By New Year's. Tteokguk on January 1st. Korean New Year breakfast. FaceTimed Jisoo. She had made hers earlier. The rice cake soup that means a year added to your age.
My Korean is improving. Slowly. Painfully. Conversationally adequate now. I can argue about kimchi proportions in two languages, which is a milestone in any marriage between mother and daughter.
I texted Jisoo a photo of the kimchi in the new onggi pot. She replied with the thumb-up emoji and a Korean-language critique. The duality is the gift.
Sprint review at Amazon Friday. Two hours. I could have been on a podcast.
A blog reader wrote about her own adoptee experience. We exchanged three emails this week.
James and I had date night Friday. Indian restaurant on 45th. We ate too much. We sat in the car after talking about nothing for an hour. The marriage is the marriage.
Rain on the porch all afternoon Saturday. The Wallingford rain is its own weather. I sat with a book and a tea and did not move for two hours.
Therapy Tuesday with Dr. Kim. We talked about the parents — the two sets, the one living, the one gone, the one who became real after thirty years and the one who was real my whole life and is now gone. The work is the layered work.
The kimchi crock was bubbling Saturday morning when I checked. The bubbling is the right bubbling. The fermentation knew what it was doing.
The newsletter went out Sunday morning. The opening sentence took an hour. The piece took five. The piece was what it needed to be.
The shiso on the south fence is fragrant and unruly. I brushed past it taking the compost out and the smell stopped me. The smell is the country. The smell is Jisoo's apartment.
I made coffee at seven. Hana ate cereal at seven-fifteen. Min wandered down at seven-twenty-five. James left for work at eight. The morning was the morning. The standard.
Reading at night. A novel by a Korean-American writer about a family in 1990s LA. I underlined four sentences. The underlining is the marking-of-the-territory of the soul.
I sat at the kitchen counter at six AM with a notebook and a cup of green tea. Writing time before the house wakes. The pre-light hour is the only writing hour I trust.
Jisoo sent a photo of the dol the kids did for our visit last summer. The photo went on the fridge.
David came over for Sunday dinner. He brought some tomatoes from the Bellevue garden.
Yoga Tuesday morning at the studio. The forward fold released something I had been carrying in the shoulder. The mat is the mat.
Hana left a Lego on the kitchen floor. I stepped on it at two AM. Standard.
The Capitol Hill apartment kitchen is small. We make it work.
I read a thread on the Korean Adoptee subreddit Saturday. Some posts brought up old anger. Most are people figuring it out in real time. We are not unique. We are a community.
Sunday farmers market on Wallingford Avenue. The kabocha at the Asian vendor's stall. The shishito peppers. The brokered conversation. We bought too much. We always do.
David brought those tomatoes from the Bellevue garden on Sunday, and I couldn’t let them just sit on the counter. After a week of layered work — the therapy, the fermentation, the farmers market haul we always overbuy at — I wanted to cook something that let the ingredients carry the weight for once. This tomato gratin is what happened: breadcrumbs, good olive oil, a hot oven, and tomatoes that already knew what they were.
Tomato Gratin
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly coat a shallow 2-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil.
- Layer the tomatoes. Arrange tomato slices in slightly overlapping rows across the bottom of the prepared dish. Season evenly with salt and pepper.
- Make the breadcrumb topping. In a small bowl, combine panko, Parmesan, garlic, and thyme. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss until the crumbs are evenly moistened.
- Top and bake. Scatter the breadcrumb mixture in an even layer over the tomatoes. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the topping is deep golden and the tomatoes are bubbling and tender at the edges.
- Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and scatter torn basil over the top. Rest 5 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 130 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 13g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 375mg