you may be wondering where i've been...

i admit i'm a bad blogger. i haven't posted since we've moved to the countryside four months ago. certainly, we have been spending so much time enjoying the natural world that surrounds us that sitting in front of a computer is the last thing i want to do.

however, something else has been keeping me busy these days... mayo and i were filmed for a documentary about our life in the country. for two weeks, we were followed by cameras from morning to night. at first, we declined the offer out of bashfulness and in attempt to keep our personal life private. we were convinced that it would be a great opportunity and decide to go for it.

the theme of the show is slow food/slow life. it was quite strange adjusting to a camera in my face during routine tasks such as chopping vegetables for dinner, making tea, washing my hair... but it quickly became easy to forget the cameras were there and it was well worth it because we were afforded beautiful experiences that we would never have stumbled upon on our own.
stay tuned for a video post once it airs!

an unexpected salad

at our slow food retreat, we learned about the process and sampled many of the fermented sauces and extracts. we learned a traditional salad dressing recipe of the region that was fantastic. if you can find korean doenjang, i highly recommend giving it a try! mix the following together and serve over your favorite fresh greens...

6 tbs doenjang (soybean paste)
3 tbs strawberry extract (made by fermenting equal parts strawberry and sugar)
1 cup of soymilk
1/2 cup of chopped peanuts
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp vinegar
1-2 tbs honey

slow food

preserving korean culinary traditions

(our teacher and her niece, a student of korean slow food)...

one of the highlights of the documentary was a trip to gyeongju, the ancient capital of korea, for a lesson on korean fermentation processes. korean cuisine is the epitomy of slow food because its core ingredients are doenjang (soybean paste), gochujang (chili paste), kanjang (soy sauce) and of course kimchi... all are fermented, some for up to five years. the longer it is fermented, the higher quality and richer taste it has.