Monthly Archives: February 2013

Foodie Pen Pal February

It’s that time of the month again, the day that I get to share with you all my February Foodie Pen Pal experience. I was linked up with Sonya and her family in Oklahoma. I threw together a fun box knowing that this box was not only going to be received by just one person, but an entire family. From a few messages back and forth, I know that Sonya and her family were from a small town with limited cultural experience. She stated that she had some teenage daughters that were certainly eager to check out whatever I was sending their way.

I knew I wanted to include some Korean staples like fun candies, typical Korean snacks, rice seasonings, a Korean/expat magazine, a handwritten postcard from Seoul, and some beauty samples. Basically I wanted to box up the Korean culture and rock their small town that day.

I shipped the box out by the cutoff date of the 15th (I cannot believe I forgot to snap a picture to include for the blog, oops sorry!). A few days later I received the sweetest thoughtful message back, Sonya and her family had received their February foodie box.

“We got our box yesterday and had so much fun opening it up and sampling the goodies!  The girls got a real kick out the “Beatles” until we realized they are just like Skittles…we were almost afraid that they were candy coated beatles…:)  We’re not sure what everything is really called or what everything really is, but we’ve decided that the little round sweets taste like little cake donuts and the “Sweet Remembrancers” tasted like animal crackers.  🙂  I’m making plans on making up some rice this weekend to try the rice seasonings (wish I had some of the korean white rice now!)  One of my 15 year olds is a Ramen noodle queen and the “black” noodle package looks to be a korean ramen noodle, so she’s psyched to give that a try!  Oh and we LOVED the chocolate almond sticks as well!  Thank you so much…the whole box was perfect!  And sooo fun.  I’m going to give the face mask a try and the only thing I could not figure out was the rose bottles….I’m not sure what each was…:) 
The girls really enjoyed going through the box and getting to see the Korean writing and looking at the magazine.  Living in a small town in Oklahoma (population 2200) with one stoplight…it’s not very often they see anything from outside of the state, let alone outside of this country or hemisphere…:) ”   – Sonya
Mr. B and I both agreed, this experience had to be one of the BEST since starting our Foodie Pen Pal experience. We loved that this time our box went to a family that would be experiencing something well out of their norm.
So, I know you are waiting for me to unveil what we received from our February foodie pen pal. We were linked with Barb from Delaware. Exchanged a few messages back and forth talking about family, how we ended up in Korea, etc. Barb must have taken the time to read up on our blog post because her box was perfectly put together for these two Bees!

 

Two pink snowballs, a breakfast granola box, a box of chai honey vanilla tea, truffle chocolates,

chocolate peanut butter fiber one bars, two pure drink mixes, and two pumpkin K-cups.

In Barb’s handwritten note she said that this box was to give us energy. Oh, Barb, we certainly need it these days!

Barb also wrote that she really wanted to include something pumpkiny for me because she knew how much I enjoyed that flavor. Hence the K-cups. Well, I hate to cut you all short, but I must bid you all adieu. Off to purchase a Keurig to drink these wonderfully thoughtful K-cups!

 

Backpackbees

Anatomy of the Perfect Date Night

New adventure + very close to home + cute chef + excellent food + sweetest ajumma waitress= The perfect date night

For date night Mr. B and I decided to try someplace new. While its nice to always go to our favorite little place, its nice to continue adventuring out of our comfort zones too.

We had it narrowed down to two places we had never been to before. Conveniently these two places are near our place. After taking down the recyclable’s, we decided to take a walk and enjoy the cool air, along the way Mr. B tells me to pick a number, “one or two”. I picked the number two.

Great choice!

And that’s how this place ended up on our top favorites list.

Cajun duck. Come to mama and papa B!

Backpackbees

Culturally Aware

We woke up this morning to snow. I had to wipe my eyes and do a second take as a pulled the curtains open across the big living room windows. No mistake. The white stuff was definitely back again. Luckily it really didn’t stick around, and was gone by mid afternoon. We lucked out here. From what I gather the states are not in the same shape as of late.

I usually don’t talk about my work life on the blog. However, I thought this would be fun to share with you all on this Friday eve.

Culturally we are all very different. We all come from such diverse backgrounds. Today at work we broke bread together — each of my co-workers bringing in dishes that represent ‘their culture’ to them: bulgogi, water kimchi, white chicken chili, garden salad, lasagna, garlic bread, mandu, enchiladas, with rice, japchae, pasta salad, mustard eggs, and cupcakes for a special birthday celebration. We all had a blast getting to taste a bit of everyone’s background. I enjoyed explaining a bit about America and how America is a melting pot, much like our team.

On a side note, I now know what true torture is…Yes! It’s giving up sweets for lent and baking your favorite yellow cupcakes with vanilla frosting. The cupcakes continue to get frosting on your fingers as you frost them, and you cannot lick them off.

T-O-R-T-U-R-E! HA HA!

Backpackbees

Petra Palace

After a very eventful trip to Seoul today, with my friend Mrs. P and precious baby G, I’m home. Yes, what originally was planned as a fun-filled get out and explore Seoul trip took a slight chaotic turn for the worse. Without getting into all the crazy details lets just say that an unplanned trip to Samsung Hospital unfortunately took up most of our Seoul fun. No worries friends and family, I am doing just fine now.

I can’t write off the entire day, we did find a great place to grab a falafel on flat bread.

Originally we attempted to check out a little French bistro, however after further review of the late lunch menu, we needed a little bit more than snails and a cheese dish to fill us up. We walked up and down the main street in Iteawon. Now, if you ever get to visit this section, you will see there are endless options to eat at. We were just being difficult and could not commit on a place. Searching, searching, searching, walking, walking, walking. . . Finally, we stumbled upon Petra Palace. Frankly the smell is what drew us in. The outside was nothing extravagant. We figured why not!

WOW! What an amazing little gem we found! Petra Palace is a rather small restaurant that serves simple Arabic cuisine. Dishes include falafel, humus, and shawarma. Mrs. P and I each ordered falafel’s on flat bread. The wraps were accompanied with a side of french-fries sprinkled with a delightful spice from Jordan. Final verdict, loved every bite and cannot wait to go back and try more!

Until the next adventure!

Backpackbees

Sweet, Sugar-Coated, February

Just curious, taking a poll…How do you say February?

Feb-uary or Feb-ruary?

It’s crazy, this one little word we are taught at such a young age, has got to be one of the most commonly mispronounced words in the English language.

This was a heated dinner topic of discussion in the Bees house. We won’t name any names on here who has the correct pronunciation. Sarah. HA-HA! (Mr. B will love reading that)

February feels terribly short, sweet sugar-coated, and possibly the snowiest month so far this year here in South Korea. Never the less I still love the month of February. It’s really such a grand month. Take for instance just how quickly it goes by, so much happens in just a short few weeks.

Oh, PS: I am sharing all of the Valentines that I made and received with all of you! What do you think of my Burts Bee Valentine? Pinterest! A girl simply can’t keep all of those goodies to herself. Enjoy! You deserve it! Happy Valentines Day bloggers!

Taste Of the Big Easy

Fat Tuesday is almost here! If you can’t make it to Mardi Gras, why not let Mardi Gras come to you? We Bee’s were treated to a taste of the big easy this weekend. With our friends, we broke out the brightly colored beads and masks and had ourselves a Mardi Gras feast truly fit for a King!

Our friends are originally from New Orleans, they literally created their own little French quarter here in their South Korean kitchen. It was fun to learn more about the Mardi Gras traditions like wearing masks and costumes, and the dancing and throwing plastic beads and doubloon coins from parade floats, and what the baby means inside of the king cake.

What would a Mardi Gras celebration be without authentic New Orleans food? I can assure you this was truly the real deal, shipped straight out of Louisiana. We started off with sipping on Café du Monde coffee with chicory, munched on Louisiana deviled eggs, black-eyed pea’s and beans salsa, enjoyed a delicious Mardi Gras salad, then moved onto the main course that consisted of perfectly fried and Creole breaded shrimp and catfish, cheese grits, and mixed veggies featuring the superstar, okra. Staying true to the cause, we topped the meal off with the infamous king cake and sinful pralines! (It may or may not have been planned, I ended up with the tiny plastic baby in my piece of cake!) So it’s our turn to host the next party! No nudging necessary, we love any opportunity to entertain with friends.

G. family, Thank you again for sharing your family traditions with us! A Bee could truly get used to the big easy way of life!

Backpackbees

Living for the Weekends

“Everybody’s working for the weekend” Do you remember that song? Or, am I shamefully dating myself? Truth be told, I’ll admit… I LIVE for the weekends! Saturdays, Sundays, yeah…all equally loved in my book!

Most weekends I sleep in until 8:00AM-8:30AM-ISH then I hop right up and into making my breakfast. Easy decision for me, due to the fact that I more than likely thought and contemplated what I would make myself in the morning the night before. Wow, I am really showing my true oddballness on this blog post, huh?

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I stroll into the living room with my breakfast and hot tea,(shushhh don’t tell Mr. B, he’s typically still checked out in sleepy land), buried and wrapped by tightly with my blankets I sit in our over sized chair with Bean cat. I then proceed to answer my question of the day book, blog, and eventually Skype with my Grandparents. I love it! I love that I have somewhat of a routine that I look forward to every weekend.

Do you have a weekend? Perhaps you also look forward to and feel comforted knowing the weekend routine is upon you?

Cheers to the weekend!

Backpackbees

Balmy in January?

Mother Nature is surly throwing not only we Bees for a loop, but the grass and birds too. We’ve had some very interesting weather here in S.Korea. I think its even safe to use the term “Spring-like” to describe it too! The month of January has went from one extreme, we are talking negative temps here, to down right balmy, birds chirping, bugs buzzing, above average weather! Please don’t misunderstand me for thinking I’m complaining, because I’ll absolutely take these gorgeous days! Even if it only last a day or so. I’ve caught Spring fever! And, it’s bad…..to bad it’s not going to last.

Our sweet little Pennsylvania Punxsutawney Phill has seen his shadow! Hooray! Spring will be here before we know it! However, I’m pretty sure that isn’t going to apply to us here in Korea. Just as fast as I wrote the above paragraph, Mother Nature had the last laugh and dumped 2 inches of snow and counting. Isn’t she just a fickle woman?

Hey Korea, no Paju Phil, or Pyongyang Phil? Just thought I’d throw that out there, food for thought.

Well, what a little more snow this year? I love snow, so I’ll make the most of it while its here. Besides, I swoon for the glowing city night-line covered in a soft white blanket.

Enough with the weather chit-chat. How was your weekend? Ours was busy, but fun!

Fabulous pasta shared with friends mmm…Bellissimo! Homework, making pickled mustard eggs, attending a Pampered Chef party, finding silly Bean cat nesting in my reusable grocery bags, tickets to see NANTA, and enjoying a new favorite find, cinnamon Schnee Pang! Have you ever heard of Schnee Pang? It originated in Rothenburg, Germany about 300 hundred years ago and now it has a home in Seoul. Yipee! Love new little finds.

Let’s go back to the topic of NANTA! I must share with you all how wonderful the show was! It’s been on my list of places to go and see since stepping foot in this country. This year I’m really making a conscious effort to keep one of my new year resolutions and tackle my Korea bucket list. NANTA’ is a non-verbal performance with comedy, crowd interaction, and drum-beat music. NANTA’s main stage area displays a huge kitchen where four chefs, three men and one woman, are preparing a wedding banquet. Two audience members get randomly selected to “get married” during the show. Mr. B was on the edge of his seat fearing they would select him because we were in an aisle seat only three rows away from the stage. Being the good wife I am, I booked the seats knowing they might pull us up on stage he- he. Okay, okay! Truly I’m not that terrible. I made him a deal in the end, I’d go up for him if selected. While the chefs cook, they turn their pots and pans, dishes, knives, chopping boards, brooms and even one another into instruments! It’s so creative, a ton of laughs, and was enjoyed by all ages! We highly recommend catching a show if you ever find yourself in Seoul.

Check out the website here.

Happy Weekending all!