Celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year (or Tet) in Southern California

Ever since having a child, I've realized how important preserving my cultural traditions are so this year, I thought I would share how my family usually celebrates Chinese New Year. We're part of the Chinese who fled China into Vietnam when the communists came to China and then fled Vietnam when the communists took over Vietnam so many of our traditions reflect both Chinese and Vietnamese and Buddhist custom.

Leading up to the Lunar New Year

Cleaning the house. Since sweeping on the first day of the new year is not allowed, and many will likely have visitors during the first days of the new year, everyone spends the days leading up to Lunar New Year's Eve cleaning their homes. This is basically the Chinese version of spring cleaning.

Preparing the altar.  This is part of cleaning the house but it's so much more. All year round, we're lighting incense on the altar to pay respect to ancestors and Buddha and Bodhisattvas and often they get dusty with the ashes. Before the new year, the altar must be cleaned and prepared for the abundant offerings for the near year. Usually the offerings include lots of fruit, a Tray of Togetherness (dried fuits and nuts), a sticky rice tamale filled with various savory goodies, and many goodies you can only get during the new year. 

Buying flowers. Flowers are such a huge part of the new year. If you live in a densely Chinese or Vietnamese populated area, you might see floral shops filled with branches of peach, plum or forsynthia branches that bloom beautifully or orchids, chrysanthemums and peonies. Flowers are a must during the new year festivities.

Getting groomed. Everyone flocks to get their hair cut and ready since it is bad luck to get a haircut during the new year and in China, the new year period lasts 15 days!

Buying new clothes. Along with getting our hair done, looking ones best in new clothing, preferably in red, is typical. New year, new threads. In red for good luck. Ya dig?

Decorating with lanterns and posters. When I was a kid, I remember making paper lanterns in school to celebrate Chinese New Year. As I got older and the Chinese design, manufacturing and importing become more sophisticated, I noticed that the lantern game really on point. All the decor items are blinged out in gold sparkles and Chinese characters for happiness and prosperity making everything so much more festive.

Cooking. The particularly talented, like my aunt, spend days coming up to the new year cooking the goodies mentioned before. Though currently I buy all the food or receive it as gifts, I'd like to learn how to make some of the traditional foods in the future. But I always seem to be so busy cleaning right up until 11pm, when I have to hop in the shower before midnight strikes!

Washing hair. Among the long list of superstitions related to the New Year, not washing one's hair is a big one. Washing one's hair during on the first of the year is like washing away the luck of the new year. I hop in the shower right before midnight so I don't have to worry about washing my hair until after the first of the new year.

Opening the windows and doors. At midnight, to let the good luck of the new year in, we open our doors and windows. It's actually quite refreshing because it pushes all the stale air out of the house and leaving a fresh energy.

On the New Year
Family Gatherings. Many families get together on New Year's Eve. In the US, because we all have to work during the weekdays, many families put off the large get togethers for before or after the new year. No matter what day, this is a major holiday where extended family comes together from far and wide, kind of like Christmas or Thanksgiving for Americans.

Taking the day off work. In China, everything shuts down for 2 weeks for the New Year celebration. One might argue it's the only vacation many Chinese get. But in the US, if you're lucky enough to be able to take the day off, many people do.

Behaving well. It's most important to have a harmonious day that isn't filled with anger, fighting or negativity as the first day of the year sets the tone for the rest of the year. Children are told to mind their manners and everyone is on their best behavior.

Visiting the temple. For those who are Buddhist, we try to head to the temple where we get our zodiac predictions for the year, light incense and think of our purpose for the coming year, shake sticks for guidance, support the temple and have a vegetarian meal. Many lay Buddhists only eat vegetarian food on the first day of the year.

Red envelopes. Adults, defined as those who are married, give those who are younger and unmarried red envelopes filled with money after a greeting of "Gung Hay Fat Choy" which means "Best wishes and Congratulations. Have a prosperous and good year." Some places decorate their trees or blossom branches with hanging red envelopes, some also filled with money, others filled with candy.  This is what the children really look forward to.

Gambling. Since many people have red envelopes and are cash flush, there are many popular games of chance played from old to young. I'm not a big supporter of this tradition as I believe it is the reason that the Chinese and Vietnamese community have such problems with gambling addictions but I am often told to hush and stop being a debbie downer.

Food. I could get into the food in detail, but as I mentioned, I eat only vegetarian food on the first day of the year. I do usually get a noodle dish in (for longevity) and have Buddha's food (a delicious medley of vegetables and tofu) and egg rolls (the temples make perfectly crispy ones) but this is a great list of non-vegetarian foods.

Lunar New Year Festivals and Parades. Growing up in Southern California, there was only one New Year Festival and it was in Chinatown. Now, with many booming Chinese and Vietnamese communities, there are festivals and parades all over Southern California where attendees can watch Lion Dances, see the firecrackers and immerse themselves in celebrations so populated, they might feel they are actually in Asia. Even amusement parks like Disney's California Adventure and Universal Studios have opened up Lunar New Year celebrations that are a little more American friendly.

Where are some authentic places you can go in Los Angeles and Orange County for the Lunar New Year 2015?  Here are some suggestions!

The Golden Dragon Parade and Chinese New Year Festival
Central & West Plazas
943-951 N. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012
www.lagoldendragonparade.com
February 21, 2015


Alhambra Lunar New Year Celebration
Valley Blvd. from Garfield Ave. to Almansor St.
www.alhambranewyearfestival.com
February 21, 2015

UVSA Tet Festival
OC Fair & Event Center
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
www.tetfestival.org
February 20-22, 2015

Little Saigon Tet Parade
Bolsa Ave., Main Stage at Magnolia St.
Hanoi Plaza
Garden Grove, CA
www.tetparade.org/
February 21, 2015

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Fluffy Wheat Biscuits and Baking Powder Recipe

 I'm doing this #nospendfebruary challenge, and after the doozy of November, December and January of no holds barred spending, it's a welcome change. And it's getting me back in the kitchen more often which the Hosh is definitely enjoying.

On the first day of the challenge, we ran out of dish washing detergent and it seemed silly to go to the store on the first day so I gathered up materials from around the house to make my own (I'll share the recipe in another post.) Turns out, lots of things in my house can actually be made from other things! My pantry is about to get so decluttered.

Did you know that baking power is actually made up of two things that you probably already have in your house? Mind blown.

Here's the recipe:

Baking Powder Recipe
Ingredients:
1 part baking soda
2 parts cream of tartar

Directions:
Mix well. Store in airtight container for however long the first ingredient to expire lasts.

I know that it works because I made fluffy biscuits with it. And DIY baking powder is gluten free, unlike some baking powder on the market.

But enough of the baking powder talk, let's move on to the delicious biscuits. One of the keys to not spending is apparently pre-planning. Before making these biscuits, the fats (butter and shortening) must be frozen or at the very least, very very cold. Otherwise, these are a fantastically quick bread to make since it requires no rise time and a short bake time.

My only real tips when it comes to fluffy biscuits is the use of shortening or lard (lard is better but I had none), handle the dough as little as possible and do not twist the cutter when punching out the biscuit circles. Straight down and that's it.

I am calling this a wheat biscuit recipe but the flour is relatively interchangeable between bread, all purpose and wheat. Use what is on hand in the spirit of the No Spend February Challenge.

Fluffy Wheat Biscuit Recipe
Adapted from The Purple Spoon
Ingredients:
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat all purpose flour
1  1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter cut into 1/4" pieces
3 tablespoons cold butter flavored shortening cut into 1/4' pieces
1 1/4 cup cold milk
2 tablespoons of melted butter (for brushing on top)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. Mix the dry ingredients well. Then using a pastry cutter, fork or very quickly as to not melt the fats, your hands, cut in the butter and shortening pieces. The resulting flour should be somewhat sandy with the largest pieces of remaining butter and shortening no larger than a pea.

3.  Add the milk and mix until just combined. Again, the key is to handle this as little as possible to prevent toughness. fold the dough over on itself a 3-4 times as this is what helps create the delicious layers.

4. Lightly flour a surface and place the dough on the surface under a sheet of parchment paper. Try not to add more flour to the dough as the biscuits will be harder the more flour is added. Roll the dough out to 1/2" thick.

5. Use a lightly floured round cutter to cut out the biscuits, pushing directly down with no twisting. Place onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or silicone mat. The biscuits will not spread out very much when baking but they will rise. Brush tops with melted butter.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with butter and jam, or in my favorite way, with a fried egg and a slice of bacon. Yum.

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#FrostyVoxBox Reviews

The awesome folks over at Influenster sent me this free Frosty Vox Box full of winter goodies that I've been using for the past month. It was such a variety of products, I was impressed that they were exactly what I needed this winter!

Boot's No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Serum: This product was actually reviewed on the Doctors Show and already has a very loyal following for such an inexpensive product. I used it alongside my morning and evening moisturizer and immediately noticed results though I have heard that dramatic anti-aging results are seen closer to the 4 week mark. Highly recommend.

NYC Expert Last Lipcolor - Sugar Plum: I don't tend to like lip products that claim to be long lasting because they tend to be drying or result in an unflattering matte finish  but this lip color was actually moisturizing with a slight sheen. Very nice.

Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane: Since I'm still nursing my baby, this decaf green tea was perfect. The flavor is a perfect Christmasy replacement to my typical peppermint mocha.


Ecotools Styler and Smoother Agility Hairbrush: This was my favorite item in the entire Vox Box. I have used this everyday to simply brush or style my hair with a blow dryer. It is so well made and eco friendly to boot. Highly recommend.

McCormick Gourmet Collection Thyme: This thyme is extremely fragrant and perfect in soups, stews and spice rubs. This actually came in perfect time for a few dinner parties. Keeping new dried herbs is so important as the effectiveness of the herbs weakens over time but the McCormick containers definitely keep dried herbs fresh longer.

Fruit Vines Bites: I'm not the big candy eater in our family but my husband really loved the flavor and texture of this candy. It's the perfect texture for licorice, soft but with a good bite, and the flavor is intense instead of waxy.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Liner: This is an amazing waterproof liner. It doesn't smudge, applies creamy smooth, great staying power with a dark saturated color. Highly recommend.

Rimmel Gentle Eye Makeup Remover: Goodness, you need this remover if using the Scandaleyes waterproof liners! The product is not gentle on skin, however, and doesn't remove all makeup brands equally.

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Cleaning Hardwood Floors

Having a toddler, a corgi and a couple of cats really means that we are in a constant battle to keep our floors clean in the Nass household. Here are a few items that are particularly handy in our house.

Bona Hardwood Floor Spray Mop.  I really love Bona Hardwood Floor cleaner. It doesn't leave a sticky residue like the Swiffer Hardwood cleaner does and dries pretty quickly with no streaks. I like that this uses a resuable microfiber cleaning pad which is more cost effective and environmentally friendly than constantly having to use disposable pads. The problem with this mop is that it seems to not actually pick anything up in the middle, so when looking at the cleaning pad, there's dirt that forms a circle and the middle is clean. Otherwise, it is a great buy.   

Bona Hardwood Wet Cleaning Pads, 10-pk. I received a pack of these for free to try. As you can read above, I was already trying to get away from disposable cleaning pads. These Bona pads have all the benefits of the Bona floor spray but the ease of Swiffer pads. While I wouldn't recommend these for everyday, all the time cleaning, as they are a little on the flimsy side, they are really great for spot cleaning. The old adage about cleaning up the little messes before they become big hairy messes is so true and these cleaning pads are perfect for those little messes.

iRobot Roomba 770 Vacuum Cleaning Robot for Pets and Allergies.  We have had a number of Roombas over the years and this one is fantastic. It goes off based on a timer, goes around picking up all the animal fur and then docks itself. It just needs to be emptied once a day but that's a small price to pay to cut back on at least one sweep a day. The only downside is that the Roomba moves around by bouncing off of surfaces which means it's not that great at getting under tables surrounded by chairs. Also, I've noticed that in the places that Roomba tends to bounce of very often, the furniture and cabinets are getting scuffed/worn down.

O-Cedar Power Corner Large Angle Broom. I never thought that there was such a big difference between brooms but there is. There really, really, really is. I've bought cheap brooms and fancy brooms with foam in the middle and dry swiffers and sweepers and this is the broom that had me stop and say, "Wow, this is a great broom." It just gets to all the dirt. Dirt that for some reason wasn't getting picked up by other brooms. It gets into corners and doesn't hang on to dirt and fur which makes a huge difference when throwing things away.


BISSELL Powerfresh Steam Mop. This is my husband's favorite floor cleaning tool. Yes, it is super effective in cleaning the floor because it steams up all the junk and leaves the floor feeling like it just went through the dishwasher. You know that warm dish feeling? It's like that.  Downside is that if you have real hardwood or engineered hardwood, improper use of a steam mop can strip the polyurethane surface of the floor. The steam mop was left in the upright position after use, unplugged but still hot, and it damaged the floor by leaving a mop head sized grey area where the finish is stripped off the floor. I also think it dulls the floor a little so I only use this once a month between Bona cleanings since Bona leaves a shine. If used on a laminate floor, I think there would be no issues. Just happy, clean, sanitized floors.

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Fit Girl Lunch Gear

I've starting brown bagging my lunch, which is to say I am packing my lunch in an adorable lunch bag from Sachi with a few other adorable items.

Sachi Speedy Insulated Lunch Tote: This bag doesn't even look like a lunch bag, but it's huge and holds a lot of food containers. That way, I don't look like I'm carrying food which makes me automatically look thinner. Am I right?

To-Go Ware RePEaT Reusable Bamboo Utensil Set: Instead of trying to track down disposable utensils, I picked up this adorable bamboo utensil set which makes me feel green and fit. 

Ball Mason Jars Wide-Mouth: I'm trying to move away from plastic and started buying glass containers which were not perfect at holding in fluids. I happened to see a case of these wide mouth canning jars that were the perfect size for a cup of soup, holding fruit, even cereal and a separate container for milk. Yes, they are heavy, but they're so cheap and have a homey charm to them.

Orla Kiely Bamboo Glass Water Bottle: I have written about this bottle twice now because I love it in every color. I find that if I like my water bottle's looks, I tend to tote it around with me more. 

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Gift Guide for the Fitness Focused Gal

As we move into the new year, everyone's got health resolutions. Now that I'm personally more fitness focused, here are a few products that I highly recommend for the fitness geared gals.

Gurin Professional Digital Kitchen Scale: I received this free for review and absolutely love it. It's about the size of a small tablet, wipes down easy and converts to various measurements. Between Eat to Live, If It Fits Your Macros, and other diet plans, this digital kitchen scale is a must have.

Orla Kiely Bamboo Glass Waterbottle: I adore this waterbottle, and I have a large collection of waterbottles. It's just so pretty even if the opening is not convenient.

Dragonfly Hot Yoga Mat: I haven't tested this mat yet but it's the mat I'm planning on picking up so I can start taking hot yoga classes. It's very highly rated and coordinates with my yoga clothes.

SodaStream Soda Maker: To up my water intake and combat boredom, I've picked up a SodaStream which has resulting in much more hydration. Health win.

Masterlock Precision Dial: For gym rats, a combination lock is necessary. One where the user can set their own combination is much better than having to memorize a random combination of numbers.

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Old Factory Candle Gift Set and Giveaway

There are few things I love more than lighting a candle up after cleaning the house to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I love those clean scented candles so when Old Factory (get it, olfactory?! I love a good pun) reached out to me to let me try their candle sets, I immediately jumped at the Fresh and Clean line. It's lemongrass, olive blossom and fresh linen.

Let's talk soy candles for a second. If you're going to buy any candles and care about being eco friendly, soy candles are the way to go. They are a highly renewable energy source that burns at a cooler temperature resulting in a long burn than traditional paraffin candles. That means it costs our planet less in resources to make and costs the user less per use. And it burns clean, which means little to no black soot.

Old Factor candles are made in the USA, eco friendly, and come in the perfect package for Holiday gifts. The scents are as strong and pleasant as a Bath and Body Works or Yankee Candle (two of my other favorite candle retailers). Each candle has a single scent, allowing me to only smell one scent at a time or light them up to smell them in harmony. Can you tell how excited I am about these candles?!

But, you don't have to take my word for it, you can pick up 3 candles for yourself, currently on sale for $25 on Amazon.com or maybe win one by entering my giveaway below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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