New Year's feast!

New Year’s is not the same without some おせち．This year, I did not go to Japan for the holidays, so unfortunately, I missed out on my family's annual cookfest and eatfest tradition.
This was our spread from Oshogatsu 2005:
And from 2006:
And 2007:
Thus, between two New Year's Eve parties, I decided to make a few dishes and then find someone help me eat it. I did not make 10 things like my parents usually do; I made 3 or 4 items: 紅白なます大根 from a cookbook recipe that looked intriguing 、たたきごぼう、春菊のおひたし、and of course, 雑煮． Here are some pictures from Oshogatsu 2008:
The green stuff is the 春菊のおひたし(I don't know the translation in English); the middle orange-ish dish is the 紅白なます大根 (daikon and carrots braised with ground sesame seeds) and the one in the green dish is my favorite: burdock root! As popular as Japanese food is around here, I wasn't sure who would be a willing guinea pig to try this stuff; these are my friends who were gracious guinea pigs. :)
So in my own way, I was able to participate in my own oshogatsu feast. I did not have 年越しそばthough.