bookmark_borderStone in my shoe

My friend J. often refers to the “stone in the shoe” analogy. I have no idea if she made it up but it’s a very wise commentary on the human condition.

It goes like this:

If you are walking around and you get a stone in your shoe, it can be uncomfortable but you have a choice. You can ignore the stone and keep walking or you can stop and take it out.

Problems are like this, too.

Some things nag at you but you don’t do a damn thing to change them. Those are the small stones. You can feel them and they irritate you, but for some reason you enjoy the pain. You would feel incomplete without the stone digging into your flesh.

Other things (aka stones) bug you so much you take care of them right away.

I’ll bet J. doesn’t know this (unless she’s a secret fan) but the Scorpions have a song about this. It goes, in part, like this:

Ooh, when your world comes tumbling down
Ooh, you better find a way around
Ooh, cause no one else but you
Ooh, can find the stone inside your shoe

Inside your shoe
Inside your shoe
Inside your shoe
Yeah

bookmark_borderGarlic and other delights

When I was in Chicago earlier this summer I had a dish of fried pig’s ears and greens with a runny fried egg on top. It was one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. In fact, pretty everything we tasted at the Purple Pig was outstanding.

I doubt I’ll get to Chicago again soon and I’m not going to attempt such a recipe at home. I don’t know where to even get pig’s ears, and even if I did, I am sure I’d set my kitchen aflame attempting to deep fry anything.

But there are other things I do try to replicate.

For example, in Las Vegas I had a cucumber and garlic salad that thrilled me. I looked up a similar recipe online and I make it at home sometimes. It’s very garlicy so I try not to eat it if I plan to socialize later. But sometimes the urge is too strong and I do. I figure if you like me you can just deal with my garlic addiction and just not stand too close. Besides, why would you want to stand very close unless you were angling to hug me? Garlic is my secret anti-hug weapon.

I also love Korean food. It’s typically very spicy and hearty — two things I require in a dish. I used to buy Kim Chi at a local gourmet type supermarket and it was just okay. Not nearly as exciting as the Kim Chi found in restaurants. It was tasty enough but had no kick.

So this week I went on a quest for some real — burn your mouth and tear your eyes — Kim Chi. I found some in Chinatown. Boy, did I ever.

The stuff I got could thin paint — just the way I like it.

Yesterday, I made some cold noodles and Kim Chi. The recipe was easy and the dish turned out great. I’ll make it again soon.

The next thing I am planning — I got a lot of it — is some Kim Chi scrambled eggs. Simple, and no doubt tasty. I may even add some crumbled bacon just because I like bacon on pretty much anything.

I’d also like to make some Kim Chi soup (perhaps in my lonely crockpot) except I have not found a good recipe yet. But I’m looking.