Cold in Korea

This week has been very cold in Korea. Weather forecasts snow today. It’s hard for me to leave the warmth of ondol/온돌 floors to step outside into the freezing air. Managed to make one trip out to pick up things to beat the cold ~ or catching one that is.

Gyool/귤 have lots of vitamin C, are tasty and practically free this season. I got a 4kg box for 5,000W ~ that’s less than $1 per pound.

Also required this winter is a face mask to guard against the H1N1 flu. Just about every other person on the street is wearing one. Not quite sure if a mask is effective since I keep having to remove mine to keep my glasses from fogging up.

 

Laver Lesson

Feeling guilty about all the packaging on the tiny packets of laver/김 with only seven slivers of seaweed, I finally learned how to cut the big sheets neatly from my aunt. Here’s the lesson in three photos:

Snip the bag open at the seams to catch the crumbs. Cut the sheets in half lengthwise, then into thirds.  Voila, just the right size laver and they can be kept in an airtight container for a few days. Saves money and the environment.

 

Wardrobe Change for Trees

Tree leaves are turning beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red nowadays.

And they are donning their winter wardrobe as well ~ tree cozies/sweaters are popping up all over Seoul.

 

Persimmon Season

Persimmons are in season now. There are three kinds at the market right now. The soft, mushy ones are called yun-shi/연시. The crunchy, squat ones are called dahn-gahm/단감. And the conical ones that need to ripen like an avocado are called hong-shi/홍시.

Tip: Persimmons could cause constipation if you eat the lighter colored flesh right beneath the leaf topper. Take a pair of ever-present kitchen shears and snip it away while you’re at the sink or use a knife to remove that part.

Baby enjoys eating yun-shi but certainly can’t eat too many. I used the excess (10 are 3,000W at the neighborhood market) in a banana bread recipe and the result was a scrumptious molten lava persimmon cake.

Molten Lava Persimmon Cake

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. vegetable oil or butter

1/2 c. brown sugar (no need to halve since I already reduced the amount)

2 eggs

2 1/3 c. overripe persimmons (approximately 5-6 yun-shi, remove skin)

Add wet ingredients to dry, mix well. Bake in individual ramekins for best presentation at 175*C for 30-60 minutes depending on the size of container…It will smell so good you have to take it out and eat it when it is ready to be removed from the oven. They keep well in the fridge and are still yummy warmed up in the microwave.

 

Big Crib

Baby outgrew his crib fast. He prefers to sleep between us. His mobility was a problem and the solution was to turn our bed into a big crib. The headboard became a foot board and the whole bed got shoved into a corner. The crib is now a play zone to practice standing. There is only one point of access which is blocked by a big pillow.

After a fall, our bed turned into a big crib.

 

Happy Halloween

It’s Halloween this weekend and this is the extent of the display at my local E-Mart. Thankfully I have thoughtful family and  friends who sent us cute baby costumes and candy corn in the mail.

Happy Halloween!

 

Drycleaning Delivered

There seems no limit to what can be delivered using a scooter in Seoul. This motorbike is outfitted with a covered garment rack to deliver neatly pressed clothes to your door.

 

Little Fish Snack Cake

The weather has cooled and the snack vendors are selling different foods now. The little fish snack cakes/붕어빵 are back. Did you know there is a Korean expression for when a baby looks just like his father (we’ve been hearing this a lot)? They call the baby boong-uh-bbang/붕어빵, think “chip off the old block.” Because the snack cakes are made from a mold, they are identical.

Little fish snack cakes are filled with 팥/sweet red bean paste.

 

Mother’s Fingers

There is a new brand of snack foods on the market called “Mother’s Fingers.” The name conjures up visions of bloody phalanges inside of baked goods, kind of like Halloween treats at a haunted house. It was a Korean food company’s poor translation of 손맛/sohn mat, something closer to personal touch plus family recipe…which explains why kimchi or bulgogi tastes depending on the cook.