Welcoming the Year of the Rabbit – and dealing with left-overs.

Happy Chinese New Year!!

We recently welcomed the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit at my place, and had a feast with food from my childhood all home-made by me (and my beautiful helpers) with love! Popiah (Hokkien spring rolls), Deep-fried chicken wings, Bak Kwa, Rose flavoured Agar Agar, Pineapple Tarts, Peanut Cookies…. and heaps more!

I had 4 beautiful people to help me the day before, prepping food for the celebration.

Just over 20 people turned up at various times of the day – just like an open house back home. I have to mention that Jane brought Mango Pudding, Jane (yes, there were two Janes. =)) brought peanut snacks and Andrew & Zi brought Bee Hoon with pork crackling sprinkled generously over the top!! It was delicious!!

We had lots of fun playing card games like Monopoly Deal and Gin Rummy. Wilfred introduced a bunch of us to this game called ‘Ninja’ – which was absolutely fabulous! Just imagine a bunch of 16-25year olds on my balcony jumping around dodging each other and trying to hit each others hands! It was so fun! I won a fair few of the Ninja games we played – I secretly believe it’s a side-effect of needing to be quick enough to escape Roy’s tickle attacks. Hey, it’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it!

I’d set out heaps of snacks and the usual CNY cookies/munchies for us to graze on while hanging out.

Shayne inspecting a box of peanut cookies

Pineapple tarts

Bak Kwa

As it neared 10pm, we played our last round of Gin Rummy, then a bunch of people had to scarper quickly over to Crown to catch a movie.

A few lovely people managed to stay and help me clean up! Colin was head-cleaner, Amir, Wilfred and Rachel helped scrub pots and do dishes, Jane helped me pack stuff away…

However, as most Chinese people do, I over-catered! More is better than less, after all! Who’d want to let people go home hungry?

Even though some of the clean-up crew went home with (large amounts of) extra food, there is still a pretty hefty amount of left-over food in my fridge now, left over from the popiah-making. The craziest amounts of lettuce, cabbage and cucumber for one person to finish! (if my sis and Roy were back right now, I’d be less worried about finishing the food, but seriously, even with 3 or 4 people coming over for dinner over the past few days, my fridge is still uncomfortably full. >.<)

Lettuce Piled High

So I decided to look for recipes to try out to finish those (very) perishable items. I’m focusing on finishing up the cucumbers and lettuce first – the Cabbage can wait longer!

Some potential recipes are below… check them out and see what you think I should make! Or suggest something!

Perhaps either this Butter Lettuce Soup or this Herby Tangy Lettuce Soup instead? And then, since we’re considering soups, some Chilled Cucumber Soup with Fresh Mint and Dill? Or perhaps a plainer version (if cucumber soup could be considered ‘plain’ by any standards!) of  Cucumber and Mint Soup would be better?

Or maybe, to ward off the Summer heat, some fabulously cooling Cucumber Lemonade?

And then, just as I was marveling over the ingenious suggestion to combine the cooling effects of the cucumber to the tangy-sweetness of lemonade, I came across something that I have never considered before.

How about some… Cucumber Sorbet??

Let me know if you try any of them out! I’m leaning towards that Cucumber Sorbet myself.

—Thank you Shayne for the pictures!—-