A little taste of home...

It's no secret that I love food. My expanding waistband is proof of that.
Food food food, in all shapes and sizes (as long as it doesn't contain meat). I love eating it, looking at it, tasting it, smelling it. i just really love food.

I have found over the past few months that my body has been craving the strangest types of food. But nothing more than comfort food. Here I plan to explore a few of my favourites...

There is something about a large pot of chili that just makes you feel so cozy and at home... A big boiling bowl of some extra spicy veggie chilli topped with fresh shredded cheese and a side of Salty Nacho chips. nothing says home like that.
along with this goes tacos. delicious tacos that take you back to when you were a kid. In my house, tacos were always somewhat of a treat, and were usually consumed on a special occasion (or it felt like a special occasion) like a birthday or something. It was a great feeling being able to custom make your own meal and fill your taco shell with as many, or as few delicious things as you wanted.

Rollkuchen and Watermelon... my most favourite summer treat. For those of you who weren't fortunate enough to grow up in a Mennonite household with lots of delicious homemade baked goods and fried breads i will enlighten you on this amazing food. Its basically... fried dough.. a fritter if you will. but when made properly (my mum makes the best ones i have EVER tasted.... no joke... its not just me) you end up with a deliciously light flaky fried good that when you bite off the top, the inside is hollow. This doesn't happen with every one, in my family we call these pieces "puffers." and if you happen to find one that is puffed from top to bottom, you had bet you will be fighting for it. its here the watermelon comes in. Sliced into perfectly long, medium sized pieces you can place the watermelon INSIDE the baked dough.. that's right, INSIDE. once the Rollkuchen is stuffed with sweet red watermelon its time to indulge. Once you take your first bite you will be hooked. The sweet, cold watery flavor of the watermelon mixed with the salty, dry taste of the Rollkuchen is pure ecstasy! I seriously reccomend it.

There are other people who make it different and roll it in the middle.But this isnt the way to go for me, you don't have the opportunity to get a 'puffer' and stuff the watermelon inside. The best part is that if you dont finish all your Rollkucken in one meal, they make a great treat for a few days to come with some more watermelon or spread with you choice of fruit jam!! oh my, there is nothing left to be desired with this delicious summer treat!





I wasnt always a fan of avocados, but in the past number of years they became a staple in my diet. full of healthy fats, and delicious flavour, this vegetable is so versitile it can be used with, on, accompanied by anything! My two... or three favourites though, have to be a tomato, cheese and avocado sandwich, with just a little bit of hummus .. or mayo if you prefer. Its the most delicious sandwich that you could ever eat! I'm picky about my tomatoes so they have to be sliced thin; add your favourite cheese and some nice thick slices of avocado and you have got yourself one killer sandwich! The next would have to be avocado Sushi. there is something to be said about the mixture of rice, seaweed, and avocado, top that with some wasabi and soya sauce and prepare your mouth for a flavour explosion. and the final avocado treat, that we all know and love guacamole! affectionally called guac, this staple can be used for a spread or a dip. You can make it many different ways to accomodate your preference towards garlic, onions, tomatoes, sweet, spicy, salty. I prefer a basic approach with no frills, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice, with some baked naan. yum!  Avocados are so versitile that they simply scream home!

Lastly, the good old fashioned breakfast. Bacon (none for me thanks), Eggs, Toast, hasbrowns and orange juice perhaps a tomato (or avacado slice) if you are so inclined. This brings you back to the days of sunday afternoons when the family would get together to sit around the tube and listen to the sound of the eggs crackling and the smell of delicious butter in the frying pan. It always seemed so still in those moments, like nothing could distrub the peace... as time passed this breakfast became a staple 'greasy' meal, something simply necessary after a night out drinking. But, it always remains the same... something that you can look forward to of being familiar and homey. Making you feel better simply by its existence.

These foods are all so tastey and homey feeling that if you are ever feeling homesick or in want of something familiar, each one will bring you just that much closer :)

#78 Why Korea Sucks: It doesnt....

So when i think about leaving Korea I am filled with a total sense of joy and happiness. going back to my familiar town, living near to my family and friends; these ideas fill me with happiness and a desire to leave as soon as possible. But then i think about the things that ill miss when I am gone, and how being in Korea isn't really that bad at all, and that thought is kind of scary. I am immersed in a completely different culture, and i have allowed myself to get swept away into some of the more beautiful habits that this country holds. 

first: Food- A lot of foreigners complain about the food here in Korea, and wish it to be more like American food. Usually the complaints are about the fish based meals; I can understand if you don't have an affinity for fish how this would cause a problem. But living in Korea, I expected to eat Korean food, not western food. Now, I know I sometimes crave familiar foods- but its just that... I crave something familiar, and food just seems to be the easiest thing to rag on- it wont talk back.

It seems to me that a lot of people have dissociated themselves with that fact and just completely given up on even trying to accept and eat Korean food, and thus adapt to the place that they are living. They are trying to create their old world in this new place they have landed. This is a perfectly natural thing to do, to an extent. It feels to me that when we choose to live in a foreign country that we must take the good and the bad, and rather than simply refusing to try something; give it a try, you never know what will happen. In accordance with food.. think of all of the things you loved when you were a child- i can guarantee your palate has changed quite a bit since then; just as it can change with you acclimatise your palate to these new flavors- it might not like it at first- but after a while your taste-buds will settle in, and you can enjoy a truly authentic experience.

"Korean food is delicious and nutritious." We hear it all the time from our co teachers and friends; but have we ever taken the time to stop and listen? To wonder how this could possibly be? Most of the food here is fresh! so fresh in fact that sometimes its still moving on your plate. I know its not always the most appetizing thing to think of eating every part of an animal (including the bladder, blood, feet brains and tounge) but every part that they eat has a 'reason' behind it. there is a nutrient found in these foods that helps you maintain health. Im sure not ALL of these statements made are true.. but some of them must be; and I cant see why they wouldn't. I am served fresh fruits and veggies at every lunch hour, and a soup that couldn't possibly come from a package  or a bag (like most soups would back home in our school caf's)

I am a veggie, so i don't have to deal with a lot of the gross meat related food here, which may make me an hypocritical observer. But I find that there is such a backlash against the food in Korea from the foreigners that it begins to bother me. I almost WANT to try these foods to see what all the fuss and muss is about. Every day I am served a large plateful of fresh veggies (usually in some strange sauce of sorts) and often i find myself thinking about why they prepare these dishes in the way that they do. I look over to my co workers trays and notice huge hunks of meat and fish baked to perfection, bones still in. I look at their shiny hair and great complexions and seemingly healthy disposition and can begin to understand where it might come from. Its not very often you see an obese Korean... whereas in America the obesity rates have risen to such a high level that the centers for disease control estimate that at least "110,000 people die per year due to obesity and 1/3 of all cancer deaths are directly related to it."

"Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona remarked that obesity is a more pressing issue than terrorism, 'Obesity is a terror within. It's destroying our society from within and unless we do something about it, the magnitude of the dilemma will dwarf 9/11 or any other terrorist event that you can point out...'" (killeratlarge.com) [those interested in learning more about this epidemic can go here obesity in America]
I know this is an entirely different issue here but it is a pressing one. and one that i think about when i am deciding whether i want to eat the north American option or the Korean one. I feel that Korean people are more aware of what they are putting into their bodies (a mass generalization i know) and i want to be too.


The food is healthy here and i will surely miss it... (even when I'm eating my delicious poutine... haha)


brings me to my next topic.


Price: The cost of going out to eat here is EXPONENTIALLY less than at home (provided you are going for the non-American option of the yummy Korean food). Tell me a place in North America where you can get a bowl full of veggies and rice, a healthy and filling meal, with all the soup you could ask for, and several side dishes including kimchi, beans, radish, green garlic etc etc. and perhaps even a bowl of hot spicy soup with tofu for under 5$... I dare you to tell me where this exists in America. It simply doesn't! the cheap options include ... fast food, fast food, and more fast food. To go out and get a salad outside of the home costs about the same as it would for 3 people to eat out in Korea.  This is something my wallet and I will dearly miss when we depart.


These are some superficial things ill miss about Korea. within these ideas there are a few other things about the culture that come to mind that will be a happy memory to look back at. the fact that everything is "healthy." the funny little sayings that even the most inexperienced English speakers can say. Ill keep thinking of things as time goes on... but hey, I've still got another year left ;)