cooking update

so, last thursday was the big day! my friend, irene, and i did a demonstration at linda's (my pastor's wife's) house on basic chinese stir-frying/cooking and i have to say that it went VERY well! i had a TON of fun with irene and all of the ladies that were there and was especially blessed to see my friend and mentor, trina, from when i first became a christian. trina was my first joy in the morning small group leader and later i led a group with her and learned so much from her! okay, i digress. we cooked two dishes - asparagus with beef and bok choy with tofu. they both turned out pretty yummy! we had a great time demonstrating, laughing, tasting, ringing the bell!, and just fellowshipping with one another. so, what did i learn? i am now more confident with my cooking skills and will start having friends over to try some of my chinese food. (so far, my only guinea pigs have been allan, the kids, my sister, and nate.) :) thanks, linda, for encouraging me, hosting, and giving me the opportunity to share some of my heritage! and, thanks, irene, for being my partner in crime!

julia child asian style!

uh, NOT! i'm no julia child, but i have been asked to do a demonstration later this month on how to do basic chinese cooking/stir-frying. we cook a lot of chinese meals at home, but it's all home-style stuff; not the kind of stuff that you would find in restaurants. my friend, irene, and i are tag-teaming it and i am both excited and nervous about it. i'm excited to be doing this with my friend and to be sharing some of my heritage with others, but i'm nervous about it because i haven't invited even my closest friends over to try my chinese cooking. i've only dared do that with my sister and (i think) my cousin. surprisingly, though, my kids eat the best when it's my chinese food! the other reason i'm nervous is because i HATE doing anything in front of a large group of people when their attention is focused on me. yuck.

anyway, i got to thinking, if you could learn how to make one chinese dish (a favorite, most likely), what would it be? mine would be these things called happy rolls at shanghai cafe in factoria/bellevue, one of our favorite chinese restaurants. another would be the curry from the roti canai at malay satay hut in seattle, another favorite eatery. (the roti canai is malaysian, not chinese, but i would still love to learn how to make it.) if you have a yummy chinese recipe and want to share the love, email it to me!

i'll let you know how everything goes when it's all done!