Baijiu

Once Wednesday's typhoon rolled through (It was rated a 10/12 by the way!), NZ had to fly to Chengsha for business.

And as customary here in China, he was treated to some of Chengsha's best. He had his first taste of Baijiu, which is a special Chinese liquor, which, in the words of NZ, is "hardcore sh--". A few rounds of toasting with that stuff, and even the Irish men will be under the table.

But, I'm guessing Baijiu looked a lot more appetizing compared to this...



I'd have to be pretty sideways to drink this stuff!

Those are real snakes.

Marinating in liquor.

And people drink that stuff.

Fo' real?!

Feeeeshies

To help absorb the Baijiu, NZ was served a plate of fish. Looks like mackarel to me. Who knows?

He said it was okay.

I think I'm glad I wasn't at that table with him.

I'm game for Peking duck. Or gyoza. Or Dumplimgs. Or Dim Sum.

But I'm still not brave enough to try the seafood dishes yet.

Maybe I need some Baijiu first?

Then again, Baijiu may provide the liquid courage that leads to trying snake liquor...

Which would then result in the worst hangover of the century.

...and that would totally suck.

I'll leave the baijiu drinking and fish eating to the boys.

Koi ponds

I'd love to do a video tour of the grounds here, but everywhere I go, there are signs specifying "NO cameras", "NO laying", "NO sitting", "NO skateboarding", "NO rollerskating", " NO swimming", that makes me envision this eye in the sky keeping tabs on us, because people around here really do follow the rules...Well, sorta, I did catch a little boy peeing in the planter outside block 14 yesterday--in his defense, there is no sign that clarifies "NO peeing"..Why does this not surprise me?

Anyways, aside from the pee anywhere acceptability (did I mention the police officer we watched pull his scooter over on the greenbelt behind our complex to take a leak one afternoon? ..Anyways, yeah--we watched him pull over, drop his drawers and pee in the trees)..Back to the point--the tour--and the "NO camera" policy. I guess it's to keep privacy for those of us who live here, but I wish I could just snap a few pictures to share back home.

Well, it's your lucky day--because this morning, NZ came along on Sal and my morning walk.

With iPhone in hand.

And guess what? He got a picture of Sal and I about to feed the koi.

Sneaky husband. He's so cool.

We have 5 koi ponds in our complex, and many of the first floor apartments actually have yards that open up out onto the ponds. Some have decks, some do not. Although we think living in a first floor apartment with a basement and yard sounds pretty cool, I do have reservations about it--seeing as I have a rather curious little boy to raise. I can just picture a mobile little one year-old motoring out the door, straight into the pond. He'd be the kid whose mom made him wear floaties24/7 "just in case".

Anyways, Sal and I take a few walks each day, zig zagging through our complex, and sometimes we get really wild and go out onto the greenbelt on the other side of our gates, but that means I have to have our passports in hand, and well, that's a nuisance, and I am lazy. Carrying Sal is enough.

We stop and look at the Koi, and on a few of our walks, we have passed by an older gentleman who plays the flute for the fish. I call him the pied piper. If he is out playing music, we usually have a seat ( where allowed, of course..don't want to break the NO sitting rule either..apparently some benches you CAN sit on, and others you can't. Go figure) and listen to him. All of the fish come his way-- there are literally hundreds at his feet.

This morning, NZ grabbed a bag of oats and we got to feed the fish with Sal. We may not have musical talents, but a bag of oats works just the same!

Give a man a fish..

..and if it's NZ, he'll make Ceviche!

Nick and his pop played hooky from work one day last week and went fishing off the coast of Santa Barbara. One of the benefits of living where we do is definitely the proximity to the ocean, and the freshest fish, ever.


They brought home a bag of fish, and instead of doing fish & chips, NZ opted to make a super healthy (all raw ingredients) Ceviche, and it was to die for. Marinated in citrus juice, the juice "cooks" the fish..It's a wonderful appetizer, or if you're like us, throw in a bag of tortilla chips ( or homemade chips, will post those later) and make it a meal!

Nick's Ceviche

3-4 c. raw white ocean fish. Cut into small pieces, about the size of a dice.

2 c. chopped tomatoes ( same size as the fish)

1/2 c. diced white onion. Keep the pieces the size of an eraser head or smaller.

3 garlic cloves cut into small pieces. You want these to give flavor but not have big pieces in any one bite.

2 medium jalapenos. Same size pieces as the onion.

1/4 bushel of cilantro, finely chopped.

8-10 Lemons & limes

Add everything to a mixing bowl. Add citrus juice until it coats everything in the bowl. You don't want to have the ingredients swimming in the juice, but you also don't want them to be dry. Nick uses lemon and lime in his. 4 limes to every one lemon seems to be a good mix.