writing-with-tash

[writing-with-tash]

Tale of the Nine-Tailed

SPOILER!!

Tale of the Nine-Tailed stars Lee Dong-wook, Jo Bo-ah and Kim Bum.

Tales of the Nine-Tailed aired on tvN from 7 October to 3 December 2020, it was released on Netflix in South Africa on Saturday the 3 of April 2021.

Lee Dong-wook plays the part of Lee Yeon who is a gumiho which is a Nine-tailed fox that renounced his throne as the guardian mountain spirit of Baekdudaegan to search for the reincarnation of his one true love, Ah-eum (Jo Bo-ah). He follows her soul along the Samdo River and marks her with a fox marble so he can find her when she is reborn.

In 1999 and at a young age Nam Ji-a loses her parents in a car accident on Fox Hill but mysteriously their bodies are gone. 21 years later, Ji-a works for a TVC station as a PD of documentaries and seeks out stories on the supernatural. A mysterious case that Ji-a is working on involving a runaway bride that doesn’t add up leads her to a man with a red umbrella.

Ji-a recognises her childhood saviour and thinks that he will be the lead in finding her missing parents. While following Lee Yeon around and bugging him. She goes on a case with him that involves a skull head that was discovered on a fishing boat.

Ji-a and Lee Yeon arrive on an island and investigates the island's history with suspicious deaths, but Lee Rang, Yeon brother keeps him distracted from helping Ji-a finding answers. Rang promises to hurt Yeon for his past actions before leaving for hell to serve his punishment.

Yeon kills a human that was trying to sacrifice Ji-a to bring back the serpent and must receive punishment in human form for seven days on a snowy mountain chained to the walls. Before leaving to receive his punishment, he gives Ji-a a bag of beans for protection while he's gone but Rang secretly rips open the bag without Ji-a knowing, and bad things start happening to her. Yeon knows that Ji-a lost the beans and tries to get out of his punishment to save her, but it was fruitless and tells Taluipa who is an Afterlife Immigration Officer that manages the list of dead souls and gives missions to Lee Yeon (but Yeon calls her granny), that he needs to get back and he will rather go to the Mountain of Knifes.

After successfully crossing the bridge on the Mountain of Knives, Yeon rushes back to Ji-a in time to catch her being forced over the building edge but he is severely injured.

As Yeon recovers, he opens up to Ji-a about this first love. While seeking Ji-as parents Yeon is reunited with an old acquaintance and Rang is trying to get his hands on a valuable artefact. Yeon and Ji-a are at a place where people dress up in the past era, Ji-a dresses up in one of the dress, as random as this was Yeon saw her and had a moment thinking that Ji-a was Ah-eum his past love, and kisses her, even though Ji-a kisses Yeon back she does set him straight, by saying …….

Going to a fortune teller that happens to be one of the kings of the underworld uses an app to tell their fortune, knowing who they are, lies about their fortune. Rang meets up with the fortune teller and wants the tiger glasses that sees the past and trades his brother for it and Yeon gets sucked into a bag. Ji-a is anxious to get Yeon back and finds the things most precious to her. The fortune teller tells her that they are not good enough but will take the Fox marble that Yeon gave her when she died in the past life, and she agrees.

Yeon is worried that Ji-a won't be safe without the fox marble and keeps a close eye on her and Rang ends up losing the tiger glasses.

Once Rang finds the glasses that the little boy had he sends them to Ji-a, she tries them on and has a peek into her tragic past seeing Yeon killing her. She is obviously upset seeing this. The serpent that was reborn due to the blood that was left on the well on the island by Ji-a, the serpent used a woman who appears as a lady peddler in a green outfit called the Spirit of Darkness to trap Ji-a and Rang in their own minds. Yeon must decide who to save and opens the door his brother is in. In the forest Yeon and Rang have a special moment and make up as brothers while Ji-a is trapped in her mind with her parents that’s she is searching for and is unsure of what to do until she receives a phone call from Yeon saying that she needs to fight and get out. Once she’s out Yeon is trapped in his lonely mind, here he traps the Spirit of Darkness and somewhat comes face to face with the serpent.

A new intern, Terry who is an Imugi arrives at Ji-as workplace and is extremely interested in Ji-a. Yeon finds that Ji-a’s parents are in the blood tree and gets her parents back with an emotional reunion, Ji-a happens to be another serpent part and havoc unveils. When Ji-a is threatened or if she's bleeding the serpent part of her comes out and disaster follows in that form.

They find out that Terry is the other serpent part, and he spreads a mysterious plague across Seoul. Yeon knows that Ji-a is in even more danger and decides to propose a risky alliance, with Terry.

While Yeon prepares his plan to put an end to Imugi’s terror Ji-a is also trying to find a way to save Yeon. Yeon is sacrificing himself to save Ji-a and pleads with granny for another option but she kept telling him there is no way, Yeon is spending time with his loved ones because of him sacrificing himself. Taluipa has an argument with her husband, and only then does she finally crack and tells Yeon another plan, but it backfires. Resulting in Yeon eating a snake scale and becoming a host to Ji-a’s serpent. It’s an emotional sacrifice that made me cry like a baby!

Ji-a is unable to move on and begins a special project called Tale of the Nine-tailed and meets with Yeon's loved ones and interviews them. Rang watches a heart-warming video message from Yeon. I swear I felt like I was going to breathe out fire with how my throat closed with emotion and trying to suppress it, whew! Rang refuses to give up on finding his brother. Ji-a receives a gift from Yeon on her birthday and a letter that throws another emotion ball. After reading the letter and leaving she notices one of the stuffed teddys that she got with Yeon was missing and went back to find it. There she runs into Rang, and guess who else… the fortune teller, meeting with him they ask for Yeon to be reincarnated, but obviously a life for a life and Ji-a was ready for that fate but Rang said no and he will do it. He has a family, and he was happy, he didn’t want to take the risk of Yeon being reborn and Ji-a wasn’t around.

After a while and a sad goodbye to Rang, walking out of her office it starts to rain, the security at the office hands her a red umbrella. Recognising the umbrella as Yeon's she starts to run around looking for him and spots him across the pedestrian crossing. He tells her that his human now and that he is no longer a nine-tailed fox, Yeon still has his memories, and he meets with his loved ones, Yeon also helps a boy that fell off his bike that happens to have his brother face when he was younger and Yeon was happy to know that Rang had been reborn. Ji-a and Yeon get married and are now living together. Yeon hears Ji Ah mention seeing something that resembles the Spirit of Misfortune and grabs his red umbrella while Ji-a is asleep and sneakily goes out to find him. The umbrella turns into a sword and Yeon's eyes start glowing.

OMG, HE IS STILL A FOX!!!!

I want a season 2 seriously! They have to tell us how this is going to go about since by the looks of it, Ji-a and the rest of them think he's human but he's not! What a fantastic twist in this series! Well done!

[writing-with-tash]

My little fur baby was putting me through the stress of not eating or drinking on her own for two years.

This is what she looked like before it started.

My fur baby kept walking around in circles for no reason one day out of the blue and I never thought anything of it until it became more consistent. I thought maybe she was agitated about something that she experienced because she wouldn’t eat or drink, but I couldn’t pinpoint the problem, so I took her to the vet. They told me a medical term about what was wrong (I can't even remember the term) but basically, they said that there is something wrong with the chemical balance in her brain, but they need to take a CT scan to make sure and to get a proper result. As much as I would have like to have said go for it, I couldn’t because of my financial situation. I decided to take matters into my own hands, and I shopped around the market for something, and that’s where I came across a brand called Regal Pet Health and put my dog on the Stress and Anxiety Remedy. I syringed it into her mouth mixed with some water. After being religious with it she stopped walking in circles. SUCCESS!!

Now, I was facing my second challenge, after I managed to get her to stop walking in circles she still wouldn’t eat, or drink and it was hitting the one-year mark even though I syringed liquids into her mouth. I was concerned. Before she normally would wolf down her food in no time and always drank like a fish, she was slightly overweight before all this happened but not by much and she was roughly 6 years old in human years.

A few days went by where I was just observing her and hoping that her drinking and eating would kick in, but it failed. I took her immediately to the vet and told them what was happening, and they couldn’t help me, they said and I quote “I don’t know.” This is no lie, but at the same time I don’t know either, I couldn’t blame them. I walked out of the vet’s office with my emotions scattering.

The vet was no help, so I decided to take it to Google, and it does give you good information, but it also only brings up the negative first, like:

“You know something is wrong when your dog refuses food, and this is one of the classic signs a dog is dying. If your dog is at this point, you can offer them the tastiest treat imaginable and they will not eat it. They will also stop drinking water. This is due to the beginning of their organs shutting down. They no longer have the sensation of hunger or thirst. You can try to keep them hydrated by giving them water in a dropper or turkey baster. But if they won’t swallow it, there’s not a whole lot you can do. However, just because a dog stops eating and drinking for a day or so, it doesn’t mean they are dying. Be sure to rule out other health issues first with a visit to your vet.”

Yes, there is no doubt in my mind that this is true, and it would be the first thing you would think in any situation with your fur baby, but after my experience, this isn’t always true. If anybody is going through the same situation or similar. I suggest doing everything in your power before going to the extreme. This is what I did.

After the vet regarding the walking in circles, I was enticing her to eat and drink but it was ignored. I tried giving her favourite treat and she kept walking away. I was doing this for a few days, and nothing. I asked around on pet forums and they were just as stumped and surprised she was still alive but they gave me some helpful ideas like chicken broth. I tried the broth from the shops and still nothing. I boiled chicken in water and used that broth and still nothing. Her weight was dropping drastically.

Doing more research on Google for other dog enticing meals, I tried carrot juice for her to drink, it failed. I pureed apples and it failed again. I even used a syringe to squirt the liquid into her mouth a few times, but after a few squirts she managed to run away from me, and her weight was dropping more. I was panicking thinking she was going to die with how her body was looking.

I was using a syringe for about six months getting liquid in her, but she wasn’t looking any healthier, and especially during summer you need to be hydrated but she needed solids too. I gave the wet dog food that she loved, and she took one nibble and walked away. I mixed water into her kibble and she nibbled and walked away. I got frustrated with her and I got my fiancé to hold her while I put one soft kibble at a time into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed. I was feeding her and giving her liquids with a syringe like that for a year, and her weight never changed.

It was hitting that two-year mark and I was not giving up even if I had to spend the rest of my life feeding her like that. Until something amazing happened. Where I was sitting in the lounge you can’t see her water bowl. All I heard was lap lap lap, I got goosebumps hearing that sound and I still get it today two years later after going through all that with her. She was drinking water on her own, I started crying and doing a quiet happy screaming dance to not distract her from drinking.

After she drank, I gave her dry kibble, but she only took a few. It was looking promising. I mixed water with her kibble and she started eating it like that, it was a relief to finally see her eat a full bowl of food. I bought her Canine Cuisine puppy kibble because of the high-fat content to fatten her up a bit and that’s what she's eating still. She now drinks on her own, eats her food on her own and is back to her crazy doggy ways running around like a mad chicken. She is still on edge around people, but she isn’t aggressive.

What happened to make her this way is still a mystery, unless it was due to her walking in circles, or it was something psychological. If it wasn’t for forcing liquids and food into her, I have no idea what would have happened. At this point, I don’t care what to think because she is eating and drinking on her own again and gaining weight.

I want to thank Regal Pet Heath for making amazing products it helped my fur baby at the beginning of this story and it’s helping her now with her allergies.

What she looks like today.

[writing-with-tash]

Nokdu - Korean

SPOILER!!

Nokdu (Jang Dong-yoon) is set in the Joseon era, and it is about a man that is chasing down an assassin that leads him to a secret entrance to the widow village. A village just for woman. Nokdu disguises himself as a woman and goes by the name of Lady Kim Nok-soon. Nokdu is searching for answers about his birth and being a roommate with a girl who does not want to be a kisaeng (providing entertainment and conversation to men of the upper class).

Dong-joo (Kim So-hyun) is wanting revenge on the king for assassinating her family. She is being pursued by Prince Neungyang (Kang Tae-oh) that wants her for himself, but she does not want anything to do with him. Dong-joo is the only female in the village who has her own room and is being told to share a room with Lady Kim Nok-soon (Nokdu).

Lady Kim Nok-soon (Nokdu) is reluctant to share a room with Dong-joo (Kim So-hyun) and steps out of the room for hours to search for the assassin that tried to kill him and his family. He finds out that the assassin is a woman and Dong-joo (Kim So-hyun) finding out his night adventures keeps him under her watch. A small tussle between Dong-joo (Kim So-hyun) and Nokdu (Jang Dong-yoon) leads her to fall on him and she accidentally squashes his… manly parts, and that is how she found out that Lady Kim Nok-soon is a man dressed in woman's clothes and she decides to keep his secret.

Dong-joo (Kim So-hyun) is wanted as a kisaeng by a man and she does it for the head lady of the widow's village who looked after her since she was a child after her parents’ death. While Nokdu was about to do a task for the Muwol Corps he saw that Dong-joo was dressed as a kisaeng and was ready to leave. Nokdu went to Cheon Hae-soo (head of the village) and asked her to make Nokdu, Dong-joo daughter, and she agreed to it to keep Dong-joo away from being a kisaeng.

Prince Neungyang wants to become king and he has his men attack the widow's village, Dong-joo went to the village to find Nokdu who was busy fighting with others. Being caught in the mix Dong-joo is being strangled by one of Prince Neungyang men, Nokdu sees this and goes to rescue her. Prince Neungyang tells the man to stop. He doesn’t want anything happening to her because he loves her and takes her away. Once Dong-joo wakes up she immediately leaves the room that Prince Neungyang was keeping her and went back to the village for Nokdu.

The widow village is now awe that Nokdu is a man and not a woman, Dong-joo goes up to him and finds that he's badly injured. Once Dong-joo sees that Nokdu is recovering, she leaves the village for Hanyang.

After a while, Nokdu and Dong-joo reunite in Hanyang and Nokdu stays close to her. They both want to enter the palace to assassinate the king but neither of them is awe that they both want to kill the king. Nokdu becomes a king’s guard and Dong-joo becomes a queen’s handmaiden. In the ceremony, Nokdu sees the king and realises that the king is the man that he and Dong-joo have been socialising with at night. Nokdu finds out that he is the heir to the throne and the king son, the king that tried to kill him at birth.  

Prince Neungyang organises a revolt on the palace and Nokdu sides with him knowing that his father the king wants to kill him and does not want to give up the throne. On the way back to the palace with the king, he finds out that his guard (Nokdu) is his son and chases to find him. Dong-joo comes out of the forest and points her arrow at the king, but she realises that it is not worth killing a man that is already dead inside. The king slips and falls off the cliff into the river.

Nokdu and Dong-joo leave for the palace to stop the revolt. There he reunites with his mother, the queen, and fights Prince Neungyang. The king arrives alive, and Prince Neungyang lies by saying that he was wanting to stop Nokdu’s revolt. Nokdu’s mother helps him and Dong-joo escape the palace, but the king orders Prince Neungyang to find Nokdu and kill him. Nokdu is injured and his master (the one who taught him martial arts) helps to carry him to the boat but they are trapped because of Prince Neungyang and his men. Dong-joo gives herself up and leaves with the prince so that Nokdus master can leave safely with Nokdu.

When Nokdu recovers, he leaves to save Dong-joo and they escape to an island. Prince Neungyang lied to the king about Nokdu being dead and did not want to inspect the body, but the queen saw that it was not her son. Nokdu and Dong-joo get married.

9 years later, Prince Neungyang revolts again and was successful. The king asked him to release the queen from the palace and that he can do whatever he wanted after. The queen left for the island where Nokdu was living, that is where she reunites with her son once again.

[writing-with-tash]

100 Days My Prince – Korean Drama

SPOILERS!!

I am crazy about my dramas. It can be Korean drama, Chinese drama whatever you name it! I just finished watching a K-drama series, 100 Days My Prince, starring Do Kyung-soo as Lee Yul / Na Won-deuk and Nam Ji-hyun as Yeon Hong-shim / Yoon Yi-seo.

Lee Yul is the kings’ nephew, and in his younger days, he ignored his studies and enjoys playing with the peasant children and his best friend and guardian Dong-joo. Abusing his status, Lee Yul bullied the peasant children while playing villains. Yeon Hong-shim is a smart and compassionate girl from a noble family, intervenes and scolds Lee Yul for his actions towards the other kids. Yeon Hong-shim action towards Lee Yul makes him become a focused student and he develops a crush on Yeon Hong-shim. Long story short, Lee Yul’s father, is jealous of the king, his brother a lot of backstabbing is involved.

Sixteen years later, Lee Yul is all grown up and is a cold unlikable prince, he becomes a target that must die. An accident involving the prince causes him to lose his memory, his friend and guardian Dong-joo, sacrifices himself to save his friend. A peasant found the prince unconscious and took him to his home. Upon waking up he is told that his name is Na Won-deuk and is betrothed to his daughter Yoon Yi-seo (lie of course) and things spiral and bloom from there.

The prince losing his memory and ending up in a village where his crush from when he was younger was living in hiding was predictable but fantastic. When you often watch romance dramas you can most of the time predict the story, but they are still amazing to watch. The fact that you can escape reality to binge-watch these types of dramas who can complain!

Do Kyung-soo (Lee Yul) is amazing eye candy! 100 Days My Prince has a wonderful story-line and amazing supporting actors and actresses. Nam Ji-hyun (Yeon Hong-shim) played her part beautifully and executed her role. 100 Days My Prince is a romance drama, but if you are looking for one of those full-on romance, this is not it. You can feel the romance between the two characters, there is no doubt that this is a romance drama.

I hated the fact that Lee Yul’s friend and guardian Dong-joo died so early in the series… Okay, in all honesty, I wish he never died at all, and he was busy looking for the prince, but oh well guess not. The second thing that I wish I could have changed in the series was Yeon Hong-shim’s brother dying! Come on really! What he went through and having a baby on the way, finding his sister and then he just dies! SERIOUSLY!

The romance scenes between Lee Yul and Yoon Yi-seo was memorable and sweet, so far out of all dramas that I have watched, the kissing scenes in 100 Days My Prince was amazing! The passion between the two characters was spot on!!!

The crowned princess (Kim So-hye) was pregnant with Moo-yeon’s baby (Yoon Yi-seo’s brother) and the princess had never consummated her marriage with Lee Yul. She was forced into the marriage and was neglected by her husband (Lee Yul) we know that he neglected the princess because of his love for Yeon Hong-shim. Cannot blame the guy, even though in the historical period the princess’ and princes had no choice but to enter arranged marriages along with other noble families.

The ending of 100 Days My Prince was sweet, Yoon Yi-seo finally deciding not to “run away” from the prince and staying with him, after reading his diary that he purposely left for her to find. Such a happy ending!

Till next time!

[writing-with-tash]

Caldo Verde

Caldo Verde is consumed during some Portuguese celebrations, weddings, birthdays, etc. It can be consumed as a starter or a late supper. This soup is traditionally served in a clay bowl.

Caldo Verde came from the Minho Province in northern Portugal. Today, it is a favourite that has been spread around the world where the Portuguese people have settled.

Caldo Verde means Green Soup, the way I like to say it is Kale soup. The ingredients are basic; it comprises Kale, potatoes, onions, olive oil, sliced chouriço/chorizo, garlic and water. When I make Caldo Verde, I use spicy chorizo. What you need to do is, braze your onions and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes, then add in your potatoes and water, let your potatoes cook until soft. You then remove your soft potatoes and mash them. Once it is mashed, you add the mashed potato to the boiling water, at this point you add in your kale and let it cook until the kale is soft. Now add in your sliced chorizo and continue to cook, adding the amount of seasoning you like. That is how I make it, but everybody has their preferred method.

Caldo Verde is simple to make, like almost every other type of soup. The fragrant smell of the potatoes and chorizo brings comfort on a cold winter's day. Using spicy chorizo adds a slight zing to the soup and creates a whole different taste. Using the plain chorizo is just as good, but after trying it with the spicy chorizo It feels like a completely different dish. Caldo Verde is accompanied by Portuguese broa corn-bread or rye-bread for dipping, it is preferred but it is optional.

If you don’t have kale or even if it is scarce for some reason, spinach works just as well too. The taste between the kale and spinach is different and noticeable, especially if it is a dish that you frequently have, but the results are the same, comforting and enjoyable.

 https://leitesculinaria.com/7580/recipes-portuguese-kale-soup-caldo-verde.html

Here is a link to a Caldo Verde recipe that you can follow, posted by LC Editors and the photo by Pasquale Paolo Cardo.

[writing-with-tash]

Bacalhau à Brás

Bacalhau means Cod in English, which is a fish with a mild flavour and flaky white flesh. Brás is supposedly the name of the creator of the dish Bacalhau à Brás.

Oh my goodness, don’t get me started on this Portuguese dish! Out of all Portuguese dishes I've ever had in my thirty years on this earth, this is the ultimate go-to for me. The Codfish is first cut open (see image above) and guttered. Then you salt the cod on both sides generously (hence the name ‘salted cod’) and hang in on a hook out in the sun to dry for about a week or two to ensure that the fish is cured and dried. Once it is dried, you cut the Cod into large pieces.

Soak the pieces in water, in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge. Replace the water every 8-10 hours to remove the salt. After 24 hours, to be safe and to go according to your pallet, cut a piece of the codfish and boil it for about a minute and taste it. If you find it is still too salty, extend the soaking process for another 24hours and replacing the water every 8-10 hours and repeat until you are satisfied. Boil the Codfish immediately after soaking.

Curing the dried Codfish is tedious but well worth it when you make Bacalhau à Brás. To make this dish, you have to do as instructed above with the fish, whether it is bought from the shop or prepared by yourself.

Here's a quick view of how Bacalhau à Brás is made, after boiling the cod and it has cooled, flake the fish and discard the bones, be warned, there will be a high possibility that a few bones will escape unnoticed. Make sure you have your slap chips/French fries/hot chips, ready and on one side. You add onions and garlic to a medium pot and fry. Add extra olive oil as needed and add in your flaked fish, and chips, and mix. Beat up a few eggs and add it to the chips and fish, add extra salt if you want and pepper. Add your parsley and mix until the eggs are cooked.

You can add some chopped up boiled eggs and your chopped olives and mix. You can add extra oil as you go along, the oil gets soaked up fast in this dish. This is the only dish I go overboard with the olive oil. Once plated, you can add extra parsley and olive oil to it.

There are so many ways to make Bacalhau à Brás, and some of them aren’t the traditional way. Usually, I go to my local Fish&Chips shop to get them ready-made potato chips… Tsk Tsk.

Codfish is one of the most expensive fish out there, I think is even outranks Salmon because Cod is becoming scares. So for that reason here is an alternative that works just as wonderfully; Kingklip, even though it is also expensive, it is still cheaper than Salmon and Cod and easier to find. All you do is follow the same procedure as above and you will have your Bacalhau à Brás, but with Kingklip.

https://leitesculinaria.com/7642/recipes-portuguese-eggs-salt-cod-potatoes-bacalhau-bras.html

Here is a close enough recipe that you can follow by posted by David Leite | photo by David Leite

[writing-with-tash]

Pasteis de Nata

This is a Portuguese egg custard tart with sprinkled cinnamon on top. The history behind this sweet treat is that it was created before the 18th century, by Catholic monks in Lisbon, Portugal. It was common for them to use leftover egg yolks to make desserts; the monks started selling these pastries to bring in revenue, but the monastery closed and the recipe was sold. The recipe is still the same and has not been changed. But as the culinary world grew, a few people here and there have tried to invent a new tart based on Pasteis de Nata recipe, but the original is always preferred.

What does it taste like? Well, it has a crispy flaky shell similar to puff pastry; the filling is a creamy sweet egg custard that just melted in your mouth and dusted with cinnamon or icing sugar. This little piece of heaven will surely leave you wanting more!

The cost of one of these pastries in South Africa varies, at one of our local stores, a pack of six costs R59.99 which is ± $3.87USD. In a way steep for just six, at least here in South Africa, I think.

I think you will get more out of it if you just make your own, to be honest! Here is a link to a recipe you can follow.

https://spanishsabores.com/pasteis-de-nata-recipe/