Life: My New Year - Feast, Food and OOTN

Sorry it took me so long to greet all of you guys!!!!  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

We all deserve the blessings we are about to get this year :D At the same time, we should look forward to the challenges that will make us better people with stronger faith and resiliency.

I had a blast with my family in celebrating both Christmas and New Year, but mostly New Year, because it was a lot louder while our Christmas was spent in a quieter, more heartfelt manner.

I didn't get to sleep a wink waiting for the clock to strike 12~00 :DD It also helped that I was the one who prepared our New Year's food. I'm new at food preparation but I am so proud of myself that my family liked the things I made! Especially the kids who ate them all :)

I'd like to share to you guys some of the things I made!

Apple-cream and cinnamon toast

This is a variation of the normal warm toast that the kids like. Instead of opting for the prepackaged Apple jam that we usually eat straight out of the toaster, I opted for a healthier version that consisted of cored apple, cream and milk, as well as a generous helping of cinnamon powder and a bit of cinnamon syrup :) It is sweet but not overly so, and the cinnamon brings out the apple flavor so well. The kids enjoyed this as a pre-New Year treat so I could help them stay awake ;)

Chocolate Jello

Previously, I made Strawberry Jello and my nieces and nephews liked it so I made a Chocolate version just to feel adventurous. I used Hershey's Dark Chocolate powder for this. Note also the cream made from heavy cream, sweetened milk and vanilla. It's a cool treat and sweet enough to make them hyper.

Now on to the main courses!

Grilled Pork Spare Ribs

My personal favorite! I marinated several pieces of pork ribs for about 4 hours so it is extra tasty and smokey! My dad also helped me grill it because I'm not very good at grilling :( It made our tummy very full and there was enough for everyone to enjoy. I ate like 2 pieces of ribs and when I came back I only saw an empty yellow plate! T___T But it's okay, at least my family liked it! I feel really happy :)

Lemon Salmon

I picked up some frozen Norwegian Salmon from the supermarket. This is sprinkled with salt and oregano with a squeeze of Lemon then deep fried in Olive oil. This fish is very fatty. I love lemons on anything, because it makes even the simplest dishes taste nice and look presentable! LOL!

Spicy Gambas with Spring Onions

This dish is my nephew Hisashi's favorite for some reason. He hated anything spicy but when I cooked this, he was intrigued and ate one. He almost finished the entire plate! I sprinkled a good amount of paprika on the shrimp to make it spicy. What I like about paprika is it's not like Chili that the hot spice stays for a long time. Paprika is spicy, but the spice disappears fast so you can eat a lot of it. I should have also tied the spring onions around the shrimp but it was too MANY!!! (; A ;)/ I didn't have a lot of time since I also had to make Ceasar salad, prepare the slab of ham and many others~

I also needed time to primp ;) Here I am wearing my "Lucky Red Dress". They say that wearing red attracts luck and I need a lot of it this year. I hope that all my wishes come true and that everything will go my way. I also wore that because one of my resolutions that hopefully will stick is to dress a lot less with jeans and pave the way for dresses and soft skirts.

 

I wish you all a very bountiful year to come! I hope good cheer awaits all of us this 2012! :)

Thank you so much for reading!