Smoky Oven Spareribs with Dill and Bacon Smashed Potatoes

The Amateur Gourmet inspired me to make these ribs!  My version took about two hours instead of six and I substituted all spice for the cloves.  The next day, I deboned the leftover rib meat and made a pasta sauce.  Yum!

Fun with art

Adam and I went to Red Town last weekend and it was a lot of fun!  An old industrial site turned art space, Red Town consists of a public green space in the middle with art galleries, shops, and an art museum along the periphery. We stopped at Beca for some lunch, then wandered around taking pictures and checked out the new Minsheng Art Museum. The current exhibition "Thirty Years of Chinese Contemporary Art 1979 - 2009" runs until July 18 and is definitely worth a look. Admission is RMB20 and the museum is closed on Mondays. I liked the painting of a face (above), a fisheye effect makes it look like a head (sort of)! More pics from Red Town to come...

Hongqiao Bird and Flower Market

The inside of the flower market smelled so fresh! There are lots of plants (indoor and outdoor) and flowers. We were on a plant mission, so didn't make it to the bird part of the market, which is in a separate building.

Our new indoor plant (should be) low maintenance, needs watering about once a week. The outdoor guy needs water every other day, daily in the summer.

Hongqiao Bird and Flower Market
718 Hongjing Lu, near Hongsong Lu, Changning district
(长宁区虹井路718号，近红松路)

Cowboy Haibao

Hi-yo!

World Financial Center

RIP

While Google has already left the .cn space, remnants of their massive marketing campaign can still be seen in the Shanghai subway system. I snapped this a week ago - just for memories!

Jean leggings, or affectionately known as...

For those of you who think this world is already too full of combowords (spork, Brangelina to name a few), I give you jeggings. I've seen the word used on websites, blogs, and fashion magazines, but this was the first product label I've seen! Good on ya, Marks and Sparks.

Qing Fang Fabric Market

Having checked out IKEA a few times for household items, I thought it would be nice to branch out a little, see something a bit more local. Qing Fang Fabric Market (轻纺市场) in Putuo district made a perfect adventure. It's public transportation friendly - my particular route was Metro Line 3/4 to Cao Yang Lu, then transfer to bus 717 or 860. A taxi is obviously less tedious.

The market follows the standard "cram lots of stalls into a huge building" format. There are three floors: ground floor has rugs/carpets, bed linens, towels and curtains; second floor is clothing; and the third floor has a mishmash of home decor stuff such as paintings and fake flowers. I spent most of the time on the ground floor, looking at decorative cushions and rugs. Most things can be made to order (pick the fabric, tell them the measurements) and I assume turnaround time is fast because there are sewing machines on site.

While there is a lot to choose from, nothing really struck my fancy. Don't expect anything too high end or trendy. I did end up buying a RMB 30 mat for the kitchen, but probably over-paid because I couldn't be bothered to negotiate! It's worth the trip to Qing Fang Fabric Market if you're looking for a one-stop shop for all your home textiles (and don't want to buy from IKEA). Since I'm still looking for the right cushions, next step is to check out the small fabric stores closer to home...there's one across the street...

Banana Cake with Chocolate Chips

Whenever I have ripe bananas lying around, I'm always tempted to make banana bread. I wanted a simple recipe, so I looked in the Joy of Cooking. Sure enough, there's a recipe for banana bread (interestly named "Banana Bread Cockaigne") with a list of simple ingredients, all of which I had available at home! I added some leftover chocolate chips for good measure and within an hour, I had hot banana cake! Delish! I call it banana cake because it has a fluffier consistency, less dense than the usual banana bread.

And just in case you were wondering what the "Cockaigne" means, from Wikipedia:
In the popular cookbook The Joy of Cooking, the author's favorite recipes include "Cockaigne" in the name, (e.g., "Fruit Cake Cockaigne"), explained in the foreword to the 1975 edition as after the name of the Becker country home in Anderson Township, near Cincinnati, Ohio.

Note: after a day, the cake was pretty dry. I recommend adding an extra quarter stick of butter (1/8 cup) and extra banana for good measure. I also omitted the lemon zest, since I didn't have any. Here's the modified recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a "normal size" loaf pan.
Whisk together:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Beat in a separate large bowl:
2/3 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
Add the dry ingredients in about 3 to 4 parts. The batter should be thick and fluffy. Add optional ingredients such as chocolate chips or nuts. Scrape the batter into the greased pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Original recipe calls for 1 hour in the oven, but in my oven, it takes only 30 minutes.

Obvious, but true: fake Uggs are not made for walking

Nine out of ten girls in Shanghai (or so it seems) wear Ugg-like boots during the winter. And when I say Ugg-like boots, I mean fake Uggs. This article made me think of them schlepping around:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1258073/How-cheap-imitation-Ugg-boots-crippling-generation-fashion-victim-women.html

Real or fake, Uggs are not for me - there are boots out there that are warm, comfortable...and better looking.