Timeline:  Week 13

Bump: Light

Giggle Activity: Felt a flutter/flip of the kid earlier in the week

Cravings: None.

Digestion:

• So constipated that I feel like I’m literally full of shit.
• No appetite. Nothing’s coming in until this shit is out.
• Gas levels are lethal. But intermittent.
• Gurgling is very mild/moderate
• Bladder has become the size of Barbie’s tea cup.

Playtime:

• “Wow. I have cleavage. WTF.”
•  ”Um. When did *those* change color
• Do NOT fr*cking accidentally bump them unless you really want a pregnant lady to slap you across the room. Sensitive as all hell.
• The funbags are making their transition into being feedbags. Uh. Great.
• The desire for intimacy has been absolutely supplanted with the desire for a satisfying bowel movement.

Miscellaneous:

• For whatever reason I’ve grown a few dark hairs around my belly button. My belly button now looks like a 15 year old trying to grow out his first mustache.  This has been promptly shaved for being absolutely gross.
• Skin feels dry and itchy. Overtime on the moisturizer.
• Sleeping solid and mostly comfortably.

Mood/Psychology:

• Oh, you mean the hicupping histerical weeping during the last 10 minutes of watching The Notebook until my eyes and face are puffy red and swollen and then calming down and giggling immediately after being brought a cookie?
• Or you mean the rage dreams where you replay confrontations with people where instead of taking the calm way out you wind up publically humiliating them in righteous fury that involves fantasy sequences of peanutbutter, red ants, and Betty White?

Overall Grade: B

So with little recourse than to send psychic hug vibes to all friends and family near and far, I am compiling my fave thanksgiving recipes in one place for my friends.

Enjoy.

MJ’s Awesome Pumpkin Curry Soup

• 1 Can Pumpkin
• Equal parts Vegetable Broth & Water (2 cups each)
• Golden Curry Mix (Spicy) (4 -5 “mini blocks”)
• Honey (1/4 -1/2 cup)
• Salt
• Nutmeg (1 tsp)
• Ground Clove (1 tsp)
• Cinnamon (1 tsp)
• Curry Powder (4 tsp)
• Cornstarch
• Sour Cream and Fresh Chopped Cilantro to Garnish

Again, I don’t really measure things and depending on how much you’re making and your personal tastes, you can always tweak this recipe to your liking.
These are my base ingredients.

First off, I put the vegetable broth & water in a big pot and bring it up to medium/high.

I then chop up the curry mix to make it super quick/easy to dissolve and toss into the water.
Add in the honey, and spices (except the salt) and the cornstarch (dissolved in cold water first, of course).

The baseline consistency should be of a thin curry … like of a nice creamy tomato soup.

Bring to quick boil and skim off the foam. Bring down to a medium/medium low heat.

Then you crack open and toss in the Pumpkin. Not pie filling, just 100% pure pumpkin.

You go from a funky green/brown color to a beautiful mellow orange.

At this point, taste & tweak the seasoning to add salt, and if necessary, continue to thicken just a little bit. Sweet tooth? A touch more honey. Ideally, you hit a nirvana point of it being more curry spicy and pumpkin rich. The point of the soup by itself is that it *should* be very strong in curry taste. That’s why you don’t serve it by itself.
Right before you serve, you pull out your fresh cilantro and sour cream. Whip up the sour cream just a little bit. Chop roughly your cilantro. Right before serving, sprinkle your fresh cilantro on the top and add a dollop of sour cream to the center. Serve while toasty warm.

Go Yum.

Tomato Basil Happy

• Ripe Heirloom Tomatoes
• Sea Salt
• Fresh Basil sliced in a Chiffonade
• Fresh Mozzarella
• Rice Vinegar
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Crackers or lightly toasted bruschetta
• Black Pepper

In small bowl mix 3 tablespools olive oil, 1 table spoon good balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar, salt & pepper to taste.

Layer sliced cheese on crackers or bruschetta and then layer thing sliced tomatoes

Brush or drizzle dressing over tomatoes

Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve

Kimchi Jjigheh a la Min Jung

• 1 Jar of sour old Kimchi  (the more sour, the better)
• Pork Shoulder cubed
• Extra Firm Tofu cubed
• Onion chopped
• Gochujjang (Korean spicy bean paste)
• Gochugaru (Krazy korean spicy red pepper)
• Summer squash cubed
• Rice wine vinegar
• Sesame Oil
• Bacon Chopped
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• Brown Sugar

Unfortunately I’m not supplying any measurements here because it always varies depends on how much kimchi I have left so you just have to juggle and balance it out yourself.  When in doubt start off in an extra large pot and add/balance as you go along.

Medium Heat: Brown pork with salt and red pepper flakes  with chopped onion until onions are transparent and pork is browned on all sides.

Drain oil well.

Add Kimchi to pot with pork and onions, squash, bacon and tofu with enough water to cover. Set to boil and once at boil, reduce to medium simmering heat to cook through. 1-2 tablespoons of gochujang to add heat.

Skim oil from pork fat off.

Add a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar to balance the sour of the kimchi and add 1 tablespoon of butter and splash of sesame oil to balance/mellow flavors.

If you want more sour add vinegar. Less sour, balance with small amounts of butter & brown sugar.

Simmer until cooked through and flavors have mellowed.

You may question to logic behind removing one form of fat and adding back another form of fat to this recipe. Just trust me. It is the yum.

Serve with rice.

Kalbi (My Mom’s way)

Marinade

• Soy sauce (1 cup)
• Rice wine vinegar (1/4 cup)
• Sesame Oil (2 tablespoons)
• Brown Sugar (1/4 cup)
• Crushed Fresh Kiwi (1)
• Fine chopped garlic (4 cloves)
• Fine chopped onion (1 medium)
• Toasted Sesame Seeds (1 tablespoon)
• Chopped fresh green onions (2-3 stems)

Korean shortribs (4-6 lbs)

Mix marinade in large bowl or huge ziplock bag

Toss and mix thoroughly

Toss in shortribs.

Let  marinade for 2-3 hours.

Grill, broil or panfry and serve.

Jjapchae - korean noodles.

There are no measurements because, frankly, I don’t really use them and if you want measurements you can find them in other recipes online.

Ingredients:

1. Cellophane Noodles
2. Onions
3. Garlic
4. Spinach
5. Eggs
6. Carrots
7. Shitake Mushrooms
8. Soy Sauce
9. Sugar
10. Sesame Oil
11. Mirin
12. Garlic Powder
13. Salt & Pepper
14. Sesame Seets

First Steps: Making the Eggs! - Whip them up. Fry in a non stick pan. Salt & Pepper to Taste and cut into thin strips.

Next up: Spinach. Sautte lightly in salt, pepper, & olive oil.

Next up: Carrots. Use a mandolin to cut into as thin slices as possible. Sautte lightly in salt, pepper, & olive oil.

Next up: Mushrooms and Onions: Slice into thin strips. Sauttee together and season with soysauce pepper and little olive oil. I use soysauce instead of salt here as Mushrooms tend to superabsorb flavors and seasonings and I have more control with soy sauce than salt for even distribution of yum.
Yes that’s a lot of olive oil from the sounds of it. But it’s not really. And it’s a healthy oil. So shut the fuck up.

Next up the Noodles. Boil per the directions on the package an then rinse in cold water and drain well. Put the noodles into an everyday pan. I have this one.

Toss and season on medium low heat with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder, sugar, pepper, and Mirin.

And then!

OOhhhh

Put it all together.

And toss!

When presenting the final product, sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

The fact that my space key on the keyboard sticks and tendsnottoworkmakesitfeellikeeverythingisonebigrunonsentence.

Which isn’t really condusive to writing but I’ll make due.

So for those who missed various announcements before me and Squishy aka Dr. McnerdyNerdy aka the Hubbycakes left SF just a few weeks ago, I’ve started a new stint of clean living because I’m now, at this juncture, about 12 weeks preggers.

No caffeine, no booze, no cigarettes, no carbonated beverages, no sushi, no shellfish, no Desperate Housewives.

I’m  talking totally and complete clean living.  Whatever damage I’ve done to my body has been of my own volition in the past but I won’t have this kid, nicknamed “Giggle” be impacted at all by any choices that I make in consumption.

The kid, however, has some of his own ideas.

Giggle, in 12 weeks of being in-utero bundle of awesome, has clearly expressed some dietary preferences and opinions.

These are clearly influenced by the kid’s father who refers to”kilted man is human taco in wool shell”

Likes: Tacos, Doritos, Chocolate Icecream

Dislikes: Pretty much everything else.

Results: This week alone, I’ve consumed about 12 tacos. Homemade, at Reynas and even the Soft Tacos Supreme from Tacobell.

For those of you who know me, this is very unusual. I’m not the taco junkie my husband is.  I don’t have company event Taco Tuesdays as an excuse to satisfy my guacamole and salsa habit.  I’m a rice and meat grubbing gal who’s known as more of meat-tooth than a sweet-tooth and now I can’t settle in at night without a bowl of chocolate icecream. (I like Breyers.)

And I suppose it would be easier to handle this dietary adjustment if it would all stay down.

But alas no.

Nay.

Nix.

Nada.

I get the upchucks, near daily for the last 4 weeks. It happens not in the morning, but in the evening. Anytime between 7Pm and 3Am.

This has made  it extremely difficult to manage social engagements, being out with friends, and trying to rally to find something that doesn’t smell like belly-acid-taco-choc0late-souffle-a-la-toilet-bowl that also doesn’t make me look unseemly with the belly sticking out.

Things that are most iritating about the evening sickness:

1. The Smell.  The taco/chocolate combo isn’t the worst while going down. But imagine it coming back up… and then…wait. pardon me a sec. Bathroom break.
2. The Visuals. It really isn’t pretty. I’ll spare you a photo.
3. The Splashback.  On your face, clothing, and etc.  High velocity projectile vomiting has quite a surprising radius of splashback.
4. The irregularity of it.  Unpredictable and a tremendous social hamper that makes you just wanna stay at home.
5. The inability to medically address it.  NO MEDS.

So yeah.  Not the most fun, but I’m pretty sure that Giggle will be worth it.

Or I shall make him/her pay with guilt trips the rest of his/her life over the agony and inconvenience of it all. (I jest!)

Watch & Digg it here.

Way before even RiceBowl Journals as big as it is.

It was this experience in blogging and learning my voice that I started writing more regularly and secured myself even a few regular writing gigs where I got to rant about things stupid…etc…etc.. to a larger audience.  This confidence in writing encouraged me to submit some writing several years ago to Kearny Street Workshop and their APAture festival.

Well shut my mouth, I was selected to participate and read for the very first time in front of a live audience.

This was in 2001 and immediately after the insanity that was my European adventure and short term stay with Parisan Nuns following 9/11.

It was a crazy nervous thrill to be in front of an audience.  Something that I still get shivers up and down my spine over.

And it’s happening again.  This Sunday.

You see, not too long after I’d started blogging, I attended and helped out with my friend Derek’s Fray Day performances in both San Francisco & Austin as part of SXSW.  I thought it was pretty cool.

And then, invited by Locus Arts to brainstorm on an event that focused on new media/digital media and bloggers, I melded what I knew and enjoyed from the blogosphere and the APA arts community and started up LapPOP.

LapPOP! was created in October 2005 as a way to get great Asian American bloggers and the APA arts community to mash it up.

In that “You got your chocolate in my peanut butter. You got your peanut butter on my chocolate.” kind of way. You know. Two great tastes that taste great together.

An intersection between geekery, personal expression, and pop culture.  We’ve had some fabulous folks perform in the past and have brought a few veterans and some new folks to perform at this 4th LapPOP! as part of APAture’s 10th year anniversary.

This is my way of saying thanks for everything coming full circle and a way for me to say farewell to the APA arts community and some friends in San Francisco before my hubbycakes and I also move to Seattle next month.

I hope you’ll come.

Description

LapPOP! - a afternoon showcase of performance, readings, film and whatnot from notable APA bloggers and artists.
An intersection between geekery, personal expression, and pop culture.

Guest MC & Curator of Lap-POP! is Min Jung Kim of www.minjungkim.com

Featured Performers
Eric Nakagawa Co-Founder http://www.icanhascheezburger.com
Kari Unebasami Co-Founder http://www.icanhascheezburger.com
Ernie Hsiung, Writer http://www.littleyellowdifferent.com
Dino Ignacio, Artist http://www.dinoignacio.com
Annie Koh Writer http://www.undisclosedassociation.org
Hasan Minhaj, Comedian http://www.hasanminhaj.com