Cooking

Fresh fruits and veggies are incredibly cheap here, at least if you are willing to walk around and look for the vendors along the streets, down alleys, and in the common Chinese markets.  Fruits and veggies are not as cheap at the Western supermarkets.  I have made it my vow to try to cook like the Chinese people, for one, to save money, and two, to try to glean all I can from living here.  So, two days a week, I have a lady coming over to my apartment to help me shop like a Chinese person and cook like a Chinese person.  Last week she made two wonderful meals for us and I watched and took copious notes as she is the teacher (laoshi) and I am the student (xuesheng). 

This is Miss Holly as we call her, Hong Li Ping is her Chinese name.  She is the sweetest lady!

She took me to this market...



We bought all of this for $21.00.  Pork, Salmon, Shallot, Potato, 2 hot peppers, 4 bell peppers, 2 lemons, 2 carrots, bag of mushrooms, bag of green beans, 4 cucumbers, big bag of bok choy, bag of peanuts, chicken bullion, star spices, chili pepper spices, 4 bananas, and a bag of cherries.  Some of these things will last a long time, the rest will probably fix us a good 4-5 meals coupled with rice or noodles.  AMAZING!

Oh yeah, and she looked through my kitchen and told me I needed a big pan (wok) so we bought that too.  :)

So, here she is making homemade noodles...

Slicing green beans....



And it was great, not to mention, healthy, as she likes to point out. 

Jackson and Grace love the fresh juices.  Watermelon juice (Shigwa-although that is NOT how you spell it) is Jack's favorite.  I think I will be trying to make juice at home too.