It all started last week. I made scallion pancakes. I was going to use a mix of onions. The shallots I had went bad and were not used. My red onion was huge, but I sliced and cooked it up anyway. Then I sliced and cooked the scallions. Since scallions were the star I used them all and there was only enough room left for a tiny bit of cooked red onions. So I bought two packages of puff pastry with the intent of only using one of them and saving the other for whatever future. I also bought already shredded Gruyère/Swiss cheese. Two 6 oz packages. Figure I would make an onion tart.
I used up all the onions and cheese. What I didn’t realize is the box of puff pastry comes with two sheets of puff pastry and I wanted only one. So I asked Google what should I do? Seemed the most logical answer was cheesy bread sticks. Layer out the sheet, egg washed it, sprinkled on spices and cheese, cut them into strips and twisted them and baked them.
These are the cheesy bread sticks cut in half.
So by now you think I would be done. I still had some egg was and cheese left. It wasn’t really enough egg to make an omelet, so I added another egg and some spices. Then I scrambled the mixture and cooked on the stove top, flipped, added some cheese, flipped the omelet onto itself and plated it. May be the best omelet I have ever made.
Truth be told I still have about three ounces left. Hmmm…what to do? 😺
It is really called common place book, but my heart prefers the word “journal”. Perhaps I associate the “journal” with “journey” and I love to travel and I also love to learn about people’s journey in life. I am no etymologist, but I should research if the two words are related at some point.
I first heard of a commonplace book maybe a year ago, but I don’t remember where. I quickly forgot about it. Then recently heard it mentioned for one split second in a video. I remembered I wanted to look into it. It has been around for hundreds of years. It is a place to collect inspiration. These days a lot of people use it for quotes. Thing is, there are no rules. Look it up on YouTube and you will be overwhelmed. Some even use a note card method. It can be poetry, recipes, art, or even things you find interesting in a scientific journal. The absolute best place to start learning about commonplace books is Wikipedia. Then you can delve into how people are doing them now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book
Collecting quotes was never my thing, but I may start. I already put in a couple of poems. I will try doing a commonplace journal. It will have second purpose of trying different writing utensils and working on my handwriting. I am pretty happy with today’s entry. The brush pen was a pain. I had that set for eons. I don’t know if it is a bad set, or that they are old, or that I suck at brush pens. Maybe all of the above. I may at some point I may buy a new brush pen or two and look at tutorials on YouTube. For now it is far from a priority. I ended up using Pentel EnerGel Infree 0.5mm. Possibly my favorite pen I own. I just ordered a set with many different colors, but 0.7mm because the 0.5mm were sold out for now. I am sure I will like the 0.7mm just fine. I am using my Quo Vadis dot grid for the commonplace journal.
This exchange had me wondering, why are our resolutions all about self improvement? Why aren’t we more like Ina? I don’t think there is anything wrong exercising and eating right, but we are humans, it is good to live a little. Of course I long ago stopped making resolutions and made goals. Arguably the same thing but I wasn’t going to attach a must do agenda to feel guilty about later. This year it morphed into a bucket list which really doesn’t suggest guilt if something is not accomplished. It will go on next years list if I want it to.
I did put some indulgent things on my bucket list like making peach cobbler. I love eating it but I have never made it. Drawing faces on eggs has been on my goal lists for years. Until this morning I still hadn’t done it. What does it accomplish? Making me happy and connecting with my inner child. Doesn’t need to accomplish anything more than that.
Here are some ideas for you:
Have a manicure
Archery class
Trip somewhere you always wanted to go
Sleep in on the weekend
Better yet, spend the whole weekend in your PJs watching (or reading or listening to) your favorite guilty pleasures and eating junk food
Take yourself out to dinner somewhere nice
Have a dinner date with a friend
Take a class for something you always wanted to learn
Buy a nice piece of clothing
Eat that decadent dessert
This is is just a starter list. What would you add?
There are no photos of light pillars, but I was inspired to take night photos after a brief conversation about light pillars with a friend. While I live in Southeast Wisconsin, we rarely have the right conditions for light pillars. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has happened, but I have yet to see it. It is a life goal of mine. Here is a nice article explaining light pillars. https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/photos-what-are-light-pillars-2/433069
I am at work folding letters that I will be mailing and just before I was assigned that I had just learned of a podcast called Post Office Poems. A pure delight to get through the day!
Last Weekend I was in Chicago (I live a couple hours North of there), and I finally got a copy of Joanne Lee Molinaro’s cookbook The Korean Vegan.
As some of you know from previous posts I have been exploring more vegan eating. I am doing this as a way to eat healthier and expand my food vocabulary. I will never be vegan, but so happy with the new crop of vegan YouTubers. They make vegan delicious and approachable.
One of the first ones I found was Visha Nora of Rainbow Plant Life. In one of her videos she was cooking from the cookbooks of other vegans. That is when I learned about The Korean Vegan Cookbook by Joanne Lee Molinaro and I have been obsessed ever since. I LOVE Korean food! I couldn’t believe I didn’t know about this. TikTok is not my jam, but now I look at it to watch Joanne, though I see a lot of it on YouTube as well. Today and yesterday I made some stuff from the cookbook. Looks like I didn’t do much, but I didn’t get everything done, but I have a lot of the prep work done now.
Spicy Soy Sauce Dressing
Aside from chopping some veggies, one of the easiest things to make. Well a number of things are easy. This is nice and flavorful. I had a hard time finding brown rice syrup, but I finally found it. Or you could use maple syrup. I grew up on the imitation stuff and never took to the real stuff. I didn’t use either. I used sorghum syrup. It can be hard to find, but there is a place in Wisconsin that makes it and I got it at the Winter Farmers Market in Milwaukee WI a few years back. I can also get it at a local store. It has a similar taste and texture to molasses, but I like it better.
Gyerranmari – Korean Style Omelet
This uses an egg replacer called Just Egg. Otherwise like making an omelet, but rolled. I needed half for a recipe, the other half I ate and there is no way you would know it was vegan. Very delicious.
The Korean Vegan Spicy Mayo
This is not in the cookbook, but on her web site. I haven’t used it yet, but I did dip a spoon in it. Guess what? It is very spicy. I accidentally used chili sesame oil instead of regular chili oil. So hard to find chili oil without a ton of crisps and little oil. In the future I will make my own chili oil. So the sesame chili oil I believe affects the taste, but it is still good. I plan on eating fries and maybe blistered shishitos with it. https://thekoreanvegan.com/spicy-vegan-mayo/
Spicy Gochujang Dressing
I needed to make this because it was a part of another recipes. Only change I made was using a roasted garlic mustard that I got at the Mustard Museum in Middleton WI. I am not a mustard fan, but I found some I can tolerate. https://mustardmuseum.com/
Kimchi Bokkeum Bap
Basically Kimchi Fried Rice. I found vegan kimchi at Joong Boo Market in Chicago. I didn’t know we were going to go and I had just got the book, so I wasn’t prepared with a list of other things to buy there, but at least I got vegan kimchi. I also got chive kimchi which isn’t vegan, but for this recipe I used the vegan kimchi. This is the recipe where I used Gyerranmari and the spicy gochujang dressing. I did not make or use the bulgogi recipe, just left it out. It is super delicious and will be my lunch this week at work.
The Book and Upcoming Recipes
Make sure to look for the book, it is well worth it. If you are in Chicago and go to Unabridged Bookstore you might even get a signed copy like I did. Next weekend I am taking a 5 day weekend and hopefully I will make Japchae, Angry Penne Pasta, Jjajangmyun, and Rice Balls. Also in the future Sujebi (spicy turn noodles) and Korean BBQ and Black Bean Burgers. https://www.unabridgedbookstore.com/
Resolutions and goals are so boring! I have a bucket list! What should I add?
Cook a recipe every month from a community cookbook
Weigh only once a month
Put effort into blog and YouTube channel
Learn to juggle
Make paper mache antlers
Enter a cooking contest if any are happening
Use my Tagine
Practice piano once or twice a week
Publish a poem and/or article somewhere that isn’t my blog
Get involved in something in the community
Eat healthy and exercise more
Start learning Spanish
Four mile walk once a week
Make home made cream of tomato soup
Make a sculpture
Take a pottery class, maybe make a bowl
Maybe take some writing classes
Take more photos of the world
Wear earrings more frequently
Learn chess
Bake a cake from scratch
Create a milk and honey cheesecake
Go to a cooking class
Make a cookbook zine
Make a fictional map
Draw funny faces on eggs in the fridge
Sleep in a yurt
Create my own stationery
Make pasta from scratch
Make peach cobbler
I never liked the word “resolutions”, but I have done a goals list off and on for years. Sometimes even making a practice of 100 goals inspired by others who do the same. I don’t really do 100 anymore, just what comes to mind as well as look at past lists and see if there is anything I want to keep. But I don’t like calling them goals. It is more a loose list of maybe would be fun and/or beneficial to do. My friend John was like “a bucket list”. I think that is perfect!
Rainy Saturday Creative 