Exchange Students

Homesick Exchangelings

We have had two great months with our exchange students. We were warned that their emotions may have a cyclical nature. These cycles combined with being away from home combined with a birthday away from their family seems to have them moving into a slightly less social zone.

They still cook for us on a voluntary basis. They still will play some games if homework is not too heavy. And, they are still very courteous and polite. Both my wife and I are/have sensing their need for a little more space. Their normal habit after diner is to go up to their homework room (previously known as the man cave, but due to college, the men are no longer interested in frequenting their previously claimed domicile). My wife has diligently worked to have the school make “accommodations” to keep them from having to do double homework by translating from English prior to doing the actual homework. One of our students has had a wide variety of issues with her credit card and getting money off of it. (This has included forgotten PINs, working at some locations and not at others [it does have one of those new chips], and the most recent problem has been a possible case of fraud on her card) We have tried to be flexible with their needs, but we are just feeling they are clinging a little too tightly to each other and the relationship with their “roomie” rather than the family relationships.

In a past life, we did foster care. Kids in those circumstance were in a very confused state. They were “homesick” for their parent(s), but they realized they were clean and fed with us. They liked the opportunities we had for them, but I believe they also resented those same things because their relative/family/parent was not able to provide them those things. Unfortunately, foster kids often did not have the means to deal with their anger in very constructive ways. This provides challenges far more difficult than dealing with our homesick exchange students.

Homesickness (I think) comes when the “honeymoon” and the newness wears off. As the host family, we can recharge a little when the exchange students “cling” to each other and maintain their solitude. (As much as we enjoy them, they still have changed the family dynamics.) Regardless, we will continue on this journey together. We both (our family and the exchange students) have lots to offer each other. We have trips planned, birthdays to celebrate, and meals to share together. And, as our 10 month adventure continues together, we become more and more convinced that although “near” family can be good, family-family is best!

Kimchi II With a Side of Cold Noodles

After surviving another Saturday morning of cross country and a lunch of warmups, we solicited volunteers to take the lead on dinner. Fortunately, our Korean exchange student stepped up. As she did her online research and threw out things like “spinach root” and a few other things we had available in our refrigerator or knew we could get OR were pretty sure a substitute would be necessary, we started to pull together our grocery list. Since her shopping list was written in Korean, I had to make sure the “must have” items made it onto my English list.

When the grocery trip was announced to include Whole Foods, all of the girls wanted to go. And, when there was a pet store next to Whole Foods, everyone but me was really happy. Before we made it into the pet store, there were adoptable kittens, cats, and dogs all along the sidewalk. My exchange daughters barely made it into the store. Although the cats and dogs were in cages, they were reminiscent of their pets in China and Korea in mannerisms if not in appearance. My daughters immediately went to the guinea pig and hamster area. They rattled off facts of both creatures like they had studied them in their native, non-domesticated nests. After visiting the geckos, birds, snakes, chameleons, fish and assorted mammalian life at the entrance, I announced to the girls it was time to get Rachel’s birthday present and head out the door. They obeyed pretty well; I ran interference with the birthday girl as the purchase was made.

After the pet-related gifts made it to the car, we poured into the Whole Foods produce department. (When you have 5 or more, your movements are somewhat more flowing than otherwise…) The pineapple and melon samples were soon vanquished. The mushroom options were reviewed with a portabello decision being made, and the spinach root was put in the unavailable category. Other than needing to spend $25 to qualify for using our coupon, the rest of the 1/2 was spent exploring. Our Korean student liked the natural sunscreen and related items. Our Chinese student liked the apple juice with the special delivery mechanism. (I didn’t look at it, but I am assuming it still involves the mouth.) My girls were all over the healthy snacks. Whether it was bulk trail mix or some sort of otherwise unavailable flavor of a food bar, they were just happy to take in the experience. As we checked out, it was nearing 5:00. The errands were over; the dinner prep needed to begin!

If we would have known at the beginning of prep the 2 hour wait necessary until we dined, we might have chosen another dinner option. Since the ingredients were there and cooking also provides some entertainment, we went for it! Of the two menu items our Korean student made, these were the key things I thought were interesting (If you are seasoned in Asian cooking, it may be of absolutely NO interest to you. I am okay with that. Since no real recipes seem to be used by either of our students, a list of techniques and guidelines are all that seem necessary):

Fried Kimchi Rice: When we made the rice to be used in the fried rice, it was “dry” and not sticky. Sticky rice would have made the frying process excessively difficult. (All vegetable prep was done previously. I am only referring to them as if they are already cut and waiting to be cooked. The smoked sausage was also cut up and ready to go into the heat.) The two batches were basically made the same way. 1) The vegetables needing a little extra cook time were cooked first. 2)The rice and sausage were added after some oil was put in the bottom of the pan. (if necessary) 3) The special tube of “special” pepper paste was squeezed into the pan and blended with the ingredients. 4) The kimchi was put in after being sliced according to ancient Korean secrets. 5) Any remaining veggies were added. Since the onions were sliced thin and cooked before, there may have been some thinly cut (and small pieces) carrots, green onions, and celery or some such item. When I have fried rice in the past, I get worried about all of the sticky stuff that really adheres to the pan. I was told this is normal. It is to be scraped off and eaten–very flavorful–before doing the next batch. (The eating is optional and does not have to be done immediately.)
Pork with Cold Noodles and vegetables: This one was not to hard to follow. She cut about a pound of pork into thin pieces maybe a couple inches or so long. (She added salt and pepper and made sure all of the meat was satisfactorily seasoned.) The vegetables were all prepped and cooked separately with minimum oil. (The veggies included: carrots, mushrooms, green onions, onions and maybe some celery and some other similar veggies.) They were set aside in a bowl waiting for the pasta. The pork was cooked in a similar fashion, and also set aside. The pasta was an Asian starch based noodle. (Not sure what the noodles were made from. I think she mentioned sweet potatoes….??? Whatever they were, they cooked up clearish.) Before putting the pasta in, she added a significant amount of soy sauce to the water. She monitored the pasta pretty close; she wanted to make sure it was just right when she declared it done. It was immediately drained of the hot water and bathed in cold water. All of the pork, veggies, noodles, some garlic and extra soy were added to the mix and tossed.

I liked both meals. The rice was very flavorful with an expected texture. The pasta was good. However, it had a somewhat rubbery texture. Whenever I bit into it, it felt much different than normal pasta. Chewing this pasta involved a bit more of a chewing commitment. Although it did offer slight resistance to being consuming, the overall flavors were very good.

Our first Korean meal was good, but the Korean chef was much more confident on this meal. She was very decisive as she chose her ingredients and did her cooking. As exchange parents, we selfishly get to benefit from the great meals they have made us. (The corollary, of course, is we have to be pleasant and enthusiastic when the meals are not so good, too. 😦 ) It is great seeing our students mature as young ladies! They continue to surprise us with the skills they have acquired through parental osmosis. Our fear is what obvious and less than obvious skills and/or vices they might acquire after a year in our household. As we are tempted to play favorites between them (this is a challenge we also juggle with our bio kids), we have to alter our view of the immediate. We need to climb up the ladder a few rungs and get a view of the situation in the light of future perceptions rather than the moment. We have been entrusted with these kids. Their parents have willingly allowed them to come into our homes and allowed our whole family to grow from the experience. We are not told to pull out the cookie cutter and make them into kids that would have come from our families kid factory.

As with all relationships, there is give and take. Both they and us will be changed from this 10 month exchange experience. It isn’t only our palettes that will expand during this time. We are obligated to use all of our senses and embrace the cultural exchange in its fullest. We probably won’t realize the vacuum created when they leave until we participate in one of the things shared with them. Then we will realize how this experience changed us and made us richer people and a richer family. So many months to go, and only one blog to try to capture the moments and meals of the experience!

Faux Fall

I just like to say it….it certainly has the makings of a good tongue twister!

Up north where I spent the first 40+ years of my life, we had Indian Summer. And, although this is not politically correct, it is a term used to designate a few warm days of summer like weather (high 70’s or 80’s) that occurs after the first frost of fall. It still creeps down to fall-like temperatures at night, but the daylight temperatures give a last fleeting glance of weather not available in the Midwest until a few months have passed in the new year.

I have designated “Faux Fall” as a glance of fall while summer is otherwise still fully operational. The air conditioner can get a few days off (allergy suffers and those who are not in tune with these weather aberrations will continue to burn the electricity they wouldn’t need to if they would only open their windows) and the rooms can get aired out. For our exchange students it was literally “a breath of fresh air” as the windows were opened. Summer in Texas made it a little harder to love their visit to the US. Now they know what the fall will look like, they can hang on a few more weeks until summer hits the “pause” button until next year.

Spicy Hands

As a father and “exchange” dad of 2 to 4 daughters (depending on how you want to count them—presently, there is a very strong case to be made for the 4), I don’t make it a habit of smacking their bottoms. (The teenage years are challenging years as the “new” father/daughter dynamics emerge, but it certainly is not as often as it used to be.) After some events of this weekend, I find out the kids (I am hoping it does not cross gender boundaries.) play a game called “hot hand”. (Maybe “kids” is throwing the net out there too widely…it might just be my daughters or whatever other girls are inhabiting our house at the moment…) Apparently, the winner in hot hand is the one who is capable of using their hands to smack some one in the rear and have in sting significantly.

The whole “hot hand” thing only came to my attention when I heard the girls talking about “spicy hands”. Our Korean exchange student claims this is what they call someone who has the American equivalent of a “hot hand”. (After dinner last night, the 4 girls were in the family room together trying to come up with “girl” stuff to talk about. Once they got started and spicy was mentioned, three or four more spicy body parts were mentioned including spicy foot, spicy elbow and I know I definitely heard “spicy toe”. ) It is worth mentioning at this point what “hot hand” meant in my youth. A hot hand was the star basketball player who was having a difficult time missing the basket. (Rarely me…although I am pretty good at killing flies. The key to killing flies with your hands is not swinging where they are at, it is swinging where they will be. Flies typically spring backwards a little before taking off. So, my fly killing success comes from clapping my hands about an inch above the surface they are sitting on. I don’t always get them, but since I am such a good clapper and have my eyes clouded w/ fly blood, I often have a “hot hand” after either an attempt or a success.) And, when boiled down, “hot hand” was just someone with a good streak of luck going. Regardless, our Korean exchange student was going to get her definition of “spicy hand” broadened…..

(I am sorry this is another blog post that mentions carnitas. They will not be the star; they are only a necessary evil to justify the “spice” for the broadened “spicy hand”.)

When we go to Sams and buy pork shoulder butt (it is the carnita meat of choice), it comes in a two pack. With one of the butts being quickly spoken for, the second one is too expensive a cut of meat to sit too long in the frig. So, we make another batch of carnitas and freeze it. A key ingredient in our carnitas is the jalapenos. Since our Chinese student cut the jalapenos last time, I felt it was fair for me to ask our Korean student. (They already have both told me they will not cut onions, so I have to find something for them to do in the kitchen.) Fortunately, she jumped right in. There was 15 or so jalapenos, but I only showed her 6 of them before revealing the rest of them. I showed her “my” technique of cutting off the ends before slitting them up the middle. A spoon is used to clean out the seeds so the contact with the juices can be minimized. It is not a completely pepper juice free experience, but it makes it pretty safe.

As she slogged her way through the peppers, she decided to try some cream cheese icing my daughter was mixing. As she dipped her finger in the icing and licked her finger, she said, ” Cream cheese icing is hot.” I let her know it was the pepper juice on her hand, but she complained no more and finished up all of the peppers. She easily transitioned into cookie icer/decorator without making any more mention of the peppers. (At this point, I had chopped all of the jalapenos and onions up in the food processor. The crockpot was set up for a long cooking on “low”. As I went to bed, my brain was completely “spicy hand” free.

As everyone assembling in the kitchen to eat breakfast before church, I heard those fateful words, “I will never cut jalapenos again. My hands were so spicy. I touch my face and hands, and I could not sleep. I like to eat carnitas, but I cannot cut the peppers again. I do not like spicy hands, Sam-I am.”

With the exception of the Dr. Seuss reference, this is pretty much all true. I wanted to be a fiction writer once, but decided I did not have the imagination for it. I have found a much happier marriage when my mind takes reality and warps or twists it into some sort of sausage. It closely resembles the meat I started with but with a couple of extra spices and a casing that holds it all together.

Carnita Cravings

Our Carnita in the crockpot

It is an exciting time at our house again. It is not Christmas or someone’s birthday. And, if is not even close to a vacation. It is time for carnitas. As I searched Wikipedia briefly, I wonder if what we are eating is really “carnitas”. It refers to them as “little meats”. Our is kind of little, but it is definitely cooked in its own juices. Since we use a pork shoulder butt, there is PLENTY of its own juices to cook in. We don’t claim to make the best carnitas, but we have developed a following within our household. Thanks to our exchange students, it also seems to play well in China and Korea.

Besides cooking the meat slowly (we put it in before and let it cook slowly all night–it will probably cook 12-15 hours before it is all done), their are a few spices. Cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and garlic are something found in every kitchen. After adding a couple of finely chopped onions, the real key is the jalapenos peppers. The original recipe I started with mentioned only a small amount of some other pepper. But, being in Texas with a bounty of jalapenos, it just seemed right to include them. Today’s batch included 14 or 15 of them finely chopped. The real secret here is convincing your exchange student who is craving this spicy, yummy taco-ish meal to step up and prep the peppers to be chopped. (Cutting off the stem and halving the peppers is not bad. It is using the spoon to scrape out the seeds that becomes slightly dangerous. Eye rubbing is not permitted for quite a few hours after preparing the peppers for the carnage unleashed by the food processor.) Once all ingredients are all piled into the nearly overflowing crockpot w/ a 12 hours setting on “low”, we can all go to bed knowing the craving will only accelerate as the time for dinner eventually arrives.

At this point, I am anticipating the meal more than the others. I have pulled the bone out of the meat. I have tried to separate the meat into small little pieces that can be completely saturated by the juicy porky-ness. The jalapenos are nearly “dead” in the vegetable sense of the word. They have released nearly all of their flavors into the juices that are completely infusing the pork……excuse me, but I think drooled. Once dinner time arrives, there is one more step that precedes consumption. As I was looking for carnita recipes way back in the spring, this is the step that hooked me. After pulling the meat out of the crockpot, the meat is placed on a cookie sheet. After making sure the meat is separated nicely, the meat is put under the broiler for 5 minutes. The sheet is then pulled out, and the meat is turned over with more juices drizzled over it. After being broiled for another 5 minutes or so, it comes out an irresistible crispy. It is served with regular taco sides, and in this families humble opinion, it is pretty awesome. Our Chinese exchange student said carnitas and tacos are her favorite things she has eaten since being here.

I try to have a “message” or insight at the end of my blog postings. I am afraid this one might fall short, but I will still try….. It doesn’t matter what food your make or what you like to eat! A meal at home with all gathered around the table is a good thing. And, when this meal is something causing all the saliva glands of all of the household members to work overtime, then chances are the conversation will be special, too. As our kids age, it is memories of these type of meals that will help make their own families stronger. And, selfishly, I hope it makes them want to call home someday and ask, “So, are you making carnitas soon?”

The carnitas post-crisping

Board With Life

Prior to our home being invaded by our exchange students, there was this blank wall. As we anticipated having to maintain reminders and schedules for two additional young ladies, the board seemed like a good idea. It is mounted right inside the back door. It is visible (at least partially) from our dining area, and it is magnetic. All of these things would seem to be all of the ingredients necessary to keep us organized–making sure the board performed its assigned function without any argument.

Unfortunately, we did not factor in the need such space would create in our local “artist”. They have felt inclined to show off for us in a number of ways. And, as a couple of the images illustrate, they felt the need to take a few different English names and write them in both Korean and Chinese. Having a tub of colored markers readily available also makes it more difficult to maintain “board” integrity.

Although, many things don’t work out the way you plan, it does not mean it does not work out like it is supposed to. I do believe in serendipity. I wish I opened myself up to it more often. I look at this board and the humble plans I had for it. I wish I gave serendipity more latitude–not because I think I am a secret genius capable of solving the world’s problem somewhere in my subconscious mind, but because I believe in a God who tries to nudge me into action much more frequently then I let Him.

Ancient Chinese Secret

Even though the picture may give a clue to the “secret”, the question remains, secret to what? Well, we will get there!

While traveling in China last year (good fun while at a good value), nearly every hotel had a hot water maker similar to the one shown. And, being we were in China, the tea bags were available with a variety of flavors available. Somewhere during the middle of our (my wife and I) trip, I commented to my wife, “Boy, this would be something I would not mind having at home.” The trip ended and since the last water heater was not able to fit into our luggage (not really), it remained on my Christmas list. By my own admission, I am hard to shop for. Thus, almost everything on my list ends up being wrapped and stuffed under the artificial Christmas tree. (If you need me to say directly I got the heater, “I got the heater!”

I enjoyed it during the winter and spring, but as we moved into summer, the “teapot” spent nearly all of its collecting dust on our counter. That is until about 3 weeks ago….our exchange students arrived. It did not take them long to practically adopt the teapot as their very own. (They also made it nearly impossible to keep coffee/tea mugs clean.) Remarkably, they just heated the water w/o tea when they drank it. And, drink it they did. Specifically, our Chinese student drank the warm/hot water almost exclusively. Her claim was drinking the hot water would cure her of the cold she caught in New York prior to arriving at our door. She had to promise me for a couple days that the cold/cough could be taken out by hot water before it happened. When it did, she got some satisfaction out of getting better w/o our “wacky” (I don’t think she used this word–my interpretation of her actions) western medicine. Because all water must be boiled in China before drinking, the logic seemed solid for drinking hot water, but would drinking hot water allow a skeptical American to dodge an extended illness?

Since I really had nothing to lose, I decided to give it a shot. I attempted the “hot water” challenge for 2 days. (I began this attempt 5 days ago.) During that time I drank coffee, tea (in bags I drank green tea and other varieties from Trader Joes, and loose tea brought by our Chinese student–two pinches in the bottom of the cup—MAN, does it expand as it rehydrates!) and the plain hot water. Drinking hot water might seem fine when you just crawl in from the desert and mumble through cracked lips, “Water”. But, drinking hot water while an ice maker drops a load inside the freezer seems just plain wrong. Regardless of how disconcerting this exercise may have felt, for two days I held firm. I did have the occasional sweats that are sometimes a part of being sick. I was not sure if they were regular sweats or sweats induced because of the oral enemas I was subjecting myself to. (It just seems weird using this word in this context because it summons up some childhood memorie. Having those memories while in my adult body is certainly no where near any “happy place” I would describe for anyone!)

As I look back over the illness, I am not quite sure how to evaluate my recovery. I do have a couple of lingering symptoms, but I think they are part of my “normal” recovery pattern. The real question still remains: Does drinking hot water shorten the length of the viruses reign in your body? Is “hot water” a mass hypnosis technique conducting on the entire Chinese population? Is “sweat tea” and “Coke” a product cleverly engineered by big business to make us all smile and/or speak southern? Regardless of the outcome, it doesn’t hurt to try out a few “secrets” from other cultures. If it doesn’t kill you…..something else will. But, you will get a few cultural experiences along the way.

Exchange Student Fried Rice

A great experience was had the other night. (As I write this on Monday, it happened last night.) With less than 2 weeks in America, our Chinese student was convinced she could make fried rice for dinner for us. We were not sure if the ingredients from Kroger would give her enough spice to be pleased with her creation. (There was minimum Asian spice options at Sprouts, and the local Asian market is still on our “to do” list.) We had a few unknowns. Despite these, we/she persevered!

She decided to make two separate batches of fried rice. Our jambalaya from earlier in the week convinced her smoked sausage would be an excellent ingredient in whatever she would attempt to create. This doesn’t rule out shrimp-fried rice, but it was not to be created this evening. Her ingredients and any applicable back story:

Smoked sausage: (listed above) We love this stuff! When you buy the 3 lb package at Sam’s, it is always good to have multiple ways to use it.
Rice: At home in China, her parents have a rice maker. She was a little skeptical I could make adequate rice in a pan w/ a lid on the stove. Fortunately, the goal was achieved. (The fact we misjudged the amount of rice necessary was a very small point!)
Celery: She did not precook this at all. She probably only included a couple of stalks for both of the varieties.
Carrots: Probably only 10 or so carrot nubs (what I call the small little carrots that are demanded by all children when they pack their lunches. 😉 She boiled them for a little while before cutting them into little pieces.
Eggs: Prior to starting the frying process, a couple eggs were cooked and readied to be dumped into the fried rice. (So, they were fried before being fried.)
Green onions: Cut and in a separate bowl. These were added at the end. Earlier in the week, after having a bit of Mexican food, she had mentioned using cilantro in the fried rice. Having established a baseline rice, we can now consider creating some mutations.
Soy sauce: Not much, but the garden variety of stuff is probably fine.
Lee Kum Kee Chile Garlic Sauce: This stuff added great flavor, although I am not sure if its spiciness may have created some chaos once it entered my body. Very flavorful, but…..???
Ketchup: We just used standard Heinz. It probably amounted to a couple of tablespoons. She told a story of how for one week in China all she ate for all of her meals was ketchup fried rice. (I believe there was also some protein [shrimp or sausage?] with it.) When her mother found out, she scolded her.
Lee Kum Kee Oyster Flavored Sauce: This sauce/seasoning did not go in the ketchup flavored fried rice. It may have just been her choice.

Tools

Wok/pan: She claimed my wok was too big. So, we used our indoor pan-not the one claiming to be a non-stick.
Heat source: When I got my wok, I got a outdoor burner to use it on. It can easily get to over 400 degrees if necessary.

Results

Good meal: Both types of rice were very good. The ketchup version was good, but I probably enjoyed the other version better. It had a little more heat and flavor. And, even though I have confirmed with our Chinese student that they have ketchup in her refrigerator at home, it still seems sooooo American. Something without ketchup is certainly more exotic and interesting.
Warmups for school lunches: The next day, all remaining rice ended up in somebodies lunch. The little plastic containers were all packed full, and stowed away until the appropriate school lunch time arrived. To my knowledge, all who took the rice ate it cold the next day.

Future Meals….?

Since having this meal, we have discussed what other items we might make fried rice with. We had some pork the other night that was being considered for fried rice, but it ended up in pork and noodles. (We had never made pork and noodles before, but we were assured by our local fried rice consultant it was the better choice.) However, if we did the fried rice w/ pork, she thought the addition of spinach might be a good touch. When she first arrived, her often hear comment was, “Chinese….we eat everything.” And, I suppose if you have the capacity to eat everything, you should know how to accompany it. As a corollary to “eating everything”, there is “wasting nothing”. I am sure if we didn’t have spinach available, she would have come up with something else to throw into the wok w/ the rice and pork. There will likely be a seafood, beef and/or chicken fried rice before the final votes are cast on “best” fried rice.

As with all of the many experiences the exchange students have provided, we just sit back and watch and lend a hand when asked. To come this far from their family, they have to have a spirit of independence. It only seems logical we try and encourage their independence. Since we are not native to their countries, anything they cook us is going to be judged very much in their favor. Although we may have ideas on Chinese or Korean food, our daily interaction with them and how and what they eat gives us a much fuller picture of what life is like around their dinner tables when at home. Our palates can only become richer from the experience! Our teenage daughters cannot help but be more open to foods from other cultures. (In the past, there have been occasional reservations.) And, our refrigerator and I (official member of the leftover police and the excessive plastic container detectors) are grateful for other options as we effectively reuse our food overages in creative and tongue-pleasing ways!

Year of The Taco

After another busy day of 6:00 AM cross country practice for my girls (one middle schooler, one daughter, and one exchange student), a full day of school (depending on which girl, it was double full because of all the brain work translating into Chinese or Korean) and then another after school run for the high schoolers, I picked up the girls to head home for dinner. Since they have only been here for 3 weeks, we do still have some “new” things to make for them. And, little did we know the simplicity of Tacos would be such a big score!

After dealing with the over excited flavor pouring our of the ranch dressing bottles, the avocado chunks, and the actual folding of the soft taco, they really liked them. With minor modifications, they both had a second taco that disappeared nearly as quickly as the first. Although we had more soft tacos, they chose to make LOTS of little mini spoon tacos. By this I mean, they scooped out a little bit of meat, put some lettuce on their plates, and then sprinkled some cheese on it prior to scooping it onto their spoon. (They have adapted to knife and spoon much better than I would have adapted to chopsticks.) It was somewhere during there 4 or 5 spoon taco where I asked, “What year this is?” (The implication was in the Chinese cycle.)

With some thinking, she recalled, “It is the year of the horse.”

After responding to each of our requests for what animal our birth year was assigned, She gave an abbreviated story about how the order of the 12 animals that formed the Chinese Zodiac. She didn’t seem very clear on a good bit of the story (She could not recall all 12 animals in order off the top of her head. Our Korean student tried to help recite them in Chinese, but was scolded by our Chinese student as she said, “That is not Chinese.”) She only recalled the first 5 or 6 animals that crossed the finish line. And, the rat won because he was on the oxes back.

Besides being educated in the Chinese Zodiac, I did my PeeWee Herman laugh. Meal times are so much fun. Whether it is tacos or Korean BBQ or just grilled vegetables, all of the teenagers are wonderful to engage with us and contribute so well to the conversation. They don’t finish eating and think, “If I don’t talk, I can be done more quickly.” They recognize what knowledge can be transferred in post-dinner conversations. They are well-mannered enough where they will not jump up without being excused. So, I don’t care if it is 2014, the year of the Horse, or the Year of the Taco, it is a great year to share our culture and to absorb one of the many other cultures that make this world so amazing.

Introduction To Korean BBQ

After church Sunday, I had a very busy day. My wife and I took a walk; I drove my 2nd son to his “ride” that would be driving him the 3+ hours back to college; I picked up my daughters friend to spend the night; I tried to stop at a B&N to get my daughter and her friend both a book they needed for school, but had to reserve two copies at another store; I drove home to pick up my other daughter and son before heading to the larger and better stocked B&N, AND after picking up a couple of ingredients from Walmart (not the ideal place-we will plan better next time) and helping cook outside with the wok, we ate Korean BBQ. It was ALL worth it!!

After skipping the arrival of our exchange students and the alternating meal cooking by our exchange students of which a Korean meal was now scheduled, our adventure began Friday night at the Super H-Mart. As I review our purchases of the evening, the most critical purchase was the beef. (Some Krogers stock the BBQ sauce.) Although the kimchi was a close second, the thinly cut beef is not very easy to find in most butcher departments. (The Sprouts butcher told me yesterday they don’t have the slicer to do it. So, future Korean BBQ feast may mean a bit of a drive before hand.) All agreed the beef was excellent. The kimchi experiment needed a little work, but not all cultural experiences turn out perfectly.

While the beef was being marinated (the key was definitely in the sauce. The other vegetables were good when cooked in the wok, but it was the meat flavor that sealed it), our Chinese student made “egg pizza”. It involved egg, flour, and the extra chopped green onions. The taste was good, but the second one was MUCH more presentable.

The kimchi pizza was a different animal! After the kimchi was chopped, flour, an egg, and a “special” mix from our market purchase were added. Once the mixture reached the right consistency, they were dropped in a pan. (She called them pizza, but I think “pancake” is a better illustration) In her nervousness, I think the pancakes were rushed through the cooking process. The flavor was good, but an after dinner re-frying, made sure they were all cooked through and fully edible when it came time for warmups.

I don’t know if our exchange students enjoy our game/challenge of them cooking us meals. Beyond the pictures we are able to take and send/post for their parents to see, it provides a very rich cultural experience for our whole family. (We had friends over for the Korean meal, so it even expands out beyond our walls!) I believe both or our students helped their parents when at home more than did the actual cooking. Whatever they present to us is heavily complimented while possibly dripping a little sarcasm. Even when they are “forced” to eat our takes on American food, it is such a blessing interacting with them. They like more veggies and shy away from too much bread, but they like flavor. We welcome flavor of all types of all countries at our table. I am not sure what dining awaits me the rest of the year. It is likely to be full of new flavors and, if I am lucky, fewer calories. Serendipity is grand!