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Unexpected Food Gifts

liuzhou

By liuzhou
in Food Traditions & Culture

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
33 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Another of my friends, who has recently relocated to the southern, tropical island province of Hainan, has taken up a bizarre new hobby. She has taken to sending me mooncakes. Thirty minutes ago a delivery of 5 turned up.

 

mooncakes2.thumb.jpg.f9f6343b64fe421ebf89a99efeb3a5db.jpg

 

These were to supplement the four she sent me two weeks ago.

 

20210508_143032.thumb.jpg.6b9d5dabe91387d0227c854baed0f857.jpg

 

20210508_143049.thumb.jpg.ef32106f19996b07021e0d5c5c503eae.jpg

 

1961413059_.thumb.jpg.7c57504ea8d2f8bdf37d09caaab66d45.jpg

 

1191251682_2.thumb.jpg.f25513a82a8d944b1a0dbbb8a673e666.jpg

 

The thing is mooncakes are traditionally sent to friends and eaten at the Mid-Autumn Festival which isn't until September 19th, this year. Oh well, I'm happy if she is happy!

Here are a couple of shots taken from her apartment.

mmexport1621309358424.thumb.jpg.23f16ddde7c6c5428dcd984712b2d9f2.jpg

 

mmexport1621309362702.thumb.jpg.188486bd3a641b0d299bc3df2f588da9.jpg

 

That apartment view is gorgeous - it's like a resort!  But I also don't understand the mooncake thing - how long do they last?

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)
On 5/21/2021 at 9:20 PM, KennethT said:

That apartment view is gorgeous - it's like a resort!  But I also don't understand the mooncake thing - how long do they last?

 

It is a resort! She is the director of a luxury spa/hotel company and has a beautiful home as part of her renumeration.

According to the packaging, the one in my first picture which is unlike the others lasts 60 days from date of manufacture, May 5th 2021. The other four allow for 80 days and were manufactured the same date.

 

The first four she sent me were all different and one contained salted egg; one contained meat and the other two were all fruit, beans and nuts. She asked me which I preferred and I said the two without eggs or meat*, so she sent me the second batch. These are eggless and meatless, but not necessarily vegan!

* Not that I don't eat salted eggs or meat! Just not at the same time as cake!

Edited by liuzhou (log)
  • Like 4

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
5 minutes ago, kayb said:

So. What's the take on mooncakes?

 

 

There is a whole old Mooncake topic here. And another more recent one here.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

kayb

kayb

Posted
Posted

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant, how were these particular mooncakes? And how long DO they last, anyway?

 

Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

  • 4 weeks later...
liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Just arrived from a client. 5 kg of cherries from Yantai in northern China, famous for its high-quality cherries. The image shows half of them; there is another box. How I'll ever get through them, I'll never know.

 

1110499204_cherries024.thumb.jpg.8bbfa2dc3f364b02edeb5d80017cabf4.jpg

 

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Just arrived from a client. 5 kg of cherries from Yantai in northern China, famous for its high-quality cherries. The image shows half of them; there is another box. How I'll ever get through them, I'll never know.

 

1110499204_cherries024.thumb.jpg.8bbfa2dc3f364b02edeb5d80017cabf4.jpg

 

 

I'll help!  I'll help!  I love fresh cherries and those are beauties.  

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

It happened again. I was sitting here working on something when my phone bleeped. A text message telling me my delivery had been deposited at the collection point two minutes from my home. What delivery? I have no outstanding deliveries due.

Anyway, I popped out and sure enough there was a box waiting for me. The description on the box read "绿木， 无糖 [1 件]", which means "Green tree, sugar-free [1 packet]. Well, that is helpful!

 

Back home, I opened it, still wondering who was sending me suger-free trees and found ten little cakes labelled "木糖醇绿豆饼 (mù táng chún lǜ dòu bǐng)", which rather unromantically translates as "Xylitol Green Bean Cakes".

Xylitol is an artificial sweetener, I learn.

Still nothing ventured - I tried one. They are not particularly sweet (which, in my book, is a good thing).

cake1.thumb.jpg.8423fa74298b900bde44b2101bcbe126.jpg

 

They are 1½" / 2cm in diameter; an inch / 2.5 cm tall. The pastry shell is soft and slightly sticky. The mung bean filling is soft, flaky and again not sweet but not beanish, either.

cake2.thumb.jpg.0860c6213f20ae406162b58cd5530fcc.jpg

 

All, in all, not bad! There are only four in the first picture, because I ate the other six before reaching for the camera - purely for research reasons, you understand.

 

cake3.thumb.jpg.ae4908d4196c1057082e1a32bea8f12c.jpg

 

I have tracked down who sent them. Thanks Han Rong!

  • Like 6

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

Xylitol is an artificial sweetener, I learn.

Hope you don’t end up with gut issues!

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

It happened again. I was sitting here working on something when my phone bleeped. A text message telling me my delivery had been deposited at the collection point two minutes from my home. What delivery? I have no outstanding deliveries due.

Anyway, I popped out and sure enough there was a box waiting for me. The description on the box read "绿木， 无糖 [1 件]", which means "Green tree, sugar-free [1 packet]. Well, that is helpful!

 

Back home, I opened it, still wondering who was sending me suger-free trees and found ten little cakes labelled "木糖醇绿豆饼 (mù táng chún lǜ dòu bǐng)", which rather unromantically translates as "Xylitol Green Bean Cakes".

Xylitol is an artificial sweetener, I learn.

Still nothing ventured - I tried one. They are not particularly sweet (which, in my book, is a good thing).

cake1.thumb.jpg.8423fa74298b900bde44b2101bcbe126.jpg

 

They are 1½" / 2cm in diameter; an inch / 2.5 cm tall. The pastry shell is soft and slightly sticky. The mung bean filling is soft, flaky and again not sweet but not beanish, either.

cake2.thumb.jpg.0860c6213f20ae406162b58cd5530fcc.jpg

 

All, in all, not bad! There are only four in the first picture, because I ate the other six before reaching for the camera - purely for research reasons, you understand.

 

cake3.thumb.jpg.ae4908d4196c1057082e1a32bea8f12c.jpg

 

I have tracked down who sent them. Thanks Han Rong!

They look a lot like bakpia - an Indonesian snack specific to Yogyakarta - they make them with a variety of fillings but the bean paste filling is the most popular.

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Anna N said:

Hope you don’t end up with gut issues!

 

Yes, I know about the potential for gut issues in some people, but decided to risk it. I'll let you know if I made a mistake!

 

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

They look a lot like bakpia - an Indonesian snack specific to Yogyakarta - they make them with a variety of fillings but the bean paste filling is the most popular.

 

Yes, but bakpia were introduced to Indonesia by the Chinese.

 

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

  • 2 weeks later...
BeeZee

BeeZee

Posted
Posted

Cup 'O Figs left on my desk, from co-worker. I'm guessing that means shortly I will be getting bags full of them.

 

fig.jpg

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"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" - Oscar Wilde

chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, BeeZee said:

Cup 'O Figs left on my desk, from co-worker. I'm guessing that means shortly I will be getting bags full of them.

 

Well, we all have our crosses to bear... :P

  • Haha 5

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

MaryIsobel

MaryIsobel

Posted
Posted

I posted a while back about the neighbour who keeps us supplied in fresh mushrooms. To reciprocate a little, my husband took them a couple of pounds of bing cherries from our tree. Not even 24 hours later, they showed up with a cabbage, four zucchini and a grocery bag full of leaf lettuce from their garden. A lovely gift for sure, but not sure we will get through a grocery bag of lettuce between the two of us! I may offer some of the lettuce to the critters that are snacking on my dahlias...

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MaryIsobel

MaryIsobel

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, TdeV said:

@MaryIsobel, do you know about grilling lettuce? Slice in half longitudinally, paint on a little mayo, grate LOTS of cheese. Put in a pan near the top of broiler - they'll be done in about 5 minutes. For fancier Caesar Salad, see:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/05/16/caesar-salad-gratin-recipe/

Yes, I have grilled romaine, but this is very delicate leaf lettuce; I'm sure it wouldn't hold up to any heat - good thought though.

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kayb

kayb

Posted
Posted
On 7/6/2021 at 9:44 AM, BeeZee said:

Cup 'O Figs left on my desk, from co-worker. I'm guessing that means shortly I will be getting bags full of them.

 

fig.jpg

 

I would happily take all the figs anyone would give me. I'll pay off in fig jam.

 

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Don't ask. Eat it.

www.kayatthekeyboard.wordpress.com

ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted (edited)

What is it about figs that appeals to so many people?  I tried fig cookies a couple of times, I think they are called fig newtons.  Dry terrible things and it seemed to me the only part of the figs that were in the cookies were the seeds.  After that, I swore off figs forever.

Edited by ElsieD
fixed typo (log)
blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, ElsieD said:

What is it about figs that appeals to so many people?  I tried fig cookies a couple of times, I think they are called fig newrons.  Dry terrible things and it seemed to me the only part of the figs that were in the cookies were the seeds.  After that, I swore off figs forever.

 

Do not judge the world of figs by the Newton.  Perfectly ripe, fresh figs are worlds away from commercial cookies made from dried fruit.  

  • Like 4
heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted
25 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

What is it about figs that appeals to so many people?  I tried fig cookies a couple of times, I think they are called fig newtons.  Dry terrible things and it seemed to me the only part of the figs that were in the cookies were the seeds.  After that, I swore off figs forever.

I think it is what I call a sexy fruit - lightly perfumed almost custardy. I had a neighbor who loved them so I let him pick all the white ones on my half (hanging over fence) of tree. Tree owner was not a fig fan. This neighbor also adored the sapote fruit off the tree down the street. Similar notes. I had more fun watching the insane fig beetles.

  • Like 2
TicTac

TicTac

Posted
Posted

Figs have to be in my top 5 favourite fruits - been getting some gorgeous organic black Greek figs this season...some were going south (I blame the plethora of other fruit now available) so I made a fig and vanilla bean jam. 

 

 

  • Like 3
liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
6 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Do not judge the world of figs by the Newton.  Perfectly ripe, fresh figs are worlds away from commercial cookies made from dried fruit.  

 

While I agree 100% with your second sentence, I rather like fig newtons, too.

  • Like 5

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
36 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

While I agree 100% with your second sentence, I rather like fig newtons, too.

I do, too.  Nice with a cup of tea or coffee.  Should have added that!

  • Like 4
Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

Posted
Posted
On 7/6/2021 at 11:12 AM, MaryIsobel said:

Yes, I have grilled romaine, but this is very delicate leaf lettuce; I'm sure it wouldn't hold up to any heat - good thought though.

You can flash saute leaf lettuce in a little evoo.    Edges will crisp up while leaf remains tender.   Add dressing or simply lemon juice, etc, to your taste, or just serve as a side vegetable.

eGullet member #80.

Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

Posted
Posted

Halve figs but leave the stem end intact.   Place in a buttered baking dish.   Cover with clumps of fresh goat cheese or fromage blanc.  A very few rosemary leaves.   Roast in hot oven until cheese starts to melt.   Drizzle with a few drops of very good balsamic vinegar.     Cheese course, dessert or breakfast.   

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eGullet member #80.

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