Tag: recounted

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chicken soup for the soul

last week, i had an intense craving for all things soupy.  i wanted pho, ramen, tofu stew — anything that was wet, warm, and satiating.  i’m sure the craving was a physical manifestation of some psychological need for “comfort’ in preparation for mgs’ departure.  soup reminds me of home and as the great luther vandross (et. al.) once sang, “a house is not a home when the two of us are far apart…”  well hey, if i can’t have mgs , then — let me have my soup!  this recipe is adapted from several, but mostly improvised.

i always forget what advice my friends and mom have given me regarding whether or not to remove the skin.  i think it’s better if you do because the skin is super fatty.  i didn’t this time around, but had to do a lot of fat-skimming.

serves many / cooking time: 2 – 3 hours (the longer, the better)

ingredients
1 whole chicken (again – up to you whether to keep the skin or not)
1 chopped red onion
4 diced cloves of garlic
3 chopped green onions/chives (only the green part)
4-6 inches of ginger sliced into 1/2 inch chunks
6-8 diced campari tomatoes
3-4 carrots diced to small chunks
10 small potatoes quartered
1 teaspoon of olive oil
water
salt and fresh ground pepper, to season

1. rinse the chicken and, if you prefer, remove the skin and fat.  even if you don’t remove the skin, make sure to remove as much fat as possible by cutting it off around and below the skin.  set aside and let it dry.

2. in a large pot, saute the onion until it is caramelized.  add the ginger, garlic, and 2 green onions.  heat until the ginger and garlic are brown and the green onion is bright green.  add the chicken and slightly brown each side.  add the carrots.

3. pour enough water to cover the entire contents of the pot.  the chicken should be submerged at least 1-inch below the water.  bring to a boil and reduce to medium heat.  cover and let it simmer for 1 – 1.5 hours.  occasionally open the lid and skim off surface oil.

4.  carefully remove the chicken from the soup.  using your hands or tongs, pull off the majority of meat from the bones.  you can save the meat for chicken salad or — whatever people do with chicken.  i personally like to remove only the white meat.  keep the dark meat on the bones and throw it all back into the soup.  toss in the potatoes and tomatoes.  boil for another .5 – 1 hour then salt and pepper to taste.

5.  serve by carefully scooping out the soup, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes into a bowl.  top it off with the extra green onion and toss in some of the white meat that was removed earlier.  salt and pepper more as desired.

my suggestions:  what’s great about chicken soup is its versatility: it’s really not just one dish, but several.  you can drink the soup as is or strain just the liquid for stock and noodle soups.  as mentioned above, you can use the meat to make sandwich fillings, salad, congee, pot pies — whatever.   chicken soup is a great option for the budget-conscious.

which brings me to seasoning:  usually for chicken soup, i never know how i’ll be using it so i’ll wait until the end to salt and pepper it.  i like to err on the bland side when it’s in the pot.  once i figure out how i’m serving it, then i’ll add the appropriate amount of salt amd pepper to enhance the flavors.

this recipe produces an insane amount of soup.  if you’re not able to eat it all by yourself (like moi), it can be frozen and reheated when you’re ready to eat it later.  enjoy!

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calendars are useful

i have no concept of time anymore.  i don’t know the difference between 10/1 or 11/14, tuesday or friday, 7 pm or 10 pm.  everything is measured in general terms: today, tomorrow, soon, later, morning, evening.

this is becoming a problem for my social life.  i triple-book by accident.  i have to rush my passport renewal because i forgot that six weeks in october is already mid-november… and i need my passport by december 1.  sign of funemployment-to-the-max or senility?

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the future

i have too much time on my hands.  when there’s nothing to do in my life, i start involving myself way too much in other people’s business.  this is completely unhealthy so it’s time to think about — THE FUTURE.  dun dun dun.

when i was back east, my conversations began to sound like a broken record. relative after relative would ask me about my plans:

relative: so what are you doing now?
me: i quit my job in august so now i’m looking.
relative: why did you quit?
me: because (explanation)
relative: why didn’t you wait to find something else
me: because (explanation)
relative: what do you want to do?
me: … i don’t know.
relative: well, take your time.

the last line is translated from cantonese (man man won), which, if said to you by a relative really means, “hurry up and get a job, fool” — well, minus the “fool.”

i can’t believe i’m still struggling with future plans even now.  i mean, realistically, is there THAT much of a future ahead?   i’m already 30 and by now, i should have had at least somewhat of a foundation for where i want to go, right?  sure you hear stories of late-bloomers all the time, but i don’t have the patience for that.  and anyway, who knows what will happen next time you step out the door.  the garbage truck might accidentally spill all it’s contents on you and you end up drowning in waste.  or an earthquake could send you falling into the center of the earth (… that would be kind of cool).  OR sarah palin could win the presidency and all the POCs will be banished to siberia (which you can see from her house) and you could freeze to death and then get eaten by a pack of lost hikers looking for iran.

point being, i would like to accomplish something meaningful — not necessarily by a certain deadline and definitely not some astronomical task, but i need to do something daily even that makes me feel like i’m really “living” and not just “existing.” so what does that entail?

writing: this blog has offered some respite to my creative woes.  i’ve always loved writing and it’s nice to have this platform to blab on to you three readers (hi naochan, mlee, and janejane).

photography:  i must invest in a smaller camera and take more photos.  i have a two year flickr membership that is totally going to waste.   so much beauty around me that i want to capture and share with you.

singing: every time i’m feeling slightly down in the dumps, i stop singing.  singing is like breathing to me so you can imagine how suffocated i’ve been feeling.  i need to find some time everyday devoted to singing.  and not just singing but singing out loud even if mgs is home or if the neighbors are outside or if i’m on the muni.  yes i will be one of those crazy people.

exercise: with all the time i have, i should seriously have a six-pack and bulging biceps by now.

classes: dance, graphic design, spanish.  let’s start with those.

so while this isn’t a clear cut road map of my future, it does mean the journey will be a lot more interesting and meaningful.  gol-getters: i have to update my goals list!