Halloween

Halloween fell on a Friday this year and many kids were quite thrilled to be able to trick or treat on a Friday evening and stay up to count their goodies. We had an unusually warm evening - 60 degrees and it was perfect. Since we never get any action on our road, we took Matthew back to the old condo on Hope Street and spent the evening knocking from door to door. He dressed as his favorite- Indiana Jones and Tony went along as a SWAT team member. We came home two hours later and Matthew's sack was filled. While he was busy counting up his stash, Tony and I were busy checking out all the candy to make sure it was safe. We did find some candy manufactured in China which went straight into the trash. Need I say more?

Tainted Eggs

Looks like China will have to ramp up the food inspection process and buckle down on the food issues that keep spewing out of the country. It's been announced that Hong Kong inspectors have found eggs from northeast China to be contaminated with high levels of melamine, the same toxic additive that sparked the milk scandal last month. The same scandal that reported more than 50,000 children in China have fallen ill and several deaths have occurred. What is so unnerving about the tainted eggs is that this did not happen once, but twice in less than a week. Tisk, tisk.

There are many "regulations" on the books in China, but are hardly followed. Anyone can be bought for a price if you know what I mean. So, yet again, China is thrown into the headlines about food safety. So now, there is a mad scramble to start inspecting eggs in cities such as Shanghai. Let me recap the things that I recall since 2006- honey contamination, rice wine contamination, pet food recall, lead paint found in toys, moon cake filling, toothpaste, heparin, milk and now eggs. I am very grateful that we made it out of there without any serious side effects. Tony's stint at the hospital for E. Coli or salmonella was pretty hair raising. I handed over the hospital records to our family physician, Dr. D. He reviewed the file and stated that he's never seen "bacteria numbers as high as Tony's and he's actually survived without any serious problems." Usually, "numbers that high, people die." OK- so Tony rolled the dice twice and won. He was very, very lucky.

Scientists in China are worried that the melamine being used to adulterate dairy supplies, may have been intentionally added to animal feed in China. Uh, gee, you think? This would mean that chicken and possibly fish and hog feed could result in poisonous meat and seafood. I am worried for all my friends in China. This limits the food choices. Of course, they can shop at the expatriate markets and pick up meat from New Zealand and seafood imported from outside of China. I used to buy only fish from Japan. You can't imagine my food bill. I'm glad I did it.

The Chinese government has started to arrest individuals "responsible" and has of course, pointed the finger at someone and will probably start executing to show good will. That still doesn't solve the issue of the global food problems and how the world is watching China very, very carefully. Maybe now, China will really start to take things seriously. This on top of the fact, I am positive that the number of effected people has been seriously adulterated. If it's public that there were 50,000 children effected and four deaths, the real number could be double or triple and most assuredly, there are many more deaths than reported. You know how it is, China's got to keep it all hush to save face. The ancient Chinese custom of keeping the dirty little secrets hidden under the carpet and deny anything is wrong. Everything is rosy and just perfect. Nothing like living in denial. It all comes back to bite you in the ass.

The milk scandal surfaced in September, slightly more than a year after tainted pet food was exported to the United States, sickening cats and dogs and touching off global criticism of China’s food safety controls. Beijing responded defiantly to some critics of its record, but late last year it also announced a crackdown on shoddy and unsafe food producers and ordered the closing of thousands of slaughterhouses and food factories.

During that time, several Chinese melamine suppliers admitted in newspaper interviews to selling melamine to animal feed operations and fish feed providers in China. The government, however, never reported finding melamine-tainted fish or animal feed in China’s food supply.

I guess I'll never be granted a visitors visa to go back to China. I'm technically persona non grata. That's the beauty of living in a democracy. I have a right to my opinion and I can express it without being monitored. God Bless America.

Lunch Menu for Ina

While we were living in China, Ina would often wander over to see what Tony brings in for lunch. Never mind that lunch was available at the canteen. It just didn't meet his high standards or Ina's as well. She would often smell the food warmed up and would go have a "taste" of what he brought in. There were days when I would send in a double lunch. One for Tony and one for Ina. On the rare occasion, Mr. Miao would benefit as well from the baked goods included. This arrangement was going quite well except for the weeks when Tony was traveling and Ina would be looking for lunch. Sometimes, he would be gone for two to three weeks at a stretch. Let's just say, when he returned, she was very happy to see him back at the office again.

It has recently come to my attention that Tony's colleagues here in the U.S. do the same exact thing. They all covet his daily lunch. Yes, there is a cafeteria available at Duracell but the food....just isn't quite up to snuff. Just the other day, Tony went to work with roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and an apple turnover. All homemade. None of that prepackaged stuff. Let's just say, his friends are a bit envious of his daily lunch choices.

So, in the spirit of the daily lunch menu, this photo is for Ina. To recapture the moments when she would share and covet Tony's lunch in China. He''ll be bringing in pork saltimbocca with prosciutto and fontina cheese, roasted cauliflower and polenta with mozzarella and sauce tomorrow. When you come visit, I'll pack a lunch just for you!

Fall for Monteith

Catchy title. Matthew came up with that one as a tribute to Mr. Monteith, his former fifth grade teacher. One of the greatest teachers we've had the privilege of working with while in Shanghai. Of course, he ranks up there along with Mrs. Kuehn and Mrs. Wink, Matthew's elementary school teachers as well. I must apologize to Matthew's current teachers. They're great but no one will ever take the place of Mr. Monteith. If we can only figure out how to ship him to the United States and have him teach middle school. Hey, how about shipping the Shanghai American School campus out here as well?

Mr. Monteith has often mentioned that he would like to have the opportunity to visit the New England area and see the fall foliage. Since he can't be here due to teaching commitments, Matthew decided to send it to him with a picture.

We're in the midst of beautiful fall foliage in New England. The tree leaves are changing colors and its very beautiful to see. Not so great to have the trees dropping their leaves all over the driveway and property though. The weather is brisk and its apple season as well and I've been busy baking lots of apple pies. Tony and Matthew attack it straight out of the oven with their forks. Never mind that it is piping hot and that they risk third degree burns.

In the spirit of the season, Matthew has decorated the windows and house with Halloween decorations. We watch the squirrels and chipmunks preparing for the winter hoarding their nuts. Tony has even carved the Halloween pumpkin with the Batman insignia.
So here's to you, Mr. Monteith. You can't be here to see it but we hope that this will inspire you to visit us next fall. I'll even bake a pie just for you!