Moon Festival

Day 332 (bonus edition): Happy Moon Festival! Also referred to as the Mid-Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month is one of the most significant in Chinese culture. While I am not of Asian descent, I feel that there is a lot to be learned from embracing other cultures and exploring the meanings behind their traditions. Although it is most certainly not the same as the American holiday of Thanksgiving, the Mooncake Festival shares many of the same tenets: family, reunion, harmony and gratitude. For the occasion, I baked a modern version of the traditional sweet mooncake, this one filled with pineapple. The recipe was recently shared on YouTube by Mandy of Souped Up Recipes. The only alteration I made was to use well-drained crushed pineapple from a can rather than fresh. It worked perfectly, and resulted in what is now my favourite mooncake. As I described them to the friends who received them as Festival gifts, "Imagine a Chinese-style newton made with pineapple instead of figs." These won't last long!