Meal Prep (Impatience).
Labor Day prepping for the coming week in the hot kitchen. Semi-frozen swai fish filet thawing in rice vinegar and salt water. Red onion. Garlic. Chopped fine. Baby corn. Pre-washed. Chop into 'flowers'. Zucchini-ghetti. Shiitakes. Chopped blunt. Oil the wok. Feel the heat from the base. Gochujang, a dollop of the dark crimson paste on a bamboo-handled butter knife. Soy sauce. Coconut sugar, a light sweetness to balance the spiciness, about two spoonfuls, no measuring, just a controlled hand, and until Spirit tells you "That's enough"! How I approach cooking has been a means for to measure my sense of independence, getting some momentary peace to myself at the end of the day. Believe me, I need it in this frustrating time in my life. Working paycheck to paycheck, stuck in a soul-crushing retail job which I have been working on what is now coming up on a year. What little control I find in this life I find in how much garlic I want to chop up and add to the pan,
