We are in the height of ski season as we continue grappling with pandemic restrictions. Read the articles below for some current information. As always, if you wish to submit an article or announcement, email me at newsletter@niseiskiclub.org

by Armand Gutierrez

Welcome to the Chinese Year of the Ox! Yes, the Chinese New Year starts
February 12th and celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival on February 26th. People born in the year of the Ox (1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, etc.) are often considered to be trustworthy, calm and gentle, with low-key personalities. Definitely not type-A, and I’m positive we have a few Ox people in the club that are trustworthy and hard working like an Ox.

Tahoe is finally getting slammed with multiple dumps of snow and the Bay Area is getting drenched with rain. All this is good, for we need the rain and snow to avoid another drought season. I skied Northstar at the end of January and the snow was in great condition due to the low temps and consistent grooming, and the recent snowfall made for some excellent tree skiing. One thing I’ve learned is that you really have to consider skiing in adverse conditions, because since there is no indoor dining you have to brave the elements and have your lunch outside. Not a fun experience if it’s windy, snowing, cold, or all three.

Karen Soo, our resident chef, hosted a Thai Cooking demonstration via Zoom in December and is now planning on another cooking demonstration sometime in April. If you have any suggestions or requests you can contact her at tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org .

Our NSC Happy Hour in December was well attended and there are plans for hosting another in March.

QotM: To be what you’ve never been you must do what you’ve never done.

by Judy Bracken

Since last March when the pandemic shutdown occurred, many of us have hiked, biked, danced, walked, and/or swam outdoors to keep fit and healthy. Now it’s time for ski season, and some of us have headed up to the slopes for yet another form of outdoor exercise. No pandemic will keep us down!

Some things have changed and some have not. Here’s the lowdown:

HAS NOT CHANGED:

• The joy one feels when schussing through the snow
• The views!  Nothing like seeing the blue and beautiful Lake Tahoe while at 9000 feet
• The snow itself, although much was man made (not now with this weeks storm series)
• The hoar frost on the pine boughs sparkling in the sun
• Bluebird days and windy ridges 
• Whooping to a friend as you whiz past each other 
• Laughing on the chairlift

 HAS CHANGED:

• Lift lines are slightly longer since most chairs have just 2-3 people on them
• Lunchtime is outside or on the chairlift. You can go inside to get a small selection of hot and cold food, but then you must eat outside. We found a secret place to warm up, courtesy of Carol H, the ambassador of Northstar.
• Masks are worn in lines, shuttles and lodges. You can use your face/neck warmer, but it has to fully cover mouth and nose. The lift line managers remind those who are not in compliance. 
• No boots or bags can be left anywhere but inside a locker. So wear the ski boots out of the car.

As you can see, the best things about skiing are still the same. We just have to make a few adjustments to keep safe and healthy while enjoying our favorite sport. Hope to see you on the slopes!

Happy New Year! Below you will find a couple of articles for your reading enjoyment. Please feel free to contribute any information of interest for future ski club news.

by Armand Gutierrez, President

As we bid farewell to 2020 and usher in 2021, do you have any great expectations for the New Year? I could name a few: returning to the gym for my exercise regimen, dining at my favorite restaurants, and getting together with family and friends. Everyone is looking at the COVID vaccine as the light at the end of the tunnel (and, hopefully, not the light of an oncoming train), but our return to what we consider “normal” will still take some time.

The ski season is upon us and an abundance of those magical water crystals that descend from heaven beckons the hard-core skiers and riders to experience what Mother Nature has provided. Whether you decide to pass on this season or venture out for some schussing or shredding, staying safe is the mantra of the season.

Karen Soo, our resident chef, hosted a Thai Cooking demonstration via Zoom on Saturday, 5 December. There were 45+ would-be chefs that tuned-in to catch her demonstration. See her write-up for details.

Our NSC Happy Hour last month was well attended with about 13-15 people. Since Zoom puts a maximum of 25 attendees per page our group didn’t spill over to multiple pages and that made it easier to talk with everyone without switching pages. Since everyone had a good time talking and meeting, perhaps we can schedule another Happy Hour in January or February, so stay tuned.

QotM: Innovation without specific need is of no value.

by Karen Soo, Travel Director

Many of you may remember when we had those fun NSC weekend ski trips, taking a bus together and sharing great meals. Amy T. and I planned the weekend menus, with memorable Friday night hot dinners like lasagna, ground beef and peas over rice, butternut squash soup, Thai green chicken curry and tiramisu. Sunday night dinners from Amy T. included teriyaki chicken, lemon grass chicken sandwiches with daikon, peanut noodles and somen salads. Yum! All these dinners were a hit during our rides to and from Lake Tahoe.

Now that we are going through a pandemic, we are all sheltering in place and watching a lot of cooking shows and Netflix. I’ve been cooking every weekend because we are always home, and eating out at restaurants is out of the question.

When Sandy and Tina returned from their 2019 trip to Thailand, in which they learned some Thai cooking skills, they suggested that NSC offer a cooking demonstration. During this pandemic, Zoom has become the way to do everything–meetings, exercise classes, and working from home. Since the shutdown last March, I’ve taken several virtual cooking classes. Also, I’ve been taking Thai cooking classes for over 10 years from a teacher in Piedmont. Hence, I decided to take on this challenge and conduct a Thai cooking demonstration via Zoom.

Our cooking demo focused on three beginner level dishes: Easy Green Curry with Chicken, Shrimp Pad Thai, and Coconut-Flavored Sticky Rice with Mangoes. All the participants received the recipes in advance so they could prep for the hands-on instructions and gather the ingredients. On Saturday afternoon, December 5th, 35 cooks from NSC, Inskiers Ski Club, the Alameda Chinese Club, and some of my family and friends from Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Los Angeles and New York joined Zoom for the cooking demonstration.

Prior to the Zoom class, I had the ingredients measured out for each dish in order for the class to run smoothly. Thanks to my videographer Curtis O. for setting up two laptops and an I-pad for the Zoom
call. One camera was on my pot and the other one on me. People were able to ask questions as we went along. Over the 1 hour 15 minute class, three people cooked along with the class while others made the dishes later that evening. All reported good results evidenced by the great photos of their dishes!

After the class, a survey was sent out to the participants. We had many positive responses.
Here are the survey results:
1. What did you like about this event?
-Well prepared in advance, interactive, positive, and fun.
-I haven’t participated in a cooking class before, but this was fun.
-Everything was prepared and very organized. I appreciate that the recipes were e-mailed well in advance so we could read over the recipe and purchase all the ingredients.
2. What do you wish was different?
-Since I wasn’t that organized, a slower pace would have been nice.
-She needs a wok.
-I wish the chef would freeze and mail her audience samples to taste.
3. What would you like Chef Karen to teach at the next cooking session?
-Dim Sum
-Chef’s choice…
-Depending on season. Soups, hot pot/ shabu shabu in the colder months.
4. Any additional comments?
-Thank you!!! This is the funniest lockdown event I’ve done and it was such a nice change of pace
-Chef Karen, Thanks for doing the Thai cooking class & giving permission for Sandy to share w/ACC. When is the next ski trip? I hear u need to make reservations now. Stay healthy, safe, & warm. Curtis, great job as the camera man.
-Make ya a trade, I’ll wash your car for a meal
-Curtis should watch Guy Fieri on DDD to emulate his effusive appreciation of what he’s tasting!

Thank you to all who joined us. I hope to have another Zoom cooking experience in the spring. Stay tuned! As Martha Stewart would say. IT’S A GOOD THING.

by Armand Gutierrez, President

This has been an unusual year for NSC given the pandemic situation. Two of our major events were cancelled: the Annual Membership/Luau Picnic, and the Breckenridge ski week trip. However, there was one well-attended Bike Excursion last month and there are two events scheduled for the remaining of the year.

As we come to the closing chapter for 2020 it definitely can be agreed upon that this year will be remembered for a long, long time. I’m not sure if it ranks up there to past, life-changing events such as WWI, WWII, and the Great Depression, but it has been a doozy of a year. The social distancing mandates, closures of businesses, and an acute awareness of personal safety (i.e. masks, hand washing, etc.) have affected us all in one way or the other and brings to light the small conveniences that we take for granted.

Upcoming Events

• Thai Cooking Demonstration: Karen Soo, our resident chef, will be hosting a Thai Cooking demonstration via Zoom on Saturday, 5 December, at 1 pm. Now, this is a first for NSC. I don’t recall any cooking demonstrations in the past, but then again maybe there were some before my time with NSC. Karen has already sent out details for the demonstration, including an ingredient list and recipes. Be sure to check out Karen’s article.
• NSC Happy Hour via Zoom: I’ve been attending the monthly BAC meetings (via Zoom), and while many of the clubs are hosting their board and/or monthly meetings via Zoom, several have also hosted Happy Hours via Zoom. With that in mind, the board decided we should join in on that experience so a Happy Hour is scheduled for Saturday, 19 December, at 5pm. Curtis Otaguro will be sending out the meeting link several days prior to the Happy Hour.

Christmas Greetings

On behalf of the NSC board I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

by Karen Soo, Trip Director

Most of you should have received a recent email about the upcoming Nisei Ski Club Thai Cooking Experience, broadcast via Zoom. Here is the information just in case you didn’t receive it.

You will learn how to cook our delicious Thai Green Curry, Shrimp Pad Thai and Sticky Rice. You will also learn helpful tips of the trade and techniques that you can then incorporate into your own cooking style. Click on the item names above to see the three recipes and the ingredients needed. (Substitution is welcome). You can follow along or just listen and watch the demonstration. And guess what! Pad Thai and Green Curry are on the list of the World’s 50 Best Foods! (Poll of 35,000 people worldwide by CNN Travel).

You can get most of the ingredients from Ranch 99 or any Thai Supermarkets.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me.  

Zoom link will be sent separately.

ABOUT ZOOM To optimize your class experience, we encourage you to download and became familiar with Zoom ahead of time. Test your video, audio, chat and view on the gallery option. For full performance, we suggest you login from your Zoom account. You can review the system requirements [here] and test your connection at (https://zoom.us/test). 

by Frank Chang, Treasurer

I guess I am stating the obvious when I say that this year has been far from normal in so many ways. I received a report from our FWSA group policy insurance broker that the ski clubs in the
group have reported an average 60% drop in membership this year. The NSC membership is down about 42% from last year…better than average, so a heartfelt thanks to all of you loyal members! We recognize that you are not receiving the benefits that you would get in a normal year of activities, so your loyalty is truly appreciated.

With the reduction in membership, the club will have an operating loss this year due to fixed costs such as insurance, website hosting, state license fees, etc. As you may know, during a normal year the all-volunteer board members are rewarded with free memberships. However, for this unique year the ten board members will each pay the normal $30 dues, which will help reduce the deficit by $300!
Happy Holidays to everyone!

Editor’s note: This article was published earlier this year and reprinted in anticipation of Karen’s upcoming cooking demo. Get in the mood for Thai food!

by Sandy Kiyomura

In December, Tina Woo and I spent two and a half weeks touring Thailand. Sandy’s cousin, Randy Chinn, met us in Bangkok and provided a “local” tour of shopping centers, Chinatown  and introduction to Thai massage parlors. The Terminal 21 shopping center had a “San Francisco” themed floor which included a cable car and Golden Gate bridge. We toured Chinatown and had Dim Sum “Thai style.”  We then spent the next 16 days touring Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Sukothai and Ayuttaya and Phuket. Here are some of the photo highlights:

At the Elephant Sanctuary, we fed and bathed the elephants. As big as they were, they were loving and affectionate.  We found the Thai people to be friendly and humble, perhaps due to their Buddhist beliefs. One morning we rose early and accompanied our tour guide to present some food to the monks.  When you donate food they chant and pray for you. 

Although it was a long trip, it provided a wonderful introduction to the country and history of Thailand, its people, culture, and delicious cuisine. It was great to spend time with a local, Sandy’s cousin Randy, who has lived in Phuket for the past 20 years. 

Note: This was a GATE 1 tour. If anyone would like to travel by GATE 1, please say that Tina or Sandy referred you and you will get $50 credit towards travel.