tesibria

In re: cooking adventures

Jeff and I are celebrating our Thanksgiving a day early here (two days early US time) – tonight, since he has all day work meetings AND a dinner (?!) on Thursday and we’re taking the train to Nanjing on Friday for the weekend, so wouldn’t be here to eat the leftovers if we had dinner on Thursday anyway.  I’ve been cooking up a mess for two days.  It’s quite … “fun” … since my oven is in Celsius (and can only set in 5 degree increments) – which never match up to 300, 325, 350 or any other “US” standard recipe temp.  SO I either go up a notch or cook less time, or down a notch and cook more time. 

Anyway, I have, as is my nature, gone a bit overboard on the menu.  Which –after yesterday’s adventures may actually be a good thing as my edible results average isn’t that great (except in baseball.  If cooking were like baseball, I’d be a star, as I rather consistently have a close-to 500 batting average….)

So, yesterday, I premade the following

All-Purpose Gravy:  I made this almost exactly per recipe (except less than half of the beef broth called for), and it’s the one thing that seemed to turn out “correctly.  It’s delicious.

Crispy Onions – for the Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions:  I picked this recipe because – well, I love Smitten Kitchen – but also because I couldn’t find French’s fried onions so decided to try making them myself.  Now that’s a whole lotta work (and oil to dispose of) for a pile of crispy onions but they ended up being delicious. 

Crockpot Apple & Cranberry Sauce with Orange & Crystallized Ginger:  Of course, the best cranberry sauce ever is the one on the back of the Oceanspray bag.  But I couldn’t find any fresh cranberries here and thought that since there’s tons of ginger root, this might be interesting.  Since I couldn’t find crystallized ginger, I found a recipe to make it.  The crystallized ginger turned out wonderful, I think anyway.  It looks like the pictures and tastes like candied ginger.  (Ok, it has a REAL “bite” for something candied, but – good in small doses.).  UNFORTUNATELY, I decided to get creative with the cranberry sauce.  Me getting creative in the kitchen is generally not a good idea as stuff turns out only sometimes when I follow the recipe.  BUT – the ginger recipe said to save the “ginger syrup” for future use.  So, I tasted it and it was kind of good.  So, when the cranberry sauce was still way too tart, I decided to add some ginger syrup to sweeten it up some more.  That didn’t make it much sweeter at all – only slightly sweeter but now with a bite too.  So I had to add still more sugar.  Then - when I realized I was making things worse, I just stopped.  Have a feeling there’ll be LOTS of leftover cranberry sauce – I’ll have to think of some way to hide the leftovers in some other dish.   

Roasted Garlic Chipotle Sweet Potatoes:  Another disaster.  Jeff likes savory over sweet, so I was looking for a recipe NOT including brown sugar, etc.  Only problem was that I couldn’t find Adobo sauce from chipotle chilies (or buttermilk, but wasn’t really worried about that).  So I goggled and read somewhere (can’t find it now) that one can just “reconstitute” dried chipotle peppers in hot water.  And, while I was trying to figure that out, I boiled the potatoes too long so they were way too mushy/watery.  I drained and drained (but couldn’t use oven because the cheesecake was in there), but still too watery.  Then … I added the not-really reconstituted peppers.  It just made a mess – and didn’t make the potatoes hot/spicy either – I think because they were just too watery to start.  Not sure what I’m going to do, but I’m going to play with a bit more today (can’t make them worse), and then serve them with leftovers tomorrow, depending on whether I can make them taste worth eating…

Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake:  This recipe looks sooooo delicious – other than the pecans.  I’m so highly allergic to walnuts and had a (very very) bad reaction a few months ago after eating some mixed nuts (that did NOT contain walnuts), that I’m  not taking any chances on a nut that even remotely looks like a walnut.  I know almonds are safe, so I used almonds instead.  Also, I couldn’t find graham crackers – actually 3 different “ex pat friendly” stores carried them – but were completely out this week.  (Also out of fresh sage everywhere.  But that’ll just affect the chicken...) But I did find a “premade” graham cracker crust.  It was all cracked up but – since I was using a spring form pan, I figured I had to break it up anyway.  So – I did.  Then added crushed almonds and just enough butter to make the stuff stick together again and reshaped it into the spring pan.  But – have my serious doubts whether it’s going to hold. 

I also could not find packed pumpkin anywhere, but pumpkins are plentiful, so made my own using this recipe – which really worked, although it took quite a while to get the last step right.  (Of course, I can’t exactly ask which pumpkins are “pie pumpkins” or “sugar pumpkins” – because those concepts just … don’t translate.  But I knew that a small pumpkin at the local market was delicious after making clean eating pumpkin fries last week.  I was glad that I was patient because --  ohmygoodness, the batter for this pie is lick-the-beaters-then-lick-the-bowl clean delicious.  Then I baked.  But – recipe said bake until center was “just set.”  Well, I did google that to find out what it means and read this – and tried to follow it but think I guessed it right because five minutes after I took it out, it had fallen down/settled a good 1/3+ inch.  Oh well.  I still put on the sour cream topping (which seemed WAYY too runny to me), and put it back in – this time for 10 minutes instead of the 5, hoping that’d fix it.  Don’t think it worked though it did make the edges brown.  But at least it looked pretty (but for the too-brown edges) … right up until I laid a piece of wax paper over it (afraid cats would jump up – Gracie loves yogurt, sour cream, etc.).  The wax paper fell down onto the top – which of course messed up the perfectly smooth top.  I think I should have stopped at the batter phase and just served that in custard cups or something – it was truly scrumptious.

Sooo ……..  after cooking most of the day yesterday, I have really tasty gravy and crispy onions.  I have cranberry sauce that may not be edible.  The sweet potatoes are not servable in their present state.  The cheesecake is a mystery still – I’m afraid to take off the spring form until much closer to dinner, in case the topping runs and/or the crust crumbles.

HOPEFULLY, today will go better. I’m working on …

“Perfect Roast” Chicken:  We’re having chicken rather than turkey.  Turkey is not a Chinese meat, so it’s incredibly expensive.  (I saw 8-10 lb turkeys in three stores – priced at between $90-$100 each).   Even if turkey’s weren’t so expensive, our oven is so tiny I don’t think a 5 pound turkey would fit anyway, so – chicken it is.

“Simple is Best” Stuffing:   I couldn’t find plain white bread, so used a French Baguette.  Also added carrots just because the stuffing my sisters and I made always included finely chopped carrots, and it was always delicious. 

Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions:  Have the crispy onions, so just have to make the rest… 

Balsamic Braised Brussels with Pancetta: Since I’m only batting 500, figure I need to make two greens in hopes that one turns out …  

Garlic Mashed Potatoes:  Since I ruined the sweet potatoes yesterday, I’m making plain ol’ mashed potatoes.  They’ll go well with the gravy anyway.  And I haven’t messed up mashed potatoes for a long time ….

It’s all an adventure, right?  One (other) wonderful thing about this whole experience is that I have the time to “play” and figure things out.  And I have a tolerant husband – who can make a great meal from scraps in 30 minutes or less, but still manages to tolerate most of what takes me hours to put together.  (And, all this also keeps me busy NOT thinking about fact that we're 1000s miles away from family this Thanksgiving...)

Anyway, by the end of this assignment, maybe I’ll be a halfway competent cook if I keep trying …

On making this house our home

Way back on October 9, I was all excited about the fact that our delivery was scheduled to arrive.  Well.  Suffice it to say that that was a bit (understatement) of a ShangLow kind of day because there was a substantial amount of damage to our "stuff" -- and, if that wasn't enough, they completely lost a tall dresser -- full of all my undies, socks, swim suits, pjs, etc, a wicker chest -- full of all our CDs, DVDs, and miscellaneous "stuff," and all of our pots and pans except for one.   :::sigh:::  As I said at the time, it's all just "stuff."  But, still -- we're still in the "claims process."  As in, we've submitted our claim and will wait and see what happens.  I find myself singing, "This is the move that never ends .. it just goes on and on my friend ... "  ... ... 

All that being said, I have so very much to be thankful for.  And, well, about 80% of our stuff -- including the "stuff" with the most sentimental value -- did arrive undamaged.  It was so much fun to unpack individual pieces and be thrilled that they were safe, then find special places to put them. 

And, while I was worried that I'd packed way too much stuff, I was very surprised as I put stuff away to find out that I really didn't!! Shocking.  Ok, I did find a couple things here and there that I don't need here.   (Since there are magnetic door stops on every door, I really don't need the half dozen door stops I brought.)  But, I've put away virtually everything and, believe it or not, we still have ample closet space and storage space.  (Ok, the camping stuff is BIG - too big to put in a closet, so that stuff stays in the monster gray tubs, but - that's a size issue, not a too-much stuff issue.)  And, even accounting for the space necessary to add in all the missing/damaged items whenever they get fixed and/or replaced, I think we'll be just fine with a bit of room to spare.

And, it's amazing how adding our "stuff" makes this place feel -- well -- like our "home."  I'm loving it. To be sure, there's stuff still to do (isn't that always the case).  And, to be sure, it's a different kind of home.  (That there are so few physical books is very very weird to me. But that's just how it is when you can only bring X number of books with you.) 

But -- all that being said, I am really enjoying this space -- and making this space "ours."  So, let me take you for a bit of a pictorial tour of our home:

Arriving from the elevator.  Ok, yes, that gold is ::cough cough:: just a tad overwhelming.  But, it it what it is.  I tried to soften it with woven rug and basket and one of my mom's paintings.

Now about the shoes.  I always thought that it was just a cultural custom to take one's shoes off before entering.  (I'm faced with just how ... uneducated I am about many things each day.)  It is a custom.  But - like many many old customs, it's also health-based. Shoes supposedly carry in the majority (I heard about 80% from one source) of the harmful particulates one has in one's home.  Once in the home, they get caught up in the ventilation and then in the air we breath.  So, by leaving shoes out in the foyer, we can substantially reduce our indoor air pollution.  The brown cupboard there is full of my shoes.  Jeff's shoes would only fit sideways.  (Mine barely fit - I guess we both have larger-than-average feet.)

I had been half-heartedly following the custom for the first month we were here -- and inwardly giggling when I'd be riding the elevator down and see someone's foyer literally covered with what looked like dozens of shoes. 

Now that I know the health "why" for doing so, I've become rather religious about it.  And I moved a chair out there to make it easier to put shoes on and off too.  (The deer pelt was a wonderful Christmas present from my sister-in-love and her love.  I'm trying to hide the fact that this is an extra dining room chair -- and trying to deflect from all that gold tone too.) 

The shopping bags are hanging right beside the elevator button -- because I kept forgetting to take one with me.  Thank goodness for Command Strips, Hooks, and Hangers.  Our cement-hard plaster walls would be utterly bare without them. 

Ok, moving on -- or, rather, in -- to our living/dining "great" room ... with a view:

While less than half of the "stuff" here is from our Phoenix home, the other stuff pretty much matches the style we had so it's enough to make it feel like home to us.  Actually, the layout and landlord/new pieces remind me more of my place in Chicago -- which I loved very much.  I'll take some night pictures at another time -- it's much more dramatic than daytime hazy pictures.  (Yes, that's haze today you see outside the windows.  AQI has been in the "unhealthy" range for two days now.  I understand November is the worst month for air pollution in Shanghai.  And this seems to be true so far.) 

The one-legged coffee table remains on the floor behind the couch.  (My Facebook friends know that this was one of the casualties of the movers.  I am haven't given up hope that adjusters will find a way to fix it -- and if they don't, I will.  So we'll just live without a coffee table/footstool/movie-night-pizza-table/stuff collector for a while longer.)  And the wall facing the dining room table is right now a very stark white wall -- which presents the perfect excuse for Saturday street shopping to find something to add color there.

I always wanted a full-length standing mirror -- and had no full length mirror here -- and we had a big blank wall to fill up -- and they're cheaper here than I've ever seen them in the US, so it seemed the perfect opportunity to get one. So, I did.  Just a couple days ago - from IKEA.

Now, I'm scared of these incredibly hard plaster walls after striking out trying to get picture hangers to work. 

(I tried about seven different ways recommended for plaster walls on Pinterest and other places.  None of them worked.  Even with Ook hangers.  Fortunately, I did my "testing" on the wall behind where I knew we were going to put the bed.  It's not a pretty sight.)  

Anyway, since we have two cats (and since I can be incredibly clumsy at times), I was afraid to just let it sit up against the wall.  So, I decided to splurge ($11.66) and have the IKEA guys come and secure it to the walls.  They just came today!  And -- I have to say that I love it.  It brings the light from the big living room windows back into the long hallway from the kitchen to the bedrooms.   (And, given that the cats have already tried to climb behind it, I'm thinking that this "splurge" was the right thing to do.) 

Now, on to the kitchen:

So, it's a basic galley kitchen.  It seems like There is a lot of storage, but it's "weird-to-us" storage.  There are only two shallow drawers - with hard dividers in them.  And the dividers are such that steak knives and the like are too big.  And, well ... I guess having a kitchen junk drawer is a foreign concept here.   Instead, there are just lots and lots and lots of shelves.  And they're short shelves - our wine glasses barely fit --and only barely fit on one shelf in one cupboard.  And they're not adjustable.  (I tried.  Another "whoops" that I have "fixed" with a combination of toothpaste and baking soda.) 

And the shelves under the counter are very deep - i.e., lots of wasted space, or inconvenience if you have to pull out all the stuff in front to get to the stuff in back.  (I'm not a cook, but even I can tell that this kitchen was not designed by a cook.)  Anyway, workaround queen that I try to be, I re-purposed one of the plastic organizers I brought with me as a junk drawer, and then got a couple tubs and made "drawers" in the two cabinets on either side of the stove.  It's not perfect, but it works to hold cooking utensils, measuring cups, etc., lids to pots and pans (the pots and pans went missing from our shipment, but the lids made it), and plastic storage containers.

I have to say that I just love the pull-out pantry -- and just made a magnetic wall since the fridge/freezer (beside the pantry) isn't magnetic.  It works -- for us anyway.

Also have to say that I love having a separate laundry room.  (Ok, so the machines don't work that great -- two sheets and two pillowcases are too much - have to do one sheet at a time....takes more than an hour to wash and nearly two to dry.) BUT there's room to move anyway.  I like it as organized.  And, for now, we have a sort of "wine cellar."  Ok.  Have I mentioned that drinkable wine is incredibly expensive here comparatively?  Well.  It is -- as in about three times the cost of the exact same bottle in the US - at least.  (And I'm just talking drinkable.  The "good" stuff is astronomically expensive.)   So when I find something on sale (so it's only about twice as much as in US), I get a few.  Well, last weekend Carrefour had a wine fair, with really great deals, so I stocked up. 

I will have to find an alternative wine storage system come Spring:  these two rooms are not climate controlled, so they will get way too hot next summer.  However, for now, the back room works great as storage room/wine cellar. 

There used to be a door between the two rooms, but it was just in the way, so I took it off and stuck it behind the shelving in the ayi room. 

As an(other) aside, I find it rather appalling that the "ayi room" -- designed for a live-in maid -- is uncooled/unheated!!  These rooms are sweltering in the summer and I can only assume they are going to be very very cold in the winter.  Weird.  There's also a mini-bathroom back there, with toilet, tiny sink, and shower head.  It's like being on a boat - just close the door and take a shower along side the sink and toilet.  Here - in our place - that bathroom stores the kitty carriers and a few other similar things that aren't climate-sensitive.  Anyway, I'm rambling (again).  Sorry. 

Ok -- out of the kitchen and back the hall to .. YOUR room. You know, when you come visit us?  Yes.  The sheets are fresh, the bed is made, flowers are fresh, and space is reserved in the closet of our Guest Room.   (And, we we have overflow space in my office too!)  I'm so looking forward to having visitors!

We are also blessed in that we each have our own office. Jeff's is out adjacent to the living room (which is great for when he has the very late night or very early morning calls), while mine is between the guest room and our bedroom. 

My office has a sleeper sectional ... just in case we get a family of visitors.  (I promise to relocate the litter box for the duration of your visit!!)   On a typical day though, this is pretty much an all purpose room:  my office, kitty hangout, my closet, etc.  And, the sectional -- or rather the pillows on the sectional -- serve as Gracie's safe place when the door bell rings, and her cave --  where she hides all the (fake) mice, tissues, bits of string, and whatever else she decides to horde in her special place....(It's going to be fun finding art to add color to these white walls.)

Jeff's office, adjacent to the living room, is smaller - but he also has the killer view of the river.  And he has his own bathroom.  It's a cute little office - with only one white wall for which we get to find some cool art or something to hang. 

Finally, our bedroom:  this one is still very much a work in progress as we are missing our TV stand aka tall dresser, and the walls are very bare, and we'll be looking for a rug to warm the floor (literally and figuratively), but we have the most important piece:  our bed!  I am soo thrilled to have our bed back.   And so are the cats.  We all sleep better now, to be sure!

It's also rather awesome to have a bath with a view, although it's not so great that the shower in the master bath is essentially nonfunctional.  I mean - it works - but it's a corner shower.  And the shower head sprays straight out -- onto the door.  If the door is closed.  If not, then it sprays right out onto the bathroom floor.

This wouldn't really be a big problem if you could just get in, close the door, then turn on the shower.  However, unless you're into ice-cold showers, you can't do that here.  You have to turn on the water for a good 5 minutes, then check it.  (Usually, at 5 minutes, it's "not freezing.")  Then check it again.  (Usually, but not always, at 10-12 minutes, it's lukewarm, so bearable.)  And, given the showerhead configuration, this means opening up the door at least three times with the shower head blasting water -- right out the door.  (I can only assume that the designer never took showers -- or didn't know about how long it takes to get water warm in these apartments.  Or maybe s/he was just a fan of freezing showers.)

So -- we shower in the hall bathroom, which actually is bigger so better anyway.  And, the good part is that if you get in the shower when it's warm, it'll be hot by the time you've shampooed your hair once, so ... I've learned to take warm-to-hot showers.  Of course, regardless of where we shower, we have to keep in mind that water just continues heating up.  So we have to adjust constantly to avoid it getting scalding hot. Essentially, it's like being on a boat:  one hand on the faucet, one hand to shower with.  (I'm exaggerating only a little teensy bit.  It's kinda crazy.  But you get used to it.)

Notice the bathrobe hanging on the door in the bathroom? Yes!!! Though I lost all my undies, socks, pjs, bathing suits, etc. etc., My bathrobe made it!! Yaaaay.

Anyway, the good thing (or, rather, another good thing) is that, after some repairs, the jacuzzi bathtub works.  And it's wonderful!  For me, the idea of a bath has always been way more appealing than actually taking one.  Five minutes after I got in, I'd be ready to get back out.  But - I can stay in a hot tub forever.  Ok, so this isn't really a hot tub, but I love the jacuzzi tub..  In fact, all this talking about it makes me want to go take a bath right now.  It's s chilly in here and the city lights are shining bright ... and a bath sounds like a perfect way to start my evening.

So, have a great evening folks.  Hope you enjoyed the tour.  At a minimum - if you made it this far - thanks for tolerating my blathering on.  But it just feels good to feel like I'm "home."

Things I'm learning

Ok, it's been a while since my last post and I have much to catch up on here.  However, just thought I'd share a few random things I'm learning ...

...To find out how old someone is here, you have to ask what year she was born – can’t just ask “how old are you?” Why? Because a Chinese baby is 1 at birth. However, when talking with Laowais, some (but not all) Chinese people tell you their age in “Western.” So you just can’t tell for sure how old someone is (in “Western”) unless you ask what year she was born.

...To find out someone’s birthday (in Western terms), you need to ask what day she was born – can’t just ask “when is your birthday.” Why? Because birthdays are based on the lunar calendar here. So a person’s birthday “date” changes every year. So often, the person will tell you the date that they celebrate their birthday THIS year (or, if it’s already past, the next year.) However, when talking with Laowais, some folks will tell you their “Western” birth date. You just can’t know unless you clarify.

...When speaking English, it's very important to always clarify numbers – especially those that end in “-teen” or “-ty.” Neither I nor J can distinguish between “15” and “50” when said by someone here (nor can others hear the difference when we say it).  We have been late – or early – a few times because we said 10:15, but the local person heard 10:50 (and/or vice-versa). This is so even though we clarify/repeat a few times. So, I had to learn to say 10:15 as “ten-one-five” and 10:50 as “ten-five-zero.”... Of course, we can avoid that entire problem by just saying the time in Mandarin: “shí diǎn wǔ fen” is clearly different than “shí diǎn wǔshí fen.” I’m starting to do that.

...Learning how to speak Mandarin using Pinyin (or understanding Mandarin when written in Pinyin) is easier than I thought it would be. At first, it was really hard. I mean, why use English letters if you’re not going to use English pronunciations??? Why’d they make “e” sound like “u” and “u” sound like “o” and “i” sound like “e” and “x” sound like “sh” and “z” sound like “g”?? Crazy!! At first it was like having to do a double translation: English > Pinyin > Mandarin. However, after a few weeks of that, it got much easier.

...I am not (at all) good at repeating tones/Mandarin words that I hear. But if I SEE them in pinyin, I can get relatively close. Well, except for certain sounds. Like the ü sound – which I doubt I’ll ever be able to say correctly in a sentence. (Ok. Say “oooooooooo.” Feel how your mouth is shaped. Now, make your mouth form that “ooooo” sound shape – but instead of saying “ooooooooooo” say “eeeeeeee” BUT DON’T MOVE your lips! Just say eeeee “through” an “oooooo” mouth. Go ahead. Try it! :::sigh::: My mouth just won’t work that way. just decided that I’d avoid any words with that sound in it. Only problem is, Mandarin for “attorney” is “lǜshī” – and in order to say any month, you have to say yuè – and anytime “u” comes after “y” in pinyin, it’s actually the ü sound.   :::sigh::: My poor tutor.  I just tell her we need to skip that word and I'll work on it.  After a bit, she agrees.  'Cause I'm just not getting it right.

...One can't assume that just because you bought something at a Lawoai store - or at a "reputable" local store, that it is safe and authentic.  Exhibit A:  We got a jar of peppers from a "reputable" (foreign-based) store.  Two weeks later, I realized that I'd experienced ... digestive distress ...after each time that J used the specific jar of peppers.   Exhibit B:  I purchased "Colombian Coffee Beans" from a "reputable" store.  The first two days that J used them, it was like he had morning sickness (dizziness, retching, etc.).  !! And he NEVER gets sick.  Exhibit C:  I purchased a (sealed, of course) bottle of Smirnoff vodka.  Not to drink (vodka and I do not mix well...) but for cleaning my vaping tanks (vodka is best cleaner, so I've been told.  I still put it in the freezer.  It's just what I've always done with vodka.  Imagine my surprise when I took it out to use it -- and it was half frozen.   According to the little freezer thermometer, the freezer is approx 20 celsius.  So - either my thermometer is wrong and this freezer is really really really cold, or the stuff in that bottle isn't really 80 proof Smirnoff vodka. 

All that being said, I've been purchasing vegetables and fruits from street vendors since we got here.  And neither one of us has had a moment's issue from any of the street/wetmarket fresh fruits/veggies we've purchased.  I'm becoming more and more enamored with fresh over canned ... it's better and safer.  Here, at least.

Ah, I have so much more to share but the kitties are going stir crazy right now for some reason - and it's impossible to type with one cat laying over my arms and the other getting tangled in my feet.  So clearly, I need to go play with them for a while. 

Will try to catch up on all that's been happening real soon!.