"Alkalizing". What does that have to do with juice? Remember grade school science class when you learned about the pH scale - as in, vinegar is acidic and baking soda is alkaline? As it turns out, our bodies are constantly balancing a pH too and plenty of literature informs us that bodies having a high pH (alkaline) versus a low pH (acidic) function better and are healthier.

Authentic Shanghai style dumplings filled with pork and bok choy, my favorite kind of dumplings! Recipe with step-by-step pictures.

This is an essential weeknight recipe that I default to again and again because it is so easy to prepare and because of how much my girls love them!  Think 4 ingredients, 15 prep time, 25 mins bake time. There is no reason to buy packaged nuggets ever. EVER.  I also make this recipe regularly with ground turkey with wonderful results too but of course it will be a tad less juicy. I always make a double-batch and freeze a portion of uncooked nuggets for future school lunches.

Apr 2017:  I have added gluten/grain-free AND dairy-free alternatives.  Hurray!  Nuggets for everyone! 

Lion’s Head Meatballs is a very traditional Chinese dish featuring large pork meatballs and leafy greens. This is a family recipe passed down from my Shanghainese grandmother, which always uses bok choy. The big fluffy meatball represents a lion's head and the surrounding leafy greens, its mane. Don't you love the fanciful name? Just as much to love is the dish itself, a mainstay comfort meal to be certain.

I used to think it was too much trouble to make my own broth. I purchased good quality stock from my butcher made from naturally-raised animals from local farms.  So why bother with homemade?