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| New Year's Day Treats |
Happy New Year 2022!
My daughter and I stayed up to greet the New Year at midnight, with our glasses of sparkling apple cider (mixed with some cranberry juice). I boiled the milk till it boiled over for good luck and made milkrice.
We had a sunny day with pleasant weather for the Rose Parade, which was held this year after being put on hold, last year! The City of Pasadena's Rose Parade (followed by the Rose Bowl College Football Game) is part of our New Year's traditions, here, in southern California! I used to get up early on New Year's Day to watch the live broadcast of the Rose Parade on TV; today, however, I watched a rebroadcast of the parade, later in the day!
I spent the morning calling family and friends to wish them for the New Year. I spent the afternoon relaxing, reading and commenting on blogs, replying to blog comments, etc. I did walk around the garden and drive way for a bit. There were a few roses blooming:
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| January Roses: Yellow |
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| January Roses: Pink |
And oranges ripening:
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| Oranges |
I was getting ready to make myself a cup of tea in the evening, when one of my friends (friend S, not to be confused with neighbor S) called me to say that she, her husband, and their daughter were on their way to visit me for the New Year. She apologized for not visiting me in the morning and I told her not to be silly! She brought us a tray of Sri Lankan treats, shown above (top photo): milkrice (with some onion sambol to go with it), konde kavum (made with a rice flour and palm treacle batter which is deep fried), mung kavum (a paste made with mung bean flour and palm treacle, rolled out thinly, cut into diamond shapes, dipped in a rice flour batter and deep fried), mung guli (similar to mung kavum, but, the filling is rolled into a ball, then battered and fried), aluwa (the white diamond shaped sweet which looks a bit like a shortbread cookie, made with rice flour and sugar), rulang (semolina) aluwa, kokis (a bit like Swedish rosettes, but, not sweet), aasmi (the fan shaped item which looks like threads woven together - made with a rice flour/coconut milk/cinnamon leaf extract which provides a much needed mucilage - can substitute okra extract - batter, which is then poured into hot oil in thin threads like funnel cakes), milk toffee, as well as marshmallows, and four types of cake, including her version of love cake (love cake recipes vary from one family to the next!). Such a lavish New Year's Day treat!
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| Red, Ripe Chillies |
After tea, I scrubbed the stove top (not only did the milk boil over, at midnight, which was intentional, the pot of rice I cooked for the milkrice also boiled over, making a bigger mess on my stove top!) and did the dishes.
- Exchanging good wishes with family and friends over the phone
- Caring friends who spoil me with treats!
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| Wooden Santa Box/Floral Decoration |
It's hard for me to decide which is prettier: the roses or the plate of treats. :) I think it would be hard to watch what you eat if you wanted to with all of the good food that keeps showing up at your house. :)
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, the roses are a bit easier on the waistline! But, the Sri Lankan treats are special. I froze a few for another day. :)
DeleteHow wonderful that your friend could visit and that you had such a wonderful spread of food. I have never heard of the act of boiling milk to the overflow point for good luck.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a blessed New Year. I am laying low and trying to beat whatever viral thing I am dealing with. Hugs- Diana
I enjoyed the visit and the treats were an added bonus! :D Not sure how the tradition of boiling the milk started, but, it is a symbol of plenty, too, I believe.
DeleteOh, I hope you recover from the viral infection soon, Diana; may 2022 be a year filled with blessings for you and your loved ones. Wish you all good health and happiness. (((HUGS)))
I'd heard of the Rose Parade but hadn't realised it was such a big event. I've just watched a bit of the 2022 parade on YouTube. It looks like it's reasonably close to you so have you ever been there to watch it live?
ReplyDeleteAll those Sri Lankan treats! How lovely for you and so generous of your friend.
I think the treats were from a different person but it did make me think bout your piano lessons which I think are with neighbour S ... they must be starting soon if I've remembered correctly. How do you feel about that?
I'm just having a quiet Sunday. I've been looking online for ideas on new activities I can try out this year and also for ways of expanding some of the things I already do. In particular I'm looking for a local Italian conversation group and for a way to play board and card games with others ... one of the problems with living alone is that the online versions of the games are okay as a substitute but not as much fun as playing in person.
Yes, I've been to the Rose Parade, many years ago. One of my co-workers lived in Pasadena, fairly close to the parade route; she invited me to a New Year's Day breakfast at her house and afterwards, we walked the few blocks to watch the parade up close and personal. My daughter was still a little girl at the time; she vaguely remembers going to see the parade.
DeleteI loved receiving all those Sri Lankan treats, but, I need to ration them!
Yes, the piano lessons with neighbor S will resume the 2nd week of January, after the 10th. I am a bit nervous, because I haven't been practicing, but, I'm looking forward to them, as well! :)
I like your idea of trying something new, each year, and admire how you've worked around the restrictions brought on by the pandemic by doing online activities. I hope you find a safe way to play board and card games with others - perhaps when the weather is good enough to sit outdoors with masks on?
I've never heard of boiling milk until it boils over for good luck. What a wonderful feast from your friends, I'm sure you will have enjoyed their visit. Your roses are beautiful and to have oranges and lemons growing in your garden is wonderful. I am taking down and putting away the Christmas decorations today although I usually leave them uo until twelfth night but not this year.
ReplyDeleteBoiling the milk must be a Sri Lankan custom! I think it signifies plenty/prosperity. I enjoyed my friends' visit, very much, and the treats they brought were a bonus! This is the season for citrus, over here. Lots of vitamin C for the cold and flu season! :) There are some years when the decorations need to come down sooner than later, aren't there? I will leave the tree up until next weekend, but, I might start putting away some of the other things, this week.
DeleteBeautiful roses, a lovely way to start 2022. All the best to you & your daughter.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary-Lou. I'm enjoying the roses before the bushes get pruned later this month! I hope you, too, have had a good start to your new year. Stay warm and safe!
DeleteWow, that's a lot of treats from your friend! They sound wonderful. You have very kind friends. Your oranges look wonderful also. I've thought of planting an apple tree as you also suggested. I hope to retire in a couple of years, and move south to warmer weather, so not much time here left for new fruit trees to grow and enjoy! Enjoy your treats! Celie
ReplyDeleteIt was a very generous tray of treats from my friend and each item is a taste of my childhood. The oranges are coming along, nicely; should be ready to pick in a few weeks. No point in planting fruit trees if you are planning to move to a warmer climate in the near future; maybe you can plant some fruit trees after you've moved and settled in a new place!
DeleteHope you have had a good start to the new year, Celie and wish you all the best in 2022.
Hi Bless, I just watched the video of your making the Love Cake. It looks delicious, though a lot of work!. I am trying to figure out the pumpkin preserve! I'd never heard of that before. What I find on the internet is a variety of different pumpkin preserve, one from Sri Lanka, a jar with a picture that doesn't look at all like what I think of as pumpkin! The label MD has a picture of a green skin squash with white and pink interior. Is that the ingredient? Making this is quite a project! Celie
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, the "pumpkin preserves"...it is actually made from a type of gourd, Benincasa hispida, which is also called winter melon, wax gourd, or ash pumpkin (which is what we call it in Sri Lanka). Yes, the MD brand with the picture of a green skinned squash with a white and pink interior is correct! It's also the brand that I used. :) If you can't get the pumpkin preserves, you can omit it and use glace cherries, or preserved pineapple (or candied peel), but the taste won't be the same!
DeleteAh, thanks for explaining that! I saw I can order it, but it does look like a hard recipe! I'll think about it for now! Celie
DeleteWell, there is a reason why it's made once a year! It's too much work to make more often! :D If you do try to make it, I suggest halving the recipe, because the quantities given make a huge tray!
DeleteWhat delicious looking treats! The blue and pink ones jumped to my attention, were they the marshmallows? Love the roses and the orange photo, especially as here it is.about 12°F right now and supposed to go down a lot lower overnight.
ReplyDeleteWe had a visit from a beautiful, healthy looking young fox this afternoon. As usual my attempt at photography was hit or miss, but I did snap a couple.
Yes, the blue & pink ones are homemade marshmallows. I thought of you when I took the photos of the flowers and oranges. I know you like to see the garden when it is cold and snowy over there. How lovely to be visited by a fox! Lucky you!
DeleteI just watched the "Love Cake" video and enjoyed it. Well done, it is very clear to follow and I liked the finale - the piece on a plate!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady. My daughter is very happy that you liked it. :)
DeleteThere's a lot of beauty being shown in this post with the roses, oranges and the treats :)
ReplyDeleteIt makes me warm just looking at the roses and oranges.
What a nice plate of New Year's goodies.
Do these friends always stop by to wish you a happy new year?
Thank you, Debra. Yes, these friends have been stopping by with a plate of goodies for the past several years. If friend S is working (she works at a grocery store and they don't close for any holidays), she will send something through her husband and daughter! :)
DeleteThose treats looks delicious but the roses are beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing more colour in the garden this year.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! X
Thank you, Jules; all the rose bushes were pruned today; I picked the last roses this morning. :) Happy New Year to you, too. :)
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