Cooking For Joy
Drinking Miso Keeps the Clouds in Your Coffee Mug
Really, a fourth cup of joe is not a great idea
Now isn’t the time to be drinking coffee all day. I get too edgy. Instead, my pandemic afternoon cuppa is miso soup.
Stirring the perpetual clouds gives my mind a place to wander, free from the news and the uncertainty. I feel like Carly Simon looking into her coffee cup, wondering what the hell it all means. Only when you sip the warm miso, it’s obvious where life unfolds now — between the rare moments of rapturous umami.
My imperfect method fosters cloud formation. While the kettle comes to a boil, I use a fork to make a slurry in a big mug with hot tap water and miso. Not the powder, paste; white provides the most realistic skyscape. Then I let the boiling water cool a bit before adding it to the miso. The temperature is ideal, but I end up stirring and staring into the cup for a while anyway.
