you don't wanna know

deep fried silk worm chrysallis

yep. i ate one.

didn't think i'd have it in me, eh? well. ONE was enough. tasted a little like fried dirt. clean, yet earthy... the korean mum who ordered these for us to try today was dissapointed - she was hoping they'd come steamed.

i'm rather thankful they did not. cuz i'm not sure i could have downed it if it were. but i did it all sans beverage, cuz mine never arrived.

my week of old meat

i know i know - it's been awhile. but w/ the whole chinese new year thang, ayi had her own fishballs to fry and we gave her 10 days off. like most of china. including our DAILY newspaper. who'da thunk?

anywayze, we're back at it. and i have a few pix to post to play catsup. but i'll start w/ today, and move back thru the week, if you can stomach it. not so sure i did. but i made a new old friend. learned i can pocket a bottle of tabasco everytime we head out to our fambly friendly haunt (blue frog) (but i promised the teachers i'd stay away from their friday nites - cuz that's when they hang out there - 2fers - till 8pm.

ok ok. back to plate presentation. nothing's improved. did we actually think it might after an extended leave? i bought new plates (they're red). but i think they're too much trouble to get out of the butterfly cabinet. i somehow think it improves the taste of dinners of late.

this? methinks it's my arugula along w/ the daikon radish she bought on monday. mixed w/ the rest of the bottle of sesame oil. that's all i taste. radish. oil. arugula. served room temp. not bad. but a bit too oily for my taste. but now i have no arugula left for MY evening salad (of mixed greens that i guard closely or they'll be served up cooked, for lunch).

cabbage. 2nd time this week. but today it's yellow. i dunno why it's so yellow. she doesn't use any of my spices. otherwise, i'd think tumeric. maybe just too much chicken flavored msg. oh. and pepper. and garlic cloves. we use a lot of garlic here. whole and cloven.

no zhu rou today.

instead? i get this.
the gristly bits of the steak we cooked a week ago. might have been last TUESDAY - the last day of the holiday. i distinctly remember not being able to actually EAT my meal cuz we had pop in visitors with perfect timing (just off the grill) that wouldn't leave. so we just packed the whole thing up (baked potato, sauteed mushrooms and all) in hopes that we'd eat it the next day (or the next day or the day after that). apparently, there was still some left for lunch today (WEDNESDAY). and since she's painfully aware i'm not fond of the zhu rou, this was deemed an acceptable protein replacement.

from ducks... to soup

i know i know - i REALLY should have labeled this post "PETS?? or MEAT???" - i HAVE a sense of humor. but i just couldn't. unbelievably so, we almost got to that point. this dang thing was quacking about early monday morning so much that it woke the varkenkidlets up and they had to wander down three flights of stairs to the back laundry to see who/what was making such a ruckus. and then wanted to set it free.

can you bleeb it showed up in a plastic GROCERY BAG???
(it did)

unfortunately for him - i mean HER - it was she (making such the ruckus)

and, although we were promised a reprive till "this aftahnoon!!," he was done in by 10am. much to the chagrin of all involved (well, except for ayi - who got the major reprieve from all the laundry).

i really was expecting something a little closer to the following. clean, prepared - you know - something that a city girl can handle. i've PLUCKED a few birds before. i've just never had to MEET them first!!!

and yet. after all that. mr(s) quackers turned out to be nuthing more than a big bowl of czarnina. yes. the varkenkidlets did try a bit. and yes - mr. varkenjaab and i did have our share. it just wasn't all that i wanted it to be.

quite delishuss. and quite local. but not exactically local and delishuss.

mr varkenjaab says it's cuz i chickened out again on the potato dumplings. and yes. he would be right. but it was hard enough mixing in the bright red congealed mass o' half coagulated blood and flour to make it soup.

look. i tried my best.

but i'm not saving any leftovers...

a whole mess o' onions!

technically, this was yesterday's lunch, but one of the varkenkidlets stayed home from skool yesterday. he was not at all interested in my usual glisteny mass of vegetables (and zhu rou). he opted for one of the precious few cans of spaghettios. which i happily microwaved for him.

ayi thinks i'm serving him italian fud. notsomuch...

ayi and i had a little come to jesus chat on vegetable market monday. she now understands i am not fond of zhu rou.
or eggs.
ah, but you know it's in there - the zhu rou. only one piece is visible, though. i musta picked out at least another dozen. other than the zhu rou, nuthin' but spring onions.
also, i'm pretty sure that she goes thru a butt-ton of sugar and salt and chicken flavored msg. she's off to the store at the moment, replacing.

sigh... sigh... sigh...