garden of eatin' (featuring dotorimuk)

from my experience thus far, the food at the community garden is the bomb ... and they are nice enough to make the veggie pancakes for me without all the tentacles (octopus) that you'd usually find up in it.

last weekend they had something different on the menu, and they insisted that we try it. dotorimuk salad. ok, salad is good & generally safe for a vegetarian.. but what is dotorimuk? the lady assured me that there was no meat involved, so we said, "sure!"

when it was brought out to the table, i realized that it was something i had eaten several times. ...but never served up as nicely as this!

dotorimuk -- i now know -- is "acorn jelly" in english.




according to wikipedia, it was widely eaten in korea during the korean war, when millions of people were displaced and starving. it consequently became associated with poverty, and most people who could afford to would eat other jellies instead (such as buckwheat). however, in recent years it has been rediscovered as a health food (acorns are a good source of protein). hmm.

well, it was a nice addition to the wonderful salad (especially washed down w/ some makgeoli) but, personally, i'm not too crazy about it on its own.

new uke tunes

i've been slacking on the uke for a while, so i printed some tabs for a few new songs. and, just in case somebody out there gets some amusement from of these posts, i recorded me playing them. and as much as i like to say, "don't hate; it's all about the process," the truth is that i'll probably never get any better at these songs before i lose interest & learn some new ones. haha. nevertheless, i'm happy to make music of some kind, at least. oh mang, since when did i become so shameless? (be sure to turn the volume down on each of them ;)

#1. extraordinary machine (fiona apple).
this song is a bit unique for the uke but i dig it and it's a fun one to learn.
(and yessi, it reminds me of you :) ... sorry for butchering but i couldn't help it)

#2. ain't no reason (by brett dennen)
love this song and, if you don't know it already, please go get it. luv his stuff.

#3. beach in hawaii (ziggy marley)
just cuz i'm missing hawaii like the dickens.

the new garden!

one of most attractive reasons for me staying in seoul for a second year was my community garden plot. HOWEVER, one day early last month, i found out (with enormous despair) that my community garden was being turned into a high-rise apt building. [!!!]

alas, with a little effort, i found another garden (YAY!).. and it's actually a bit better than the last one! it's pretty much the same distance from my house (30min bike ride) but now i just bike the opposite way along the lovely yangjae stream. perfect!

this community garden (daewon farm) is uber organized... on opening day (last weekend), they handed out gloves, hand-hoes, a tray of lettuce seedlings and a few other types of seeds. they also have a PA system (which i think they use just to make announcements about the 2 foreigners, ha).


...and, perhaps the BEST thing about this place, is that they have a little restaurant on site where they serve up noodle soup, savory veggie pancakes and plenty of makgeoli. and the people couldn't be any friendlier. happy joy & rainbows.


i was so stoked when i found my own personalized little plot. my friend, frederik, went in halves w/ me, though, so we updated the sign. :)



thus far, we've planted 4 types of lettuce (seedlings) and then some spinach, radish, crown daisy (they make nice chop suey greens), basil and mint. this coming weekend we're gonna plant some beets, cilantro, spring onions, peppers, and anything else we can make room for.

growing food gets me excited. the garden pics will be greener next time, i promise. :)

happy earth day!

of course, it should be everyday... but today's it's official. a day to embrace the wonders of our world and to remind ourselves to do our part in taking care of this magical home we were born into.

in my kindergarten class... earth day provided the perfect opportunity to take my usual rants (about how cool nature is &/or how ignorant people can be) to the limit. and, believe it or not, these 6-year-olds would much rather hear about where their food comes from & where there trash ends up (for example) than about adjectives and verb tenses.

so i spiced up my kiddie lecture w/ some earth day word puzzles, etc. but the best part of the day was getting to introduce them to THE LORAX, by dr. seuss. it's absolutely the best earth day story evah. dr. suess totally backed me up. here's a clip (enjoy!!):

long time, no uke

just me & my usual rambling/singing before bed. (turn down the volume)

easter in gemini class

bunny baskets and eggs! ...coloring, decorating, hiding, hunting, spoon racing. they love it.

the kinder garden

with the arrival of spring, we took the kids outside to plant our little school garden. last year, my class planted strawberries; this year it's lettuce. too bad most of the kids hate salad. hehe.

they recently doused the weak, sandy soil w/ a layer of fresh manure so, hopefully, the lettuce fares better this year. the kids loved the smell, anyways. ha.

elliot sure was excited about something. ;)

a spring weekend, featuring yubuchobap

wake up, stretch, squeal... make coffee, and go check out the scene outside from my little balcony. the sun is shining, the trees are alive w/ color, and richard -the rooster across street- belts out a timely reminder that spring is under way. FINALLY!!!!



on a weekend w/ such lovely weather (in comparison to the past 5 seemingly endless cold months), i want to do nothing but cruise on my bike, run barefoot in the grass, do cartwheels, play sand volleyball, grow things and have picnics. so, after kick-starting my weekend w/ a nice breakfast (french toast & fresh strawberries!), i think i accomplished all of those things. jazzed, for sure.



as for picnic food, let me introduce one of my favorite vegetarian dishes in korea. YUBU CHO BAP (translation: tofu vinegar rice). that may not sound so appetizing but, believe me, it is. they're these little triangular wrappers made of tofu, stuffed w/ a seasoned, vinegary rice, served w/ pickled ginger and wasabi & soy sauce for dipping. om nom nom! and super easy to make. i pickled some ginger last week (piece of cake!).

in addition to the yubuchobap, i made a few of my other favorite, springtime nibbles to be eaten out of doors. hummus & olives w/ baguette, fresh spring rolls w/ a zesty peanut sauce. unfortunately, those items weren't around long enough for a pic. ;) there was one ingredient that was lacking, though, in the peanut sauce: cilantro. so check it out. i've got these little cilantro babies sprouting in the windowsill. they'll be transferred to my community garden plot soon enough. joy abounds.

backgammon

i realized that i missed having a backgammon set around... a game here and there at home, on a picnic, in the park. so, while staring at a piece of cardboard at school, i was instantly inspired to make a board & then think up something clever for the pieces later.

i did the measurements, drew the lines & then added color w/ pencil (i chose the colors as i went). a friend donated some extra "go" pieces and a pair of dice. and voila! i dished out my first backgammon on the new board over the weekend. oh yeah. let's go. ;)

gnocchi :)

my good friend, john, recently gave me a sweet vegetarian cookbook as a gift ... & the pictures are so amazing that i start drooling every time i flip through it. last weekend i decided to make something from it and the winning recipe choice was: SPINACH & RICOTTA GNOCCHI.


i'd never made gnocchi before, but it seemed easy enough. my friend, frederik, came over and we got cookin'. it was a fun little process, especially accompanied by good company, music & red, red wine.







the outcome: little doughy balls of spinach, ricotta & parmesan, tossed in a light butter sauce w/ fresh garlic, tomato and basil.

served w/ a delicious salad, rosemary bread & more wine. strawberries and chocolate truffles for dessert. YUM! fun, easy, delectable. i'll def be making this again.

thanks, john, for this awesome book! =)

oh, and look! the leftovers made for a perfect picnic! :)

rainy days bring granola!

'twas a rainy wed. eve and i got the hankerin' for some granola. i mean, i've been deprived of such goodness for over a year now. [!] while hungrily looking through my cabinets, it dawned on me that i have all the ingredients for a dank batch of homemade. why did i not think of this sooner!

so i got to work and threw in all types of yum: almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seed, shredded coconut, raisins & goji berries ... spiced it up w/ some cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger & vanilla ... and sweetened it a bit w/ some dark palm sugar. i know... sounds amazing, right? after burning the first coupla batches (my little toaster oven can be testy) i figured it out and now have a week's supply of edible divinity.

had my first bowl today after work. topped w/ fresh banana, strawberry, soy milk and agave nectar. boom shaka laka. photos don't do justice to the joy in my belly right now. =)