Chung hay fat choy

Happy Chinese New Year! On January 23rd, 2012 be prepared for a sea of red and many dragon dances!

Although all Chinese New Years are special, this year is just a little bit more so.  Why? Because this year is the Year of the Dragon.  The dragon is a particularly auspicious symbol in Chinese culture.  It's also synonymous with wealth, luck and power which are all highly valued traits.

My mother is Chinese, so I grew up ringing in the Chinese New Year with most of the traditions.  Even if you aren't Chinese, feel free to try some of these traditions and see if they bring you some luck!

1. Clean your house before the 23rd, so as to have space for the abundance and luck from the new year.  You do not want to clean your house on the 23rd because you could potentially clean out all this abundance and luck!
2. On the 23rd, get together with family and friends and eat some chinese food; in particular duck as it relates to prosperity.  Most Chinese favor a dish called Peking Duck but if you are vegetarian, Buddah's Vegetarian (on Dundas West) makes a fantastic "imitation duck" from layers of tofu that doesn't taste at all like duck but is still amazing.
3. This one may seem a bit odd, but don't wash or cut your hair on the 23rd.  I think this also has to do with the washing away of prosperity.  This is a huge no-no is the Chinese community, so it must be serious.
4. Give somebody some "lucky money". These are little red envelopes that contain coins or dollar bills that are usually given to children but are gratefully accepted by all ages :)
5. Take time to celebrate and welcome the new year!  Head down to Spadina and watch the lion and dragon dances.  Wish someone a happy new year ("chung hay fat choy").  Wear red.  Putting some positive energy into the new year will make sure it's a happy one!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy Halloween!

 Spooky gloves that I get to wear all night long

Gummy eyes make excellent distractions during lecture

 An asparagus, complete with a pat of butter

A tornado, with tiny farm animals dangling everywhere

The best thing about Halloween, other than the fantastic costumes and scary movies, has to be the treats. Don't think I was left out, just because I'm raw-I managed to whip up the most amazing raw cheesecake. No tricks here, this one is all treat.  Please note you need to soak your cashews for 3 hours prior and the recipe below makes a 4" pie, so triple the recipe if you want to make a 9".

Raw Boo-berry Cheesecake

Crust ingredients:

1/2 cups raw pecans

3 medjool dates
1 tbsp dried, unsweetened coconut
sprinkle of Himalayan salt

Cheesecake filling ingredients:

1 cup cashews (soaked for 3 hours in filtered water)
1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla

Fruit topping ingredients:

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 medjool dates

How to make this raw cheesecake recipe…

1. Throw the pecans and dates into your food processor. (Don’t add the coconut!!) Process nuts and dates until well processed but still airy.

2. Next, get our your springform cheesecake pan and sprinkle the coconut on the bottom as your very first layer. This makes it easier to remove the cheesecake as the coconut stops the crust from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Then press the pecans and dates down into the pan to form the crust.

3. Throw all cheesecake filling ingredients into your high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour it over the crust and smooth it out.

4. Place the above in freezer for an hour or so (so that it will firm up).

5. Meanwhile, throw your blueberries and dates in your high-speed blender. Blend until nice and smooth. Pour this mixture on top of the crust/cheesecake, which was just in the freezer for about an hour. Put back in the freezer for another hour.

6. Defrost this raw cheesecake recipe on the counter for about 30 minutes before digging in. Enjoy!