Gimme Sum (of that Chinese New Year Splendor)

The happy couple... love the Buddha head!

So our friends Q & Christie hosted a Chinese New Year party on Saturday night.

Lameraux's & Danny

I was surprised because they (Q&Christie) are very conservative, and so I thought they would be against anything so RED. They did give Danny a copy of the Communist Manifesto; but it's not quite Mao's "Little Red Book." And Q went to hear Senator Hatch (R-UT) this weekend, so I'm pretty sure they're still in good standing with the GOP.

You've seen this one of Little Bits - an oldie, but a goodie... I can't believe a year ago he was this size!

But seriously, the party was awesome. Me looking awkward. Danny looking dazed...

We had a such a good time. It was also a "first" for the Mangum-clan, as we got a **babysitter outside of our parents to look after Holden as we partied.

**In the interest of full-disclosure, Q & Christie also happen to live in our basement, so the childcare provider we had was one of the neighborhood girls who played with him upstairs for an hour before we came and put him to bed and then just took the monitor downstairs while he slept. But still, it was a big deal for us....


But back to the party:

Q had been cooking since Friday, and the food was amazing.Q & Emily P. in the background

I can't remember the exact list of menu items... I ate a pot sticker (ate around the pork)... indulged in the rice and vegetarian dishes, and had my mouth on fire from a mixture of chili-sweet-and-sour sauce, peanut sauce and a 'fire dragon of a dipping sauce.'

Danny and Boyd P

Dessert I stole a few bites of the Rice Krispie treats Danny was noshing on (they had fruity pebbles in them. I kept thinking about Michael Pollan's "don't eat cereal that changes the color of your milk" rule. But I'm pretty sure everything about Rice Krispie treats are a no-no as far as he's concerned.) I had already ate a few servings of Chocolate-coconut bread pudding. (I had made this earlier Saturday to bring to the party.)

Please note the 'demon drink' you see in my hand from Christie's pictures is actually vanilla cream soda (I think Danny's is root beer). We're all a tee-totaling bunch.

The Stewarts

Since we're talking about food... I totally ate chicken yesterday. I didn't mean to. Remember, I gave up animal for Lent? It's just that I went to a baby shower; (loaded my plate with salad, had a roll with raspberry jam), and took a little spoonful of the Mormon rice & (chicken) chashew casserole. It wasn't until I was having a conversation about 'giving up animal for lent' with a neighbor that I made the connection.

There was CHICKEN in the Rice & Cashew CHICKEN casserole. (I know, DUH right?)

I rushed back to check the casserole and realized you couldn't even see the chicken in the dish... but I knew it was there. I had just completely spaced...forgot, and had probably swallowed 2 tablespoons of fowl! Please forgive me. I had just been all wrapped up in baby and neighborhood gossip and joy. It could happen to anyone.

(Phew, glad to have that off my chest.) The rest of the Food is below.




PS. On a separate note: Jason Chaffetz, please stop talking. You're embarrassing humanity (mostly Utah).

Weekend Food+Log (PhBlog)...
My guess is this is not a complete list (some was listed above). But I did horrible at writing things down, but I'll take a shot. In no particular order. Home made guac with tortilla chips and cheese, strawberries, (twice I had) pancakes with maple syrup, peanut butter, and apple sauce, cheese, mushroom soup, more salad like Friday night's, a giant white roll, sweet and russet mashed potatoes, orange juice, glasses of milk...I know I ate more than this.

No offense, but I am really looking forward to NOT posting how much dessert I eat on the weekends. I feel like it has helped me be more aware of what I eat... and it's certainly helping me make decisions about eating more consciously for my health AND the environment... but I feel like a good pattern has been set. So one more week, and then I am signing off. (Though I'm sure I'll still write about food occasionally... just not in this fashion.)