Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Soup And Sadness, A Bit Of Sickness

My husband's mother used to have a thing she said about how sickness can "come back on you" if you don't take care of yourself.

Today I felt as if my whatever-it-is had come back on me.

Not terribly so but I definitely wasn't feeling as fine and fancy as I did a few days ago. I slept until 9:30 which is ridiculous but I comforted myself with the fact that it was "really" only 8:30.
Hahaha.
And Lord, I'd had the weirdest dream. So weird and disturbing that I truly wished I hadn't slept so long. It was one of the dreams where there were so many people in my house. A party had arisen out of nowhere and I knew only a few of the people, and more and more kept showing up. People of all sorts and sizes and genders and ages and I kept going around yelling, "I don't know you! Get out! Get out of my house!"
Not only were people there, they were trashing up the place.
Some of the people did leave but I had to throw a few off the balcony into the water below.
Yes. I had a balcony with water below.
The dream ended when some guy went to throw ME off the balcony but he held on to me so we went down together and as we fell he said, "Turn over or you're going to crash into the rocks!" but I didn't and the water was only a few inches deep and somehow as we hit it, it was gentle and there was no harm.
I am sure that someone could tell me exactly what all of that meant and some of it is quite obvious but if you added in the parts of the dream that no, I am NOT GOING TO DISCUSS, it would be no easy task.

So I didn't do much today but as I went about not doing much, I listened to this:


and who knew that Sally Field and I had the same stepfather? 
The words, the narration, done by Field herself, described so closely what had gone on in my own family, even to the absent mother cooking Sunday breakfast while the molestation occurred. 
The fear, the confusion, the dread, the desire to be loved even as she knew that the love she was being given was not the right kind of love, wanting to protect the mother, wanting to be the best little girl in the world which led to silence...all of it. 

Strangely enough, this doesn't feel horribly triggering for me. I recognize it, I feel incredibly sad for Sally Field knowing exactly what she went through, feeling sorry for all of us who were the best little girls in the world, protecting our mothers, but it's a sadness I am quite familiar with. 
I will certainly look at Ms. Field differently from now on. I think she was brave to write this book. I'm glad she did it for herself and for all of us who will recognize our own stories in hers. 

******

Well. Samurai Soup. I will tell you how I make it. It was so good last night that I said to my husband, "We could eat this every night and I would be happy."

Samurai Soup

Fill up a largish pot halfway with water or chicken broth and bring to a simmer. If you use water, you can add chicken bouillon or vegetable bouillon or the delicious soup base I like called Better Than Bouillon. Don't use too much but enough to flavor. 
Next add Tamari or soy sauce, whatever you have, even Bragg's amino acids. Enough to make the broth salty enough and a bit dark. 
Give the broth a tsp. or so of toasted sesame oil. Mash some garlic cloves and add those. 
Let simmer for a few minutes and bring to a boil. 
Cut some greens up fairly small. You can use kale or chard or mustards or collards or bok choy. Whatever you have or want. I used a mixture of what I have in the garden. Add those. You can add more than you'll think you'll need because they cook down so much. Even spinach would be fine. 
Slice a few mushrooms quite thin. Add those. Let everything simmer for a bit. Not long. You want your greens cooked but not slimy.
Next I throw in some small cubes of extra firm tofu to simmer for a few minutes. You could instead use a bit of chicken or even shrimp or leftover beef. Whatever you have. Or want. You could leave the protein out entirely because you're putting in an egg. But we like the tofu. 
Now the tricky part- timing things. 
I like to use some millet and brown rice ramen noodles that I get at Costco. Also, dumplings made of chicken and cilantro. Add the noodles first and let them get to the point where you can separate them, then the dumplings. However much or many of these as you want. It's tempting to add more than you need. 
As soon as the soup is simmering again, stir gently and break as many eggs into the broth as you want servings. I make this as three meals. Two for us for that night and one for Mr. Moon to take to work the next day. So, three eggs. Cover the pot and gently simmer until the egg whites are done, the yolks as cooked as you want them. You are poaching the eggs. 

Turn off the heat. Serve the soup with sliced scallions on top. Soy sauce on the side along with chili sauce and/or crushed red pepper. 

That's it. Of course you can use more ingredients but the best thing about this is the simplicity. 

Ask your questions in comments. I will answer them. 

Love...Ms. Moon





20 comments:

  1. Oh yummmm I have a jar of unopened Better Than Bouillon in my pantry I haven’t tried it yet and tofu. I bought stuff today to make soup tomorrow but I will try this soon tydm xo

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    1. As my friend Billy says, I could eat Better Than Bouillon with a spoon. That is some good stuff.

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  2. I listened to Sally Field, thinking "a quick listen" when I started. I was riveted by her explanation of her life, so much that I listened to it another two times. We can be used at so many episodes of our lives.
    Better than Bouillon! for sure. I don't know what's in it, but it does a darn good job at what it does.

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    1. And go to bed early and sleep late.

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    2. I can't tell you how many times I've picked up a celebrity memoir and that the same- quick read- and then been gobsmacked at how incredibly different that life had been than I had imagined.
      Do I even need to mention Keith Richards?
      Better Than Bouillon IS better than bouillon.
      I love your sleeping advice. Thank you.

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  3. I think people telling their stories is so important, not just for the teller but also for the ones who listen. It's good to know you're not alone.

    I just got some text messages from my neighbor, her husband was exposed to the virus on a plane up in Fort McMurray and is being sent home. It begins.

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    Replies
    1. I think our world is about to change far more than we think it will.

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  4. Replies
    1. Well, you could probably get a better soup at any Asian restaurant but it works for me.

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  5. Oh thank you for sharing this. It sounds divine and definitely something I will try. Sweet dreams.

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    Replies
    1. It's really more broth than soup but whatever you call it, it's delicious.

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  6. The soup sounds delicious but why is it called Samurai Soup? Did samurai warriors eat it before going into battle?

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    1. Because we watched a show called Samurai Gourmet and in one of the episodes, the protagonist (a retired Japanese company man) craved a very simple bowl of ramen noodles and he couldn't find one in a fancy restaurant so his wife made him one and he was so happy.

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  7. Replies
    1. Well, it is. In its own way. Not too much dicing and slicing.

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  8. I read that book and also admired Ms. Field's frankness and openness. I've always admired her as an actress and it's nice to know she's an admirable person too.

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  9. I love Sally Field and will get the book. I'm so sorry you went through such an awful time too. You don't know what is in people's past do you and sometimes it can be such a shock. There are some sick people out there!

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    1. Everyone and I do mean EVERY ONE has a story to tell.

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  10. The soup sounds amazing.I'm sad for Sally Field, she's such a lovely person. And, as always, sad for you.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.