Chinese Hot Pot

What's the best way to celebrate Chinese New Year?? 

      

1. Spend it with good friends who lived in China and embraced the local foods like you. And if you don't have that, close family and friends that embrace adventure.

2. Find a great international or Asian grocery store so that you can purchase the right food.

*This is probably one of the key points to send your celebration over the top.

3. Dress in red and/or wear new clothes. Red scares away the evil spirits. Wearing something new symbolizes having more than enough for the new year. Doing this will start your year off right. But don't wash your hair and don't clean your house that day. Washing your hair will wash away your good luck. Cleaning your house will also clean away all your good luck.

And when you have all three what better way to celebrate than with a hot pot!

First off a trip to the international market is in order. As you walk in that uncomfortable-not-sure-what-the-smell-is-but-it's-definitely-not-Krogers smell hits you in the face, confirming that you have indeed found the right place.  

This place is so authentic it even had chicken feet. (We declined from purchasing them.)

Advent Calendars, Toddler Trees & Elves

One of my besties launched a storm of debate when she proposed the simple question on Facebook: Do I Elf on the Shelf or not? People passionately wrote profoundly about their position using exclamations, capitals and pictures.

ENOUGH is ENOUGH! 

Parenting in this age is crazy!!  ...And I'm sure my Mom said the same thing when I was only a wee thing. And she was right. But this time it is my turn, and for different reasons.

Pinterest is both a blessing and a curse. 

I love to search on Pinterest for fun crafty, witty parenting things, foodie things, or whatnot. Being fabulous is so much easier when you can borrow fun ideas and inspiration from others.

But CURSES! It sure can make you feel like you're not doing enough! 

My child is TWO. It's time for us to begin molding our Christmas traditions. With so much craziness going on during Christmas I've had to draw a line to keep my sanity in check.

Elf on the Shelf: 

NO. Perhaps when she is older we can create silly scenes for the elf together. But the Elf will never be "magical" in my house. I know me. Throughout the whole season he'd probably only be in about four different poses... maybe five.

Pumpkin Blondies

With the first football weekends complete and the cooler weather (this week at least), I'm in the mood for PUMPKIN!!

....honestly it's my favorite time of the year. It's also when I traditionally start fixing my signature pumpkin blondies.

Seriously don't they look ahmahzing!!!

I can't take credit for the recipe. It's directly from Martha Stewart from a few years ago.

Lotus Root Chips

Clearly our eyes were bigger than our stomachs last weekend. We have lots of ingredients left over from our Hot Pot.

One of my favorite Hot Pot ingredients is lotus root.

It soaks up all the yummy flavors and yet stays crunchy. We were thrilled the first time we found it at the Asian grocery store but were then disappointed when we discovered during dinner that it was crazy salty.

This time we wised up (thank you Husband) and soaked it in water prior to serving. 

But now we have lots of it in the house...

Using the principle that all root veggies are fab when roasted, that's my plan of action. Lotus root are very similar to potatoes. 

Step one: pat them dry. 

Roll the Dice

Time to brag about Husband. And our friend. But mostly Husband... 

The Cooking Challenge:

Roll the ingredient dice and create a cohesive, delicious meal out of what comes up!!

These dice were a stocking stuffer gift for Husband. I knew he would love them. He's such a great cook and very creative. This turns cooking into a challenging game, sort of Iron-Chef-like. Out of these 14 dice is one with only protein. Most are primarily vegetables, one is only grains, a few are all herbs and one has more unique ingredients such as artichokes or beets.

Ha ha - I love how sippy cups randomly make their way into my photos

The Rules:

Saturday morning Husband & Friend began the challenge by rolling the 14 Dice. They were allowed to re-roll any dice up to 3 times. (This allows people to 'veto' ingredients such as beets in hopes that something better shows up in the next roll.)






The Results:

Ginger, Basil, Thyme, Cauliflower, Qinoa, Beef, Kohl Rabi, Tomato, Onion, Carrots, Collard Greens, Wild Mushrooms, Chilies and Green Beans