It is tempting to post a consecutive string of stop-motion clips of various sights because, well, they’re so fun to make.

I was ready to move on to other types of postings since I made stop-motion clips of a larger-than-normal chess match and Snoqualmie Falls in the past few days.

But then, I spotted a pretty big jar of kimchi at a local Korean grocery store. We’ve bought seaweed salad, seasoned squid and kimchi there before. My wife suggested that I buy more kimchi. This $10 jar seemed to fit our needs. We didn’t have any and it was an easy move to replenish our supply.

I know there are some seriously rocky sectors remaining in the U.S. economy. Of course, I hope the country’s economic picture picks up. At the store, I looked at the jar kimchi and thought: Yes, a $10 jar of spicy, garlicky Korean-style cabbage really is a solid investment – at least for us.

I did say that my wife is fighting a cold. Right?

I’ve written about kimchi in the past – including a woman in South Korea who has invented an odorless version and a delicious tuna, tofu and kimchi dish. I first ate that kimchi dish back in 1998.

So, kimchi in and of itself is not new at TofuWatch.

But combining it with stop-motion photography, I thought, might be something different.

I mean, in a strange way, I thought a spinning, moving jar of kimchi would be compelling.

Then again, I like food – especially from Asia.

I know my parents and older sister (and yes, my wife, too) might think that I somehow have too much time such that I can make a stop-motion clip using a big jar of kimchi.

Well, my answer to that would be this: If life lacks fun, humor, memories and meaning, well, then it’s just a series of connected events that unfolds before you.

Life is kind of leading you.

You take each step. You go through the motions of eating and living but if you can’t appreciate it or smile, then, well, you’re kind of missing out on the good stuff of life.

My other answer to having too much time would be this: Yes, I do find time to post blog items. But these days, I also have access to more technology.

Plus: In life, nothing can be something.

And don’t the stop-motion images of the jar of kimchi remind you of a robot? Or is it just me?

I’ll post more serious topics soon.

I hope everyone is enjoying Memorial Day.

I just bought a jar of hot American-made kimchi. I enjoy eating the spicy, pickled cabbage, particularly when it’s kimchi tofu.

So, this Los Angeles Times story certainly resonated with me.

Get this: South Korea’s first kimchi “master” Kim Soon-ja reportedly has succeeded in making the garlicky aroma disappear from the centuries-old food.

Reporter Ju-min Park explains that Kim has invented a way to freeze-dry the kimchi and that adding water produces no pungent odor.

But, yes, yes. Let’s say it. We need to say it: Wait!

Isn’t the garlicky, you-definitely-know-that-is-kimchi smell one of the main joys of dining on the pickled cabbage?

On a brutally-cold, winter night, you know the garlic and chili are working in your favor.

It strikes me as being similar to entering a quality coffee shop and not smelling that distinctive aroma.

Or trying to get a sense of a wine’s bouquet and not picking up anything.

Or going to a Chinese or an Asian restaurant and not seeing high flames at the stove.

Or isn’t it similar to going to cold parts of Asia, such as Northern China, and people don’t offer you raw cloves of garlic to eat with your noodles?

Or going to a Korean restaurant, such as ones in Beijing, and sitting in front of a grill at your table, cooking meat and walking out and thinking: Man, I smell like smoke but that was fun.

(Note: It’s probably not a good idea to bring babies or young kids to these places.)

I might be in the minority on this topic of kimchi.

Kim told Park that she has brought kimchi with her when she travels, including Europe:

My tour guide asked me not to take out my kimchi in public because it can be distasteful to foreigners.

Also, South Korean leaders apparently are pushing to get the country’s cuisine ranked as one of the world’s most five popular within eight years.

Noted Park:

Kimchi’s odor has always been a stumbling block. According to a survey by the Seoul-based Corea Image Communication Institute, the unique smell of Korean food is the biggest barrier to globalizing the cuisine. 

South Korean families are so aware of the smell that they apparently have separate refrigerators to store the food, Park wrote.

I’m such a fan of kimchi that visiting the Kimchi Museum in South Korea really sounds intriguing.

Years ago, when I went to Seoul for my friend’s wedding, I even dined on kimchi fried rice. I thought: Delicious. This is something I can make at home.

My wife makes kimchi at home and we love it.

It just seems like there’s a large emphasis these days to buy organic food or things that are genuine and natural.

You know, skip all that processed food that leaves you thirsty in minutes.

Yes, the odiferous version of kimchi is the real thing.

As in: A rose is a rose is a rose.

When I eat food with lots of garlic, such as kimchi, I often do two things: I either make sure everyone else at the table is eating copious amounts of the same dish. Or I quickly give the people around me adequate distance once the meal is over.

Another reason why I like this article is because Park is a bureau assistant for the newspaper in Seoul.

As a former editorial assistant and researcher, I know the sense of achievement of putting other duties on hold, reporting a story and seeing it appear as a finished product.

Back in 2002, I wrote about aroma and what the human nose picks up.

I quoted key information from researchers at the University of Washington’s Medical School and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center:

The nose

can detect about 10,000 odors….And our honkers have lots of receptor genes – apparently between 360 to 1,000 of them. After molecules enter our nostrils, they hit these genes, which in turn send electrical impulses – or messages – to our brains.

If you’re looking for kimchi recipes (smelly version), KoreanHomeCooking – a site that I like visiting – offers up many, including a rice patty, fried rice and pancake.

Of course: What are your thoughts on odorless kimchi?

It’s delicious because it mixes coolness, heat and spice together. I ate a version more than a decade ago when I was in South Korea to celebrate the wedding of my friend, Norm.

The CHOW dish calls for pork belly. I like meat. But with this dish, I prefer tuna.

In May, I posted a quick note about how Norm and I – who are both from North America – came across this dish.

In my post, I linked to another tofu kimchi recipe from the blog, KoreanHomeCooking.

UPDATE: Chow also has a great tofu discussion here.

That seems like basic logic. But in 1998, a simple but tasty Korean dish reminded me again of how my senses react when hot and cold meet and combine.

I was introduced to a plate of stir-fried kimchi with tofu and tuna.

My friend from Canada, Norm, was getting married in South Korea, his fiancee’s home country. He and I met in Guangzhou, China two years earlier. We studied at the same language school.

At the time of his wedding, I was working on Guam and flew in for the celebration. He and his fiancee planned on a large banquet in Canada later that year. So, I was his only friend for the Korean-style nuptials.

On the eve before his wedding, we didn’t really know where to go to mark this happy moment. We ended up heading to a neighborhood bar.

I forgot how it came to be that we ordered this dish. We are both ethnic Chinese from North America. We can’t speak Korean. But in a matter of minutes, there was a platter of hot kimchi, cool tofu and cold tuna.

Yes, our beers that night were the right complement to our international party.

And as we talked about his big step and our earlier travels, we used metal chopsticks to secure the tofu cubes. The kimchi was either pressed next to the soybean or wrapped around it. The tuna sat on top.

A smile quickly broke out on my face.

That hot-cold, spicy-soft sensation again reminded me of one great lesson: If you shy away from something that’s different, you’ll likely lose out.

I always like to equate life’s great moments with incredible food. If anything, it makes the experience easier to remember.

And more than a decade later, I’m happy to report that Norm and his wife are still one happy couple. They’re busy, though, because they have three great kids.

I haven’t eaten that dish in years. But I think I’ll do so very soon.

At the food blog, KoreanHomeCooking, writer Migi offers up photos and many tofu recipes – including one for tofu kimchi.

On a side note, kimchi apparently was sent into space. You can read about it here.