Happy New Year 2009! In eastern Asia, New Year is a HUGE thing. In Japan where I grew up, families would gather up to cook for the 3 day celebration, make beautiful "Osechi" dishes all neatly stacked into boxes, so they could be eating mostly those for the next days without having to stand in the kitchen for long hours. (I think nowadays though, the younger families including myself, don't quite know how to cook them and rather outsource - buy prepackaged Osechi dishes.) Over here, we had a small potluck gathering, some made soup with (pounded sweet rice) in it, other friends brought some other yummies. The great thing about Japanese food is, it's so much easier to avoid many allergens (other than fish and soy). We had a great start into the new year. If anyone would like to try out Mochi, please let me know :) It makes a great and filling snack, the ingredients are only rice (sweet short grain) and water.
Wishing you all a good year with lots of laughter and blessings!
