The other day as I started my husband’s car and the audio system came on, I was greeted by someone speaking Chinese. Here I was with a few minutes to myself but instead of settling into my own thoughts or listening to music, I found myself getting a language lesson.

One of my majors in college was Spanish, so we have tried to incorporate Spanish learning lessons into our children’s lives. I have, for example, put in “Kids Love Spanish” DVDs during their TV time.

As I listened to the CD in the car, I realized my husband had decided to learn Chinese. With all the craziness of preparing for the holidays, I forgot to mention the CD to him. It wasn’t until he took our son, Matthew, for a ride in his car that I realized his master plan was to teach all of us how to speak Chinese.

A week or two after I had been introduced to the language, Matthew appeared in the kitchen, repeating what he had learned. “Excuse me, Miss, do you know English?” Though it sounded vaguely familiar, I had already forgotten some of my lessons. My husband was right. Kids do pick up foreign languages so much easier than adults.

I borrowed the CD for my car during school vacation and on short trips across Auburn heard my son and elder daughter emulating the language instructor almost perfectly, intonation and all. I think even our 14-month-old daughter was trying out some new Chinese words.

About the same time that everyone in our house was learning Chinese words, I picked up a cookbook I had put on my bookshelf a few months ago. My mother loves to shop for books and had purchased “Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers,” by The Moosewood Collective, forgetting she doesn’t cook much anymore. Thankfully, she left the book at my house and in it I found a recipe for easy egg rolls. They were delicious. Matthew’s only complaint was that the flaky phyllo dough made them a little bit messy; but I reminded him that compared to the mess his 14-month-old baby sister makes, his mess was nothing.

Easy egg rolls

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon grated, peeled ginger root

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 16-ounce package of slaw mix (about 6 cups)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon salt

Generous pinch of black pepper

6 sheets of phyllo pastry

About ¼ cup vegetable oil

Recipe for duck sauce:

2/3 cup peach or apricot preserves

2 tablespoons white or cider vinegar

4 teaspoons soy sauce

(Mix ingredients together in a small bowl. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a month)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Warm a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and when it is hot, add ginger and garlic; sizzle for just a few seconds. Add slaw, soy sauce, salt and pepper; stir-fry for 3 or 4 minutes until the vegetables are hot, coated with oil and somewhat wilted but not soft. Remove from heat.

Place stack of phyllo sheets on a dry surface with the short sides at the top and bottom. Brush the top sheet lightly with oil. About 3 inches from the bottom edge, spread a generous cup of wilted slaw in a line parallel to the bottom. Pick up 2 sheets at the bottom edge and lift them up and over the filling and roll up. Phyllo is fragile but forgiving; don’t fret over small rips at the start. Brush the finished roll with oil. Lift it carefully and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat this process to make two more rolls. (During this process, you’ll use about ¼ cup vegetable oil). Place rolls about 2 inches apart on baking sheet. With a sharp knife, slice the rolls into 4-inch pieces. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

While the egg rolls bake, make the duck sauce to serve on the side.

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