Celebrate The Year of the Horse

Chinese Tea Eggs

The Asian Lunar New Year (aka Chinese New Year) begins on Friday, January 31, the first day of a 15-day festival marking the start of the Year of the Horse. What a terrific opportunity to view the noisy, colorful parades, celebrate with family and friends, and enjoy mountains of good food.

Gong Hay Fat Choy! If you are in Seattle, click here for a schedule of events at Hing Hay Park on Saturday, February 1. It will be a busy day full of Lion and Dragon Dances, Taiko Drumming, Drill Teams, Martial Arts Demonstrations, and a Children's Parade. Or consider a drive across a bridge to celebrate on the other side of Lake Washington and join Bellevue's celebration the following weekend.

 I searched my blog archives for some appropriate dishes and came up with these Asian-flavored favorites, more fusion than Chinese but "in the spirit of". Click on any of the titles below to take you to the recipe.

Barbecued Pork (Char Sui)

Cantonese BBQ Pork Buns (Cantonese Char Sui Bao)

Cucumber-Wrapped Tofu with Dipping Sauce

Cabbage and Shrimp Pancake (Japanese Okonomiyaki)

Korean Green Onion Pancake

Asparagus & Mushroom Stir Fry with Tofu

Stir Fry Broccoli Salad

Asian Cucumber Salad

Marinated Cucumber Salad (Sunomono)

Asian Soba Noodle Salad

Cold Soba Noodle Salad

Stir Fry Pork with Rice

Stir Fry Beef with Oranges & Green Beans

Thai Summer Rolls (Spring Rolls)

Lime & Thai Chili Prawns

Asian Fish Fillet in Parchment

For more inspiration check out Jaden’s post at SmittenKitchen for a roundup of  her tasty recipes and links to a gazillion others.

Food Blogger Cookbook Swap

Early, really early morning hours are the best time of the day; time without interruption to let my mind wander or focus on writing, an  opportunity to read further in a compelling book, or time in the kitchen or galley to play with a new recipe. Lately these hours before dawn have been a time to ease into the day at the computer, randomly skimming my favorite blogs and often clicking through links to find something new. 

Today I found The Food Blogger Cookbook Swap. I almost missed it, misreading the title, and thought it odd to schedule a cookie swap in January. A second glance cleared up the puzzle, aha! a cookbook swap. Organized by Alyssa of EverydayMaven and Faith of AnEdibleMosaic, this exchange is open to U.S. food bloggers willing to share a new or gently-used cookbook and write a post about it. What a terrific way to connect with others in the food blogging community.  

I'm in! Have you signed up yet? 
Click here to read more about this fun event.
Now, how do I choose one to share? a treasure, yet one I am willing to share...