A wholesome antidote to loneliness

You can tell a lot about someone by the contents of their fridge.

My fridge was mostly empty, some condiments and take out on a shelf and some stale vegetables at the bottom.

I won't bore you with bullshit excuses about why I wasn't looking after myself. The worse part was the social dimension. Eating is as much a social activity as a nutritional one. There's only so many times you can invite friends round an order pizza.

Going from my sorry excuse of a fridge to something I could be proud of meant meal planning, regular shopping, and cooking every night. It was crippling to think about.

I needed something simple to focus on.

I decided to learn how to make ramen. Not too much shopping, no meal planning, and my wife and I both love ramen.

I'd recommend:

• Adam Liaw's ramen playlist
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nscTA7QxryM&list=PLm6gLR_sRM4xiAZXa3X71b4H4Dda1VMKg
• The Way of Ramen channel https://www.youtube.com/c/WayofRamen
• This ramen addiction playlist (the episode on making ramen oil 👌) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyZjoJcvHvE&list=PLURsDaOr8hWXGHjXPa3nTFZnbqJcAfs4N
• The ramen lord's book of ramen
  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qLPoLxek3WLQJDtU6i3300_0nNioqeYXi7vESrtNvjQ/edit

I began with broth but you can just bump up your instant ramen noodle game with great toppings. Start anywhere and you'll end up with loads of delicious byproducts for the next component. For my first broth, I skimmed the fat off to use as a base for an aromatic oil. Braising sauces turn into marinades. My fridge is now a vibrant ecosystem of little jars and happy sauces.

The best part is that I look forward to inviting people around for ramen now. I even have ramen play dates. I’ll go to a friend’s house, we’ll make ramen together, they’ll teach me their noodle technique, and I'll share some recipe for a new tarè I’m working on.

This has all been a most wholesome antidote to loneliness.