Souvenirs/Back from Hong Kong

When most people travel they bring home souvenirs, small tokens to remind them of their trip and the things they saw, experienced or even ate. I am usually one of those people, I love these reminders, something to look at that takes you back to the time and place you got it. On this trip I didn't bring home any trinkets though, instead I brought back something much more exciting, recipes. Even before I bought my ticket to Hong Kong, I knew that if I was going I would absolutely have to take a cooking class while I was there. A country's cuisine is so deeply entwined with its culture that for me, to go to a place without learning about its food would mean missing out on the essence of its culture. How can I, as an American, comprehend why spitting bones onto the dinner table is totally acceptable in Hong Kong, but not here? And why are there so many bones in the food in the first place? In my mind, understanding the answers to questions such as these is just as important as sightseeing and touring.

So in that vein I signed up for the Chinese Wok Cookery class at the Martha Sherpa cooking school in Hong Kong. I have taken several cooking classes in my time, but this one was definitely the most intense. Eight hours, five dishes and a personal meat cleaver definitely leads to a pretty crazy day. By the time I left I reeked of grease and garlic and although it was certainly not the most appealing aroma, something about it made me proud.

Daring Bakers/Gingerbread House

Just a quick post to prove that I am an actual Daring Baker and that I did complete this challenge despite the fact that I rushed through it and was not entirely excited to do it in the first place. I used a pretty basic stencil and did my best to make it look somewhat decent although I think that the result is that people euphemistically called 'homemade' or 'rustic.' I can't imagine repeating this challenge especially with all the gingerbread kits there are available, that being said here is my "Elf's Gingerbread House"

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

Discovery/Hong Kong

I think I finally realized that I was actually flying halfway across the world when I glanced at the plane's map and we were flying across the North Pole. A 15 hour plane ride definitely gave me a lot of time to imagine what Hong Kong would be like, but the truth is all the images in my head were nothing like the reality. I could probably write the longest post ever describing every detail of my hike in the New Territories, my day in Macau and my long walks around Hong Kong. Instead, considering the whole food blog theme I have going on here, I'm just going to list the top three food experiences I have had so far (unfortunately, one of the the meals was not my own, although it's still totally worth writing about).

I know my mom would be disappointed to see any bad manners, but after one bite of Pastel de Nata in Macau (Egg Custard Puff Pastry tarts, which I don't have pictures of because I was too busy eating) all bets were off. The buttery, flakiness of the crust crumbled down my scarf and jacket, but luckily I still managed to get enough in my mouth along with the just-sweet egg custard to know that seconds would be in order.

Adventures/World Peace Cookies

It took me awhile to discover my adventurous spirit, but since I did I have been restlessly restless. All I want to do is move, explore, see new things, try new things and so on, I just can't get enough. I don't know at what point I transitioned from being a scared younger girl, all I know is that it has happened and I can't help but embrace it. On that note, today I am leaving for a two week trip to Hong Kong, it's as exciting as it is hard to believe. All the 'knowns' and unknowns only mean one thing, it is bound to be an adventure. Since I won't be home for Christmas this year, I wanted to leave a part of myself at home and in light of the season I thought cookies were the way to go.

I have seen Dorie Greenspan's world peace cookies on practically every blog I read, and even though I am not such a chocolate fan their name alone inspired me to make them. World peace, what more could we ask for for the holidays? If decadent food really were the solution to the world's problems, well I think these cookies would definitely merit their names.