恭喜發財: Have a Prosperous New Year!

It’s the Lunar New Year, a time to celebrate with family and friends, and I want to wish you lots of good fortune for this coming year.

Something I’ve reflected on recently is the Chinese New Year’s traditions and how they force you to take on tasks that you may have been putting off. (Let’s be honest, I’m a procrastination champ.) You shouldn’t start the new year with a messy house nor without fixing broken things. Although I usually keep a pretty clean house, I’ve taken this opportunity to finally put up a shelf I’ve been thinking about for two weeks, neaten up, etc.

Another tradition is to wear new clothes for the new year, and while I don’t need an excuse to go shopping, I was thinking about how this tradition is also about shedding the metaphorical skin that you may have been in this past year. Start fresh in the new year–it might just change your perspective.

Finally, there’s the food. Chicken, duck, fish, and meat are all part of the New Year’s festivities–but for those veg friends, don’t despair–the Chinese are pros at vegetarian “meats”. (See this article for an NYC shop.)

I haven’t gone the traditional route with my cooking (I’ll leave that up to my mother), but I have started the year with making a variety of yummy goodies to keep me occupied:

Roasted Kobucha Squash Seeds (with olive oil and garam masala)

Potato Pancake with Scallions from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc (I like his technique of using corn starch and no binder for crispy almost-shoestring potatoes)

Applesauce (recipe from Simple Recipes)