a summer of food & bev.

this summer, like any of the past summers, has been spent doing various things.  one thing however, that became evident from early on, was the idea of indulging on delicious, quality, succulent food.  that was my goal, and i am pretty sure i can safely say i accomplished it.  i went without a camera for a mere 4 days in korea, but of course, those four days produced the best meals i consumed over the course of two weeks- so keep in mind, while i do feature delicious korean food in the post below, my favorite dishes (bossam & udon with soybean sauce) are not described.  they will be… once i get back to korea and take the photos i should have taken on my four day hiatus.  this compilation is self-serving, just so i can see a very small modpodge of the food i consumed over the course of summer 2010 (best one in my lifetime)… thus far.

clearly i fell in love with big bowls of greek yoghurt with wild raspberries and homemade granola in pemaquid.

and paella, chalk full of chorizo, fresh green peas, tender chicken, and roma tomatoes- created by the lovely melissa.

oh right, the paella? cooked on an outdoor stone oven… by the ocean… at our private campsite.

who can forget the classic silly’s double bacon cheeseburger? it’s how i grew up to be a healthy girl.

isaac branched out with a silly version of chicken parmesean… he’s a bit braver than i tend to be at silly’s.

summer initiation party, with meredith- hosted june 4th.  on the menu- avacado, endive, and daikon salad, cucumbers and goat cheese, parmesean rosemary ciabatta, farafelle with scallops and pernod sauce,  & sauteed brussel sprouts with proscuitto.

two of my foodiest buds- m and isaac- joining me for a little bit of hipsterdom, on top of our favorite lookout.  pbr’s included.

another group of foodies- eli, who also hails from the wunderbar 207 & juju bear, who resides in hawaii.  they helped me on my seoul adventure, with isaac.

bibim bap in jenjou.  probably the best bibim bap i’ve ever consumed.  perfectly fried egg, shredded carrots, ample amounts of bean sprouts, thinly sliced mushroom, and lots of yummy spinach.  not to mention two helpings of red pepper sauce.

don katsu.  though it’s traditionally from japan, the underground marketplace in seoul, makes a mean version of this soul-soothing meal.  the pork was fried in a way that no katsu-places in the US of A could ever replicate, the salad had an apple/melon dressing… oddly enough, i ate all of it, there were perfectly pickled radishes and carrots, delicious kimchi, and of course a nice helping of ricerice.  can you believe this was classified as a “quick” 20 minute meal…?

i certainly miss all the food stands of seoul- especially their dried seafood ones.  the itty bitty octopus/squids are really crunchy and delicious.

on the way to the bhuddist temple- the salad was really delicious, and the bulgoki was nice too.

best bbq chicken kabob ever.  ordered as spicy as you can make it, and i cried for about 10 minutes, out of both pure ecstacy/delight and pain.  i will be making many trips to seoul for this sole (seoul) purpose… hehehe, pun… did you get it?

i suppose i was right about my prediction of the rose.  it was delicious- especially after i left it to age another few months.  in combination with stale pbrs and a hot summer night, i thought the wine made me a bit classier than usual.

my typical breakfast- vegan cran and nut muffin, strawberries, mango juice dilluted, and passionfruit guava icelandic yoghurt.

you should await volume 2.  more photos to come.

PS: if my spelling is off, blame it on the ah ah ah alcohol and all of those jello-shots i did yesterday.

the highlight of my life (live octopus)

live octopus.  most squirm at the thought of little sea creatures with 8 legs and suction cups and ink sacks, so who in the right mind would care to eat one? cooked- they’re delicious, and honestly, not much of an accomplishment.  especially in korean cooking, octopus is rather common.  but as i sat on a 15 hour flight on korean air, headed to seoul in search of some of the greatest food from all over the world, i couldn’t help but be intrigued by the idea of eating live octopus.

anthony bourdain, the master of eating all things odd, when traveling to seoul, did in fact, eat live octopus.  and according to many accounts of videos on youtube, there are a good amount of people who have taken quite the interest in eating this delicious fishy-poo live.  not raw mind you, live.  still breathing, still moving, still sucking on.  so i added it onto my to-do list while in seoul, which also included kareoke, getting a new tattoo, finding the best kimchi, and spending sometime at a bhuddist temple.  14 days, in an asian country is not enough, any smart person can tell you that, so i assumed, like most that as i would be leaving seoul, there would be parts of my to-do list that remained undone.  deep down, i had a feeling that eating live octopus would be on the undone list.

but one night, after trekking around sinchon and myeongdong, i decided to gather a small group of fellow foodies, and journey to the seoul fish market.  of course, we had no idea where we were going, how we were getting there, or how much it would cost.  so the four of us piled into a taxi, with a post-it that said “to the fish market” in hangeul, and trusted our driver.  right before getting into the taxi, i stepped into a trench of wet-cement, so my legs were burning, and heels were getting heavier by the moment.  i’m pretty sure it was our taxi driver’s first time seeing 4 seventeen year olds ask to go to the fish market.  oh right, during rush hour.  we sat in traffic for an hour or so, and finally, after being carted around the back-areas of the city, arrived at what appeared to be a very sketchy looking alley.  our cab cost us 10000 won, or $10.00.  so cheap, in comparison to ABC taxi, which will bring you from concord trailways to the state theatre for that amount.  our driver motioned us towards the alley and said, mmmmmm fishies, so we took his word, and ventured down.  we were shocked with what was inside, tons of produce stands, selling everything from garlic, to bok choi, to sesame leaves, dried magots, and mangoes.  the old women sat on the ground with their products, and men zoomed past them on the mopeds.  we were  unsure if we would find any fish, but we all got a waft of seafood, and decided to venture further inward.  needless to say, we finally arrived at the seoul fish market, and couldn’t believe our eyes.

10lb lobsters, 3ft king crabs, sea urchins (uni), octopus, flounder galore! being a seafood fanatic, i took deep breaths and reminded myself that i had no means of cooking while in seoul… also i made a mental note not to purchase anything with the intention of bringing it back to campus.  the first stall i went to had a tank of large octopus, and i’m pretty sure my eyes lit up.  i pointed at the tank and jumped up and down and asked the man if i could eat one.  i forgot about the language barrier, so he pulled the octopus out of the water and pretended to eat it, and i nodded my head.  he pointed me to a restaurant next door, so i grabbed the troops and spoke with the owner.  we purchased two octopus and were seated.

while we waited, a server brought us sesame leaves, lettuce, jalapeno hybrids (crossed with cukes, go figure), red pepper paste, chili paste, kimchi, and soy sauce.  the wife of the owner brought us a platter of squirming tentacles and octopus head, and of course an entourage from the kitchen.  they all looked at us with smiles on their faces, and we didn’t really know what to do.  so i began, picking up a tentacle with my chopsticks, dipping it in soy sauce, and then putting it in my mouth.  i chewed it and chewed it, and chewed it some more, and finally, when the little suction cups stopped hanging onto my tongue, swallowed.  very fresh- like all raw seafood, and very salty.  i was pleased, and so were my guests.  we eventually decided to make ssam- or we wrapped the octopus in the leaves and garnished with kimchi, and ate it like a little roll.  the owner liked our company so much, that he bought us shrimp, and let us feast on that for free.  all in all, our entire meal, for 4 people, cost 10000 won, or the same as the taxi ride there. 

supposedly, eating the octopus is supposed to make you strong like a warrior, and i suppose it did.  from what i gathered, it tasted quite good- similar to that of a raw oyster, required a lot of chewing, and was quite the feat.  (you could potentially die from eating it)- clearly i haven’t died, seeing as i’m telling you all this now… in a healthy state.  i didn’t find the texture to be daunting- it was a bit slimey, but isn’t all seafood slimey? in all sincerity, i found the octopus to be delicious, even when it was squirming and sticking onto my throat.

later that night, while we discussed the days events, i realized that every single thing, on my korean to do list, had been crossed off.  i guess 14 days was enough to get all my goals accomplished.

so for those daring enough, i suggest you go eat some live octopus, because its quite delicious, and it will make  you strong like a warrior.

a prelude for those interested

oh my! this hiatus lasted longer than originally predicted.  i backpacked for three weeks in july, followed by a week of house sitting, and then, i jetted off to south korea for august- and now i am back, but not for long.  boston, camping, and bar harbor are all in the near future.

while i have no prepared post to share with you all at this moment, i am here to tell you what’s in store.

KOREAN FOOD BONANZA.  that’s what’s up.  so many photos, so many ingredient features, so many recipes, and so many reviews.  i also have some portland local reviews to post up, and a few from boston that will meander on here eventually.

as the purpose of this post is a prelude to what is to come it also is a reminder that i exist and am alive and am finally stationed in the 207.

love,

e