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Chicken Mandu

My plate of mandu

I don’t make the traditional mandu. This was a recipe that I made on the fly, not really knowing what goes into traditional mandu. Mandu is a Korean dumpling, which is generally made with pork or beef and sweet potato noodles. My boys aren’t the biggest fans of pork, so I came up with this recipe when my husband randomly had a craving for mandu and we only had ground chicken on hand. You can deep fry them, which is what I usually do. Though sometimes I steam them, then pan fry them to get a nice texture on them. These made a ton of mandu. Like a ridiculous amount. If you do use this recipe, get help wrapping the mandu or freeze the leftover filling for another time. Just a warning, I’m not the best wrapper. I mainly just do what I can to make sure the filling stays in and that’s all the patience I have, especially after 10 mandu in.

My ingredients.

What You Need

  • 4 big gloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 bulbs of green onions, sliced thin
  • 2 lbs. ground chicken
  • About 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • About 1/2 cup of soy sauce, or to taste
  • Gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes)
  • Homemade mandu wraps, store-bought mandu wraps, or simple wonton wrappers (If making from scratch, I like Maangchi’s recipe.)

Making the Filling

My filling.
  1. Start by preheating your skillet a few minutes before putting the oil in. Then add the sesame oil.
  2. Add ground chicken to pan with the hot oil. Take the time to really make small bites of the chicken, as small as you can. I like to add some salt and pepper while the chicken cooks, about a pinch or two of each.
  3. Once the chicken is cooked, add the minced garlic, soy sauce, and then add about 3 generous pinches of gochugaru. Sometimes I add a bit more of each, depending on taste. Cook all of this together.
  4. Take the chicken mixture off the heat and add the green onions. Mix together.
  5. While the mixture is cooling a bit, you can start rolling out your mandu wrappers as in the instructions if you use the recipe above for homemade wrappers.
  6. If using store-bought wrappers, they usually come with great picture instructions on the back to show you how to properly roll them.
  7. Once you roll them out, you can cook them as you wish. We typically fry them in 350°F vegetable oil. If you want to steam them, put a little layer of water in the bottom of the skillet (I usually just rinse out my filling skillet to use), then add the mandu and cover for about 5 minutes. Then after steaming them, I put them back in a pan with olive oil and get a nice crust on them.
  • Using Wonton wraps
  • Wonton Wraps folded
  • From scratch mandu wraps
  • Scratch mandu wraps filled
  • Sad mandu wrapping job

What I like about mandu is that they are really a family affair. Usually my oldest son will help me roll them out. This is a great moment to talk and connect with people. My husband, since I’m a bit of an accident-prone person, tends to fry the mandu for me. We talk about our days while he fries them. Then they get served in our house family style with jasmine rice in our house, dipped in either plain soy sauce or a soy sauce/gochujang mixture. We sit around casually eating these until our stomach hurts. Sometimes longer.

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It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Hacked

My son has anxiety issues. His anxiety, while it has slowly started to get better, is still very much present in our lives. His triggers include any blemish on his body (anything that’s bleeding, a scrape, even a bruise), bad weather, loud noises, when something looks “not right”, and tech related issues which he then goes worst case scenario assuming he’s been hacked. Of all of his triggers, the most common and worst of them are cuts and tech related issues. It’s not easy trying to figure out ways to validate his feelings while also trying to calm him down and thinking about ways to prevent a future attack. Especially since sometimes these episodes can be hours long affairs.

I never compare parenting struggles, but honestly there’s nothing more trying of your patience. You need to remain calm as your child is pacing frantically around the room, practically hyperventilating as he goes through all of his thoughts out loud. It’s a helpless feeling knowing that whatever you could say can be misinterpreted and worsen the situation. Sometimes, maybe because I’m a bad mom, I just watch it unfold because I have no idea what to do otherwise and I’m afraid I’m going to start pacing around the room just as frantically because I don’t want to make matters worse and my heart hurts. Yesterday, my son woke up at 7 a.m. from a nightmare that he got hacked and the computer didn’t work anymore. I held him while he calmed down, knowing that when he has his nightmares, he just needs cuddles. But then every flicker or anytime the computer lagged for a minute, he just remembered his nightmare and starts pacing around the house in a panic that he’s just been hacked and what is he going to do and his email has something from Google about compromised passwords and what is he going to do and maybe he needs 2-step authentication or check to see if Linus Tech Tips can help but he can’t go near the computer because of the hack haunting him.

My husband is an IT god among men. Fortunately in his new position at work, he spends most of his time at his new desk. My son called him 4 times in a row before he received a tech answer that satisfied him and he was able to get over his episode. He was fine for the rest of the day and excited when Dad came home to talk to him all about what he learned about computers after they talked. He’s 8 and knows more about computers than most adults I know, myself included.

Every day is different. He could go several days without an episode. He can have an episode every day. He can have several moments in a day. You can’t avoid triggers, because you’re supposed to help him figure out ways of coping. Sometimes getting him to do his breathing exercises works. Sometimes you just put his noise-cancelling headphones on and he’s fine. I prepare him ahead of time that a storm is coming because if he hears the thunder, it’s game over immediately. At least if he knows it’s coming, he lasts until he sees heavy winds, then he starts pacing around frantically reminding himself that Mommy has a plan in case of a hurricane or tornado and she knows what to do to keep me safe and his brother is a certified lifeguard and has his first aid certifications so if something happens, he can help too. How when he gets any sort of cut or scrape he needs a bandage and how Mommy doesn’t understand that he needs a bandage because this scrape is the most important thing on his mind right now. You just let him have the bandage, even when you can’t see a mark.

You never truly know patience until you have to manage sensory disorders and anxiety and whatever other mental health condition can be thrown at you in the form of your children. It’s hard enough dealing with your own mental health issues, let alone also managing your child’s. You always have to walk a delicate line. You get judged or funny looks because your kid won’t go into the cafeteria with loud noises or won’t wear a Halloween costume to a school Halloween function for whatever reason he rationalized and you just go with it because all that matters is that they are happy and participating the best that they can. You treasure those good days more than you normally would because you know just how bad those bad days can be.

But the most important thing is that they know that you love them through it all. Even when they are thrashing around and keep hitting you during an anxiety attack. You just hug them harder. Even when their defiance seems unable to be overcome. Because when they are smiling at you, they smile bigger since they know that you were there for them when they weren’t behaving or acting out or having an anxiety attack. They know that you would fight all of those triggers if you could. You were patient with them, even when you think that you weren’t. You did enough for them when you thought it was impossible to help. They just want to know that you love them and that you are there for them no matter what. Even if you have to buy a 100 pack of bandages a week.

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As Pride Month Nears the End

As Pride Month nears the end, I couldn’t help but to consider something. What’s the big deal? What’s the big deal if a gay couple wants to get married? How does that impact YOUR life? No one is saying that you have to be gay and marry your partner; they are simply saying if you can marry the love of your life, why can’t we? It’s a fair argument. What’s the big deal if someone wants to be known as different pronouns or wants to dress a different way every day because they don’t conform to a gender identity? How does that impact your life? The answer is: it doesn’t.

I’ve always wondered, as any rational being would, why some people fight so hard for freedoms and complain about their freedoms being trounced on while they proceed to trounce on other people’s rights. Wearing a mask = muh freedoms! Gay marriage and trans rights being denied acceptance = my religious/moral beliefs are more important than the freedoms of my fellow Americans. It’s a self-centered view to have, if you really think about it. Which makes sense, because many people are only willing to fight if something directly impacts them. Or is told by propaganda media that something impacts them. Then, they will charge into a state or federal capitol building without an issue.

This Pride Month should celebrate how far we’ve come, but it disheartens me to say that I’m not sure we’ve really come as far as we should have. I’m fortunate enough that I live in a state where gay couples can get married and start families of their own through adoption. But not everyone is as fortunate. I wish my loved ones who are in the LGBTQ+ community could experience the life that they want to live, without fear of other people hating them, injuring them, or even killing them. I wish that at least 52 years past the Stonewall Riots that people could live their lives freely without memes mocking trans people for being “ugly wannabe girls” or at least get married without jumping through a million hoops. When I got married, I showed up to City Hall, got my marriage license to be signed by our JP, and called it a day. It’s not lost on me that even interracial marriage wasn’t even federally legal until 1967, and it saddens me that the road for the LGBTQ+ community is so long to get to equality.

We’re supposed to be kind and accepting of others. That’s what the Bible says, if you are religious. If not, aren’t we supposed to be fighting for all Americans to be able to achieve “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as stated in the Declaration of Independence. You spend so much time saying being forced to wear masks infringes on your rights, but does it not infringe on the rights of others to not be able to marry the person that they love? It infringes on your rights to be forced to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but it’s okay that trans people are forced into identities because they have no legal protections otherwise? I’m not sure what the argument is here. Is it that the government must be small enough to fit into the bedroom? You can’t tell me what to do or what I can’t do or be, unless I’m different from “societal norms”, then infringing on one’s rights to live their lives is perfectly acceptable.

We’re not truly free if people keep telling us who’s allowed to have rights and who isn’t. Straight women have freedoms, as long as they don’t want abortions or birth control or equal pay. Straight white men can do whatever they want. Gay men can’t exist and trans people are just pedophiles in disguise waiting to assault our unattended children in bathrooms. Did I get all of that right? It’s confusing to me, so you have to bear with me.

The last paragraph was 90% sarcasm. Pretty much everything past “We’re not truly free if people keep telling us who’s allowed to have rights and who isn’t” was snide commentary, though not snide enough because the hypocrisy is so loud. I say that we just let people live their lives. How does them being happy impact you? You don’t have to change your life. You don’t even have to like it. You just have to accept that others have the right to be happy, and as long as they are consenting adults that are contributing to society in a positive way, what’s the big deal if they are LGBTQ+ or live some lifestyle that you wouldn’t live? Spoiler: it’s not a big deal. You just have to accept that they have the same freedoms that you have to be happy.

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When You Shake Off the Writer’s Block

My writing process is simple: I just write and keep writing until my brain stops working. That’s how I work. Then, I look back at what I managed to write and try to unwind it. Half the time I don’t even realize where a story is going before I finish. I don’t usually have some end game that came to me. I don’t reverse engineer my work, starting with the ending and working my way back to the beginning. Instead, I rely on my characters to tell me where they should be going. It’s probably not the best approach. Arguably, I’d probably be a more successful writer if that weren’t my approach, because if it did work I’d probably have sold more works. (Though, considering my inability to promote myself and such, making over $100 in total on my works isn’t actually that bad.)

We returned from our vacation on Sunday. I did read Seth Rogen’s “Yearbook”. It was fantastic. If you want to laugh and forget about your troubles for a bit, it’s definitely a great read. At the local bookstore in the Berkshires, I did manage to find a single copy of “Crying in H Mart” by Michelle Zauner. While I didn’t have the time to read the book in a day like I did “Yearbook” (I’m a very fast reader), I also definitely recommend “Crying in H Mart”. Being able to relax, take 2 very relaxing bubble baths, and just read was essential in getting the recharge that I needed to get back into things. Sure enough, a little before passing out at night, I sat down with my “Anything is Pawsable” notebook my husband bought me for inspiration and started to sketch out a character. Then, all of a sudden, words came to me. And I started to flood a few pages with excitement. I’m not good at much, but cooking and words are absolutely my strengths.

What is the story about? No clue. I have a main character named Elise. I have words that start a story, which I’m hoping will be part of a serial. But, I won’t know until I get in there. I can picture her. I know the basics of her situation. From there? I guess I’ll see where the story takes me.

What I like about this approach to writing is that it takes me on the same journey as the reader. I connect with the characters. I feel bad for their situation. I laugh at their jokes. I put so much of myself into these works that it’s like watching a child grow. You can only do so much to help, but eventually they are going to take the reigns and you are just along for the ride.

The only thing I know is that this is the first time that I was really able to write something outside of blogs or ghostwriting work. This was something that I think I’m going to love. This is a journey that I hope I can continue on. I guess we’ll see what happens.

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Finding Your Way Back to Classic

Lately, I’ve had a bit more free time than usual. I decided to get back into WoW Classic and boost my character up in preparation for the Burning Crusade release. I tried to level as a holy priest as I did back in Vanilla, but it turns out that it’s less fast and fun if you don’t have a group of people to play with. That was something that I never did manage to experience during my first round of Classic’s release. I topped out at 28 and never looked back. The idea of boosting my character so that I could play B.C. helped me decide to give it a go again. In the original release, I was holy up until our guild started raiding Karazhan since there was the need for a Shadow Priest. This time around, I decided to just skip the step and go into SP (Shadow Priest) leveling.

In Burning Crusade, I seemed to find my love of classic again. People were helping each other. I joined a guild that seemed perfect for a casual player like me, rather than being booted repeatedly from guilds because I wasn’t hardcore enough. It was thrilling to hear the sound of the Fel Reaver while the screen was shaking and run on instinct, fearing for my life. It was even funnier watching people who didn’t know better try to fight rather than accept their fate or even who thought that at 60 they could solo one. Even leveling as shadow has proven to be a more enjoyable experience than leveling as holy the first time around. Aside from the annoying fact that there wasn’t a patch until later on that allowed you to tag mobs with your dots. Of all the quality of life changes that they should have included upon release, that was the the one.

I tried to go home again in Classic. I even wrote upon its release of whether or not you could go home again. Whether the nostalgia was better than the experience. Going back, I realized that it was more nostalgic than actually enjoyable. Especially as someone who has sworn off any real raiding due to burnout and annoyance from past experiences in my last raiding guild. It wasn’t worth getting stressed over a video game. The feeling of isolation while in a guild was depressing. It wasn’t good for the mental and I refuse to look back.

But with the release of Burning Crusade, I did find a bit of that original magic. I engaged with people. I had fun. It was truly magical and reminded me of why I love the game. I’m not someone who makes friends easily. I do have an admittedly abrasive personality that most people don’t appreciate. But in World of Warcraft, that didn’t matter. There was a connection with others over a common goal. I would argue that some of my best friends were made through the game. Some that I still talk to outside of the game. One of the greatest of them, Tars, I wish I could still talk to today. Even years after his death, I still think about him as I would anyone else that has died and left an impact on my life.

That’s the thing that people don’t understand about video games, especially ones like World of Warcraft. It isn’t just about the game. It’s about the experience. It’s about the connections that you make with real people, who may not be just like you but have the same general interests and goals. That was the original magic of Classic that somehow got lost along the way in retail. While it may be hard to go back home again in the sense of forming that community and connections with others, that doesn’t mean there isn’t some magic in those small moments that you have when you’re playing the game. That’s the beauty of the fantastic worlds that video games create.

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Go Take That Hard-Earned Vacation

It has been a long, terrible year for all of us. People barely left their house due to quarantining. Even if there wasn’t a mandate, I probably still would’ve stayed home as I would whenever it’s “sickness season”. I have a fairly weak immune system. An Irish immune system, if you will. Someone with a cold just looks at me and I’m down for a week. Being vaccinated has been freeing for someone like me because anything to reduce my chances of being sick makes me happy since I spend so much time being sick. Now that it’s safe to enjoy a weekend away, I’m going to enjoy that sweet sweet bubble bath and wine I have been dreaming of since the last time we went to this amazingly quaint hotel in the Berkshires. A place with a massive soaking tub, which I don’t get the benefit of at home.

Even though it’s not a flashy vacation spot, it’s my favorite place in the entire world. It’s peaceful and quiet. The beautiful mountain landscapes and quaint shops bring me such joy. It’s a place that puts me at ease. It’s a place where I can get away and really enjoy the moment. It will be the perfect place to refresh after this insane year that felt like it would never end. Even something as simple as enjoying a coffee (or wine. or both really) on the massive front porch of the main building seems like a dream. Everyone needs something like that right now. After months of juggling remote learning and trying to make things as fun as possible without really going anywhere. Without having the benefit of a babysitter to give you an hour of peace. It’s nice to be able to do something like this.

I’m going to go to a local bookstore and buy a new book or 3, which will definitely include Seth Rogen’s “Yearbook” and “Crying in H Mart”. I’m going to sit with my notebook and write or sketch. I’m going to make this the best 2 1/2 days that I have had in a long time. I’m going to make it productive creatively, to hopefully kickstart my brain into a new project or more. This quarantine has not been productive as far as my own work, because I’ve been compensating for losing so much paid work because the arts are expendable in times of crisis. My brain fog has been from spending so much time focused on using my creative power for other people’s projects that I haven’t been able to take the time for me. This weekend could very well be that time and I could not be happier for it.

Take a hard-earned vacation for yourself. Even if it’s going nowhere. Even if it’s camping in the backyard. (Just watch out for bears, if you do.) Just the change of scenery is going to work wonders for you. Sometimes it’s just good to put things on pause and refresh your brain. I’m not someone who should preach about self-care and the importance of that because I don’t usually prioritize myself on the regular. But every now and then, a nice, quiet weekend away to the mountains or the beach can be so satisfying.

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I’m Fairly Agile; I Can Bend and Not Break. Or I Can Break and Take it With a Smile.

This is the second time I’ve used lyrics from Dashboard Confessional for a title of a blog. There’s just something about their words that always seem to speak to me, offering me something that I relate to. It’s always great when you find that connection in words, whether it’s lyrics, blogs, or other pieces of art, because it gives you something that helps you feel less alone on whatever journey that you are going through. One of the things that have inspired me to become a writer is the understanding and awe of just how powerful words can really be. At some point, your words will hit someone in just the right moment and you can have a small but profound impact on their day or even their life. You can help them through that difficult time as a parent or know that grief and loss is something you can relate to. You can help them know that while the rest of the world wants to hate you for just being you, there’s at least some person who’s there on your side. Words matter.

I pride myself in the art of stoicism. That is something that has helped me be the reliable person that I am. I can, probably as unhealthy as it is, compartmentalize practically anything. This helps to separate any emotion out of decisions that I need to make in order to make the rational choice. Because at the end of the day, I will always do the rational thing. The right thing. Will I like it? Not always. Will I perform my duties as expected of me? Always. Grin and bear it. I will do as the the title of the post suggests: “I will bend and not break. Or I can break and take it with a smile.” Is that the healthiest approach in life? Probably not. But, I never once lied to my readers to convince them that I am always in a great mental state. In fact, if anything I’ve been completely honest in the fact that most days I barely have it together. That’s the reality that most people live in though. Just getting by.

Life isn’t pretty. It’s challenging. You’re not going to like everyone that you meet. That’s okay. Not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone is going to think like you. Something that you see as perfectly reasonable or even something that you think is completely obvious, may not be so obvious to others. Everyone looks through life with a different lens. The problem is that you think you can just put on someone else’s lens and think you’re going to see things as clearly as they do. More often than not, you just get blurry vision and an awful headache for trying.

What’s the point of all of this? Maybe there isn’t one. Maybe I just wanted to let people know that it’s okay to break. Maybe I want people to know that it’s okay to bend. Some days you are going to have it and other days, you’re so far from having it that you’re locked in the bathroom eating Flamin’ Hot Doritos and rethinking your life choices. I just want you to know that it’s okay. Every day is a new day to try to pull your crap together and if you don’t, try again tomorrow. Even if you barely made it through the day, the good news is that you still made it. You survived whatever it was that tried to take you down. I think that’s the most important thing.

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And He’s Now a Graduate

I think I was waiting for some emotional moment to happen when my oldest graduated. I expected to be overcome with sadness, but instead I was just immensely proud. I expected to mourn his milestone into adulthood, but instead I was really excited to see him transition to this next chapter of his life. I reminisced in my head about his kindergarten graduation. I bragged to anyone who would listen about him. (Sorry social media. But kinda not.) He’s now a graduate, moving onto this next adventure of his life: college, which is clear across the state from us.

It’s hard. It’s hard to put all of this to words. I spent the graduation not being able to hear anything and making jokes about how the mayor is only good at public appearances and giving speeches. I was just focused on getting him through the day, doing the walk he didn’t want to do. I told him, “I don’t care if you don’t do the walk. This isn’t for you. I care that your grandparents are going to be pissed at me for letting you not walk. I just don’t want to listen to it. So, suck it up buttercup, you’re doing it.” I explained for him that graduation is about the family being proud of their graduate. Hilariously, after all of that he keeps asking me for any pictures I had of the event. Not bad for someone who didn’t want to do the walk.

It’s easy to feel sad about this. You remember them as babies and somehow you blink and they are planning their college adventures. They are on a program for dormmates that’s essentially just Tinder, where you scroll through and select the people that you think you can spend the year not arguing with. You may even make a friend for the rest of your time at school. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not letting myself focus on the sadness of my oldest leaving sooner than I’d like. I’m focusing on the other things. Like how great it’s going to be for him at his dream school. Like how I need a new couch and a fixed bathroom door before I can throw a party. Like how if I break down, I know everyone else will follow. But if I show strength, they will all know it’s okay. I know my role in the world, and that’s it.

My boy graduated within the top 70 of his class of 291 students and he graduated with a fancy Pro Merito recognition. He finished his grades with a 90 in AP English and had honors all 4 years of school. He had his choice of colleges and a future wide open to him. I’m so proud of his hard work and the man that he’s become. He’s caring, compassionate, and kind. He’s trying to figure out how he can use his future career to have a positive impact on the world. He wants to help people and wants to work in law enforcement, trying to do his part to make the system more honest. He has lofty ideals that I hope for his sake (and the world’s really) he can accomplish. I have faith that he’s going to do great things. I have faith that I did everything that I could to give him the foundation of intelligence, confidence, and compassion to achieve everything he wants to.

My boy is a graduate. The world is now his to do what he wants with. And I wish that I could say that I could not be any more proud of him than I am in this very moment. But I know that he’s going to keep making me even prouder when he goes out into this world. I just hope that he’s ready for the world.

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Overwatch League: June Joust Knockouts and Lost Hopes

I’ve pointed out on many occasions that I’m a lifelong Boston fan. Which is going to happen when your family is from Boston. Even though now I don’t follow baseball or basketball since living on my own, growing up I remembered the pain of being a Boston fan. How they either just set the bar low for expectations and keep it there or raise your expectations, only to hit you in the face with “psych!” Then, you stick by your team in hopes that one day your loyalty will pay off. If it doesn’t, you’re stuck because you’ve already purchased all the merch and you’re too cheap to jump ship. I’m more on the “wait for the loyalty to pay off”, because it did work for my beloved New England Patriots. We’ll get there again, hopefully in my lifetime.

The Boston Uprising and the Houston Outlaws fans are both used to this pain. The Houston Outlaws fans so far have had quite the rollercoaster ride, with solid performances in the qualifiers only to fall very short in the actual tournaments. I actually feel bad for these fans because they did have signs to backup their hopes for greatness. The Uprising, on the other hand, have not really had the best start. Going 1-3 in the May Melee qualifiers was a very rough start. But then, we start the June Joust qualifiers and we are dominating teams. It was exciting! Could we make it?! The next 2 matches were going to be rough as both Paris Eternal and the Los Angeles Gladiators were both really solid teams, especially with this hero pool meta. Even if we lost both matches, if we could at least get one map each and other pieces fell into place, we could still make the Knockouts. Right?

….Well…

We did lose both matches. We did get one map off of the Los Angeles Gladiators and 2 off of the Los Angeles Gladiators. We played (mostly) strong, but there were things that weren’t working out. Why was Im37 way over wherever he was and dying all the time? Why did the team go super aggressive and practically spawn camp when they should have stayed closer to the point? It wasn’t the result of one person failing, not with either the Outlaws or the Uprising. It was about the team not coming together or silly mistakes that were made by everyone. These are humans, who have real emotions that soar during these matches. They get angry because they are losing and make silly mistakes. They are so desperate for a win to show their fans that they are capable and that their fans should stick by them. Because even when you lose, real fans will always stick by if there’s a glimmer of something to root for.

They did make it into the June Joust Knockouts, which was exciting. Could we shape up and beat Atlanta Reign? Even if we could, how well would we do against the San Francisco Shock, the back-to-back Grand Finals champions who have had their own struggles this season? Well, we got 3-0’ed and only really put up a fight on Numbani, which we then didn’t put up a fight and just fell apart when we were so close to victory. At least the Reign was also a strong enough team to beat the Shock… so there’s that to comfort us?

The Uprising seems to have reverted back to their days of “Let’s bash our heads against a wall doing something that obviously isn’t working” and refusing to find a way to adapt. They did that well in earlier matches, making adjustments to comps and strats during the match. They didn’t win, but at least they would try to adapt. Why didn’t Punk come in on Numbani, especially after that last time when he absolutely dominated on the map? Why didn’t we try going with mirror comps? Why didn’t we play to our strengths instead of forcing something that wasn’t working perfectly? I get that you practice something so much that you want to get stubborn and stick with it, but when it doesn’t work it is as frustrating for the fans as it is for the players. Maybe it’s because I’m a mom and most of these players are the same age as my oldest, but I feel so sad for those players when I see how those losses affect them.

I believe in my team, though. I’m rooting for them to shake it off and come back stronger in the Summer Showdown. I like this team and they have such potential if they only have the support staff to help them. I trust in Lori and I even trust in Ascroft. But I feel like there’s something behind the scenes that isn’t clicking and I’m not sure it’s on Lori. I think if we just leave him to do what he does, the team is going to make a great comeback.

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BluishOblivion Goes Cooking: Kimchi Ramen

For a long time, friends on my Facebook have asked for recipes or advice on cooking. Some have even suggested YouTube videos. While I may not be as impressed by my cooking as they are (and my family), I figured I’d oblige. After posing the question on Facebook, it turns out ramen was the way to go. In this case, kimchi ramen. So my once a month recipe share is a take on my usual ramen recipe.

Before getting started, there are a few things that I’d like to point out. First of all, I normally make my own bone broth from scratch using veggie scraps and whatever bones on sale at the local meat store. This also doesn’t have a lot veggies (just used bamboo shoots and water chestnuts) and I’ve limited ingredients to accommodate an easier on the stomach ramen, which is why I didn’t make my own broth as usual. This isn’t perfect fodmap as it does have some garlic and onions in the ramen broth and kimchi. You can also use whatever noodles that you want. I usually use different noodles depending on what my boys are feeling since I don’t eat ramen. This week, we opted for soba. Another point is that when I can find ramen base at the store, I get that as well for a deeper flavor. Lastly, this is really just a base. You can add whatever you want to it to make it great for your family. My husband added some extra vinegar while my son added more chili oil.

the basics

You’ll need:

  • Eggs (if you like soft boiled eggs in ramen)
  • 32 oz. bone broth (I used beef, but you can use any bone broth)
  • 32 oz. ramen broth
  • Kimchi
  • Soy sauce
  • Sesame oil
  • Chili oil (optional)

To start with, I boil the water in a sauce pan for my eggs. Once the water is boiled, I use a slotted spoon to carefully place the eggs in the water. Cover, reduce the heat to medium so that it stays boiling, then set the timer for 6 minutes. While the eggs are cooking, I take a bowl and set it aside for the eggs. When the eggs are done, I take the slotted spoon and place the eggs into the bowl. Then I run cold water on it until the water stays cold and shut the water off. (Ice bath is for people who actually have ice on hand.) I let the eggs sit in the bowl and use the same pan for my noodles. I add enough water to fill more than half the pan and re-boil the water.

chopped kimchi

Next, I open up the broths (bone and ramen broths, and ramen base if you have it) and pour them into a larger pot. Let heat up while you open/prep your veggies. (I use canned Asian veggies for easier cooking) Then I grab about a handful of kimchi, dice it up into chunks, then add it to the broth. I then take a couple of tablespoons of the kimchi brine as well. Mix everything together until it cooks. Taste it, and add about a cup of soy sauce and a teaspoon of sesame oil for extra flavor.

gooey soft boiled eggs

While your noodles are finishing cooking, start to crack your eggs. Don’t cut them until they are about to go in the soup or use them as a topper for your bowl of ramen.

Strain and rinse the noodles, then add the noodles to the broth. Add chili oil to taste.

The finished product.

And el fin. Ramen.

Again, I emphasize that this is to taste. This was more on the bland side to stick as closely as I could to my husband’s low fodmap diet. It isn’t perfect because it does have garlic and onion in both the kimchi and the ramen broth. But I did what I could to limit it.