Jiaozi!

Yesterday I went with my cousin, Meili, to her assistant's house to partake in a very old Chinese tradition. Her assistant's parents are in town and they invited us over to make Jiaozi (pronounced: Jee-ow-suh) or in English: Chinese dumpling.

As you can see, while the apartment was humble and very small, the hospitality was heartfelt and the welcome was huge. Here's another video showing just how much we had to eat::

After dinner, we were in rare form. The local drink is called Baijiu (pronunciation: buy-jew). It's a traditional Chinese rice alcohol and probably is most comparable to moonshine in the states. The father of Mei's assistant offered it up and it would have been rude to decline... that said, it tastes like Elmer's glue smells.

In the end, you can see how much food they made for us and how special it made us feel. The father even opened up about living through the cultural revolution (this isn't a political blog so I won't go into detail, but if you don't know about it I urge you to do a little research into what the people of China went through during that time). This last video is a video of Mei (isn't she beautiful?) getting into some great conversation with her assistant's family. All in all it was a fabulous evening of great hospitality. I am loving China. Do you see all the beers and wine? The parents were really pushy with the drinks! Obviously it was a difficult bike ride home.

That's all for now. Love you all very much...

JAKE!

There are 9 million bicycles in Beijing...

Hello readers! I finally made it to Beijing and got a proxy server all set up so I can broadcast my shenanigans to you, my loving friends and family. Attached is a picture of me on my bicycle... it's a brand called "Flying Pigeon" and it's truly the Beijinger's bike. I think it was first manufactured around 1,000 years ago and the brakes don't really work and when I pedal too hard it sounds like a factory inside the gear box but I love it.

Beijing is truly amazing. Think 10 course chinese meals with free-flowing wine for $20! Think 90 minute foot massage with unlimited snacks (yes Sharon, I did say snacks) and unlimited movie watching in the same room as three of your best friends for $10. Think fabulously international, clean, and traditionally Chinese.

More to come soon. Are you Ready? Set? JAKE!

On location: Palmer, Alaska

Today I am in Palmer, Alaska visiting my grandmother. Palmer is approximately 40 minutes north of Anchorage in South Central, Alaska and sits in the Matanuska Valley region, Alaska's agricultural center. Palmer was settled as a railroad station town in 1916 as part of the Alaska Railroad system. In the beginning, it was just a small stop on the way to larger, more settled coal mining towns to the north.

In the early 1950's, my grandmother and my (late) grandfather moved to Palmer from Minnesota. My grandfather was a plant pathologist and moved to Alaska to help the local farmers grow produce in the harsh climate of the Alaskan frontier.

These are some pictures of the property my grandparents have lived on for most of their lives in Alaska. The first picture is of the Chugach mountain range, a unique range that runs from the southern coast of Alaska and, packed with glaciers, heads towards the Kenai Peninsula. There are also some photos showing the beautiful birch forest here (that smell like the little, red high-bush cranberries that punctuate the forrest) and the old Matanuska Farm sign and market location.

The final picture is a photo of me kneeling infront of a crab apple tree that was planted on my sixth birthday, making it twenty years old this June. The area I am kneeling in was once my grandfathers crop field. Up until as recent as my late childhood, this was filled with rows and rows of peas, potatoes, cabbage and the likes. Talk about slow foods.

I love interior Alaska and I wanted to share this with you all.
Best, JAKE!

ready, set...

GO!

Ok, so after telling everyone I know to check out my blog (and thus feeling cool for being able to say "you should check out my blog") I feel like I should give some background as to why I'm writing here and let you all know what you can expect in the days, weeks and months to come.

My entire life, I have been a proponent of lifestyle by design. Even as a child I had big plans for myself. I was always drawing what I called 'plans' for elaborate tree houses and forts, 'maps' of far of lands yet to be discovered and, yes, 'concepts' for over-the-top parties and events. There was even a period of time in elementary school when I carried around a book titled "The Pennywhistle Party Planner". It was basically a guide to throwing themed parties, but to me it was a scientific reference to being a pre-pubescent host with the most. From that was born my love for concepts in food, service and hospitality.

From a young age I was hooked. Armed with an imagination akin to that of Roald Dahl and a wanderlust like Marco Polo, I've been fortunate enough to travel to many places in the world and to experience many different types of people. From these experiences I have gathered a sentiment that has become the driving force in both my personal and my professional life. That is, sharing a heart-felt meal and some authentic hospitality is the most effective way to understand and connect with other people.

So without further ado, I am proud to present... ready, set, JAKE! A chronicle of my life presented in snippets of thoughts on everything lifestyle: food, hospitalty, entertainment, travel... basically all the things I adore. I'll be sending video of my travels, my kitchen follies, my friends. I'll be reviewing recipes, restaurants and services. I love my friends and family and am looking forward to hearing your thoughts and feelings too. I hope you can stick around to see what happens... I am just as curious as you must be as to where this road will lead.

That's all for now!

jet, set... JAKE!