Cuisine Comments

We've been in China over 48 hours and have had ample opportunities to enjoy the delicies served by the Chinese restaurants. (For those of you who think P.F. Chang or Pei Wei is authentic Chinese, well, have I got a surprise for you!) We've had our taste buds standing and saluting the chefs. Sunday we were thrilled with a fried green bean dish that was unbelievably good. Super seasonings and baby shrimp were stir fried with the beans and they were just plain "slap your mama" good. We've enjoyed water buffalo served in a couple of different ways, both very tasty. (Water buffalo really does taste good, but it's not always tender. The tenderness is in direct proportion to the age--my opinion. The water buffalo we've had has been beyond adolescence but not quite to the geriatric stage.) The Chinese also do miraculous things with chicken, often combining the chicken with peanuts or cashews or ?????

Today we had water buffalo with stir friend cucumbers and another vegetable to be named later. (Honestly, I don't know what to name it. If it's green and growing, the Chinese find a way to cook and eat it. But then, that describes just about everything that grows here. If it's alive and they can catch it, they'll find a way to cook and eat it.) Some time ago I heard the American packing houses (that's a fancy term for slaughter houses) described as using everything in a pig except the squeal. I swear the Chinese have probably found a way to also use the squeal. Of course, when you're on the hook to feed 1.3 billion people, you have to be creative and inventive or adaptive--whatever the case might be.

Which brings me to the intent of my evening's ramblings. Tonight Brigitte was feeding Trinity some baby food she purchased locally. Brigitte's a great cook and provides healthy and nutritous meals for her family. Trinity's at that age when she is beginning to eat food off the table but still needs some baby food. Guess what Brigitte was feeding Trinity? Go ahead, take a guess.

Nope, that wasn't it. Try again.

Missed it again. Since you're giving up, I'll let you in on the contents of her baby food jar. Get ready--it was brocelli with chicken BONE paste. That's right, chicken bone. (Told you they use everything here.) Trinity was scarfing it down. Brigitte explained that it is a great source of protein and since it has been ground into a paste, Trinity can consume and digest the food.

Based upon my previous experience in Chinese dining, my goal for this trip is to avoid eating fish heads and chicken feet--both delacicies for the Chinese palate. Call me narrow minded, call me finickie, call me squeemish, just call me for dinner where the buffalo roam and the cucumbers are grilled. I'll be quite fine with that.

In the interest of full disclosure, the bread machine just went off and I'm luxurating in the smell of freshly baked bread. I'll have a piece of fresh, hot bread and soak it in organic honey. How's that for having it rough?