Dumpling Purgatory

After putting our not-so-brilliant marketing minds to the task, we've learned a thing or two about selling dumplings, and hope to incorporate these hard lessons into our next go of it. First off, we need to be better prepared. We spent so much time cooking the dumplings that we lost loads of customers. When the arrived and we didn't have the food ready, they were gone. They said they would be back, but that's a nice way of saying, "Sorry losers, you snooze, you lose."

With this in mind, we need to be better prepared. We need to have hot water on the ready, so we'll bring it in a thermos. We need to set up faster so we can have dumplings on the ready. This will satisfy hungry customers while also avoiding giving them dumpling fresh out of the oil, which are greasy-looking.

And finally, we need a chicken dumpling. I don't know why we didn't think of this sooner, but when it comes to meat, people prefer chicken. There are plenty of people out there who just don't eat red meat, but will eat chicken in a heartbeat. How could we not realize this?

We scrambled to find a good chicken recipe, and whipped up a batch, which went over well with our testers, i.e., the kids. This, of course, meant that we would have to cook up a load by today, which therefore meant that yours truly was going to have to spend the next two days barefoot and pregnant, making and cooking the darn things, in addition to the all of the beef and apple ones. Needless to say, I was bummed. I spent the better part of two days literally forming and cooking dumplings. I had them coming out of my ears.

The bright note is that the kids helped, and their contribution was substantial. It wasn't a case of diminishing helpful returns, they really made a difference. N setup the press and spritzed them, and A helped to fill, form and press them. It worked out beautifully, and before we knew it, we were done. I love the fact that not only do they want to help, but that they are helpful. A win-win situation if there ever was one.

We also got our tent. Do you think it's big enough? It's the brand that everyone recommends, an EZ-up, but I have to confess, the one we borrowed, which our friend got at Walmart, is nicer, but such is life. At least we got free shipping, and I got to use my $25 gift certificate that I won on one of my blog sites. I love when that happens.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Colin Brough and Michael Khozyaikin for the pics.