First Night in Florence

 

I developed a bad habit during my days when I used to work in non-profit which was to always eat my meals quick (literally in 5 minutes) and I never cared for what I ate because I would eat them in 5 minutes anyway. There was really no time to actually enjoy my meal.

The mentality was the there was just too much work to be done. So much work that 8 hours was never enough to finish it and so I was always working - mornings, evenings, weekends. Taking up a full lunch hour or even 30 minutes was a privilege that I felt I couldn’t have, especially working in a field where you are trying to fight injustices.

So while I had many foodie friends who took their time eating and sought out restaurants to taste the latest trends, I was never one to really care what I ate. Even after I left the non-profit field this indifference to food stuck with me. I continued to wolf down my food and order anything that would fill my hungry tummy. Even while we traveled to Germany and Korea my main priorities were sightseeing and seeing as many places I can. Not go to popular eateries.

A few months ago though I began to get picky with coffee (this was another thing that I never cared for). And then the pickiness grew to other foods.

I’m not sure if picky is the right word. What was really happening was that I was getting more and more interested in eating tastier things. And so I began to get more creative in the kitchen. I learned to read recipes carefully. I read about different techniques and kitchen tools and learned to not skip important processes for the sake of saving time (like I never dried my vegetables or meat which caused a lot of watery dishes, which I hated but never corrected because the step was just too time consuming/annoying).

I’m still very much not versed in good food. But I am for the first time enjoying learning more about it.

Last night I made First Night in Florence bucatini. I have heard of Food52 before but it was just recently when I really began to pay attention to their content. I came across a IGTV video of this dish and decided I wanted to make it. The only thing I wasn’t able to get was Ortiz tuna and I forgot to snip the stem off of the spinach, but Yangkyu and I enjoyed it very much. I even finished eating my dish at the same time Yangkyu did, which was the most surprising part (Yangkyu chews and eats slowly).

I can’t wait to try out more things. I am anxiously waiting to get my hands on some yeast to try baking some bread but in the meantime we’re going to spend the next couple of meals finishing leftover pasta (that is another thing I am learning to do - making meals instead of cooking huge batches).

The recipe for First Night in Florence can be found here.

Around here

 

8th week of sheltering in place. A bit longer for me because I had guest dogs at the end of February (I stay with them 24/7).

Among other things, I’ve been trying to find something new in the corners and crevices of our home.

Even after 5 years that’s still possible.

My Old Dog

 

Noah.

15.

Lived his entire life at a run down shelter in Korea in harsh conditions.

Found a foster family at the age of 14 diagnosed with early stage kidney disease.

Soon after he flew thousands of miles to the US to his forever home. With us.

He has since celebrated a birthday and a Gotcha Day. There was Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. So many firsts under his belt.

His health isn’t the best right now but with all the bad days that keeps him down, he manages to rally back every time.

He’s my old dog.

Facial Masks

 

The other day I rummaged through my old craft things and came across fabrics I had bought to make things for Piri. It was a time when I had just gotten a sewing machine as a birthday present and I wanted to make blankets, bunting flags and even delve at making a quilt and my own clothes. Well.. that never happened. But the fabrics remained.

Yangkyu and I weren’t able to purchase any masks because by the time we were encouraged to do so by friends they were sold out everywhere. A good friend of mine sent me and Yangkyu two masks each but I thought it would be good to have a couple more fabric masks on hand. I didn’t have any rubber bands or elastic but did have some stretchy bead/jewelry cord that ended up being good replacements for ear loops (it just takes a couple of tries to tie it right to get the perfect fit). EDIT: The stretchy cord actually hurts the ears and so I ended up ordering elastic online.

As soon as I started to sew I remembered why I never made a quilt and my own clothes. Because I tend to fight with the sewing machine for about 30 minutes before finding my groove. And why is it that such a simple thing as winding a bobbin such a headache for me?

In any case, I legit messed up a few times before the masks started to turn out right.

I randomly found a tutorial online. She provides two different styles. I made Style #1 which allows for a inner pocket to insert something for extra protection.

Someone on Instagram also shared a great pattern which can be found here.

For non-sewers, there is also this no-sew pattern that also includes an inner insert section. All you need is a bandana or fabric and rubber bands.

Also, Found My Animal is also selling community masks and you can read all about the story that sparked The Lorraine Community Mask Project.

And finally, there are many networks within neighborhoods of people getting together to make masks for healthcare workers. Please consider getting plugged in and helping out.

Flavored Soy Sauce

The other day I made flavored soy sauce from a recipe I found through a Korean TV show where Korean celebrities compete to make/reinvent recipes that can be sold in convenience stores. The show couldn’t stress enough the delicious soy sauce recipe introduced by one of the celebrity guests and it peaked my interest enough to try at home.

 

The celebrity, Lee Jung Hyun, has since started her own Youtube channel where she shares her “Mang Neung Gan Jang", or roughly translated to all purpose soy sauce, recipe. You can view it here (it’s in Korean and there are no English subtitles).

Here is the recipe below. It’s a bit rough around the edges as it’s hard to translate measurements as she doesn’t really use measuring cups or spoons.

First before we can make this flavored all purpose soy sauce, we need anchovy stock. She has a video on how to make this as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion

• Spring onion

• Dried shiitake mushroom

• Kelp

• Radish

• Dried anchovies

• Dried shrimp

• A few end pieces of scallion (optional)

Just to note, Yangkyu is allergic to shrimp and so instead of dried shrimp I ended up using dried pollack instead. I'm not sure if that is a recommended alternative. It's just what I had available at home.

Also, spring onion. I'm not sure if this is what it's called but in Korean it's called dae pa, which I think translates to big scallion. It looks like a leek to me but from doing quick research online, I don't think it is a leek. It literally looks like a supersized version of a scallion. We need a couple of these for the stock and the ends of the smaller scallion (cleanly washed as dirt is often lodged between the ends) is optional. I am told that they are used often to make stock to enhance flavor.

How to make anchovy stock:

• Fill pot with water and add a few pieces of dried shiitake mushrooms and kelp. Use generous portions to maximize flavor. I used about 10 pieces each, cutting the kelp into squares (you can buy pre-cut kelp as well or just break them off or cut them yourself).

• Without turning the stove on yet, let the dried shiitake mushroom and kelp sit for a bit while you prepare the other ingredients.

• On high heat, place a handful of your dried anchovy (gutted) and dried shrimp (handful) on a frying pan. This helps take away the fishy smell. Toss around for a few minutes. While it is still toasty, place the entire contents of the frying pan right into your stock pot (the stove is still hot turned on at this point).

• Take one onion and wash it thoroughly. Chop it in half. Don’t peel the brown layer off as it a very nutritious part of the onion.

• Take two or three pieces of your washed spring onion and chop into thirds.

• Cut the radish into a couple of pieces (maybe 2 inches wide).

• If you have scallions or scallion ends already saved from previous, take a few pieces of those.

• Place the onion, spring onion, radish and scallion ends and place into stock pot.

• Boil for one hour.

• You may need to add more water as it boils.

  

  Now that the anchovy stock is done, it’s time to make the flavored soy sauce.

  Ingredients:

  • Anchovy Stock

  • Soy Sauce (naturally brewed soy sauce is recommended - “Yang Jo Gan Jang")

  • 1 onion

  • 1 Spring onion

  • Rice wine (“chung ju”)

  • Bonito flakes

  • Citron “yuja” tea

  • Sugar

  • 1 lemon (optional)

  How to make flavored all purpose soy sauce:

  • Fill your stock pot with 1.5 liters of anchovy stock and .9 liter of soy sauce and bring to a boil

  • Cut your spring onion into fourths and onion into quarters. These need to be scorched and burnt, which brings out the flavor. You can do this on a regular frying pan or if you have a gas stove and something like a fish grilling basket you can scorch them that way. We have an electric stove and so I used our portable butane gas stove and fish grilling basket. A food torch is recommended for people who are already familiar with using one, considering safety first. Once they are nice and burnt add to the stock and soy sauce, which should be beginning to boil

  • Then add a little less than a cup of rice wine (and it is emphasized that it must be “chung ju” and not white wine or soju which most people would likely have already on hand).

  • Next, add about a cup of citron “yuja” tea

  • Add either half cup to a cup of sugar (it depends on how sweet you would like it and how health conscious you are)

  • If you have lemon, squeeze some lemon juice into the stock along with some zest

  • Finally, take a fine mesh strainer and have it resting on top of the stock pot. Fill it with bonito flakes (the more you use, the more flavorful the soy sauce will be). Dunk it in the stock pot and use a spoon to press down on the bonito flakes.

  • Strain using the mesh strainer but try to keep the citron pieces.

  The flavored all purpose soy sauce can be used to make different side dishes or can be mixed right in with a bowl of rice, some butter and a fried egg for those days when you just want something super simple. Because the soy sauce has so much flavor, it is a great addition to many stews, main and side dishes.

  
  

  To be completely honest, at first while I was making this flavored soy sauce I wasn’t quite sure what flavor to expect and so I kept doubting myself thinking I somehow messed up. But after when I had with some rice is was boom! delicious!

  
  

  Happy eating friends!