Cooking: Chinese steamed dumplings

Yes, it is true that I, Alison Ruth Markowitz Chan, gave a cooking lesson. I'm sure any family members right now reading this are rolling on the floor. They always tease me about my lack of cooking skills, but when you've got a husband who loves to cook you don't have many opportunities to practice! (poor me.) Also, lets not forget the amazing sweet potato casserole that was the hit of our thanksgiving dinner. Well, this year is different and I've already been cooking a lot, both simple everyday dishes and a few more complex. 


Here is a blog post I wrote about the recent cooking lesson for some other partners on the MBA partners blog. The post contains the instructions for cooking dumplings. And, if you're interested, check back on that blog to find out what some of my new friends are writing about throughout the year. 

Iyerida, Junko, Sharon, Maria, AMC, Verity & Nora

Ouchy 58.

Ouchy 58 may not mean much to you, but its now where we call home! (Although for me MN will forever be "home" as well.) On Friday I gave my first cooking lesson at our place.  I cleaned up a bit and realized that I never posted photos of our lovely abode.  It was looking spiffy so I snapped a few.  


We have one big bedroom with a nice big wardrobe and another room that is open to the kitchen so it makes it feel a lot bigger than some of the other apartments here. Our bathroom is very new, nothing special. But, living here has made me very aware of space we really need. I wonder how I ever needed so much space before, when all of our things fit onto that tiny bathroom cart?  We’ve made chicken curry, spring rolls, soups, muffins, etc. in our small kitchen. And I had 6 guests over for my cooking lesson. I love having a small apartment, especially when cleaning takes 1/3 of the time!

The couch is almost finished- I call it my “IKEA hack job”. The couch was originally from IKEA, passed down to us from other students, like most of our furniture.  We actually paid for the thing, without knowing that it is actually very old. Who buys a white couch in a student apartment?! It is very grey with many stains, pen markings, etc. and then springs are about to burst through the cushions. I found some adorable fabric at IKEA, took some measurements, and bought just enough to cover the couch. I had no idea how I was going to do it, but luckily the previous cover was attached by a friction-fit type of device, a metal groove with a plastic plug to hold the fabric taught under the couch. This job was easier than I thought! Now I just need to tack down a few corners and it has most definitely brightened our room.  Now to get a few things on the walls…

 

i'm a "partner"?

The last two weeks have been so busy, it feels like its been many more! Howie has been working hard on schoolwork already, and the partners group has begun with so many activities to coordinate. It has been a flurry of names and cultures and I’ve tried very hard to remember them all. Still working on that. To be perfectly honest it has been a little overwhelming. I came to Lausanne with a fairly clear set of goals in mind and already I feel like I should be doing more to accomplish those goals- professional and otherwise. (A year goes quickly!) But somehow I have become the running group coordinator, cross country ski coordinator and cooking class coordinator. I also will participate in some other events/classes (such as: Bollywood dancing, clothes making, and cycling) and whew, there went my free time!  But, having friends and things to do wins every time. It’s a matter of balance, planning and plenty of chocolate. 

a little gift for my hubby:

Blondel chocolates- the best in Lausanne

towers and kissing cows.

After scouting some French language schools, a few of us made a trek (well, took the metro) north of Lausanne to a more suburban area called Sauvabelin where there is a large park with walking trails. I’d seen a photo in a brochure, but this tower that is in the park is a beautiful piece of architecture, completely unexpected!

The tower is made from large timbers stacked on top of each other, pivoting at the center to form a helical structure. The timbers create steps, walking up on one side and down on the other. The entire visible structure is wood, and its so interesting to look out on the way up/down to see the different views through the wood and the trees surrounding. At the top, of course, an amazing view of the mountains. In the summer with the sun a bit higher in the sky, it will be even better.

we also managed to find some kissing cows! so cute!

and ended the day with a to-die-for sunset.

my first SANAA.

As life is catching up with me I’ve slowed down on the blogging a bit. I’ve been busier (which is great) and have taken some time to explore some parts of the city. Luckily there are a few willing friends who have made great company on the excursions.

My first excursion was to see the Rolex Learning Center (library and student center) at the EPFL campus by Japanese architects SANAA. Friend, Nora, (also an architect) and I walked the 6km along the lake to the campus.

students walking into the building under a large concrete span.

next time we'll find a place to relax and read

and our favorite is the map of the building... so cute!

We not only saw the building, but scrounged in the library to find some names of local Swiss architects. We were hoping to find more, but unfortunately there are not many publications of architecture in the French part of Switzerland, and of course so much information on the German part. It just means that we’ll have to dig a bit more.

It was great to see such a large architecture selection in the bookshop- even saw some familiar books! (Also saw Tom Fisher’s newest book in the library.)

architecture books! i was in heaven!

Transmaterial!

It was a great day, so good to have a friend who not just appreciates architecture, but has worked as an architect in Switzerland before!

first day of school!

we both started school this week. Howie to the real thing, IMD MBA, me to the partner group! here is howie on his way out the door- day 1.

and here is me with the group of lovely ladies (and a few gents) that i'm starting to get to know.

finally feeling a bit busy, which is nice for a change.

also went exploring yesterday, more good stuff to come!

12C = 53F

we enjoyed a day of 12C/53F weather this weekend and got a taste of spring. this was the first time we could clearly see all of the beautiful mountains that surround us.

free entertainment at the Ouchy waterfront included expert roller skaters practicing a slalom course at top speed, old ladies almost being run over by said roller skaters, and small children picking up cones of the slalom course.

Howie starts school tomorrow, so our "vacation" is now over. wishing him the best on this new adventure. time for him to get busy and for me to learn how to cook!

ciao, friends!

so much swiss cuteness!

we have just returned from a 3 day adventure into the wintry wonderland of the Swiss Alps. we went straight for la creme de la creme: the Matterhorn! we hauled our snowboard and ski boots up the hill to the Lausanne train station, and when the stop announcements changed order of languages (from 1-french 2-german 3-english to 1-german 2-french 3-english) we knew we were getting close. in Visp we changed trains and headed up into the mountains. i am beginning to appreciate the promptness of Swiss trains- we literally waited 10 minutes between trains and they arrive exactly to the minute!

waiting for the train in Visp

the ride up was beautiful, passing through many small towns. we started to see lots of snow covered mountains and cute chalets everywhere. the highlight was passing through the town of St. Niklaus, mainly hearing the German announcer say "St. Niklaus" and imagining how this became "Santa Claus" somewhere in translation. lets not forget this giant statue of St. Niklaus himself.

Zermatt is quite an adorable town. cars are not allowed, although somehow we always managed to be in the way of the electric taxis that shuttle the richies to their hotels and such. our hotel was right near the main shopping street and we enjoyed window shopping, especially in the chocolate shops. we entered one of the ski shops only to overhear a transaction for a CHF 850 ski jacket. ouch!

the matterhorn from our hotel window

it has been at least 3 years since either of us has been skiing/snowboarding. (school didn't leave much time for it!) lets just say that day 1 of skiing was pretty miserable. i'd love to blame it all on the icy conditions and lots of narrow runs traversing the mountains, but i'd be lying if i didn't blame it also on my shaky legs and lack of practice. but really, the conditions were awful. on the gondola ride (sardines) up to our lunch spot i told howie that this was going to be my last ski trip. ever. i was ready to give up for life. the mountain had won. the worst part was the endless path back to town- Howie had to walk and I was going so slow that people on sleds were passing me.

this is the before shot- there is no "after"

as we were too crabby to take photos

but, as you probably imagined, day two was an entirely different story. we were SO sore from the first day and decided to take it easy, left the hotel a bit late, and took a 2 hour(!) trip up the mountain. (its a long way up.) we were so nervous about the snow conditions- my legs could not handle another day of scraping ice- but when we emerged from another sardine gondola ride to the tippy top we melted with this gorgeous view.

matterhorn glacier paradise- looking at the italian alps

and we proceeded to have the best ski day of our lives. the snow on the glacier was so perfect, the runs were wide and the Matterhorn peak was constantly in view. i skied fast and enjoyed making long s-curves down the runs. eventually our energy ran out and we headed back to town for some eats.

howie racing past me on the perfect snow

i didn't mention that the first night we ate at a magnificent restaurant called The Pipe, a fusion restaurant run by a South African guy with a great sense of humor. we had excellent spicy massaman prawn curry and springbok biryani, flavors that we have been craving! if you ever go to Zermatt, you must eat here. i loved the African decor as well as a wall of Indian/SE Asian spices and curry pastes for sale.

the next night our dinner at a pizzeria (Lonely Planet recommended) was SO bad that we decided to forget German food altogether and went back to the Pipe for our third night (with some laughs from the owner). while we do plan to cook our own Asian dishes here in Lausanne, we couldn't pass up more of the amazing fusion dishes, especially after some long days of skiing.

a horribly foamy beer followed by an equally horrible meal :(

we left Zermatt with our bellies full, muscles aching, and pockets empty. what a great trip! see more photos from Zermatt at our website.

who's counting? happy new year!

no more counting, and no more expecting myself to blog every day. its just not going to happen.

happy new year, everyone! howie and i celebrated with some of our new IMD friends at Le Bleu Lezard, a "low-key" bar in Lausanne. we had a 6ish course meal- we skipped a couple of courses and went ahead to dessert when we hit midnight and everyone started getting crazy. we just couldn't sit still any longer!

the last few days we have spent exploring Lausanne and Geneva. we have posted many of the photos at our website from our recent explorations. (in case you were worried, howie's macbook has recovered from motherboard transplant surgery and is doing well!)

Lausanne:

one of the great things about this city is the mild weather. although its been very grey and gloomy, it is not nearly as cold as MN and there's rarely snow on the ground. therefore outdoor produce markets continue straight through the winter and there are always people in the streets (walking, not driving.) on our way to the cathedral we found this great market with these mobile bucheries (butcher shops) and many cheese shops as well.

we were a bit chilly so we ducked into a museum nearby- turned out to be about 6 or 7 museums in one big building. so far we haven't had much time to explore our Swiss Scavenger Hunt (courtesy of the Crosswoods) but we think the four legged chick could get us some bonus points, no?

finally we made it to the top of the hill to the 12/13th century Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Lausanne. apparently the best preserved cathedral in Switzerland, it is quite beautiful and also quite large! i was trying to analyze the architecture based on my gothic architecture class from ~2 years ago. lets just say that i need to review a bit, but was able to note the three story elevation, ribbed columns, flying buttresses and ambulatory. and no, i did not just look up "ambulatory"... well...

there is still some paint to remind us of the days when these

great cathedrals were very colorful inside.

the nave- lots of light from the clerestory windows.

here is some evidence of ongoing restoration:

i have a renewed faith in duct tape!

this cathedral originally used a side entrance for the main entry which is unusual. the carvings at that entry are still painted- preserved with a lovely modern steel and glass vestibule.

definitely a beautiful space with some unique features- if you come visit me this will be one of our tour stops. i'd love to attend one of the organ concerts there!