I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Captain's Log, Stardate 02.18.2009
We just “celebrated” Chinese New Year’s—I say “celebrated” because we don’t really do anything special, but we notice, “Oh, hey, Happy Chinese New Year.” “You, too.”
Captain Caffeine had gotten these Dragon’s beard candies from his coworker, who had brought them back from China or Japan (I can’t remember, they’re Chinese candy but the coworker might have bought them in Japan).
Now, in all my years married to a Chinese man and with many Chinese friends, I have to say I’ve never eaten Dragon’s beard candy before. But I’m always game for new foods, so I gave it a go in honor of Chinese New Years.
It’s not really sweet, it’s only mildly sweet. And it’s flavored with green tea, which gives it a bitter tang. The bitter and sweet together is actually very interesting and not unpleasant, but very different from anything else I’ve ever tasted.
It also has finely ground nuts, and the threads are fine and crispy, so there’s the mildly sweet, the bitter, the nutty, and the crispy, all rolled into one little bite.
If you ever get a chance to try one, go for it. I don’t know if you’d like it—I’m used to weird Asian food and while I didn’t hate it, I wasn’t wild for it, either. But it’s worth it to try at least once.
We just “celebrated” Chinese New Year’s—I say “celebrated” because we don’t really do anything special, but we notice, “Oh, hey, Happy Chinese New Year.” “You, too.”
Captain Caffeine had gotten these Dragon’s beard candies from his coworker, who had brought them back from China or Japan (I can’t remember, they’re Chinese candy but the coworker might have bought them in Japan).
Now, in all my years married to a Chinese man and with many Chinese friends, I have to say I’ve never eaten Dragon’s beard candy before. But I’m always game for new foods, so I gave it a go in honor of Chinese New Years.
It’s not really sweet, it’s only mildly sweet. And it’s flavored with green tea, which gives it a bitter tang. The bitter and sweet together is actually very interesting and not unpleasant, but very different from anything else I’ve ever tasted.
It also has finely ground nuts, and the threads are fine and crispy, so there’s the mildly sweet, the bitter, the nutty, and the crispy, all rolled into one little bite.
If you ever get a chance to try one, go for it. I don’t know if you’d like it—I’m used to weird Asian food and while I didn’t hate it, I wasn’t wild for it, either. But it’s worth it to try at least once.
Comments
Thanks for sharing.
Avily--Captain Caffeine says they're very commonly carried in Asian grocery stores, although if you don't have one near you, then you are out of luck.
Lynn--"wicked"! LOL I like that.
Camy