Tag Archives: Winter

Cheer Up Butternut

As you see, there hasn’t been much backpacking for this bee lately, that pesky groundhog seemed to be right again! The last few days we’ve had very tundra like conditions. Complete with icy roads and all. Spring is all the buzz lately at work. When’s it going to perk up? Brighten up? Be green again? It’s positively hard to stay positive during these cold gloomy winter days. They seem so long, so cold, and just so ….well….gray. The bright side is, we’re in that home stretch, right?

Tonight I baked a butternut squash and covered it with coconut oil and cinnamon. Whoa! It tasted very similar to French toast, but obviously much healthier. Try it out! Thank me later. Next time I might add some red pepper flakes or something to spice it up. What do you think?

Also with all the gloominess and the fact my mood had taken a serious nosedive today, I needed something on the quick no fuss side for dinner. A fun salad!

I can’t believe I’m going to admit this in public, but see the flaky stuff? Looks like tuna, right? Wrong. I ventured out and used salmon from a can. Guess what.. I loved it! Why didn’t anyone tell me it was this good? It’s not anywhere close to the ick factor I once thought would appear in that can. Good source of omega 3 too! However the two pieces of peanut butter fudge I devoured that my grandparents sent us most likely cancelled out that healthy meal. Oops.

Do you add anything crazy to your salads? I’m open to suggestions!

Backpackbees

Thoughts Of…

How often do you dust? It’s not that I dislike it…
I’d rather just spend my time vacuuming
I very much love to vacuum. Shared a teensy bit more about myself with you
OCD. Fact of life.
Is it just me, or do some people make elevator rides awkward? I hardly ever see the people living in our building, however occasionally there’s the AM awkward ride down to the parking garage. It’s all darty eye contact and stuff…
I met up with a dear friend at a local pastry shop and not once was I tempted to touch my phone. Maybe its Asia, or just today’s society, but do you find it a rarity to dine out or meet up with others and not see them touch, check, text, or Facebook while in your company? Reminds me of this YouTube.
Oh, yeah! Happy MLK Day!
A mug of Vanilla Latte and a small tarty fro-yo while the snow falls outside

Backpackbees

Hafa Adai!

(Pronounced HALF A DAY) is “Hello” in Chamorro! 

Tonight I felt a teeny tiny bit guilty when watching the news and weather forecast from Guam. 21,000 flights cancelled due to the freezing temperature and snowy conditions stateside. NY, Chi-Town…Brrr….even S.Korea under old man winter’s wrath this year. Geesh! It hasn’t even come close to dipping below 80 here all week.

HA-HA-HA…Can’t rub it in too much longer…we know our days are numbered (jokes soon on us).

For now know that we are sending you freshly picked limes, local gin and tonic and a gorgeous sunset your way!

Backpackbees

Thoughts of…

As fast as Christmas was here, it is now gone…these next few days are the last glimpses of all the holiday decor and Christmas trees…
Do you find it hard to just BE? You know, just being ok with where you are right now…
You guys, Mr. B bought me a kick-butt Mastrad Orka oven mitt! They come in cheery colors and are lined to protect that patty too…
This week has been exhausting, even with that eve early day out of the office and holiday…
Toast smeared with lemon curd and an oversized cup of coffee…

Now it’s your turn, what are your thoughts of?

Backpackbees

Christmas Parties

Hello dear Christmas friends near and far!

We just ended our weekend of work Christmas parties. Very exciting, I know! But really…it was! Here are some photos from my fabulous Christmas party. We didn’t quite make it to Mr. B’s due to the unfortunate luck of Friday night Seoul traffic. But…It actually worked to my favor however, I was feeling quite achy and under the weather. Rest..lots of rest was what was in order.

Now, back to the good stuff, the party! Oh goodness it was a riot! Live entertainment both from the actual paid entertainment and also my co-worker and her husband getting up and dancing. I have to go on record and tell you all what she said, “When I hear the music, I try to control myself, but my hips… they are just uncontrollable and I have to get up and dance.” Too funny! Many belly laughs share by all, exchanging of secret santa gifts, and a boat load of A-mazing food, no pun intended.

Overall I’m pretty much always a fan of nights that involve celebration, holidays, Seoul at night, and dressing to the nines.

How was your weekend? Hopefully you enjoyed just as much merriment! Cheers!

PS: Santa’s on his way!

Address:

85-1, Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul-si
서울특별시 영등포구 여의동로 290 (여의도동)

Yeouido Dock
Yeouinaru Station (Subway Line 5), Exit 3.
Yeouido Dock is 5min from the station.

Dinner buffet cruise:
Weekends: Adults 65,000 won / Children 33,000 won
Weekdays: Adults 60,000 won / Children 30,000 won

Routes & Schedule
Yeouido-Yeouido
Regular: 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, 16:10, 17:20, 22:00
Magic show: 15:00, 18:10
Live concert: 19:30, 20:40
Dinner buffet: 19:30

Backpackbees

Thoughts of…

Bump bump bump bump neighbors up above (aka graceful buffalos)…
Our chicken and waffles escapades tonight included some bumps and lumps
Still absolutely delicious…
Reminds us of home…
Don’t knock it until you try it, google it you won’t be sorry
‘Tis the season to be overly be nostalgic, no?
man’s best friend
These… Size 8 please. Comfort for my chronically cold tootsies. Could be win-win Mr. B, think about it…
Time for bed…

Now it’s your turn, what are your thoughts of?

Backpackbees

Sleep Eat?

Lately we’ve been watching all the old episodes of Seinfeld as we cook dinner together in the evenings after work. Can you guess who takes on the role of chef and who the sous-chef is? I’m sure your presumption is correct. Anyways, did you ever see the episode where George is in the kitchen and see’s the eclair on the top of the trash pile, obviously it looks rather delicious so he proceeds to pick it up and eat it?

Last night I realized that I had four bananas that were rather ripe sitting out the counter. I decided to just make a loaf of banana bread and use them up. It’s just so darn tasty that it reminded me of that episode. Short of wanting to dump the loaf for our own good, I know we’d be suffering from Costanza moments if I did it.

I wake up in the middle of the night and sleep walk over to the water-cooler located next to our refrigerator..what a convenient location, right? ..Oh heyyy there banana bread! Leaning over the sink (of course not to crumb anywhere) I happily shovel in two delicious bites. Fulfilled I retire back to bed. I wake up in the morning with this gross slightly recognizable taste in my mouth. I think to myself in the shower, damn Did I really sleep eat that banana bread?

Can you relate? Or is this one of those awkward non discussed topics? Well, whatever the case, I don’t have willpower when it comes to this stuff. Hence a non typical baking occurrence. Luckily there’s only one loaf, must eat and keep it out of our bee hive!

But that’s just us…I’m sure you have much more willpower and should totally bake some! Thanks baby bistro cookbook (and Mary).

Banana Bread
Slightly adapted from The Baby Bistro Cookbook

Ingredients:

4 Very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed with a fork
1 Egg
1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 Cup safflower oil
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5″ loaf pan, set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together bananas, egg, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla just until ingredients are blended. Next add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and stir just until it’s blended together. Pour ingredients into the prepared pan and bake 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Backpackbees

Our Christmas Tree

Although nearly two week later, I thought I’d share photos of our tree and snowfall. Thankfully my strong strapping husband helped me get our oversized tree up in the apartment this year.

I know, I know….Too big for our space, right?

You guys. YOU GUYS! I have a confession to make…I have been a total Grinch this holiday season. I just mailed out some holiday cards to family last week, we just put up our teeny little tree and twinkle lights, I just baked up a batch of our gingerbread men and I have been dragging my feet on holiday shopping. It’s so unlike me!

But then… we got our first snow! Yipee! But…I didn’t get to capture it. Oops.

Don’t fret, it’s been snowing on and off here in our little town of Dongducheon, South Korea and guess what? This lady captured it this time!

You know I am a sucker for the magical little flakes. It just might be what was needed to shake the Grinches out of me. That and Mr. B, bless his huge heart.

Oh speaking of magical flakes, did you see Anchorman 2 is coming to the big screen soon? I’m not saying that I’ll be popping up a camping tent to see it first, but it’s defiantly towards the top on my to do list. In the meantime, check out Ron Burgundy’s Dodge commercials.

Backpackbees

Delicious

Is it just me or does it seem like fall has been sticking around lingering longer this year?

No complaints in that department, I am enjoying event single delicious second of it. When I say delicious, I am talking about all of the wonderfully fall flavored morsels that have crossed my lips this season. Mmmm… pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, and of course the delicious dish I’m about to share with all of you.

Are you ready for this?

Spicy Pumpkin Chili! (BAM!) (Sorry, having an Emeril moment)

Ohhh and Don’t forget to bake up some cornbread with a nice pad of honey butter on top. Bob’s Red Mill brand mix with an added 1/3 cup of honey is a fabulous time saver if I do say so myself.

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili
(Provided via a friend)

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, diced (about 2 cups)
2 red bell peppers, preferably roasted and skinned, cut into medium dice
1/2 a chipotle chili can (canned in adobo sauce) (Watch out, SPICY)
4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted)
1 Jalapeno (chopped)
1 1/2 tablespoons chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
32 oz canned black beans (rinsed)
4 cups roasted pumpkin or winter squash, directions provided below*

Serve with Cabot Extra sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large stock pot, sauté the onions in olive oil until lightly golden. Add in the bell peppers and jalapeno, and cook for about five minutes until tender. On medium heat, add the chili powder, curry powder, ground cumin, cinnamon, bay leaves, and salt, and cook for another minute. Then add the tomatoes, 1/2 cup of water and the dark brown sugar, stirring well to incorporate. Cook at a simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes and adding more water (in 1/4 cup increments) as needed. (You, want to keep things from drying out and sticking to the bottom!).

Add the rinsed beans along with 2 cups of water and cook for another 20 minutes.

Add the pumpkin and vinegar just before serving. Taste, and adjust seasoning.

To roast pumpkin or squash:

Preheat oven to 425F.

Remove the seeds and the fiber from the pumpkin and cut the flesh into chunks, leaving the skin still attached.

Mix the chunks in a bowl with 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay the chunks on a baking tray, skin side down, and put them in the oven. When the chunks of pumpkin are soft and the edges are tinged with brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool, and scoop out chunks of the pumpkin from the skin with a fork. Measure out 4 cups of the pumpkin and save the rest for another purpose, like a salad or snacking later. Or roll like me and put in all the pumpkin. Why not? Life’s SHORT!

Hope your fall week has been just as delicious!

Backpackbees

Anatomy of the Perfect Date Night

New adventure + very close to home + cute chef + excellent food + sweetest ajumma waitress= The perfect date night

For date night Mr. B and I decided to try someplace new. While its nice to always go to our favorite little place, its nice to continue adventuring out of our comfort zones too.

We had it narrowed down to two places we had never been to before. Conveniently these two places are near our place. After taking down the recyclable’s, we decided to take a walk and enjoy the cool air, along the way Mr. B tells me to pick a number, “one or two”. I picked the number two.

Great choice!

And that’s how this place ended up on our top favorites list.

Cajun duck. Come to mama and papa B!

Backpackbees