Friends! Hello. Happy Friday. The last few weeks really got away from me—just as I was waxing poetic about lights at the end of the dreary January tunnel and how much February was going to fly by, COVID finally caught up with me.
I’m fine, all is well, I was mostly only medium-sick, and I’m now testing negative and happy to be back out in the world. It wasn’t the best timing, and did derail my month and wipe out some plans I was looking forward to. But I read some books and watched some things and finished a puzzle and spent a lot of quality time with Heart Eyes mascot Sherlock. It could have been far, far worse—and as a friend pointed out, I now have a bit of immunity to spend on some higher-stakes fun coming up in the spring. Tiny silver linings!
In any case: I have been extravagantly well taken care of, and I appreciate it deeply. If you texted to check on me, called to say hi, dropped off groceries, dropped off treats, Doordashed me soup, dropped off a curated stack of jigsaw puzzles, offered me books, brought me Valentine’s candy and flowers (thanks, Mom and Dad!), sent me fun mail, sat in my yard to chat, or offered to do any of those things, or thought about doing any of those things, please know that I’m both touched and grateful.
Whatever your weekend looks like, I hope you’re healthy and kindly cared for. I think you’re doing great.
What to Cook: Easy Dumpling Soup
I ate well while I was sick, to the degree that I felt like eating at all—some chili I had in the fridge, delivery from a few neighborhood spots, a small mountain of fruit, and things I cobbled together once I felt well enough to be up puttering around. One recipe in particular saved my life: this Easy Dumpling Soup from Budget Bytes, which I had incidentally, and very luckily, stashed ingredients away for before I got sick.
This soup is the opposite of how I typically cook; because of the dumplings, it sort of demands to be made to order. I guess you could mix up the broth ahead of time if you really wanted to? But it’s so quick and easy that I didn’t mind, even in my semi-functioning state, and it’s just the perfect thing: a simple broth, simmered for a hot second with whatever you have around, and a few frozen dumplings added at the end.
It’s an endlessly flexible recipe, but after some experimentation, here’s how I currently make it: with Better Than Bouillon mushroom broth, a little less soy sauce than called for (BTB is plenty salty already), and half a tablespoon of rice vinegar, plus the sesame oil. To each batch, I added a handful of chopped celery (previously wilting in the crisper) and a handful of cubed tofu and four frozen dumplings. You’d think the dumplings would be the star here, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but I do have to say: the tofu, tender and pillowy from its quick simmer in the broth, was a real sleeper hit as well. I also didn’t have any chili crisp in the house at the time, but now I do, and I think it would be great here.
I ate many bowls of this, either on the couch in front of season 2 of The White Lotus or, later, working on the moody, artsy jigsaw puzzle a friend brought me. It was so successful that I think it might be my new lifeline recipe—something I try to always have ingredients for. Maybe you’d like it, too?
Blockbuster Review: The Fall (2006)
Oh boy, this movie is SO striking, and SO dark, and SO strange, and I still love it very much. I hesitate to recommend it, but I do recommend it, but you’ll have to borrow my DVD, because it is streaming exactly nowhere.
Oooh la la that's a pretty puzzle!