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in collaboration with the my multi-talented friend - danielle arsenault - i am so excited to share with you the news of our first cookzine!

just in time for the fall season, it is fifty six pages full of vegan and gluten-free recipes, beautiful photo vignettes, and simple stories about sharing food. 

this is the first issue of four - one for each season - and we could not be happier with how it turned out. you should have seen us as we could hardly conceal our excitement when we held our hard work in our hands for the first time. what a feeling!

the first run is hot off the press and is available for purchase in our etsy store! 

a very big thank you to all of you who have encouraged me to keep sharing the stories from my kitchen. this book is for you :) 

simple food

forgive me for not writing. it’s not that i haven’t been cooking, although admittedly, it’s been pretty quiet in my kitchen this month. lately, i have been craving simple food that has a more gentle effect on my body. lots of brown rice with warming sesame oil and nutmeg (or umeboshi plum and parsley) and slurpy rice noodle soups in fragrant veggie broth. it feels really good to eat for the simple satisfaction of feeding your body just what it needs. nothing more, nothing less. 

but back to why i haven’t written: i have a surprise. i’m cooking up something very exciting and i can’t wait to share it with you. but you’ll have to work up an appetite first… 

braised daikon…

braised daikon…

from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

i was a bit cynical about this book when a newly vegetarian friend recommended it but it has since become one of my favorites. it is a great guide for those wishing to make the transition away from meat and highly processed foods to a diet that is kinder to your body and to the environment.

if you are not totally ready to give up meat, be forewarned that the beginning of the book can be a bit preachy (alicia is a huge advocate for PETA and animal rights). however, there is a ton of great information outlined in the intro that is super helpful in understanding what foods are good for you and what foods are just unkind. most importantly, the recipes are awesome.  

the recipes are divided into two sections: for FLIRTS and for SUPERHEROES. those who are flirting with the idea of cooking more meat-free meals will be inspired by things likeVegan Chorizo Tacos or Radicchio Pizza with Truffle Oil. 

those who are already accustomed to eating a fairly unprocessed vegetarian diet (yes, you are the SUPERHEROES), will love macrobiotic-influenced recipes like Maple-Roasted Lotus Root and Quinoa with Basil and Pine Nuts.

at least a dozen dishes from The Kind Diet are penciled in my menu for september (more on that project later!) and we have yet to taste one we didn’t like. so thanks to alicia silverstone and to my friend kristen for recommending this book to me, i’ll be posting more kind recipes for you in the coming weeks.

for now, the daikon…

1 large daikon radish 

2 tablespoons shoyu (a wheat-free soy sauce that is also called Tamari)

1/4 cup mirin cooking wine

2”-3” strip kombu (or dashima in korean is a dried seaweed for making soup stock)

• wash and slice the daikon into 3/4” rounds, and place in a skillet in a single layer.
• add water almost to cover. 
• add shoyu, mirin, and kombu and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to very low.
• cover and simmer 30 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed. 

note: i found the daikon on its own to be a little bland for my salt craving tastebuds so i mixed up a korean sauce (sesame oil, soy sauce + chopped garlic and scallions) to drizzle over the top. 

farmer's market

in the mountains

visiting my aunt and uncle in the colorado rockies last month made me realize how much i miss life in the country. while there, we got back to our american roots and did all the redneck things we could fit into six days… like sleeping in a trailer in the mountains, running a river, being unsure if we should cheer or wince watching cowboys rope cattle at the rodeo, and roasting a pig.

for my high school graduation party, my dad insisted we have a pig roast in the forest preserve instead of a conventional backyard party like all my friends were having. appalled, i strongly objected and he did it anyway. shortly after, i became a vegetarian (coincidentally or not) and didn’t have any further run-ins with animal carcasses until i moved to korea where there is a butcher on every corner. somewhere between seeing whole animals hanging from the rafters and walking beside calf heads in wheel barrows at the market, i became a bit desensitized. so when my uncle pulled together a neighborhood pig roast the equivalent of a county fair, i surprised myself with my excitement… i even volunteered to pick up the pig :)  

on the morning of the event, cast iron skillets filled with rising bread and country baked beans sat over the wood fire while the pig roasted to the twang of fiddles and bluegrass. all the neighbors came… with their kids, their dogs, and their dish to share and when all of our bellies were full, we were treated to a sunset tour of the neighborhood mountains on a tractor-pulled hay ride.

arepas

one of the comfort foods i look forward to most when going home is a simple staple of colombian cuisine and a food around which my husband’s family often gathers. the arepa has deep roots in the cuisine of the indigenous people in colombia and continues to be found at many a table.

there are dozens of ways to make an arepa (stuffed with white farmers cheese, scrambled eggs or pulled pork) but i prefer mine in its simplest form… just three basic ingredients: butter, cheese, and corn masa (with a generous sprinkle of salt and enough water to make it into a dough). take note that whether for breakfast or a late night snack, arepas are best when made with FAR more butter and cheese than you would ever think necessary. of course, i tried to make a healthier version but it was an unworthy attempt. don’t even try it. always eat your arepas hot off the griddle and, for good measure, serve it alongside a cup of hot chocolate. 

QUE RICO!

summer and a mango chili paleta

summer

sweet home chicago

i’m sifting through my photos after a blissful two month vacation back home with all the family, friends and food my heart (and stomach!) could hold. what a great trip it was. so many moments that i’ve been needing for a long time… and so much food that i need to do a detox!

living on the other side of the world always has its adventures so upon returning to the place i call home, it is a beautiful thing to just BE. although we had a busy schedule and did lots of things, the best times were the simplest. like lounging in the backyard with the grill fired up and a cool st. germain mojito (uncle arvid’s new favorite!) in hand… or making buttery arepas with my husband’s mom and her sisters and then devouring half a dozen of them.

too many beautiful moments to recount but the most important ingredient in all of them was… LOVE.

a culinary tour of southeast asia

nyonya laksa. malaysia's curried noodle soup in a spicy coconut broth... 

the most delicious thing i've ever eaten!

nasi tempe. indonesian javanese style. rice with seasoned tempeh in a banana leaf. 

beautifully minimalist and eco-friendly packaging!

 

frothy malaysian teh tarik. black tea and condensed milk.

devout hindus break a 48 day fast (or strict adherence to a single meal of pure vegetarian food per day) on the festival day of thaipusam in singapore. an enormous spread of free food for the community is served in honor of the gods. 

soymilk

wild mountain greens

nature’s bounty from the hills, wilted in boiling water for a quick minute, given a cold rinse and tossed with sesame oil, sea salt and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds…

abuela's frijoles

every friday, mayo’s grandma makes a huge pot of rice and beans to feed the whole family… all twelve of her children and their spouses, the grandchildren, the grandchildren’s children! everyone drops by at some point in the evening to get their bowl of goodness and spend some quality time.

abuela has her own special recipe which is fantastic on its own and, to be honest, i can never seem to replicate it. but i like to put my own twist on it so today i added coconut cream and chives and it was lovely. can’t wait for bean night at abuela’s when we are home over the summer!

yellow date tomatoes

look at what i found! they translate from korean to yellow date tomatoes but clearly they are orange and they are beautiful!

balsamic poached eggs with purple rice, mushrooms, chives, and my new tomatoes…

fertilization celebration

it’s a fertilization celebration!

smoothies. sunshine. miso burgers. chimichurri. home brew. sweet jams. seedlings. mojitos. spring! our new community garden is born…

we plan to enjoy many a sunny day on the rooftop of the SPACE pad in the company of our friends and neighbors… working the soil, growing a bounty of fresh organic food and sharing it with all of you. come by for some rooftop yoga, sunday brunch, herbal tincture workshops, community potlucks, movie night, and maybe even a dance party or two :)

strawberry lassi

we’re breaking earth in our community garden this weekend with a rooftop BBQ and a fertilization celebration! there will be greenhouse building, seed planting, tunes playing, smoothie making, and home-brewed beer drinkin’ goodness all around. if you’re in seoul, join us for some fun in the sun and one of these strawberry lassis that i’ll be making with homemade yogurt at the smoothie creation station. YUM! 

strawberry lassi…

a handful of strawberries

a spoonful of sugar

one cardamom pod

a cup of unsweetened yogurt

BLEND and ENJOY!

raw vegan cookies

my neighbor, danielle, makes some tasty raw vegan cookies that i was fortunate to get to sample this week. her company, PACHA VEGA, makes gluten free, vegan snacks full of nutritious ingredients like fresh fruit, raw almonds and cashews and vanilla, all dehydrated at low temps to preserve naturally occurring enzymes. pacha vega cookies come in five different flavors with playful names like Strawberry Banana Almond Sloper, Coconut Curry Crimper, and Sunflower Caraway Undercling as a tribute to their maker’s favorite pastime of rock climbing. you can order on the website and i suggest you get some!

detoxify...

the recent tragedy in japan has raised concerns about radioactive material in our air, food and water. although the amount of radiation we are being exposed to is probably very slight, it is never a bad idea to protect your body from all of the toxins to which we are exposed every day. some very wise ladies at GOOP (yes, it’s gwyneth paltrow’s blog and it’s fantastic) and midnight apothecary have given us some tips that i think are worth sharing. here are some things we can incorporate in our lives regularly to keep our bodies toxin-free and feeling great.

1. SEAWEED: the iodine in sea vegetables helps protect your thyroid and other glands from radioactive uptake and in general is one of the most medicinal foods on earth. buy some nori and host a sushi or kimbap party, or dress up plain brown rice by wrapping it in toasted nori (trust me, it’s delicious!)

2. MISO/DOENJANG: fermented soybean paste is full of live cultures, amino acids, minerals, and protein. japanese and koreans have a bowl of miso or doenjang soup almost every day and it’s easy for you to do too. make a big pot of vegetable stock this weekend and use it throughout the week as the base for your soup. boiling miso or doenjang paste destroys essential nutrients so, while you are reheating your stock, put a spoonful of the paste in a bowl and pour the hot stock over to mix. add a few cubes of tofu and a handful of scallions and share the love with your family and friends. 

3. MUSHROOMS: strengthen your immune system with shitake mushrooms, sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper or in a simple soup. mushrooms are the healers of the forest, knowing how to bring everything (on earth and in your body) back into balance.

4. Eat lots of vegetables, especially DAIKON radishe and BURDOCK root. throw them in soups or make a shredded salad or slaw. cooling and detoxifying daikon has been used for drawing out radiation.

5. FERMENT: make homemade sauerkrauts and kimchi or find someone who does (or just buy some of good quality). have a fermentation celebration and fill your empty jars or tupperwares with crunchy apple and cabbage kraut or spicy kimchi. it’s fun to massage vegetables with friends and these foods have the probiotics your gut needs and wants and are deeply nourishing and restorative. 

6. HERBS: some great herbal allies are nettle tea, cilantro (it helps draw heavy metals out), and milk thistle (helps your liver process toxins). 

7. WATER: DRINK lots of it. take baths. go to the sauna. sweat. cry. detox.

8. IMMUNE support: do the things you know boost your immune system. sleep well, limit sugar and processed foods, eat garlic and vitamin C rich foods and be happy!

obstructure

lazy sunday slurping noodles, nose running, intense heat

sweet and spicy mingle together like friends around a table

home-cooked stew of braised potato, onion, carrot… a veggie version

some friends of mine have started an inspiring project called Obstructure. Obstructure provides a series of “ob”stacles to a community of writers, visual artist, performers or anyone else with ideas to spare. it is the artist’s challenge to transform the obstacle into the “structure” that will become their art which will then be compiled into a quarterly ‘zine. Obstructure is based in seoul but open to creatives anywhere in the world so come join us!

the theme of Obstructure’s first issue is sijo, a traditional Korean poem comparable to Japan’s haiku. each participant was given a challenge specific to his or her talents and interests. what you see above is the product of my sijo challenge, titled andong jjimdak, which led to three great meals of one of my favorite foods shared with some of my favorite people.

rice bowl

food this good can (and should) be quick and easy. i love cooking but rarely do i feel like putting together something elaborate that takes more than an hour to cook. so most nights, i make a big pot of brown rice (enough for morning leftovers!) and top it with whatever fresh veggies i have in the fridge - steamed, stir fried, or roasted.

i have a shelf full of spices but i prefer to let the vegetables’ natural flavors work on their own so just a bit of salt and pepper and maybe a dash of nutmeg - my current favorite - is all that’s needed. top with chopped scallions for a fresh twist or add some toasted pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and a drizzle of olive or sesame oil for protein and good omega fats and your dinner is complete.

sunday brunch

give last night’s leftover rice a new life as a sweet and healthful breakfast version of arroz con leche.

simmer cooked brown rice in soy milk - or rice milk or nut milk - with cloves, cinnamon stick and a cardamom pod until creamy and spices have steeped well.

remove from heat and sprinkle with more cinnamon, nutmeg, cane sugar, flaxseed, dried fruit, nuts, seeds or all of the above! 

planting therapy

“there’s something therapeutic about planting something. massaging the rich soil and compost together with our bare hands, planting seeds towards the evening time as the weather cools off in a summer day…saying sweet words of encouragement for this life to grow, patting the soil gently and giving some water. gulp gulp. happy thoughts. and on and on, during the night receiving the star’s light and during the day soaking in the sun rays, and during the rain drinking up the waters… i watch them grow little by little. even when i forget about them, they grow, some die inevitably, but they keep growing! happy thoughts! magical!”

from urban plant seoul, a blog about community gardens in urban surroundings by my lovely and beautiful friend young-joo

temple food

buddhist temple food for my birthday. a vegetarian feast with my lovely ladies…

tea time

cappuccino

as if sipping my cappuccino by a sunny window wasn’t enough to make me smile…

hidden tea shop