Not so underground anymore

Well hello!

The past few months have been - suffice it to say - nuts. I guess that is what moving across the country will do to you. It has been quite the roller-coaster ride - new job, new co-workers, new roommates, new routines... exciting and also - literally - unsettling.

And what suffered the most? My cooking, or lack thereof. And when I say "cooking," I mean so much more than just making food - it's a little bit food shopping, food prep, recipe browsing, Food Network watching, cookbook reading, and actually cooking.... Usually I am brimming with ideas and plans of what I will cook, but with all these changes going on in my life, any notion of cooking went out the window. As a result, I have been feeling somewhat incomplete.



But, it's been nearly five months (five months!) and I'm settling in, finding a rhythm (although it seems to be work-sleep, work-sleep, work-sleep)... and finding opportunities to cook. It didn't occur to me until now but cooking is such a part of me that I can't fully settle into a place until I can cook to my heart's content.

That is why, no matter what kind of day I've had, it is such a comfort to go home (even a temporary one) and make myself dinner. It feels like exhaling after holding my breath for a very long time. Ahhh...


Even this super simple meal - I call it a salmon bowl - feels like "cooking" to me. This has been my go-to meal lately, because it takes minutes to whip up. I take some rice and top it with smoked salmon and avocado, drizzle it with a little sesame oil and gochujang, then sprinkle the whole thing with some roasted seaweed. I think some cucumber would be a great addition too.



My mom sent me these - gochujang in a tube (like ketchup) and these roasted seaweed bits. They're not the flat sheets that most people know, but crumbled-up flakes - perfect for topping off some rice.


And before you know it - dinner! Not terribly exciting or inventive, but tasty and satisfying, and so easy - and right now, I need some easy in my life. Finally I'm starting to feel whole again - I'm browsing cookbooks, bookmarking recipes, going through my own archives, getting ideas.......