What’s Tomb Sweeping Got to Do With Spring Rolls?
Today is the Qingming Festival (清明節) when Chinese families all over the world visit ancestral tombs to pay respect by cleaning them. Despite being one of the three major holidays celebrated by the Chinese, very few in the West understand its significance. It is such a vital holiday that controversial for hire tomb sweeping services are now available for migrant workers who are unable to return to their ancestral homes during this festival.
I have a wooden bowl I use to hold potatoes, onions and garlic. It sits at the end of my kitchen counter and normally does a very good job of keeping the root vegetables dry and firm. Perhaps because of the warm weather of late some of the garlic bulbs started sending out green shoots. I decided to put the bulbs in a small shallow bowl with water, and placed it in front of a very sunny window in the living room. I am in fact very proud of how the shoots are beginning to grow into beautiful greens.