Simple Pickled Butternut Squash 涼拌冬南瓜絲

In Taiwan, I grew up eating a lot of pickles as condiments or as appetizers, especially in the summer, since most pickles are refreshing and cooling. Unlike the western style of pickle, they're not always pickled in vinegar, nor are they always made over a long period of time. In fact, most of my mom's pickles were made within just thirty minutes to an hour. The pickles that you see most often in Taiwan are cucumbers, cabbages and radishes. My mom loves making different types of pickled cucumbers; sometimes she makes them with sea salt, sometimes with salted plums, both of which I love!

Butternut Squash and Turkey Dumplings 南瓜火雞水餃

 

Having lived in the West for more than half of my life, strangely, Chinese New Year seems less and less significant for me these days, not to mention that I'm already not someone who's very accustomed to celebrating holidays. Also, you don't get days off like they do in Taiwan (somewhere around 6-8 days). Here, I feel lucky if the Chinese New Year's Eve is on the weekend!

As I was growing up, my parents used to take us back to their families' homes in the southern part of Taiwan every Chinese New Year. It's the tradition for family to get together on this major holiday. We would first worship and give offerings to our ancestors to ask for their blessings and protection for the New Year. Then, all the women would be in the kitchen preparing for the feast, while the men talked and the kids played. Frankly, because of all the firecrackers that used to scare me, I never really cared much about the Chinese New Year, except that I was happy to get the days off and to get to eat a lot of delicious food.