Monday, July 26, 2010
Veggie Tarts
I borrowed a recipe from one of my favorite new blogs, La Tartine Gourmande. The writer is an awesome French ex-pat in the US who cooks and bakes up a storm. Her recipes are fantastic. Anyway, living in Korea we can't always get the same ingredients as in the States, so I had to improvise. Blue cheese doesn't exist here and Michael does not like tuna, so we changed things a bit but the result was still delicious.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Some Meals from this Week
In our pursuit to eat fresher and cheaper, we have been staying in and I have been slaving away in a very hot kitchen. I am refreshed in my cooking endeavors and even find that there are some new recipes I want to try out. Coming soon will be summer vegetable tarts, apple onion and potato gratin, gazpacho and much more. I will not be cooking any desserts however, because I am really enjoying eating cold treats like smoothies and ice cream. I am already looking forward to fall apple treats, but not until our apartment cools down some.
So far this week, we have had stuffed zucchini (they call them green pumpkins here) and fresh greens. The stuffing was made with black rice, green pepper, onion, cherry tomatoes and zucchini. It was spiced with a little salt, pepper and oregano. I added cheese at the last minute and it added a good flavor.
Monday night we enjoyed the stuffing sans zucchini, tossed greens and coleslaw.
The next afternoon I finished of the zucchini stuffing by mixing with corn and putting in a homemade tortilla with cheese. They made delicious quasi-quesadillas. They didn't photograph well, so I don't have a picture.
Tuesday night we had Michael's request for his birthday: garden salad with hard boiled eggs and potato salad.
I've been abusing my debit card by spending outrageous amounts of money on fresh produce, but it's definitely worth it. It's a little bit cheaper than going out and the food is just better. We go to the same 5 restaurants over and over, so a little variety helps to keep our spirits up.
What's your favorite fresh-ish dish for summer? I'm totally in a cold foods mood right now. Most of the time if I cook something, I let it set in the fridge several hours before we eat it so its chilled.
So far this week, we have had stuffed zucchini (they call them green pumpkins here) and fresh greens. The stuffing was made with black rice, green pepper, onion, cherry tomatoes and zucchini. It was spiced with a little salt, pepper and oregano. I added cheese at the last minute and it added a good flavor.
Monday night we enjoyed the stuffing sans zucchini, tossed greens and coleslaw.
The next afternoon I finished of the zucchini stuffing by mixing with corn and putting in a homemade tortilla with cheese. They made delicious quasi-quesadillas. They didn't photograph well, so I don't have a picture.
Tuesday night we had Michael's request for his birthday: garden salad with hard boiled eggs and potato salad.
I've been abusing my debit card by spending outrageous amounts of money on fresh produce, but it's definitely worth it. It's a little bit cheaper than going out and the food is just better. We go to the same 5 restaurants over and over, so a little variety helps to keep our spirits up.
What's your favorite fresh-ish dish for summer? I'm totally in a cold foods mood right now. Most of the time if I cook something, I let it set in the fridge several hours before we eat it so its chilled.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I Like Cake (and Ice Cream)
Michael's birthday was on Tuesday. He is now caught up to me in age, 24! He received a multitude of presents, including a paper airplane kit, stickers, videogames, DVDs and a mattress topper. Thanks to Mike and Carole, Brandon, Michael, and Liz and Paul!
In my opinion, the best part is the cake. I took Michael to Baskin-Robins and forced him to pick out a cake. He picked a dark red one and we took it home. He wasn't really in the mood for ice cream, but once I cut it and gave him a taste, he wanted a piece for himself. Presenting the blueberry cheesecake ice cream cake:
It was topped with cheesecake bits, two strawberries, and a dark chocolate cone, just what Michael likes. We were pleasantly surprised to find the "frosting" was actually blueberry syrup and the "cake" was blueberry cheesecake, one of Michael's go-to flavors at Baskin-Robins.
The cake was delicious, but only lasted two days. The cakes are rather small here. It's too bad our birthdays are over, that is the only excuse I have for ice cream cake :(
In my opinion, the best part is the cake. I took Michael to Baskin-Robins and forced him to pick out a cake. He picked a dark red one and we took it home. He wasn't really in the mood for ice cream, but once I cut it and gave him a taste, he wanted a piece for himself. Presenting the blueberry cheesecake ice cream cake:
It was topped with cheesecake bits, two strawberries, and a dark chocolate cone, just what Michael likes. We were pleasantly surprised to find the "frosting" was actually blueberry syrup and the "cake" was blueberry cheesecake, one of Michael's go-to flavors at Baskin-Robins.
The cake was delicious, but only lasted two days. The cakes are rather small here. It's too bad our birthdays are over, that is the only excuse I have for ice cream cake :(
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Ganchon
A village near the border of Chuncheon is where we headed to this weekend. It is popular with Seoulites looking for a weekend getaway. During the winter, people frequent the ski resort. In the summer, couples come to bicycle around the town and check out Munbae village and Gugok falls. Since it is summer, we came like everyone else to cycle around.
Ganchon is a short 15 minute train ride from Nam Chuncheon. We left around 10:30 am and we wore shorts and flip flops because it had been rainy and there were puddles everywhere. Once we got on the train, Michael noticed it was raining pretty hard. We walked out of the train station in a hurry, trying to avoid getting too wet. We stopped into the first convenience store we could and bought a compact umbrella (Since we planned on biking and have only large umbrellas that do not have portability, we did not bring one of the 3 umbrellas we own). We walked around the town for a while, trying to find a place to eat. Not a vegetarian-friendly town to be in. We finally settled in at I Love Pizza and bought a cheese pizza to share.
After lunch, it was still raining just as hard. We stopped at a convenience store again and purchased ponchos (Which by the way, are useless here. They are button down and have holes everywhere for rain to get in.). We finally rented bikes and set off on the trails. Despite the rain, it was a pretty cool experience. Really scenic, low traffic, and just the right temperature.
We rode on a bike path that went through town. There were spectacular views of the mountains, a restaurant with live chickens, ducks and rabbits in the backyard (I wish that I could have liberated them!), and some little attractions on the way (totems, a pagoda, farms, etc). We rode for about a km or so through bike trails and finally took the path that led to the waterfall, another 2.6 km. We finally arrived at the entrance to the park and entrance was 1600 won each. For a small amount of money, Korea is able to keep their parks really nice and clean.
It was about 1.8 km to the waterfall from there. The walk was fairly easy, although it was going uphill on a mountainside, so it would be a bit of a workout for people who are in terrible shape. We walked past several waterfall goers that were prepared with ponchos and umbrellas, but some were wearing sneakers and had to slosh through ankle-deep puddles. I was so glad we were in flip-flops.
The waterfall was both awesome and horrifying at the same time. There is a little rope so you don't fall down the falls, but it was very windy and I was in flip-flops on a slippery staircase.
The way back was much easier since it was downhill. It took us about 20 minutes to walk back down to our bikes and another 20 to bike back to the rental place. We arrived soaked at the train station at exactly 3 pm. Lucky us, the next train was at 4:09 and so we had to find something to do for an hour in the pouring rain. We ended up walking down to a convenience store for some ice cream and then I spent a good 15 minutes in the bathroom using the hand dryer to dry my shirt and hair.
Upon arriving home around 4:30, we immediately changed out of our wet clothes and snuggled up with Gizmo who kept us warm : ) It was the coldest day of summer so far, about 78 degrees F.
Michael made a video of our trip, which you can watch here:
You can also check out his youtube page for this and additional Korea videos at LovebirdsinKorea.
Here is the photo album of our day if you are interested:
Ganchon is a short 15 minute train ride from Nam Chuncheon. We left around 10:30 am and we wore shorts and flip flops because it had been rainy and there were puddles everywhere. Once we got on the train, Michael noticed it was raining pretty hard. We walked out of the train station in a hurry, trying to avoid getting too wet. We stopped into the first convenience store we could and bought a compact umbrella (Since we planned on biking and have only large umbrellas that do not have portability, we did not bring one of the 3 umbrellas we own). We walked around the town for a while, trying to find a place to eat. Not a vegetarian-friendly town to be in. We finally settled in at I Love Pizza and bought a cheese pizza to share.
After lunch, it was still raining just as hard. We stopped at a convenience store again and purchased ponchos (Which by the way, are useless here. They are button down and have holes everywhere for rain to get in.). We finally rented bikes and set off on the trails. Despite the rain, it was a pretty cool experience. Really scenic, low traffic, and just the right temperature.
We rode on a bike path that went through town. There were spectacular views of the mountains, a restaurant with live chickens, ducks and rabbits in the backyard (I wish that I could have liberated them!), and some little attractions on the way (totems, a pagoda, farms, etc). We rode for about a km or so through bike trails and finally took the path that led to the waterfall, another 2.6 km. We finally arrived at the entrance to the park and entrance was 1600 won each. For a small amount of money, Korea is able to keep their parks really nice and clean.
It was about 1.8 km to the waterfall from there. The walk was fairly easy, although it was going uphill on a mountainside, so it would be a bit of a workout for people who are in terrible shape. We walked past several waterfall goers that were prepared with ponchos and umbrellas, but some were wearing sneakers and had to slosh through ankle-deep puddles. I was so glad we were in flip-flops.
The waterfall was both awesome and horrifying at the same time. There is a little rope so you don't fall down the falls, but it was very windy and I was in flip-flops on a slippery staircase.
The way back was much easier since it was downhill. It took us about 20 minutes to walk back down to our bikes and another 20 to bike back to the rental place. We arrived soaked at the train station at exactly 3 pm. Lucky us, the next train was at 4:09 and so we had to find something to do for an hour in the pouring rain. We ended up walking down to a convenience store for some ice cream and then I spent a good 15 minutes in the bathroom using the hand dryer to dry my shirt and hair.
Upon arriving home around 4:30, we immediately changed out of our wet clothes and snuggled up with Gizmo who kept us warm : ) It was the coldest day of summer so far, about 78 degrees F.
Michael made a video of our trip, which you can watch here:
You can also check out his youtube page for this and additional Korea videos at LovebirdsinKorea.
Here is the photo album of our day if you are interested:
 |
| Ganchon |
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A French-like Meal
Some of my fondest memories of France are of sitting down to dinner with my host family. We enjoyed a plethora of side dishes and fresh salad along with baguettes and overflowing wine glasses. They usually threw in a fried egg on my plate as well, because I was vegetarian and that was all they could think of serving me (It's funny because they didn't really eat that much meat, either). At the end of dinner we would always indulge in fine cheeses and fresh fruit. My host "mother" specialized in fruit compotes and they always mixed well with yogurt. There was always something delicious to be eaten.
After finding a Nutella knock off at the new Lotte Super conveniently located two blocks from our apartment, I started to remember my French side and felt like having more fresh, cold meals during the summer. Our dinner on Monday consisted of cucumber salad, tossed greens in a honey mustard vinegarette, a fried egg (two for Michael) and baguette. We bought some wine at Homeplus and had a refreshingly fresh meal.
Living in Korea, it sometimes gets me down that we can't always get the freshest of foods for a decent price. Right now, I am trying to take advantage of ridiculously low prices of cucumbers, red peppers and peaches, since I know that the prices will soar back up in a few weeks. We also have the problem of getting home at 9:30 most nights. This means that whatever I cook for dinner has to be fast. On Monday, I had already made the cucumber salad, so our meal was as easy as picking up a baguette and washing some lettuce. Fried eggs are the quickest thing to make as well. It was nice to be eating before 10 pm.
I look forward to some more French-like meals in the future. I will probably try to do a new meal every week. Just an FYI, our meals at home are usually veggies and rice or pizza bread, things that take little-to-no prep time. I like using a lot of veggies, but we're starting to get tired of the same old same old around here. It's time for a change of pace!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
There's No Surprising Michael
Most of us know that Michael isn't very patient. He will usually force me to open my birthday presents early just so he doesn't have to keep the secret any longer. He asked most people for money for his birthday so he can build a computer when he returns to the U.S. I decided to be a little sneaky and buy him something special. He has been complaining about the state of our shoddy box spring they call a bed here since we arrived five months ago, so I went on an internet quest to find a mattress topper.
I ordered it on GMarket with the help of the director and it came way sooner than the expected 8-12 day delivery. In fact, it came in 3 days. The box was rather large and said mattress on it, so it didn't take much thought for Michael to figure out that I got him a mattress topper for his birthday. Poor guy had to carry home his own birthday present.
We brought the box back to our apartment and Gizmo had a blast with the box and the mattress as it was airing out.
Our new mattress actually benefits both of us and was a joint present from my parents. Thanks mom and dad!
I ordered it on GMarket with the help of the director and it came way sooner than the expected 8-12 day delivery. In fact, it came in 3 days. The box was rather large and said mattress on it, so it didn't take much thought for Michael to figure out that I got him a mattress topper for his birthday. Poor guy had to carry home his own birthday present.
We brought the box back to our apartment and Gizmo had a blast with the box and the mattress as it was airing out.
Our new mattress actually benefits both of us and was a joint present from my parents. Thanks mom and dad!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Toilet Training Weeks Five and Six
The last time I posted on Gizmo's progress, things had slowed down quite a bit. We quickly moved from introduction to stage two in the Litter Kwitter process but Gizmo was having trouble letting go of using copious amounts of litter and she also did not like the idea of doing her business in a hole. So we took it easy for four weeks. We stayed on phase two for an extra long time to make sure she was comfortable about it.
On Monday we decided it was time to move to stage three. She wasn't positioning herself correctly, but we took a gamble. Stage three has a very large hole, making it almost impossible to miss. We had some fears of her refusing to use it and then peeing on our bed, but sure enough we woke up at 5 am hearing her tinkle going into the toilet! We are really happy with the progress she has made and it is safe to say our cat is a genius!
She's not exactly happy with her new situation. She whined and whined for hours Tuesday night before she went #2. But, she went. Hopefully things are working out to her liking now. She seems to be okay with it so far, she just really hates it when she can't bury her #2s. We're going to take it slow with moving to the next stage, so it'll probably be two or three weeks before we try to move to the big big hole. Anyway, that's our progress in almost six weeks. The box says we should be able to do it all in eight weeks or less, we we'll have to see just how smart our cat is!
On Monday we decided it was time to move to stage three. She wasn't positioning herself correctly, but we took a gamble. Stage three has a very large hole, making it almost impossible to miss. We had some fears of her refusing to use it and then peeing on our bed, but sure enough we woke up at 5 am hearing her tinkle going into the toilet! We are really happy with the progress she has made and it is safe to say our cat is a genius!
Although in-person she is very social, Gizmo is extremely camera shy.
She's not exactly happy with her new situation. She whined and whined for hours Tuesday night before she went #2. But, she went. Hopefully things are working out to her liking now. She seems to be okay with it so far, she just really hates it when she can't bury her #2s. We're going to take it slow with moving to the next stage, so it'll probably be two or three weeks before we try to move to the big big hole. Anyway, that's our progress in almost six weeks. The box says we should be able to do it all in eight weeks or less, we we'll have to see just how smart our cat is!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
The Cat's in the Bag
Michael and I have stayed in Chuncheon two weekends in a row and we're starting to get a little cabin fever. We will be going on an adventure this next weekend for sure. We've been trying to save money plus trying to find things to do for our week off next month so we haven't been doing anything exciting. Here are some pictures of Gizmo sure to make anyone smile:
Things seem to be piling up as you may have noticed in recent posts. With wedding planning, vacation planning, an upcoming visit from the parents, birthdays, and student evaluations (every month, they never end), we are working on something at every minute of the day. Now to top it off, I am in full study mode for the GRE's. I have done another 180 in my future plans and have decided to get into teaching permanently when I return to the states. Here in Korea, the test is divided into two parts and I have to take the computer (essay) portion before the written exam in October. Since they only give the computer portion during the work week, I am going to have to take it during our vacation in August. Only three weeks away, I have a lot of work to do! Luckily, the essay portion is the part of the test that matters least and it doesn't require a lot of planning ahead. I just wish I had a little more time to prepare! The next few months are going to be busy for us. We will try to keep you posted along the way.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Weekend Excursion: Jungdo
We decided to stay local this weekend, so we went to an unexplored part of Chuncheon for us: Jungdo, an island in the middle of the Soyang River. It is supposed to be a fairly popular family destination for picnics, swimming, softball, badminton, biking, and camping. We went on a Sunday afternoon, and it was supposed to rain, so I guess that's why the park was so empty when we went.
We took a taxi to the ferry dock and then rode the ferry to the island. It was a quick trip for both forms of transportation. We were surprised to see ducks by the dock, it was really exciting for us as we never see wildlife in the city.
We walked around for an hour or so. We were trying to find the ancient huts on the island but they had mysteriously vanished. On the upside, there was a bunny farm in the middle of Jungdo, so I was pretty happy. The rabbits had a large amount of space to run around in and they were various colors and sizes. So cute!
After we had walked around the entire island, we had seen enough. We sat down for a while and had some ice cream and then we caught the next ferry. All in all, it was a relaxing trip and a nice place for camping if we ever felt like splurging on camping gear.
The album is up on picasa since there were a lot of lovely summer pictures on our trip to Jungdo. You can view it here:
We took a taxi to the ferry dock and then rode the ferry to the island. It was a quick trip for both forms of transportation. We were surprised to see ducks by the dock, it was really exciting for us as we never see wildlife in the city.
We walked around for an hour or so. We were trying to find the ancient huts on the island but they had mysteriously vanished. On the upside, there was a bunny farm in the middle of Jungdo, so I was pretty happy. The rabbits had a large amount of space to run around in and they were various colors and sizes. So cute!
After we had walked around the entire island, we had seen enough. We sat down for a while and had some ice cream and then we caught the next ferry. All in all, it was a relaxing trip and a nice place for camping if we ever felt like splurging on camping gear.
The album is up on picasa since there were a lot of lovely summer pictures on our trip to Jungdo. You can view it here:
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| Jungdo |
Monday, July 5, 2010
An Evening Hike through Anmasan
This weekend we stayed local and did not travel outside of Chuncheon. Saturday we hung around the house, cuddling with Gizmo and then hit up a movie at CGV. We saw I Love You Phillip Morris.
It stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGreggor as a couple who meet in prison. It's part romantic comedy part Catch Me If You Can that follows the true life story of Steven Jay Russel, a notorious con man. The movie won't be released in the US until later this year since America isn't quite ready for this type of movie, but Koreans seemed to enjoy it.
When we got out of the movie (around 6pm), the views of the mountains were gorgeous and I felt like a hike. So we went up our local "mountain" Anma. It was hot, extremely humid and the mosquitoes were out in full force. Unfortunately, the views were not high enough to see the sunset from all of the trees, but it was a good time.
It stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGreggor as a couple who meet in prison. It's part romantic comedy part Catch Me If You Can that follows the true life story of Steven Jay Russel, a notorious con man. The movie won't be released in the US until later this year since America isn't quite ready for this type of movie, but Koreans seemed to enjoy it.
When we got out of the movie (around 6pm), the views of the mountains were gorgeous and I felt like a hike. So we went up our local "mountain" Anma. It was hot, extremely humid and the mosquitoes were out in full force. Unfortunately, the views were not high enough to see the sunset from all of the trees, but it was a good time.
The views of other mountains from Anma are pretty good, but it is a little hard to capture with all of the trees.
We have been watching Sons of Anarchy and Big Love Lately, and we are staying current with True Blood. This causes us to spend too much time in front of the computer screen, so we've been trying to get out and do more, even if that means a walk down the street for some ice cream. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer weather. It only lasts so long and then we're back to winter!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Toilet Training Weeks Three and Four
Gizmo started phase two of the Litter Kwitter system last Sunday. This is also known as the "amber phase". She seemed to be pretty curious about the hole in the middle of her litter box. She frequently would stick her head in or a paw or two to see what was in the hole (toilet water).
She started off well, using it for #1 and #2, but using copious amounts of litter for burying and overall litter shenanigans that she likes to pull. We figured she was doing okay, so we started decreasing the amount of litter we put in the tray.
She did not like this at all. In fact, she took to "climbing mountains" aka walking on the beanbags. We thought she was just being goofy, but in fact she was finding a new place to do her "business". That was a great ending to our morning before school, cleaning up poop and throwing out one of our beanbag chairs.
So we went back to copious amounts of litter. We'll see how that goes. She doesn't seem to mind having the litter box on the toilet, but I don't know how she's coping with the idea of going potty in a hole. Week two on the second phase is about the same. She is going regularly in the box, but is ignoring the hole in the middle. We have to teach her to go in the hole before she can move on to the next phase. It's going to be awhile, probably 3-4 more weeks, so I will not update until she is moving on to the "red phase"
She started off well, using it for #1 and #2, but using copious amounts of litter for burying and overall litter shenanigans that she likes to pull. We figured she was doing okay, so we started decreasing the amount of litter we put in the tray.
She did not like this at all. In fact, she took to "climbing mountains" aka walking on the beanbags. We thought she was just being goofy, but in fact she was finding a new place to do her "business". That was a great ending to our morning before school, cleaning up poop and throwing out one of our beanbag chairs.
So we went back to copious amounts of litter. We'll see how that goes. She doesn't seem to mind having the litter box on the toilet, but I don't know how she's coping with the idea of going potty in a hole. Week two on the second phase is about the same. She is going regularly in the box, but is ignoring the hole in the middle. We have to teach her to go in the hole before she can move on to the next phase. It's going to be awhile, probably 3-4 more weeks, so I will not update until she is moving on to the "red phase"
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