It’s 11:30am and I just woke up. I’m at my computer with a coffee and cream rum. Let’s do this.
Something new I want to try with this newsletter is including/featuring recipes. I do a lot of the cooking in our house and am always trying new recipes, so I thought I’d share a new one in each newsletter. Something I made that I think everyone should try. Sometimes, like this week, they’ll be modified versions of recipes from others, sometimes it’ll just be me sharing recipes from others, and, sometimes it’ll be a recipe of my own. Let me know if you try them.
Warning: They’ll all be vegetarian. Adapt them as you need.
Speaking of vegetarians, I’m including a bit of Glob goodness below. It’s not the 18th yet, but close enough. Enjoy this gem from Christmas past (from The X-Men Holiday Special 2018).
In Shops This Week
It’s the THUNDERCATS: HO(LIDAY) SPECIAL 2025.
As a guy who’s not particularly a “holiday guy” (see above allusion to having to drink to get through the experience), I’ve sure written a lot of holiday comics!
This was a fun one, I dove deep into the 80s cartoon and pulled out an old baddie that hasn’t been seen much since. However, most exciting for me was pulling Snowman and Snowmeow into the comic. Snowman has always been one of my favourite supporting cast members from the old show and so was pretty chuffed to be able to introduce him into the comics Thunderverse. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of him in the future.
This issue had a tag-team of artists consisting of Fabio Gallo, Emanuele Ercolani and Giona Zefiro. They all knocked it out of the park. Colours from Arcania Studios and lettering from Jeff Eckleberry
Official solicit:
While on a mission in the snowy mountains of Third Earth, the ThunderCats stumble across Snowman, the last of his people, on the eve of the Festival of the Claw — a day of celebration, food, and gifts, and a time for Snowman to pay tribute to those he’s lost. With no others of his kind remaining to pass his traditions on to, Snowman shares them with the ’Cats, who understand all too well the need to persevere in the face of overwhelming loss.
Meanwhile, just outside of Snowman’s mountaintop village, Queen Tartara’s royal guard are preparing to use the holiday as a perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. But even on this hallowed occasion, not every Thunderan has let down their guard!
Acclaimed ThunderCats: Lost author ED BRISSON and renowned artist FABIO GALLO get the party started in this special 40-page one-shot — with seasonal covers catered by GALLO, SEBASTIAN PIRIZ, and ROBERT QUINN, as well as an exclusive BLIND BAG VARIANT!
EACH MYSTERY BLIND BAG INCLUDES TWO SEPARATE COPIES OF THE ISSUE, BOTH OF WHICH ARE EXCLUSIVE TO THE BLIND BAG — ONE BLANK AUTHENTIX EDITION, AND ONE OF FIVE UNIQUE VARIANT COVER ART EDITIONS.
FOOD
When I still lived in Vancouver, one of my favourite restaurants was Shaolin Noodle House. I’d eat there a couple of times a month, always ordering Fried Cutting Noodle with Tofu and Vegetables. Every time friends or family came to town, I’d drag them to Shaolin. It wasn’t a fancy joint, but the food was good and you could watch the chef handcraft your noodles to order, which never ceased to impress.
Unfortunately, they closed not long after we moved, and I spent years mourning the very thought that I’d never get to eat their food again. In an attempt to remedy this, I set out to replicate the dish to the best of my abilities, which proved to be much harder than I anticipated. It took me nearly three years of trial and error to nail it.
In December 2020, I finally cracked it. Well, to be completely honest, a recipe from The Foodie Takes Flight was close enough to it that I could replicate the Shaolin dish with minor modifications. This dish has been in regular rotation since.
If you’re going to make it, the first thing you need to do is prepare her Ginger Scallion Sauce. This stuff is amazing and goes on just about anything, so keep some handy regardless.
A couple of other things you’ll need:


So, without further ado, here is my modified version of the above recipe, used to achieve near Shaolin Noodle House-like greatness:
The below produces two big portions. Scale accordingly.
INGREDIENTS:
220g Handmade Sliced Noodles (see above image)
175g Extra Firm Tofu, sliced into 1/4 thick strips
4 small heads of bok choy or other greens of choice
1 Green Bell Pepper, sliced julienne/matchstick style, about 1/8 inch
Handful of bean sprouts.
7 tbsp neutral oil (Peanut or Vegetable), divided
2 tbsp Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp (see above image)
8 cloves of garlic, minced
5 tbsp soy sauce, divided
3 tsp Chinese black or Chinkiang vinegar
2-3 tbsp Ginger Scallion Sauce (to taste)
0.5 tsp salt or more to taste
0.25 tsp ground white pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Cook noodles as per instructions. Drain, set aside in large bowl.
In the same pot of water, blanch bok choy until tender and cooked to your liking. Place in the bowl as well.
While noodles are cooking, heat a pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and begin frying tofu. Add one tbsp of soy sauce. After a couple of minutes, flip the tofu and another tbsp of soy sauce. Fry until tofu is golden brown on both sides — about 4-6 minutes. Once tofu is done, remove from pan and set aside.
Add sliced green bell pepper to same pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until heated. Add a little more oil if you need. Set aside with tofu when done.
Turn off pan and toss in a handful of bean sprouts to cook in residual heat. Once cooked, remove from heat and set aside with green peppers and tofu.
Remove the water from the noodle pot and then pat dry. Heat 6 tbsp neutral oil over high heat until it’s very hot. Toss in an uncooked bean sprout, if it sizzles, you’re good to go.
While the oil is heating, top the noodles with the Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp, minced garlic, 3 tbsp soy sauce, vinegar, Ginger Scallion Sauce, salt, and pepper.
Once heated, carefully pour in the very hot oil over the noodles. And mix.
Add tofu, green peppers, bean sprouts and give one last mix before serving.
Give a try, let me know what you think. Thanks again to The Foodie Takes Flight for the base recipe that this was modified from.
Alright
I need to get back to work.
Hope you and yours have a great holiday season and I’ll talk to you all in 2026.
Best,
Ed Brisson
Halifax, Nova Scotia










































