Market Lovin

Finally made it to the markets with my camera in tow. Thought maybe the vendors wouldn't be down for some blog cameos but they were LOVING it so I was able to do some happy snapping in one of my most favorite of places.



Being vegetarian in China is the easiest thing in the world. Just go to the market where you can buy freshly made tofu - pressed squares (I eat these bad boyz raw for an instant hit 'o protein), in dry sheets (great for substituting tortillas, yes world I just blasphemed but I swear it's good :) molded into shapes (meat like shapes, sausage shape most common), marinated in 5 spice seasoning and in large blocks of semi-firm form waiting to be cut.





New favorite vege friend = wheat gluten or seitan. Why only new favorite now? I've really only seen it used in Shanghainese cooking and to be honest, cold and coated in thick sweet black gummy sauce and covered in peanuts is just not my thing. Great is taking this low fat versatile wheat flour bi-product (way to make seitan sound sexy), cutting it into toasts, spreading a miso-soy marinade on either side, throwing them on a baking sheet and grilling them in the oven. We ate them on baguettes with salad and bbq sauce. YUM. At 3 kuai (less than 50c US), fresh ready made seitan is def something to get excited about.


Holy son of a married couple. Spinach has arrived and she's more lovely than ever. This week I've been eating a LOT of raw spinach. The markets and supermarkets all have it, and after a good wash, she's good to go. Planning spinach hummus, spinach and pumpkin salad (word up to Sasha's where we went for brunch over the weekend where I ate it and fell instantly in food lust) with pinenuts, and wilted spinach with garlic and sesame seeds as a little side som'in.

(no spinach in this shot, but the greens are smokin hot all the same)

Last but not least. For those wanting to buy tahini go to the market! There you can pick up a jar of tahini (zhimajiang) for 10 kuai. It's not oily and has so much flavor and is so good in hummus, in dressings and marinades or on it's own spread on some seitan. MmmmmmmmmmM!

Winter Knit Obsession

I just got an fabulous catch-up email from an old friend who asked me what I was up to, knitting-wise this winter. This winter I've been completely obsessed with handwarmers. I can't stand gloves, mittens are a pain, so this falls awesomely in the middle. I told her about my very first pattern that I made and said I would post it here. It's a super easy pattern derived from a knitty pattern and I changed the ribbing, thumb and length.
The cables are a braided kind, but you can easily change that by making some alterations in the ribbing, if that is too much to bother with. Cables are easy, but a bit of a pain.
I'll write up the real pattern if anyone wants it, but here at least is a picture. It's knit with a fantastic alpaca yarn a friend of mine gave me for Xmas, but I think would be fine in any sport weight yarn.
Here's a picture of me looking unexpectedly sleepy, after 11 hours of sleep last night.

Smooth with a capital SMOO

So, the other day my roomie asked me about making our own body scrub as hers is running out and it's freakishly expensive here. So being the good Googletarian (a word I just made up) I looked it up online and did some (cursory) research which led me to combine a few approaches into the following.

1. Get a handful of coarse sugar and put it in a cup or something.
2. Add a tablespoon of baking soda
3. Add your shower gel
4. Mix it around with your finger, forgetting to get your clothes off first so you then are left with a very soapy finger and have to find a way to get that off before disrobing.
5. Shower and then scrub it all over until you're no longer covered in winter-gross skin

Yay!

Things I'm going to do to make this even better: Get some lemon grass and then stick it in a jar full of the sugar/soda mixture to be added in small batches to my totally boring and scentless soap.

Next thing I need to figure out is how to make my own SoyJoy bars because a)they're too small for a real breakfast, and b)they almost all have raisins in them and ew, I hate raisins. Anyone with any suggestions, bring it.

I'm Going to Miss You When You're Sour & Expensive

I've had to limit myself to 10 of you a day, sweet tangerines. I think you may have given me cavities. You make me hyper and not able to sleep. You're already starting to be replaced at the fruit shops with nasty inferior oranges. I need your candy like goodness to give me energy on long rides or at breakfast when you wake up and give me an instant hit of sugar that makes me speak really fast, sometimes making no sense.

Tangerines, you will be missed. Until next season. You were delicious, every time.

Chunky Chat masala

Jessica: I'm extremely addicted to popcorn. There, I said it. I am also addicted to adding Chat Masala, which theoretically is for fresh vegetables. I don't care. I'm totally eating it on popcorn. It's going to be the next big potato chip flavor, I can tell.

Frackin Early Goodness

Oh happy yawn!

It's 9.15am and JessnClaire (we're just one entity online - we morph into one giant open-mouthed muppet face of html) are out! We met at 7.30 in the middle of an intersection river of bikes and cars and people and rode around Shanghai to find some coffee. 20 tangerines later, 2 medium sized lattes and we're alive and not in our apartments, yyyyaaaayyyy!!!!

Pre-coffee bike lurve

<-Jess & my frackin sexy clown bike

Me & the curvaceous lady of bikes->

Plans for today: Jessica
Go to the bank, go to the police office (nothing terribly sinister, just re-registering), go to Gubei and extend my visa, read Conde-Nast Travel, work on blog, knit with bamboo yarn. I have to do some test swatches as I haven't used it before, so I'll see how it goes and then decide what to make with it.
I'm also going to try and spread the word 'emomo' as in 'overly emotional + momo'. A momo is a Nepali dumpling.

Plans for today: Claire
Okay. Dish for today. Get set it's coming...... After a hugely successful tofu marinade baking scenario last night I'm back with more vegan cooking tonight thanks to the INCREDIBLE recipes or SusanV at fatfreevegan.com. Tonight I'm throwing together some roasted red pepper, hummus and portobello mushrooms with some kind of delightful crunchy salad sitch.

This is going to involve a market trip. The sun is out so photos will be taken. Can't wait to show yall the mushroom stall, oooo and the tofu crew at the markets here. It'll blow your mind!

Nuff for now.

Let's get this blog started.