Vegan Shitake Ramen Pho (Vietnamese Soup)

This is an easy, delicious soup prepared in the microwave. This was inspired by the one from The Pioneer Woman show on TV.  I substituted shitake mushrooms for the beef used in the original recipe. The umami generated by the broth from the dried shitake mushrooms is incredible you will not miss the beef.

Vegan Shitake Ramen Pho

1-2 servings

4 dried shitake mushrooms
2 cups water
1 lime
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tbsp sriracha
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup Julienned carrots
1 star anise, optional
1 package ramen noodles (only noodles will be used)
1/2 cup spinach leaves

Add the shitake mushrooms in water in a medium bowl and microwave for five minutes. Take out from the microwave and allow the mushrooms to soak for 20 minutes. Take out the soaked mushrooms and slice in strips. Return them to the broth in the bowl.

Zest only half of a whole lime then cut in half and juice half of it. Add the juice with the zest into the bowl with the mushrooms. Cut the other half in wedges and set aside.

Add the onion slices, minced ginger, sriracha, soy sauce, julienned carrots in the bowl.

Add the ramen noodles without the seasoning to the bowl.

Microwave the mixture for three minutes.

Add the spinach at the end.

Can We All Be One?

In this age of divisiveness, can we all be one?  Is that possible?  How do we achieve that? My vacation to Orlando, Florida convinced me it could be done when I visited two very different places.

During my tour of Cape Kennedy, I learned about the international space station which is shared by several countries in the world, namely, the United States, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada. Whereas the earlier expeditions to space were competitive during the cold war that existed between the United States and Russia, these two countries together with the other three groups have realized doing things together is much better.  One ambitious goal, a great sense of practicality, and international treaties and agreements are the driving forces in making the station work for the past 20 years.

Another type of oneness was exhibited at Sea World, another attraction in Orlando. We saw a show called One Ocean in this park that showcased the thrilling skills of the killer whales. As we connected with these creatures' magnificent showmanship, I felt not only the "energy and spirit underneath the sea" but also the joy that was exuded by the audience.  During these moments, I felt we were all one. One World, One Ocean as the mantra of the show stated.

Two different examples to illustrate we can be one.  One is serious with a sense of purpose whereas the other more carefree and filled with awe and wonder.  Let us keep trying. Let us keep our hopes high.  

When the End Brings Back the Beginning

As most people do now, I was checking my email and browsing through my Facebook page to while the time when the funeral march started before the Mass. I looked up and saw my friend Judy whose husband was being buried, asking me if Bob my husband made it to the Mass to sing the songs they requested the day before at the funeral home and I said yes.

Just a few minutes later my husband's voice singing the song Amazing Grace filled the church and I saw my friend Judy leaning on her son Joey's shoulder overcome by emotion. It was a sad touching scene and I was teary eyed.

At this point flashbacks of our days in the Mothers Group which both Judy and I were members of in the early nineties came back. Both our kids, Joey and Bettina, were not yet ready for kindergarten and they were babysat while the Mothers Group members got together with Sr. Ursula for some discussion of the topic of the day.    It felt surreal being brought back to those days like watching a movie. I felt the nostalgia gripping me and amazed how time flew with our kids now in their thirties.

The same nostalgic feeling engulfed me when I heard the news that my classmate, Manuel, from college in the late sixties passed away unexpectedly in his office at Caltech. I wrote his wife in an email how Manuel has fulfilled most of his dreams at this point of his life.  In retrospect, I question myself after writing the email how do I really know what his dreams were. I just remember him as being highly intelligent and just surmised he would fulfill whatever dreams he might have had. I do not even remember what exactly what my dreams were then either. It does not matter. We both had dreams and that was what was important to sustain us to go with the flow in our lives.

The journeys I took back in both instances were cathartic. I am grateful to have gone back in time and saw that those days were happy ones and I am happier now partly because those times made me who I am today.