dEliCIouS!

OK, so I must admit, I didn't cook the feast that is pictured below. I helped out as much as I could--tofu is the mOsT forgiving ingredient for a rookie chef like myself. The real expert chef is Xiaoyang. She is pictured with her special dishes below: mabo tofu (my favorite chinese/japanese dish), a szechuan pork dish and a tomato/mushroom/soy sauce combo of a salad. the distinct flavors were scrumptuous and reminiscent of the many meals of 'unknown' spices and textures in both China and Japan. Among many things, I learned that the pork dish is not 'snake' or 'worm' meat like I had wrongly assumed it to be in China. the texture takes some getting used to, but indeed, they are narrow strips of pork that curl into these u-shaped chunks after frying...i kinda miss trying new-scary-first-time-for-everything types of foods. Huge thanks to Xiaoyang (and Shinobu) for their cooking talents! The meal was faNTasTiC!
The conversation is always interesting with us...comparing linguistic and educational systems in Xiaoyang's native China and Shinobu's ideas about Japan's way of doing things...well sometimes I feel like I have just as much to learn from these women as I do my professors @ school! I am so lucky to have such a diverse group of friends who, although unknowingly, are challenging me to think outside the box. Thanks for sharing your worldly perspectives with me!
douxie!