Thrift store, chinese dinner and new recipe

Friday was an extremely busy day at the thrift store. I was in charge of restocking some of the shelves and clearing out others of things that have been hanging around. The schools are out for the summer here and the place was packed with parents, mostly moms, looking for things that their kids could use over the summer. We had a large donation of children's books and as fast as I could put a stack out, someone bought them. The same thing happened with the knick knack section. We don't generally receive many knick knack donations. Clearing out long dated stuff was interesting. There were many items that probably shouldn't have been put out in the first place because of the quality. The thrift store has a reputation of having better quality stuff. We receive a lot of stuff that we have to throw away. There are also volunteers who have a hard time throwing away things so these items make it into the shop. Every Friday one of us has to go through and check for quality control!

Yesterday I spent the day preparing a full Chinese dinner to celebrate cousin, K's graduation from medical school and an early father's day. Chinese new year dinner was such a hit that I decided to repeat the menu with a few changes. We had 2 peking ducks, t-pang, sticky rice. Cousin S brought vegetables and Aunt L brought tofu with black eggs. For dessert I made the Finger-lickin' cake - it has mandarin oranges and pineapple in it. It's really great to cook for a group who appreciates the food and brings an appetite.

This morning I tried a new waffle recipe I got from one of my new friends. It is a very healthy and tasty alternative and a great excuse to have some real maple syrup.

Garbanzo and Oat Waffles
1 ½ cups rolled oats ( I used 2 cups quick cooking oatmeal)
2 ¼ cups water or soy milk (I used the soy milk)
1 cup soaked raw garbanzo beans (1/2 cup dry raw)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla

Soak the garbanzo beans overnight just covering beans with water. Mix oats, garbanzo beans, salt and vanilla in a blender slowly adding the water and blending in between. Pre-heat waffle iron for 10 minutes while mixture stands. It will thicken up slightly while standing. Spray waffle iron with Pam for first waffle. Bake 15 minutes or until it stops steaming. (Let them cook longer than regular waffles so they can crisp and dry out). Can make ahead and freeze or store in refrigerator. Warm up in toaster. Enjoy!