Monthly Archives: June 2013

Positiveness & Pasta

I am going to apologize for my corniness upfront, sorry everyone.

Do you ever think about all of the blessings in your everyday life? Gosh, we just have so many things to be eternally grateful for each day in and out. I’ve said this before and I will say it again, you have to be the captain of your own boat. Positiveness starts within YOU. Now, I am not saying that life is always a bowl full of cherries. Life can absolutely throw you curb-balls out of the left field. In the end what matters is how YOU chose to handle that curb-ball and move forward.

I started reading a book that’s suppose to help transform the way you think in 28 days. Each day I begin my mornings with my breakfast fork in hand and “homework” for the day. Each day I list 10 things that I am grateful for. Each night I use my gratitude rock and go to bed with the most important thing that happened to me that day, saying thank you, counting my blessings. Told you I was going to get very corny on you with this post. No, but really, I am enjoying making myself acknowledge all the wonderful things in my life daily.

As I close tonight, know that you are on my list of things I am grateful for. Your  friendships, support, following, and comments are always welcomed and very much appreciate. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now, who’s hungry for some homemade baked penne rigate with sausage? (Another thing I am grateful for… my amazing chef of a husband who knows his way straight to my heart <3). Go ahead, help yourselves!

Bee’s Baked Penne Rigate with Sausage

Ingredients:

1 Package of (sweet or hot) sausage, we typically use hot.

1 Box of penne rigate pasta, we opt for the Dreamfield brand, or whole wheat

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Onion, diced

8 Mushrooms, sliced (optional)

1 Jar of your favorite tomato sauce

1/2 Lbs of shredded mozzarella cheese

6 Slices of provolone cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Boil sausages until cooked on stove top. Saute onion in 1 Tbsp olive oil until almost cooked and remove from pan, place into large mixing bowl. Next saute mushrooms in 1 Tbsp of olive oil and once cooked place in mixing bowl with onions, tomato sauce, combined with 1/2 of the shredded mozzarella cheese, mix thoroughly. Next boil penne rigata pasta until al dente. Drain and combine with your onion, tomato sauce, and cheese mixture. Now the sausage should be ready to be sliced and put into a pan to be cooked until slightly browned. Once sausage is cooked place and mix in with your other ingredients in the mixing bowl. Pour everything into a 13 x 9 greased pan, level, and place the provolone cheese slices on top. Place into oven for 350 degrees uncovered for 10 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown. 

Don’t forget a to pick up a nice freshly baked baguette and bottle of wine to accompany your dinner. Enjoy!

Backpackbees

Building 63

Hi! How have you been? I always feel like I let you all hanging lately. Please forgive.  I am sure you can relate, life just gets crazy busy. I often find myself striving to focus on the most important things during the day, because the day just slips away so quickly.

I’ve been wanting to explore building 63 since I’ve lived in South Korea, when the perfect opportunity presented itself this weekend, of course I couldn’t resist! I properly wrangled some girlfriends and their hubby’s and met them after an apt. in Seoul. The building did not disappoint! There were many attractions to wander around to once inside the tall tower. A wax museum, an aquarium, various cute little boutique shops, an IMAX theater, coffee shops, and the views from the 60th floor of Seoul’s sky-scape.

They say on a crystal clear day you can see all the way to Incheon. To give you some perspective to drive it takes about 45 minutes to get to Incheon from Seoul. Because we are in the summer months the sky is rather hazy so the views were not perfect, but were still gorgeous and Seoul once again captured my soul. To think, this was the tallest building up until the year 2003 in the city of Seoul. (Ps: There is a glass elevator to that you to the 60th floor that boast magnificent views!

Of course here are the scenes from the weekend. Hope you had a good one! Enjoy!

Location: 50, 63-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 영등포구 63로 50 (여의도동

Backpackbees

Summer Egg Salad

The weather’s getting warmer and warmer here in Korea. I feel your pain on not wanting to turn on that kitchen oven for lunch or dinner. So, what’s your go to meal? Any ideas or suggestions? Well, if you are looking for something a little different, you are just in luck!

Do you have a mango handy? How about some eggs? A random red pepper that you need to use up? A kitchen staple, curry spice? Mayo and a pinch of salt? What about an onion too?

Great! You have ALL of the ingredients needed to whipping up some summer egg salad! More on that in a bit. Sorry, I know, I always leave cliffhangers in my postings.

How is your weekend so far? Me? I spent my Saturday morning swimming with the G babies!

We swam, jumped, played ball, went down the water slide, splished and splashed until we couldn’t physically go anymore! The entire day reminded me of my childhood. The many times that my grandma and I would tote off to the state park nearby and swim until my lips were blue and skin was ever so wrinkly. What fun!

Towards the mid afternoon of our pool time, it was very obvious that the sleep monster was slowly creeping up. We took a break from the pool, rested, and had some snacks. We had quite the little picnic going for the four of us. Pretzels, cheese, yogurt, grapes, bananas, Cheerios, and hard-boiled eggs. Perfect! Well… not for  ms. A…she is not a fan of hard-boiled eggs. She say’s as her brother peels his egg, “They are stinky.” Eventually even getting up from her spot and moving onto my towel to get away from any egg aroma.

Unfortunately, I am like the little Mr. and enjoy my hard-boiled eggs too. So, once I got home, I  got cracking on my egg salad. YUM-O! I really think that even the pickiest hard-boiled egg naysayer would enjoy some summer egg salad on a warm slice of Ezekiel toast.

Summer Egg Salad (Perfect for two) Adapted from Simple Recipes

Ingredients:

4 Hard boiled eggs, peel and discard the yolks

Chopped onion, to your taste, I used about 2 Tablespoons

1 Chopped small baby red pepper

Pinch of sea salt

Few shakes of curry powder, to taste

1 Heaping spoonful of mayo made with olive oil, any mayo should work

1/2 Chopped fresh mango

1 Warm slice of Ezekiel toast

Directions:

Once the eggs are done boiling and you have peeled the shell, carefully separate the egg white from the yolk. You will only be using the egg white for this recipe. Next toss egg whites, and remaining ingredients into a bowl and smash and mix with a fork until desired consistency.

Serve on a nice slice of warm toast. Enjoy!

Backpackbees

Let Them Eat Cake and Celebrate!

Ooohhh you guys, just wait until you hear about the cake we ate! (More on that shortly, promise)

I joked a few weeks back and said, I believe Korea has went straight from the bitter cold, frosty, parka wearing temps, straight into the hot, muggy, hazy, summer month. Well, that’s no joke around these parts. We have fans running, weekly tall frappuccino orders placed to go, and tan lines to prove it. No complaints here, none. Well, maybe just one.. sweet corn from good old Pennsylvania! Hey! I’m a summer girl through and through. I love being able to get out and about.

Speaking of getting out and about…the past weekend was my work picnic. Nothing like the sound of a baseball game in the background, and some brats, burgers, and dogs on the grill to scream summer. We had such a good time! So much food! Who would have thought kimchi would be a normal side dish at a picnic? Welcome to Korea. Nevertheless, it was quite delicious and spicy, just the way we Bees like it.

Back to this cake that I initially spoke of. I baked from scratch one of the most delightful cakes we’ve ever had. Ready for this? Eek! Tiramisu cake! Yes! Very special days call for very special treats. Happy 6 years of marriage to us! Thank you all so much for the cards, and sweet messages wishing us all the best. We truly appreciate your love and support. We say our cheers to another 100+ more just like the first 6!

I know you want me to share the recipe of this cake I’ve been raving on about. Share I will! I found this recipe on Nectar and only altered it slightly by going with a different wine. Otherwise, word for word, I got my bake on exactly the same. Mmmm trust me, the hard work is completely worth it in the end. The folks over at Nectar surly know their way around a kitchen.

The tiramisu birthday cake: (recipe taken straight from Nectar)

The cake:

~ 13 T butter

~ 1 c. sugar

~ 1/3 c. honey

~ 2 eggs

~ 3 yolks

~ 1 t. strong brewed espresso

~ 1 t. vanilla

~ 1/2 c. milk

~ 2 c. flour

~ 2 t. baking powder

prepare two 9-inch baking rounds with butter, flour and parchment paper and set aside. beat the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. add the honey and continue to mix. in another bowl whip the eggs, yolks, espresso, vanilla and milk – set this aside. in another bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together. add a bit of the egg mixture to the butter and then a bit of the flour – continue this until the batter is thoroughly mixed and ribbons when you pour it. divide is equally between the two baking pans and bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes. let stand for 5-10 minutes before turning the layers out onto a cooling rack.

filling number 1:

~ 1/4 c. marsala {sweet italian wine}

~ 1/4 c. strong brewed espresso

whisk together and set aside.

filling number 2:

part one:

~ 7 egg yolks

~ 1/4 c. sugar

~ 8 oz. mascarpone

~ 4 oz. cream cheese

~ 1 T. strong brewed espresso

whip the yolks and sugar together until they become thick and pale. add the mascarpone, cream cheese and espresso. whip until fully incorporated. pour into another bowl and chill.

part two:

~ 1 pt. heavy cream

~ 1/2 c. sugar

~ 2 T. strong brewed espresso

~ 2 T. marsala

combine all ingredients and whip until stiff peaks have formed. remove part one of filling number two from the refrigerator and gently fold – adding small amounts at a time – the mixture into the heavy cream mixture. be gentle as you do not want to lose the air that you whipped into the cream.

filling number 3:

~ 6 oz. roughly chopped semi-sweet chocolate

~ 1 t. espresso grounds

assembly:

when the cakes are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to cut off the top round part of the layers – exposing the interior of the cake. place the first layer on a cake platter or serving dish. using a pastry brush – gently brush/dot the espresso and marsala mixture over the top of the cake. top with 1/3 of the cream/mascarpone mixture and spread gently – let it pour over the edges of the cake. sprinkle 1/2 of the chopped chocolate over the mixture – then add another 1/3 of the mixture on top the chocolate. top this with the other cake layer. using the remaining espresso/marsala mixture – brush this layer as well. top with remaining cream/mascarpone and sprinkle the chocolate over the top. using a fine sieve – dust the top with the espresso. let set up in the fridge for at least an hour before cutting into the cake.

Enjoy!

Backpackbees