A Little Chinese Flair...

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Happy Monday everyone!  I'm in a super good mood on this first day of the week because, yesterday, my husband decided to perform a rarity.  He cooked us dinner last night! 

Now, most of the time David-prepared meals include either a steak or some brats.  However, last night he decided to utilize his special skills by preparing his utmost specialty in the kitchen, General Tso's Chicken!  To view the recipe David uses, simply click here (his only tweak includes adding ginger to the sauce mixture). 

David says this recipe actually tastes better than any General Tso's that he's ordered in a restaurant before...and I'm not about to argue with him on that one.  I mean seriously, can a meal look (and taste) any more delicious than this?

(David's plate)

Or perhaps this?

(my plate)

Keeping with mood of this post, I thought I'd share my review for one of my most recent reads.  I grew up reading and watching the movie, The Joy Luck Club.  It's wonderful, so when I saw another Amy Tan book a few years ago at the library book sale, I snatched it up.  This book was The Bonesetter's Daughter.

The premise of this book involves the relationship between Ruth, an American-born Chinese woman, and her mother, Lu Ling, a Chinese immigrant.  Lu Ling has grown into an elderly state and appears to be suffering the beginning stages of dementia and Alzheimer's.

Kind of like The Joy Luck Club, the daughter doesn't truly know her mother's real story nor does she have a completely happy home life.  Ruth's live-in boyfriend takes advantage of her presence...a classic example of "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?"

As the story unfolds, you learn (with Ruth) the true story of her mother's birth and that, perhaps, the dementia isn't quite as advanced as Ruth initially thought.  Lu Ling might simply be sharing certain things that purposefully weren't revealed before for reasons unbeknownst to Ruth until now...

At the conclusion, this book wraps up all the loose ends well, including details about Ruth's grandmother/Lu Ling's mother, THE bonesetter's daughter whom the book is named after.  Ruth's relationship at home is resolved through her struggle to move Lu Ling into a safer home environment.  Tan figuratively sticks a nice, fat bow on top of her story.

I enjoyed this book, although it hasn't become my new favorite Amy Tan work, that ranking still belongs to The Joy Luck Club.  Which, if you haven't read, you need to run out and get.  OR at least watch the movie; one of the better book-to-movie renditions out there.