Pork Bone Soup

Yummy! I love this soup. At first, I didn't want to try it, since I usually don't eat spicy foods but this is one exception. Absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:
2.5 lbs pork bones
1/2 small napa cabbage
1 medium onion
2 tbsp ginger
2 tbsp soy bean paste
4 dried shiitake mushroom
1 whole garlic
2 tbsp hot pepper flakes
1 tbsp hot pepper paste
3 tbsp cooking wine
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp perilla seeds
2 stalks green onion
1 package soy bean sprouts
3 potatoes

Directions:

1. Soak pork bones in cold water for 2 hours. Blanch pork bones with 1 tbsp ginger. Drain and rinse. 
2. Add blanched pork bones, sliced onion, 1 tbsp ginger, soy bean paste, and shiitake mushrooms to 10 cups of water. Boil for 1.5 hours over medium high heat.
3. Blend garlic, cooking wine, and fish sauce to blender. Mix with hot pepper flakes, hot pepper paste, and perilla seeds. Set aside.
4. Blanch napa cabbage, drain well. Cut green onion. Rinse and drain soy bean sprouts. Peel potatoes. 
5. After 1.5 hours, remove shiitake mushrooms. Slice mushrooms and return to pot.
6. Add vegetables and paste. Cook for an additional 30 minutes.

This recipe was found on Maangchi, check it out for more great Korean recipes.

Environmentally Conscious

When I was planning on writing an essay on the effects of consumerism. I stumbled upon The Story of Stuff.  There was a great deal of information on the cost of consumersim to the environment, our health, and the future of the planet. Even though The Story of Stuff is very bias, I do believe that they make some really great points.
I was late for school one day and I forgot my water bottle. I make an effort to bring it whenever I remember, and this was one of the times that I forgot. So I decided to buy a bottle of water. This got me thinking about The Story of Bottled Water.

There are many truths to The Story of Bottled Water. When I went to Cuba last summer, I was told that there was a great spot to go snorkeling. I went all the way to the end of the beach where the mountain of trees were. There was a small opening in the forest and I followed the path. In the middle of the forest there was a small opening where the water would flow to when the water level rises. This area was absolutely breath taking, and a little scary but I got over it. It was like a pond in the middle of the forest, not to far from the ocean. But what destroyed the serenity was the pile of garbage that washes up every evening when the water level rises. The ground was covered in water bottles, shoes, plastic bags. I couldn't imagine all the things that were washed up. The surprising thing is that there were no Cuban water bottles, just American ones. Because of all the garbage, and crab holes, I was getting pretty paranoid about the area and decided to head back to the resort.

I just couldn't believe my eyes. I wonder how many water bottles from Toronto made it to Cuba.
The Story of Stuff
The Story of Bottled Water