Category: Food & Drink

I found some pesto-in-a-jar at the upscale supermarket in the basement of the Lotte department store (which I can go through when exiting the subway station at Jeongbalsan).   Earlier today I took some rye toast (made from that dark Russian bread I buy sometimes in Seoul’s “russiatown” as I call it) and spread the pesto on it. It was really delicious. I’m sure both Russians and Italians would be offended, not to mention Koreans.  I often like to imagine concocting odd cultural mixes:  lately I’ve been imagining making tteokbokki but with a Mexican-style mole poblano sauce. Seems like it would be delicious. I also occasionally concoct strange bibimbaps, using whatever’s on hand. I put peanuts in about a week ago, and it was pretty good.
I found a cellphone pic that I had taken of a bank advertisement I saw in “russiatown.”

It’s in Mongolian. Why do I think this kind of thing is cool? It’s stupid, really – you can see Mongolian anytime you want, just surfing around the internet.
Maybe it’s the same reason I find it easier (if only slightly easier) to try to learn Korean from signs and advertising and boring work-memos than from textbooks: it’s because it’s somehow more real. Relevant. Someone, somewhere, didn’t construct this sample of language just to instruct, but to communicate with other users in a concrete context I can identify in my physical environment.

I had 물냉면  for lunch. I was craving it, kind of. Cold super-thin noodle soup, with julienned cucumber and radish, sliced boiled egg, mustard, sesame seeds, and ice-cubes floating around. Such an interesting dish. Very good in combination with the first “hot” day of spring — not really that hot, but I broke a sweat walking jacketless to work, and there was a haze in the air, along with lots of pollen.

In the spirit of my thoughts about meat, yesterday, and inspired by my success with some leftovers last week, I decided to get creative in my kitchen area.  In a couple tablespoons of olive oil, I fried a chopped-up small onion, a generous scoop of minced garlic (which you can buy in tubs from convenience stores in Korea), some sesame seeds, some roasted salted peanuts, and half of a an apple, finely chopped.  I added a pinch of red pepper and a tablespoon of curry powder.  When things were browned, I added the remains of my cooked red beans (about 2 cups, which had been cooked with red pepper, soy sauce, etc, a few weeks back).  I added a cup of cooked rice, and voila, apple-onion-bean-rice-curry-stuff.  Totally delicious.  Very nutritious.  And completely vegan.

The attitude barometer, episode 5:

    * Number of times I've opened my resignation letter and edited it:  4
    * Barrier-surpassing moments of Korean-language usage (outside of work only):  3
    * Spirit-destroying moments of Korean-language communication breakdown (outside of work only):  1
    * Number of students that have said something to the effect of "teacher, you're so funny" while fighting off an apoplectic fit of giggles:  1
    * Number of times I've told someone that I am "much happier than when I was in L.A.":  1
    * Number of times I really meant it (as opposed to the "fake it till I make it" approach I'm fond of): 0
    * Days I was late to work this week:  0
    * Total number of minutes I was late, minus total number of minutes I showed up early:  0 (plus, I worked Saturday, again, for a few hours)

soundtrack:

Minnesota Public Radio ("the current" streaming)
Silvio Rodriguez
The Go Team
Aly & AJ
Proyecto Uno (Nuyorican rap / hip hop)
Big Bang (k-pop)
The Cure
Kray Van Kirk (really!)
Gordon Lightfoot

… looking out…
onto my dinner:  tteokbokki from the corner puesto when I walk past TaeYeong on the way home from work.  They put it in a plastic bag, and I dump it into a bowl to eat when I get home, it’s still hot.    I was pleased to actually understand and answer correctly (as opposed to not understand and answer correctly anyway, which is my standard approach):  가저가세요?  네, 가저가요.   Simple stuff, but nevertheless a fulfulling minor linguistic triumph.  We take what we can get, right?

I made some ramyeon (ramen) and added chopped cabbage, some tomatoes and broke an egg into it.  It is delicious, and I'm watching David Letterman (Monday night's show) and having some boricha, and looking forward to a few days off (the Lunar New Year holiday).

Never sweep a floor laden with dust and cat hair while wearing a clean, black, linen shirt.

In other news, about two weeks ago, when I got back from my visit with Bob, Sarah and Henry in southern Wisconsin, I had with me most of a loaf of very heavy, dark rye bread that we'd bought at the co-op in Milwaukee.  This is the classic bread known among many as Bob bread – as it's his characteristic dietary staple.  I like it too.  I was trying to think of a way to use it, and thought to myself:  pea soup.  I haven't really done much cooking in the last decade or so – living alone is like that.  But I had this bag of dried split peas, and some nice fresh apricots, and I got creative in the kitchen – generally, this is something that goes well for me. 

I ran to the store and bought some leeks and carrots, and put together a pea-apricot soup (more like stew) with leeks and carrots.   Added some cayenne, tumeric, cumin … you know.  So I cooked up a giant batch, and ate some with the dark bread, and put the rest in little containers in the freezer.  I went back and had some more the other day, and man, that stuff is awesome.  And I'm so dumbfounded that I followed no recipie, just kind of a weird instinct, and that it came out so good – better than the (admittedly quite good) gourmet stuff to be had from the Lunds grocery across the street.

Well, so anyway – such episodes of domesticity are awfully rare.