Bread

Steamed buns, are extremely popular in Northern China. 

Zachary enjoys them. The old lady at the Mom and Pop store by our house gives him one free every day. They are huge white balls of steamed bread.

They come in all styles, shapes and sizes.

I'm not sure the difference in them all.

But check out these, Shally's mom gave us, from her home town.

Two turtle doves.

Chicken Soup

I just love making chicken soup; i.e. any kind of soup with chicken in it. The best chicken for this is boiled whole chicken, in my opinion. It gives you a good base for broth and leaves the chicken nice and tender.

In China, the cooking chicken come with their heads and feet still on. 

Oh, you know, just another day as a wife in China.

You have to put them in their juuuust right. 

Nice fit. All the limbs in.

Look Dad. I shot a chicken.

Look at Chara. She is very interested in this. 

Favorite Winter or Anytime Chicken Soup

(Off the top of my head)

2-3 Bay leaves.

Pot of water.

Whole chicken.

Salt. 

Pepper.

1 tsp olive oil.

Put all of the above in a pot and boil until the chicken is cooked through. I use kitchen scissors to cut the thighs to check. I am sure most of you don't live in Dongying and can find a kitchen thermometer, which would be more accurate.

Use a ladle to spoon out the foamy white stuff that forms at the top.

Once the chicken is finished, remove to cool. Leave broth.

Fill the pot with the following:

2 green bell pepper.

2 red bell pepper.

Yellow pepper. (if you want)

3 green chili peppers.

1-2 red onions. 

3 tomatoes and/or 20 baby tomatoes

All chopped.

1 can of corn.

(and any other veggies you want! I have added all varieties of veggies.) 

1 bunch of cilantro. 

slice the leaves and stems.

Lots of fresh garlic.

3 tbs cumin.

2 tbs of red pepper flakes.

(Sometimes I add packets of taco seasoning and chicken broth, too. But most of the time I try to make it as "pure" as possible. Depends on my mood.)

Shred the cooled chicken.

Once veggies have softened put the chicken back in the pot. 

Best served with cheddar cheese, avocado, sour cream and chips. 

But since none of that is available to us in Dongying, we just enjoy the soup.

Enjoy.

(I know it's not a technical seeming recipe. But this is how I prefer reading recipes. I like to read them like I think. Haha. I hope you can still follow it.) 

Just a normal walk in April.

You have to be careful where you step in Dongying.

This is a very common mode of transportation in Dongying. This bike wagon seems especially popular among older people. 

You can see these bikes carrying multiple people, babies, stacks of cardboard, dogs, plastic bottles, just about anything. The other day we saw one filled with old school T.V.s and another one filled with old scanners, strategically stacked and tethered.

 It's truly amazing how much stuff they can fit onto bikes and trucks. This is nothing compared to what we have seen. Check out the other one in the background.

No big deal. Just some chickens in an apartment complex. 

 Wait. Who's that? The most beautiful and cutest 4 legged animal in the world? Oh. Ya. That's Chara. :) With her 'lead' on so she doesn't pull us. People give us bad looks or shudder away from her because it looks like a muzzle. She's perfectly happy with it people. It doesn't hurt her at all.

Cutest. And cutest.

 Can you see the lady through the trees? She's riding on the back of one of those wagon/moterbikes, standing, holding a dresser.

 Our school! Nice colors, eh?

 Spring has sprung. Fresh buds.

 Daddy and Chara looking at something in the river. Adorable.

You can't see it from here, but those are pictures of Zachary and I teaching! Justin and Catherine told us they have seen some on other boards through out the neighborhood. Guess we're famous. ;)

The pet shop where Chara stays. And the cool black sign is for the guitar shop. Zachary enjoys playing guitar with the guys that work there.

We always say she looks like a lion. I think this thing is a gargoyle or something. But still. 

 This bus is full of people staring at us. Just normal life as a foreigner in the majority of China. Paparazzi! ;p

 In China to call the police you dial 110.

 A bunch of old men playing games.

 The local key shop.

 Baby clothes hanging to dry.

 The oldest lady ever. Maybe. Look at how many clothes she is wearing. She has the smallest feet ever, too. My friend told me she probably bound her feet. Many woman of her generation saw small feet as beautiful.She talked to us for a long time. We had absolutely no idea what she was saying but she didn't care. She just kept talking.

This little guy looks demon possessed here, but he's not so bad. He's just spent his whole life tied to this air conditioner, on these steps.
We feel so bad for him. His owner owns the shop behind him.
Zachary and I have plotted ways to rescue him or buy him.
Once we thought we saw a man trying to steal him (not to eat him), and we just watched and hoped he would. But he couldn't get the chain un-locked. Poor guy. He's actually pretty cute most of the time.