, Jen Lin-Liu, is the founder of the restaurant. The book not only gives you recipes and instructions for cooking Chinese, but stories that provide an insight/understanding about life in China.

A Snowy Evening in Beijing

Sorry to bounce around a little bit, but the Saturday evening after we first arrived it snowed about an inch. We had decided to meet our friend Aaron and head over to Tim's Texas BBQ to see some of our old friends there.

Here's a photo of Lightnin, although you can barely see her

A shot of Lightnin and our friend Aaron, you can see the flash reflecting off the snow flakes!

Both photos were taken in the plaza area of a shopping center called "The Place"







We had a fun time dining, drinking Tsing Tao and/or Tiger, and singing!

The Paulaner Brau Haus

Still covering the trip back to Beijing we'll move on to the day before we left to return to the US.

After completing all of our souvenir shopping in the morning we decided to head back to the room, drop all of our purchases, and walk down the street to the Paulaner Brau Haus to get our fill of good German food and beer before returning to the room to pack.

They start you off with a basket of whole grain bread and pretzels, along with a variety of spreads: schmaltz, liverwurst, and butter







Then came the main course, which we split, a selection of sausage with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut











They also have a good selection of beers, but I stayed with my favorite the dunkle (pictured in the top photo).

Even though this was from the tail end of the trip I've still got a few more pictures and stories to share.