Signs of Winter

Sadly, it seems our Indian Summer has drawn to a close and we are starting to see minuses showing up in the weather forecast. We don't need to read the forecast to know that winter is coming. Trucks overflowing with onions and cabbages have started to show up on every street corner and any flat surfaces along the streets and alleys are covered in these onions and cabbages. Harbiners are drying them in preparation for storage and use during the winter. When they run out of street space they squeeze the onions and cabbages into every window ledge or balcony in their apartments. Even high end condos have onions and cabbages sprouting from their windows and balconies. Strata councils in Canada would have serious reservations about this practice but not a problem in Harbin. Cabbage and onions are a staple of most dishes in North East China cuisine which is also known as Dong Bei cuisine. The cuisine has become a favorite of Nonie and mine. For more signs of winter check out our October 2008 blog. They're baaaack!

Dumplings, comfort food for those long cold winters. It is the Canadian equivalent of a hot bowl of pea soup and crackers. Tomato soup for those of you with out any french heritage. The dumplings come stuffed with every kind of filling you can imagine. From simple pork stuffing to exotic vegetable and spices. Served steaming hot from the wok to your chopsticks. Add a little vinegar and soy for flavor and you can make a meal of them. They look easy to make but beware, fold them incorrectly and you will have a wok full of broken dough and stuffing floating around in the water. A lesson I learned the hard way.

Happy Canadian thanksgiving to you all you Canadians and wanna be Canadians out there. We hosted our second almost annual Thanksgiving dessert soiree this last week. A gathering of multiple nationalities enjoyed Nonie's cookies, carrot cake, lemon loaf and homemade bruschetta. It was enjoyed by all and included an impromptu singing of O'Canada by the resident Canadians (Brett, Nonie, Armin) Sadly no turkey but the American thanksgiving is coming up and we are pretty sure we can find a turkey feed somewhere.

Nonie and I will be attending another trivia night this week to defend our title. Keep posted. We are feeling invincible.