2 year aniversary!!

On december 18 2009 I started this blog!!!

Thanks for reading me and keep me company n_n

-Gisela V.

Tteokbokki

Finally, here's the recipe for Tteokbokki!

As some of you know, Tteokbokki is a famous street food you can find in S. Korea.
It's hot, spicy and yummy :)

Ingredients

500g of rice cake
2 slices of dried fishcakes
1 sliced spring onion
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon of Gochujang
(Some people uses a hard boiled egg...it's really good with it n_n )

Begin by boiling a small amount of water in a saucepan, about 1 inch deep. or about 150 ml. Once boiling, Add the Gochujang paste and stir well to make the sauce. Reduce to a medium heat and add the vegetables, allow to simmer for a few minutes, sweeten with sugar and then add the rice cakes. After about 6-8 minutes later, finish by adding the fish cakes and spring onion and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes, Serve in a dish and sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top.

Fish cake

Finished Tteokbokki

Hope you like it :) 

-Gisela V.

Korean Tea Ceremony - 다례

I was reading this article and made me want to write about TEA!

Last year when I visited Seoul, we went to a Traditional Tea Ceremony, so here's a little explanation on how it's done and some pictures about it.

According to Wikipedia "The Korean tea ceremony or darye is a traditional form of tea ceremony practiced in Korea. Darye literally refers to "etiquette for tea" or "day tea rite" and has been kept among Korean people for a few thousand years.The chief element of the Korean tea ceremony is the ease and naturalness of enjoying tea within an easy formal setting."

1 Year Anniversary

Last year by this time I was getting my suitcase ready to go to Seoul, it was Wednesday and I was scared, 24 hours flying and would be in S. Korea!

I wish I was there again, specially since it's snowing now u_u

But hopefully I'll see you next year Korea!!

I can't believe that 1 year later I still have lots of pending posts :/

-Gisela V.

Wild Korean Review

Are you studying Korean???

Well, as many of you know I am, fortunatelly for me I met Sanghyun Ahn and Jo-Anna Lynch last year and WHY would you care if I met them?, well Sanghyun Ahn is the author of Wild Korean "A fieldguide to Real Conversation" - For Beginner to Intermediate Levels. 

 

On my 1st day in Seoul I met Jo-Anna Lynch and she was kind enough to take me to her Korean Class, I was ment to attend a Begginers class with Sanghyun but as you know, I am WAY to shy to be truth so I didn't want to go on my own, instead I went to Jo-Anna's class ...it was a HUGE mistake and I know that!, her class was mostly in Korean and I understood nothing u_u , later I find out Sanghyun was writting a book and ever since I've been waiting. Around August it was announced the publication of this Book and I was really excited for this and asked to buy one, a few weeks later I received a Free copy of the book. 

 

At this point I had just started my begginer lessons and I was just learning to read Haengul, due to some family problems (as some of you know...) I had to stop taking my lessons and I had to re-take self-studying, The Wild Korean book has been a great way to do it and I'm glad I still remember how to read Haengul because you won't find any romanization in here, The good thing about NO romanization is: You can't be lazy and will make you study harder and will improve your reading. 

 

If you know ZERO haengul, I would definitely recommend to learn the basics and to read, this way you can get the most of this book.

The book will start with the basics being "Nice to meet you" the 1st lesson and being followed by "I am", "I'm from"... this is obviously really helpful if you want to Visit Korea and want to impress everyone with your "Korean Skills" ;) 

If you already read Haengul, then make sure to get this book as it will help you transitionate from Begginer to Intermediate :)  , hopefully soon they will release another book for more advanced levels.

The ilustration on the book is made by hand by Douglas Holden and gives the book a funny perspective on each Lesson.

In addition to the book, you can follow their blog Wild Korean in here Sanghyun or Jo-Anna will answer your questions, post links to helpfull resources and from time to time will post a Joke in Korean (See? another way to impress your Korean friends with a joke!!), Downloadable audios can be found here as well.

 

Some basic information on the book: 

Writen by Sanghyun Ahn

Edit by Jo-Anna Lynch, Megha Dubal and Megan Morrow 

Ilustrated by Douglas Holden 

Price: ₩15,000 (Currently they are running a Special Promotion from 2011 November 1st ~ 2012 January 31th, 1 Copy + Free Shipping for $15USD!!!) 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wildkorean1

Email: wildkorean1@hotmail.com

I want to invite all of you to get this book and keep your lessons going on! 

 

-Gisela V.

Paris!

Oh la la!

So…we are back from Paris…actually it’s been almost a month since we came back *Insert SAD face*, even thou I was not crazy for Paris it was definitely a place in my “To Go” list and I’m glad we went there,,, it wasn’t a Crazy (in a Drunk-Fun kind of way) trip, it was a Family Vacation, only My mom, sis and I…. it was full of first’s:

1^st Time flying together

1^st Time for my mom to leave the Country

1^st Time for my sister and I to actually be in charge…. (scary)

1^st Time to meet the bro-in-law….. O_O (Ah veda!)

1^st Time to finally see/meet everything my sis has been talking about for AGES

1^st Time to be afraid of traveling (don’t ask why…)

I don’t want to make this a HUGE post so,,, I’ll do my best

The Good

*Family Vacation!! Yay!!!

*Paris!

*Tour Eiffel

*Boulangeries (read…Huré)

*Bread

*Franprix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (LOVE IT!!! And miss it SO freaking much)

*Outdoor Markets!

*Friends (new friends!!)

*Macarons

*Sleeping ‘til 11am J

*Morning Breakfast with Perrow and moomin!

The Bad

*LONG flights

*Aeromexico

*Way to heavy luggage

*My mom feeling tired and not so well L

*Not enough money

*Not enough time (haha)

The Ugly

*Pick pocket!! Gubai 600 EU L

So all in all…it was a GOOD trip…. Love it there!, I’m not a Museum Fan but I like it and maybe next time we’ll get to see/do more J

Next Destination…………. Korea!!!!!!!!!!! 

Here are a few pics from the trip…. Enjoy :)

-Gisela V.  

O_o

1st attempt to post from my phone....
This means I can now blog at any time without the need of a computer :)

Updates soon!

-Gisela V.

Back!

Hey there!!!

We are back from Paris!, we had a great time, we got to relax, eat and just live like a real Parisian (minus the work part!).

Since we came back we've had some hard/long days and it's time to really appreciate what we have when we still have it. And this is why and Pausing my blogging, I have lot of things to blog about but it's not time to do it, hopefully when I come back you'll still be ere reading me and who knows.... I might be writing from a new place ;) .

Thank you all for your support and specially thanks to those who have shown your support to my mom!!

-Gisela V.

Time off

It was about time, my mom, sis and I were in need of this time OFF for a while now and the day is finally here, we are currently waiting at the Airport to go on a much needed vacation to Paris, Rome and Florence :)

It's time to ceebrate my mom being so strong and just spend as much quality time together as we can, so I will see YOU in a couple of weeks!!

So, have fun!!! and don't miss us too much!!

xOXoXooOoxxXxoXoxoO lol

-Gisela V.

Changes....

So many changes, so many challenges....so many things
But I'm still around.... hopefully in a couple of days I'll be giving you GREAT news...at least for my mom, sis and I :)

Things are a bit more complicated these days, but as long as we are together I think we are gonna be fine.

So, see you around.... and hopefully I'll have to update on my Korean lessons soon! :)


-Gisela V.

To be a freak or not to be a freak???

That is the question.....

I've been thinking about this for a couple of days... Thanks to my Korean lessons and my love for Korean Culture I am being catalogued by some of the people around me... I used to fight it....until today...when I decided to embrace it because let's face it...F--k'em!

I really do

I'm tired of giving explanations to all those who keep asking me if I want to be "chinese" or why am I so obsessed with Asia.... REMEMBER it's different if someone comes to me and genuinley ask me "Why my interest for Korean Culture".... Just a few days ago someone asked me "Do you have like a chinese ghost??".... HUH??? seriously?? wtf is that?.... 1st...it's not Chinese culture I like...is KOREAN culture,,and 2nd...what do you mean?...Ghost like Demi Moore's movie?? ..I really don't get it... O_O (If someone understand this...please let me know!!)

Is this 2 much??....

Nop, I'm not inlove with every Korean I've met, NO I don't want to marry a Korean men, NO I don't listen to K-pop all day (I only have like 20 songs and most of the times I don't know the name of the song/group), NO I don't watch Dramas all the time (I do sometimes thou... hehe), NO I have never said "I'f I don't marry I Korean I'm gonna die.... :(" but YES, I like learning Korean, I like listening to some songs or watching some Dramas and being able to understand 1 or 2 words, YES I like reading Korean, YES I want to go back to Korea sometime, YES I have met a few Koreans and I like their personality (and NO I'm not in love with them) ...so... Freak??? yea, maybe ...a lil bit, we always consider someone a Freak or a weirdo when "they" (we?) are into something that's not quite popular, right?? ...So yea, I'm a bit of a Freak....and loving it <3

And by the way... No, i'm not the kind of people who wants everyone to join her "Freaks-clan" ... I recently took a couple of friends to have Korean Food and HATED IT.... it was Awkard...some of them had asked me to take them to try Korean food before but this was their 1st time.... and OMG it was awkward and annoying, I recommended the Bibimbap because I believe it's a very KOREAN food but it's not as strong as Kimchi, I warned them about Kimchi  being a bit strong and some will call it and Acquired taste since I know Korean Food is not for everyone....but No I had to deal with the "Don't they give you salsa for this blend rice??", "This is weird", "I don't like them", "Is all korean food that bad?" ...ok ok ok I GET IT!, you didn't like it... next time we'll go for some Sushi O_o  ...WAIT!.........not all my friends hate Korean Food.. Some of my friends and family DO like Korean food and had asked to take them for som K-Food...those are the friends I love..........lol jk!! ;)  I love them all


So, am I the only Korean freak over here??............am I?  u_u 

Oh!! by the Way... My lessons are going well :) ...I have tons of Vocabulary to learn ...plus Work plus...a trips in the next 3 weeks (OMG!!! So excited!!...i'll let you know more about it later!!),, 2 weeks ago I had the worst class ever!! I had a rough week and I didn't study and I honestly wasn't worried about it since the teacher said we were not doing TESTs every class...but tan tan taaaaaaaaan!!..we had one!!! I only asnwered 3 out of 10 "questions" ...and only got 2 of those 3 correct :'( ...I spend the whole class feeling guilty and dumb (let me remind you I'm int the Top 5 of the Oldies of the class...), so last week I was better prepared and even thou I don't think i'll get a 10 (A+) on my test...at least I know it won't be a 2... This time I know I have to study harder if I want to make it............Any advise????? :)

-Gisela V.

Update!!!

I miss you Blog and readers if I have any :/
*** I really do! ***
I have updates on my Korean Lessons!
This week I HAVE to bake something, I just miss baking so much u_u
Work?...bleh!!!

Well, see you guys later this week!!

-Gisela V.

Alo??

RANDOM POST!!!!!!!!!

Hoy encontré lo que parece ser un lugar donde venden Patbingsu!!, alguien quiere ir conmigo?????????? :)

-Gisela V.

Korean Food in Mexico ...3?

마뽀갈비  Restaurant

1st of all let me apologize for the lousy pictures, I didn't bring my camera with me and I only had my ipod...SOWY!!!!!!!!!!

마뽀갈비 or Ma-Po-Gal-Bi is the name of this restaurant located in Varsovia and Londres (close to Av. Chapultepec) in Mexico City.


This is my 2nd visit to this place and is mostly because it's good... the 1st time I went with my mom and we had
Yukgaejang (Hot Spicy Stew Soup) and Bibimbap 비빔밥

The stew was really spicy and you know that Spicy = Good for me :) it had lots of Nappa Cabbage and meat, the stew was boiling, at first my mom asked for this but I ended eating it :P

YU-M-M-E-R-S!!!!!!!!!!

The Bibimbap is a warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste) plus a raw egg but everytime I ask for this my egg is fried.... according to out Guide in Korea it's because most foreignes won't eat a raw egg.... if you want to you can request the egg yolk raw.
If you have never tried Korean Food I would  recomend this to start. 

See? Fried egg!

In addition to this they also brought Banchan 반찬 or Side dishes and a Tofu/Soy Bean paste Stew that apparently came with the 비빔밥 and a bowl of rice

Soy bean paste, Tofu, Zucchini, Onion, Garlic and Ta-Da!

Banchan from the 1st time - The "hot-cake" look-alike is a Kimchi pancake

Of course... Water! 물

Of course of this 2nd visit I didn't want to try the same thing, so we ordered Kimchi Jigae 김치 찌개 (Kimchi Soup) and Bulgogi 불고기 (Marinated Beef), although I really liked the food (And the company), The bulgogi had a weird taste at the end because they put it over a hot pan with foil and I hate food with foil taste :S ew!... the Kimchi Jigae was pretty hot but overall was pretty good.

This time we got the Banchan and lettuce + 2 portions of white steamed rice :)

Banchan...See the green/brown thing between the Kimchi and the Cucumber?... nor me or the waiter kne what it was...apparently it was fried sea-weed with sugar... O_O I...didn't like it u_u

  

밥 - Rice

Kimchi Jigae

불고기

Lettuce 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anybody home??

Hello??

Seriously!... I know I've been absent for a while, it's been a few rough/complicated weeks... As some of you know my mom had to go back to the Hospital a bit less than 3 weeks ago... it took us all by sorprise but things are....getting better?... well..I'm not sure what's going on, I don't know if I'm really understanding things or if this is denial.... to be honest I DON'T KNOW!!!!, but right know we have to focus on what happens NOW... we have to live day by day the best way we can...
I know I'm not saying much, but it's hard for me to talk about this... So for now... all you get is this lousy post :S *sorry!!*

So... Hola Corea... it's been a Month since I started my Korean Lessons...and NO I don't speak Korean yet... everyone keeps asking me if I speak Korean now.... why don't YOU try taking 1hour a week of a new language and let me know if after 4-5hours you can actually speak that language.... ¬¬ 
Good thing is.... I can read!!!...Awesome, isn't it?? I started learning Korean 2 years ago but I dropped it about 1 month later...I knew some of the vowels ans consonants, but this time I know much more!, I'm still having a bad time with ㅐㅔ ㅗㅓ  .... Specially with the O's since we only have 1 O sound in Spanish....but I'm happy I'm learning to read, the sounds and new study techniques!
Next saturday I have class #5 (there are 8 classes per Level....i'm still on Level 1) and each week we have a lil test.... next week's have me a little nervous, I have to learn 20 words and even thou it's not hard I still have a full time job and it's been a bit hectic at home because of the big C.... so, we'll see how it goes :)


What else??.... I have 2 things I would loooooooooooove to talk about, but it's too soon u_u

I promise I will upload a recipe soon!!
Meanwhile,,,, here are some pics taken this month :D

Charlin...aka The Cats whisperer

Con Joss @ Carito's

Beric & Joss

Chillin' @ Reforma :P

Ah veda!!

<3 <3 <3

Jessy's Bday

Jessy's Bday2

You guys are MY everything.... Love you!

Well... I'll be back... SOON!! I promise!! and I'll writte something good next time!

-Gisela V.

Hola Corea

So I finally signed up for Korean Lessons again!! It only took me 2 years to decide to go back to take some classes... I've been "studying" (or trying) by myself for the last month but it's just not the same as to have a Son-seng-nim (선생님) aka Teacher... to help you. 


If you are like me and don't know much or ANYTHING in Korean then this is definitely what you need...

You can visit the Facebook page here or here. Or you can send him an email to holacorea@hotmail.com

This if of course for people living in Mexico City, the mothly fee is $400 pesos + $180 pesos (for 2 books and an audio CD), and you get 4 classes a month and each level is takes 2 months (in order to pass to the next level you need to pass the Tests u_u *lol* )
Yesterday I went to my first Begginers class and loved it, we learned the vowels and consonants, got some tips on how to remember the alphabet and the sound, You can really tell he is a good teacher by the way he handles the class so I'm glad I finally decided to do it!

Isn't this a cute way to teach? 

Something about JinSub sshi (My son-seng-nim) 

- Nativeee Korean Speaker.
- CELA (Certificado de Español como Lengua Adicional), Nivel Superior.
- JLPT (Examen de Aptitud del Idioma Japonés), N2.
- The Korean Honor Scholarship, Embajada de Corea en EUA.
- Korean American Scholarship, KASF.

I'll keep you posted on my classes and my korean, hopefully i'll pass my tests and continue onto the next level. 


-Gisela V.( -Gisela imnida)

It's getting hot in here.....

Well... not really... It's been rainy and cloudy, just how I Like it!!, but we still have some really hot-burning days courtesy of Mr. Summer, so Thank you! (not!)

While I was catching up with some of my old fav blogs I realize how some of them are writing about Patbingsu 팥빙수

Raspado

According to Wikipedia: Patbingsu or patbingsoo (팥빙수) is a popular shaved ice dessert in South Korea, especially during the sweltering and humid summer season.

The equivalent in Mexico will be a Raspado or a Snow Cone in the US.... only in Mexico we are very creative and end up adding a bunch of things into the Raspados....which is why I thought about the Patbingsu/Raspado comparison...



I've read about Patbingsu a lot lately because apparently is a MUST in the Hot summer in Korea... I ofcourse didn't try this since I went in the freakin' Cold
winter last year....

Patbingsu usually contains Shaved Ice, Milk, sweet beans (paste?), ddeok (Rice cakes), fruits ans sometimes cereals, at first the combination of Shaved Ice and milk might not be
very appealing but once you think about it... it's like getting a Raspado with Lechera

For some weird reason I feel like I should try this... not because I'm really into the ICE/MILK/Sweets combination, but because I like to try new things.

I've found some weird combinations (at least on pics!)...
Like this one: 

Everything is OK except the Cherry tomatoes O_O

Apparently BK has Patbingsu for sale as well

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one looks really good.... don't you think?

Anyway... just felt like posting something for the summer :)
Does anyone in Mexico knows where can I find Patbingsu??????????

-Gisela V.

It's peanut butter jelly time

Ok, not it's not peanut butter jelly time,,,, but it's Strawberrt Cream Cheese Cookies!!! 

Who dosn't like cookies?? I dare you to find someone who dosn't like cookies....see?? Everyone loves (or at least like) cookies. 

This recipe is from a Bakend I had a lil while ago.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookie (modified from ony of my Fav bloggers Use Real Butter)

  

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz Strawberry jam (no seeds) NOTE!! The recipe calls for No seeds Jam, I used Regular-you-can-get-it-in-the-super-market-Jam and it works well, so don't worry if you can't find seedless Jam. 

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Mix in flour 1/2 cup at a time, blending well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat oven to 350F. Divide dough in half, leaving one half in the refrigerator. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to about 3/8 inch thickness. Cut out dough with cookie cutter (I used 2-inch round). Gather and reroll the scraps. Repeat with second half of dough. Place rounds on ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Use thumb or other utensil to press a 1-inch wide indentation in the center of each circle. Fill divots with a teaspoon or more of jam, taking care not to overfill. Bake 13-15 minutes or until pale golden brown on the bottom. Cool on racks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week or freeze for longer storage.

I did this the 1st time, only I didn't refrigerate overnite, I only did it for a couple of hours an it was....messy O_O ...I was running between my work-table and the fridge (to evoid the dough from melting).... so I came up with an alternative.... I used a Baking Tip, I didn't put the dough in the fridge and just made the cookies with it... I don't have much experience using the Tips so the 1st time I just did like simple round-shape cookies.... after a while I got to made "star-shaped" cookies ..... And I can say that this alternative is better if you are not into rolling dough.... 

The cookies were AWESOME!! sweet and buttery. 

Rolled cookies

Baked rolled cookies

Bakend goodies :) 

Hope you enjoy making this cookies as as much as eatin'em :) 

-Gisela V.

Oh My Chocolate!!!

Hello everyone :) 

I noticed my last post ...got some people upset (If the shoe fit....) and I'm sorry for that (not really lol), So I'm keeping this one Drama-Free and very very sweet with this awesome Chocolate Cupcake Recipe :) , so Enjoy

Ingredients

150g Butter - softened

150g superfine sugar

175g self-raising flour  /  baking powder

3 eggs

2 tbls cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350oF (180oC).

2. Line a 12 cup cake pan, with cup cake papers.

3. Crack the eggs into a cup and beat lightly with a fork.

4. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.

5. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes, until light and creamy.

6. Divide the mixture evenly between the cake cases.

7. Bake for 18-20 minutes until risen and firm to touch.

8. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

9. Allow to cool fully before icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 ounces (113 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup (30 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

1/3 cup (80 ml) cold heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat)

 

Enjoy!!

-Gisela V.