Today I realized that meals have become really important rituals for me. I like to take care in making my food, sitting down with intention, and eating slowly with no distractions--even when it's frozen pizza! Gone are the days when I would eat while staring at a screen or eat on the run. I started eating with no distractions long before I left my nine-to-five, so it is possible to eat mindfully even when you're busy. I'm even slower and more intentional now that I have more time. We only had enough leftovers for hubby's dinner tonight, so I took the opportunity to make myself some Sundubu Jjigae (soft tofu stew, aka soon tofu at a lot of Korean restaurants in Toronto). The little bowls surrounding the soon tofu contain pickled onions, pickled carrots, store-bought kimchi, and store-bought umeboshi. I also made some steamed rice. Hubby doesn't like tofu, so his meal roughly mirrored mine, except he gobbled up the rest of the pork dish I made yesterday.
Soon tofu is one of my favourite things to eat, and
this recipe is quick, easy, nourishing, and filling. I made a few modifications, but the result was still so tasty. I only had half a cup of dashi left (I made a batch a while back and froze it) so I added half a cup of chicken stock. I omitted the beef/pork and black pepper. I omitted the red chili pepper flakes but added a heaping teaspoon of gochujang. I omitted the scallion but added a bundle of watercress. The photo pictured above was the first serving of my meal. I went back for seconds and polished off the soon tofu. The recipe is supposed to serve two, but tonight it served one hungry pear.
