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“We always get together. I have two sisters who live in the United States, too, so for the Vietnamese New Year, we sometimes get together, even though we live so far away,” explains Jeannie. “When we get together, we cook all kinds of Vietnamese food, and everybody cooks together. My sisters are good cooks, too!” “We have a really big family and every body’s very close. Even though everyone lives far away, when we all get together, it’s like there was no time between the last time we saw each other,” says Peyton. “I have this very vivid memory of her sisters coming over when I was very young and showing me how to roll egg rolls for the first time. It was a super cool experience, because I remember I was the only grandkid that was home, so it felt really special that I got to be a part of that.” Spring rolls and egg rolls are also a family favorite around the holidays, and are easy to personalize with fish, shrimp, chicken, pork and, of course, plenty of fresh vegetables. Finch is an avid gardener, and her hand-grown bounty is always finding its way into her dishes. “All of the lettuce, the cilantro — everything — from the top of the pho to what she puts in the spring rolls, it’s from her garden,” Peyton notes. “She spends a lot of time working on it.”

Peyton is also working to keep her grand mother’s kitchen traditions and spirit of generosity alive and well by learning exactly what makes Jeannie’s dishes so magical. “I love to share my cooking with other people, and I think that’s something I inherited from her. I just started learning how to make pho over this past year, so sometimes I’ll call her and be like, ‘What do you put in this?’ or ‘I need help with this.’ And she’s always willing to teach me or send me different ingredients. I’m starting to learn everything that I know from her.” And if food is a love language for Jeannie, it’s clear that it’s becoming one for her grand daughter, too. “My mom’s side of the family, the food is American style, but over here it’s mostly Vietnamese food. It’s like two different kinds of Christmas,” Peyton says. “The first one is mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, macaroni — all that. And then I come here, with Maw Maw, and it’s a completely different experi ence. It’s so cool to have those two cuisines coexist in my family.”

a vermicelli rice noodle dish; and, of course, pho with chicken and oxtail. “She is definitely the person in charge of cooking. She wants to do everything. She has her own way of doing everything, and she does it the best,” Peyton says admiringly. “Growing up, she was always sending food to everyone’s houses, so to all my cousins’ houses, my house — it would be a big pot of pho, fried rice, a pan of egg rolls … so much food!” “With me and my husband, I cook all day, and he’s the delivery. All of time,” laughs Jeannie. And while for many people in the local Vietnamese community, the Lunar New Year might be marked by fireworks, concerts, dragon dances and carnival games like those found at the annual Mary Queen of Vietnam Church celebration in New Orleans East, for the Finch family, it’s all about — what else? — delicious food and plenty of family bonding time. Jeannie points to sweet, sticky rice, roasted pork, and roasted duck as favorite foods for the Lunar New Year, as well as a bevy of local seafood, but reaffirms that family togetherness is the most important tradition when it comes to marking the transi tion between years.

THE COLORS OF LUNAR NY ARROW-CIRCLE-RIGHT Red and yellow, or gold, are popular colors during the Lunar New Year festivities because they are believed to bring luck, happiness, wealth and prosperity.

PHOTOS BY JEANNIE DIMITRI SHUMAN

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