"good luck" news and stories

I realize that it is now January 3rd, which might be too late to be writing about all those lucky New Year foods. However, I've really been enjoying reading about all the things that people prepared for themselves to ensure an auspicious New Year and thought I might share a couple that I particularly liked with you all.

The video you see above is from Chris and Michelle, who decided to make pork chops and sauerkraut to commemorate their New Year (an Italian tradition). They also made some delicious-looking mashed potatoes and homemade applesauce (I love it when people make their own applesauce, as it is just so easy and so much better than the stuff that comes out of the jar). The sauerkraut song that they used as background music is also totally infectious.

Over at the Perfect Pantry, Lydia posted a recipe from Arlo, one of her readers, for Boullets, which is a New Year's meatball soup, traditional to Arlo's Cree and Metis roots. It consists of a large pot of meatballs (the size depends entirely on you) in a broth. The post explains that there is no definitive recipe for this dish, that it changes depending on who is making it. It was always made in large quantities for the New Year, so that every visitor who stopped by could be welcomed and fed.

Source

Sarah J. Gim already mentioned that one of the food traditions for Chinese New Year is to have dumplings, which are meant to bring good fortune in the next year. She didn't mention that they also make a delicious snack or a quick lunch and, with some rice and vegetables, can make an exceptionally tasty dinner. Soft, fluffy "bao" are steamed buns that are typically served as dim sum or yum cha in Chinese restaurants and they'll be on my Chinese New Year menu. You can make them yourself, using any filling you wish, or pick up a few at your local asian market. Good luck and a good lunch? How can you go wrong!

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

Since it is Friday the 13th, it seems an appropriate day to look at food superstitions. Every culture has many of them, some stretching back hundreds of years. What are yours? Did you twist an apple stem to determine the first name of the person you were destined to marry? Were you expected to set the salt shaker down instead of handing it directly to someone? There are so many food myths and legends, I won't pretend that this is the ultimate list; it is just a starting point. These are simply 5 famous food superstitions:

• Throwing rice at weddings ensures fertility
• Throwing spilled salt over your shoulder keeps the devil away
• Garlic keeps evil away
• Push a spoon through the bottom of a boiled egg to “let the witches/devil out”
• Eating specific foods on the New Year will bring good luck