lunar new year

Of Menus and Radishes

Nibbles

This was a big week, food-wise! Lunar New Year, Mardi Gras, and Valentine’s Day all within 7 days… Let’s dig in!

Meals and Radishes

Monday: Lunar New Year Feast!
In honor of the Year of the Monkey I decided it was a good time to look into Lunar New Year dinner customs and found a good resource at ChinaHighlights.com. Along with another site I failed to bookmark (oops!) I devised a 6-dish menu that, I think, hit the high points of the celebratory dinner. Everything about the Lunar New Year is about prosperity, so the food tends to either resemble symbols of wealth (like spring rolls resembling ingots) or have homophonic names (a lot easier in a culture whose language depends tremendously on inflection for meaning).

I steamed almost-whole catfish (head-on would be traditional, but I didn’t miss it–have you looked at a catfish face lately?) with a broth of chicken stock, soy sauce, fish sauce, and ginger. Then I used the same broth to cook and flavor our “Longevity noodles” with cabbage. The noodles were the small rice noodles sometimes known as cellophane noodles, the important thing is that they are long (see the play on words) and these definitely qualified. It was nice to see that leafy greens are synonymous with money and good fortune across cultures, too.

I purchased dumplings and spring rolls to reheat, as well as tangerines to serve as is. Then I made the sticky rice cakes from a Chow Hound recipe. They’re less like a cake, more like a cooked pudding, and reminded me of cream of wheat meets rice pudding. All these dishes, plus the baking for the next day, made for a late supper and a messy kitchen, but it turned out to be totally worth it. And we learned about cultural traditions in the process!

King Cake 2016!

King Cake 2016!

Tuesday: Sushi & King Cake with Friends
A friend of ours organized a dinner meetup at our favorite sushi place and of course we said yes, even if it was Fat Tuesday. Since we were meeting friends after work, I made an extra King Cake to bring with us. This year’s experiment used the brioche recipe from Gluten Free Baking Classics (by Annalise Roberts of My Gluten-Free Table) with the Bananas Foster filling recipe from Tasting Table. Not only was the brioche amazing on its own, the banana filling was a nice change from the cinnamon sugar we usually default to. Granted, I opted out of the cream cheese and just subbed a 4th banana for it, and I used frozen bananas from our banana bread-to-be stash instead of fresh. They cook down faster.

Wednesday: Maple-Mustard Pork Chops with Roasted Green Beans and Red Potatoes
I was so glad I had this one in the freezer to pull out for a relatively quick meal. When I got home I chopped up the potatoes and tossed them with olive oil and seasonings along with a bag of frozen green beans. In the oven they went, occupying half a cookie sheet lined with foil and pinched in the center to create a barrier. After half an hour the pork chops went onto the open half and back into the oven. Made for some easy clean-up to sort of make up for the mess from Monday.

Thursday: Coconut Curry Chicken with Basmati Rice and Not-Exactly-Naan
Another freezer meal, this one for the slow cooker. The house smelled divine when we got home, but I found the sauce to be a bit thin, so added more salt, garam masala, and an arrowroot slurry to pull it all together. Much better. I’ve been working on my gluten-free “naan” for a while and this one, while still not quite perfect, was a big hit with Todd. It was 3:2 GF Bisquik and Self-Rising cornmeal, an egg, a can of coconut milk, and seasonings (salt, cilantro, chives, and garlic oil), mixed and griddled.

Friday: Bacon Pancakes and Eggs
We’ve all seen these online, right? I hadn’t tried it and figured it would be a fun Friday-night supper. I tried laying the cooked bacon on the griddle and pouring the batter over it and the other way around. Pouring the pancakes first yielded prettier pancakes by far. Once again, Pamela’s pancake mix rocks!

Saturday: Spaghetti and Meat Sauce with a Green Salad
I knew we’d be working on the bathroom so I wanted something relatively simple and high on the comfort food meter for Saturday’s supper. Now, I’ve written about how a spaghetti dinner isn’t exactly cheap when you’re on a restricted diet, this time I avoided one of the major expenses (specialty marinara sauce) and threw together my own. Not something I always feel like fussing with on a weeknight, but on a weekend I will.

Sunday: Lemon Dump Chicken, Brown Rice, and Caramel Apple Tarts
Such an ignoble name for a tasty slow-cooker supper, we really enjoyed this freezer meal and I have no idea where I copied the recipe down from. Basically it’s chicken breasts, a couple of lemons (halved, but otherwise intact), carrots, Brussels sprouts, and seasonings. I hadn’t planned on a starch, but there was so much juice in the slow cooker that I decided some brown rice would not go amiss. The Caramel Apple Tarts were part of the Omaha Steaks gift package Todd’s mom sent us for Christmas. Very High-FODMAP between the wheat and apples (and we added vanilla ice cream), but just the right size for a splurge. I regret nothing. And in honor of Valentine’s Day I broke out grandma’s china and poured us a little wine, too.

When I was putting together our salads Saturday night, I remembered that I recorded a video back at the beginning of January about the neat little trick I use to get perfect radish slices. So I dug out the footage for you and here it is!

Direct link for the feed readers: Perfect Radish Slices!

Here’s to a tasty week, my friends!

Meet the Monkeys of Monkey Creek!

Just for Fun

Happy Lunar New Year!

In case you missed the memo, according to the Chinese calendar, today begins the year of the monkey, and you know I’m super excited about it! After all, y’all know I have a slight thing for monkeys, right?

When Todd and I first moved in together we shared a house we called Monkey Creek. Monkey for my current and enduring obsession, and creek for his–now our–last name (which, in Dutch, apparently means “by the creek”). In that house the monkey count was still in the single digits, it was at Monkey Creek II where the most monkeys were acquired.

The Original George. And, yes, he's a monkey wearing a sock monkey hat and cardigan. Like you do.

The Original George. And, yes, he’s a monkey wearing a sock monkey hat and cardigan. Like you do.

You have to understand, though, I was content with a single monkey: The OG–Original George–and wasn’t looking to add more monkeys to the menagerie. But that’s not how these things go, because once you have a favorite something it goes to the top of the list of gift ideas for friends and family. Now our monkey count is hovering around 50 or so (depends on if you only count the plush, or if you count the non-plush figurines; and I’m not going to even try to count the jewelry, pajamas, and other monkey paraphernalia). I thought it would be fun, in light of the Year of the Monkey, to walk you through the monkeys you might find if you were to visit us at Monkey Creek III (aka the Gingerbread Dollhouse).

OG up there hangs out on our coat rack by the front door, keeping watch over the place for us. Let’s see who’s in the living room.

These three (do you see Curious George peeking through my monkey neck pillow?) perch on top of one of the DVD cases.

These three (do you see Curious George peeking through my monkey neck pillow?) perch on top of one of the DVD cases.

Look who escaped being packed up with the rest of the Christmas decorations! He tap dances and shrieks a version of Jingle Bells.

Look who escaped being packed up with the rest of the Christmas decorations! He tap dances and shrieks a version of Jingle Bells.

Just because these monkeys converged on the armchair doesn't mean they won't make room for you, too!

Just because these monkeys converged on the armchair doesn’t mean they won’t make room for you, too!

And these guys are still chilling on the mantle from the holidays. The ones on either end are Nick and Joy from Build-a-Bear--why they didn't stick with the Ns and call her Noel I'll never know. But we call her Noel.

And these guys are still chilling on the mantle from the holidays. The ones on either end are Nick and Joy from Build-a-Bear–why they didn’t stick with the Ns and call her Noel I’ll never know. But we call her Noel.

Naturally I have an assortment in my office (aka The Abyss, which got rearranged and tidied this weekend):

Up on top of the doll shelf, along with Devil Pooh, sit a few of our smaller monkeys.

Up on top of the doll shelf, along with Devil Pooh, sit a few of our smaller monkeys.

And we can't forget this happy dude! He's a puppet I rescued from the clearance bin at Michael's. He currently lives on the top of my easel.

And we can’t forget this happy dude! He’s a puppet I rescued from the clearance bin at Michael’s. He currently lives on the top of my easel.

Some of the non-plush monkeys are on my mantle--first the blingy three wise monkeys and then the penholder that says 'Write No Evil'

Some of the non-plush monkeys are on my mantle–first the blingy three wise monkeys and then the penholder that says ‘Write No Evil’

Chef George, there, was my reward to myself for finishing the cookbook and travels with us to convention appearances as our mascot.

Chef George, there, was my reward to myself for finishing the cookbook and travels with us to convention appearances as our mascot.

While these three cluster on the antique desk Todd and I restored, together, before the wedding.

While these three cluster on the antique desk Todd and I restored, together, before the wedding.

Now, we don’t have any plush monkeys in the kitchen, but that doesn’t mean monkeys aren’t represented at all.

We have a number of monkey mugs of various designs.

We have a number of monkey mugs of various designs.

And this guy keeps a nylon scrubbie close at hand.

And this guy keeps a nylon scrubbie close at hand.

And you know that we'll be enjoying our Year of the Monkey supper on the dishes we picked up on our honeymoon.

And you know that we’ll be enjoying our Year of the Monkey supper on the dishes we picked up on our honeymoon.

The dining room is similarly light on monkeys, but we do have a notable hanger-on.

He likes to keep his eye on the 99 Bananas.

He likes to keep his eye on the 99 Bananas.

The library is where a lot of the monkeys will live in perpetuity. The plan is for some stellar floor to ceiling built-ins, eventually, to give breathing room for our books as well as the monkeys.

This coconut monkey tagged along home after our first cruise together in 2009.

This coconut monkey tagged along home after our first cruise together in 2009.

A cheeky little monkey bank serves as a bookend (or, really, a book middle, separating two subjects on one shelf).

A cheeky little monkey bank serves as a bookend (or, really, a book middle, separating two subjects on one shelf).

On a temporary shelving unit with some of my paperbacks are this trip of pint sized monkeys.

On a temporary shelving unit with some of my paperbacks are this trip of pint sized monkeys.

And these guys are hanging out on one of the benches under the window.

And these guys are hanging out on one of the benches under the window.

Another shelf holds a beaded monkey we bought at Animal Kingdom and the little monkey figure I painted at Firefly Pottery.

Another shelf holds a beaded monkey we bought at Animal Kingdom and the little monkey figure I painted at Firefly Pottery.

You’d think that more monkeys would hang out upstairs, them liking heights and whatnot. Until last night, though, the guest room was severely lacking in helper monkeys.

But we had some still in storage from the move, so now they're having a slumber party.

But we had some still in storage from the move, so now they’re having a slumber party.

Even Todd’s office has a token monkey.

We call him Voodoo George... doesn't he just look like he wants to climb a skyscraper or something?

We call him Voodoo George… doesn’t he just look like he wants to climb a skyscraper or something?

Our bedroom, of course, has a decent complement of plush friends.

A perfect pyramid on the mantle. Some of these guys have been known to hop in the bed while I'm in the shower.

A perfect pyramid on the mantle. Some of these guys have been known to hop in the bed while I’m in the shower.

jvanderbeek_monkeys_2016-22

And the travelling trio–two pillow monkeys (the smaller one Todd won out of a claw machine) and my security monkey, Mindy.

Finally, the upstairs bathroom features this cheeky little monkey.

He wasn't fab at being a toothbrush holder, but he's great at keeping an eye on the room while we're away.

He wasn’t fab at being a toothbrush holder, but he’s great at keeping an eye on the room while we’re away.

Yes, we have a lot of monkeys. I’m sure there are more packed away with Christmas and Halloween decorations, but the George-Borg is strong in this house. Why do we have so many monkeys? Why not? And why do we display them throughout the house? Again, why not? They’re fun, they don’t harm anything, and they make me smile. As long as we keep just this side of “My Strange Obsession” levels, I think we’re okay.

Do you collect anything to the degree (or more) that we do, monkeys? Do you wonder why we’re not on a lunar calendar? I mean, really, 13 4-week months makes a heckuva lot more sense to me than the alternating but not really 30/31 system we’re on.