Tasty Tofu! Thanks Maangchi!

Dubu Ganjang Jorim / © Cheese Curds and Kimchi

Just a quick post to tell you how freaking good this recipe is!

Tonight we had another Korean dish--dubu ganjang jorim (also known as panfried tofu in soy sauce). It cooks up super fast, about 20 minutes start to finish. One minor setback--the sesame seeds were supposed to be lightly toasted but they came out looking like bits of pepper. We had dubu sans sesame.

You can see the recipe HERE at this super fabulous Korean cooking site
www.maangchi.com. Maangchi is just an everyday gal like us, who happened to like to cook. She started doing YouTube videos of her cooking, and tapped into a niche. Whole bunches of people were interested in learning Korean cooking. So she started a blog and posts recipes, videos, a Korean grocery store directory, explanations of Korean ingredients, and the list goes on and on! It's well worth a click to get over there and look around.

One last thing to look at--click HERE to go to Maangchi's shop. She has some recipe/cooking apps for iPads, podcasts, and recipe books for sale at Amazon.

And to make her site even more kick ass, she has those same recipe books available as ebooks for FREE! Yep, she's make this kimchi mama very happy!

For our meal, we had dubu (doo boo) with rice and an Asian-styled pickled asparagus. Super yum!

Come on. A whole world of wonderfulness awaits you. You know you wanna try it. So what's it gonna be?

Four legged babies

I have blogged about our dog baby before. He's a little spoiled, and there's a good reason for it. Gus is a freaking awesome dog and wonderful housemate!

He goes to work every day with his dad. Everyone at the vet office can bring in their pet, though few do it on a regular basis. But the two regulars are Gus, and his doggie girlfriend, Vivian.

She's a feisty little Shih-Tzu who keeps Gus on his toes. At lunch time, the two tear through the break room, Gus dragging Vivian around by her fluffy tail (which isn't that fluffy anymore since Gus swallows most of her fur) and she, pulling on his floppy jowls. They are a pair!

On Sunday morning, we found out that Vivian was struck by a car and died. We were mortified. We were so devastated by the loss of that sweet little girl, and so crushed for her dog-mommy.

Immediately, our thoughts went to our little boy. I ran outside where he was lounging in the sun to make sure his lead was firmly attached. I looked at his sweet little face and wondered what he would think when he went to work with The Man and his girlfriend wasn't there.

"What makes us love him so much?" asked The Man.

I don't know.

I know the comparison of pets to children is, in theory, quite ridiculous. Of course children are more...more of everything. More love. More fear. More pride. More joy.

But I can't help but compare them. For the nearly 18 years we've been married, our pets have been our babies. I feel panic when Gus isn't well. I miss him and the kitties terribly when we are traveling. I am proud of him when he's well behaved. I am delighted when one of the crew learns a new trick. I beam when people fawn over them.

Are those reactions so different than mothers with their children?

Oooh. Getting very deep with the thinking here. Best to ponder that on another day.

This morning though, I was thankful that Gus and I speak a different language so I wouldn't have to break the news to him about Vivian.

Parenting advice from a Korean adoptee

Put prejudices aside. Share and experience the birth culture. And concentrate on being a parent, not only an adoptive parent. Just enjoy your adopted child and love them.

This is the advice from an adoptee who shares her views and opinions about international adoption on YouTube videos. I thought these videos by stephxhoney were insightful and thoughtful, and it was really great to hear a perspective on adoption from someone who has lived it.

She has many more. Check them out.