Tag Archives: Traditions

Friends giving 2016

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This year as I sat down amongst eleven dear friends at our Friendsgiving table and I couldn’t help but think about the saying, “If you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.” It’s so simplistic, yet holds such truth and so much beauty, especially during this holiday season.

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When we all sat down together to dig into our delicious spread, we all went around the table and shared what we were thankful for. It was one of the best memories that will stay with us when we think back on this very dinner. Listening to each person express how truly thankful they were for friends like us, like those around the table, made anything else going on just melt away.

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The American Thanksgiving of course is not celebrated here in Korea, but that doesn’t stop us from pillaging our local vegetable market for local goods to make it happen. Over the years we’ve learned the hard way that a big ol’ bird simply doesn’t fit in our tiny “easy bake oven”, so we improvised and purchase an already made Turkey (a deep-fried one at that!) plus we sous-vide extra turkey breast and baked a ham in our crockpot. To make all the sides work, we borrowed another small oven, giving us a total of three ovens to work with. Talk about handling the heat in the kitchen… whew! SO.MUCH.FOOD. In the end everything worked out perfectly! We were pleased with all of the meats being moist and flavorful, and it was by far quicker to purchase and sous vide! (Check out that carrot cake too! A friend of our’s had it made with little bumblebee on it! Swoon!!)

Speaking of turkey…. THIS little turkey had a teeny bit of her first Thanksgiving turkey too!

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As always….we are very thankful for all of you too… for those that have stuck by us, reading, commenting, viewing our photos and virtually traveled all around the world with us. Thank you friends! Happy Thanksgiving from Korea!!

Backpackbees

Cookies

Let’s talk serious stuff here folks… COOKIES! That’s right… we caught you binge eating those little suckers, just like we are. Hey, it’s okay… times like these we get away with it and say, ’tis the season. So go ahead and munch away. We are not going to spoil it for you.

So….on the topic of cookies….do you have a go to cookie recipe for the holidays? If, so please share! We are always looking to try out new combinations and creations.

Speaking of trying out new things… Have you guys seen the BuzzFeed video circulating around for mini pecan tarts? No?! Oh goodness… let’s fix that right away. GO.HERE.NOW.

We were not sure how these little guys would turn out, but man are we pleased we gave it a test-run. They are not the pecan tassies that Mr. B grew up on, however they are a very easy and delicious substitute. SCORE! If you decide to give it a go as well, give us a shout and let us know what you thought. Don’t forget that tall glass of cold milk too. Hey, just remember, ‘Tis the season!

Backpackbees

Happy Friendsgiving!

We have a lot to be thankful for this year. 

If you’ve been following along with this blog for a while, you know that our annual tradition is to have Friendsgiving, rather than a family-filled Thanksgiving, due to our logistical separations. We kept our theme to our meal to a smaller scale this year and also kept it centered around everyone’s traditional Thanksgiving fare. Eek we just get so excited for in the weeks that lead up to our dinner.

We live for the menu planning, the prep and yes, even those million little last second details that keep us buzzing around here and there. Year after year when all of our guest have left for the night, we head off to bed, we both look at one another and smile talking about how everything was so worth it in the end.

(Missing two and it was a test shot)

(Now just missing one)

This year we hosted 8 at our table…well 9 if you are counting 😉 little Miss B. We extended our dining room table by one leaf, it worked out perfectly.

The spread consisted of: Mr. B specialty Mashed potatoes; my side of the family family’s broccoli casserole and baked corn, My in laws homemade dressing (because it’s outside of the bird) my grandmothers stick to your ribs macaroni and cheese, my great grandmothers raw cranberry sauce, my homemade applesauce made with local Korea apples, sage leek and onion balls made by Mandy, the deep fried Cajun turkey, a ham prepared by George, crescents, a spinach pie baked by Jovone, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, vanilla and sparkly golden hazelnut macaroons, and an almond raspberry cake. Using the word delicious for this feast is just an understatement!

A close up of my plate. Ha-ha! As usual, my peepers were much bigger than my stomach. Of course I did manage to leave room for dessert.

Friendsgiving with our lovely friends was a beautiful, sweet, cranberry-kissed, happy affair! Thank you for making it another excellent memory friends!!

Backpackbees

A Come Back and Roasted Goose

Soooooo…. It’s been a while huh? Time for a come-back. I took a bit of a break and focused on life. We all need that sometimes, right? So I’m forgiven.

One way to describe how the Fall months make me feel is, you know that heart-eyed emoji? Yep. That’s me! Apple absolutely carbon copied my face. Ha-ha! Kidding. But in all seriousness, I do use that emoji every.single.text. to relay my expression to the recipient.

With all this fall talk comes intense cravings for the seasonal foods that fall brings. Right now it’s all about squash, homemade crusty breads, the hearty soups I make each weekend to warm our tummies, fresh pomegranates, and crisp apples. I always look forward to Fall and how all of the delicious foods and meals around this time of year bring family and friends together. It’s incredible that breaking bread together can break down barriers, and forge relationships. It’s something that Mr. B and I experience so often in South Korea. Our neighbors and dear friends have gifted us with all sorts of yummy treats. This year we’re looking forward to another friends-giving and will have some new faces around our table. More to report back with on that later.

I haven’t really captured many photos this Fall, except for on Instagram, of the leaves that are still bursting in burnt orange, a bright golden-yellow, and an ever stunning maroon. Recently in the mornings you can feel the briskness in the fresh air, be able to take in the sweet smell of wet leaves, and it just feels so great.

Sooo….I’m going to jump right in with some photos from our recent dinner. Mr. B and I discovered a goose while out shopping and decided to splurge and try it out. Thanks to the assistance of Chef Gordon Ramsey and this video, we spiced it up and cooked our goose!

Just take a look at this baby! The goose was incredibly flavorful and tender! If you get the opportunity grab a goose for a special dinner and get cooking.

Backpackbees

2014: A Very Festive Christmas Dinner

TAKE 1…

TAKE 2…

TAKE 3…

TAKE 4… OKAY, OKAY… On with the post.

Celebrations and togetherness’ like this Christmas evening are dearly treasured moments in our lives.

Wowie, the incredible aromas that are swirling around our place from the kitchen, the love and laughter shared between friends that have become part of our extended family (Santa beards, elf get-up, festive glasses, Cards Against Humanity and all), the overall warmth felt in our place tonight just makes the whole night so memorable. I mean I serious wish that you had a scratch and sniff computer screen for each of these photos, better yet a sampling screen! Don’t worry, may in the new year I’ll honey-do-list Mr. B with carrying out the invention and production.

Our two dear friends came over tonight and prepared us an outstanding Christmas dinner. Thanks guys! Succulent root-beer glazed spiral ham, stuffed tomatoes and mushrooms, bacon wrapped homemade stuffing, steamed lemon pepper asparagus, roasted potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes and British sticky toffee pudding danced happily in our bellies. Mmmm Hmmm….Truly such a special gesture.

Already 2014 is coming to an end. Life really is on fast forward mode, each year we’ve got people coming and going in our lives, so it is always really nice to take some time and let people know how amazing they are and how much they truly mean to us. With that being said…

Dear Family, Friends and Neighbors (near and far), Though you might not be at our dinner table tonight sharing this Christmas meal with us, you are certainly not forgotten and are here in spirit. Wishing You All a very merry Christmas! Cheers!

Backpackbees

2014: A Special Christmas Eve Surprise

Holidays, especially Christmas, are incredibly important and cherished to me. Even more so now that I am an adult. I often get so wrapped up in trying to make so many perfect moments, that I forget to REALLY enjoy all of the special moments that surround the holidays. Does that make sense?

Recently, my grandparents told me about an elderly woman that puts up 26 themed Christmas trees each year in her home. 26! Some of the trees have over 4,000 ornaments! Seriously, I think that this woman can relate to trying to create year after year those special moments.

Thankfully, Mr. B recognizes my struggles, knows that holidays are very important to me and knows that I look forward to family traditions year after year. This man gently guides me back onto my jolly holiday train tracks when he feels or notices me starting to derail off into an ugly tinsel mess (you know the kind…it’s the silvery stands that you find months after your tree has come down). He provides me with ever so thoughtful and delightful distractions like the one he surprised me with tonight.

At about 6PM tonight I walked through the doors and was immediately greeted by a chef whipping up something that smelled AMAZING in my kitchen (Check out our Instagram account! It was Mr. B!). Yes, he was preparing a beautiful Christmas eve dinner for the two of us to share.

We started with shrimp cocktails (family tradition), and a homemade French onion soup. Then for the main we enjoyed medium cooked steaks that were served with a green pepper sauce, accompanied by a side of salted boiled potatoes and broccoli. Yep. Adult Christmas IS just as good as it was being a kid.

Dinner was only the beginning… this man, the man that I married, then so thoughtfully wrapped up every single unopened package that was mailed from our family and friends for Christmas so that I’d feel that they were with us more so on Christmas morning. YES, 100% truth! These neatly wrapped packages were nestled under our tree with color codes that he explained identified the person it was from. Still words cannot express just how special he made this Christmas eve for me.

Still wordless… Thank you Mr. B. Thank you!

I hope your holidays are just as incredibly special.

Care to share some of your family holiday traditions?

Backpackbees

Hoppy Easter Everybunny!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Isn’t this little veggie and dip tray that I made fun?

Over the last few years our dinner table and holiday traditions have changed a lot. We have moved from our small hometown, to a new state, then to move again across the ocean to South Korea. A big part of celebrating Easter for we Bees has been gathered around that ever-changing dinner table with our family and friends and enjoying a delightful Easter brunch or dinner. This year was no exception, we joined our dear friends and celebrated together as one, however I wouldn’t call this your typical Easter dinner. We celebrated Armenian style!

Dinner included:

Cheese Borek
Hummus
Eggplant Caviar
Easter Pilaf with dried fruit
Lentil Bean salad
Fish Plaki
Beef Kabob
Mini Baklava
Khavitz halva
Lenten Peanut Butter balls

Is your mouth-watering yet? Everything turned out so scrumptious and was absolutely divine!

Our gracious host served in the Peace Corps when they were first married. Armenia holds a special place in both of their hearts and they wanted to share that experience with us. What a treat getting to talk about the Armenian traditions, have an Armenian egg fight, learn to make Armenian coffee, listen to them share their Peace Corps stories, and of course enjoy our little babes too! What an amazing comfortable feeling it is to have such close friends that have become extended family to us. I’ll count that as one of my many Easter blessings this year.

(Dye your Easter eggs Armenian style using onion peels!)

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2013_03_31 EasterMar 30, 2013Photos: 43
 

Backpackbees

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