It Has Been a Really Rough Migraine Week

As evidenced by the bao. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever made a bao-cano before. Of course, I don’t usually attempt meals with higher degrees of difficulty on migraine days, but I have a missionary leaving next week and I promised him bao one more time before he leaves. So, it was not optional. And despite the multitude of explosions, they still tasted delightful. And I managed to position the parchment paper carefully enough that the steamer baskets didn’t even need to be scrubbed after the eruption. I definitely deserve extra points for that one!

Bao Bounceback

Apparently, Nathan is my child. Because his bao did not turn out as beautiful as he would have liked last week, he made another batch today to redeem himself as a cook. I do things like that all the time. When something doesn’t turn out just right, sometimes most of the time I have to try again to get better results. And most often, I end up needing to try again immediately so my brain can let it go and allow me to sleep. It’s one of those perfectionist tendencies I have. And honestly, sometimes it is a little annoying. I mean, why is a less than perfect cookie so devastating that I have to make a new batch right now so that I can feel good about myself? Seriously, being a perfectionist can be a drag. But at least Nathan waited a whole week before he made bao again. I suspect that is a much healthier way to approach improving upon one’s cooking skills!

Daniel was at work this time, but Tawni was on board for another bao filled day and her sister Charlotte joined the crew as well. And I’m going to be honest. Charlotte, as a bao novice, created some beautifully pleated bao that are far prettier than I have ever been able to make. The unpleated ones still taste just as good, but gosh, I wish I could make them that pretty!

I guess that means I need to make more bao…right now. 😂 

Birthday Bao

Nathan’s birthday is on Wednesday and by way of celebrating his big day, he decided to make bao. Today was a holiday which meant no work for him, so it was designated as bao day. He invited Daniel, Tawni, and Marissa, one of their neighbors, to join in his culinary creations, and they were all excited to participate. I suspect part of that is the “Little Red Hen” bit, the whole “if you help make it you get to help eat it” part, but I also think that there is some interest in learning to make the foods of our culture. Which I love. I also love that Nathan sees cooking as a way to treat himself! 

The end result was a little rough looking, although first timer Marissa created the cutest little bao that steamed up so pretty that I’m a little jealous. 😜 However, all those involved assure me that they tasted marvelous, Marissa stating that her “belly was very happy.” And I definitely believe the rave reviews. There is never any leftover bao, even when they are lacking in the looks department! These people who have been fed the goodness of homemade bao are likely forever ruined where the frozen kind you get at the store are concerned. 

His Chinese is Showing

Nathan has been in desperate need of a vacation, so he has taken a few days off work this week for a mini “staycation.” He has been wanting to make bao for months now and since cooking is a happy thing for him, he scheduled his maiden voyage into steamed buns for today. He has been peppering me with questions for about a week, everything from ingredients to methods to measurements to equipment. He called twice today and did a FaceTime call once to check on additional details. End result? His bao turned out perfectly! They are beautiful and he assures me that they are also delicious.  He says, “Perks to knowing how to make bao: I don’t have to share with ANYONE.” 😂

I’m incredibly pleased that his heritage matters to him and that he’s taking the time to learn how to cook the food of his people. 😊 Plus, he’s right. When he makes it, he is the boss of the bao!

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch…

Like many church member families, we have general conference traditions. While Kevin and I are not home to participate in said traditions, Matthew and Malia didn’t want to skip them. Yesterday Matthew peppered me with questions so that this morning he would have all the knowledge he needed to make our traditional muffins and sausage for breakfast. He already knows how to cook and has made muffins in the past, but he wanted to make sure he remembered how everything went together, and he did a great job! My parents took pity on my two teens and offered to feed them dinner this evening, but Malia has a friend who was being baptized this evening and it was really important for Malia to be there, so they ate lunch with my folks instead. My mom knows that bao is one of Matthew’s basic food groups, so they lucked out and got bao! Yum! 

Daniel pulled out his culinary skills as well and celebrated general conference by making key lime pie for his friends. I love that all my attempts to teach my kids to cook have been fruitful. And that while they might not have loved it when it was happening, they appreciate it now!

Let Them Eat Cake…and Cookies…and Bao…

Today is Matthew’s birthday. He is officially halfway between being a teenager and hitting his twenties. But if I think about it that way, it gets too real too fast, so I’ll just stick with the actual number which is fifteen. Matthew gave up themed birthday cakes and parties quite a few years ago, even younger than the other boys if I remember correctly, so things were super laid back. 

We celebrated Matthew’s birthday with my family on Sunday. It also happened to be the Sunday we celebrated Chinese New Year, which worked out perfectly because Matthew loves bao, wontons and rice, all of which were on the menu. To go with the Chinese theme, he selected Chinese Almond Cookies as his birthday treat. The fun thing about the cookies this time around is the fact that Daniel designed and 3D printed a cookie stamp for me as part of an assignment last semester. It has the Chinese character for family, which is perfect since celebrating our cultural heritage is a big part of our family life. He forgot to flip the image so it would be oriented correctly when stamped, but he is working on making a new one which will stamp things the right direction. Details aside, it works great and the cookies looked fantastic!

I usually let the kids select the menu for dinner on their birthday, but I didn’t let Matthew choose this year. I knew, however, that he would be totally fine with my food selections. We had bao, potstickers, teriyaki beef, and rice, all homemade and from scratch, as I’ve been expanding my Chinese food repertoire over the past several years. It is like Matthew’s most favorite menu ever. He got to eat Chinese food twice in one week and was terribly happy about it. In fact, he liked it so much that he had to get a second plate to hold all the tasty options. Matthew did choose the cake though, and opted to go with cinnamon swirl cake, an all-time family favorite. He wasn’t too keen on lots of candles this year, but he did let us use one and sing to him.

Gift wise, Kev and I gave Matthew a cool Lego Ironman set, another plastic airplane model (just in case what he got for Christmas was not enough to last him until the next gift giving event), and some Cat in the Hat socks. The socks are identical to a pair he got for Christmas a couple of years ago. Several months ago, I noticed that the Cat socks had huge holes in the heels, and he was wearing them over another pair of socks. When queried, he told me they were his favorite socks, and he was doubling up so he could continue to wear them. I decided a new pair of striped Cat in the Hat socks was in order and was able to purchase another pair. Nathan handed Matthew some cold hard cash to help pay for a new watch band for his Apple watch. Malia is in the process of drawing him a dragon. She’s not done yet but is working on a special drawing just for Matthew. 

Matthew has a few friends coming over on Saturday evening to round out his celebrations. He doesn’t want special treats or anything, just some fruit snacks. The invite list includes only about six people and the plan is to play some board games and watch a movie, so it should be a fairly mellow gathering. Mellow or otherwise, being able to spend time with friends is good and I’m so grateful for this little group of friends that has stuck with and supported him for years. 

As Matthew has gotten older, he and Daniel have become pretty good friends. In fact, Daniel texts Matthew far more often than he reaches out to Kev and I and we are ok with that. Matthew and Nathan don’t bicker as much as they did when they are younger, and I think they are on track to being friends as well. I love to see their relationships strengthen as they get older and they hang out with each other by choice, not just by default of blood ties. Matthew loves playing his trumpet, especially if he is playing jazz, and the joy he finds in the music is evident in his face. He really enjoys being on the stage crew at the middle school and has a particular passion for lighting. His favorite card game is “And it Came to Pass” and he can hardly wait to get his braces off so he can eat Starburst again. His food preferences have expanded over the past year or so and he has discovered that he likes some things he was never willing to try in the past. His food limitations are always a hurdle for him in a variety of different ways, but he has learned that being a careful and responsible eater doesn’t have to be boring. 

When I think about the place that Matthew has in our family, I think about the fact that having a third boy was a bit hard for me emotionally. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that Matthew was a much-needed addition to our family. By the time he was born, Kev and I had become too serious, a bit worn down by the realities of life. Matthew, in all his toddler glory, helped us learn to laugh again. And we sorely needed it. Even now, paging through the blog books from his younger years is a surefire way to lighten my mood. I can’t imagine our family without him. 

Oh, and as a last thought, Matthew already has an appointment made at the Driver’s License Division so he can get his learner’s permit. He’s soooo excited about that!

Year of the Ox

One of the ways my family celebrates our Chinese heritage is celebrating Chinese New Year. The actual lunar new year was on February 12, but today would have been the day my family gathered for our traditional big family feast in honor of the day. With our current need to social distance, I decided we were still going to celebrate. However, cooking a dozen courses all by myself seemed daunting so instead of creating one enormous feast where just one bite of everything would make me so full I felt like barfing, I decided to spread the feast out over an entire week. My immediate family was totally on board with the endeavor, of course, so we’ve spent the past week enjoying Chinese cuisine.

While I was pondering how to structure our menu for the week, I realized that while I know how to cook all the Chinese fare, I don’t usually bother with the exception of teriyaki and a variety of stir fries. I know my mom will make things for our Sunday dinners fairly regularly, so I just enjoy it on those occasions. But the accompanying light bulb was the fact that if I don’t teach my kids how to cook these traditional dishes, they will lose that part of their culture. That is something I definitely don’t want to happen, so as often as possible, I included the kids in the creation of the past week’s meals.

We started our weeklong ethnic food experience with the sweet courses, because who doesn’t like to eat dessert first once in a while? Our treat for family home evening on Monday was Chinese almond cookies and gau. The cookies are always a favorite around here, but gau receives more mixed reviews. Daniel, Nathan and I like it while Kevin, Matthew and Malia give it a hard pass. And I’m ok with that. It is actually pretty weird by American standards. I did learn that due to our high altitude, gau doesn’t cook well if you try to steam it the same way you would at sea level. But once I consulted with my mom and broke out the pressure cooker, it came out just right.
 

 

On Tuesday we enjoyed Hawaiian style chicken long rice. While it may not be traditional Chinese fare, my mom grew up in Hawaii so elements from other cultures are mixed up in our traditions. When they are as tasty as chicken long rice, I feel like it is a boon rather than a diluting of the traditions. And it is a reflection of my family heritage. Matthew and Malia absolutely love this particular dish which means I made lots so there would be enough to go around. And I made Malia earn her portion. She sat and shredded all the chicken once it was cooked.

 

Dinner on Wednesday was composed of Chinese chicken salad and shumai. Malia was my sous chef again and help me assemble all the shumai. They are supposed to end up looking like little meat filled baskets, but she thinks outside the box (or the dumpling) and decided she liked them much better shaped as little flowers. They were definitely cute, but due to the fact that they had shrimp in them, she didn’t actually end up liking them. Next time I make them I might have to be a nice mom and leave the shrimp out of a few so she can actually enjoy the fruits of her labor. But for those of us who like seafood, they were delicious. Definitely something we want to see on our menu again.

 

Thursday was our fried rice day. This is a meal that we have more regularly, but I don’t make it the way you usually see it in restaurants around here-rice with some ham, peas and egg. I make it the way my mom taught me-rice with some ham, a plentiful amount of various tasty stir fried veggies and egg. That way it is a full meal rather than just a side dish. I always make one big pan with all the fixings and one small one without the egg so Matthew can enjoy it as well.

We celebrated the arrival of the weekend by eating stir fry noodles with char siu pork on Friday. While I was in the planning phases of this big adventure, I discovered that the char siu seasoning packets I’ve always used have a cross contact warning for peanuts, so I made the char siu from scratch this time. Let me tell you, it was well worth the extra time. It was absolutely delicious. Matthew told me that we never need to use the packets again and I agree with him whole heartedly. We broke with tradition again because didn’t use the traditional egg noodles. Matthew can’t eat them which is why we ditched them, but the egg-free yakisoba noodles we used instead were entirely delicious. Because of the egg noodles, this is one dish Matthew can never eat when we gather with my family. That was a huge perk to doing our food celebration on our own-Matthew could eat everything. 

Saturday was dim sum day. With everyone at home (including Daniel), I had plenty of helpers when it came to creating all our tasty morsels. We enjoyed char siu bao, sweet bean paste bao, wontons with sweet and sour sauce, banana fritters, egg rolls and potstickers. We purchased the egg rolls and potstickers, but everything else was home made.

Throughout the course of the day, I discovered that when my children are involved, Chinese cooking lessons can also double as entertainment. While making bao, Nathan lost his grip and ended up with a bao floor taco. He also managed to create a bao dinosaur which is funny because he was actually trying to make a normal bao and as his attempts headed south, he turned his food into art. The other kids did pretty well with the bao and after several years of practice, I managed to create a couple that look pretty darn close to the traditional twisted top. 

 

While Nathan struggled with bao, he did just fine folding wontons. Of course, he has had lots of practice there so he had some past skills to fall back on. Malia was terribly dismayed with the sad results of her first wonton, but by her third she had it all figured out. Matthew’s first attempt was laughable, but his second was just fine. However, he is a (nearly) 14-year-old boy and he got bored making normal wontons so he got creative and we ended up with an Eiffel Tower wonton. As for Daniel, origami genius extraordinaire, he made beautiful wontons from the get go.

I think dim sum night was my favorite of the week. Yes, there is a lot of manual labor involved. But not only did we eat the foods that we generally eat least frequently, but all my little clan was here. And we all worked together to create our meal. And we talked and laughed and celebrated our heritage and had a fabulous time. And yes. I did in fact eat too much. But not so much that I felt like barfing. So that’s a plus. 😜

 

This evening we finished our weeklong celebration with our family favorite broccoli beef. We also celebrated Matthew’s birthday, but that is another post. After the whirlwind of activity that was dim sum day, today was a nice, calm day. It was wonderful to have all my kiddos here. I know that in coming years, these moments will become fewer and farther between, so I intend to enjoy them whenever they occur. And while the social aspect of celebrating with our extended family was missed, I actually really enjoyed spreading the food out so I could enjoy each and every dish. Having said that, I’m really starting to crave a good burger. 😉

Bao…Wow?

Nathan’s best friend likes trying new foods, which is good since he will be going to the Philippines (the home of balut-google it and gag if you don’t know what it is) on his mission this fall. Since Nathan has taken to bragging about his Chinese heritage (mostly because people look at him and don’t believe him unless he is with Daniel, me or one of his more Asian looking cousins), he wanted to give Tate (the best friend) a sample of the goodness that is Chinese home cooking. So he convinced me (and he didn’t even have to talk very hard) to make char siu bao for lunch today. We thought we’d get all fancy and try to make them the traditional pleated way. I looked up a YouTube video (it was all in Chinese but since I just needed the visual it all worked out) to figure out how it is done. The lady in the video made it look super easy, but it was not quite as simple as it appeared. We gave it our best shot and some of them turned out ok…

…some, not so much.

But they all tasted good! As far as looks go, please remember that we are all watered down Chinese born in Utah and give us a break. 😉