This is the scribble that helps with the babble. Still a lot of scribble. Video is there!
Whew – long road day ahead. 1st stop 2 hours away. I’ll be hitting Reading, PA today. I listened to my Morning Babble Wake-up Playlist today. Nothing beats a good song on the radio followed up by another good song. I miss that with radio. Oh and with Memorial Day coming up next month – you’ll have all those countdowns. The Memorial Day 400 or 500 or whatever. Warmer weather coming. Today though, today is a day that you lose your jacket, hat, shirt – if you’re wearing two, because it’s going to warm up as the day goes on.
I ran! 117 runs / 117 vlogs.
Mouth Seal – Use this to force breathing through the nose at night.
The Oscars were last night – I didn’t watch. Sorry. I haven’t really seen any of the movies. Nomadland won for best picture. Soul won for best animated picture, but that one I did see AND enjoyed. So, I can say to go see that Pixar film – it’s a good one.
Yesterday, I had my first “old man” or “old guy” fall. It was embarrassing. I was taking out the trash. In fact, the trash taking out part was done and I was walking back empty handed. Walking along the concrete slab aka curb that’s in front of the vehicles – like 4″ high. Yeah, I was tightroping the curb and then slipped off. Initially, I tried to catch myself but failed miserably. My left knee went down and nailed the concrete. Ripped my pants. And finally, I gave up and simply rolled down the hill. OLD.
You know what’s going to get me though. Our dogs. We have two really old dogs – Brodie and Charlie. Charlie will be 14 next week, while Brodie is easily 16. He’s named after the character in Mallrats via Kevin Smith. The actor Jason Lee plays Brodie.
Sorry – back to the dogs. Brodie has a talent of getting under your feet and making you fall – like really just flat out fall. Bet on Brodie to break my running streak.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The best way to complain is to make things better.” – Seth Godin
This was a Dave Chang inspiration. While I was listening to his podcast, he had brought up this soup and how he basically inhales it every time that it is made. In turn, I just had to try it. Being that it was the 6th of December, we had Christmas tunes on again.
Like all previous recipes done here, simply click on the above title for the link of what was borrowed (adapted?). As always, I’ll lay out what we followed as well as any of the changes that were made along the way.
The Line-up (Ingredients)
1 ounce dried gosari 고사리 (fernbrakes) – yields about 1 cup rehydrated
(not your everyday ingredient . . . only size available, too)
1 pound beef brisket, 양지머리 (or flank steak or shank meat) 1/2 onion do not cut the stem 8 ounces Korean radish (mu, 무) cut into big chunks – optional
(Uh, yeah . . . it’s big . . . and phallic – sorry)
(we only needed this much of it though . . . size doesn’t matter)
14 cups water (For richer soup, you can use milky beef bone broth to boil the beef.) 8 ounces bean sprouts (sukju, 숙주) 3 dry shiitake mushrooms soaked 2 – 3 bunches scallions 2 or 3 stalks of Korean daepa 2 tablespoons sesame oil 2 tablespoons gochugaru, 고추가루 (red chili pepper flakes) 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 tablespoons guk ganjang, 국간장 (soup soy sauce) 1 teaspoon gochujang, 고추장 (red chili pepper paste) – optional 1 teaspoon doenjang, 된장 (soybean paste) – optional salt and pepper 2 eggs – optional lightly beaten 3 ounces dangmyeon (당면), starch noodles
(we found them – not easy!)
Game Plan (Instructions)
1) Add the gosari and 4 cups of water to a small pot. Boil over medium heat, covered, until tender. It might take about 30 minutes, but the time can vary significantly depending on gosari. Turn the heat off and let it cool in the cooking water. When ready to use, rinse in cold water and drain. Cut into 4-inch lengths, removing tough ends of the stems, if any.
(It’s a close-up of the cutting work done on the gosari)
2) In a large pot, bring the meat, onion, optional radish, and garlic to a boil in 14 cups of water. Reduce the heat to medium, and skim off the scum. Boil, covered, until the meat is tender enough for shredding, about 1 hour. Pull a string of meat off and check the tenderness. Let the meat cool a bit in the cooking liquid. Discard the vegetables, reserving the stock in the pot. Spoon off any visible fat. The broth should be about 7 to 8 cups.
(this really doesn’t look too pretty at this point)
3) When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred into about 3 to 4-inch strips.
4) Blanch the bean sprouts in boiling water for a minute. Wash with cold water and drain. Cut the scallions into 4-inch lengths. Thinly slice the soaked mushrooms.
5) In a pan, heat the sesame oil until hot over low heat and stir in the chili pepper flakes. Turn the heat off as soon as the oil starts to turn red and the chili pepper flakes become a bit pasty. This only takes a few seconds. Do not burn the flakes.
6) Add the meat, fernbrakes, mushrooms, 1 tbsp soup soy sauce, and garlic. Combine well.
7) Add the meat and gosari mixture along with 1 tablespoon of soup soy sauce into the broth. Stir in the optional gochujang and doenjang, and boil over medium high heat, covered, for 10 minutes.
8) Throw in the bean sprouts and scallions, and boil over medium heat for another 10 minutes. Add salt (1 teaspoon or more) and pepper to taste.
(Getting closer to wrapping up and readying this dinner soup!)
Within a few minutes before turning the heat, add the optional noodles. Slowly drizzle the optional eggs over the boiling soup and turn the heat off. Serve with rice.
(Bowls were topped off with “matchsticks” of Korean radish)
(Final shot of the soup – mmm, mmm, mmm, good)
It was good – really good. However, we did think of a couple other things to be done differently, if cooking up this soup again. First, we would want more mushrooms than what was listed in the recipe. Next, we would want to spice it up more, because the meat should have been more flavorful. Lastly, some lime should have been squeezed in to bring out more flavor. Nevertheless – all of the soup was inhaled, but not during one sitting. The very next day, I remember being at work on the road and simply draining my bowl (poured it back like a beverage). I thoroughly enjoyed every drop of the yukgaejang – say that 3x in a row.
Slept in! 115 vlogs or Morning Babbles / the 115th 5k run will be outside in a little bit. Still having issues with being achy after sleeping more than I usually do. Sometimes I think it’s water related though – I didn’t have my typical 64 oz of water yesterday. I showed that picture last night of the Jack White Vinyl – FYI, I’m on the last side – side H. I also had the picture of the 32 oz water bottle. I try to finish off 2 of these every day.
Books!
Should be finishing up the Emmanuel Acho book – Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man this week. It’s a very real book and a tough read at times, but I’m enjoying it and learning. We all need some learning. How about the final show of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – that was powerful stuff. Well done Marvel and Disney, too.
And then – I’m going for the David Chang memoir – Eat A Peach – can’t wait!
Also, coming up this week for me – The Boys Omnibus Volume Four – since I’m just pages away from finishing Volume Three.
Something else that I need to read – my emails! Still haven’t cleaned up my email subscriptions – I so need to do that. Every time that I just want to hit delete on all of them . . . I find a prize quote or fact or story. I like using my Kindle when I plow through them and it’s all charged up and ready to go. I’ve got 377 to read – that’s just stupid.
Lastly, I bummed over the books that I’ve read in the past but never “tabbed” them up the way I do today. The book – Rework – I know was a favorite of mine and filled with all kinds of good nuggets, but I didn’t mark it up. I’ll have to dig back into it and find the good stuff. Then maybe, I’ll try to do a deep dive into it.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I begin to speak only when I’m certain what I’ll say isn’t better left unsaid.” – Cato
Whew – hit the snooze a couple times today . . . I haven’t done that in months! I didn’t like how I felt. I should have just gotten up. We had a late night with my son playing in a baseball game – they lost 17-16. You know the best thing about Friday Night Baseball – no Saturday “DAY” Baseball.
AMA Saturday:
Question #1 – Did you get your mud? –
Yes, my MUD\WTR arrived. Great marketing except for the size of their logo. Yeah – I read a box to you in the video – go see below.
Question #2 – How’s the April Alcohol Drought?
Well, I’m gonna make it. Next Saturday is May 1st. Unfortunately, I haven’t had any crazy breakthroughs with sleep or exercise. I did lose a couple pounds, but I don’t really think that had anything to do with it. I did say how great I was feeling on some certain days recently. However, for the past couple days, I’ve actually been feeling kind of junky because of allergy issues – coming out in the morning to the Orange Jeep looking yellow because of all the pollen on it. Good times. Horny flowers and trees in our area right now.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: ““A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention” – Herbert Simon (actually found this one in Ryan Holiday’s book – Stillness is the Key
A show on SiriusXM that I never miss is One Man Revolution with Tom Morello. He played the guitar with Prophets of Rage / Audioslave / and some band known as Rage Against the Machine. Incredible show with insight that I truly enjoy. He even has his mom sitting in with him and she is totally a cool with the music he pumps it. It’s simply great. This past week I did learn that he played on The Pretty Reckless album – Death by Rock and Roll – for the song “And So It Went.” I then saw that Matt Cameron (former drummer of Soundgarden, but current day drummer of Pearl Jam) and Kim Thayli (rhymes with smile & lead guitars for Soundgarden) played on their song, “Only Love Can Save Me Now.” FYI, the lead singer of The Pretty Reckless is Taylor Momsen, who played Cindy Lou Who in the The Grinch. She’s all grown up now. Anyway – I’ve been listening to this album some more, which was originally released earlier this year.
FYI – missed last week – Alanis Morissette has shared a new song called “I Miss the Band.” Here’s the official video. The single arrives months after the release of her 2020 LP Such Pretty Forks in the Road.
New Music Friday:
Weezer have shared another new song from their long-awaited Van Weezer album, which is due out May 7th. The new track, “I Need Some of That,” follows “The End of the Game,” “Hero,” and “Beginning of the End.”
The White Stripes and The Glitch Mob officially release “Seven Nation Army” remix – it was actually recorded back in 2011 – little late. Third Man Records will be pressing out limited edition vinyl for the song. AND – there’s an exclusive NFT collection, which includes six unique pieces of art.
K.Flay released the song – “Four letter words”. I was digging around looking for new album info, but didn’t find anything . . . yet.
Weeknd and Ariana Grande team up for a remix of “Save Your Tears”
Another team up of H.E.R. and Chris Brown – they did the song “Come Through”
Another miss from LAST WEEK – an entire album from Paul McCartney was released last Friday. This one is called III Imagined, but it has other artists covering all his songs from the initial III album. You’ve got Beck, St. Vincent, Anderson Paak, and many more artists performing the covers.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” – Emory Austin
Happy Earth Day!And it’s round – you flat earthers.
I needed I pick me up today. Past couple days – people drained me of my nice. All out of nice! That’s not good when you get home. So, I switched up the coffee. I like my coffee with a dark roast which I mainly get from Bean Central Coffee – Dark Genius, Panama Red, and African Smoke. But today, I tapped a favorite flavor of mine – Highlander Grogg. It’s a vanilla, caramel taste. I think their website says hints of whiskey . . . but that doesn’t hurt my April Alcohol Drought. FYI – In the fall, I’m a Pumpkin Spice fan – sorry.
I’m so happy that it’s Friday Eve. Looking ahead, I can’t wait to listen to my new vinyl from Third Man Records, where I have a Vault subscription. Earlier this week, I received four records to listen to! It’s Jack White: Live at the Masonic Temple. Oh yeah – AND there’s a 45 of his recent SNL appearance. Good bye Brent for several hours this weekend!
Also, I’ve been peeking at my new David Chang book – Eat A Peach. I’m so tempted to start up a 4th book to read. I shouldn’t but I sooooooooooooo want to.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves” – by Viktor Frankl
You know the drill – this is the scribble for the babble. clean-up is needed on the wordage.
111 Runs / 111 Vlogs! My favorite number is 11 because of Barry Larkin – shortstop of the Cincinnati Reds. Later on, Jimmy Rollins has 11 for my beloved Phillies.
April Alcohol Drought continues
I told a story yesterday about soap and someone called me . . . not believing the story. I want to stress that it is very much true. I go into homes and you would be amazed how many of them don’t have soap in the bathroom. Anyway, this one particular home, I truly did bring out a hand soap container. It was home that I was doing a lot of work at and at the end of every visit, I wanted to clean up. It was typically my last visit and it disgusting leaving there all the time with dirty hands the whole way home. It was funny . . . one of my guys back then Larry was shocked when he finally saw soap there and announced it to me. I explained – I brought it. Just yesterday . . . I went to wash my hands in the bathroom at the end of my visit and had to go to the kitchen and use their dish soap to do the clean-up.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “General rule: the more someone tells you how hard they’re working for you, the less they are actually getting done for you.” – by Tim Ferriss
Happy 420! Not sure what that means, then go read about it here.
In the meantime, let’s talk about soap. In particular today – hemp soap. Co-worker and friend of mine passed along soap from Dr. Bronner. I had never heard of it, but it’s quite popular and been around a long time. I had two “flavors” to try of the liquid soap. Almond was the choice between it and Citrus. Unfortunately, the wash cloth seemed to suck up the liquid which almost needed to be . . . thicker? I didn’t really enjoy how my skin felt after either. BUT – I also got a bar of soap (it was new) that was peppermint scent. This was a winner. Enjoyed the lathering and the feel afterwards. I need to check out more of the “flavors” for the bar soap. We will then have a soap off between Dr. Bronner and the recent winning soap of mine by Happy Nuts.
FYI – I go into a lot of homes and you would be amazed at how many people don’t have soap in the bathroom. I talk about it in the video.
110 days of running & vlogging!
To make the participants of 420 mouths water . . . I talk about Reese’s Puffs Cereal. I then daydream about Butterfinger PB . . . wishing there was Butterfinger Cereal!
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Don’t be the best. Be the only.” — Jerry Garcia
It’s Monday and here we go again. BUT – I do like Mondays because (I’ve said it before) I get to pick up daughter from school today. The enjoyment in her face because her daddy is picking her up – I could set records! However, I need to make sure I hit the bank for a deposit prior to getting her. She enjoys me being there, telling me stories about her day, and knowing that we are going straight home because it is lunchtime. Otherwise, there’s a spiral downwards. So – bank deposit BEFORE getting the kid. The deposit made me think about paperclips and all the ones that TD Bank still has that are rightfully mine. I use the drive-thru and paper clip together the deposit form with the checks and cash. They never send the paper clip back. They used to . . . they would attach it to the deposit slip. No more. They are paper clip thieves.
109th run / 109th babble – streak continues! And yes, still no fun beverage (alcohol).
Last night, I pulled my Ray Dalio book – Principles – off the shelf and flipped to some of my tabbed pages. I saw Smorgasbord and had to read from that tabbed page today (check the video). I think I’ll put together my Top 5 most tabbed up books and go over them on a Sunday book day.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I have not failed. I’ve just found ten thousand ways that do not work.” – by Thomas Edison (borrowed from the Ray Dalio book – Principles – p. 349)
