The Food That Made Me

7/21/2025

Kids, as the song by Lukas Graham says, “once I was seven years old. Mama told me to make yourself some friends or you’ll be lonely.” At seven, I had a best friend until around age 10 or 11. He left me to join the cooler basketball kids. Am I still grudgey about it? Maybe? I still remember his name is STEPHEN. Kids, don’t just ditch friends for cooler ones. If you do, at least have the decency to tell them how much they mean to you before breaking things off. Communication is key even for friendships because that person may be the one introducing you to their uncle, who can give you an internship during college. Anyways, I did not make friends who were able to do that for me. Also, colleges and internships may not exist in 20 years. Friends still should, right?

But, anyway, today I want to talk about a better friend, Auntie Soupy. I technically met her in fifth grade. I remember meeting her in sixth grade at an extracurricular art class. She remembers me from fifth grade, but she was in the other class, awkward. Anyway, we bonded while painting western and Chinese watercolor. Then, we both went to the same high school. Daddy did admin work for the girls’ gymnastics team while Auntie Soupy tried the team out. It was not really fulfilling and kind of boring. Daddy always enjoyed playing sports rather than watching them. It was sad that the high school didn’t have a boys’ gymnastics team, so daddy later did golf instead.

Anyways, back to Auntie Soupy. She went to NYU, and I visited her there during my freshman year. I’m pretty sure I got scammed by a taxi driver. Uber and Lyft make things safer now, though.

Throughout the years, we have written each other letters and have had long phone calls. We have supported each other through the ups and downs of life. She is so gentle-hearted, and I am very chaotic. We both speak Cantonese, so that is a plus. We hang out with each other whenever we are both in Hong Kong. Plus, I am very thankful that she drives forty minutes to visit daddy. Because, daddy is terrified to drive that far by himself. Or, I would visit more often. More phone calls, please? I have very much cherished our friendship for over two decades. I am very thankful for her because she knows my past and my growth (well, hopefully she agrees. At least she thinks that I’m happy after marrying mommy.)

It had been over half a year since I had seen her. But, I am very thankful that I finally did. I had two hours before life group. I was cooking for it, and I put her to work. It was a cook and talk situation. I was making an orange and tomato penne and carrot ginger soup.

Here’s how you make the penne and carrot ginger soup:

This is the carrot ginger soup is the first recipe that I have cooked from Scott Clark. He told me to cook the book. So, I am starting.

Orange and Tomato Penne

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds of cherry tomatoes
• 1 orange – cut it in half and prepare a few tablespoons of zest
• A box of penne

1. Wash and then pour all of the cherry tomatoes in a medium stainless steel pot. Add oil. Medium heat. Cook and occasionally stir until it breaks down.
2. Make some orange zest and place it into a little paper pouch and then place it into pot.
3. Try to get the tomatoes to caramelize. (I wasn’t able to get char on the tomatoes because I didn’t dry them enough, and probably because I was stirring them too much.)
4. Cook the penne in a large pot with salted water. Taste a piece and make sure it is al dente. Strain it. Rinse it to make it stop cooking.
5. Pour the penne into the sauce. Juice a 1/2 cup of orange juice in.
6. It should sweet, tangy, a little caramelized. Yummy.

Carrot and ginger soup

Ingredients:

• 3 medium carrots
• 3 inches of ginger
• 1 onion
• 1 jalapeño
• 1 coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon of cumin

1. Wash and cut carrots into bite-sized pieces.
2. Slice ginger into 1/4 inch slices.
3. Rough chop an onion and also a jalapeño.
4. Have two pots ready. One is for softening carrots. The other is for caramelizing the onions and spices with coconut milk that will later be strained.
5. Oil and carrots in a pot and then medium heat.
6. Oil, jalepeno, onions in another pot. Stir occasionally and let them take 15 minutes to caramelize. Add the garlic. Stir for a couple minutes.
7. Add the coconut milk to the onions. Let it simmer for a few minutes minutes.
8. Strain the coconut milk mixture into the carrots.

Result:

The penne didn’t turn out that sweet, so it was pretty good. Also, Auntie Soupy was like, “what’s this?” while fishing out an orange zest packet. Thanks for the save. It would have been a little awkward for someone else to find it while eating. Also, it was one of the first times that we got fruit from Whole Foods. We will probably do it more often because mommy thinks that it is better quality. And, golly, it tasted really sweet and juicy.

The ginger soup could have been stronger if I had more time to carmelize the jalapeño and onions and ginger. I’ll try it again next time to see if it has more flavor.

I do hope that someday that you will make yourself some great friends. Don’t make yourself Stephens who ditch you for others. I mean some friendships are more seasonal, but still. He could have given me a notice. I think that was the first time I was ghosted. Ghosted means that people who exit your life without telling you a reason. Anyways, I have made some great friends throughout my life. We may not see each other much anymore, but we connect again without missing a beat when we do see each other. Ask yourself what kind of friend that you want to be and have?

As for me, “Soon, I’ll be 60 years old, will I think the world is cold? Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me? Soon, I′ll be 60 years old.”