How Peculiar
I made this joke in error yesterday, and it seemed to be a fitting mood for how my summer has been crackalackin’ so far, so I’m rolling with it.
I honestly did not think I would let the month of June pass in the blink of an eye. I thought being stuck between my bedroom and downstairs would make the days long and tiresome, but it seems that there is no depth to my ability to waste away my days. For an aging grandma like me, this is clearly no advantage.
I have been doing things (read as interesting activities), of course, but I can’t but feel miserably mediocre at all of these things so far.
For one, I have taken up some cooking and baking, which has been sort of on-and-off. (By the way, I postulate that all new chefs start from baking then transition to cooking, because sweets are always the first option until you realize the scale seems to be adding a few pounds to you every time you step on it). Anyways, the reason I say on-and-off is because I am not someone who is inherently interested in standing up for hours on end to knead some dough for a measly cookie. My interest arises from a dire need, and that need is to eat. Oh, how much I should have appreciated those measly cookies at Maseeh dining! Now, my hand forced (and no parents willing to buy the junk food), I have taken up the spatula and dough.
But there was so much more than cookies I was missing out on (although I will add that my snickerdoodles turned sugar cookie was still pretty good). Recently I have been sorely missing Korean food, so I also decided to take up the pots and pans. My first attempt at kimchi fried rice had the right color, but certainly not the right taste. My second attempt ended up even worse as my brother and I knawed away at my blackened rice. By the third attempt I had resolved to live a life without kimchi fried rice. But never fear! I had obtained, through great struggle, the hot pepper paste (gochujang) necessary for my next venture: the kimchi jjigae (stew). And, to be quite honest, I don’t think I’ll ever need a restaurant to make this for me again — in other words, I came, I saw, and I conquered the hell out of this dish. (At this point I am realizing how much I am starting to sound like those long-winded recipe blogs where you have to scroll past a five paragraph essay to get to the actual reciple, so I’m going to stop now). P.S. I also made rabokki (ramen + tteokbokki) though, and that was *chef’s kiss*.
Unfortunately, while my cooking has been on the rise, the guitar playing has unfortunately been on the low. I was honestly just getting the hang of the F barre chord when I decided that my musical career was over and I stopped practicing (now don’t get me wrong, it was over soon as my friends heard me sing for the first time, but let me be a little dramatic, will you?) Maybe the shame of writing this here will revitalize my journey so I can stop playing “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran, but considering the title of today’s blog, I’d say it’s not a fair coin toss.
Warning: I’m now going to mention YouTube and you’re going to say to me What else is new, Jamie?, but maybe there is something on YouTube that I’ve found that you’ll be interested in (doubtful, but this is also my blog and “I do what I want” so…)
Okay, now that you’re all anticipatory, I’m delighted to announce that I have been watching Chinese aesthetic peaceful nature cooking videos, alongside a host of relaxing ASMR-like cafe vlogs. This revelation should have come to me a lot sooner, but at this moment in time I am incapable of handling anything too intense (this means all cooking shows are out). Everything I watch must bring me immediate joy, and so I have taken up these habits.
Now, the cafe vlogs are pretty self-explanatory, because as you might have guessed, I am a cake-deprived soul. But I should probably explain what I mean by “Chinese aesthetic peaceful nature cooking videos”. An example is probably the best way to go about this: her name is Li Ziqi (李子柒), and this is her channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/cnliziqi. She is described as a “Chinese food and country-life blogger” from the rural countryside in Sichuan, China, and she makes the most cinematographic videos of herself making food and building tools from scratch. Other than her beaten-up motorbike that she uses to drive to other farms, I have rarely seen any technology appear. If you’ve ever wondered how to extract starch from chickpeas, or want to make your own couch from bamboo, then this is where you have to be.
And, finally, as a (dare I say) intellectual, I have finally decided to think about my plans for this fall, and let me tell you I have never been reminded more of that quote from Parasite (roughly translated): “You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan. No plan at all. You know why? Because if you make a plan, life never works out that way.” …And I’ve brought it full circle — my title now completely matches my ending. Good day.
