A Bastardized Version of Dak Galbi

My four favorite foreign foods are Korean, French, Thai, and Japanese. Of those, French is about all I'm comfortable making. Korean food isn't difficult to make just time consuming. However, there is one dish that is super duper easy to make because the key ingredient is available prepackaged in your local Korean grocery store refrigerator section. Dak galbi is traditionally made by stir-frying chicken in gochujang or chili pepper paste and then adding sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, and rice cakes.

Dak galbi was one of my favorite meals when I taught in Korea. Oddly though, I could never find it on offer in any Korean restaurant in Los Angeles. I found one place recommended on Chowhound but it was not to be - it had changed into a BBQ joint. So home is the only place I can get close to the taste I crave.

To make my version you simply buy a package of dukboki which are rice logs (or because that sounds slightly distasteful rice ovaletts) you then simmer in the provided packets of spicy red sauce. Dukboki by itself is a common street food in Korea eaten as a snack. But mixed with chicken and green cabbage or other vegetables it becomes a tasty and complete one pan meal. I have found the above brand, Pulmuone, quite good, but I'm sure others will work just as well.

So Good So Easy

I finally got around to making Smitten Kitchen's chewy granola bars and oh boy are they delicious! Not to mention super easy and super flexible. They're definitely better than any store bought granola bar and better even than some cookies. But the best part is that they are wheat and gluten free. Ever since I got pregnant my body cannot handle gluten or wheat. My joints and feet start to stiffen up if I eat too much of it. Try to find any baked good that tastes fantastic (besides no flour chocolate cakes and such) and has no flour. Difficult. So this is going to replace scones for me unless anyone can recommend an excellent gluten/wheat free scone recipe. I tried some quinoa banana bread, which was tasty but no substitute for a scone.

Back to the recipe. I made a few adjustments to her recipe. Instead of six tablespoons of butter I used Canola oil and for the sweet liquid I used all maple syrup since I was making these for a vegan friend. For the fruit/nut component I chopped up in the food processor 1/2 cup of apricots, 1/2 cup dried cherries, and 1/2 cup of crystallized ginger. I also added 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 cup shredded coconut. And I included the peanut butter which gave it that extra layer of divine goodness.

For the next round I'll try olive oil and honey and maybe almond butter. The possibilities are endless!

If you make these, let me know what you included.

Expiration Dates on Obama's Promises

A Long Post: The Complete List of Obama Statement Expiration Dates - Jim Geraghty

A useful reminder of Obama's definition of Hope and Change.

Makes My Blood Boil

This Wall Street Journal editorial makes me want to spit nails. They detail the treasonous and treacherous behaviour of "The Gitmo Bar" - those lawyers who represented gitmo detainees. But they did more than represent them, they actually gave them intelligence and propaganda against our military and government through their lawerly perogatives. Actions which are against the law for starters. The lawyers actually hired private investigators to take photos of the CIA interrogators of KSM and then gave those photos to the detainees. Eric Holder and his DOJ appointees are SYMPATHETIC to this type of behaviour and they're in power sculpting policy. The article also highlights those detainees the Gitmo Bar got released. They went on to continue their terrorist activities. Well done Gitmo Bar!

Lenten Fast is not passing fast enough.

This Lenten season, Steve and I decided to give up all TV and movie watching at home. Lent is F-O-R-T-Y DAYS people! We're hardly into the season and I WANT MY TV NOW. Partly why I chose this particular fast was to see how addicted we were to our down time, our hour or two of escapism. The answer is VERY! Would someone please kick me in the head the next time I have this crazy idea. We're seriously tempted to give up now and get one more fix in before starting again on Sunday. I then remind myself the fast is obviously working if we're feeling this way so my spine stiffens and I step away from that line of smack called instant play on Netflix. I REALLY do not want to go through with this fast, but I also don't want to be a quitter. I'm expecting some AMAZING spiritual results from this discipline (God, I'm talking to you).

Thus far, Steve and I have filled the time with endless games of Scrabble (and by endless I mean it feels like they never end). Despite my affinity for words and my spelling prowess, Steve beats me. He beats me with three and four letter words -words that belong in a first grader's vocabulary. The man has a knack for getting all the double /triple points for letters /words. As anyone who's ever played Scrabble knows, three or four letter words can kill the game. They don't stretch out far enough to allow for more than one or two new words. Steve likes to think he's making the game more challenging this way. I, on the other hand, am more magnanimous and will create longer words to keep the options open. My strategy is obviously failing.

Tonight we're list making what all we can do with the time not spent partaking of our drug of choice. If y'all have any good ideas, do pass them on.

My Prayer for Lent

You say you cannot be silent when stung with pain? I would not have you silent. I wish you to give thanks. It is this way which repels Satan and brings you help from God.

St. John Chrysostom, 4th century

Thorne's Amusements Part IV

Thorne's Amusements Part III

Thorne's Amusements Part II

Funniest Class Moment

My first day of class in The History and Systems of Normative Ethics with Dr. Horner. Love it so far. Anyway, he's talking about some woman he knew at Oxford whose husband taught there. He described her as having "a foot shaped mouth." So she's at this party talking to another woman when she blurts out, "you're in my husband's episiotomy class!" I guffawed, 'cause, well, I've been awfully close to that reality. I then laughed harder when I saw this young, single, serious guy lean over to the young, single, serious guy next to him and mouth "What's an episiotomy?" The other young man looked just as confused and shrugged. Out of 30 students, only two of whom are female, I'm pretty sure I was the only one who "got" the funny based on the silence that followed Dr. Horner's utterance.

Update: I think I should've made more clear that the woman meant to say "epistemology" not episiotomy. Now that I've beaten it dead, I will clear off.

Thorne's Amusements Part I

First Words*

Thorne's first word: Hi!
(I love that her first word is a social one that connects her to others. And she says it forcefully with crystal clear enunciation. It fits her personality too as she's happiest with lots of people around her. Though, I'm still confused how two mostly introverted people created such an extroverted socialite.)

Thorne's second word: Die.
(Her usual lead up to the word is da-da-da-da- DIE! She says each da clearly and succinctly and then shouts out "DIE!" She says it over and over once she gets started. I'm not sure what to make of this. I presume it's simply her interpretation of bye. It can be a bit disconcerting waking up to her yelling "DIE" in our general direction.)

*Thorne did say dada and mama before all other words.

Interpretive Dance

Frivolous

I just read on Dooce's blog that if you mix a Maltese with a Poodle you get a Maltpoo. But Maltpoo doesn't flow off the tongue and it suggests, to me anyway, a cross between a Maltezer and Poo -as in Maltezer poo. Gross.

I suggest they change the name to Pootese. Trips off the tongue and sounds like you're talking about a fat cherub or Puti.

Now I'll get back to thinking about something that matters.

More Walking

The Mummy Walks!

The Mummy

Thorne as a pugilistic Mummy!

It's Official

Thorne is walking. Not just a couple of steps here and there, but actual perambulations around the living room. Her response to our incredulity is to act like it's perfectly normal for a two feet high, 10 month old sprite to lurch across the living room like a miniature Frankenstein.

Video will be forthcoming.

How do you spell trouble? T-H-O-R-N-E.

ACORN

I am LOVING the ACORN controversy exposed by the dynamic duo of James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles. If you haven't seen the videos head over to Big Government and start watching from the bottom. These two have made the federal government move in a way a million petitioners could never do. AWESOME!

After watching those videos watch Jon Stewart slice and dice the mainstream media for their dereliction of duty.

Oh how I love watching Nemesis in action!