TWAS the Week 1 of 2025

The Rundown...

Triathalon Training

My cousin was in town this week and feer (family + peer) pressured me into running a couple of morning 5ks. I thought my last run was in Summer of 2024, but according to Strava it was in 2021! So we knocked out a 3.86 miles at a 9:12 pace and I was extremely happy with that given I have not touched these shoes in over 3 years. More feer pressure when it was raining and we did negative splits in the rain. 28 minute 5k. Not too shabby.

How? Well... Peloton. I have kept my cardio up with indoor cycling and I am looking forward to my first triathalon in April. I was peer pressured into the Napa Valley Spring Triathalon and I am looking at Olympic rather than sprint. Will track more training in the weekly updates but first I need to find a pool to workout in.

Wok Shopping

As a home chef, my favorite tools of the trade have been my smaller Staub Dutch Oven, Le Creuset braising pan, Field Company Cast Iron Pan, and my Joyce Chen Wok. Over the weekend I found myself wanting a smaller wok to heat up a single serving for the kids and I found that it is NEAR impossible to find an uncoated carbon steel wok in smaller sizes. I have a 14" wok and I wanted a sub-10" wok. I swear I spent 3 hours combing the internet before I ended up with an 8.6" cast iron. I guess it's an odd thing to have a personal sized wok.

Ramen

I was attempting to veg on the couch with the kids when we stumbled upon a video the whole family wanted to watch. Chefs Eunjo Park formerly of Momofuku, Douglas Kim of JeJu Noodle Bar, and Toshiaki Kondo formerly of rockmeisha reviewed Instant Ramens on Epicurious.

What surprised me was how much insight they had into the texture and flavor of each bowl and how each had seemingly tried at least two-thirds of those being taste tested. These are pro chefs who operate some of the best Asian noodle joints in NYC. The second surprise was the level of science they could describe in each bowl. Great watch and we will be trying the ICHIRAN Take-Home Ramen at some point in the near future.

The Watch List

  • Messiah - Binge worthy psychological thriller. Will mess with your head and poke at your beliefs.
  • Furiosa: A Max Max Saga - I think the Mad Max series had to be one of my favorite syndicated movies growing up. This was a great prequel to Fury Road and the way they tied pieces of each film together was on point. Especially the ending, which I will not spoil here.
  • Squid Game: Season 2 - Will finish tonight. I think the first season was more interesting, but the sequel is still highly entertaining.

The Linked List...