January 20, 2005

This morning I was invited to go to the Traditional Chinese Market with Emily (Wayne’s wife from Indonesia) and Bella (new teacher from Iran). We left at 9:30 and walked up the alleyway behind our apartment building. I was expanding my horizons again! The walkway was adorned with pillars, gardens, arrangements of bonsai plants on top of the walls and palm trees. (Can’t wait to see it in summer!) It was raining too hard to take pictures and with the chill in the air my camera batteries say “low” and it keeps shutting off. I guess they perform better in warm temperatures too..............

Along the way many street vendors touted their wares of vegetables, fish and dumplings cooked in hot oil. Emily stopped at one stall to order a fresh chicken. (See picture below.) The chickens were still alive and running around in a cage. The vendor pulled out the one she picked and we heard it cackle and squeal. I had to walk away. A man was sitting in behind the stall plucking the feathers off one that had been previously killed. We arranged to pick up her chicken on the way out.

Inside the market there were many vendors selling everything from soup to nuts! Dried herbs and fruits, different dried beans and bins of freshly chopped vegetables sitting in oil. The purpose of my purchases here was to start cooking my own food more often so I am not eating all that oil! I need to watch my cholestorol!

Bella and I were like kids in a candy store. I bought a red onion, carrot and a cucumber for a stir-fry. Along with that I purchased 4 fresh chicken eggs and some vermicelli noodles. At the meat stall I bought a fresh chicken leg with the thigh attached. It should make for a good supper tonight!

The market was ablaze with the colours of fresh vegetables and various meat hung on hooks. Whole ducks with the heads attached were dried and laying out on display. Buckets of chicken feet were also for sale. There are many things you would not find in a Canadian marketplace: pigeon eggs, octopus, live chickens, seaweed (used for many soups) and tofu cooked in all shapes and sizes. (See picture below.)

I was happy to see the regular vegetables: carrots, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, celery, cilantro, corn, eggplant, tomatoes, bok choy and cucumbers to name the most popular.

We passed a bakery on the way back – carbohydrate heaven! I bought a square of something that looked like a rice crispie square with peanuts in it. And it’s very similar – yummy! At a fruit stand I purchased bananas, pears and apples. To my amazement I spied a guy peeling and selling water chestnuts on the side of the road! A lot of vegetable dishes in Chinese food restaurants in Canada have water chestnuts in them and I have always loved the crunchiness of them. I have not seen or eaten any since coming to China exactly two months ago to the day. So I purchased some for my stir-fry.

I was excited and ready to get home and start cooking!

On the walk home Emily invited Bella, Kim and I over for lunch. That was so nice of her! I accepted and looked forward to eating Chinese food cooked by an Indonesian cook. So I had to put off using my culinary skills until supper.
After playing with Wyatt (Wayne & Emily’s 10 month old son) we had a delicious lunch of fried chicken, beef & tomatoes and pork slices along with lettuce & cucumbers and the traditional white rice. Fresh strawberries topped it all off. It was wonderful! By the way, the fried chicken was not the one that had been running around the cage that morning…………I asked!

Hey Bloggers, this will be my only entry this week. Next week we start Winter Intensive courses teaching 9 am-6:30 pm, Monday to Friday for two weeks. Then we have a whole week off for Spring Festival (Chinese New Years). So look for some great pictures that week. Then one more week of Intensive and it's done. As a bonus the school is taking all the teachers on a all-expense paid trip for one week. It isn't confirmed yet but we are pushing for the island of Hainan. Tropical weather and sandy beaches! I am sure to get some great pictures there.

In the meantime, send me your suggestions of things you would like to see. I will be doing a photo essay of bicycles and carts in the near future. Just waiting for a nice sunny day. And keep on bloggin' !! Love to read your comments!