In my younger days, I was just like every other selfish, self-absorbed millennial today. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life, and nobody could offer me any advice that I didn’t already know. I scoffed at my elders, thinking they were fuddy duddies who lived in another era and certainly not keeping with the times. Now that I am an old fuddy duddy myself, I realize that the young people I know are probably thinking I’m out of date myself!
I’ve always done things fast.. Perhaps there are some OCD compulsions going on inside my brain, but basically I think it’s just the way I’m wired. Don’t get me wrong, I do a lot of navel gazing as well. I’m a couch potato and can sit for hours in front of the TV crocheting away, enjoy coffee and a long yarn with a friend or loll in bed reading. I just do whatever needs to get done before my downtime in a rush so I can chill in peace and not have to worry about work or chores. But lately, I’ve found out (or my body is telling me!) that I need to slow down.
I never really realized that yam was so much a part of my Chinese heritage, featuring in so many of Hakka dishes. Admittedly stodgy and not very flavorful, it does seem to serve as a great foil for other ingredients and dishes. It must have been an ideal filler of hungry stomachs in the old days when money was tight and rice, a Chinese staple, was expensive. Today, yam has become an expensive supermarket item iteself and, for many, a treat whether as a savory or sweet.
