This January at the Humphreys House has been a busy one, and rightfully so. Today is the Chinese New Year, and last night we celebrated the Chinese New Year's Eve for our daughter's birthday wish. Ever since she was 4, she has had an indescribable attraction to the Asian culture, specifically Chinese culture. For her 11th birthday we decided it would be fun to celebrate Chinese New Year, especially as 2012 is the year of the dragon, the same sign our daughter was born under.

A Chinese New Year celebration is more about good family and food than of revelry as in western celebrations. It  involves cleaning the house in preparation of the new year and  decorating in red and gold colors for good luck and preparing a variety of traditional dishes. Noodles, a sign of longevity, are a main dish for the New Year. We set out a bowl of tangerines; the word "tangerine" sounds much like the Chinese word for luck. Having family of all ages gathered reinforces the tradition. We also decided to try a recipe for vegetable wontons, or potstickers. Delicious!

These are all traditions that bode well for the Humphreys House as we continue to get settled. We have now hosted a couple of dinners and have continued the work to be done. This couple weeks of enjoying the home, for all it brings, has been a gift. We enjoy the fact that we can get back to entertaining as we used to in a larger home, all the while celebrating the fact we are in a historic small home. 

See the recipe I created for the baked wontons, delicious dipped in a Ponzu sauce!