Gingerbread House Update

Someone has been eating his way through the Ginger Bread Houses.......

Walmart in China

A recent trip to China lead me to it's Walmart. I was so curious and I spent a good hour browsing. All in all-its just like the Walmarts we know from the US-excpet the food items, the massive selection of Asian cooking utensils and containers and its all vertical- 3 levels of Walmart- all accessible via moving ramps. Weird-but cool. 

Pictures say a thousand words. 

But, let me explain. 

Yes, this is a real Walmart. 

 That's cured meat in bins. 

 A buffet of chicken feet at the deli. 

 McDonalds inside-tastes the same as it does back home! 

Red Cross Cookie Drive

The American Women's Association collected over 7,000 cookies for the American Red Cross- the cookies will be handed out at  hospital Christmas parities throughout Hong Kong.  I was the host for our island-Lantau- and we collected almost 500 cookies alone! The generosity of people amazed me.

Faux Ginger Bread House

Without the time or oven or ingredients at hand to make a 'real' Gingerbread house-we improvised.



We used cardboard and masking tape.
Next-we used cookies and cereal for the house and roof. (and a lot of hot glue)




Then we made icing and filled in the gaps-




Some candy and we were all finished!




Baby Roux and Little Roux made some too-with milk carton bases.

The Future of Chicken?

This is a chicken. Without feathers. Said to have more meat because it has no feathers for warmth and  also easier to prepare for the mass market. Is this the future of chicken? This makes me sad.

Mummy Hot Dogs

Hot dogs and biscuits.



Slice and wrap.


Mustard and black sesame seed eyes, ketchup mouth.


Bake.


Arrange on a bed of greens and serve.

Tads. Easy. Kid friendly. Yummy.

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Stretching the {HK} Dollar

Food prices are high in Hong Kong, especially for imported or organic items.  So, in an effort to level that out, I need to be creative in my meal planning and execution.
One of the ways I do that is by using what I already have {week to week} and planning meals.
I do one big shop on Monday. I find shopping on Monday the best day because I don't have hungry birds {aka Daddy Roux and Baby Roux} all weekend eating and opening everything I just purchased and it maximizes leftovers leaving them mostly for the weekend for when I have a little more time to be creative and mix and match dishes.
Before I shop I take an inventory of what I have in the fridge/freezer and cupboards.  I also take into consideration anything that was added to the list {which stays on the fridge} such as requests or out of   typically stocked items {sauces, herbs, oil etc.}.
I make my grocery list by meals. So, I think of 4 meals for 7 days.  I shop for the ingredients I need for those 4 meals and for the other 3 days in the week we eat leftovers or make new dishes {TBD} with items left over or not used. We usually eat out one meal a week, typically on Sundays, after church.
An example of my shopping list goes something like this...
BBQ Pulled Pork {NEED:pork, onions} { i have already have sauces and spices needed as well as corn bread mix for sandwiches and will serve with side salad}
Jambalaya { need sausages} { i already have some bell pepper and celery and will purchase onions for the BBQ pork- all of which will go into the pot.}
Salmon and Salsa {need salmon, need stuff to make salsa-a pineapple salsa-as this is what they had- pineapple, cilantro, onions( already purchasing for 2 above dishes)  (LIME!!)
{will serve with rice-already have as a staple at home}
Vegetarian Curry {will use up any veggies that I haven't used yet, bell peppers, onions, BUY:chick peas, carrots etc-served with rice and side salad}
Salad-Need:ready to eat spinach and some tomatoes, avocado or whatever is in season.
With the leftovers I get creative- sometimes searching the web for inspiration.  Here is an idea from Good Housekeeping.  Use up those veggies at the end of the week in a tart- yummy.

Halloween in Hong Kong

We celebrate Halloween here in our community of Discovery Bay.   But, finding good and cute decoration is a little tough- so I searched for some beautiful DIY inpsiration...

images via Good House Keeping

Lantern Festival

It's this weekend! We will be tapping into our New Orleans roots and pull out some good ole Mardi Gras tricks for the rising of the moon.




The plan is to meet the community at our beach and watch the full moon rise! This turns into a really fun event for the kids-lots of glow sticks-and picnic food! Keeping track of the children is the hard part-once the sun goes down they all look alike-just 3 foot shadows with glowing necklaces!
So we tape their names and our phone numbers to their backs and try to not loose anyone!
We sit close to toilets and bring a wagon and ice chest. Let the festivities begin!
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Wine to go

What an ingenious idea. The wine is already in the glass. Sealed like apple sauce tops. Perfect for picnics or on the go. Seen at our local Marks and Spencers.




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Sushi Session @ Sen-Ryo

Located above Starbucks in Hong Kong's IFC mall lies a little gem. It's called Sen-Ryo and their sushi (via conveyer belt or menu) is almost too beautiful to eat.




But-eat we did. Being the Westerners we are












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Singapore iPhone Pics Tip

Just back from a mini-break in Singapore. Here are a few snaps of the city.












I took all of these pictures with my iPhone 4.

To avoid international charges-switch your phone to airplane mode before leaving you home country-leave it in airplane mode and your iPhone becomes your camera.

Then-all your pics are ready for uploading via wifi at the hotel (accessible while in airplane mode).

It's a great travel tip!

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Roux in Boracay

I'm in vacay with my family. We are soaking up sun, family time and great food. The Filipino people are, as we already know, so loving and kind.


I can't wait to share more about Boracay and the amazing resort where we are staying. Paradise.

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Ping Pong

It's a big deal here. A true form of exercise. It's serious. There are rooms for it at our gym. They even have special scoop nets to grab all the balls on the floor. Forrest Gump -eat your heart out!




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Aunt Bonnie's Cake

Aunt Bonnie sent the magic checkerboard cake system over to HK! We have had fun figuring it all out. Watch this space as I'm sure with more practice it will get better and better looking each time! Thanks Aunt Bonnie!



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Jade Meat

Yes, that's Jade and yes it is supposed to look like hanging meat. At the jade market in Kowloon...




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Mad (Men) Night Out

We attended a Mad Men themed cocktail party this weekend. The attire, music, food and drinks were all throwbacks to the 50/60s. It was a 'mad' time!


We got a few funny looks on our way to the party!


Hong Kong sure has seen a lot of change since the sixties!


Our hostess-perfectly dressed in a made for the party dress and hat! So cute. The food was all themed to the show-Utz! -better than nuts!- we all remember that episode!



Cigs everywhere! Lucky Strike!


Themed parties can be a ball!

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Fitting Present

My "push present" was fitting after having Tiny Roux in Hong Kong.



Jade earrings. Beautiful, classic and will always remind me of Asia and Hong Kong.

And.....a necklace too!!!



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Better Bread

My bread making abilities are getting better. I've perfected a 2 lb raisin bread loaf.




Asians are not that big on breads- pastry and buns-yes- but not so much French or Western style bread. Baking mybown bread: It's fun and yumm.
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Decorative Touches?

Little Roux thinks this Angry Birds pencil fits nicely with our Asian decor.


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Word Problem

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Baby Roux Cooks Too

It's always fun to include children in cooking! Baby Roux made his very own personal pizza for his dinner tonight. He dined with Aussie mates-hence the corn and ham toppings!





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Fresh baked bread

Being an expat, one can expect to inherit things,mostly things with plugs, from other expat friends upon their relocation back home.
This week, it was a bread maker that came my way. After a few flops, I'm proud to say I've mastered the machine!
Here is my first successful loaf!




It's a simple white bread with a medium brown crust. We ate it dipped in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Delicious. Next...adding fresh rosemary.
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It's that time of year!

Durian is in season. And what a long season this stinky fruit has. It's horrible in taste, smell, feel and looks. Yuck. Even Andrew Zimmerman of 'bizarre foods' hates this fruit.



Stinky fruit or stinky feet...one in the same!!


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