10 Things: Camp, Crayons, and Comedy
My recommendations for what to cook, eat, watch, listen to, read, ponder, and do this week.
I threw out my back early on in this weekend (this is what happens when your toddler is crying “UP! UP!” constantly, and weighs 35 pounds), and I couldn’t sit at a computer long enough to finish this for you. But here it is, Monday morning — a GREAT time to know what I recommend! The first three are free; paid subscribers this week get a clutch art supply, a song, comedy, another recipe, and a new app I am obsessed with.
Kimchi Tofu Dumpling Soup (Korean Mandu Soup)
I found this recipe in Better Homes and Gardens (and here you can see that I like to tear this kind of thing out and crumple it up in the bottom of my backpack), but I cannot for the life of me find it on the internet. It was in a gorgeous article about dumplings. You’d think this would be easy to find. It was not. I think that this article on how to make Asian dumplings four ways is what they’re offering online, but the Korean Tofu and Kimchi Mandu recipe is unreal. The broth is 1 oz. shiitake mushrooms, 1 small sliced onion, the white parts of 2 green onions, 3 smashed cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil, and I subbed 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar and a teaspoon of mushroom seasoning for the fish sauce. I don’t think I’ve ever made such a good broth before. The broth coupled with simple dumplings filled with tofu and kimchi (you can easily use wonton wrappers if you can’t find dumpling wrappers) is a real gut-warming mean, and it’s not nearly as difficult as it seems like it must be.
2. “Promises of Gold” by José Olivarez
José Olivarez is one of the most exquisite living poets, and has a gorgeous, deep heart. His second book of poetry, “Promises of Gold,” is generous. It’s a thick book, published in both English and Spanish (the Spanish translation is by David Ruano), with deeply affecting pieces about love and all that love entails: childhood, adulthood, joy, mourning, transcendence. See the below poem posted on his Instagram page, and know that the longer ones are even more gorgeous. This is a good book to buy for someone you love.
3. Winter Camp
You Are Doing A Good Enough Job reader Briana Alcala had this brilliant idea of creating an online community-driven “retreat” called “Winter Camp,” to promote joyful creativity in this cold darkness the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing. Here’s the description of it:
Winter Camp is designed to help support you in the cold, dark season. You’ll get a prompt every day to help nudge you around one of the six themes of Winter Camp (light, connection, movement, brightness & creativity, nourishment, and outdoors). You can answer on your own or in the Winter Camp community, where you can also read others’ thoughts, and join in conversation. Just having that daily “good morning” together can help start your day off with a happy spark.
I LOVE this idea. This might be exactly the thing you need, and at the exact moment you need it most — those weeks just before March can be the toughest. Braine offered us a $100 off code (that’s HALF OFF!) — enter GOODENOUGH at checkout. Browse the website to learn more.
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