A Little Love in Your Cooking.

Love - The best ingredient

I've recently read an article on a Korean man's attempt to make a childhood memory in his wok. While the recipe he comes up with is amazing itself (I might even make it myself), the thought behind it is the best part. The man tries so hard just to rebuild and remember his childhood, taking the time to build and recreate a dish from his past. The careful step-by-step planning this man uses when preparing his Jjajangmyeon is an example of the love he has for this dish, this childhood memory. The article wasn't profound, spending most of the page with a recipe and a theory as to why Jjajangmyeon is best made by Chinese-Korean immigrants, but the idea plants a tree of thoughts about my own memories and how things have changed from when I was young.

The memories I can recall the most are those of my first love, Pokemon. I can still remember holding the clunky, over-sized GameBoy and pacing my room, carefully planning the abilities and strengths of my new best friends. Each badge was a Medal of Honor, each Pokemon was my friend, and if all else failed the simple act of hugging that ancient gaming system was enough to make me smile for the rest of the day. Now the game is different. What was once 151 Pokemon is now 649. What was once one region is now 5. The game system has gone on a major computing diet and lost weight. My childhood game has not decreased in value, only changed. This change was inevitable. I only wish I could live those memories again. I still play the original games, and on occasion I hug and smile like my 5 year old self. I guess some things never change.

So I guess I'll add a recipe of my own; try it at your own risk.
~ 1 Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow/Green
~ 1 Nintendo GameBoy Advance/Sp/Color
~ Multiple hours of free time.
~ A candy bar (Admit it, you loved sweets as a child)
~ Stuffed Animals

1. Put game in Nintendo product of choice.
2. Surround yourself with Stuffed Animals
3. Turn game on
4. Unwrap candy bar
5. Eat and enjoy!