Monday, February 19, 2007

This little piggy

Yesterday was Chinese New Year. Happy Year of the Pig! To celebrate, I made jiao-tse (dumplings). I remember making these with my mom and a-mah (grandmother) at our kitchen table in Ulm, and I enjoy making them on my own. I've always aspired to being as quick and skilled as they were at folding them, but I'm just not. Ah well...at least they still taste good!

The first time I invited Chris to do something was for Chinese New Year. I was staffed at Microsoft and I was staying at the Oakwood corporate apartments in Bellevue during the week (this is when I still lived in SF). I usually make jiao-tse with a group of friends for Chinese New Year, so I decided to do it at the Oakwood. I invited a few friends over and we made (and ate) a ton of dumplings.

That was when I still thought Chris was a "cool kid" who'd never want to hang out with someone like me. I used Chinese New Year as an excuse to ask him to do something, and I was surprised when he accepted. But that night he brought over a CD he'd just bought and was so excited to hear. It was "The Best of Huey Lewis and the News". That's when his illusion of coolness was forever shattered...and the rest, they say, is history.

I've added a few pictures of this year's jiao-tse and of the Oakwood jiao-tse night to Flickr. You can see four thumbnails under "Recent Pics" and you can view the rest by clicking on one of the thumbnails. You'll be taken to my photostream on the Flickr site, where you can see all of the pictures that I've posted recently.

4 comments:

Brother Hammer said...

Happy New Year. If you would be so kind and to explain to us Euro-centrics what Jiao-Tse is, they look excellent, we would appreciate it.

And a recipe would be nice...

wenmei said...

Jiao-tse are dumplings, a.k.a. pot-stickers. I kind of wing it when I make them, but here's a blog that has recipe very close to mine: Jen's Dumplings. I make my filling from ground pork or turkey, red cabbage, green onions and ginger (plus soy and sesame oil). I also cheat and buy the pre-made pot-sticker wrappers (lots of grocery stores carry them in the produce department).

Kristy Mouti said...

Huey Lewis...yet another reminder of Ulm. Remember the dance routine to "Hip to Be Square?" How fitting is that for Chris?

wenmei said...

Ha ha! I actually told Chris about that dance when he was playing the CD. I will never forget Coach Ericson dancing to that routine...