Japanese New Year’s

Every year from the time I was born [and before, since I’m the youngest grandchild], my first [and sometimes second] cousins would come together and celebrate the New Year’s Japanese style with an Osechi Ryori.  When my grandmother was still alive, she, my mom, and my aunts would cook for days before hand to prepare the bountiful meal, each dish symbolic of something.

Over the past 10 years or so, my brother has been hosting our New Year’s day party, inviting his in-laws, friends, and more recently, our clan of cousins.  My poor mom is still in charge of preparing the Japanese Osechi for the legion of people who attend the party.  I decided that it was time for me to step up and act like an adult [ie, no New Year’s Eve partying for me] and help my arthritic mom out with the preparations.

I will be leaving my home at 5:30am on the 31st to head down to the LA Fish Company to pick up all of our sashimi and seafood with my brother & dad.  I get a little overwhelmed  and unfocused whenever I’m down there. The temptation to pick up a pound of masago or 10 pounds of tasty oysters is sometimes too much for me to bear.  Luckily, my brother giving me the evil looks of death really puts an end to my unrealistic hopes and dreams.

Unfortunately, because I’ve been facebooking so many of the things I’ve been making over the past several months, I’ve gotten myself into a situation where I promised many baked goods to appear at the New Year’s Party.  For the first time at our New Year’s party, I will be making a dessert table filled with goodies like SavorySweetLife Bacon Caramel Pecan Bars, Tartelette’s Dark Truffles, La Fuji Mama’s Caramels, The Pioneer Woman’s no knead dinner rolls [my nephew’s request], my own LAUSD Coffee Cake, Meyer Lemon Mini Cupcakes, and whatever else my teeeny little brain can bake up on Wednesday.

But one thing that I have to remember is that it’s not all about the food [and booze, gotta toast in the New Year’s with Sake!] but about my [extended] family and friends.  This year, we’re expecting all of my family members, ALL of my cousins and their kids, both of my brother’s-in-law’s families, friends of family, former high school friends, etc etc.  I feel so incredibly grateful for the abundance that we get to share!

Happy New Year’s from my family to yours, wishing you a very healthy, prosperous, and blessed 2010!

or as my people say it:

“Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu.  Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu!”
[Happy New Year.  I hope to rely upon you this year as well!]