Today is my sister Jeanne’s birthday. I love her so much. She is the one who stayed in my hometown of Red Bluff and managed to survive! She sees my mom regularly. She’s been a single mother (and now grandma) to three amazing children for many years….something I could have never done. Jeanne has worked her ass off to survive in a town that has little to no opportunity — doing whatever it takes.
We didn’t come from the most functional family and the fact that her kids are the amazing people they are is a testament to her heart. How she did it is beyond me……literally. I know she thinks I am the strong one – and I am strong. But it’s easy to be brave and strong when there’s nobody depending on you. I’ve never had to juggle kids and be strong…it’s not in my wheelhouse. I’d beat the shit out of them. Just for the record: Jeanne is my hero. Happy Birthday!
Now… Back to me!! Memememememe. Gross.
Today I paid the price for yesterday. I have a blood blister on one foot and a regular one on the other. I wore my Danskos yesterday thinking that was the smart move. I worked for a decade in them at Jam. They are the best. Usually. I guess because it’s been awhile since I’ve done heavy walking in them, the friction didn’t agree with my feet.
The good news is that I’m not on a schedule and so today I punished myself (but saved my feet) by not going into NYC. I went instead to White Plains. I found a drug store and stocked up on moleskin. I went to a wine store (NY laws won’t let grocery stores sell it) — and found Wycliff! It’s a super cheap, delicious sparkling wine — and I thought only sold to service industry. I used it at Jam for mimosas and mimosas sustained me for years. Yum.
Then I went to H-Mart — an enormous Asian grocery store/bakery/restaurant. Oh man. It was divided into different sections….Thai, Chinese, Japanese, etc. Their meat department had every kind of awesome meat pre-sliced into perfect fans. Pork belly, ribeye… so many choices. I should have taken pictures. Sauces and seasonings by the hundreds. I’m sure it pales in comparison to what I’d (might still) find in NYC — but this I could drive to. “Bonus,” said my feet.
If you didn’t know this (Larry does) – I’m a dumpling fool. I’m constantly either trying to talk him into going to dim sum, making potstickers or buying different frozen ones to try. Boy did I hit the jackpot at H-Mart. I got Singapore style leek dumplings, spicy beef and pork dumplings. I also got stuff to make a dipping sauce. Clive blossoms, young garlic shoots, garlic and ginger.
I documented how I made my dipping sauce. Soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil and sriracha are really good bedfellows. Then just add what you like. I added garlic, ginger slices, chive blossoms, garlic shoots (basically green onions) and lime juice.
I also bought snow peas and blanched them, shocked them in ice water and mixed them with the sauce I made.
I don’t get over-the-air TV where I am (which is weird since I’m 30 miles from NYC). So, while I cooked, I watched the movie Moonstruck. It’s so friggin good. I feel deja vu saying this – but the opera scene in Pretty Woman is flat out stolen from Moonstruck.
Then, I watched Almost Famous. While eating dumplings. I fry them in coconut oil – then add water, cover and pan steam them. The leek ones were so gross. They tasted fishy – but when I looked at the ingredients they were vegan. But – so full of weird fake shit the list was four inches long. I checked the spicy beef ones and they had maybe 10 ingredients. So I cooked them up. DELICIOUS!!! But not spicy. Oh well, that’s what sriracha is for.
I’m pretty bummed at my punishment for my excess of yesterday. Just kidding. I’m lucky to be in a position to get the blisters and even more fortunate to be able to take a day off — from traveling the country. Hopefully I can walk tomorrow.
Onward ♋+♊
The Lolo Down 