My Dinner With Andrew

Yes, we are bored. We're all bored now. But has it ever occurred to you Wally that the process that creates this boredom that we see in the world now may very well be a self-perpetuating, unconscious form of brainwashing, created by a world totalitarian government based on money, and that all of this is much more dangerous than one thinks? and it's not just a question of individual survival Wally, but that somebody who's bored is asleep, and somebody who's asleep will not say no? - Andre Gregory

I really look forward to the weekly Gusto section in the Buffalo news. It used to come on Fridays, now it’s on Thursdays. Trish likes that better. Me, not so much. It disturbs my wa.

I’m not addicted to the whole thing, just the first half – the half with criticism and reviews. I don’t necessarily use them to make up my mind about anything; I just like criticism as a literary exercise. I enjoy reading the thoughts of the person writing the review. Then, if I ultimately see, or hear, or read the item reviewed I can compare my own thoughts with the reviewer. Got that?

Gong Hei Fat Choi

Making friends with your neighbors is always a good thing, even a fun thing. And when that friendship extends to food, it's even better. Invite me to a weenie roast - great. Call for recipe help - no problem. But, if you invite me to share a piece of your ethnic heritage, you will be my best friend forever. So, when our neighbor Yanhai Du and his wife Jai invited us to celebrate Chinese New Year with them, we jumped at at the chance.

Their son Kevin is in third grade with our Alison, and we see one or the other most days while waiting for the school bus. However, we had never spent time in their company. This evening was delightful, full of fascinating conversation, lots of laughter and really great food!

The menu included: Poached Chicken topped with greens; Stir-fried seafood with baby bok choy; a julienned salad including green papaya; various steamed dumplings; sweet and sour pork; a soup with seaweed and tofu -it was fabulous.

Now we have to return the favor - we are thinking Passover!

Welcome to the year of the Ox!

Cooking with Kids II - The Goof Offs

One of the things you have to accept about cooking with kids, is that from time to time they are not going to be on the same page. Such was the case for our belated Chinese New Year celebration,d we had our next door neighbor Lucy over for help. I suppose that was the problem - Lucy was the only one really interested. The others were goofing off, so I had to disappoint Lucy in order to get dinner on the table. A simple stir-fry of pork, red pepper, dried black mushrooms, etc. with longevity noodles.

I'd like to claim the potsticker dumplings. I am good at them, but not that good. These were made by the skilled hands of Mrs. Du. She is a neighbor who came over from China last fall - I am pretty sure her only word of English is "hello". Her grandson Kevin has been in the same class as Alison since Kindergarten. Yes, in times of trouble we often ask ourselves - what would Kevin Du? The dumplings were great!!!!!

Happy Year of the Rat

Nuff Said?

The Bells of January

Ahh, the annual arrival of Honeybells from our landlord in Florida. Technically a Tangelo, this particular variety is a cross between a Dancy Tangerine and Duncan Grapefruit. It is sweet as can be, and juicy as heck. But, the best part is that I dry the peels for a variety of culinary uses - especially Tangerine Beef!

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Dim Sum or Dim None

My kids were first exposed to Dim Sum in Toronto's Chinatown during one of my family's "secret" visits to the city in 2003. We have a lot of relatives that we love to visit, but, to paraphrase Primo in "Big Night": Sometimes the family likes to be alone. Alison's most famous encounter with Dim Sum came the following spring when she literally fell asleep on a plate of steamed dumplings in Philadelphia's Chinatown. Ellie is the one who really had her heart touched be these small bites. We make them at home on special occasions, or just because we feel like it. I'll be posting soon on that.

So, it was with great anticipation that we approached our trip here this weekend. We left early to avoid Friday afternoon traffic and headed straight for Spadina avenue. After another fruitless attempt to find Shaoxing wine at the LCBO store we entered the well-recommended Bright Pearl Seafood Restaurant. We were welcomed and pleased to find a handy chart, complete with color photographs - always a help when one is Mandarin or Cantonese impaired.

Alison is a picky eater at the best of times, but Ellie let us down. She loves Spring Rolls, but wouldn't touch them. She just didn't want to eat. So we left and bought them each a banana. It turns out the Ellie has become spoiled by the variety of dipping sauces we serve when we do Dim Sum, not only traditional Chinese sauces, but things like Vietnamese Nuoc Cham or peanut sauce. But she also prefers deep-fried or pan-fried to steamed, and I was surprised at their absence.

Of course it all made sense after we got checked into the hotel and I went on Bright Pearl's web site - we got there just in time for them to stop serving Dim Sum for the lunch break. I will tell you this, as a lover of Asian food, and the art of Dim Sum in particular, I have to tell you that the food here was wonderful. I look forward to going there again. Without the kids, perhaps?

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