Vegan's Day

Out of Seoul

On Thursday, I went to Cheonan and did some serious Korean cooking with my mom. I've been trying to learn proper Korean cooking from her, so together, we made japchae, kimchi jjigye, and tofu jorim, which I shall post detailed recipes for soon. But in the meantime, here is a photo of a fantastic lunch we put together:

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Japchae, spicy tofu jorim, ssamjang, home-grown greens, kimchi jjigye, white radish kimchi, Korean onion soup, and rice with chickpeas.

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And here's a breakfast shot. Vegan whole wheat bread from a local bakery, enjoyed with nuttelex butter, homemade strawberry jam, and marmite, along with tons of fruit.

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We also baked a carrot cake in loaf-form for my parents to take down to Busan the next day for my grandma's birthday. I know, I know, carrot cake isn't complete without decadent cream cheese frosting, but our grandma doesn't have a much of a sweet tooth and she's a huge health-nut, so we skipped that part.

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Packaged up and ready to go!

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We also baked some tropical biscotti to enjoy ourselves, which included chopped almonds and a mix of tropical dried fruit such as papaya, pineapple, and mango.

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Every time I visit home, my parents are eager to show off some new vegetable growing on their veranda. Right now, my folks are really proud of their baby cukes. So cute!

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And then yesterday (Saturday) was spent at RocKorea, a small rock fest featuring several indie and cover bands in Korea. Chris was able to snag free tickets, so a bunch of us decided to make the trek all the way out to Incheon. The venue itself was in the middle of nowhere, on a random empty dirt lot, and the festival was pretty small and obscure, but there was still a good amount of people, especially expats.

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There were a couple food booths, such as this taco/nacho joint (probably the most veg-friendly booth), as well as some good microbrews from Craftworks. I actually brought along some homemade chocolate cake to share, but didn't photograph it! Even though it was somewhat dry because I "healthified" it with whole wheat flour and reduced the oil and sugar content, people still seemed to enjoy it. :)

Some art tents:

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This Korean Beatles cover band was really fun! Beatles music just makes me so happy.

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I love this pic because it shows different races, ages, genders, shapes and sizes, all having a good time! Come together... right now... over me.

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After the sun went down, there was also a burlesque show with some beautiful, confident ladies. Ofcourse, everyone got close to the stage for this one, to get a better look. The temperature was actually really cold last night, so I kept thinking about how cold they must be in their minimal outfits.

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pop!

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a band covering 'The Tragically Hip.'

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Some vegan beans and salsa that Sae Hee got to refuel after all the dancing.

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Sae Hee, Chris et moi (notice, I'm practicing French for my trip!)

I originally intended on pulling an all-nighter there, but since it was by the coast, the temperature was much colder than I expected and I just wasn't dressed warmly enough. It felt like winter weather in June! So in the end, a couple of us ended up returning to Seoul early. Perhaps I'm getting too old for these all-night parties! Anyway, it's been a fun past couple of days, and as always, I'm so thankful to have my family and some great friends in Korea with me!