Mid-Autumn Festival

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! This year, the festival was held on Sunday, September 27. This annual festival celebrated by the Chinese and Vietnamese celebrates the autumn harvest and the moon.
In mainland China, the festival is celebrated by families gathering together for a meal, giving thanks for the harvest and to ask for blessings (i.e. babies, spouse, beauty, good health, etc).

A key component of this festival is the moon. The Chinese believe the moon and water help with rejuvenation. There is a legend taht the sun and moon are married and the stars are their children. When there is a full moon, it means the moon is pregnant and when it is a crescent shape she has given birth. This belief makes it a popular holiday for women to worship and give offerings to the moon.

It is popular for people to give the gift of moon cake to friends and family. It is a few inches in diameter and has a stamped picture on top. They come in bright, beautiful packages. The moon cake we received had a dragon on it. The closest thing we have to moon cake in the USA are fig newtons. Moon cakes have different fillings inside: red bean (which the Chinese consider very sweet and delicious), green bean, and egg. When I lived in Hong Kong I liked the pineapple flavor but they aren't sold in Xi'an.

Aida, a Chinese friend,  told me that to the Chinese circles represent completeness and unity. So sharing of a moon cake with family represents sharing and unity of a family.

My kids have been looking forward to trying moon cake for several weeks, however our tastes are still pretty American and they didn't enjoy the cake.

Wake Up Call

Sometimes I wish I had the words to describe the unique smells, tastes, smells and sights of China.

Every morning I wake up to beautiful  music and some well, different singing. It's different from what I am used to, but it's not bad. The music begins at  6:30 am and lasts until 9 am.  Most  participating musicians seem to be senior citizens. I've noticed that most people walk by this group and don't stop to listen and to watch the look of joy on the musicians faces.

The men on the right are playing the erhu. The erhu is my favorite instrument. It is a two stringed Chinese instrument that sounds like a violin but is more pure, soothing and beautiful.

The ladies are singing in the traditional Chinese Opera style.

To experience my morning wake up call click here.

太平国家森林公园 Qin Ling Zhou Que Tai Ping National Forest

We wanted to see a local, famous waterfall and thought we were driving up to it but instead we spent the day taking an eight mile hike. We were rewarded with breath taking views the entire hike. The girls held up wonderfully and only complained when I wouldn't pay for them to go down a slide.

Guardian angels watched over us during our hike. We were hiking down the mountain and child #2 was walking backwards and went off the side of the path down a seven foot cliff. She rolled on a flat surface and stopped right before it dropped a few hundred feet. We were able to jump down and lift her up onto the path. Some nice people gave us Kleenex to wash her off with. Through it all she only has a few scratches on her legs and forehead.

Making potstickers

We have been blessed to make amazing friends while in Xi'an. Our friends Tony and Hillary invited us along with Lang and Michelle to learn to make homemade pot stickers. Unfortunately, they eyeballed the ingredients and amounts so I probably can't replicate it again. The pots tickers were amazingly good and the company was wonderful too.


Combine ground beef, young celery, egg whites, salt
water, and some green onions.


 To make the dough combine flour, salt, egg whites
and water in a bowl. Kneed the dough and let it sit.

Kneed the dough and make it into a
donut shape.

 Roll the dough into the shape of a snake. then cut it
into little sections. Flatten the dough with your hands
and roll out.

 

Fill the dough with meat and pinch close. Cook

in boiling water for a few minutes.

To market, to market

Every morning when I grocery shop, my senses are treated to wonderful, weird and exotic smells, sounds, tastes and sights. Grocery shopping is done a little differently here. I don't have a pantry or a large kitchen to store a lot of food in so each morning I shop for fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and bread.
We are lucky enough to have a morning market within walking distance of our house. It held on the sidewalk and is open from 6 am to 9 am daily. Vendors cell an array of items: rice, spices, sugar, peppers, chicken, fish, eggs, all types of fruits and vegetables and some even sell shoes.
When buying food the vendors will call out prices as you walk by. I believe the price is per kg. You walk up and ask for a bag and choose the items you want. The vendors then weigh the food and you pay. I have my favorite egg, grape, bread and peach vendors. I feel their prices are fair, the food is always fresh and delicious and they are nice people.
Prices are pretty cheap. I can get a dragon fruit for $1 I would spend $6 per dragon fruit in Boise. I get 9 eggs for $0.50, peaches are expensive I get 5 for $1.15 A kg of beans was $0.75, The same items would be almost twice as much at the local grocery store.
Police are present during the market, but they look really bored and sit there until 9 am, when they start yelling at people and start kicking at their wares.