Not a ton of time tonight, but I wanted to wish everyone a very happy new year!

This is a fly by to say Happy Year of the Rat! This is the first year I’ve *really* celebrated this. Laota and I have been scouring the net since we’ve got no book money, looking for any and all information on how to celebrate spring festival properly.

One thing I’ve really grown fond of is the Kitchen God and the rituals that surround him – very cool. I didn’t know any of it, what were they teaching me in school!? All we *ever* did in school to celebrate ‘Chinese New Year’ was basically learn to wish you a happy new year inaccurately in Mandrin, have fortune cookies and make paper lanterns with construction paper. School is useless sometimes, lol.

At least I’ll be making lots of gyoza – which is a first for me, since I just learned how to make them. I wish I had connection on my laptop so I could upload pictures of my adorable dumplings and star-shaped mini lemon meringue pies. *sigh* Love. Food has really become my passion. I hope to have pics soon!

Whoo, pardon my being quiet for a bit, the holidays and work have had me swamped! I haven’t even had time to make bento, let alone blog about it or take pictures, so please bare with me while I catch up, okay?

Not about food ( although a pic of the turkey may come later tonight! ), but being a bento lover as I’m sure all bento lovers who visit HL agree, I know that the single most important figure in all of bento culture is the super cute Kitty chan, aka Sanrio’s Hello Kitty. So, I’ve got some non-food but definitely bento-worthy news to report for those of you who may have missed it, today marks the very first year that Hello Kitty made her way down Broadway to 34th street in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. There’s a blurry from-the-tv camera phone picture below of Kitty dressed up in her hero’s garb as “Supercute”, which she definately is!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!