Surfing Orange

Gary is away for a couple of days to do a special gig for Williams College for MLK day. I have 2 days pretty much on my own - when Genghis is playing in his room or taking a nap. There's not a lot one can do with short spans of time like such. But a girl can certainly find something to do on her own at any give time. Surfing haphazardly on the internet is one of my faves.

While searching a recipe of German pancakes, I stumbled onto 2 blogs related to orange. First of the two is "How About Orange" created by a Chicago graphic designer. I can't figure out yet why she named her blog orange, but I'm really glad I found it. In addition to the obvious reason that I got the recipe that I was looking for, I love the crafts she does! I have always had this dream that I would one day quit my day job and be a professional "craftster". She definitely inspires me.

Another is "Orangette". As you will discover in the description of the blog, orangette is "a candied orange rind dipped in chocolate". The creator of the blog is a food lover in Seattle, and her blog has been getting rave reveiws from various media across the country. I think she is in the process of having her book published.

It first got my attention because orangette happens to be my favorite sweets. The combination of citrusy flavor and chocolate (especially dark chocolate) is just beyond comparison. (I guess to me, orangette is the culinary elevation of Jacob's chocolate orange biscuit.) I had one time tried to make this myself but gave up teh idea after realizing that it would take a couple of days to make the candied orange rind.

Anyway, Orangette is a lighthearted, pleasurable read. It keeps me dreaming of food in this gastronomically uncultured part of the country (sigh...).

Well, Genghis just woke up and that means time for snack. How about an orange?

我的傲慢與偏見

上月因工出門，有機會到北京走一趟，半公半私的逗留了近一周。這不但是我頭一次上京，也是我來美五年來首次再踏足神州。關於是次旅程，想寫的東西有很多，今天先寫我的買書經歷。至於買了甚麼書，與及旅程的其他種種，則有待日後再寫了。

難得到大陸，當然是要到書店入貨──這邊的中文書店不多，書種更是十分貧乏，且價錢之不合理，就更令我欲買不能。起程之前，並沒有寫下甚麼清單，只是一心想買幾本兒童圖書及與飲食有關的書。反正自知私人時間不會太多，也就不好給自己“要完成任務”的壓力了。

對上一次到大陸買書，大概是十多年前的事了。當時的我，對中國與中文書的興趣都十分有限，看的中文書不多，買的意慾不大，況且想看的大部份都在香港有售，再不，我情願到台北買書兼順道旅遊，也不願迫人迫車返大陸。

但其實罪魁禍首是我對大陸出品有偏見。

我從來沒有歧視簡體字，也不是怕書本的內容被刪去政治敏感的內容，只是我對大陸的印刷質素完全沒有信心。

要知道我這人膚淺得緊要，每事每物都要有一定的外在美才能打動我，尤其是穿上身摸上手的，至於用眼看的嘛，當然便更加要以靚先行了。

我印象中的大陸印刷，大約停留在八十年代初的水平──紙質粗糙，排版四平八穩，毫無心思。因為這期間都沒有在大陸買書，以致這偏見在我心中縈繞幾近二十載，直至上月。

一踏進書店，首先攻陷我的是圖文俱巧的建築書籍。這類圖多字少的美術書，只要翻開數頁，便知是龍是蟲，我隨手揭了幾本，發現質素遠遠在我想像之上，雖然不是每本都達國際水平，但大部份都幾碼追得上港台水準，其中幾本較精緻的，更很有大師風範。

由於時間與體力關係，不敢買得太瘋，所以左挑右選下，揀了兩本關於中國建築的書便急步走到兒童圖書部。

又一次令我大跌眼鏡。

大陸出品的童書，已不再是我印象中白紙黑字加單線圖畫的習作簿模樣。今天的中國童書，大可跟歐美媲美（單就印刷而言），故事書以外，最教我驚喜的是一系列勞作及遊戲書，小兒對此書一見鍾情，每天也嚷著”媽咪同我做手工”。

挾著幾本童書，再信步走到飲食圖書部，飛快的搜尋要找的書，本想就此罷休，冷不防眼角瞄到一本又一本論茶的書，身不由己地拿出一本便讀起來。只翻了數頁，才又醒覺有飯局在身，不得不馬上前往，於是沒有再買其他書便趕快離開。
拿著大包細包的我，在的士上望著北京的繁忙景象，心中禁不住想，我，這自命不凡的居美港客，原來不過是個浸過點鹹水的港燦罷。

星厨 Star Chef

考慮了好一陣子才決定把這則不是太新的新聞上載 ，當初猶豫的原因是怕此舉有點自吹自擂，但想深一層，既然是事實，便不算吹虛了。況且看我這個泊的，大都是我的親友，當是向他們報告一下近況好了。

各位路過的朋友，希望我這則剪報沒有趕客吧！

(1) Cooking with class: A&M senior executive chef one of the top culinary artists in the nation
By: Elyssa Jechow
Posted: 11/19/07
The Battalion

Gary Arthur, the first senior executive chef at Texas A&M, is ranked among the best. Arthur, who came to A&M last year, is featured in a newly-released book, Chefs to Know, and is also ranked as one of the top 500 chefs in the nation. Joining him on the list are chefs such as Emeril Lagasse, Anthony Bourdain and Stephan Pyle.

"The beauty of this listing is that it is not a competition at all. And none of us consider ourselves better than anyone else," Arthur said. "In the words of the editor of the book, 'It is a collection of those that are talented, innovative, passionate and driven who contribute greatly to their culinary community.'

Arthur took over at A&M when the Food Services Department was in the middle of a complete revamping.

"I was recruited in by the current executive director once he realized the huge scope of options that need to be implemented," Arthur said.

Arthur said Aggieland is a wonderful place with some of the nicest people he has ever met, but he is aware that there are still plenty of challenges ahead.

As the first executive chef at A&M, Arthur is in charge of all food that is purchased, prepared and served on campus. He also oversees the people working to provide the food."

Commitment to building a great dining program remains a concern that I have," he said. "There is no comprehensive University ambition, which can be very challenging.

"However, Arthur said he still has plenty of amibitions of his own.

He has already brought sushi and the Tomato Bar to A&M students and has many more plans cooking.

"Moderate implementations have convinced me that there is not only a need, but a desire to upgrade concepts and put in new ones," Arthur said. "Vegetarian and healthy is an obvious expectation."

He also said health issues are being taken into consideration because of the obesity crisis that is gripping the nation. His Fall Crop program, which will last until Dec. 21, is bringing vegetarian food to Sbisa to address a variety of dietary concerns.

Arthur's personal ambition is to match every food he considers unhealthy with at least one option to minimize that unhealthy item.

"It will then be individual choice how folks eat," he said.

Arthur has more than 20 years of experience in luxury cooking and has racked up quite a resume by living and working in places such as New York City, Chicago, Atlantic City and Hong Kong. However, Arthur believes the work he is doing at A&M could be some of his greatest. He has set a goal of spring 2008 as a marker by which to show a drastic improvement in the food offered.

"I have set product integrity, cultural and technique integrity as a definitive goal of my efforts," Arthur said. "I believe we will be successful. We will address health options, real flavors and reasonable portions to price ratios and overall offerings.

"Despite his passion for food, Arthur said his favorite part of his job at A&M doesn't involve the food he serves.

"It's the students, students, students," he said.

(1) Shows Great Taste: Texas A&M Chef Included Among Nation's Best
A&M News

The authors of a guide that selects the top chefs in America must believe Texas A&M University’s Gary Arthur can truly cut the mustard: they have named him as one of the nation’s best chefs in the just-released book Chefs to Know.

Arthur, Texas A&M’s first senior executive chef, joins the list of the top 500 chefs in the United States, according to starchefs.com, the group that compiles the list that includes renowned chefs Emeril Lagasse, Anthony Bourdain and Stephan Pyle. It’s no doubt the cream of the crop of the best culinary experts in the country.
Making the list is hardly as easy as pie. As the book notes, selectees were chosen “for their approach to cooking and their lack of boundaries rather than being tied to strict cultural traditions in the kitchen, and they are free to interpret cuisine from every country in the world.”
“I was selected for work I’ve done in the industry over the past 20 years or so, and this is a very nice honor,” Arthur says.

“What makes it especially nice is that I am the only university chef included in the book, which says something about the competition. The list contains the most well-known people in the culinary arts, and it calls itself a ‘guide to chefs for chefs.’ So I feel very honored to be mentioned alongside some of these great names.”

Arthur came to Texas A&M last year when the university’s food services division was in the midst of a total makeover. The unit changed its name to Dining Services, and Arthur was hired for the newly created position of senior executive chef by Nadeem Siddiqui, executive director of dining services.

“Gary is a visionary and so highly accomplished that I knew he would bring the same distinction to us,” Siddiqui said. “The improvements he has made in his short time at Texas A&M have been wonderful.”

Arthur has spent much of the past year creating new menu items, listening to customers’ suggestions and helping to run the division that serves 30,000 meals a day at 41 on-campus locations and employs more than 1,000.

He grew up on the island of Trinidad and eventually earned a chef’s apprenticeship at the United Nations in New York. With 33 years of cooking skills, he has worked for several renowned hotel chains, including Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, the Larkspur hotel chain on the West Coast and also at Stanford University. At one time, he was the owner of two restaurants.

“Many people don’t have a high opinion of institutional food, such as the meals served at colleges or hospitals,” Arthur explains. “But there is no reason why it can’t be very good. Texas A&M is making the commitment to upgrade its dining operations, and we have the opportunity to be creative in the types of meals we now serve.”The preparation of food has changed over the years, he adds.

“Now we look at things like the nutritional quality of the food we serve, the science it takes to prepare good meals and research on how to make it all better,” he says.
When asked what his favorite dish is, Arthur has a quick answer. Any chef worth his salt will not name just one dish, he believes.

“I want and like to prepare them all – meals, desserts, everything,” he adds.

“All of the chefs I know say the same thing – they don’t have a signature dish. They want to be known as someone who can prepare just about anything and do it well. We have the chance to do that here at Texas A&M, to be real trendsetters in this type of dining experience.”

零發發奮

讀罷網友的年尾盤點，不禁汗顏。人家的博客未滿周歲，便已有過三百篇存稿，我這懒人半年下來，就只有那麼四十篇，而且差不多一半是貼幾幅家庭照了事，着實丟臉！

剛開始寫blog的時候，正值暑假，校務比較清閒，要在工作時間偷來三數分鐘寫點東西並不困難。但自九月開始，工作量驟增，新來的助手又未上軌道，所以凡事都要親力親為，有時候甚至連午飯也忘了吃－－對於像我這樣饞嘴的人來說，這事的確有點不可思議。

上班寫不成，下班後也不見得有甚麼大作為。每晚吃飯洗碗過後，孩子便嚷着要我陪他看書做手工玩遊戲，一玩往往便是兩個小時。當然，最最最關鍵的是，我是一個無可救藥的渴睡怪，每晚至少要睡七八個小時，倘能睡上十個鐘頭，自是最好不過。

九小時上班，一小時交通時間，一小時搜購糧餉雜貨，一小時燒菜洗碗，兩小時與孩子遊玩，八小時睡覺－－噢，不算猶自可，一算之下，原來我每天都有兩個小時是無名虛渡的！

零發伊始，發奮及時。
祝新年快樂！

Mom Song

To all the moms in the world...only you can truly understand what the song is all about.


Get up now Get up now Get out of bed
Wash your face Brush your teeth Comb your sleepy head
Here’s your clothes And your shoes Hear the words I said
Get up now Get up and make your bed
Are you hot? Are you cold? Are you wearing that?
Where’s your books and your lunch and your homework at?
Grab your coat and your gloves and your scarf and hat
Don’t forget you got to feed the cat
Eat your breakfast The experts tell us it’s the most important meal of all
Take your vitamins so you will grow up one day to be big and tall
Please remember the orthodontist will be seeing you at three today?
Don’t forget your piano lesson is this afternoon So you must play
Don’t shovel Chew slowly But hurry The bus is here
Be careful Come back here Did you wash behind your ears?
Play outside Don’t play rough Would you just play fair?
Be polite Make a friend Don’t forget to share
Work it out Wait your turn Never take a dare Get along
Don’t make me come down there
Clean your room Fold your clothes Put your stuff away
Make your bed Do it now Do we have all day?
Were you born in a barn? Would you like some hay
Can you even hear a word I say?
Answer the phone Get off the phone
Don’t sit so close Turn it down No texting at the table
No more computer time tonight Your iPod’s my iPod if you don’t listen up
Where you going and with whom and what time do you think you’re coming home?
Saying thank you, please, excuse me
Makes you welcome everywhere you roam
You’ll appreciate my wisdom someday when you’re older and you’re grown
Can’t wait ‘til you have a couple little children of your own
You’ll thank me for the counsel I gave you so willingly
But right now I thank you NOT to roll your eyes at me
Close your mouth when you chew Would appreciate
Take a bite Maybe two Of the stuff you hate
Use your fork Do not you burp Or I’ll set you straight
Eat the food I put upon your plate
Get an A Get the door Don’t get smart with me
Get a Grip Get up here I’ll count to 3
Get a job Get a life Get a PhD Get a dose of…
I don’t care who started it You’re grounded until you're 36
Get your story straight And tell the truth for once for heaven’s sake
And if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump too?
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said at least a thousand times before that
You’re too old to act this way It must be your father’s DNA
Look at me when I am talking Stand up straighter when you walk
A place for everything And everything must be in place
Stop crying or I’ll give you something real to cry about
Oh! Brush your teeth Wash your face Get your PJs on
Get in bed Get a hug Say a prayer with Mom
Don’t forget I love you**KISS**
And tomorrow we will do this all again because a mom’s work never ends
You don’t need the reason why
Because Because Because Because
I said so I said so I said so I said so
I’m the Mom The mom The mom The mom The mom Ta-da

My DC trip

I'm in DC for a week. A lot's happening. A lot for me to do, and a lot for me to think about. I'm trying to capture all that I can. This is a really diverse group that I'm with this week: some of them young Americans, some young Chinese first time in the U.S., some Chinese diplomat, some American diplomat, some Chinese university presiendts, some U.S. university presidents...

Whatever it is, I know I'm going to cherish this experience. And, this is, again, proof of my philosophy - you never know what's going to happen to you. Just keep your mind open; get yourself prepared; & pay attention to opportunities knocking on your door. Good things will follow.

Indeed. What marvelous experience.

I'll talk more about what happened to me this week after I get some rest.

當愛變成害

除了父母溺愛孩子的經典例子,其實一個人太愛一個地方,也可以令它受到傷害.

我家現居的這個德州小鎮, 是本州兩所最著名學府之一的所在地, 這大學不但在州內吃香, 在國內國外也有點名氣,尤以工程,農業,工管及獸醫學系等最享負盛名, 在多個全國排名中也名列前矛.

本校非常注重傳統,加上歷史悠久,校園多個角落都藏著段段動人故事.學校另一與別不同之處是學生對學校的歸屬感及忠誠度是罕有地高,舊生每年足球季節從老遠跑回母校觀看球賽,捐助學校各項不同發展與科研項目,更是見怪不怪.但最令我詫異的是畢業後留在校內工作的學生人數之高,以我粗略估計,大概有八成的行政職位,都是由舊生擔當的.

舊生回饋母校,為母校服務,理論上是求之不得,但在我這一年間的冷眼旁觀,卻發現這現象往往是令學校不能達到應有的進步的最大障礙.由於本學是公立大學,所以學生一般來自州內各個城鎮,要知道德州除了Houston, Dallas 及Austin三個大都會,其他地方都是...唔...比較鄉下,而且德州人出名不愛外遊(我們常笑說,Texans認為到Oklahoma己是出國了!),世界觀自是比較狹窄了.

有很多舊生為了留在本鎮及本校工作,很多都不惜自降身價,拿著學士甚至碩士學位的當份文員工作並不是新鮮事.本來循漸進不是問題,問題是這些人從未向外闖,也沒有準備向外闖,於是在毫無鬥心之下愈做愈欠衝勁,愈做愈不成器.而且這些忠心的舊生,一畢業便在同一所機構工作,一做便是十多二十年,從未接觸過其他工作方式及可能性,難免是會給培養成墨守成規的一群.

看著一代又一代的舊生留校工作,然後開口埋口我校怎樣怎樣優勝,,聽著聽著,很有點亂倫的感覺.

***************************************************************

有時候我跟這裡的中國留學生閒談,言語中會感受到他們很不屑美國傳媒對中國的種種評擊,覺得他們是有意眨低中國.每次我都只有婉轉的告訴他們,中國的確有很多地方需要改善,若果我們不多作檢討,最終受苦的還是中國人.

這又讓我想起我工作的這所學校的舊生--過份保護,往往只會適得其反.愛與害,有時的確是一線之差.

Mid Autumn Festival Pictures 中秋剪影

Another cheating post - pictures from a couple of weeks ago on the Mid Autumn Festival. A friend came over & had dinner & a mini celebration with us. This is the first year Genghis really enjoyed playing with his lantern. And, he loves mooncakes like I do! Good boy!

遲來的中秋節相片...

My Rock Star Wannabe

這兩個多星期忙得可以,沒閒暇沒心思寫文章,只好出賣小兒玉照充撐場面!亞仔乖,幫媽咪頂下檔!
Wait till he's a teenager...

Interesting Article on Newspapers in the U.S.

A friend forwarded this to me and I think it is absolutely funny, and, to the purpose of generalization, true. I wonder what the list will look like if we're comparing newspapers in China...Anyone want to give it a try?

Demographics of American Newspapers

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country, but don't really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country . . or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happens to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
12. The Sacramento Bee is read by people who have recently caught a fish and need something in which to wrap it.