Stampcitement

Sometimes get really excited about stamps. On some occasions, I've been tempted to buy stamps online and have it shipped to my house...but something about paying to mail stamps, which will then be paying for my mailing, rubs me the wrong way so I've never done it. Today, when I was (casually) online stamp shopping, I saw this series of stamps that I'm pretty psyched to get! It's an Earthscape series and the stamps are basically aerial pictures of natural, rural, and urban places. I know that you guys all think that this is pretty nifty too. :) Denver Post has a slide show for bigger pictures.

八宝粥 (aka, 8-grain porridge)

Not much going on in Florida, but we did get a new macro camera so I'm documenting many of the delicious things that my mom and I are cooking every day (is this a slow decline into one of those obnoxious foodies who photograph everything they eat? The answer is no). One of my favorite breakfast foods/ foods in general is the 8-grain porridge. It's savory, delicious, and also healthy--what a winning combo!

These are the ingredients (from left to right, starting with the top row): Peanuts, black beans, sweet rice, lotus seeds, [second row]pearl barley, red beans, brown rice, and mung beans!
Yeah, we like to be overachievers so we have 9 ingredients instead of 8. Sometimes we have even more!

Mooncakes

In preparation for the Mid-Autumn Festival coming up this month, my mom and I spent this afternoon making mooncakes! The shell we made by mixing sticky rice flour, coconut flour, and green tea. We tried a few fillings to see which one we would like better, including various combinations of red bean paste, mung bean paste, and salted duck egg. I think my favorite is the red bean paste with salted duck egg (sweet and savory!).
Pretty designs!



Red bean with salted duck egg

Chive dumplings

Today, my mom and I made dumplings with the chives that she grows in her backyard! The filling also included egg, pork, and a bit of shrimp. YUMMMM

Huanglong

Same place as the last post. I would never recommend anyone go there, no matter how pretty it looks in pictures.
building a grassy roof?

I like this series inside a temple



goofing off during a rest break with not much resting

Jiuzaigou

Visited this national park place in Sichuan province in southern China. Lesson learned: if Chinese tourists are going, you should best avoid it.