Golden Friday

Dear furfriends and friends,

Please keep your paws and fingers crossed fur my sister Samantha. She woke mommy up at 2am Thursday morning and then on 5am to go out to pee. She kept peeing and peeing. Mom took a sample from her Thursday evening and saw a little bit of blood. Friday morning she again woke mom up at around 4am. Mom took another sample this morning and it doesn't have blood. Mom dropped off both samples at the vet this morning. Mom has been giving her some yogurt and Apple Cider Vinegar but seeing blood makes her worry. Hopefully it's nothing major.

This Sunday is Valentine's day and we would like to wish daddy and mommy Happy Valentine's Day! These pictures below were taken on Valentine's day last year.

This Sunday is also Chinese New Year day. We would like to wish our friends Mochi and Sugar and their families Gong Xi Fa Chai(in Mandarin) and Gung Hay Fat Choy(in Cantonese).

Happy Weekend everyone!

Love,

June & Samantha

Long Long Longevity

Food plays a major role in the Chinese New Year celebration. When serving for Chinese New Year, hosts often think of serving "lucky" foods. These "lucky" foods each have it's own symbolic meaning, some might be because the food pronunciation in Chinese sounds like a "lucky" word, or it could be because the food itself symbolizes good luck.

What are these "lucky" foods?
1) Noodles(long noodles) - Noodles are almost always served during CNY. When served, hosts try to keep them as long as possible. The long noodles symbolize long life.

2) Fish - In Chinese, the word for fish is "Yu" which sounds like the word abundance in Chinese. Fish is served whole(yes, with the head and tail) to ensure a good start and finish for the year. Of course you don't have to serve a whole fish if you are squeamish about the head and tail being on the table, you can just serve something that contain fish in it.

3) Tangerines - Displaying, eating or giving tangerines are said to bring wealth and good luck. However, one must not display or give four because the word four in Chinese sounds like the word death. Eight, on the other hand, is a good number because it sounds like the word prosperity in Chinese.

4) Jiaozi - Also known as Chinese dumplings or pot-stickers, signify family reunion. This however is not familiar to me. From Wikipedia: "Dumplings Jiaozi are one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year, and year round in the northern provinces. They look like the golden ingots yuan bao used during the Ming Dynasty for money and the name sound like the word for the earliest paper money, so serving them brings the promise of wealth, good luck and prosperity! Many families eat these at midnight on Chinese New Year's Eve so they have money at the changing of the years. Some cooks will even hide a clean coin in one for the most lucky to find."

Please check out Chinese New Year Food for recipes. I should also mention that if you have an Asian market near you, you might be able to buy some of the sweets I mentioned in the previous post.

Now on to a little Chinese New Year traditions:

1) On Chinese New Years eve, every family will clean the house thoroughly to "sweep" away all the old and ill-fortune of the year past, that way you can start new and fresh for the new year.

2) Paper cut-outs of the word "Fu"(pictured below) are displayed on windows and doors. The Chinese word "Fu" means Good Fortune.

3) Family "Reunion" dinner is often had on the eve of Chinese New Year. This is when those "lucky" foods are served.

4) Just like on Christmas day when kids open their presents, on Chinese New Year morning/day, children will greet and wish their parents "Gong Xi Fa Chai"(which loosely translates to "Congratulations and be prosperous") and receive money in red envelopes called Hong Bao. Hong Baos will also be given by married relatives or friends to children and unmarried adults. Picture below shows assorted Hong Bao at a market. I have found out that our local Walgreens store sells some Chinese New Year cards and Hong Bao!

5) Wearing red clothing is common because red is believed to scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. Black is never a good choice as black symbolizes death.

There you have it. Now you know about Chinese New Year more than you have ever before.

Sweets

Some of you may or may not know that Chinese New Year(also known as Lunar New Year) is coming up soon. This year it falls on February 14th, right on Valentine's day and this year is the year of Tiger! CNY(Chinese New Year) celebration usually begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th day of the first month. As for the year of Tiger, there are 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac, one animal for each year. These are the animals, in order(which I've this memorized since I was little), The Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat/Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig/Boar. You can click on the links above if you would like to read more.


"So what do you eat on Chinese New Year day(s)?" I can already hear you asking that question.
Well, today I am going to talk about the Sweets/desserts for CNY. I will write a different post on the food later. For each sweets, I have included a link, in case you are interested in reading more.

From left to right(top): Nian Gao, Kuih Bangkit(white ones) & Honeycomb cookies(brown ones), Kuih Bahulu From left to right(bottom): Kuih Kapit, Dried Prawn rolls(little springrolls) & Peanut cookies, Kuih Bangkit Pictures taken from goseasia.about.com and knowingfood.com

1) Nian Gao - Also known as Sticky Cake, is made from Glutinous Rice(also known as sticky rice). Nian Gao can be eaten year round but is very popular during CNY. There are a few varieties of Nian Gao(from different regions) but the ones that I grew up eating is the Cantonese version pictured above. A fresh Nian Gao is very very sticky. It can be eaten as is, plain, or dip in coconut flakes. It can also be sliced(usually mom used stale hardened nian gao), dredged in flour and fried(then it becomes crunchy on the outside from the coating and gooey and sticky on the inside). We used to eat it by getting a chopstick(not a pair but just 1) and twirl it in the sticky mess(it will start sticking together and make like a lollipop), and eat it! Yum!

2) Kuih Bangkit - These cookies, I believe, are staples in the Southeast Asia around CNY time. Kuih Bangkit are made with tapioca flour and are usually made with a mold(for the pretty shapes). These cookies just melt-in-your-mouth. I have never made them before, so I may try making some this year.


3) Peanut Cookies - Oh, my all time favorite CNY cookies! Not to be confused with PB cookies. These cookies are made with grounded peanuts, instead of peanut butter. I have just found this recipe, might give that a try as well.


4) Kuih Kapit - Also known as Love Letters, are very popular during CNY. These cookies are a little similar to the traditional Italian waffle cookies, Pizzelle, but are made with a different type of mold and with rice flour and coconut milk. The end product is a very thin and crispy cookie. The making of the cookies are not as easy because it's hot and you have to move fast. You can check out here for some pictures. Making Kuih Kapit is definitely a family affair. We used to make Kuih Kapit together. Mom and dad would be in charge of the molds(adults or mature individuals only) because it involves sitting in front of a charcoal burning grill or devise and flipping and moving the molds so that the cookies don't burn. When it's done, peel the hot cookie off the mold and send it over to the "folder". We, the kids, are the "folders" as in cookie folders, folding the round cookies in half and then in quarter(to make the triangle shape). We would have to work fast as well because once the cookies cooled, it becomes crispy. So in order to get the pretty shapes, cookies have to be folded while still hot. Of course we used to purposely "messed up" a few so that we could snack on them. :)

5) Honeycomb Cookies - Also known as Kuih Bunga(Bunga means flower in the Malay language). These cookies are made with a special flower shape mold, hence the honeycomb/flower shapes.

6) Kuih Bahulu- These are really not cookies but little cakes, just like the Madeleine cakes.

So, are you drooling yet? How many pounds have you gained just reading this post?