Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Tomorrow, January 26, 2009, is Chinese New Year. I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes for Chinese Dumplings or Pot Stickers. If you are fortunate enough to live near an Asian food store and can easily find the pot sticker skins or wrappers, I hope you will try out this recipe. Out here, the nearest Asian food store is in Raleigh--about 2.5 hours away! (I have stock piled 4 packages in my freezer for emergencies.) However, I have discovered that I can also go to a local Chinese food restaurant and ask to purchase a package of dumpling skins. The last time I did that, however, the employees didn't realize that I could understand what they were saying to each other and I quickly caught on to the idea that the price would be negotiable so I bargained with them in Chinese to get the skins for a decent price.

In China and Taiwan, the New Year holiday is a time for family and friends to get together and EAT.

Chinese Dumplings

¾ lbs. lean ground beef, pork, chicken or 1 tub (14 oz.) firm tofu, drained and crumbled
1 cup finely chopped cabbage
8 water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
¼ tsp. salt
1 package (12 oz.) Round pot sticker wraps
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 cups chicken broth
• Soy Sauce and Vinegar to taste (for dipping sauce)
Combine meat or tofu, cabbage, water chestnuts, green onions, ginger, soy sauce and salt in a bowl; mix well. Use 1 tsp. filling for each dumpling. Follow folding directions (moisten edges, fold in half, press together). Heat 2 tsp. oil in a wide, non-stick skillet over low heat. Put 1/3 pot stickers in pan and cook till bottoms are golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Add 1 cup broth, cover and simmer until tender, 10 minutes. Uncover and cook until all liquid is absorbed. Remove with spatula onto serving plate. Repeat with remaining pot stickers. Serve with soy sauce and vinegar.

The Official "Jamie Stamp of Funny" Part 2

A co-worker of Andy's sent this link to him. It's really funny. Just click on the title of this post and Enjoy!

Snow?!?!?

It snowed yesterday!!! When we moved here, I was told that the last time it snowed in Wilmington was about 15 years ago. It seems really strange to A) live in a place where it is even possible for it to snow and B) to look out my window and see snow on the ground. I guess that having grown up in Hawaii and after living in California for the last 7 years or so that snow in a beach town seems so contradictory!!

Laney

Andy and I went to a Laney High School basketball game last week. They were playing one of the local rival high schools (Hoggard). We wanted a chance to check out the gym and one of the kids who goes to church with us plays on the team as well. For those who may not know it, Michael Jordan is from Wilmington and he went to Laney High School. When Melanie came out to visit us in September, we snuck into the gym and, in the dark, we tried to get a look at the place. Although we couldn't see very much, we were pretty disappointed. The gym is pretty run down and the bleachers are...gross. There are a few Michael Jordan posters on the wall and the gym floor has a classic MJ image on it, but other than that, you would never have guessed that this was where he started out.



As a side note, we have it on good authority that this is the coach...THE MAN...who coached AND benched Michael Jordan.

Giving Props to the Hyphen

I don't claim to be a genius when it comes to grammar. But I do know a few things. A couple months ago, I was at a choir rehearsal and there was a grammatical error in the text. I pointed it out to the director, the error was agreed upon by only one other person, no one else could argue that I was wrong, we all corrected the text and continued singing. Later on, a couple of young women who were sitting in front of me turned around and said, "Did you go to grammar school or something?" I snickered and nodded my head.

Thanks to a rigorous Business Communications class I took in college, I do know a thing or two about using hyphens. In fact; my boss, a very adroit writer, has been known to compliment my ability to accurately make corrections to even his letters. Part of the downfall of learning things is that you become painfully aware of others' mistakes. Some people manage to make a career out of doing just that.

That being said, I'm blogging about hyphens today. I just can't take it any longer. There are lots of rules about when to use a hyphen, but I want to focus on the use of (or lack of use of) hyphens for the purpose of creating a temporary compound. Stay with me, folks. When you have two words that both describe another word, you should probably be using a hyphen. So for example, if I'm talking about a well-known author, there are two words (well and known) that are both trying to describe the word author. It's as if the two words can magically be combined by the miracle of a hyphen. So in cases where I have two adverbs or adjectives immediately before the word they are describing, I should use a hyphen. This eliminates any confusion about the author being both well and known. For example, you could say...
- I enjoy doing work-related activities.
- I took the slow-moving train to Beijing.
- They enjoy their fast-paced careers.

Without a hyphen, I might wonder if the paced careers are fast. This is what drives me crazy.

However, if I know of an author who is well known, I don't need a hyphen because the two words are not modifying (or describing) the next word (author appears before the adjectives). Another exception is when the first adjective/adverb has 'ly' at the end. Don't use a hyphen after a word that ends in 'ly'. So you can say...
- The lovely little girl gave me a flower.
- I couldn't stop staring at the poorly dressed boy.
- I have never tasted a more magically delicious cereal!

For those of you who are more confused now about the proper use of hyphens, go Google the topic or ask an English major for further clarification. Please. For those of you who might be realizing that you are among one of the many negligent writers out there, you're welcome. Now go. And be a less-confusing writer.

Techno Help

So our cell phone contract is up this week and Andy and I are looking at switching or updating our cell phone plans and we realize that we will most likely be locked into a new 2-year plan. Does anyone out there have any suggestions as to a good deal or provider? I know that last year (while I was locked into a contract) my co-workers joined the Sprint SERO plan and got super-amazing deals, but that plan is no longer available. So if you have any ideas, please let me know.

Also, I have been wanting to get an iPod for quite some time, but can't bring myself to pull the trigger because I'm not convinced that an iPod is the best value out there. I am interested in the Nike sport kit that helps you track how far you have run and tracks your progress online etc., but I'm wondering if there are other MP3 players out there with similar features/sport kits that will help me to stay motivated as I run. Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Holiday Fun!

For Christmas this year, we were able to spend some time with Emma over the pre-Christmas weekend and a few hours on Christmas. We really packed in the fun. We invited a couple neighborhood girls over to put together a gingerbread house and to decorate sugar cookies.
It was a lot of fun, but the cookie decorating ended in an icing fight. On Christmas Day, we all opened presents and Emma was particularly excited about the Hannah Montana Holiday doll that Grandma Carol sent her. You can judge for yourself by her reaction.

She also enjoyed rocking out with her Hannah Montana electric guitar/video game.

She was quite adept at opening presents and really enjoyed Christmas in general.

As soon as we dropped her off at home, we drove to Nashville Tennessee to spend the weekend with my brother, his family, my sister and my parents. It was fun to have at least half of the family together. Ella was pretty darn cute. She is convinced that she is a Princess and loved putting on her princess dress and crown. She was sure to tell people, "I Princess" and "I Funny". It's hard to argue with her...

We went on a tour of Auntie Maren's office...the Nashville Symphony Hall. It is a beautiful building. Of course we can't have a family gathering without playing Family Feud. It was a lot of fun. Andy also taught my family how to play Settlers...or as my mom calls it, "Sticks and Bricks".
We brought in the New Year last night at a friends house. We played Rock Band and had a great time.

Happy New Year!!