Year of the Snake

Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrated this weekend!

I was lucky enough to be able to go home for the weekend to be with my family.  Based on today, this coming year will be full of eating amazing food and being in transit.  One new year tradition is that the first day of the new year will be indicative of the rest of your year; meaning you don't want to clean or cook food on the first day of the new year.

Here are some pictures from my New Year celebration.

"Traditional" new year food, canh chua and thit kho (links to recipes and absolutely gorgeous pictures from The Ravenous Couple):

All food, before it's eaten, needs to be put out for our ancestors.  You always have to remember where you came from.

Games (and gambling)!  This game's called "bầu cua cá cọp", translated from Vietnamese to "squash-crab-fish-tiger".  It's a game of chance and dice; you bet money on whichever picture you think the dice will roll.  I call this gambling for the children...

..and here's the gambling for the adults.  This is a card game that's been played at family reunions for as long as I can remember.  It's played with four players and to summarize the game in a sentence, you rearrange your cards in a group of three, five, and five cards, trying to create your best three "poker" hands.

 And pictures of the family!

Currently listening to: "Locked Out of Heaven" Bruno Mars at the Grammy's