Shanghai Cooking

I don’t cook in Shanghai. Once in a while I’ll fry up some veggies but in general I can walk across the street with a bowl from my house, get it filled with some delicious local fried food and be back on my couch within about 5 minutes. It costs about $1 US. So, I don’t cook.

This morning, as I lay in bed, I faced a dilemma. I had to get up and make a quick move if I was to get the delicious breakfast crepe available only in the mornings. I would describe this crepe to you in detail but it is such a thing of beauty it really deserves its own post. Still, this seemed like far too much work. I could go buy eggs and make breakfast… uggghhh. I could go to the fancy restaurant down the street. Yet I’d already exceeded my limit of bourgeoisie meals for the week and I just wanted something simple.

As I pondered this I was hit with the happy realization in the kitchen, hidden away under unused pans, I long ago purchased oatmeal and honey! Perfect! I happily entered my kitchen only to find my honey mysteriously missing. After scouring my entire house for the honey I was left one option, creativity. Upon examination, my fridge offered three options, italian salad dressing, hot peppers or blueberry jam. As I open up the oatmeal and blueberry jam I notice the oatmeal smells salty. Strange, but whatever. But as I stir it becomes clear that this is oatmeal that is filled with corn. Kind of a porridge. Something I would never have bought intentionally, if I were capable of reading all Chinese labels.

Surprisingly, blueberry corn porridge is pretty good! As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.

Christmas in Tiger Leaping Gorge

I woke up this morning to a cold shower and a cup of coffee on a deck overlooking 14,000 ft + peaks. Not the normal hum drum for me. Yet, today has an added twinge. It’s Christmas. No jolly red nosed fat men or decorated trees, just some good friends and unbelievable views.

Funny thing is, I don’t feel like I’m missing so much. I am not a Christmas hater. I do believe it has become over commercialized (or maybe it always was) and too much about buy, buy, buy, but I’m a sucker for presents. I still get excited to wake up and tear into a bunch of packages and see what’s mine. Maybe one day I’ll mature enough to enjoy giving more then receiving but that day isn’t here yet. Besides, my Mom makes an awesome Christmas breakfast.

That said, this quiet morning has been perfect. The lodge we are in is a 4 hour hike away from roads and is run by a mother/daughter team that cook everything from scratch, clean and manage all the bills. They insist they didn’t undercharge for the beers last night but Jason and I think otherwise. Still, our efforts to pay our tab are futile. Everyone has decided that the apple pie and the cheesy hash browns will make a great combination. We drink coffee and chat about the days hike as the sun rises over the towing mountains in front of us. This Christmas, I have everything I want.