Happy Chinese New Year!

Gong xi fa cai! Xin nian kuai le!

Hopefully everyone's feasts went well! Remember, no cleaning or showering or crying today ;)

I may have gone overboard for just MM and me.

Last night's dinner went pretty well, if I do say so myself, but wow was it exhausting to make. We had pork and shrimp wonton soup, seafood, tofu and veggies over cripsy noodles, baby bok choy with chinese mushrooms, turnip cake (lor bok gow) with chinese sausage, steamed ginger fish, and egg tarts (dan tat). MM loved the turnip cake, but for me the real winner of the show was the egg tarts.

From my mom's kitchen to my own!

What can I say? I have a huge sweet tooth.

It is the Year of the Rabbit, which is one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Now I had no idea until I linked that Wiki article, but apparently, in Vietnamese culture, it is the year of the Cat. This occurred because the Chinese word for rabbit sounds like the Vietnamese word for cat, and thus the rabbit, quite literally, got lost in translation!

My sister, who is a rabbit, would be so upset! (Source)

 My wonderful parents sent me a care package, containing 2 new year's cakes (nian gao), and 2 red packets (hong bao or lai see), one for MM and one for me! It's the first time that MM has ever gotten a red packet, which is generally given to younger relatives and contains either money or candy.

MM has really been great about accepting this foreign holiday with all its bizarre traditions. As he graciously offered to clean the bathroom yesterday in honor of Chinese New Year, I let him use my Swiffer WetJet to help clean the floor. A few seconds later, I hear from the bathroom:

MM: This is AWESOME!! *buzz from the WetJet*

Haha, so he gets a red packet AND he discovered the joys of cleaning. I think it's been a good holiday!

Happy Chinese New Year's Eve!

'Tis the day to clean your homes, and prepare your feasts!

Because MM has just come off an overnight shift, we will be playing the night pretty low key. For dinner I will be trying my hand at a couple Chinese dishes, of course, most with symbolic meanings.

Among them:
Noodles (for longevity)
Fish (for wealth/abundance)
Dumplings (for wealth)
Turnip cake (because I love it)
Egg tarts (just because)

Luckily, I did most of the cleaning earlier this week, because this dinner sounds like it will take a while.

Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Chinese New Year's Eve! Tomorrow it will be the Year of the Rabbit (my sister's year)!

Source