It's interesting to look at all the food misnomers out there and thinking about how it probably got started. I'd bet someone started calling a macaroni hotdish chop suey because they didn't like "Chinese food" but wanted to participate in the fad and they'd eat that. Goulash is a wonderful stew but also implies a mushy slop so I can see how that was assigned to it too. Fer cryin out loud, when I went to school they called sloppy joes "BBQ Beef on a Bun"! Pitmasters would choke on that one! I've given up and figure if ya can't beat, em join em. I now call fresh fried Walleye "Lutefisk". I'm going to get people used to it and wait for my Texas cousin to come up for a Lutefisk dinner in the church basement! hehehe

My mother would buy the square Tea Cake from Amy's Bakery in Montebello, CA since I can remember. They still sell them. You can see the image of it on their website. Take the 60 fwy, exit Wilcox or Garfield Ave. Go south to Beverly Blvd. and Amy's Bakery is on the NW corner of Wilcox & Beverly. Make sure to grab a number as soon as you enter. Once when I worked in Lancaster, CA a rep came in and dropped off a pink box of little pink & yellow tea cakes in our lounge. I knew exactly what they were but no one else did but the box did not have a bakery name on it. They went for the other box of pastries and needless to say by the time the day was over I had eaten the entire box! (good for me) :) Last time I bought a tea cake from Amy's (in the 80's) I ate the whole cake before we got it home. (with my bare hands) No, I don't do that kind of stuff! It surprised me too! Yes, these cakes are that good. The cake from Amy's Bakery is like a 9x9 and has the light brown colored glaze/frosting on it. In my opinion, it's the best.

Too bad, my life is not interesting enough to automatically curate itself into an Anthropologie store. Speaking of, Sundance Channel has a series called Man Shops Globe--he's a buyer for Anthropologie ABOUT THE SERIES Claiming he has the "greatest job in the world," Keith Johnson invites viewers along on an international treasure hunt on the Sundance Channel original series, MAN SHOPS GLOBE. In out-of-the-way antique shops, private dealerships and craft stalls, Johnson looks for one-of-a-kind home furnishings and accessories. In each half-hour program, Keith travels to a new country in search of fantastic and unusual decorative objects, furniture, and textiles. He also seeks out the world's best artists and crafts people. MAN SHOPS GLOBE follows Johnson, who travels six months of the year, to ends-of-the-earth excursions, from flea markets in Paris to remote villages in India and obscure art studios in Turkey. Here is a link that might be useful: Man Shops Globe

I usually just "wing" Chow Mein, therefore I am not sure how authentic mine is. Here is a recipe I have not tried, it's from a very old cookbook my mom gave me back in the 70's. Chow Mein with Pork and Shrimp from Madame Won's Long Life Chinese Cookbook 1/2 lb Chinese fresh water noodles 9 T oil 4 oz fresh shrimp, shelled, deveined and cut into pieces 1-1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cornstarch 1/2 lb lean pork, shredded 1 T sherry 2 T light soy sauce 1/2 tsp sugar 1/2 lb bok choy 2 dried black mushrooms, soaked in boiling watr 20 min., stems removed , shredded 2 T chicken stock 1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp water Drop noodles into boiling water, boil 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water, drain. Mix noodles with 1T of oil. Mix shrimp with 1/4 tsp salt and cornstarch. Heat 1 T of oil in wok to 400F and stir fry shrimp until they turn pink, about 1 minute. Remove, set aside. Heat 2 T oil in wok to 400F. Stir fry pork until color changes. Add sherry, 1 T soy sauce, and sugar. Stir fry 1 minute. Remove, set aside. Heat 2 T oil in wok to 400F. Stir fry bok choy 1 minute. Add pork, mushrooms, 1 tsp salt, 1 T soy sauce. Add stock, cook 3 minutes. Thicken with dissolved cornstarch. Add shrimp, bring to a boil. Remove, set aside. Heat 3T oil in wok to 350F, stir fry noodles (they will form a cake) until outside is golden brown but inside is soft. Cook 5 minutes on each side. Remove to platter, place shrimp/pork mixture on top of noodles. Serve Linda