Mystery morsels ...

About three times a year we receive a package from China. The senders are our youngest daughter's former foster family (she spent weekends with them during the months leading up to our adoption). Today the Christmas parcel arrived. In keeping with their intent to help our daughter maintain a connection to her Chinese roots as well as to expose us to our daughter's birth culture, in addition to the usual toys and knicknacks the foster family sent us something inherently Chinese. In the past it has been such treasures as laquerware, miniature clay tea pots, jade trinkets. This time it was food. I'm not talking the delectable chocolate treats that graced our daughter's birthday package. This is the real deal and there's a box FULL of it. I could open a small food kiosk in the local mall, if we had one ... There are eight different things to choose from, some savory, some sweet. There are spicy crackers, peanut clusters, some sort of rice cakes, strawberry-flavoured biscuits, bags of small pecans, chowmein noodle squares (that look similar to rice krispie squares), little sausage thingies vacuum sealed in foil (that we absolutely will not be eating - they went past their best before date during shipping) and these:

I don't know what the heck these things are, these little gelatinous spheres that can't be identified as man made or natural. I considered they might be some sort of processed lychee fruit, but I can't be sure, so I'm thinking they will also be filed in the "will not be eating" category. Our oldest, who is not Chinese and definitely not a culinary adventurer, has thrown everything into the "will not be eating" category. Meanwhile her younger sister is going to town. It is obvious that these are familiar tastes to her and she is excited beyond excited to have a whole box of nummy snacks from home sitting in the kitchen, especially snacks that she doesn't have to compete with her sibling for.

Food wussiness aside, we are so thankful to have these generous people in our lives. It is the exception, not the rule in Chinese adoption to have contact with the foster family (it is usually discouraged). While I understand the reasons for it, it is unfortunate. This family, who now feel like part of our family, are a valuable link for our daughter to her past and her homeland.

update: We got brave. The weird gelatinous spheres are definitely man made. They are an outer tasteless section surrounding black grainy stuff that tastes somewhat like sesame oil. Not good. Even our youngest concurs.