Tag Archives: Strawberry

Picking Strawberries 딸기

There’s nothing quite as sweet and springlike as eating freshly picked strawberries right off the vine. Somehow last year I missed out on strawberry picking season. So I did my research and made sure to know when the strawberry season would occur for the new year. It just so happens that April is peak strawberry season here in Korea.

Back in the states, I absolutely loved to go strawberry picking. I mean what’s not to love about eating your own body weight in berry goodness? Plus, I cannot think of anything more peaceful than wandering down rows of bright berry beds and carefully selecting the perfect gem to come home with me.

Today I roped my two counterparts into checking out a local berry farm. I wasn’t sure of the actual address, the hours, or if it even really existed. All I had was a hunch and a belly growling for berries, so off we went.

We were able to easily find the place, but when we pulled up and did some investigating the place looked sort of empty. Unsure, I walked around the backside of the building and took a look. Peaking into the greenhouses from the road I could see long lush rows of strawberry plants. Okay, perfect! This was the place! Hmmm….but where were the people? It was noon-ish, on a Saturday. I called the number on the sign posted out front. A sweet Korean man who barely spoke English answered. Between my limited Korean and his English, he arrived 3 minutes later!

For 10,000W, think $10.00 USD, the farmer handed us three plastic containers for our strawberries, led us into the greenhouse and proceeded to show us how to pick and enjoy the berries. He proudly emphasized eating the berries as we picked. Of course we could absolutely get on board with that!

The strawberry picking experience was slightly different from in the states for me. In Korea the strawberry plants are lifted off the ground on these 4FT planters, making the entire picking experience much more enjoyable!

As we picked down through the greenhouse we came upon a bee hive. Strawberry flowers need to be pollinated, without pollination berries usually result in misshapen fruit. I learned that a recommended bee hive size for greenhouse strawberry is one with 6,000 to 8,000 bees per 11,000 sq feet per small hive. Buzz, Buzz……

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Directions:

Located in Yangju off of highway Three. Coming from Dongducheon, turn left when at Yanju City Hall. The greenhouse is Located right on your left, after you make your left turn.

010-7666-9720
10,000 W per container, all you can eat

Nibbler

Are you a nibbler? Okay, let me further explain. I am talking nibbler in the sense of, when you are cooking in the kitchen you are nibbling along the way. It might be that perfectly ripe tomato, that just out of the oven bread loaf, or even a teeny swoop of that freshly whipped cream you made. So, with that said, do you consider yourself a nibbler?

Truth, I’m a nibbler. Yes, I admit I am guilty of nibbling along the way of my meal preparation. I always wondered if it was a hereditary thing. You know if your mother, or your grandmother, or your great-grandmother did it, you too picked up on the habit and were doomed to become a nibbler. Thinking back it makes sense to me now. There were times when I was a child where I remember my mother or grandmother cooking and preparing a nice meal only to eat a teeny if any bit. Why? Because she had to be a nibbler! HA HA! I’m not totally sure that is the case, but its my conclusion and I am sticking to it.

The weeks have been lengthy and I have found myself running against the clock. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to catch up from when I was away in Cambodia. I have been struggling to find that even balance with housework, me time, being a good spouse and loving wife, to being a good employee and team member, to being a great best-friend and equally great sister and daughter as well. Whoever said being a million miles away from family made it easier had to be joking. It’s not easy! Oh and throw in a little drama from our neighbors to the North on top of it all. Oy vay. Suggestions on being able to find balance again are greatly welcomed. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments, and wisdom.

Do I have you scratching your head wondering what the correlation and connection between being a nibbler, playing catch up, and being superwoman is? The connection is that I am finally able to sit down and post a blog post and communicate to the masses that we are A-Okay over here. Really! Well, in this moment that is. I mean, would I be using my downtime to focus so much emphasis on focus on cooking healthy meals for the hubs and I? Not to mention baking my grandmothers strawberry pie complete with her homemade pie crust too! We are talking PIE here…serious stuff (recipe to come soon).

Oooohhh…Speaking of healthier dinner options, I’ve got a treat for you! How does sweet potato black bean burgers sound? (recipe below)

Sweet Potato Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Recipe slightly adapted from Healthy. Happy. Life. 100% Vegan lunchboxbrunch.com
makes 9-10 medium patties

Ingredients:

2 Cans black beans, drained
3 Medium/large sweet potato, already baked, peeled, and mashed
2 Tbsp Tahini
2 Tsp honey
2 Tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 Tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 Cup wheat flour
A few dashes of black pepper
*I don’t typically season with salt, but you can certainly add if you need to.
2-3 Cups of Panko crumbs
1-2 Tbsp Safflower oil for frying pan

(Optional)Burger toppings: avocado, Dijon mustard, onion

Directions:

1. Take your already baked sweet potatoes. Peel off the skin, set aside in large mixing bowl.
2. Add drained black beans to sweet potatoes. Mash the beans and potato together. You may need to use your hands and mixer to get the beans and potato to the right consistency.
3. Toss and mash in the lemon pepper seasoning, cayenne pepper, black pepper, flour, Tahini, and honey. Your mixture will be quite soft and tacky. No worries, you will be able to form the burger patty.
4. Heat up the 1-2 Tbsp safflower oil in a pan over high heat.
5. Form the burger patties from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Cook until burger is browned on both sides.
6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes.

*As noted on the original recipe, the patties may crumble a bit while you are eating. However they are still absolutely delicious and that factor will make up for it in itself. Enjoy!

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