[caption id="attachment_2343" align="alignright" width="130" caption="Aperitivo (snake's blood in rice wine)"]

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[caption id="attachment_2342" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="A snaky infusion of rice wine"]

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Bizarrely, I spent this Chinese New Year's Eve teaching cookery in Houston, and then eating Tex-Mex! (Molten cheese with tortilla chips; a San Antonio 'puffy taco' stuffed with smoked chicken; a great platter piled with a tamale, a couple of enchiladas, refried beans and rice - all very tasty, but incredibly rich and heavy! Could have done with a salad or some stir-fried greens. The highlight, for me, was one of the sides, the scrumptious refried beans cooked in lard.) On New Year's Day I travelled back to Washington DC, where I was staying with friends. So no Chinese food at all - not even a fish!

[caption id="attachment_2346" align="alignright" width="162" caption="Snake soup"]

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Anyway, since it's the Year of the Snake, I thought I'd post some pictures of snake delicacies from a visit to Fujian a few years ago.

[caption id="attachment_2349" align="alignleft" width="193" caption="What kind of snakes are these, in the kitchen? Anyone know?"]

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