I'm not really a huge fan of mooncakes, but I dutifully purchase a box each year:
Since it fell on a Friday this year, I decided to host a party on Saturday. And since I have learned how to make jiu-cai hezi, and figured that that seemed like a nice celebratory thing to make, I made 'em!
I have to admit, I'm proud of my gift for eyeballing measurements. DL came home from running errands when I was halfway through, and organizing the first dozen hezi into two tidy rows on the cookie sheet. I was embarrassed to be so... particular about arranging them (just to sit! They get pan-fried, not baked!). But he understood, since after all, it is his extremely tidy wiring that first made me notice him. :)
When I had finished wrapping them, lo and behold, rows of six were precisely the way to go, as I finished with exactly six rows of six:
(and only four tiny lumps of dough extra)
And finished the filling perfectly!
I also took a cue from M, who roasts root vegetables whenever she bakes something. "Why turn on the oven to cook only one thing?" she says. So, wanting to roast a chicken for the feast, I roasted two chickens:
And I sent the leftover chicken from the first bird home with guests, and now we have a whole roast chicken for pot pies, tacos, enchiladas, etc, etc!
Speaking of dough, last week, I made my own jiao-zi skins for the first time!
They came out pretty good!
Only a few tore, where I had rolled the dough too thin, but they didn't fall apart:
Look! This sunflower that I had been eyeballing for the past two weeks finally bloomed on Thursday!
On Saturday, it looked like this!
A second one is about to bloom, but it is seven feet in the air, so I can't really tell!
It's weirdly warm nowadays, but not unpleasant. Roooooo is comfy in it:
And Cricket is comfy in it:
And so are honeybees!
2 comments:
Sunflowers in your front yard? or elsewhere? Very nice, whats nicer is to know you are enjoying it. The dumplings looks great, hope I could try them. Glad you eat well. Try to cut down stir-fry to protect your lung. Salad is healthy. We nowadays steam broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, Brussels sprouts. We still stir fry leafy greens because we don't know how to cook them otherwise.
@mdr, I grew those sunflowers from seeds! I steam a lot of broccoli. I roast cauliflower in the oven. Brussels sprouts go in the oven, too. Steamed brussels sprouts?!? That is the reason white kids hate veggies!
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