DAY NINETY-TWO OF COOKING COURSE

I am loving the Brunch Chapter.  I think I will finish this chapter pretty fast.  Hopefully before I have my second vaccination shot.  Today I made Golden Milk Porridge.  It is what we call oatmeal in the USA.  It was a slightly spicy and sweet porridge made with rolled oats.  It had turmeric, cinnamon and agave.  I put bananas, almonds, hemp seeds and toasted coconut on top.  It tasted really good and I might make it again.

I had to cook later in the day because Lucky had a little accident.  She slipped in poop so she had to have a bath.  She needed one anyway because she smelled but I was putting it off.  Now she REALLY smelled so into the bathtub she went.  She was not happy about it until it was over and then she actually smiled and ran around wiggling her butt. That pretty much filled up my whole day.

Until tomorrow...

DAY NINETY-ONE OF COOKING COURSE

 I started "The Perfect Brunch" chapter today. I made a Basil Cashew Dip.  It is a tasty dip that goes will with veggies and chips/pretzels.  It is made out of cashews, basil, nutritional yeast and some spices.  It tastes a little cheesy and basily.  

I worked on social media and set up more things to make everything work easier and smoother.   

Until tomorrow...

DAY NINETY OF COOKING COURSE

 I did it!  I finally finished the Korean Chapter of the cooking course.  I am about a week behind schedule since I took a week off from cooking when I had a reaction from my Covid vaccine.  

Today I made Kimchi.  It was a whole afternoon activity.  First I had to put the cabbage in a bowl and put salt on it and let it sit for 2 hours.

Then I made the brine and put it on the cabbage.

Then I sanitized the jars and let them dry. Then I put the kimchi in the jars.

In a few days it will be ready to try.  I have the two jars for my friend and dog walker and a little jar for me to try.

Then I took the Korean Chapter test and I got a 100%.  I am a Korean Vegan Master!  

I did some work on my social media stuff and did some work-work.  

Lucky is waiting patiently for her dog walker to come back from vacation.

Until tomorrow...

GETTING READY FOR 2ND COVID VACCINE

 I had a busy day of work. It was fun to have a bunch of work after months with no work.  I didn't get to cook because there wasn't enough time.  It felt weird not to cook anything but my day was broken up and there was no time to cook anything.  

I cooked this last week and posted it today. Spaghetti, mungbeans, mushrooms, spinach and black olives.

 I have to plan for the week after my covid shot.  I want to be prepared just in case I am not feeling well.  I already made some curry to freeze.  I am going to make some rice.  I plan to make some soup and freeze it.  I am going to make some ice cream so that is ready.  I need to have a supermarket delivery and make sure there is a water bottle on the stand.  Then I think I will be ready if I feel lousy.  I moved my dental appointment back two days just in case.  I think I am ready if it goes south.  If the shot works out fine, well I have some free time!  

Until tomorrow...

DAY EIGHTY-NINE OF COOKING COURSE

 Now that I am feeling back to normal, I am back to cooking. I made Fried Water Chestnuts.  It was supposed to be Fried Lotus Root but I can't seem to find lotus root during a Covid lock down.  I used the next best thing: water chestnuts.  They made an interesting snack.  

I then opened the jar of Pickled Cherry Tomatoes to see how they taste.  They are an interesting flavor.  The liquid is quite pungent but the tomatoes are earthy tasting.  They aren't as pickled tasting as I thought they would be.  They will be tasty on a salad.  

I just hit 1,700 follower on social media.

This was basically all I did today except entertain Lucky since it is her second day with no dog walker.  He is on vacation this week and she is not taking it well.  

Until tomorrow...
 

POTATO CURRY

 The potato curry came out great.  I ate it for dinner tonight.  I am going to freeze some just in case I need some food the week after my second Covid shot.

I got a message from the solar company and my assessment has been approved.  It is so funny.  They said everything was good but I would have to move the "pink thing on the wall".  I was like "what pink thing on my wall?"  Then I realized they were talking about a piece of paper I taped up on the wall that was the directions on how to clean out my on-demand water heater!  I think I can move that to another location in order to get solar power!!  Ha ha. 

I sent my tax prep to the tax people and that felt great!   A big relief.  

Then I cleaned up a bit around my living room.  I have boxes everywhere.  Boxes from my birthday, boxes that just arrived, and boxes from a week ago.  SO many boxes.  I needed to empty some and just break others down.  I put some things away and just organized things a bit.  Thank goodness I can't have guests there is nowhere for them to sit with all the stuff on the chairs.  I need to work on it some more.

Until tomorrow...

DAY EIGHT POST COVID VACCINE & HAPPY EASTER

 It was a weird Easter.  As low key as it gets.  I spent the day cooking and watching Hop and Peter Rabbit. That was the day.

I decided to make a vegan Asparagus, mushroom and tofu quiche.  It tastes really good. Someone on social media said it looked like it was made in a restaurant.

Then I decided to make a Potato Curry.  I didn't take a photo of it yet so I will post it tomorrow.  I am making a few things just in case my second covid vaccine makes me sick for a long time.  Best to be prepared.  If I have a few things ready and in the freezer, then I can just pop them in the microwave.  

Health update: Today is the first day since my first covid vaccine (last Saturday) that I feel almost like myself.  I could cook two things.  That is amazing and I am so happy.  My coughing has decreased.  The costochrondritis has decreased.  My neck is not stiff.  Good news!

Until tomorrow...

DAY SEVEN POST COVID VACCINE

 I was feeling a bunch better but I had to pick up something heavy and I started to feel some pain again.  I decided to take a long hot bath with Epsom salts and that helped.  

My neighbor finished the job of clearing out the ivy along our communal fence. He spent hours working on this project and I can't believe how well he did.  He took down the lattice and cut down the ivy and dug out the roots.  Then he cleaned off the fence and removed the nails and screws.  He put everything he could in the garbage and compost bins.  Now it looks like I may be able to plant some plants or flowers along the space.

Now, some may say the fence looks plain but anything is better than that horrible ivy that attracts rats and grows unruly.  It is such a small space.  There were 5 plants he had to dig out that were probably over 20 years old.  They were dug in.  The ivy in my backyard is older than that.  Don't plant ivy.  It is a weed.

I finished my tax preparation.  I am so happy.  It took my longer than I thought it would mostly because of Covid.  I got a bit disorganized buying so many things online.  But I am done with my part. Yay!

Until tomorrow...

DAY SEVENTY-EIGHT OF COOKING COURSE & DAY SIX POST COVID VACCINE

 I got up as usual to do my post office run but then I also had to go to the dentist. Today was the first half of my crown installment. The “prep your tooth day”. The only not so fun part was when they drilled out my very large filling that had cracked, it broke and pieces of filling went everywhere in my mouth, throat, tongue. Yuck! I didn’t look at it but there is very little tooth left. I asked if it was worth it to keep the tooth and she said yes. It’s my last tooth on that side. Would I miss it? Probably not. People get wisdom teeth pulled what’s the difference?  Anyway she did a great job cleaning it out and then building it back up. Now I have a temporary until I go back. 

Then my neighbor next door texted me to see if I really like the ivy on the fence between our properties. Now, if you read this blog you probably know I think ivy is a weed and a home to rats. I told him I would be happy if he wanted to get rid of it. The problem is the roots are on his side of the fence and the ivy is on my side of the fence. Not sure how that happened. Plus there is a fence and attached to the fence on my side is lattice and the ivy has grown in-between the fence and the lattice. He proposed to dig up the roots on his side and then come on my side and chop down the ivy and rip down the lattice leaving the fence exposed. I agreed and he started tonight. It looks great. I am not sure I knew there was a nice fence behind all that ivy and lattice. Now I can plant some cute flowers or something colorful. 

I am on the fermenting section of the Korean chapter. Today I took the Fermenting Rice Drink and finished that. It had been fermenting for two days.

Fermenting

Fermented rice drink

The rice drink didn’t taste as I thought it would. It is hard to explain. I did not like it. I gave some to my friend and dog walker to see what they thought.

Then I took the Mango Vinegar Pickled Limes and drained off the liquid which is now called Mango Vinegar. I used the Mango Vinegar in my next pickling of Pickled Cherry Tomatoes. That has to set for 24 hours.  The mangos and limes that were pickled can be eaten. I tried a mango and it tastes like a tart mango. 

Mango Vinegar Pickled Limes

After 2 weeks

Mango Vinegar

Pickled cherry tomatoes 

It was a fun afternoon. I only have a couple of things left in Korea. I get set back a bit with costochondritis. How am I feeling. Thanks for asking. I was feeling really good at the dentist. Laying down slightly inverted I guess is the best way to lay. It takes the pressure off .  It is feeling better every day. Little by little. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY FIVE POST COVID VACCINE

 I am feeling somewhat better.  My shoulder and back feel all better.  My neck is still a bit stiff. My chest is still hurting but not as much. It hurts to breathe hard, laugh, cough, sneeze and yawn.  I am coughing a lot but it will go away soon.

Today was the assessment for solar power.  He was supposed to come between 10-12.  So of course he showed up at 11:40.  The assessment took over one hour.  I had another meeting at 1pm.  So my calm day turned into meeting after meeting.  The assessment went well and I should have the results in a few days.  

Then I met with my social media guy.  That was a successful meeting that I ate my microwaved lunch during.  Then I had a doctor's appointment with my cardiologist.  She just wanted to check in.  Nothing worth noting.

It was about 80 degrees F today.  It is really early to be this hot. It is 9pm and I have windows open.

Until tomorrow...