Looks like we have found ourselves once again on the brink of new beginnings…Chinese New Year. New moon, fresh starts. We have successfully passed through winter’s gate, and are now inching our way toward spring. Could there possibly be a better time for a celebration of friends, family, and food?
So, yes, here I am… on the threshold of a new moon, eagerly awaiting the alignment of celestial bodies to mark this beginning. I am sure the universe hasn’t really noticed, but this is my first bit of writing after a 3 year hiatus. During that time I have given birth to a beautiful boy. I have moved 4 times. I have daydreamed and struggled. I have baked dozens of cookies, buried myself under butter, and colored with crayons. I have listened to lots of music. And I have worked toward a new vision for this virtual space. (Which is a real challenge for someone as analogue as I am.) Welcome to ‘The Ghostly Heart Atelier.’ (Yes, that’s a Great Gatsby reference) I hope to fill it with talk of food, art, travel, and whatever random thoughts might transpire. I hope it evolves into a space where the exchange of ideas happens. Perhaps a collaboration or two will occur. And I hope that one day this Atelier becomes something that exists in an actual place on an actual map, outside of this astral plane.
But I digress.
I absolutely love the idea of filling a table with ‘lucky’ foods, surrounding it with friends and family gathered together to welcome in a new year, with new hopes and dreams brightening the horizon. A couple of years ago, for the year of the Dragon, (my Chinese astrological symbol) I got so totally carried away with my celebratory menu that the actual eating part of the meal almost didn’t happen. Picture me, filling dozens of rounds of dumpling dough with tiny mounds of meat, a grumpy 5 month old strapped to my back. It was labor of love, of that I am certain.
So, for welcoming in the Year of the Rat, I have attempted to reel myself in a bit, by putting together a simpler, yet still celebratory menu. A collection of a handful of amazing recipes that have been shared from some of my favourite blogs. Oh, and there is a soundtrack to help you along in the kitchen…. All that dumpling folding requires a little music, after all.
Year of the Rat Celebration Menu
lion’s head meatballs with bok choy
peanut butter sticky rice balls in green tea
Looks so amazing! You always write so well. So glad you are back with this wonderful blog. Look forward to more.❤️