Chinese New Year, Year of the Rat

This week’s national day is not really a national day but a holiday. This week we are focusing on Chinese New Year which we usually do each year.

We are sharing with you a cute rat, since it is the year of the rat, craft. The craft we have chosen is super simple and quick and very cute looking. We are making origami rat corner bookmarks.

To make these bookmarks, you will need coloured paper (we are using regular paper along with construction paper in red, grey, and light pink), a glue stick, a black marker, scissors, and a pencil.

First of all, cut your coloured paper or construction paper into a square. We are using 8.5x11 inch paper. We are making two versions so one has a grey body and the other a red one to celebrate the New Year. One of the squares is 15cmx15cm so that would fit your average book and we also are making a slightly bigger one at 20cmx20cm as well.

Now fold the paper to make a triangle.

Fold the bottom right corner up to the top and then fold the bottom left corner up to the top to create a diamond.

Now unfold it. 

Take the top corner and bring it down to the bottom. 

Take the bottom right corner and fold along the previous fold line and then tuck into the pocket. Do the same to the other side.

You should have a rat body now.

Attach some ears and a tail and then draw on some whiskers, eyes, and a nose and you’re all done.

Use on the corners of your books to keep your place or make them for your friends and family.

 *Take a look at where we got our inspiration from...
https://www.redtedart.com/easy-mouse-corner-bookmark/

New Years Oliebollen

Now that Christmas is over and done with, up next is New Year’s. On our last trip around the world, we are going to Holland and looking at a traditional New Year’s treat.

Oliebollen are deep fried donut like balls often containing currents and then sprinkled with icing sugar. They are like a dessert dumpling. They are first thought to have originated in Germanic tribes in the Netherlands during the Yule season which runs from December 26^th and January 6^th.  The name Oliebollen means oil ball or oil cookie. A typical Oliebollen recipes calls for flour, yeast, baking powder, salt, eggs, currents and milk. Many recipes do also call for raisins and finely chopped Granny Smith apples.

Take a look at our try at Oliebollen and see if it inspires you to make some for the New Year!

Classic Oliebollen Recipe

You will need...

4 cups of flour

2 packets/4 tsp. of yeast

1 tsp. of salt

1 large egg

1 ½ cup of lukewarm milk (about 50 seconds in the microwave)

2/3 cups of currents (optional)

2/3 cups of raisin (optional)

1 small Granny Smith apple (optional)

Oil for deep frying

Icing sugar to top

How to...

Put flour, yeast, and salt into mixer’s bowl/mixing bowl. Stir together.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and crack your egg into it. Cover with your lukewarm 

milk.

Using a dough hook if your using your mixer or a wooden spoon if you are not, Mix it all together to make a sticky wet dough.

Cover with saran wrap or a wet dish towel and place in a warm spot to rise - about 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size. If you can find a warm spot, put your oven at around 200 degrees and place it in the oven to rise.

Once risen, use two tablespoons and scoop the batter into the hot oil. 

Cook until puffed up and golden brown.

Pat with paper towel to remove excess oil and then sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy warm. They aren’t the best to eat the next day so gobble them all up while fresh!

Wonton Wrapper Raviolis

As we ease into a New Year, we like to throw in a few miscellaneous blog posts of things that we find interesting and want to try out but they may not fit into our themes throughout the year.

First up...easy wonton ravioli. This is something that we wanted to try out for a long time. We actually wanted to make some ravioli at home that was quick and easy so we first tried out fresh store bought lasagna sheets but they were too thick and stiff and didn’t work out at all. Our next plan/idea was to get some wonton wrappers and fill them and make ravioli. These worked out much better. Take a look below to see how made a yummy batch of ravioli.

First of all you’ll want to make a filling. We chose a ricotta cheese and spinach filling. For this you will need ricotta cheese, spinach, olive oil, garlic, eggs, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. I cooked up about 10 cups of fresh spinach (yes that seems like a lot but it cooks down so so much) along with 3 cloves of chopped garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook until dark green and until the spinach goes down. 

In a bowl, add in 2 cups of ricotta cheese, 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, 1 egg, salt and pepper and the spinach. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.  

After the filling is made, you can whip out your wonton wrappers and start filling. Either the square or rounds ones will work. We are making slightly larger raviolis so that we can use the entire wrapper without cutting off scrap bits. They are also much thinner than your average ravioli so it’s fine that they are a bit bigger.

Grab a bowl of warm water and put it nearby as you will need to use this to close the ravioli. You’ll also want some baking sheets to place the raviolis on as you wrap them.

Place a dollop of filling in the centre of the wrapper. You don’t want too much as it may split open so a little goes a long way.

Use your finger to put a light boarder of water around the edges of the wrapper.

Fold in half and pinch the sides together.

Place it on a baking sheet and then continue to make more. We were feeding a lot so we made a lot! You can make as many as you want. I did try making some and put them in the fridge overnight. That wasn’t the best idea as they stuck together and stuck to the container and turned really soft. It was a disaster! It’s just best to make them as you need them.

Get a large pot of water boiling. Once it’s boiling, drop about 6 of the raviolis in and let them cook for about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a parchment lined baking sheet in the oven. I put the oven on the warm and hold setting. Continue cooking the rest of the raviolis.

Next, make your sauce. We kept it real simple and just melted some butter in a pan along with some fresh sage and then tossed in the raviolis. I would say just eye how much of each you use. I needed a lot of sauce so I used extra butter and sage. We were so excited to make this and hungry that we forgot to take some pictures along the way! Sorry.

Serve and enjoy...so delicious.