i rode directly from the supermarket to the cafe, arriving by around 10:50am. because my sister rescheduled her catered meals to thursday because of the snowstorm (which ended up not happening here in boston), she wasn't here today so it was a quiet and stress-free workday. there was just the right amount of busy, and i was free by 1pm to have some rice noodles for lunch.
things i did today: made 30 tea eggs; made a new batch of black noodles; sorted a box of dried chinese noodles; made 5 boxes of ice cubes; reconfigured one of the front plugs that run both a refrigerator and an induction cooker; washed a non-stop stream of dishes; chopped up some fresh scallions; refilled the dark soy sauce; refilled the tonkatsu sauce; prepared a new batch of edamame beans; cooked some dumplings.
my mother fished out two old jars of korean kimchi from the cafe refrigerator. i'm not sure how old they are, a few years at least. they'd never been opened, and the kimchi inside looked fine despite some mold and rust on the lid. here's the thing: aged kimchi is a thing. this info was relayed to me by genuine koreans when i worked in china (not korean-americans). they told me they've eaten kimchi that's 10+ years old, and the older the better. so i opened one of the kimchi jars. there was no mold inside, which is a good sign. it had a very pungent kimchi smell, also a good sign. i taste tested some. the vegetable was mushy, with none of its original crunch. i wouldn't eat it as-is, but the kimchi has basically reduced into a sauce, and i would definitely use it for cooking purposes.
i went home a bit after 5pm when it wasn't busy anymore. it felt a little weird leaving when it was still daylight outside. after stashing my bicycle, i went to the basement to get the wire mesh fencing and put it around that little strip of front yard. now that the perennials are emerging, i didn't want people letting their dogs trample all the tender shoots.
instead of throwing out that suspicious leftover corned beef, i decided to finish the rest of it for dinner. i steam cooked it in the microwave for two minutes while i buttered the rye bread on a large pan over the stove. i threw on some provolone cheese hoping to melt it, before adding some russian dressing and the corned beef along with some sauerkraut. the sandwich was good, but would've been even better if the corned beef didn't stink. i ate while watching the celtics game against the timberwolves. boston had a lead, lost it, and the final few minutes was tense as the celtics tried to preserve their slim lead. boston ended up winning (barely), 104-102.