The Full Plate Blog: Gun Hay Fat Choy!!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Gun Hay Fat Choy!!

Two fellow blog writers are way more organized and festive than I am this Year of the Dragon. Perhaps that is because I am still recovering from our trip to Russia last night. But I have fond memories of my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Toy, making Egg Foo Young with us, and making a really big deal about the day. So, I kind of felt like I should do something.... Thankfully, my friend Katy's blog Healthy Working Mom came to the rescue with a simple, parade-inducing craft I could make with my son. And, I suffered only momentary inspiration overload reading Jeanette's Healthy Living's post that is a wealth of information about traditions and cuisine. It makes me wish I had my act together to make something Chinese tonight... I mean how amazing do those dumplings look?

5 comments:

craftsisterJanuary 23, 2012
Oh Mrs. Toy, she was sweet.
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The Full Plate BlogJanuary 23, 2012
Loren, I knew that if you were reading this it would bring back a happy memory of our K year together!!
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JeanetteJanuary 23, 2012
Love that you made this craft for the Year of the Dragon! Thanks for mentioning my post - I do love all the traditions that surround this holiday.
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The Full Plate BlogJanuary 23, 2012
Jeanette, next time I am planning ahead so I can make one of the amazing recipes you posted...but this year, we're having turkey-spinach-quinoa soup-- and I am having my husband pick-up some dumplings from Hunan!!
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AnonymousJanuary 23, 2012
What a great dragon. Thanks so much for mentioning my post. Next year we should hold a parade with Jeanette's food and the kid's crafts!!!
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About Founder/Editor Eila DeBard Johnson

This blog has not been updated since 2015, but you are welcome to bookmark the recipes, so you can enjoy "bonus hours" with friends and family.

When I wrote this blog, I described myself as a happy, healthy mom of two young children, who has a knack for being able to whip up family-friendly, healthy meals with whatever I find in our fridge, freezer and pantry. In these years of motherhood, I have come to appreciate that there is so much intertwined in "being healthy" and feeling good as a mother, wife and friend. As a super busy mom who raising young children, juggled part-time work, volunteering, keeping the house in order, writing this blog and the elusive goal of “me” time, I understand the need for recipes to be simple.

While I’d love to claim that I cook everything from scratch, with only local ingredients, I don’t. One of my children is a vegetarian, the other is a self-proclaimed "meatatarian", so mealtimes are a constant juggling act around here. But, I do a swell job of getting healthful meals made quickly…that everyone around here enjoys. And if you open my freezer, chances are you'll find a bevy of homemade meals at the ready.

My love of cooking comes from an entire childhood spent in Southern California, where phenomenal produce was available (and offered up) year round... memories of homemade meals and family dinners throughout my upbringing... my incredible exchange student experience living on a farm in Austria in high school... and years of fine-tuning my cooking skills through numerous classes at The Institute for Culinary Education (then called Peter Kump's), private cooking lessons at night after my day job at an investment bank, and a Professional Certificate in Techniques of Healthy Cooking from The Culinary Institute of America. I have a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from Northwestern.

Before writing this blog, I ran a (wildly popular) Fairfield County, CT-based personal chef service; consulted on private label food products; and worked in new product development and brand management for a really big food company.

As my children got older, and I had the dinner gig down pat, I shifted my focus and expertise. You can find out more about what I am up to here.