Children's Activity Table

Here is the latest furniture we have gotten to prep for 'schooling' our children (that sounds weird to say). It is a complete knock off of Pottery Barn's children's activity table, all at a very small fraction of the price!!! Here is the link for a better photo of the real deal, but they are very similar. The great thing about pottery barn is they post all the dimensions, makes it easy for replicating!!! Sophia enjoys her table!

'Chili's Salsa'

While in the States, David and I grew to LOVE Chili's bottomless chips and salsa and their honey chipotle chicken tenders, our favorite meal out! I decided to try to mimic their salsa instead of the chunky kind I would always make....I found a copy cat recipe copied below and found Here



Ingredients

• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can tomatoes and green chilies
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can whole canned tomatoes (plus the juice)
• 4 teaspoons jalapenos (canned,diced, not pickled)
• 1/4 cup yellow onion (diced)
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Directions

1. In food processor place jalapenos and onions.
2. Process for just a few seconds.
3. Add both cans of tomatoes, salt, sugar, and cumin.
4. Process all ingredients until well blended but do not puree.
5. Place in covered container and chill.
6. A couple of hours of chilling will help blend and enrich the flavor.
7. Serve with your favorite thin corn tortilla chips.

In China here is what I do, it still needs some tweaking, but it is getting close to the real deal!!!

• 3 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
  
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• a little more than 1/4 cup onion chopped (can only get purple onion)
• 2 green peppers, not the hot kind, somewhat like bell, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 tsp hot red peppers (the tiny kind), seeded and chopped

I follow the same directions above. I make this a day or two in advance so I can add more heat if needed, we like it spicy, even though Chili's salsa is not that spicy. my version makes more than the above version too.
Yes, those are pringles in the picture, we actually prefer the Chinese generic version of the same chip but they were out. I also usually buy 'wraps' from the duck restaurant and then cut them up and bake them with a little a butter and salt on top, they work great, but I had zero time to go across town and get them and prep, so pringles it was...

BTW, Sophia refused the bbq we made, the sweet beans, and potato corn chowder (from a friend), all very American dishes. But the spicier creole chicken and rice, quite spicy, she loved, and the salsa too which we also make pretty spicy! Crazy girl, not for the faint of heart

Menu plans..

I have a skeleton menu plan that I work with, we have some staples that we do every week, like chinese dumplings, and usually 'over the bridge noodles,' so those stay put, though their timing is flexible. We eat the same thing for Breakfast everyday, oatmeal with yogurt, and on Saturdays do a fun breakfast. When cooking at home I try to follow my health food books (Eat to live, eat for health) and then on Friday it is family fun night so I can cook whatever, like pizza or mexican, etc. And unless hosting something I usually do about one dessert a week towards the end of the week for Friday and to enjoy on the weekend. I may post some recipes soon too. look out...

Last week's menu plan

• Monday: lunch: Left over Thai peanut chicken and fried rice, salad with lots of veg, Sophia: grilled cheese, peas and carrots. Dinner: order out, local chinese
• Tuesday: lunch: left overs from previous dinner; Dinner: roast chicken, stirfry zucchini and peppers, corn on the cob
• Wednesday: chicken waldorf salad (sandwiches); dinner: vegetable burritos, stuffed eggplant
• Thursday: Lunch: left overs; dinner: chinese dumplings (out)
• Friday: lunch: left overs; dinner: bbq pork sandwiches, oriental salad, baked beans, homemade ice cream sandwiches
• Saturday: Fun bfast: blueberry muffins (a mix); lunch: over the bridge noodles; dinner: left overs
• sunday: coffee cake for group, lunch: out with group; dinner: left overs

This week's menu plan:

• Monday: lunch: left over bbq, oriental salad; dinner: Creole chicken with spinach and rice
• Tuesday: lunch: Left overs; dinner: out, local chinese
• Wednesday: lunch: left over chinese; dinner: Enchilada Casserole, salsa
• Thursday: lunch: left overs; dinner: chinese dumplings (made key lime pie)
  
• Friday: Lunch: left overs; dinner: hearty macaroni dinner, key lime pie
• Saturday: David stays in village, we eat left overs or PBJ sandwiches with vegetables
• Sunday: we all go to village wedding, take Sophia spaghetti; dinner: out

Most of what I make is from scratch unless we have gotten a package with mixes or something. we used to have a small import store that closed down. But it sold some cream of mushroom and chicken soups (can be made from scratch as well), etc. so I used that in the Enchilada casserole, the casserole is definitely a 'Friday Fun night' meal, but moved to Weds. because my tortillas were on their way out and I could not waste them. So the 'Hearty Mac' which is healthy (no cheese or meat), is our Friday meal, but accented with key lime pie (made without keylimes, just lemon's, so I should really change the name).

Sophia's school

okay, not really school. but a friend who comes and speaks clear chinese with Sophia for an hour a day. This has been her first week and it is going great so far! Our helper's chinese is not that great, plus I keep her pretty busy, so we decided a 'class' was needed for this stage. they just play together and have a blast, talking the whole time! and she is repeating, we don't know if she knows what she is saying, but it is a start. Today she put on everyone's shoes, including her new Ayi's heels. (ahyee, aunt in chinese). I will post our new schedule in the next few posts or so, and some things we are eating these days...stay tuned.

walking in daddy's running shoes


Ayi's heels

With xiao chen, Sophia's Ayi, and teacher

Micah turns 4

Isaiah, Micah, Anna, the snowman's hat comes from our little town here!

Happy birthday Micah Williams (Sophia's cousin). here are some pics of the Williams enjoying snow in Jan (did you guys just get snow again right?).

This is China

TIC, yes indeed. We had one of those days last week, the frustration has since worn off. There are too many things we love about this country, but a few things that are troublesome to us (like any place I guess), and I am not talking about chicken and rabbits anymore....
David, the Mechanical engineer that he is, says MEs are 'scared of electricity' they are more 'seeing and showing how things work kind of guys,' and since you can't see electricity, there is a problem. we have heard countless stories of near electrocutions, etc. and so we are careful....This is why David HATES nailing stuff into the wall, and has taught me what to do if for some reason he hits something that is 'electrified.' But, he has been a gracious husband and allowed things to go on our wall....
So, as I was doing one of my organizational projects (buying some clothes hanging, bag hanging, you name it hanging racks) I decided to get the guys from the store to come install, since we don't have a drill and they do it all the time....
I wanted two of these hung:


And don't you know, the little guy helping us (he was very little and looked 12), came out of the room, alive thankfully, saying he thought he hit something. Sure enough the electricity in our room did not work. And David says...you see this is why... and I ask why this never happens in the US? Because you are not allowed (and the regulation is enforced) to have an electrical wire so close to the wall...oh...that makes complete sense. Look at the pics, actually looks less than half an inch doesn't it....




And then we ask the guy if he knows someone to fix it...his friend comes over, who looks a year older than him and tries to 'rig something up,' yes, that sounds scary. We call our landlord, who is on break now and doesn't really want to be bothered but he sends someone over who does a much better job, but our landlord doesn't want to cover the hole until he makes sure all is safe with the wires (ie, the wall won't be electrified), his 'call in a few days to fix it' has been over a week now.
I was so proud of myself for going to the shop, finding what I wanted, getting the guys to install, all so David wouldn't even need to be bothered. It looked like my project was going to take two hours....now we are going on 8 days. TIC...
btw, the rabbit and his box disappeared yesterday, and no, he wasn't in our stew!

A very late happy Valentine's day

just found this video that David took and had to post it.