Happy Winter Solstice 2016 (冬至快乐!)

Winter officially starts today, with the fewest hours of daylight in 2016. 
Winter Solstice or 冬至 is one of the more important festivals celebrated by Chinese and East Asians. It is a time of reunion for families. My mother, originating from Taiwan, made the glutinous rice balls from scratch. This year, she made both sweet and savoury glutinous rice balls. For savory glutinous rice balls, she made minced meat and mushroom fillings and cooked the rice balls in chicken broth. For the sweet glutinous rice balls, she made them plain and cooked the rice balls in brown sugar and pandan syrup. 
Happy Winter Solstice 2016!

Savoury Glutinous Rice Balls with minced meat and mushroom filling

A glorious orange sunset to celebrate winter solstice (冬至)

PS. With my food poisoning, my mother only allowed me to have one savoury glutinous rice ball in case my stomach couldn't take it. Oh well, still better than not eating any!