Family Fridays: New Apartment

Our current landlord doesn't wish to rent to us again next year (he said he wants to give it to his parents), so we had to find a new apartment. Thankfully, we found another one we liked in the same apartment complex, so it won't be a very far move. It's pretty similar to our current place, but it has three bedrooms instead of two. Here are the before pictures.

DIY Whole Strawberry Sauce

I like this pureed version of strawberry sauce a lot, but this time I wanted to make one with whole strawberries. It tastes just as delicious, just with a different texture. It is great with these hearty pancakes or in homemade yogurt. I am sure it would be great on ice cream as well.

Homemade Whole Strawberry Sauce Recipe

• Four cups hulled strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch

1. In a medium saucepan, pour the sugar over the hulled strawberries, and let sit 15–60 minutes. This allows the strawberries to macerate and brings out their natural juices.
2. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with cold water, and stir until smooth.
3. Add cornstarch mixture into the strawberries and stir well. Turn on heat, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens.
4. Remove from heat. Serve hot or cold. The sauce will thicken more when chilled.

Mandarin Mondays: 太贵了(Too expensive)

Meat Market

Both my husband and I recently had Mandarin lessons that covered bartering in the market for fruit, so I thought I'd talk a little bit about bartering here today.

This type of language is really one of the first things that you have to learn here. "How much is this?" (duō shǎo qián?, 多少钱？) is one of my most used mandarin phrases, possibly even more than hello, but less than they are not twins.

When shopping in any open air market or relatively small shop, the prices may be negotiable. If the shop keeper gives you a price that is too expensive (tài guìle, 太贵了) you just say so, and they will either give you a counter offer, ask you how much you want to give them for the item, or tell you no this is really cheap. The last means they won't lower the price, and you can take it or leave it.

Often food sellers here won't lower their prices unless you are a Kunming native or have developed a good relationship with a particular seller. So in one nearby market, we often have to ask several people for the price of something like tomatoes, until someone gives us a good deal, or go consistently to the same seller who usually gives us a fair price.

Coming back from buying fruit

But really, we don't really want to spend a lot of time bartering for a few cents off of vegetables anyway, so if we aren't finding good deals that day we'll usually just pay a little bit more or head to Walmart. You don't barter at Walmart, department stores, or KFC in case you're wondering. And yes, it would be weird if you tried to.

Things we do barter for are bigger items like furniture from the used furniture market or a rental prices on apartments. Some people will go down a significant amount on some of these things, and you can actually save real money. And sometimes simply walking away or acting disinterested will make the seller want to lower the price all on their own. This silent method of bartering is one of our favorites, as the seller is lowering the price of their own volition and would never tell you a price that they couldn't still make a profit off of.

Family Fridays: Week in Pictures

Aaron reading Thomas books to Andrew

Qiqi comes to play

Friends over

Chocolate boy Jr. returns

Andrew "doing" dishes

Aaron beating his record for hanging up laundry

Easy Chocolate Truffles

I love chocolate ganache. The extremely simple combination of good dark chocolate and real cream taste pure and elegant. These chocolate ganache truffles are quite easy. I found this method and ratio of chocolate to cream to work the best for shaping into balls. It doesn't melt all over your hands, but is still soft and pliable. These are great for a party, gift, or anytime.

Homemade Chocolate Ganache Truffle Recipe

• 8 oz chocolate chopped or chips (use whatever % of cacao that you prefer to eat plain because there is no additional sweetener in this recipe, I used half 62% dark chocolate chopped and half semisweet chocolate chips, and we all really liked them)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• cocoa powder or chocolate for covering the truffles

1. Chop the chocolate and place in a heat safe mixing bowl.
2. In a saucepan, heat the cream to just simmering, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Once the edges begin to bubble, pour over chocolate.
3. Let is sit a few minutes so the chocolate begins to melt, and then stir until well combined and smooth.
4. Chill in the refrigerator a few hours or over night.
5. When the mixture is very firm, but still pliable, scoop out rounded teaspoons full, and use your clean hands to roll them into round balls.
6. At this point, you can either roll them in cocoa powder right away, or return to the fridge or freezer to chill a little more before dipping them in melted chocolate.
7. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes about 2 dozen. 

Mandarin Mondays: Spring (春天)

Spring (chūn tiān, 春天) is beginning in the Spring City of Kunming, and the trees in our apartment complex are gorgeous.

Family Fridays: Yes Boy

This past week, Andrew has started saying "yes" a lot. It is really cute when Andrew says "ye-es." He still says "no" a whole lot, but maybe this is a start in lessening the negativity of this little two-year-old.

Mandarin Mondays: Now (现在)

I recently resumed Mandarin lessons with my tutor. During my last Mandarin lesson my tutor reviewed time words and phrases such as "what time is it now" (xiàn zài jǐ diǎn, 现在几点)

We started class (shàng kè, 上课) in the morning (shàng wǔ, 上午) and finished class (xià kè, 下课) before afternoon (xià wǔ, 下午).

My tutor is a very good teacher. She is having me practice pronunciation and tones a lot right now too. She says it can be hard when you're learning, but I'll thank her later.

Family Fridays: Last Friday's Trip to the Zoo

Last week, my husband had a friend from elementary come to visit for the week. We we're a little busy last week, but here are a few pictures from Friday's trip to the zoo.

DIY Light and Fluffy Pancakes

This a a more traditional pancake recipe than the hearty pancake recipe. While not quite as nutritious, these taste great and are fun to make for special occasions or company. I made them in heart shapes with strawberry sauce for Valentine's Day.

Homemade Fluffy Pancake Recipe

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup milk (or buttermilk)
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and stir until smooth.
2. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter onto a hot greased griddle.
3. Cook until underside is brown. Flip over, and cook until the other side is brown. 
4. To make heart shapes I first tried making heart shapes right on the griddle, but found it easier to cut a heart out of the middle of a large pancake. I really like how the pancake with the heart cut out of the middle looks with the hole filled in with strawberry syrup, very festive.

This recipe makes enough for 1–2 adults, but this basic ratio is easily doubled, quadrupled, or more. Serve warm with homemade butter, pancake syrup, spiced syrup, strawberry syrup, orange marmalade, lemon marmalade, or pumpkin butter for a really special treat.