Tag Archives: South Korea

Yeouido Hangang Riverside Park 여의도 한강공원

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I feel like TOMS and potbingsu pretty much sums up a spring or summertime dream here in Korea.

You know, I’ve been thinking about friendships again lately. With life, friendships come and go. In an expat community this is rather typical and pretty much the norm. One of the best parts about being an expat with a new-found friendship is that you have another connection to a different world. A world that you might not be familiar with and luckily you get to experience that little piece of the world through your friend.

What about you, do you think that each of our friendships with individuals represents a world in us, a world still forming or possibly not even born until they arrive?

This past weekend I met Kelsey at Namdamun Market. Unfortunately it was Sunday and I failed to realize that the buildings where we really wanted to go were closed. Oops… sorry Kelsey.

It wasn’t a total bust, we picked up some kumquat, watermelon and Ya-chae Ho-tteok stuffed full of jap-chae noodles. After walking around the market a bit, we headed to Myeongdong because it was so close to walk to. Kelsey showed me a few little boutiques that she visited the week prior and wanted to share, and then I shared the Artbox store with Kelsey. The Artbox is a cute little store with all sorts of stationary and wacky little gifts. Kelsey was on the hunt for a hot water tea kettle and she was able to pick one up in the Artbox for only 11,000W practically $11US Dollars. Score!

After visiting the markets, Kelsey asked if I wanted to check out a park that she also went to the prior week with a friend. The sun was shining and the day was absolutely gorgeous, so of course we went! We ended up at Yeouido Hangang Riverside Park 여의도 한강공원. Also known as Korea’s Manhattan, or the financial district. A very clean well-groomed part of Seoul. It was very easy to see why this area is so popular with its lush parks and attractive riverfront area.

We grabbed drinks and a potbingsu to go at a local convenience store/cafe. We found a nice quiet spot where we kicked back, slipped of our TOMS, dipped our feet in the cool water, took photos, talked and people watched (prime people watching territory… check out all of the couples wearing matching outfits, or riding tandem bikes!). All ranking high on my top list of things to do! We’ve made plans for a near future picnic too, now all I need is to locate a good picnic basket. Guess you will have to stay tuned in until next time.

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Addresses:

Namdaemun Market
49, Namchang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Subway Line 4 at Seoul Station → Exit No. 5 in Hoehyeon Station
Closes every Sunday/Open 09:00 ~ 19:00
Namdaemun Market Tourist Information ☎ 02-752-1913
http://www.namdaemunmarket.net/

Myeongdong Market
Transfer to Subway Line 4 at Seoul Station → Exit No. 2 in Myeongdong Station
Myeongdong Tourist Information ☎ 02-774-3238

Yeouido Hangang Park
330, Yeouidong-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 영등포구 여의동로 330 (여의도동)
Yeouinaru Station (Seoul Subway Line 5), Exit 2 or 3.

What’s in the Box

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Today I skipped down to the gate guard to pick up our last package, before we decide to renew again or not. Part of me was really sad that this was the end of our first run that we tried with the CSA. Okay, maybe all of me was sad…that being said, we’ve got to renew!

The CSA box contents changed and restructured a bit from the past boxes we’ve received. We knew it was coming, WWOOF made sure they let all box recipients last week know, as well as it being emailed and posted on social outlets. Now instead of getting breads and snacks in your box, WWOOF is focusing more on the emphasis of the produce. More green for your green! If you still want to get the breads and snacks, they are add on items. In addition to that there are also going to be more add-on items in the future as well. Talk of organic meats, jams, etc. How awesome is that?

This week we got our standard delicious strawberries, eggs (two unfortunate little guys didn’t make it and were cracked and oozing on the others), potatoes, sweet potatoes, a carrot, spinach, mallow, assorted salad vegetables, perilla leaves, and an onion. Then there was the show stopper, its last but certainly not least and is a new item, bean sprouts!

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Let’s talk about the bean sprouts shall we? Bean Sprouts are a powerhouse of nutrients! You get vitamins B, C, B1, B6, K and A all from that teeny little bean sprout. Plus, sprouts are a wonderful source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, and manganese, and omega 3 fatty acids. Whew! See, powerhouse! Low on energy? Forget that power bar or shake, reach for some sprouts! The sprouts help by giving our bodies a great source of enzymes that increase our overall energy.

I’m not even close to being done with the topic of these bean sprouts. Did you know that these sprouts help prevent cancer, heart attack or stroke, osteoporosis, boost fertility, are great for skin, help aid in losing weight and acne and prevent menstrual disorders and menopause.

Before coming to South Korea, I cannot say that we honestly ever ate bean sprouts. Now that Korean culture and eating habits have rocked our world, we couldn’t imagine a future without them. Almost any Korean restaurant serves bean sprouts often in a sauce or accompanying meat. They are a perfect side addition to a meal, on a salad, or even in soup.

What are you waiting for? Go out and grab some organic bean sprouts NOW!

Showers of pink petals

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I don’t know where it came from…but the flowers seemed to explode on all the trees this past weekend. Just walking in the wind and shower of delicate pink petals painted this picture to me that everything was right with the world in that very moment.

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I met up with Miss Kelsey again this past weekend to get my mop cut. Seriously folks it was getting a bit out of control. I don’t want to go there but I will. Can we say business in the front party in the back?? HA-HA. Kelsey wanted to get a trim and manicure too, so it was a perfect excuse for a girls day.

Before heading off to our salon appointment we strolled all around Itaewon. The weather was a bit brisk but it was perfect for walking. You know the kind right? Not to hot, not to terribly cold. Besides, studies show that because walking is a repetitive activity, it helps trigger the body’s relaxation mode that helps reduce stress (we both needed that after the week we had) plus, at the same time, a ten minute walk provides an immediate energy booster and improves your mood. It’s proven to snap you out of your funk (again needed). Research also suggest that you should aim for a minimum of 10,000 steps a day (equivalent to approximately 5 miles), the magic number that keeps most from gaining weight. Here’s what my Fitbit tracked while strolling around the Itaewon area with Kelsey. Not to shabby right? Okay, I will hop off my soapbox now.

Perhaps all those steps made up for the lunch we had? Softree for a magic lamp. It’s magical all right! Organic vanilla soft-serve with caramel swirls and a fine crushed nut topping. I took notes from my late great-grandmother and do cover the important parts of meals first. Dessert. We then followed up with a chicken pita and greek salad from Greek on the Grill. Delicious and cheap too.

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Check them out and let me know what you think.

Directions:

Greek on the Grill Restaurant

마포구 와우산로 66 (본점), Seoul, 121-837

소프트리 SOFTREE Ice Cream Shop

용산구 이태원로 208 (이태원점), Seoul, 140-893

Bonjour Croissant

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You know, I’ve got to say the French certainly know how to do food, whether it’s foie gras at dinner or a buttery croissants in the morning paired with a café au lait. Unfortunately I am defiantly not in France this morning, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t enjoy my Monday morning croissant any less.

I am sitting here pondering this toaster we purchased at a local department store, Emart. Much to our surprise it came complete with a special croissant and roll toasting feature. I guess we totally missed the fact that Korean’s are HUGE consumers of croissants. Pardon my sarcasm. Honestly most Korean homes still lack a conventional oven let alone a toaster.

Interesting…

Driving to the DMZ for Local Honey

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As odd enough as this sounds, I spent my Saturday morning driving to the DMZ for local honey. Perhaps I should digress?

While Skyping with my grandparents one weekend morning we got on the topic of seasonal allergies. My grandpa specifically minds certain points during the Spring season and sought relief outside of the typical Claritin or other over the counter drug on the market. He found out that his gut wasn’t happy. Ha Ha! What does that mean? Well it means that he wasn’t getting the right kinds of bacterial into his stomach to fight off the bad ones. So the journey began….how does one make their gut happy he asked? I’m sure thinking of all the sugary goodness he treated it with. Surly those treats have to be making his gut happy, because he felt happy while savoring them in the evenings. Wrong…he found out that he needed to get some probiotic and live culture in his diet. The easiest form being yogurt. Next he needed to take bee pollen pills daily as well as find local honey. I know what you might be thinking and no local honey is not the mass-produced stuff that comes from the cute little bear on the shelf in your supermarket. Luckily my grandfather has found relief with his regiment.

While out to lunch one afternoon with some girlfriends we got on the topic of allergies and local honey. My friend stated that she suffered from allergies since moving to Korea but was able to find local honey. She asked if I wanted her to pick some up when she went on her next trip, I eagerly said yes! Best decision ever! I’ve used the honey in my tea, Greek yogurt and oatmeal. It’s sooo delicious and flavorful.

Fast forward to the week before Kelsey came to stay. While texting one evening she told me that she was suffering from allergies and it was driving her nuts. So of course the conversation about local honey occurred again. Kelsey stated she was absolutely willing to give it a go!

Saturday morning I picked Kelsey up from our local train station, she hopped into the car and I asked if she wanted to venture out to find the local honey? Kelsey stated eagerly yes! Isn’t it so gratifying to find a kindred spirit? With brief directions on my phone from my friend, we headed North on highway 3 towards the DMZ, North Korea. We drove for about 50 minutes one way passing more farms and brown fields than people. Even with the haze and gray sky, Kelsey stated that she enjoyed a different perspective of Korea and the feeling of being able to breath and not feel so crammed with people.

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Eventually we made our way to the end of highway 3. Directly in front of us, two guards stood armed with rifles not allowing anyone to proceed North anymore on highway 3. The option was to turn left or right. We turned left then took the first right leading us to the Battle for White Horse Mountain memorial. We parked in the large parking lot and proceeded into the only building on the property that resembled a store. Once inside an older Korean woman greeted us and two South Korean soldiers were sitting at the table with three children chatting and eating. The back wall was covered in jars and bottles of honey and two small shelves with various local items. You could tell they were slightly intrigued that two American women were visiting and discussing the wall of honey.

I asked one of the soldiers if he could tell what the differences were in honey. The soldier so kindly offered us to taste the honey while explaining the differences. The dark-colored honey was from chestnuts and had a slightly bitter taste, the medium colored honey came from various local flowers and the clear colored honey came from a flower called pronounced “Akasha” here in Korea. I haven’t done any research yet to see what the comparable flower would be in the US.

We each purchased honey and said our many thanks. We then decided to walk up the hill towards the memorial structure and of course curious to see the view. You can find a bit-o-honey, I mean history about the memorial here.

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(See the horse icon located on the upper left hand corner? That was our location)

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We headed back home for lunch and some meandering around our neighborhood. I wanted to share some of the special places that I enjoy and thought she may too. While walking we were both excited to see that Spring was popping up in little places right before our eyes. We headed to the vegetable stand that we used to purchase produce almost weekly from, plus the guy that runs it is comical (He photo bombed almost all of the shots and threw up his kimchi finger pose in each photo). Of course our favorite coffee cafe as of late for potbingso, carrot cake, grapefruit tea and royal milk tea was on the list. Oh and the cute little greenhouse right down the street with all sorts of reasonably priced succulents and the sweetest owner too.

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Having family nearby is absolutely is the bomb diggity… yep.. I just aged myself.

HA-HA! Wait…does anyone even use the term bomb diggity anymore?

How was your weekend?

Do you suffer from seasonal allergies?

Do you take anything? Any tips, tricks, suggestions?

What’s in the Box?

Do you want to eat healthy, organically grown food that hasn’t had to travel miles upon miles? Or in our case cross oceans just to get to our plate. If you are shaking your head yes, you should really think about joining a CSA.

What is a CSA you ask? Well, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and when you become a member of a CSA, you are purchasing a “piece” or “share” of the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season. Your money up front goes to supporting a local farm or farms for an entire growing season. With these funds the farmer can easily purchase and prepare for the season. By becoming a member, you have access directly to fresh, high quality organic produce that is grown locally. Sound to good to be true? It’s not.

We did it! We joined the WWOOF CSA here in South Korea. This was actually a big step for us as foreigners living abroad. For the past two weeks we excitedly stroll down to our gate guard shack and pick up our box where we get a selection of amazing certified organic produce grown on local organic Korean farms. I wonder what’s in the box this week we say in unison. My hippy-dippy Tom wearing side loves that we are helping the environment and that we are nourishing our bodies with quality foods that do not use toxic pesticides, or herbicides. Not to mention the taste! I kid you not… organic strawberries are where it’s at and it’s absolutely my jam! I swear you are going to think that I am crazy when I say this, but I can instantly taste the difference between a berry that is grown organically vs. one grown with the use of pesticides and other chemicals. The berries are just so much more flavorful and pure.

The first week started off a bit rocky with delivery, but to be honest it was more or less our complex gate guards that held onto the package and didn’t inform us of the delivery. The box sat in their office for three nights until I contacted the CSA and was helped by the managing director, Joon Lee. Mr. Lee was outstanding and immediately got to work tracking down our package. Once we realized and confirmed that the package had been delivered to our complex and sat there, Mr. Lee said with concern that if any of the produce was spoiled or rotten to contact him back and he would take care of it because quality and the experience was important to him and the CSA. Fortunately we only experienced one moldy strawberry. Nothing we’d ever complain about. I was extremely impressed with the compassion, urgency and overall care that Mr. Lee had all around. Absolutely another reason that I’d promote a CSA to friends or bloggers living in Korea.

The second week we knew what day to grab our package at the guard shack, plus Mr. B also received a telephone call from the delivery man confirming that it had been dropped off that day. Only one broken egg, again nothing we’d every complain about.

We’ve been loving the fact that the ingredients force us to incorporate them into our everyday go to dinners and lunches. We’ve been getting creative and have had to do some research on the unknown items such as the mallow greens. Personally I have LOVED the organic eggs! My mornings have been such a treat knowing that my dippy eggs with a side of toast are coming from happy healthy hens.

So with that said, what did we get in our box you ask?

Week 1

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Week 2

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If you are living in Korea and are interested in signing up too check out the WWOOF website.

Are you part of a CSA where you live?

Do you frequent farmers markets for your produce?

Organic foods what are your thoughts?

Where’s the Meat?

When I eat burgers not made with meat I often think back to my childhood and giggle. It was a summer month and I was with my dad vacationing on Nantucket Island visiting my aunt and uncle. My aunt’s sister’s husband prepared us all eggplant burgers. It was the first time that I had ever tried anything with the title burger not consisting of meat. I immediately fell in love with the burger and raved about it to my grandparents once we returned home from vacation. I proudly exclaimed, “I ate a burger, loved it and it wasn’t even made of meat!” I am sure at that point I confused my grandparents with my statement and had to elaborate. Nonetheless, I know whatever they kindly responded with at the time to appease me, they were thrilled that I was open to trying new things and loved my vegetables so much.

These days you cannot keep me away from my vegetables. I try to incorporate as many fresh ingredients into our meals at home during the work week. The weekend…yeahhh..those are more of our cheat nights. Hey! we all need our cheat days to keep sane.

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After crazy days of work there isn’t anything more that I look forward to than cooking in our kitchen, just Mr. B and I. I love how creative we get never knowing what concoction we might whip up. I love the moments of when he gets excited to have me try a new sauce he’s made. It takes the edge off the day. Cooking together and being in the kitchen releases tension, worries and stressors that might be plaguing me at the moment. I often think of my in-laws home where everyone always gathers in the kitchen, always such a homey and welcoming environment.

Tonight’s meal I am sure you guessed revolves around a meatless burger, a portobello burger with swiss cheese and caramelized onions sided up nicely with oven roasted crinkle cut sweet potato french fries.

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Portobello Swiss Cheese Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Source: Prevention Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 Tsp. olive oil
1 Medium onion, thinly sliced
1 Tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
4 Portobello mushroom caps
⅛ Tsp. salt
¼ Tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 Slices Swiss cheese, for each mushroom
4 Buns of choice

Directions:

In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tsp. of oil. Add onion and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, combine vinegar and remaining oil. Brush over mushroom caps and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill, covered, turning occasionally, about 9-11 minutes or until tender. Top each mushroom with slice of cheese and continue to grill about 1-2 minutes or until cheese melts. Transfer to plate and keep warm.

Top off bun with 1 mushroom and caramelized onions. Repeat for dinner guest and eat!

Kimchi Grilled Cheese

Did I just lose you with the title of this post? Are you making a face? Be honest….

I realize using the two words kimchi and cheese together in a sentence must sound utterly disgusting to my friends and family, but I promise…it’s really not. I mean I think of all the bowls of budae jiigae we consume here in Korea and without the square slices of cheddar cheese it just wouldn’t be the same. I’ve had kimchi carnitas fries, kimchi quesadillas, and now a kimchi grilled cheese. Not just any cheese, make it pepper jack pretty please.

I think I just might have died and gone to heaven.

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Kimchi Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 Slices of your favorite bread, I typically pick up something fresh from a local Korean bakery (Today it was named healthy loaf?)
2 Slices of your favorite cheese, I used pepper jack… cheddar would be an excellent pairing as well
1/8 Cup Mat kimchi, chopped
1 tablespoons butter, divided to butter your bread

Super simple and whipped up in a snap!

….Wait, do you think we’ve been in Korea to long? ….Nah!

Would you try out this slightly different grilled cheese combination?

Sob Story

Did you see the latest Instagram Backpackbees photo? Yes… that’s a chair that sits in the lobby area of work that a parent let a little Picasso doodle all over with crayons. Yikes… That’s not even the sob story piece of this blog. It’s been a pretty rough week in general, but never in my twenty something years on this earth have I ever experienced tears while chopping my onions, that is until tonight. Can you believe a teeny tiny shallot was the one to do me in? The tears just streamed down my cheeks as I chopped as quickly as I could. Seriously it was as if I were sobbing. Of course I had to pause intermittently because my eyes were on fire and walk away from the cutting board, but I returned as quickly as I could to get the little guy prepped for our dinner.

What about you, are your eyes sensitive to onions? Intrigued, also waiting for Mr. B to finish up cooking the chicken, I looked it up on the internet and found that the syn-propanethial-soxide that the onion releases as a form of gas when cut into causes the eye irritation to some. It then went onto say that a good onion cry, though not hormonal or emotional, often makes people feel better afterwards. As silly as it sounds, it sort of did….

Wellll….. maybe it was just the excitement and anticipation to dig into this meal? Or, maybe it’s that we realized it’s Wednesday and that means we are closing in on another weekend!

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The recipe was slightly altered from Iowa Girl Eats.

Ingredients:

5 Slices turkey bacon, chopped
4 Chicken breasts, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Shallot, chopped
3 Cups white button mushrooms, sliced
6 Cups fresh organic Korean spinach
1 1/2 Cup half & half
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

First cook bacon in a large skillet, cook until crispy. Not much grease, if any is left behind from the bacon, don’t bother wiping out, continue on with cooking chicken breast in same skillet to gather any remaining bacon flavors.

Season to taste chicken breasts with salt and pepper then add to skillet and sauté until no longer pink. Remove off to side and cover with foil to keep warm while you cook the rest of the meal.

Next, melt butter in skillet, add shallots and mushrooms, season to taste with salt and pepper, and then sauté until mushrooms are tender. Throw in spinach then cover and sauté randomly until just barely wilted. Add half & half and cook until the sauce is thickened, after thickened, stir in grated parmesan cheese.

Last but certainly not least, arrange chicken on your plate, pour sauce on top and sprinkle with cooked turkey bacon.

We enjoyed with twice baked potatoes and a nice glass of refreshing wine.

Next time we think we will add in some spice to spice it up! Until then, enjoy, check out Iowa Girl Eats, and stay tuned.

Assimilating

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I’ve written some time ago just how difficult it can be to assimilate into a new culture while living abroad. Regardless of if you are a adult or not, everyone has some level of trouble adjusting. While everything is very exciting, it’s also bit overwhelming in a sense too.

This past weekend we met up with a family member that has very recently relocated from the East coast of the US to a smaller town on the outskirts of Seoul here in Korea. Yes! You read that I said KOREA, right? We finally managed to get some family here with us! On a semi permanent basis too! Eeek! We are shrieking with delight!

Kelsey has been getting acquainted with the Korean culture but was already in desperate need of some normalcy. (Insert two eager Bee’s to the rescue!)

The thing we are most excited to introduce to friends and family is definitely Korean cuisine. We typically like the shock and wow factor. However we knew that we needed to give Kelsey a nice healthy balance of what we introduced. After all we didn’t want her on the first flight out of here, especially when we just got her here. So we decided to stick to the foreigner friendly areas around Seoul for the day.

All three of our fitbits were buzzing because we traipsed all over Itaewon and Myeongdong. I am sure from past post you recall trips to both places. But if you are fairly new to the blog, Itaewon is a multi-cultural place full of bars, restaurants, shops, clubs, and Myeongdong is a large shopping area that features stores like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21.