Photos by MJ Klein Caution: Food Photos!
As most of you know by now, Hui-chen and I went back to the USA for about 3 weeks. The reason for this trip will become apparent in future parts of this series. In Part One, I want to introduce you to a few people and places.
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We love taking photos from the air [2]! We took these photos just after our takeoff from Detroit, on our way to the Greensboro airport in North Carolina. Here are 2 more shots of what I believe is one of the Great Lakes.
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Once we got there, we stayed at my Mother’s new home, built on my sister’s family’s property.
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Here is my Mother, looking very good at 80 years old.
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And here is her very relaxing front porch – a place where I spent quite a few pleasant hours passing the time.
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We went to my sister’s husband’s parent’s home (wow, that’s a mouthful!). That’s my sister Janet just behind Hui-chen. That’s her husband Mike Hunnicutt, and their youngest son Elliot to Mike’s right. Elliot loves to joke around and he’s messing around with his Uncle Don (Mike’s brother). Mike’s parents are in the forgeground to Hui-chen’s right. My mother is at the far left, and the other women are Mike’s sisters (and brother in law at the far right). The Hunnicutts are a really great family and I am blessed to be related to them all.
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Hui-chen and I wasted no time before we began cooking. Mike’s side of the family came over and wanted to try some Taiwanese food. No problem! Here we see some of the famous marinade [9] that we do back in Taiwan.
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Mike and Hui-chen discuss grilling techniques. HC usually handles the grill, so this was something she was not used to!
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Everyone is waiting to eat. Here’s what we served them:
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Left to right: Hui-chen’s grilled pork and chicken, salad, Hui-chen’s special meatballs [13], fruit salad.
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Hui-chen’s fried noodles. In the US, this dish is called “lo mein” and it’s a misnomer because in Chinese that means “meat noodles.” In Taiwan we would call this “chao mein” but that’s also a mis-named dish in the US. It took about 5 minutes to explain that to everyone!
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The next day we went to see my father, who is now 86 years old. Here is is posing with his medals he received for his service during World War II. He never put in for his medals until someone in the family convinced him to do it recently. I’m glad that he did. My father served with the 308th Bombardment Group [16] (Heavy). He served in the 373rd Squadron [17] as a B-24 navigator/bombardier. I intend to write more about my father’s military service in a later article. My father is not doing well and I want to publish some details of his distinguished service, most of which I have only recently been made aware of.
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One thing that Hui-chen was happy about going to the US for, is ice cream! This is 2 “scoops” at the local creamery. Wow! The portions we encountered were huge! I asked for the insulin sprinkles on my ice cream but they guy just stared at me, lol.
Stay tuned for more installments about our US trip!
Comments Disabled To "Our 2008 US Trip, Part One"
#1 Trackback By MJ Klein On June 14, 2008 @ 20:29
Our 2008 US Trip, Part One [19] via @ShareThis
#2 Comment By Sandy On June 15, 2008 @ 06:19
Wow, that BBQ looked like fun! The food looked delicious and is of course making me hungry. Your mom looks great for her age, definitely. Your dad’s medals are very impressive.
I am looking forward to the posts to follow about your US trip.
Sandys last blog post.. [20]
#3 Comment By thenhbushman On June 15, 2008 @ 09:26
Sandy » we try to warn people about the food photos! hehe
#4 Comment By cfimages On June 15, 2008 @ 10:14
Welcome back to Taiwan MJ and HC.
I always wondered what lo-mien was meant to be when encounter it in books and movies. Now I know. In Australia we call it chao mien, but the mien is pronounced more like ming.
You should have served them grilled squid on a stick and oyster omelette – or am I just saying that because they are my favorite TW foods.
cfimagess last blog post.. [21]
#5 Comment By thenhbushman On June 15, 2008 @ 14:39
cfimages » in the US, “chow mein” is what they call the slop made with celery and onions with crispy noodles on top. back when i used to work in a Chinese restaurant in the US, the chef called it “pig food.” at least in Australia they got the words right, if not the pronunciation. it really should be called “pan fried noodles” to make it clear in English.
#6 Comment By Brunty On June 15, 2008 @ 23:26
MJ. Thanks for the great pictures and introducing your family to us. Your mum does look great. When I am young as her I want to be doing half a well.
That was a feast you served up and looked delicious. The Chao Mein looked a winner, my mum used to amke the best chao mein and if you could post the recipe I wiould be a happy man 🙂
I look forward to reading the future posts my friend.
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#7 Comment By thenhbushman On June 16, 2008 @ 00:03
Brunty » thanks for your kind comments. i’ll see what i can do about getting the recipe out of HC, hehe. lots more to come in this series. this is going to be perhaps the most personal series i have ever done, as i talk about my father’s condition….
#8 Comment By Todd On June 15, 2008 @ 23:42
That’s some very delicious looking BBQ and ice cream. Welcome back to Taiwan!
Todds last blog post.. [23]
#9 Comment By thenhbushman On June 16, 2008 @ 00:04
Todd » those particular foods were very good, Todd, but i’m sick and tired of burgers, steak and baked potatoes! i’m also sick of fake cheese melted on everything – yuck! it’s great to be back in Taiwan. thanks!
#10 Comment By mike01905 On June 16, 2008 @ 19:37
Geeee.. I hope my BBQ pics next weekend will look better than these 🙂 Hopefully the weather is going to be great.
Looks like chocolate chip or maybe oreo on top there 🙂 mint chocolate chip Did you go to an “ice cream chain” or did you go to a local place??? There is a chain called Cold Stone Creamery in which… if you look at what they have (different ice cream flavors, candy/cookie pieces, etc)… they say they can make anything you want. Mmmm… the thought of it is probably sending my blood sugar up.
Insulin sprinkles… never heard anyone call them that before. I’m sure if you asked for “kimmies”… the guy would’ve just stared at you as well (since calling those sprinkles “jimmies” is a Boston/New England thing).
#11 Comment By mike01905 On June 16, 2008 @ 19:40
Grrrrr… “kimmies”… I need to learn how to type… should be “jimmies”
#12 Comment By thenhbushman On June 16, 2008 @ 21:13
mike01905 » no, i meant sprinkles made from actual insulin! a joke of course, referring to the high sugar content. these days i really avoid sweets as much as possible.
#13 Comment By cfimages On June 16, 2008 @ 21:19
These days high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is used instead of sugar in a lot of things. HFCS is so bad for you that it makes large amounts of white sugar look like health food. Avoiding sweets is the only way to go.
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#14 Comment By mike01905 On June 17, 2008 @ 19:56
Well… “sprinkles” is what they are called in most of the USA (and probably most of the world) and “jimmies” is what they are called in New England (or just the Boston area).
Doesn’t matter to me if they are made from sugar, high-fructose corn syrup… and so on. As a diabetic… all are bad for me
#15 Comment By thenhbushman On June 17, 2008 @ 22:19
mike01905 » they are bad for everyone, Mike.
#16 Comment By thenhbushman On June 17, 2008 @ 22:29
mike01905 » i saw those Cold Stone Creamery stores but never went inside one. the ice cream in the photo is from a local shop. the ice cream is quite good, actually.
#17 Comment By Ashish On June 17, 2008 @ 10:25
Hey MJ, its good to have you back. Man I could have spent hours sitting at the front porch. It looks very relaxing indeed. Its great to know your family and I’m looking forward for the follow up post. Take care friend.
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#18 Comment By Stephen Roland On December 4, 2008 @ 13:45
beautiful photography! i bet the ice cream was delicious!
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#19 Comment By thenhbushman On December 5, 2008 @ 10:25
Stephen Roland » thanks. yes, it really was – and inexpensive also. Hui-chen still talks about it.
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#21 Comment By Vrbo On February 17, 2009 @ 09:36
Those buffalo wings or chicken wings look absolutely delicious! MMMMM!!
Any secret recipes we should know about?
#22 Comment By thenhbushman On February 17, 2009 @ 16:32
Vrbo, the meat on the plate is sliced pork and Hui-chen marinaded it in a Thai/Taiwanese style mix of ingredients that only she knows! i can tell you 2 things about it: 1: the mix contains lots of Thai spices like cilantro and lemon grass; 2: it’s really good!
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