The Gifts that Re-Inspired Me!

Hello and Happy New Year!

It's been a while.
We didn't get Shanghai'd or thrown into a prison in China for being bad visitors......you can't access blogs from China!  Who knew?

Since being back, I have thought about my little blog quite a bit and have had a few comments about the lack of posts.  Life happens!  Please forgive my absence.

I have been re-inspired.
There were many things I saw in China that I thought...wow, that would be great to share.....
The memoirs of China will be sprinkled throughout my upcoming posts.
It's been difficult to focus in on something to post about.  Today it finally came to me. Hopefully this is the inspiration I need to keep writing.

I chose the name, "A Wok in the Tuscan Kitchen" in hopes of combining the two things that represent who I am as a home cook.  If you have been reading the previous posts, you will certainly know about the great garden makeover project, led by Garden Guru. We enjoyed some very yummy offerings from the garden last summer.  I suppose I should clarify, we are not really living in Tuscany.  Home is a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Tuscan style of cooking, it's simplicity and the freshness of quality ingredients is what I try to incorporate into our daily meals.

The Wok.....well that's a given.
Being Chinese, in actuality, CBC (Canadian Born Chinese), the Wok is one of the most essential pieces of equipment.

I suppose I could have named the blog "A Cleaver in the Tuscan Kitchen", but somehow that just doesn't have the same ring.

The first gift of inspiration.

The second gift of inspiration.

Well, some might classify it as a re-gift.  I on the other hand, gratefully received this as an inheritance!  

Thanks Mom and Dad.....and aunty Cathy too!

A Very powerful propane burner...just look at all those jets.

Can't you just taste the wok hai? (breath of the wok....that intense smokey flavor)

The third gift of inspiration. 

Thank you Garden Guru!

Amazing stories from some of my favorite chefs

Garden Guru is currently working on the plans for the next phase of the garden.  

The Cooking area.......

A Wood Fired Pizza Oven and now a propane burner to include in the plan.

So here it is everyone.....the Wok in the Tuscan Kitchen.

Looking forward to cooking on and posting on!

A Communal Birthday Celebration

It has become a tradition for 3 dear friends to celebrate their birthday together.  We were all born the same year, all attended the same secondary school (a long time ago!) and all continue to stay in touch...........that has to be good reason for a celebration!

So Happy Birthday Dee and M....here's to many more.

Since our birthdays fall in different months, we averaged the days of the year and came up with "our" birthday as sometime in late August.  Life is busy, but we finally got together and marked this auspicious occasion.

This year's theme happened to coincide with the happenings in the back garden.  So it's no surprise that our lovely wine paired meal was Tuscan inspired. Tradition has been that we celebrate in a grand fashion with a lovely tasting menu paired with yummy wines.  Some of the meals have lasted hours.  This one was no different.  In fact we had so much fun, it turned into a slumber party.  Who said old farts can't party?

We each prepared a course or two each and selected lovely wine pairings to compliment each.

My course was very interactive;  interactive, not out of design, but necessity!!

Have you ever experienced things suddenly breaking down in your home?  Well that happened around here.....and as with most things around here......it happened in a big way.  Over the course of 2 days we lost the dishwasher, microwave and yes, the very well loved and often used pasta roller attachment for the KitchenAid.  With the menu planned and no time to shop, I resorted to hand rolling the pasta for this dinner. Well actually, I coerced my two birthday buddies into hand rolling the pasta for dinner.

In the true Tuscan tradition,

Hand-Rolled Pici with a Hearty Ragu (click on Pici to view the recipe)

With antipasti to nibble on and luscious wines to sip we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. I think we have stumbled upon a new tradition.  The Pici was fabulous and the process was rather amusing.

Check out the video to see the Pici makers in action.   You also get a glimpse of Garden Guru working away in Tuscany.

So that's how 3 friends and a few of their guests enjoyed their birthday this year.  Fun times, good food, yummy wine........great friends!

Life doesn't get much better than this.

Summer brought Tuscany......Fall brings the Return from Golden Mountain

This Summer has been particularly fabulous in our parts.  Our back garden has been transformed through a labour of love by our dear garden guru into a delightful Tuscan escape.  Kudos to our dear friend, many friends in fact, have had a hand in this great garden makeover.  For certain we are blessed and especially so by garden guru's generosity, creativeness, great talent and most of all, his friendship.

The garden produced a bounty of delights. We feasted, wined, dined and enjoyed the company of good friends and family all summer long.
I hope to post photos and recipes as this blog develops, but for now enjoy a piece of our personal Tuscany.

This is the beginning of our great harvest table. Coming soon to a Tuscan Backyard near you!

BR and I  agreed today that summer is officially over.  He is digging out his big boy pants and I am contemplating the change over of carefree flip flops to proper footwear that will transport me firmly into Fall. So with that, the memories of our Tuscan summer get nestled away and we prepare for Fall.

Well officially, we have celebrated Fall's arrival already with a grand banquet a few days ago, marking the Mid-Autumn festival.  BR and I, along with family and many of our friends feasted on tasty delights.  You see, mid-Autumn festival is all about family and friends. So, if you are inclined on September the 22nd spend some time with loved ones and enjoy the magic of the harvest moon! Mid-Autumn Festival

This celebration was a preparatory one of sorts. As you read in the title, the second part of this post is The Return from Golden Mountain.  We are traveling back to China in a few short weeks.  Our journey will take us back to the villages of my parents.  We are eagerly awaiting the stories that mom and dad will share as we stroll back through their past with them. 

Stay tuned for updates on our travel adventures and culinary delights.