With Christmas only a week away, things are getting super busy around here, but in a good way! I’m the kind of person that needs to stay busy otherwise I’ll start going crazy, so I’m really grateful for that. I won’t have much of a social life until the end of this year, but I’m still trying to enjoy the holiday season as much as I can, and to stay present. I have to admit that I’ve never been good at balancing everything in life… but I’m learning. Maybe that will be my new year’s resolution- to be more balanced.
I love baking during this time of the year because I get to make everything look festive and christmassy. Even a little cheezy. The other week I baked this Christmas red velvet cake for Botton Cafe. I made the candy canes out of sugar fondant, instead of using the peppermint candies.
… and here’s my holiday cookie box~~ :)
Got to attend my first Christmas party of the holiday season~ My lovely friend and host made all of us our own mini stockings. So adorable.
I got these mugs from the white elephant gift exchange. :) Weehoooo~! I will be using these all year long.
Stopped by High Street Market last week to make a delivery and thought I’d snap a photo of my vegan goods.
Now there’s also delicious gluten-free crackers and raw energy balls, made by Whole*istic, started up by Suzi Que. I finally got to meet her after sending FB messages back and forth, and she is indeed a lovely person and knows how to make delicious, healthy things.
Suzi was really generous and gave me a free package of black sesame-onion-chia crackers and some semi-dried tomato basil and sunflower seed dip to sample. Everything is made from scratch- she even dries her own tomatoes! I shared them at the Christmas party and everyone loved them. The crackers tasted like savory shortbread and it paired so well with the salty, nutty tomato dip. If I had a big tub of that dip, I would spread it on practically everything. :)
For dinner, I bought a piece of the Whole*istic vegan & gluten free lasagna.
Thoroughly enjoyed. I haven’t had anything resembling lasagna is so long~~ and this was a yummy, healthy, vegan version. There were layers of mushrooms, cabbage, carrot and onions sauteed in coconut oil and tofu cream, in between sheets of tinkyada brown rice pasta.
This week, I had to say goodbye to a few friends who are leaving Korea. That’s one thing that sucks about having mostly foreign/English-speaking friends- eventually they all leave. :( I feel like I’m being left behind~~ waaaah. Well I guess I’ll just have to blog them back to Korea. During one of the farewell gatherings I had this hot mug of grapefruit juice. Bitter-sweet, indeed.
Lunch at Ahn Hyun Pil, the vegan buffet in my neighborhood. Simple but yummy Korean food. And they always have japchae on the menu- my favorite Korean dish.
plate number 2.
Another delicious lunch with some of my favorite people at Garobee buffet in Gangnam. They had a few new dishes that I hadn’t seen there before– all fantastic. *UPDATE March 11, 2014*** GAROBEE has closed. :(:(:(
Kimbab from Kimbab Chungook~~ I asked for no animal ingredients and extra veggies. :) My go-to lunch solution when I have no time to cook.
Gnoa bought me these homemade orange chips at the new Marche that opens every first Saturday of the month by Hyehwa station. Had no idea you could make orange chips, and they were so delicious. They disappeared pretty quick.
In return, I gave some cookies to Gnoa and she sent me this photo. I can’t wait for the day when I get a kitty~~ oh, it’s gonna happen… just a matter of time.
Finally, here’s Bunny enjoying some multi-color pellets on the snow~
The snow’s all melted now, but it was pretty while it lasted.
Ok folks, that’s all for today. Must get back to work…. :) Stay warm and hug your family today.
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