Nisei Ski Club

by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

Hey Fellow Chefs,

When I’m eating at a Shanghainese restaurant, I like to order the scallion pancakes from the menu. Who can resist? Its fried, its crispy and delicious.

My instincts tell me I can make this at home. After checking out some scallion pancake recipes, it requires a longer process.

You start the dough with flour, water, salt and oil.  Mix well and let it sit for 2 hours. Who has time for that?  

I found this shortcut scallion pancake recipe from the Woks of Life website.

These shortcut scallion pancakes involve just layering 4 ingredients:

• Dumpling wrappers
• Oil
• Salt
• Scallions

The whole process from start to finish takes about 20 minutes. And the result? Crispy, layered scallion pancakes that you won’t be able to stop eating.

Try it out and let me know what you think?

Bon Appetite – Julia Child and Karen Soo share the same birthday.

Ingredients

• 6-8 scallions/ chopped
• salt (to taste)
• vegetable, canola, or light olive oil (for brushing and cooking your scallion pancakes)
• 1 pack store-bought round, white dumpling wrappers (14 oz. or 400g)

Instructions

1. Take the dumpling wrappers out of the refrigerator and let them warm up a bit (they don’t necessarily have to be at room temperature, but they shouldn’t be cold). Wash the scallions and pat them thoroughly dry with a clean kitchen towel. Slice the scallions in half lengthwise and finely chop them.
2. Prepare a small dish of salt and a dish of oil, along with a pastry brush.
3. On a clean work surface, take a dumpling wrapper, brush it with a thin layer of oil, and lightly sprinkle with salt. Then cover with a layer of scallions. Top it with another dumpling wrapper, and lightly press it down. Repeat the process until you have 4-7 layers of dumpling wrappers.

4. Use a rolling pin to roll the layered dumpling skins into a pancake––however thick or thin you like. Rotate the scallion pancake as you roll to get a perfect round shape.

5. Heat a flat-bottomed non-stick or cast iron pan over medium heat. Spread 1 tablespoon oil around in the pan, and add the scallion pancake. Cook each side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. (Avoid using high heat, as it will burn the pancake without cooking it through).

6. If the pan looks dry after flipping the pancake, you can add another tablespoon of oil.

7. Enjoy these plain or with a dipping sauce!

Notes

To pre-make and freeze any uncooked scallion pancakes:

1. After rolling out each pancake, place on a sheet of parchment or wax paper, and place another sheet of paper on top.
2. Layer the scallion pancakes between the wax paper or parchment paper.
3. Transfer to a large freezer bag, and place on a flat shelf in the freezer so they freeze flat.
4. To cook, add them directly to a pan with hot oil––no need to thaw beforehand.

Check out this quick video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZhYDAlrqs

by David Schultz, Board Member

Five people enjoyed a day of golf practice at the driving range plus a round of 9-holes at the Pruneridge Golf Course.  The day started off cool and cloudy, but that didn’t deter us from driving about three buckets of balls.  And by the time everyone got to the Pruneridge Golf Course, the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon.

The morning was advertised by Nisei Ski Club as instruction plus ball driving at the San Jose Municipal driving range.  However, the members who showed up were all experienced, and the instructors (Dave, Rick, and Alex) wound up learning some tricks from the trainees (Carolyn and Sandra).   We forgot that Sandra is playing at least a couple of times per week along with taking golf lessons near her home, and her experience shows.  What was also nice during the morning was that we all tried out each other’s drivers.  I found that I liked a few of them better than my own.  Time for a new club…!

Along with a driving range, San Jose Municipal has an area for practicing pitching and putting.  The five of us used these to warm up before heading over to Pruneridge.  The first order of business at Pruneridge was to have some lunch.  The food was great, but getting it took a while since the “kitchen” (a food truck) at the course is only staffed by one person.  By the time lunch was finished, it was tee time, so off we went.  At that point, however, Alex left to watch the Warriors game (where Steph Curry made his amazing 50 points).  This was fine, since that left Dave, Rick, Carolyn, and Sandra to be the foursome.  

The holes at Pruneridge are generally short, and we moved along pretty quickly.  It was nice that everyone else on the course was moving along just as quickly.  We rarely had waiting issues at the tees or on the course.  As mentioned, Sandra showed off her great strokes, with Carolyn a close second.  The ladies were very solid on the fairways, while the guys tended to criss-cross them like we were at a zip line course.  But it still was fun.  What’s crazy about the Pruneridge course is that the 9^th hole is right behind the driving range.  As such, there are tons of white practice balls all over the place, obscuring any regular white balls.   And of course, we forgot about this and several of us did a lot of searching to identify our balls.

The group had a fine time together. We finished the day promising to play again sometime at a different course, perhaps playing 18-holes the next time.  This could easily become a regular Nisei Ski Club event!

by Angie Fong, Former NSC President

Alameda, CA May 2, 2023

Here’s something fun to consider when you’re not on the slopes! I recently discovered the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda! With the price of admission, you get unlimited pinball play with “in and out” privileges for the day!

As a kid, I grew up playing Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Galaga, Turbo, Frogger, Centipede, etc. In addition to video games, I LOVED playing pinball and spent many hours playing in our San Francisco arcades and corner grocery stores, as well as South Lake Tahoe where my family spent a lot of “time” in casinos.

Prior to my Alameda visit, I read the reviews for the Pacific Pinball Museum on Yelp, as well as directly on their website. I discovered that the best time to visit was on a Tuesday since the museum is closed on Monday for pinball machine repairs and even better, Tuesdays are ½ off admission prices! Additionally, if you park 1 block away in the residential areas, you won’t have to worry about parking meters interfering with your play time! YAY!  =0)

There are several rooms of pinball machines from different decades and eras. If you plan to visit and are short on time, please do some advanced research so that you know which rooms and which machines to target first. Apparently, they have quite a few machines in storage and they rotate them now and again, current pinball list here. Even playing there for almost 8hrs, I didn’t have a chance to play all of the machines, there are so many options to choose from and that’s AWESOME! (Note: Yes! Both of my forearms were very sore for 2 – 3+ days after playing that day!)

My favorite machine that I read about and played there is called “Safe Cracker”. I highly recommend that you play this machine at least 4 – 8+ times, tons of FUN! It is located in the same room as many other “unique” machines. (Highly recommend that you also play “Spooksville” and “Orbitor 1” which will surprise you!). The unique attribute of “Safe Cracker” is that it will dispense a special “token” that rolls directly from the lower Backglass onto the pinball glass if you are able to break into the safe! It rolls pretty fast, so be prepared to catch it as it rolls off the center glass toward you! With this token, after you finish your game, you use it to play a special multi-ball game called “Assault on the Vault”. Unfortunately, I only discovered this after leaving the museum and researching on Wikipedia! I can’t wait to return to win tokens and invoke the special game! If I ever hit the lottery, I will buy this pinball machine! I think I played it for a couple hours (in between letting others play it too!). I also often played it in 2 or 4 player mode since you have unlimited play, why not?  =0) I was able to win 6 tokens that day, but returned them to the cashier upon exiting for the night not knowing about the special game mode!

I had a blast playing any machine I wanted without having to wait in line for any machine. I only saw 5 – 10 people max at any given time that Tuesday. (Side Note: You might want to visit soon because once the High Schools and Universities let out for the school year, you might have more people playing on the machines that you want to play!) Bonus: There are 3 awesome jukeboxes to choose different eras of music tracks for unlimited, free play. Choose the music tracks that you want to hear, then choose the machines that you want to play! You can’t beat that! Lastly, there are many restaurants in walking distance, but I chose to eat next door to try Cambodian food for the 1^st time at Phnom Penh House. The food was tasty and I was able to have an early dinner, then return to play for another hour or so before returning home!  =0)

I am already looking forward to another Tuesday visit! I hope that you will enjoy your visit as much as I did! Have Fun!  =0)

by Armand Gutierrez, President

May is here and that means it’s time to bring an end to the NSC 2022-2023 season. This was an exciting year with record snowfall in Tahoe, numerous non-ski events planned for the coming season, and a few accomplishments for last year:

• Bocce Ball at Lake Almaden Courts
• Bike ride at Shoreline
• Our first-ever Pickleball event at Saratoga Country Club
• Hiroshima Concert & Dinner at Thaibodia
• Breckenridge Ski Week

But now it’s June, which marks the start of the NSC 2023-2024 season, and it’s time to restart the upcoming season with a return of our standby events and a few new ones. Beginning this month you can take advantage of the $5 membership discount if you sign up and submit your membership form by May 31^st.  Please submit your application to Tina Woo (Membership Chairman).

The board has been meeting frequently because life with NSC does go on.  Plans are in the making for our annual Luau and Membership Picnic in July, our ski week trip to Jackson Hole (2024), and a few other events that are scheduled for the remaining of the year.

Board Nominations & Elections

The nominations process has been completed and the next step is elections. The elections personnel (that would be Karen Soo and Jeanne Katsuro) tell me there were no nominations; therefore, the slate will consist of the incumbents that decided to return to the board (there were two non-returning board members). It’s important that you do vote because your vote tells the board that you do appreciate the volunteer work performed by members of the board, so please take the very short time needed to cast your vote. The election ballot will be distributed in the coming weeks.

2024 NSC Jackson Hole

The 2024 NSC Ski Week will be at Jackson Hole with a tentative date from 27 January – 3 February. So mark your calendar and start planning on a ski week to what is known as “a skier’s mountain”. Yes, plenty of challenging runs for you ski warriors, and a few milder runs for the ski bunnies (do we have any ski bunnies?).

QotM:  Your greatness is not what you have, but what you give.

by Tina Woo, Membership

June marks the start of the 2023-2024 Nisei Ski Club season.  Beginning May, you can take advantage of the $5 discount if you sign up before May 31. Download and complete the membershio for here.

membership form

2022-2023 ski season has been phenomenal with incredible snowfall history. With record storms   many of the California resorts have extended their seasons.  Rumor has it that some may stay open until August? NorthStar, Kirkwood and Heavenly have already extended their respective seasons.

The board of Nisei Ski Club is continuing to meet monthly and discuss plans for this upcoming year.  We strive to provide community and camaraderie for our members. 

The Nisei Ski Club board is excited to announce several events scheduled for the balance of the year.  We have an event almost every month; from golf in April, Mah Jong in June, the annual luau picnic in July, to our 65^th anniversary dinner in the Fall, car rally and sponsorship of the Silicon Valley Asian Film Festival in October.  And, don’t forget Jackson Hole in January/February 2024!! Come and join us!

We look forward to seeing you at one of our events!

by Judy Hom, Janet Gee, Board Members

Do you want to learn how to play MahJong but don’t know anyone who can teach you? Then, sign up for the NSC Mah Jong class and potluck! Judy Hom and Janet Gee will teach you the basics so you won’t be intimidated to play with others. We will focus on the Cantonese style where we play with 13 tiles and flowers. If Mah Jong is on your bucket list, then sign-up! When you sign up, you will receive a cheat sheet and a list of MahJong resources. We know that all NSC members like to eat so this is also a potluck event. 

Date:            Saturday, June 10th

Time:           11am – 3:pm

Where:         Judy and Winston’s backyard, 18995 Carlton Avenue, Castro Valley

Cost: $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Bring a potluck dish to feed 4 or more.

Please bring your own water bottle, beverages will be provided. 

Space is limited to 16 sign-ups. Pls RSVP by June 5th.

Please fill out a form for each person that is attending. For more information, please email Judy at mahjong@niseiskiclub.org.

SIGN UP HERE: MahJong

by Karen Soo, Trip Director

Please join us on Saturday, July 22 at Las Palmas Park in Sunnyvale for our annual Nisei Ski Club Luau Picnic.

Time – 12:00pm – 5:00pm

You will receive your Evite invitation in June.

How is Karen going to coordinate the picnic from New York?

Just watch and see.

Please RSVP no later than July 19th, so we can order the right amount of food for the picnic.

NISEI SKI CLUB LUAU PICNIC INFO

Join us and meet your fellow members.

by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

Hey Fellow Bakers,

Most of us work 5 days a week and we look forward to the weekend. A time to catch up on sleep, relax and make brunch.

You have the cream cheese. You have the lox. All you need is some fresh bagels.

Wait …No Bagels?

Too lazy to get the bagels from your local Safeway?

Try this recipe out.

This easy homemade bagel recipe is made from scratch with just five (5) ingredients – flour, Greek yogurt, egg white, baking powder and salt!

No yeast, no boiling, no fancy mixer. Bake them in the oven or in the air fryer!

It only makes 4 bagels and calorie count is much lower than a regular New York Bagel.

Give it a try.

Bon Appetite – Julia Child and Karen Soo shares the same birthday.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, whole wheat or gluten-free mix*, (5 oz in weight)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder, make sure it’s not expired or it won’t rise
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, use less if using table salt
• 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt, not regular yogurt, it will be too sticky (Stonyfield)
• 1 egg white or whole egg, beaten
• optional toppings: everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic flakes, dried onion flakes**

Oven Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Place parchment paper or a silpat on a baking sheet. If using parchment paper, spray with oil to avoid sticking.

• In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk well. Add the yogurt and mix with a fork or spatula until well combined, it will look like small crumbles.

• Lightly dust flour on a work surface and remove dough from the bowl, knead the dough a few times until dough is tacky, but not sticky, about 15 turns (it should not leave dough on your hand when you pull away).

• Divide into 4 equal balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch thick ropes and join the ends to form bagels. (or you can make a ball and poke a hole in the center then stretch it slightly)

• Top with egg wash and sprinkle both sides with seasoning of your choice. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting.

Air Fryer Method:

1. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk well. Add the yogurt and mix with a fork or spatula until well combined, it will look like small crumbles.

• Lightly dust flour on a work surface and remove dough from the bowl, knead the dough a few times until dough is tacky, but not sticky, about 20 turns (it should not leave dough on your hand when you pull away).
• Divide into 4 equal balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch thick ropes and join the ends to form bagels.

• Top with egg wash and sprinkle both sides with seasoning of your choice.

• Preheat the air fryer 280F degrees. Transfer in batches without overcrowding and bake 15 to 16 minutes, or until golden. No need to turn. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting.

https://www.skinnytaste.com/easy-bagel-recipe/

BEFORE AND AFTER

by Karen Soo, Trip Director

Last month I was able to fool 4 NCS members with my 2001 Jackson Hole Flyer. Please note, NSC Ex-Officio Armand will continue to plan the 2024 NSC Jackson Hole weeklong trip. Trip information is not available right now.

I hope you took advantage of purchasing the Epic and Ikon season passes (if you wish) that was offered by Sports America. If you didn’t, no worries. Group rates will be available for the  Jackson Hole trip.

The ski resorts in Lake Tahoe had an epic season with record breaking snow levels for all the resorts.

Heavenly Ski Resort will be open until May 7^th and Palisades Tahoe will extend their operations until the 4^th of July.

If you have a season pass and want to try out some spring skiing in your tanks and shorts. 

This is the time to do it.

I came across this NSC weekend flyer I was preparing my move to New York.

Look at the prices and see what a bargain it was to go on the weekend Nisei Ski Club trip.

In 2023, the daily weekend lift ticket prices at Heavenly was $149.00.

The window price at Jackson Hole is $201.00. YIKES, should we switch to a new sport??
Check this out.

We skied at Sugar Bowl on Saturday.  There’s a ridiculous amount of snow there as you can see from the snow pile next to the Sugar Bowl parking lot.

Way back in 2007, after Nelson helped us paint the interior of the house we had just bought, I said payment could be a lesson on how to ski moguls.  Well, Saturday I finally manage to pay it off – plus I gave Derek a lesson on mogul skiing as well.

Nelson and Derek did very well skiing the bumps especially considering Derek was skiing for the fourth time and had never done moguls before.  They both had the usual beginner issues – letting the steepness of the slope intimidate them, leading to them both leaning back too much instead of weight forward and facing down the slope.

In any case, afterwards, I got to thinking about why many people have difficulty skiing on moguls while others make it look effortless.  I think it was Ed who said moguls were no fun because “you get to the bottom of the hill exhausted and drenched in sweat.  Well, I realized that now I can ski an entire mogul run without even breaking a sweat.  Why might that be?

Almost 30 years ago, I got a mogul lesson from fellow Nisei Ski Club member Ron Kaida.  Those who know Ron know that he was one of NSC’s best mogul skiers – he looked like he could balance a jar on his shoulder while skiing a double black diamond run.  Ron looked at how I skied and said “You’re trying to outmuscle the mountain.  Let the skis do the work.”  He said that if you put the skis on their edges, the skis will turn.  So when you hit the top of the mogul, tilt the skis on their edges and carve a turn around the backside of the mogul.

If you watch an expert mogul skier, you’ll see that they keep their knees and feet close together.  Why?

It all starts with the shape of the ski.  The ski tip is obviously curved.  So when you tilt the ski on its edge, the ski will turn.  It turns left on the left edge and right on the right edge.  The more you tilt the ski, the sharper the turn it makes.  When the edge carves a turn, it creates friction that slows the ski.  The sharper the turn, the greater the friction and the more it slows the ski.

On the other hand, if the ski is flat on the snow, it doesn’t turn at all.  Additionally, if the ski is flat on the snow, there’s no friction so the ski will pick up speed.  If you lean back, the tails will be flat on the ground, the tip won’t turn the ski, and the ski will go straight while picking up speed – and you can’t control the ski.

If you keep the skis close together, both skis will tilt almost equally and therefore both skis carve the turns and scrub the speed in the process.  Since both skis are doing the work of turning and scrubbing speed, it means you use less energy.

Beginners let the slope intimidate them.  They think they’re going too fast when they’re really not moving that fast – the steepness causes that perception.  They also don’t keep their head and shoulders facing down the hill which would help keep them from leaning back.  They also have a tendency to let their arms fall behind them instead of keeping both arms in front of them.

You can practice good form on a groomed blue run before trying it on a mogul run.  

• Keep your knees together.
• Bend your knees at the start of the turn and straighten up during the turn.
• Reach downhill to plant the pole.
• Tilt the skis on their edges and carve the turn.
• Once the turn is complete, pivot to the other edges and carve a turn the other direction.

• Here are some pics from Sugar Bowl