The New Year and That Key Ingredient - Ladies of Hive Contest #271

^{Edited in Canva Pro.}

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This year just started and it already felt like a clean slate. The last year was a real pain for everyone but a new year always give me a chance to think and decide what I want to keep and what I need to let go. The small changes I would mention may not look big at first but they can slowly lead to a better life.

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The Start of the Year

This year, I decided to release unnecessary pressure on myself. I often expect too much on myself and people around me. Whether it is being productive every day or doing random things, letting go of that mindset feels like it's needed so I can adjust immediately even if the year is still young.

I also need to remove doing a lot of comparisons. It is easy to look at other's lives online and that make me feel behind in my own life. I feel like that habit only steals joy. Since deciding to stop comparing myself to others, I feel more focused on my own pace and progress.

One small win I noticed is peace of mind. I no longer feel guilty when I rest or move slowly. Even this early, I can tell that releasing pressure and comparison is helping me start the year with less stress.

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^{Just a quick sketch to add. Edited in Photoshop.}

One Meal I Love to Prepare

One meal I truly enjoy preparing is "Chicken Adobo." While I am not a big fan of Filipino food, this is one of the things I really like about our country. It is a simple and comforting dish that always reminds me of home. Cooking it feels relaxing as much as eating it because I am not a good cook but you can't really mess this dish as it is very very simple to cook.

To cook Chicken Adobo, you only really need 3 ingredients, Chicken, Soy Sauce and Vinegar. This is the most basic one in which you just combine Soy sauce and vinegar, heat them up and let the chicken boil and cook in it until tender. Even so, there's many versions of this dish. Since we have 7641 islands in the Philippines, that means there's at least 7641 versions of Chicken Adobo, maybe more, in this country.

My key ingredient in my chicken adobo is Soy sauce. It gives the dish a deep and salty flavor as well as color. I do a 2:1 ratio of Soy sauce and vinegar instead of the usual 1:2. So, my version is usually more dry and darker than the usual one but also more tasty. Combined with garlic and bay leaves, it creates a balance of more salty and less sour that makes my own adobo unforgettable.

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This year, I decided to release pressure and stopped comparing myself to others. Even early on, I notice small wins like more peace of mind.

In the kitchen, I love preparing chicken adobo, a comforting dish made special by soy sauce, which gives it deep flavor. Both letting go of bad habits and cooking bring simple joys for me that makes my life feel better and more satisfying.

• This post is an entry for Splinterlands Social Media Contest.
• Animated Banners and Dividers are edited in Canva Pro.
• Other sources that I do not own are cited under their respective photos.
• Some of the fonts used are from instafonts.io

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