Tag Archives: 2013

Spring Wedding

Today was an absolute breathtaking day for a Spring wedding! The sun came out, the temperature was warm in the sun, cool in the shade, the birds were chirping, everything in budding and blooming. Ah… just breathtaking!

We attended Mr. B’s co-worker’s wedding in Seoul earlier this afternoon. Such a beautiful ceremony! It was half in Korean and half in English (how fun is that?). The pastor was outstanding too, some of the best vows and sermon that we have heard yet. Particularly the part that sticks with us is the joke he cracked about Adam and Eve. He said, “GOD, why did you make Eve so beautiful? God replied, so that you will love her. Adam then says, GOD, why did you make Eve’s skin so soft? God replied so that you would love her. Adam then asks, GOD why did you make Eve so stupid? God respond, so that she would love you…” . LOL!

All jokes aside, the vows were a strong message about upholding your marriage, your friendship, your commitment to one another forever. Once you are married your best friend is your spouse. What a beautiful reminder to each and every one of the audience attending the ceremony.

The bride and groom were such a gorgeous couple. Seriously, look how cute they are! Happy, smiling, and now not only husband and wife, but best friends forever too.

Congratulations you two! We wish you nothing but a life long of good health and happiness together forever and ever!

Promise

The weather hasn’t fully submitted yet here in Korea. As the Spring weather typically seems to do every year, it’s quite capricious, here we all feel the seasonal pangs of change. I see glimpses of the promising summer seasonal bliss while riding my bike, even if I have to still wear a heavy jacket.

At last, life is full of sweet promise, as only it can be in Spring.

공씨네주먹밥 Kong’s Riceball

I often find that little hole in the wall places are the best kind of places. They typically serve some of the most unusual and delicious little finds. Take our secret restaurant for instance. It’s so off the beaten path and it has some of the best food we’ve eaten since living in Korea. I guess that’s why we really can’t let the week go by without grabbing dinner there at a minimum once.

Last night I got a text from my girlfriend Mary asking if I wanted to meet up for lunch at a little hole in the wall near both of our homes, Kong’s Riceball. It’s been on my list of places to check out because every time we pass it on walks we chuckle to ourselves. Humorous name, right? Plus the slogan reads, “Get some FUN – Fast Unique Nutritious.” Obviously it was hook, line, and sinker.

I’m sure you can guess what Kong’s serves up…if you guessed rice balls, you are wrong. Just kidding, of course its riceballs silly!

You get a choice of filling like tuna, spicy grilled chicken, spicy anchovy, flying fish and cheese, marinated beef, roasted pork, crab meat and broccoli, salmon, spam and even kimchi. These little guys remind me of the Korean kimbap triangles that are sold in convenience stores here, only BETTER.

Kong’s forms a ball with the seasoned rice, sticks the filling in the center, and then roll it in roasted sea laver or seaweed. It’s really tasty, I promise! Plus, it’s really convenient and would be a great snack for when you are on the go. We got the flying fish row, the crab meat and broccoli, and pumpkin porridge. I completely forgot to post the cost! Super cheap! Mine was only 6,000W!

Check it out and let me know what you think!

718-1 Jihaeng-dong
Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
031-859-5383
http://kongsriceball.co.kr/

Then for a little sweet treat pop on over to Cafe 7 Gram across the street, just like we may or may not have…

Sunday Morning Poached Eggs

You know what? Poaching an egg is very intimidating and unknown territory when it comes to a mediocre cook. Truly, I can say this from experience. Believe it or not, I never poached an egg until this morning. Boy, they are tricky little guys!

I found that using a small bowl to slowly slide the egg into the almost boiling water worked the best. Thank goodness for good old Google and some tips from Real Simple magazine to help me keep calm and cook on.

Fresh eggs are key. My eggs are fairly fresh, but not fresh-fresh, like snatched right out from under the hen fresh. When I think of fresh eggs, I instantly think of my grandparents that raise chickens. Sometimes they tell me they have so many eggs, they often run out of creative ways to use them up. Maybe after they read this post they will want to poach some eggs too?

What are your thoughts on poached eggs? Have any tips or tricks to getting them perfect?

All Things Pink

Beautifully wrapped pink little packages, fresh strawberry punch, delicious pink lemon flavored cupcakes, pink cray paper pom-pom balls, and some of the sweetest ladies a girl could ask to surround herself with.

These things can only mean one thing…

It’s a girl!

This weekend was all about celebrating and showering our dear sweet friend Krista. Her special little Jilly-bean is due to make her big debut into this world shortly, and we are all so terribly excited to meet her!

Congratulations Krista and Dave, Can’t wait to meet the new addition!

Date Night: Chinese Restaurant – Gong-Hwa-Choon

What are your thoughts on Chinese food? (Besides the cute little take out containers and fortune cookies)

I find that you either like it, or you don’t. Up until a few years ago I found myself not really caring for it. Mostly I think because it upset my stomach. There was never any one menu item that pushed me over the edge, it was all of them. I later found out that I might have had a stomach sensitivity to MSG. Mr. B always enjoyed Chinese food and his stomach never seemed to mind it. Wait, wait, wait… let me rephrase that… This entire time I should have been more PC and used the term American-Chinese food. However, we did take a trip to China since living in Asia, we both agreed we liked our Americanized version more so. Snobs right? HA-HA.

Anywho, like America, Korea does Chinese food too, Korean-Chinese. I mostly find that the main dish served in a Korean-Chinese restaurant is jajangmyeon. In Chinese they call it zhajiangmian. Some places serve up a superb dish of jajangmyeon, while others offer a very sad and bland black bean blob onto of noodles. It’s hit or miss.

This week we moved our date night to tonight. YEY! You know what that means…new adventure! We decided to check out a Chinese restaurant that we eyed on a walk in passing a few weeks back. The restaurant is called Gong-Hwa-Choon. The map coordinates are listed below and will open up on a google map if you ever find yourself in the Dongducheon area.

The food was really good and oh goodness, plentiful. We even took leftover homes! The service was excellent! Plus they deliver too! We ordered SET D and shared again, think plentiful.

Menu: (All spelling and description taken directly from menu)

Noodle A: Jajangmyeon – Noodle with black bean pasta sauce 3,000W

Noodle B: Ganjajang- Noodle with fried black bean paste sauce 5,000W

Noodle C: Jjamppong- Spicy noodle soup with some seafood and vegetables 4,000W

Noodle D: Samseon-Jjamppong- Spicy noodle soup with various seafood and vegetables. More deep flavored soup 8,000W

Noodle E: Woo-Dong- Japanese noodle with tempura and vegetable in soy sauce and dashi soup 5,000W

Noodle F: Seafood Fried Jajang- Noodle with fried black bean paste, various seafood and vegetables 15,000W (2 portion)

Noodle G: Seafood fried jjamppong- Spicy noodle with various seafood and vegetables without soup 15,000W (2 portion)

Rice A: Fried Rice- Fried Rice with fried egg and vegetables with black bean paste sauce 5,000W

Rice B: Shrimp Fried Rice- Fried rice with shrimp, fried egg, and vegetables 7,000W

Rice C: Omelet Rice-Rice covered with egg 6,000W

Rice D: Jajang Rice- White rice with black sauce 5,000W

Rice E: Jjang Ppong Rice- White rice with spicy noodle soup with seafood and vegetables 6,000W

Rice F: Jap-Chae Rice- White rice with cellophane noodles, sliced vegetables and pork 6,000W

Special A: Fried dumplings- Fried dumplings stuffed with minced pork and vegetables 4,000W

Special B: Steamed Dumplings- Steamed dumpling stuffed with minced pork and vegetables 4,000W

Special C: Sweet & Sour Pork- Fried pork with sweet & sour sauce S-15,000W, M-20,000W, L-25,000W (sharable dish)

Special D: Kanso Shrimp- Fried shrimp with sweet & spicy sauce 30,000W (sharable dish)

Special E: Jap-Chae- Cellophane noodle with sliced vegetables and pork 15,000W (sharable dish)

Special F: Kan Poong Gi- Fried Chicken with sweet and spicy sauce 22,000W (sharable dish)

Set A: Special C, 2 noodle A, special A 15,000W

Set B: Special C, 1 noodle C, 1 noodle A, special A 16,000W

Set C: Special C, noodle F, special A 19,000W

Set D: Special C, noodle G, special A 20,000W

Grab the map coordinates HERE

Color On A Colorless Day

We awoke this morning to such tragic news headlines. Two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston marathon, killing at least three people and seriously injuring hundreds. . . REALLY? Do we REALLY live in this kind of world? The kind of world where we have to be afraid to go outside of our own homes? The kind of world where we can never truly let our guard down? It makes me cringe and makes my heart ache. Unfortunately, it’s never going to get better or go back to the way it was years ago. All states could ban guns, weapons, you name it… it wont ever change what our society has become. There isn’t any turning back. Ever. Incredibly scary!

There isn’t a week that goes by where we don’t have family or close friends telling us to come back to the states. To be completely frank, we know that there is no true safe place in the world. No place that a person can ever escape harms way. However, days like today make our dinner conversations surround topics such as, how we feel safer with our neighbors to the North threatening nuclear war than the US where you have to worry about little Timmy shanking his kindergarten teachers and classroom classmates. Who knows, maybe those neighbors to the North will have us eating our words in a few hours, days, weeks, months, or even years. But in this moment, this is how we feel.

In honor of such a colorless day, I decided we needed something for dinner that had life and color to it. I knew just what to use for inspiration! My Cambodian cookbook that I purchased in Phnom Penh from an NGO, called Friends that I fell in love with while there.

The recipe, Green Mango Slaw. If you find yourself in the same boat as us, without access to green mango, no worries! The recipe still will work out just fine with a regular not too ripe mangoes.

Green Mango Slaw

Recipe slightly adapted from Phnom Penh Friends restaurant.

Serves four

Ingredients:

2 Mangoes, not too ripe, peeled and shredded

1 Bag of brocoli slaw, use the kind with carrots and red cabbage

1 Medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced

1/2 Medium red onion, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp fresh basil, thinly chopped

1 Tbsp black sesame seeds

1 Tbsp white sesame seeds

Ingredients for dressing:

1 Cup Thai sweet chili sauce

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp lime juice

Directions:

Pour all of the dressing ingredients in a jar with lid and shake well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all the slaw ingredients except sesame seeds. Toss slaw with the dressing, divide between four plates and sprinkle with the seeds.

You can eat this dish completely on its own, or serve with a nice piece of chicken or fish. We opted for a side of Mahi-Mahi fish. Perfect pairing to the slaw.

Hope a little color has been added back into your colorless day too.

Tofu Parmesan

“People tend to be more tofu-like, able to absorb whatever environment they’re dropped into. But where does the adaptability end and your actual personality begin?”–Sloane Crosley

While making dinner tonight, I couldn’t stop thinking about Sloane Crosley’s tofu quote. First, I just so happened to be making tofu, and secondly it made me think of a conversation that I had with my dear friend over the weekend.

Do you think that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? Or, do you find that it just drives you batty?

Why do people struggle to just be themselves around others? Do you think they have any idea how they come across to others?

I know, this post is just full of unanswered questions. Lately these things continue to plague my mind.

Anyone have advice, insight, or comments out there?

Tofu Parmesan

Recipe Adapted from Eating Well

Ingredients:

1 large block of firm tofu

1 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs

1/2 Cup Ground Flaxseed Meal

1 Tsp Ground mustard

1 Tsp Chili powder

1/2 Tsp cumin

1/2 Tsp Sea salt

1/2 Tsp Paprika

1/2 Tsp Cracked black pepper

1/2 Tsp Korean red pepper flakes

1 Pinch of garlic salt

1/2 Cup liquid egg white Egg Beaters

*(Optional toppings) Marinara sauce, fresh basil, grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200 °C, 400°F. Prepare a baking pan and line with aluminum foil. Use Misto or cooking spray and lightly coat aluminum foil. Set pan aside for prepared tofu.

First drain the water from the tofu. You will need to continue to blot the tofu with paper towels, as well as place something heavy on top of the tofu to help the draining process. You do not need to be exact and precise, however draining the water helps the tofu texture get crispier when baked.

Cut tofu into long rectangles. Or, cut into rectangles like I did.

Place egg in shallow dish. Combine remaining seasonings/ Pank0 bread crumbs -Ground Flaxseed Meal, Ground mustard, Chili powder, cumin, Sea salt, Paprika, Cracked black pepper, Korean red pepper flakes, and garlic salt into another shallow dish.

Dip tofu into egg mixture then into the seasoning and panko bread crumb mixture. Coat the tofu evenly and place onto the baking pan.

Bake tofu for 20-25 minutes, turn tofu over 10-15 minutes into cook time.

Top with marinara sauce, fresh basil, and grated mozzarella cheese.

Hmmm… Not sure what to whip up with your tofu? Why not a side of mushrooms? These are not just any mushrooms, they are AMAZING mushrooms. Don’t take my word for it, try them out for yourself.

Moscato Mushrooms

Ingredients:

8 Whole Button mushrooms, sliced

5 Tbsp EVOO, or Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Minced garlic

1 Tsp Cracked black pepper

4 Tbsp Moscato

1 pinch Sea salt

1 pinch Garlic salt

1 pinch Italian seasoning

Directions:

Heat EVOO or olive oil in large pan, toss in minced garlic, sauté for 1 minute.

Drop sliced mushrooms into the pan. Cook until mushrooms are just starting to get tender (you can cover) stirring as needed.

Once tender, sprinkle italian seasoning, garlic salt, and black pepper on mushrooms. Pour in moscato, stir a bit, and serve.

A-Hiking We Will Go!

One of the many, many, things that I adore about Korea is the endless mountain trails that you can hike. If you have followed our blog up until this point, you know that we have hiked some beautiful places in various parts of Korea.

I feel like hiking is taken to another level in Korea. To be considered a serious hiker, you need to dress the part. I am talking dressing to the nines. Matching hiking boots, hiking pants, hiking jacket, hat, sunglasses, gloves, backpack, and walking poles or stick. PS. your backpack better come packed with the essential makgeolli or soju too. These people know how to have a good ol’ time while they get their hike on. As you can see…I am not a serious hiker. I mean come on, what tee-shirt am I wearing? “Lettuce, Turnip, the beets” ha-ha-ha!

Back to the topic of actually hiking, some of my co-workers and I woke up bright and early and hit the trails near our home this morning. I struggled getting out of bed so early knowing it was a Saturday. The snooze button may or may not have been hit a handful of times. Once I got up, grabbed a cup of joe and a banana, I was good to go!

The sun was shining! Birds were chirping! The air was so fresh! Bits of greens and flowers were starting to peak from the earth! The endorphins were pumping! Plus we beat the Korean billy-goat crowds! It was an absolutely wonderful morning and great time getting to know one another more outside of the office.

How did you spend your Saturday morning? Hope it was just as beautiful for you too!

Saying Buh-Bye not Goodbye

“Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold.” LOL! That song reminds me of when I was a little girl and in Brownies, the younger aged little ladies of the Girl Scouts. Yup, I was a cookie working sales professional with my sash and all.

I don’t know why, but these photos jogged some suppressed memory of my childhood. Hence the song. These were taken at dinner tonight. While the dinner was certainly delicious and the company was excellent, my heart and head were on overload. Our dear friends, the P family, currently in the military are leaving Korea very shortly. They will move onto their next duty station and this was one of our last buh-byes.

I know that no one said it would be easy. Actually, sometimes it’s quite hard. Yes, I admit it…living abroad can be hard! It’s not like when you were a brownie, or in grade school. You are an adult, meeting people, getting to know them, let them into your life, trust them…It takes time.
All the while, you pack up, you move, you unpack, you live, you make friends, they pack up, they move, and so on. So, when you meet other foreigners or couples, in the back of your mind you know it’s not a permanent state, but you try not to let it get to you. You try to think positively and be grateful that your paths crossed in both of your lifetimes. However, you are human. Being human means that you have those days or moments where it does get to you.

People are going to move in and out of your life. Often times it is very quickly, depending on when the timeframe you meet them was. It’s such a bittersweet feeling. The one thing that I find myself clinging onto for comfort is, knowing that we have friends that are spread out across the entire world. When we find ourselves in their parts, or them in ours, we know we will always have local tour guides to navigate the area with.

P family, Best wishes! May this new beginning bring your family success in everything that you do! Until we meet again! We miss you dearly already!