Ahh the good ol ways

When I was growing up we would often spend school holidays at my grandparents.  It invariably lead to me spending days with my grandmother cooking and cleaning while my brother got to hang out with grandpa and build cool stuff in the shed (probably why he's a carpenter now and I love to cook!) 

Of course these skills learnt on holidays were further honed by my mother - when we would work together to clean the venetian blinds, the chandeliers (yes we had a chandelier!) , the oven and the old Fridgedaire! 

So I guess I learnt to clean and cook in a way that is considered "the old fashioned way"  

Chinese Folk Art - Washing day

Now most of us live with self cleaning stoves and have fridges that don't frost over.  We have "add water and stir gravy", cakes in a packet and tinned preserves.

So why would I be thinking about this now - ensconced in Shanghai?? 

Well as an expat these everyday conveniences that we no longer think about are often absent! I remember cooking my first roast in saudi and having to think back on how to to make gravy from scratch!  

Today I opened the fridge and to my horror noted that there was a 3 inch wall of ice right down the back of it - no wonder the fridge isn't working properly! 

Aaaaah but what to do - I cant turn it off because its a fridge freezer all in one - and with the price of meat,  I cant afford for it to spoil!  

So I drive my memory back to those days in Karingal Drive when that old fridgedaire needed defrosting!  

I know what we need - towels and hot water! 

With towels around our feet and buckets of hot water Russ and I prepared our attack - he armed with a rubber spatula and I with a cup of water. 1 cup of hot water splashed across the ice - and several blows with the spatula! 

It was slow going and we were barely making a dint in the ice wall - so I moved to a teapot in an attempt to direct more of the hot water onto the ice - a minor improvement.  Russ of course amped up his bashing  - but still no real progress.  And then it came to me - the hairdryer!  

So armed with hairdryer we managed to move great slabs of ice - problem solved - thanks to those good ol days and good ol ways! 

# fond memories  

Chineses Folk Art - Summer Harvest

Chinese Folk Art - Spring Cleaning!

K xxxx

You're doing WHAT in the land of dumplings, dim-sum rice and noodles???

As some of you may know - I altered my eating habits a while back - adopting a paleo style of eating. Of course given that I tend to coordinate the food, Russ has been dragged along and It has proven to be terrific for both Russ and I - we have shed 10 kilos each and feel much healthier!   

(For those not in the know - Paleo eating essentially relies on eating fresh fruit, loads of vegies and meat - avoiding starches, breads, processed foods, sugars and some dairy) 

Of course eating paleo isn't always easy in the land of rice, noodles and dumplings!  

Buying any type of meat/poultry is proving to be surprisingly challenging.  First up most of the cuts of meat the Chinese use are unrecognisable to me - heavily laden with bones and bits and taken from places I would never have thought to use in cooking.  

Then there's the quality issue - As you can imagine when it comes to providing produce for the 1.35 billion residents of China organic farming isn't that high up the priority list!  So I fear that a great deal of the produce here is mass produced and seeped in preservatives.  

Did you know that there are more people living here in Shanghai than there are in Australia?It is considered to be the largest city by population in the world!

Foreign imports (Australian and New Zealand beef) are available - but the prices are almost prohibitive and a large portion of it is sold post thaw.  So you can only buy what you need for the day.  And of course the expat supermarkets where this meat is available are few and far between. 

To date we have overcome our meat challenge by buying 1 large imported vacuum pack fillet of Australian beef - at the cost of $250!!  We race it home and then I  butcher it up the best I can - separating it  into steaks, stewing cubes and roasts. I intend to purchase a mincer soon - so if anyone has any ideas on the best way to mince up meat do let me know!!

I have also located a local organic shop that sells frozen blocks of New Zealand Beef - I am yet to try it. They also sell organic eggs and other things like nuts, oils etc. 

NZ beef - or so they tell me!

Sourcing vegetables is a bit hit and miss. So you have to go with what is best on the day!  

If you happened to have read my earlier blogs you will know that we buy all of our fruit from  the fabulous family of fruit vendors on our local street corner.   They lavish us with bananas every day - in fact we are drowning in bananas!  I Given the cost of food here in Shanghai I am loath to let them rot - and was desperate for ideas of what to do with them - of course being paleo muffins, banana bread and cake are out - so what to do??????

Well here is a fabulous paleo friendly idea that I found - I tried it today and it is extremely YUMMY - 

Peel and cut up your bananas into 1 inch pieces - place them in a container and freeze them!

When you're after a sweet treat - (guilt, dairy and sugar free) place a handful of frozen banana pieces in your blender, add in another handful of fruit (I used blueberries!) and about 30 - 50 mls of coconut cream - turn on the blender and hey presto - VERY yummy icecream!

Here's one I prepared earlier!

I tried it and it was fabulous!   With the Shanghai average daily temperatures exceeding 40+ it's a welcome cool treat! 

Give it a go! 

K xxxxx

Shopping like a local

Despite all the advances Shanghai has seen the street stall culture is alive and well! 

We live in an area of Shanghai known as Pudong.  Many locals would say it has no soul! Pudong is dominated by residential skyscrapers and has primarily been a response to the rapid development of the business sector of Shanghai. That said - at ground level - the streets of Pudong bustle with locals all plying their wares just as they do on the Puxi side. 

Mobile vendor selling chairs - they are all loaded onto his pushbike and tray!

There are soup kitchens that pop up in the evenings, fruit stalls, flower stalls, wet markets, barber shops and mobile vendors - in fact anything you could imagine.  I think it is one of the things that makes China just soooo "Chinese"!. 

Each stall holder seems to have their "patch" .  On our local corner there is a family that arrives every evening at around 5pm.  They sell amazing fruit and absolutely gorgeous flowers.  So we tend to buy from them on a daily basis. 

They seem to be extremely excited by our choice to shop with them and ply us with free bananas on a daily basis as we pass by them.  In fact we have so many bananas I'm going to have to learn that song " We [need] no ban nan nas today!! In Chinese of course! 

perhaps it would go something like this........"jintian women mei you xiang jiao!!!

This photo shows Russ at the local street barbers!  The guy couldn't believe Russ wanted a hair cut - and it all caused quite a stir with passing traffic grinding to a halt just to watch! 

Relatively speaking there are very few expats out and about -  so as a westerner we are still seen as quite the curiosity .  Particularly as we elect to shop at the local Chinese supermarket and the local stalls.  It really does take some getting used to  - the inquisitive looks, the giggles, the stares!  

Until next time

Zai Jian !

The Shanghai Story Begins

August 2013 and we find ourselves back in China - Shanghai this time!  

China is a land full of contrasts - an incredibly interesting and exciting place to be!  I have created this Blog to share our time and experiences here with our friends and family all around the world (well those that are interested that is!) 

China truly does defy description - so it is my hope that we can share our impressions and experiences of China through our stories and the images we collect.  China is an amateur photographers dream! 

We hope you enjoy our Shanghai Missive - and visit occasionally just see what we are up to! 

Love  

Kate and Russ