During my childhood whenever I asked my parents for pastries, they used to buy me a packet of cake crumbles from a nearby bakery. It looked like a mix of this..

And this

I really loved eating it.

Later on I realized that these crumbles were pieces which were left over after cutting the cakes into respective shapes.

My parents did whatever they could do to please me .I’m really proud of them.

Love you mom .

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When I was a kid, my family would often steam rice and then pour water into it to make a “soup.” Then, to add some flavor, we would mix in a little kimchi which is essentially a “spicy pickled cabbage.”

And I loved it.

Not only did I think that it tasted great, but it was super simple to make too. And this was a relief for my parents since, unknowing to me, we were on the verge of bankruptcy.

My parents were immigrants who invested everything they had into a small family business, and while the initial response was great, hard times soon fell upon us.

Other businesses near us began closing down, and so the area was only becoming more and more desolate. Eventually, it was our turn to sell.

After they sold the business, my parents worked multiple jobs in order to pay the bills. My dad would deliver newspapers in the morning and then “flip burgers” for the rest of the day. My mom would bake donuts at a cafe in the morning and then work at a restaurant as a waitress afterwards. They both worked well over 14 hours a day with no break.

All while I happily ate my “kimchi soup.”

And it took me a while to understand that sad look my mother gave me every time I ate.

Eventually, times got better as my parents found better jobs. It was then when my mom refused to let me eat anymore of my “guilty pleasure.”

Instead, she made for me what has since been my favorite dish to date.

KimchiJjigae (Kimchi Stew)

It’s funny when I think about it because this dish is essentially an “upgrade” of what I ate in the past.

And so it serves to me as a reminder of all the struggles my parents have gone through to keep the family going.

I really love my parents.