#TogetherCalled

It's been a crazy few weeks, I'm sorry I haven't been posting.  I leave for China on Thursday but just spent the most amazing weekend with my sweet DH and 70 other adoptive couples who get the good kind of crazy life we live. Super wonderful, fantastic, terrific, awesome, spectacular two days spent with parents who share our hearts for adoption. Feeling so filled up and honored to spend my time with the sweetest of friends.

{Celebrate China} Versatility of Fried Rice

I love the versatility and flexibility of fried rice!  I admit I am somewhat new to cooking it, and I have absolutely no idea why I waited for so long.  It's the best "throw all of your leftovers together" side dish without needing any measurements for anything.  I had 2 cups of rice (maybe a tad more) in the fridge from a couple days ago, that I wanted to use up.  I also had some frozen and fresh vegetables - the perfect combination for vegetable fried rice.  I'm sure many of my readers are much more seasoned at whipping up fried rice, but if you aren't, let me tell you how easy it is!  Here are the ingredients I used, with no real measurements:

"Day old" rice

Sesame oil

Fresh minced garlic

3 eggs

Fresh chopped carrots

Frozen peas, thawed

Soy sauce

Fresh chopped green onions

Cracked pepper (white pepper might be better)

I heated up several tablespoons of sesame oil in the wok on medium heat (it's more oil than you think).  I threw in some fresh minced garlic (I thought about fresh ginger too, but didn't feel like chopping it up) and let that cook up for about a minute, and then I threw in 3 scrambled eggs.  After they cooked up, I mashed them into small pieces and then added in the fresh chopped carrots to cook a bit.  After a few minutes, I threw in the old rice and mixed everything together, still on medium heat.  Then I fold in the thawed peas.  After they were mixed, I added soy sauce to taste, along with a bit more sesame oil for flavor.  I threw in the chopped green onion and cracked some pepper over the rice.  I mixed everything together, adding a bit more sesame oil and soy sauce for flavor.  If you are a salt person, now would be the time to add that too.  And then time to eat!  Mmmmm, hao chi!

I am looking forward to creating a crab fried rice at some point with a bit of Old Bay.  And I've been pinning some other fun ideas as well, the possibilities are simply endless!

{Celebrate China} Our New Year Decor

I always enjoy getting inspiration from other bloggers, so I thought I'd share a bit of our Chinese New Year decorations, aside from our Fu Tree.  Our decorations aren't extravagant or plentiful, and are still in the growing stage, but I think it's fun to get festive!  I added a little this year, and will add a little each year in the future too.  And yes, I know that typically the couplets go on the outside of your home, but it's too cold and wet to leave them out there.  So I put them up in the kitchen instead.

If you blogged about your Spring Festival decorations, please share a link in the comments so I can be inspired by YOU!

{Celebrate China} Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Our Spring Festival celebration has gotten off to a fabulous start!  We spent Friday with our dear friends dressing up in our Chinese silks and makings lots and lots of jiaozi!  I mixed up chicken, turkey, and beef fillings.  The turkey was definitely the favorite - it was mixed with Chinese cabbage and hen hao chi (literally meaning " very good eat").  If you are looking for some amazing jiaozi recipes, I highly recommend the cookbook, Asian Dumplings.  You won't be disappointed!  We did attempt to make our own dumpling wrappers but I gotta say, it's not my favorite thing.  Sweetie was able to do something with the dough when she came home from school, but we ended up with wrappers that were a bit too thick.  I think I'm sticking with the pre-made ones from the Asian market from now on, ha!

For dinner on Saturday night, I made my most favorite Chinese dish, Kung Pao Chicken.  I had never made it before, but I am thrilled with how it turned out!  I followed the recipe from RasaMalaysia exactly, except for adding thinly sliced carrots.  Even Sweetie had only good things to say, she loved it!  I also picked up a couple pork and salted egg-stuffed zong zi (a traditional dish served during Dragon Boat Festival, but available all year).  Yum.