A Fun First Week of March

Pizzas made with Xinjiang bread. 

Uighur men were selling these breads outside the Huan Bei Little Things Market the other day. 50 cents each. They're about 8"? And they make great pizza crusts for an easy dinner! 

This version of Guacamole was actually really good! 

I added chopped red cabbage! And some store bought salsa, lemon, salt and cilantro. The salsa added made it not as green but it tasted amazing. The kids loved it. 3 avocados, juice of 1/2-1 lemon, salt, 1/3 cup finely chopped red cabbage, 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup salsa (store bought okay!).

Yummy Wholewheat Zucchini Mini Muffins 

I substituted some ingredients and came up with the recipe below. Muffins are especially awesome because they are so easy to make very nutritious and everyone enjoys eating them! I made this with 1 tsp. of cloves and although a very-good-for-you spice it was a bit too much. I liked it but 1/4 tsp. is much safer!

Yummy Wholewheat Zucchini Muffins

Oven: 400

Dry ingredients (mix in large mixing bowl):

• 2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 c. whole oats
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds or poppy seeds (optional)
• 2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. cloves (optional)
• dash of allspice and nutmeg (optional)

Wet ingredients (mix in small mixing bowl or large measuring cup):

• 1 c. milk or other liquid (soymilk, etc)
• 1/3 c. oil
• 1 egg
• 1 t. vanilla extract or other flavoring of choice

Add wet to dry ingredients, then fold in:

• 3/4 c. grated zucchini

Sprinkle tops of muffins with raw sugar or clear sugar sprinkles.
Bake in muffin cups for 18-20 mins. Let sit a few minutes before serving.

Makes 12 muffins or 36 mini muffins. 

I don't know what this face is but Chael's been wearing it a lot lately! So funny. It's usually along the lines of Ninjago and play fighting. Construction Birthday Party for Caleb!

Chael, Sarah, Teresa, Joy, Caleb, Dawn, Kristy.

Caleb had an awesome Construction Birthday Party! He's exactly one month older then Chael and will be three on March 14th. Us gals and the Goh family will be in Hong Kong on his birthday. We celebrated a week early and Dawn threw an awesome party for three year olds and little ones.

Thing 1 and Thing 2. Dr. Seuss Day at school!

Nine Creeks. 

This is my favorite run which I usually do early on Saturday mornings. It's 10 miles (15km) and just really beautiful. I really enjoy the beauty of Hangzhou and having really great trails like this quite close to home. There's so much nature in the zhou to enjoy. This run has some nice incline and goes through a steep village before it comes back down the mountain to Hupao Lu (Running Tiger Road). I stopped the clock and laid down on the wet ground for this shot. This day was my fastest time to date: 1:25. I love the climb. You can see the tea leaf bushes terraced into the mountain sides too.

Nine Creeks. A little blurry but you can see why I stopped to snap a pic. Pretty.

Iceskating! Kristy, Thomas, Charlie and Callie.

It was raining on Saturday and we needed to do something to get out of the house. Brian had to work and Joel was out of town. So we went iceskating at the MixC mall! We did school work in the morning. I even made and baked a couple of apple pies for Sunday. (I had some pie dough in the freezer from Thanksgiving.) And then we hit the iceskating rink after lunch. It was Brock and Dash's first time. Chael really wanted to skate but they said you had to be at least three! Soon, Chael. We made it for the last 45 minutes of the session. They all did really well. Dash did one victory lap and told me he didn't like iceskating. It probably took him 35 minutes. I was proud of him for getting out there and doing it even though I couldn't go out there with him. Good job Dash! 

They got those orange gloves for free with their entrance fee. haha!

Huan Bei Little Things Market, 1st floor

One of my favorite things about China is access to wholesale markets! I love being able to buy things for wholesale prices. It's a bit crazy and I believe all real markets in China are a bit overwhelming, but this market ranges in wonderful junk such as underwear, tights, socks, scarves, hats, gloves, rain boots, shoes, bedding, toys, stationary supplies, fake flowers, golden pigs and cats (Chinese stuff), mugs, children's clothes, random electronics, and many more random things. But the best new thing I found at this market is a tailor! I had no idea. You can spend some hours at this market and barley scratch the surface. 

A week ago Monday, Chael and I went on a little hunt. I had fabric and wanted to find a tailor to make a temple dress in the Chinese qipao style. A two-piece set. Six places later we found THE tailor who could do it for me. This would be a very simple task in Shanghai. At least myself and many other foreigners would know exactly where to go for these kinds of things! I picked it up Monday. He made some slight adjustments on the top and I think it's really great. I've been wanting to have one made for a long time and finally did it. 

I will be wearing it in the temple in Hong Kong on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Yay! 

Chael, my buddy, at the Huan Bei Little Things Market.

Dash and Chael.