Nisei Ski Club

by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

There’s something magical about Christmas in New York. The electricity, the colorful lights, the bumper-to-bumper traffic, the cars honking and the hordes of maskless tourists. I was in the city after the Thanksgiving rush. Traffic and the Christmas holiday crowd was still light. It was nice to walk along 5^th Ave to see the holiday windows. In a few weeks, it will be impossible to walk on the sidewalks.

Unfortunately, the Rockefeller Christmas tree was not lit up when I was there.

On behalf of the NSC board, I would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year in 2023

Here is the famous window display at Saks 5^th Ave with my favorite singer Elton John.

by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

One enduring legacy of Chinese Americans is their longstanding service to our country. In fact, Chinese in America have served in the U.S. military since the Civil War. More than 20,000 served in World War II. 

Join our distinguished panel as we talk about some of the Chinese American men and women who have served our nation and their great American stories.

The Chinese American Museum DC (CAMDC) hosted a webinar with a distinguished panel who talked about some of the Chinese American men and women who have served our nation and their great American stories.

The panel consisted of Montgomery “Monty” Hom (Founder and Executive Producer of the Chinese American GI Project), Connie Yu (CHCP Advisory Board Member/Historian), and Wilem Wong (retired New York City Police Sergeant with over 34 years of service in the United States Army Reserve). 

by Armand Gutierrez, President

It’s November and the main attraction will be Thanksgiving. Yup, this is when we all gather around the feasting table and forget about diets, counting calories, and enjoy a bountiful meal with family. For those of you that dream about skiing in November, and before Thanksgiving, here are some important resort opening dates:

• Mammoth – 11 November
• Northstar – 18 November
• Heavenly – 18 November
• Alpine/Palisades – 22 November
• Kirkwood – 2 December

Palisades is opening the Base-to-Base Gondola this winter that will take you from Palisades to Alpine Meadows (and return). This has been in the works for many, many years and is now a reality.

SkiFest (formerly known as SkiBomb)

The SkiFest ski shows are back again, but only in Sacramento and Marin. This is another year they skipped San Jose, and this year the San Francisco venue has been moved to Marin. BAC will have a booth at both venues and will be promoting the local bay area ski clubs (including NSC). The dates/times are as follows:

• Sacramento – Cal Expo Center – Nov 18-20, 2022
• Marin – Marin Civic Center – Dec 2-4, 2022

Sports Basement SnowFest

Sports Basement is bringing back their biggest, most exciting, most snow-tastic event of the year – SnowFest (presented by Palisades Tahoe). This year they’ve taken it up a notch – and the epic celebration of all things snow will take place at all twelve of their stores, including their newest store in Orange County! RSVP now for a SnowFest near you and get stoked to hang out with all your favorite vendors, score raffle prizes, nab promo codes from our favorite resort, Palisades Tahoe, and enjoy some tasty local brews for a good cause while you shop. Don’t miss out – select your local Sports Basement SnowFest at https://shop.sportsbasement.com/pages/snowfest and grab your free ticket today!

Name This Resort

OK, this is for the seasoned ski-junkies that have been around the block (or slopes, if you will) and think they know their ski resorts. If you can name this resort, and ski run, then send me an email (president@niseiskiclub.org). Wild guesses are welcome as well. I know, you’re probably expecting a prize for the correct answer. But alas, poor Yorick, the only prize will be bragging-rights that you know your ski resorts, and it’s pretty safe to say that many of you have skied here.

2023 NSC Ski Week in Breckenridge

The Breckenridge trip is less than three months away and Breckenridge has started to receive snow. Their projected opening date is November 11^th, but I can wait until January when there is better coverage and all lifts are open.

2023 FWSA Ski Week in Zermatt, Switzerland

This trip is almost sold out so if you’re interested in going then please contact me directly (president@niseiskiclub.org).

This trip is from 25 Feb – 4 Mar, with an extension week to Costa del Sol (Spain) and Mallorca. Zermatt is on the IKON pass for five days of skiing. The IKON pass is not good for skiing Cervinia, Italy and an International Ski Pass can be purchased if you want to venture over to Cervinia for a day of skiing.

QotM: Complaining about a problem without posing a solution is called whining – Teddy Roosevelt

by Tina Woo, Membership

San Jose Taiko’s highly-acclaimed Swingposium combines taiko, jazz, swing dance, and immersive theatre to tell a hidden history of one way Japanese Americans maintained morale in WWII Incarceration Camps — through swing dances with live big band music. An immersive environment surrounds the audience with the sights and sounds of “camp,” their active participation pulls them deeply into the emotional trajectory of the story: the fear and loss of being sent to an Incarceration Camp, the struggle to maintain dignity and hope, and the ultimate victory of the human spirit.

• Created and produced by San Jose Taiko
• Featuring San Jose Taiko, Stanford Jazz Orchestra, Asian America Theater Project, Swingtime, and  Stanford Taiko

Admission information —Tickets are now on sale at Stanford Ticket Office! Seating will be limited to 100 attendees for each show due to staging requirements.

Date and Time

7:30 pm Saturday November 5th, 2022
2:30pm – Sunday November 6th, 2022

Location:

Stanford University Dinkelspiel Auditorium
471 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA 94305

Admission information —ticket on-sale date TBA

• ADVANCE TICKETS: General $18 | Senior (65+) $13 | *Non-Stanford Student $13
• DAY-OF TICKETS: General $23 | Senior (65+) $18 | *Non-Stanford Students $18
• Free Stanford student tickets available one hour before curtain —  information TBA
• Stanford University guidelines now state that masks are no longer required, but are strongly recommended. We encourage you to continue wearing masks for the comfort of our patrons, staff, and artists. Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test will no longer be required.

Videos and more info at Swingposium: Immersive Music, Theater, and Dance

by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

Are you feeling stressed out from work, family, friends and the upcoming holidays?

Center of Health Living / Kaiser Permanente is offering a series of free 60 minute workshop to help manage stress.

Please follow the link and sign up for these free webinars Stress Manaagement Webinars

Healthy Celebrations / Available On Demand

Give Yourself The Gift of A Good Night’s Sleep / Monday, November 14, 2022, 6:00 PM PST

Find Your Joy / Monday, December 12, 2022, 6:00 PM PST

Be calm, relax, turn up the volume and breathe……Ahhh…

Can you guess who the artist is?

by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor

Remember March 2020?  The U.S. shut down its economy, shuttering businesses and telling all nonessential workers to stay at home in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.

We stayed home and watched Netflix, made hundreds of masks, video zoom meetings with family and friends and waited on line at the supermarkets. We went outdoors, skied, hiked, played golf and cleaned out our closets. What at freaking year.

HEY WE SURVIVED!!!!

I sheltered in place attending Zoom classes for Zumba, 24 hours fitness workouts in my garage and trying out new recipes. The Institute of Culinary Education in New York offered free virtual cooking classes taught from a professional chef instructor.

One of my favorite recipes from the class was the Sea Salt Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

I made it often and it was an easy recipe. Sure, you can follow a regular Nestle Toll House cookie recipe but I found any excuse to use my stainless-steel cookie dough scooper.

I don’t like my cookies super sweet so I just used 1 ½ cups of chocolate chips and I added a cup of oatmeal.

This recipe makes 24 cookies and you can freeze the pre measured cookie dough for future use.

If you’re ever in the mood for a quick snack, you can pop one or two in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.

SEA SALT CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

Makes 24 cookies

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

¾ cup light brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups a mix of white, dark, and milk chocolate, chopped

chopped Coarse Sea salt, as desired for sprinkling on top cookies

SIDE NOTE:

I reduced the sweetness and used 1 ½ cup of chocolate chips

Plus, I added 1 cup of oatmeal.

ELECTRIC MIXER PROCESS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

3. With a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. You want to mix on medium speed until the butter is fluffy. This will take about 3-6 minutes, depending on the temperature of the butter.

4. Once the butter and sugar is creamed, turn speed to low. Crack your eggs into container, and add your eggs and vanilla. Mix for about 30 seconds, just until combined. 5. Turn the mixer off and add your dry ingredients. Combine on slow speed until about ¾ of the way combined. Turn off and add chopped chocolate, and mix on slow speed until the mixture just comes together.

6. Divide the dough into 24 equal balls, pressing the palm of your hand against the scoop for a flat surface. Place cookie dough balls on a full sheet tray that has been lined with parchment paper and allow the dough to chill for at least 30 minutes. I like to flatten it out with my hands

7. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of coarse sea salt.

8. Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from sheet tray.

PROCESS FOR MIXING BY HAND:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Melt butter over low heat.

3. Place flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar. Whisk until the butter is well combined.

5. Crack your eggs into container, and add your eggs and vanilla into the butter and sugar. Whisk for about 30 seconds, just until combined.

6. Fold in your dry ingredients and mix until about ¾ of the way combined. Add chopped chocolate, and mix until the mixture just comes together.

7. Divide the dough into 24 equal balls, pressing the palm of your hand against the scoop for a flat surface. Place cookie dough balls on a full sheet tray that has been lined with parchment paper and allow the dough to chill for at least 30 minutes.

8. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of coarse sea salt.

9. Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from sheet tray.

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

by Karen Soo, Trip Director

If you need some new ski apparel, here’s a sale not to be missed. Marmot / ExOfficio warehouse sale is happening on November 17 to November 19 in Santa Rosa. Get there early for some great styles.

by Karen Soo, Trip Director

Nisei Ski Club member and Dynamo Ski Instructor at Palisades Tahoe, Randy Hirai is selling 2 pairs of skis.
If you’re interested, please email me at tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org

2019/20 Volkl Kendos,  170cm long by 88mm wide.

Really versatile all mountain ski, 3D side cut makes nice short turns and long fast turns. Nice in the bumps. Mounted with Marker Griffon 13 bindings. (binding sells for $270)

Very good condition. Asking $300.00 (NewGriffon 13 bindings included )

2019/20 Nordica Enforcer 110.  177cm long by 110mm wide.

Great big mountain/powder ski. Mounted with Salomon Warden 13 bindings. (binding sells for $280)

Practically new, used 2 days. Asking $400.00 (Salomon Warden 13 bindings included)

by Karen Soo, Trip Director

A cute video to put a smile on your face. Just skip the ads…

https://youtu.be/ba62uuv-5Dc