Kimchi and A Return to Food Blogging!
Your Feedback To Last Week’s Newsletter…
Last week, I spilled my guts on my concerns regarding the Ozempic craze that’s sweeping the nation. Many of you generously took a moment out of your day to write to me, directly, expressing your solidarity with me in my continued quest to accept my body and for that, I am so grateful I could cry. I never in a million years imagined that somehow I would end up with the kind of compassionate, empathetic, and altogether brilliant newsletter community that I have, but here we are.
For those of you who may have thoughts to share on last week’s newsletter (or any newsletter), but don’t want to convey them to me via email (I get it), my very dedicated husband has figured out how to add a comments/questions function on our blog. Feel free to drop your [respectful] thoughts there, as I’m always keen to hear from you on the ever-evolving landscape of what it means to be human.
My New EASY Vegan Kimchi Recipe!
Huzzah!! I have returned to the world of food blogging (thanks, in large part, to my friend Kim-Julie, Creator of Best of Vegan and Vegan Reset) and I could not think of a better recipe to share for this auspicious occasion than my brand, spankin’ new Vegan Kimchi recipe! If you’ve had the pleasure of my company at any point in the past month, you’ll have already heard me wax poetic on my vegan kimchi because I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Check out my new-look recipe blog and my Easy Vegan Kimchi Recipe here.
I’ve also uploaded the recipe for my Vegan Fish Sauce, which is, obviously, a component of my Vegan Kimchi recipe.
If you’ve ever been interested in making your own kimchi, this is YOUR SIGN! Not only is this kimchi DELICIOUS, it’s an “easy” version. You do NOT have to assume the kimchi squat and spend hours saucing every individual leaf. You do not need to roll up each cabbage segment before fermenting. Instead you chop the leaves in advance, simply pour the sauce over and dress the leaves like a salad. Then, you stuff ’em into a couple large mason jars.
Let them ferment for a few days and BAM: BEST kimchi you’ll ever eat!!
This Week’s Recipe Inspo.
What I’m…
Watching. I was scrolling through Netflix one night and finally capitulated to the application’s constant suggestion: The Tourist. I found myself hooked almost instantly, but was then ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED that the vegan actress, Danielle Macdonald, showed up on my screen as the most endearingly clumsy new deputy!! We ripped through Season 1 in a blink of an eye and can’t wait to dive into Season 2!
Reading. I’ve started running again and that means a resumption of audio books. I recently got sucked into a sci-fi series called The Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson. The writing is really funny, clever, and authoritative–the author clearly has a background in the military (or is REALLY good at faking it). I love stories about aliens, especially when it provokes the age-old question: What does it mean to be human? I highly recommend the Audible version, as the voice-actor is EXCELLENT.
Excited About. I recently worked with a company called Skillshare to put together a class on Dream Chasing. Many of you have followed my journey from full-time lawyer to full-time author/content creator and I wanted to put pen to paper on what that looked like–from the inside out. The folks at Skillshare have allowed me to offer a free trial for the first 500 folks who sign up using the link below–which means you can watch my entire class for free!
The Sporkful Live: Anything’s Pastable With Dan Pashman And Joanne Molinaro (March 21 in Chicago!)
Join me and Dan Pashman for a live recording of his popular and award-winning podcast, The Sporfkul, on March 21 in Chicago. We’ll be discussing his new cookbook, “Anything’s Pastable!”
Parting Thoughts.
Last week, I posted a video of my vegan kimchi recipe and asked that anyone who wanted the recipe comment with the word “kimchi.” Currently, the video has over 250,000 views, has been shared over 1,800 times, and has over 900 comments. I dutifully went through as many as I could (it was hard to keep up!) and DM’d a link to my new recipe to every single person who commented “kimchi.” And as I did so, I had the opportunity to see faces, names, even snippets of biography for all these people who want my kimchi recipe. The overwhelming majority of them were not Korean.
It was hard not to get emotional. Not only at the outpouring of enthusiasm from my own community, but all the different kinds of people who were interested in not just tasting kimchi, but making kimchi. How far we’ve come from the days when my parents and grandmothers were ashamed of sending me to school with kimchi! From the days when my mom would hide the kimchi in the garage refrigerator when non-Korean friends came over after school! From the days my father was getting made fun of at work for his “kimchi” breath!
I am so overjoyed and grateful at the world’s interest in this food I’ve eaten my whole life. In so many ways, kimchi is not just what I eat, but part of who I am–its origins in resilience, its history of “otherness,” and its emergence as an icon of Korean cuisine.
From my kimchi heart to yours, I wish you all the very best,
-Joanne
