show and tell...

You know that saying the more you need to do to the more you can get done? I hope it's true as I have  too much to do this week! To the point of planning on returning emails on the mtr and Google mapping stores that are on the way of my priority to dos to run multiple errands in one trip! Crossing my fingers it all works out! Without further ado here's some snippets I thought you'd like..

• If you need a break between red lining all your Monday morning to dos, check out the panda cam at the National Zoo. The awww factor is huge with rare twin pandas only a couple of days old! 
• Remember the Crazy, Rich Asians book? Well, good news Mr. Kwan is out with his next book- China Rich Girlfriend. And rumor has it Crazy Rich Asians is being made into a movie. Bad news- Mr. Kwan was here in The Kong and I didn't know it and I missed him. 
• The flights back and forth between Hong Kong and the states are some of the longest  in the world. The resulting jet lag can be miserable. So it's great news that there is a new three minute cure! But seriously, it requires almost freezing! It think I'll take my chances with melatonin. 
• I made the decision that we must get out of our regular dinner meal rut. I'm sick of spaghetti, tuna and the normals. This Sunday I printed out several recipes I had pinned and we're going to give them a try. Starting with a red pepper pasta sauce over homemade gnocchi (all vegan and gluten free!). How about you? Any new dinners you'd like to share? 

xox, 

Christine

traditional bubble waffles...

Our beloved Kong is a public transportation wonderland. Pick your favorite. taxi. mtr (subway). tram. double decker. And our F1 doppelganger -- minibuses (basically fast driving vans that operate as buses). My children prefer the mtr as every mtr station has food stalls. As soon the mtr slows to a crawl at our station the begging begins. Mama, can I have a waffle? noodles? shu mai? But ever since my son was diagnosed with celiac disease, half of my pair can't enjoy the yummy bubble waffles (gai daan tsai). Then just the other day I stumbled upon this egg waffle recipe at Williams Sonoma. I was quite surprised that they have the gai daan tsai recipe and the pan.  I purchased my waffle pan on Hong Kong's Shanghai Street as Williams Sonoma does not ship to Hong Kong. I substituted gluten free flour for the cake flour and abracadabra we can enjoy egg waffles for an after school snack. 

Ever the multitasker, I began by melting the butter while sifting my gluten free flour, salt, baking soda and a just a touch of grated nutmeg.

Then I whisked the egg yolks, milk, vanilla, melted butter and granulated sugar all together.  

I mixed the the wet and dry ingredients together and then gently folded in the egg whites. It should be a bit runnier than pancake batter and thicker than crepe batter. 

Now its time to heat up the egg waffle iron. After the iron's warm, brush it with oil. The Williams Sonoma recipe calls for vegetable oil, but I used grape seed oil due to its higher flash point. Just in case I should leave the iron on the burner too long. It's been known to happen... 

Pour in enough batter to fill up the bubbles on the bottom of the pan. I used a pancake dispenser to be sure I didn't make a huge mess. Close the top onto the bottom of the pan and quickly flip it over.  Flipping the pan allows the batter to cover both sides and develops the traditional egg or bubble shape. Let each side cook for about one or two minutes depending on how hot your burner is set.

Let the waffles cool off for a couple minutes on a wire rack prior to serving. My waffle iron turned out over ten waffles whereas the Williams Sonoma recipe states their pan makes five waffles. After looking at the online pictures I'm fairly certain my waffle iron is smaller than theirs. 

The children were famished after school and quickly gobbled all the waffles up before I could experiment with toppings. Next time I will try the gai daan tsai with powdered sugar, a sprinkling of cocoa, nutella, or maybe a generous smear of peanut butter. Wow, they would probably also be delish as a sandwich. Could even add sprinkles for a birthday breakfast!

xox, 

c

 all photos by Heidi Selch

Egg waffle pans available at...

Williams Sonoma

Bed, Bath and Beyond

Shanghai St.

show and tell...

I will miss this the most when it comes time to leave Hong Kong (other than friends of course). Seriously, I can just pop into the beach on the way to to do groceries, the butcher, the doctor and the gym. And I do. I am there more in the winter than the summer. Probably the irony of it all. Most of the locals think its freezing outside when the mercury lowers to 60F. And then there are still diehards swimming in the ocean. I'm sure they are thinking that chubby gweilo could move a little faster. Oh, well, I'm the only gweilo there.

I have a chock full schedule this week (who doesn't?), but looking forward to some new challenges. Before I head to pilates here's a few snippets to enjoy...

• We had friends over for dinner and I baked this chocolate flourless cake. It was delicious. You would have never guessed it was gluten free. 
• Friends and family at home doubt me when I tell them that in Hong Kong people line up to get into numerous luxury stores (think Hermes and Chanel). I am not kidding. Here's an article with photos to prove it. But it's still insane no matter how you slice it!
• Have you ever seen children dressed up as old people for Halloween? Adorable? Well now you don't have to wait for Trick or Treat. Check out Zachary Scott's photography of children dressed as old people. My fav is the girl with a cane and babushka.
• Last week a wrote a post for Live Sigma Kappa regarding the pantone color of the year, marsala. Check it out for tips on adding marsala into your home. 
• For those of you who eat gluten free for weight loss or celiac disease, Sassy has published a new 2015 Gluten Free Guide in Hong Kong. My son loves the gluten free pizza at Pizza Express, but be sure to call ahead. Sometimes they are out of gluten free dough.
• I finally started the BBC series Sherlock Holmes. It is quite good if you need a tv break. It's available on netflix. 

Hope you all have a great Monday!

xox,
c

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Seize the moment. Remember all the women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.
-Erma Bombeck

So here we are just barely two weeks into the new year. Are you keeping up with your resolutions? As you can see, mine was clearly not to cut out all sugar. Everything in moderation. Right? I did resolve to be healthier not eliminate entire food groups. This week I am keeping my commitment and visiting a dietitian. I'll be sure to pass along any and all fab tips. But first here are some snippets I found I thought you might enjoy...

• The snickerdoodles above are gluten free and delicious. I found a great recipe on pinterest. Check out my board full of other gluten free options. 
• While surfing on a lazy Sunday, I stumbled across David Sedaris' short story in The New Yorker.  It's as good as everything else he's written. Pour yourself a cup of tea and 
• Whose child doesn't like legos? Have you checked out the new bird legos? The set includes a hummingbird, robin and blue jay.  They are pretty cool! 
• Ok, I had just figured out how to wake up to music on my iPhone from my playlist. Did you know you can use Pandora as a wake up station as well? Not me either! And you can listen to Pandora to fall asleep also. Give it a whirl. 
• Over break I finally joined the masses and binge watched all of Broadchurch (available on Netflix). If you haven't watched it you definitely should try it. But I would skip the American version (Gracepoint is available on hulu). Not nearly as good and I had trouble with David Tennant with an American accent. And the American version has been cancelled already anyhow. 

xox,

c

mango pudding

Mango pudding is an Asian favorite and frequently served after dim sum in Hong Kong. The boxed mango pudding mix can be easily found in most local grocery stores, but all the ones I've found included artificial colorings and other preservatives. After searching pinterest I quickly came to the conclusion its just as easy to make the pudding from scratch. The most basic recipe I have found is from food tv.

• 2 ripe mangos
• 1 gelatin packet (3/4 oz)
• 1/2 C hot water
• 1/3 sugar (or less)
• 1 C evaporated milk 

The recipe could be easily altered for vegans. Just substitute coconut milk (or whichever non dairy milk you enjoy) for the evaporated milk and use agar instead of the gelatin. If you are watching your sugar intake you could also try a sugar substitute instead of sugar as well. I think next time I will try the agar and coconut milk, maybe even less sugar. Maybe try stevia instead of sugar?

1. Peel and chop both the mangoes.
2. Puree the mangoes until smooth and no lumps.
3. Boil the water. Remove from heat and add the gelatin.
4. Stir the gelatin until well dissolved. Add the sugar.
5. Add the water solution to the pureed mangoes.
6. Pour into desired bowls before the pudding sets.
7. Refrigerate at least two hours, but overnight's best.

This is a great dessert to take to a dinner party. Its already gluten free and can be vegan and dairy free. You could also gift the hostess the pretty dish you serve the pudding in. Enjoy.

xox,

c

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I could say I was planking, but it's really downward dog...

New year rolled in unannounced. The decision to be healthier had already been made. Be more productive. Do what is important. if that entailed watching all of Broadchurch over Christmas Break then so be it. Add in baking gluten free sugar cookies with the children. But I suspect it's probably time to switch back to snacks of roasted chickpeas and kale chips...

• Let's begin with... I really need a new hair style. I really don't want to lose my long hair, but really it's style is just blah.. I found these helpful tips of whether or not you need bangs based on your face shape and they don't even mention the instant *botox* effect. I'm making an appointment.
• As someone who suffers from a vitamin d deficiency you would think I would remember to take my supplement everyday. I probably hit every other day [or two]. One of my goals is to change that to everyday. If you are a vitamin popper like I'm supposed to be you might find this chart interesting. It breaks down the most common supplements taken and whether or not they are proven to be helpful. 
• Do you start your day with hot lemon water? Apparently, it's believed to be quite helpful. Even my physician instructed me to drink hot lemon water in the morning. Have I started? nope. Well, I did have some this morning. At least it's not hurting anything and is tasty. 
• With a celiac child our entire family has gone gluten free. For the most part it's not really a big difference in regards to taste unless we are talking about breads. This weekend I tried a gluten free bread mix that was so good. Did not taste gluten free at all. We all loved it. Now let's see if I can order it online? and have it ship to The Kong? a full day project. 
• And have you ever tried 'zucchini noodles'? I have not, but with so many pinterest recipes and ideas I think they are next on the healthy switch list. 

So yes, I guess I have a few new years resolutions, but honestly I had already started the process. Blood testing for unknown issues. Increased exercise. Dietitian appointment on the books. So I hope to lose a few lbs and be more centered on my goals instead of letting myself get pulled in every other direction. How about you? Any specific goals? 

xox, 

c

show and tell...

Last week I spent a good deal of time and change at the flower market. Which included trying this fruit above. It tastes like a cross between a melon and an apple. I asked one of my local friends and she has no idea what it is called. I'll post more photos later this week. But it was great fun and I accomplished a lot off my to do list. This week it's off to the Brass Factory and the Jade Market for more Christmas shopping. In the meantime, here's several tidbits I thought you might enjoy this week.

• Who doesn't want books under the Christmas tree? Personally, I'm very intrigued to read With out you there is no us by Suki Kim. Have you heard about it? She's been on several talk shows. Ms Kim taught English in North Korea and writes about life there. 
• My son has started to travel all over The Kong on his own. The public transportation is excellent here. So we printed out these In Case of Emergency cards from The Epilepsy Network for my piece of mind. 
• I thought I was a pretty good gift wrapper, but this lady puts me to shame. I think I need to step it up a notch. 
• I finally found an app that helps with writing the Mandarin characters. The characters are traced right on the screen. Every little bit helps! 
• We  love Mexican food, which isn't very easy to find here in The Kong. Now add onto that a celiac child and we usually cook our own Mexican dinners at home. I finally found a gluten free tortilla recipe that works. Enjoy! 

Hope every one's having a great holiday season so far. We hosted a neighborhood cookie decorating party Saturday. I think all the kiddos had a good time. Can you believe I completely forgot to take any photos? Not a single one! Must have been all that sugar! Next time. 

xox, 

c

show and tell....

Is it Monday again? Wow, last week was our first full of school and I think I spent the majority of it running errands again like crazy. Above is a picture I snapped while stuck in traffic. Once you get out of the island's skyscrapers there is a beautiful Asian countryside.


* When I'm on the MTR heading to the island, I sometimes find comfort in zoning out with a game. I'm embarrassed to admit I've become mildly addicted to Two Dots. Anyone else playing Two Dots and if so can you pretty please help me get past level 82?

* There are some instagram feeds that are just ugh. Seriously, I'm over looking at people's meals. But one that deserves following is the j crew gingham shirt instagram feed. I don't see alot of the shirt here in Hong Kong as the men here have a different uniform. But I know it's everywhere back in the states. It's worth a chuckle. Also you can follow along in my Hong Kong adventure via my instagram.

* Now having two children with food issues. One being dairy intolerant and another newly diagnosed Celiac. Children's allergies are not as common in Asia as they are in the states. It's a new normal for us to be grilling our Asian waiters. One once told us dairy was a form of gluten! So we all carry a card in our wallets describing Celiac Disease in Cantonese. It's been a saving grace. We've also relied on this Sassy gluten free guide to Hong Kong as a starting point as well.

* Hong Kong is such a contrast. Metropolis on the main island and lush gardens in the northern territories. Fan Ho has released old photos of Hong Kong spotlighting rickshaws, coolies, and junks.  They are currently on display in the east (Pottinger Hotel) and the west (San Francisco Terminal 2).

happy Monday!

xox,
christine