For the love of Honeycombs......

Living in China, we have learned to do without many of our beloved American foods. Up until recently, we have chosen to have Yuan-Yuan, our AYI,  make only Chinese food (except the occasional grilled cheese or spaghetti, for the kids, when Bill and I go out.) We have eaten toast, or Chinese cereal, for breakfast, fried rice for lunch, fresh fruit for snack, and Chinese stir-fry, dumplings, and steamed buns for dinner. We occasionally go out for western food, or order pizza at home, but we have concentrated on eating the food which is native to the area that we live in.

Recently, Bill and I decided that we will teach Yuan-Yuan to make some western food. Less because we really wanted to eat it, and more because we want her to have new job skills for the next family she works for (we are the first international family.) We love her, and have no intentions of letting her go, but eventually we will move out of China, and she will go work for someone else. We want to help her learn as many skills as we can, for her future.

In the last few weeks, Bill has taught her to make fresh bread, apple coffee cake, chicken cheese quiche, and chicken divan. I have taught her how to make chicken kiev, chili, hamburgers, tacos, and chocolate chip cookies. It is more expensive to eat western here, as many of the products are imported. The Chinese don't eat cheese often. They don't use bread crumbs, dried spices, canned soup, or chocolate chips. They're not big on mexican food.

Aside from teaching Yuan-Yuan how to cook western food, I knew the kids would love it. They have missed eating good old American style, so in the last few weeks, at least for dinner, they have had some old favorites. 

American breakfast foods, however, are extremely expensive here, and I have only purchased two boxes of  Quaker Oatmeal since we have been here, at the cost of $10 a box. The kids leave early for school, actually the bus comes at 6:50am, and it is hard to get them to eat that early. It doesn't help that they don't really care for Chinese cereal. This has been becoming more of an issue as time has gone on, as Milk and Egg Stars, and Strawberry Milk and Egg stars are getting old for them. It doesn't help, when I start to think of them as Melamine Milk and Egg Stars.

Earlier this week, when I was grocery shopping, I decided to buy the kids some imported American cereal. I set my top price at about $8 American, and came home with four or five boxes. I spent close to $50 on cereal alone. I should have wrapped each box up, and topped it with a bow, but instead, I hid them. They will be rationed. (At Easter this year, my kids received Spaghetti-Os and Goldfish crackers in their baskets.)

This morning I asked Ethan if he had eaten breakfast, and I got the usual answer of "No," so I pulled a box of Honeycombs out from behind my back. You would have thought it was Christmas.....