a jiaozi party and our month away

Last week we met with friends and had a jiaozi (dumpling) party. It was fun! If you've never gotten to taste the delicacy that IS jiaozi, well, you're missing out. Go to an Asian market and get some. They're amazing!

A friend came over the night before the party, and we mixed all the fillings. The fun thing about Asian cooking is it's not really an exact science, it's more of an art...a little pinch of this, a lot of that. So, if I get really brave I might try it on my own sometime. But my friend was an expert at making them! Here she is showing some of the girls her technique at wrapping up the dumplings.
There are many different types of jiaozi, but typically they include some kind of meat and vegetables in the middle. You can also add tofu, egg, or noodles to the filling if you prefer to go sans meat. I (erroneously) thought that most folks here knew how to wrap dumplings, but really many of the people that came to the party were just as new to dumpling-making as we were. Partially because it was an early 20-something crowd (and many of them don't cook), and partly because we live in the south, where as dumplings are more of a "northern" dish.
Getting ready to dive in after the dumplings were boiled
Uncle Jeff found some pop rocks, so Grace was thrilled to have her first pop rock experience. Here's her look of sheer sugary happiness.
Eat up!
Maybe I'll try to work on my Asian cooking skills over the next month, because we are moving to the countryside for about 4 weeks! I may or may not be posting while we are gone, since internet access will be hit-and-miss. But hopefully I'll have some fun pictures to post after our time away!