It’s been a few weeks since the last holiday celebration.   Given the continuous stream that begins in October with Diwali and Halloween, by early January we’re usually tuckered out after more than two months of on-and-off revelry.  Now that we’ve had a few weeks to refocus on business-as-usual — resurrecting the house, finally toting the holiday decorations back to the garage, and generally getting back into a healthy routine — we’re thoroughly bored with our resolutions and ready for an excuse to party once more.  Luckily, Chinese New Year is upon us.  Welcome, Year of the Dragon.

During this festive time it’s traditional for young and old alike to indulge in pun-focused wordplay eating foods that employ a linguistic sense of fun.  Peel a tangerine — the word for the fruit sounds like the one for lucky.  Serve steamed dumplings at a gathering of friends and family; the word for dumpling is close to the word for reunion.  Since dumplings are round like coins, here’s an opportunity calling for overindulgence — more dumplings in the tummy just might translate to greater prosperity in the New Year.  Who knows?  It’s worth a try.

Families delight in the mystical legend of the Kitchen God, a spirit charged with spying on domestic behavior and reporting back to heaven with full-disclosure at the New Year.  A negative write-up dooms households to bad luck for a full twelve months.  With fate in the balance, so the story goes, creative folks wisely set out tempting plates of sticky cake, ready for the bigwig, when he comes calling.  The hope is that he’ll stuff his mouth so full of sticky delights, he’ll be rendered incapable of passing on unfavorable reports.  Apparently the Kitchen God is quite the glutton for sticky sweets. And naughty families are never short in their supply of goodies (of course, it’s customary for family and friends to sample a few from the table — there’s always plenty to spare).

Noodles, symbolizing long life, provide the basis for our New Year menu — be careful not to cut them.   Filling our plates with home-cooked delicacies, we try our hand at chopsticks — picking up succulent morsels with limited success.  Lucky for those inexperienced, fingers are allowed.

In Northern California families might even celebrate by eating outdoors on the patio — passing through a doorway decorated with the Chinese character for “luck” hanging upside-down. This ritual employs yet another double meaning:  the words for “upside-down” and “arrive” are similar, so the topsy-turvy orientation of the character proclaims to guests, “luck has arrived”.  It’s tough to imagine a more gracious manner — and at the same time, with a sense of fun — in which to greet friends, family and the arrival of a Dragon New Year.

According to Chinese astrology a dragon year is considered particularly auspicious, bringing good fortune and abundance; those born in a dragon year are thought to be creative thinkers with big ideas and boundless ambition.  Here’s to a year of big ideas and good fortune for all…

Try this recipe for Pan-fried Noodles and read about Chinese wheat flour noodles.

And how about this vegetable stir-fry over your pan-fried noodles or maybe this Bok Choy and Mushroom one?

Easy Ideas for using this Week’s Bag:

• Cut mei qing bok choy in half lengthwise.  Heat oil in a skillet and place bok choy cut-side down in the pan.  Cook until lightly brown.  Add a few chopped scallions, minced garlic or ginger root to the pan if you like. Turn and warm on the other side.  Sprinkle with soy sauce and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

• Substitute lemon juice for vinegar in homemade salad dressing  Since it’s less acidic, you can use more of it. Sometimes with a ratio nearly 1:1 (oil to lemon juice) when you’re using the sweetest Meyer lemons.

• Toss onions into the roasting pan with potatoes or other roots.  You’ll love the mellow sweetness and caramelized flavor they add.  Be sure to lightly coat with olive oil (and a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper) and cut them on the larger side as they cook rapidly.  Roast at 400 ° F.  If you have any herbs in your winter garden (rosemary, thyme or parsley) chop and add to the pan

•Sauté spinach, minced onion and sliced mushrooms in olive oil or butter.  Make a mound in the pan with an indentation in the middle (like a green nest).  Crack an egg in the hole and cook — sunny-side-up.  Serve with hot sauce and buttered toast.

•Lemon juice and zest brighten up all sorts of dishes.  Squeeze some juice on top of sautéed greens or other veggies.  Try this simple carrot salad or this garlicky spread or maybe this dish substituting spinach for the greens.

What’s going on in your Kitchen?

Let us know; we’d love to hear from you.