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| Boiling Milk at Midnight |
My daughter and I stayed up to greet the New Year and we watched the countdown on TV and toasted the New Year with cranberry juice mixed with a little lemon-lime soda to make it a bit bubbly!
Then, I lit the stove for the first time in the New Year and boiled milk as is our custom until it overflowed for good luck! Except, I didn't put in enough milk at first and it refused to boil over! It bubbled up and formed a dome which developed a sort of film! That's the first time that has happened to me in all these years of boiling milk on New Year's Eve! My daughter and I were laughing so hard trying to encourage the milk to boil over! Eventually, she poured a little more milk into the pan and it finally boiled over!
My daughter asked about the significance of boiling milk till it boiled over and I told her it was to symbolize plenty and abundance.
The pan on the burner behind the milk was for the milkrice that I was making at the same time..
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| Boiling Milk in Front; Milkrice at the Back |
Afterwards, we had some milkrice with jaggery (palm sugar; me) and regular sugar (daughter, as she doesn't like the taste of jaggery).
Later, we worked on the jigsaw puzzle that I got for my daughter as part of her holiday gift. We had some help, as you can see:
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| Dancer Helps |
He meowed until daughter picked him up and put him on the table and he went to work, right away!
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| Inspecting the Part that Daughter Did |
Making sure that the portion I put together lies flat:
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| Such a Helpful Kitty! |
With Dancer's help, we were able to make good progress on the puzzle!
Today, there was some sunshine in the morning, but, the clouds moved in and it drizzled a bit in the afternoon. We had a relaxed day. I called and texted family and friends to wish them for the new year. Later, daughter and I put together more of the puzzle, without Dancer's help, this time!
Brunch was leftover milkrice with chicken curry. For dinner, I baked the ham we had bought, sauteed green beans with garlic, made a cucumber salad, and a pineapple pickle (fresh pineapple, diced, and mixed with vinegar, sugar, salt, and chili powder). After dinner, I did the dishes and daughter put away the leftovers.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being alive to greet another New Year
- Celebrating New Year's Day with my daughter
- Exchanging greetings and well wishes with family and friends
- A relaxed day
- Good meals
Today's joyful activity was greeting the New Year with my daughter.
Plans for tomorrow include watching the Rose Parade on TV (we've been to see it in person once, when my daughter was in pre-school; the rest of the time, we've watched it on TV), doing a load of laundry, and visiting neighbor S in the evening.
How did you spend New Year's Day? Do you have any traditions you observe to greet the new year? What are your plans for tomorrow?
But after the milk boils over, doesn't the house smell of burned milk? I suppose it does ensure you start the cooker with a super clean stove top!
ReplyDeleteNot that I've noticed, but, then, again, my sense of smell isn't all that great!
DeleteI like the boil milk to overflowing as a new year's ritual. Not only on new year's but anytime we would love it when my Gran would pour the hot tea into our already poured milk in the mug & count the number of bubbles - that was suppose to signify riches in the future. You have to scoop up the bubbles to eat before they dissipate. Dancer's help with puzzles is obvious he's an expert this :)
ReplyDeleteI've not heard about counting the bubbles in the tea! I rather like that one! I used to pretend to read tea leaves at the bottom of the cup when my daughter was little, back when we'd use loose tea leaves to brew tea. It was all good fun. :)
DeleteDancer loves to help with puzzles or whatever project we are doing!
Annie and Leo want you to tell Dancer to keep up the good work with the puzzle. They're are older now and don't work as many puzzles, but want to make sure that Dancer knows about their favorite trick of picking out a puzzle piece from ones already put together, dropping it on the floor and chasing it around the house. So much fun!
ReplyDeleteAnnie and Leo must have told that to Dancer because I did find a couple of puzzle pieces on the floor the next morning! Dancer sends gentle head bumps to Annie and Leo and wishes them a happy New Year. :)
DeleteHappy New Year! I am glad that you managed to make your cup (or pan) run over. (Tenuous allusion to Psalm 23!) Let us indeed hope that it bodes well for the weeks and months to come.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you, too, Lady Ella. Yes, cups and pots running over and lands flowing with milk (and honey); yoghurt and treacle is still served as the dessert of choice during our almsgivings, etc. :)
DeleteWhat do you do with the milk after it has boiled over? Is it just thrown away?
ReplyDeleteI've started a jigsaw as well although I don't have a Dancer to help me so am on my own with it ... although maybe that's not a bad thing!
I do like the sound of the pineapple pickle so will have a go at that when I can get hold of a fresh pineapple. Would tinned pineapple work as well?
I've been pottering around making a list of all the chores that I've been ignoring and now are crying out for attention. I will have to make a start on them this week but I'll be having a bread making session first and want to try out the Instant Pot for making some dhal and chana masala. xx
The leftover milk is usually poured outside - one of my friends said that their mother used to pour a little of it at the four corners of their garden. I poured the leftover milk, after it had cooled a bit, into a saucer and gave it to Mama Cat.
DeleteHaving a Dancer to help with the puzzle is a good thing, but, I'm sure you'll do just fine without such help! LOL.
I haven't made the pineapple pickle with canned (tinned) pineapple, but, I'm sure it should be just fine. Maybe just not add sugar to the mixture if the tinned pineapple has been already presweetened?
Sounds like a busy day! Have you ever eaten bread with dhal? It's one of my favorite meals from childhood. :)
That boiling milk is impressive! I love that Dancer was allowed to help with the puzzle. I'm not sure I would have welcomed the help of our cats in the past. My puzzle is at the stage where DH is taking an interest as there are very few pieces left to put in! I'll probably let him finish it. We had the tiniest sprinkling of snow in the night, just enough to make the landscape look cleaner where it had melted before.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen it boil up like that without spilling over!
DeleteAw, Dancer loves to help with puzzles, but, he needs to be helped up on to the table, these days. :)
I love how the last few pieces just seem to fall into place once the hard work of assembling the rest of the puzzle is done!
Glad you are having some snow; we are having a bit of drizzle, now and then. :)
your boiling milk thing is awesome, i had never heard of it, what is the history? I have boiled over enough milk or burned milk in my life, and yes i do have a lot to be grateful for:)
ReplyDeleteBoiling milk until it boils over is part of my traditions. I'm originally from Sri Lanka and it is something that we used to do when I was growing up. I've just continued doing it and who knows, maybe, one day, my daughter might decide to continue with that tradition. It's supposed to bring good luck! :)
DeleteHello Bless,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blog silently for three years and decided to finally comment. Thank you for your dedication to this virtual space, which has brought me and so many others a lot of joy and support, especially during the pandemic.
Your relationship with your daughter, your commitment to your faith, your dogged determination to live well, and your kindness to your readers are heartwarming in a world that is always seeming to be rushing to the next. I admire your thrifty approach without skimping on what really matters. And I appreciate how you are always thinking of others.
Thank you for your commitment to this space all of these years. Wishing you and your family a wonderful, peaceful, healthy, and inspired year ahead.
Warmly,
Justicia
Hello Justicia! I'm so glad to hear from you! And what a lovely comment, too! Thank you for reading my blog and for taking the time to comment!
DeleteThis blog started out as something to keep me occupied when my daughter went away to college and I became an empty nester! I have had so much fun writing it and have made some lovely friends.
Now that you've made the first comment, I hope you will stop by from time to time and comment, again. I love hearing from all who read my blog. :)
Thank you for the well wishes and I wish you and yours a wonderful year in 2023. :)
That sounds wonderful. My neighbor is at The Rose Parade today. How exciting! Aren't you just loving this rainy weather? It's fantastic for our fruit trees and gardens!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. They had some lovely weather for the Rose Parade, today, didn't they? I am loving the rain and the fact that the garden is getting a good soaking! :)
DeleteI have never heard of boiling milk to usher in the new year, but I think it is a cool tradition. I'm so glad you had a nice holiday with your daughter.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne. It's interesting to read about all the different New Year's traditions, like eating black-eyed peas, isn't it? :D
DeleteThat is funny how your milk wouldn't boil over. I'm glad you finally got it to do the traditional thing. lol
ReplyDeleteI don't have any transitional activities for the New Year really - but I do always make something with crab. So New Year's Day dinner was crab cakes with oven fries and broccoli. We finished the crab cakes up yesterday. They were very tasty :)
Dancer is such a good helper. And he is multi-talented. He is always up for the job of helping out no matter what the job is isn't he?
I honestly don't know what happened with the milk! But, it seemed to have formed a film that was firm to the touch!
DeleteI like the tradition of having crab on New Year's Day! Something that is a bit of a treat and special. :)
Dancer is definitely a very willing helper! I don't know how I'll manage if he wasn't helping out all the time! :D
I love your tradition of boiling the milk, although I think I would feel just a little resentful at having to clean it up afterwards :)
ReplyDeleteBoo is being about as helpful as Dancer just now. He keeps resting his head on my hands as I am typing. Xx
Thank you, Jules. One of these days, I'm going to wise up and cover the burner tray with some foil to make the clean up easier! :D
DeleteAw, Boo is such a helpful kitty! :)