The Thing Quarterly is a publication in form of an object. Different artists present objects for each issue, and this zoetrope umbrella by Kota Ezawa caught my eye. I imagine Gene Kelly would approve.
CommentAfter eating baked chickpeas in Greece, I’ve been kind of obsessed with them. This recipe is an excellent winter weekend soup to make in a big pot. I didn’t have preserved lemon on hand, but sub’d the juice of one lemon. I also forgot to grab a jalapeño and added a tad more cayenne. I also watched the video after making the recipe, and Melissa’s is definitely more stewy. Perhaps why I also didn’t bother with rice, and ate it straight. Delicious.
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The last time I was in Korea, my cousin took me to a restaurant that was popular for budae-jigae, which is a stew that came to be during the Korean war, because army soldiers would make it with all the bits that they had on hand. It’s pretty delicious, because it can have any of the amazing non-perishable foods such as ramen, spam and/or hot dogs, all alongside veggies, tofu, rice cake and kimchi in a spicy broth. So, we’re eating this delicious stew, and my cousin tells me that this restaurant’s secret to the amazing flavor is that they add in American cheese slices.
“Wut?”
And this cousin, who spoke near perfect English but wanted to be clear, confirmed that it was The American Cheese, the kind that is wrapped in those individual plastic sleeves.
Fast-forward to this past weekend, and it’s blizzarding, and I rationalized that I deserved to try this ramen recipe by Roy Choi:
I will tell you that ONE of those yellow plastic wrapped slices was PLENTY, and I did not add the pat of butter. I did fold in a dropped egg (which I normally do when making ramen at home), when it is still boiling and slightly more mixed in so it’s a bit more like egg-drop soup. I used the Korean Jin Ramen brand (which is nice and spicy), and also topped it with some Kimchi.
This is definitely not an everyday meal, but a very special treat.
Being that I am trying my best to stop eating processed foods [Roy Choi is to blame!], I did a little poking around to find the story behind American cheese. The FDA actually banned Kraft from calling it cheese, since it was less than 50% cheese. That’s why the package came to say “Kraft Singles.” The story of its invention is summed up in this article.
I bought my package from TJ’s, where the organic slices do seem slightly more legitimately made of cheese, even though it is still labeled as “Pasteurized Process Cheese Product.” As a (reluctant) sidenote, this is also lovely on toast with a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey.
Thanks to Blizzard Jonas shutting down my yoga studio, I found an excellent new yoga video site: doyogawithme.com
I did this video yesterday, which was perfect for a quiet solo practice.
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Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images, from nytimes.com
I’m adding a new category to the blog today. It may seem a little dark, but I occasionally check in on the Obits section of The New York Times, namely to find the more obscure lives lived. I find them reassuring, that celebration of living a life passionately about something, no matter how unconventional.
Maria Teresa de Filippis, Pioneer of Auto Racing, Dies at 89
“Weighing barely 100 pounds when she raced, she drove a rocketlike Maserati 250F that had been modified for her slight frame.”
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Photo from mikeshothoney.com
I just discovered Mike’s Hot Honey, and it has been going on just about everything. Also, it’s made in Brooklyn!, and now available at TJs!
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Photo by Florian Holzherr for Louis Vutton.
I’m going to Las Vegas soon, and I have an appointment to see this James Turrell installation. In Las Vegas style, it is in a Louis Vutton store, and only available for viewing by appointment. More details on it all in this helpful Medium post.
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