Garden of Eden

A recent weekend visit to the UC Irvine Farmer's Market.
It was a blustery gray day in Irvine, but everyone was still out buying their fruits and veggies.
Bought some freshly popped kettle corn and strawberries for the girls (ok, it was mostly for us) and took a nice leisurely walk through the stalls. 


Loved all the yummy fresh samples, live music, and the hustle and bustle of a Saturday morning.

Lest you think we are healthy eaters who only buy fresh organic food, I will let you know that after this walk, we promptly drove to an In-N-Out and ordered "cheeseburgers- animal-style-easy-on-the-spread please."

Comfort Food

What's your favorite comfort food?
I  L O V E soups.
Any kind.
But they must be piping hot. 
There is nothing more depressing than lukewarm soup.


Well, today I stayed home from church because my littlest was sick ...

... so resolved to make a nice comforting soup for my babies.


Hopped over to Pioneer Woman's blog and decided to try her Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika recipe.
Beef and paprika - match made in heaven.
I think if Tim would oblige, I would name one of our kids Paprika. 
Paprika Pak.
....... 
Anyhow, I don't have beer on hand (gasp!) but did have some red cooking wine, so I just used about 1/4 cup as a substitute. I love that PW uses photos for every step - for a visual learner like me, this is a huge help AND it encourages me to get out of a cooking rut. 


Hope everyone had a wonderful Sunday with their families and friends~

Food for Thought

Tasting the New Year

I love that I married someone that is not Japanese and from a different culture.
For one, I can cook Japanese food that is semi-horrendous and Tim thinks it's good.
And two, I love that our kids are part of two rich cultures and will get to experience both.


So in an attempt to keep both Korean and Japanese traditions alive for our girls, I cooked some traditional New Year's Day foods for my family today. Luckily, my mother-in-law and mom were not here to taste said dishes because they would surely gag at the inauthenticity of it all.
But hey, you gotta start somewhere.
Hopefully one day, my girls will cook these dishes for their kids~


Ddukgook (Korean rice cake soup)

                         


Osechi-Ryori - traditional Japanese New Year's food


(And yes, that is a chip-and-dip dish. I need to get some traditional Japanese lacquer boxes~)

• Kuromame (center) - "black bean", symbolizes good health and hard work
• Kamaboko (left) - Japanese fish cake, pink and white supposedly symbolizes the rising sun
• Tazukuri (dried anchovies, store bought) - symbolizes fruitful harvest
• Nimono - "simmered dish" made of gobo (burdock root), renkon (lotus root), carrots, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, peas, chicken (Naomi's favorite)

Sekihan (store bought) - "red rice", Japanese red rice cooked with azuki beans

Ozoni - Japanese soup with mochi, shiitake, kamaboko, daikon (radish), carrots, and spinach (Tim's favorite)

It was good to have a little taste of "home" today~

Happy New Year!