Soft molasses cookies

This Christmas, I found a cookie recipe that is worthy of Christmas.  It is sweet, soft, and rich in flavor. When teachers leave Korea, generally they sell what they have, or they give it away.  One day, while scavenging in the office, I found that someone had left molasses. And although I only had a few more weeks left in Korea, I thought to myself, tis the season for cookie making. I plan to make these again. They were so delicious I couldn't stop eating them.  My little ones (my preschoolers) didn't like them as much because I think the molasses is too rich for them, but everyone else devoured them.

Soft Molasses Cookies (link to recipe)

• 3/4 cup shortening (3/4 cup correct amount) (I substituted butter)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (see note below)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1. 1
   Cream together shortening and brown sugar.
2. 2
   Stir in egg and molasses and mix well.
3. 3
   Fold in dry ingredients and stir.
4. 4
   Cover and chill till firm (1-2 hours).
5. 5
   Preheat oven to 350°.
6. 6
   Roll dough into small balls and roll in white sugar.
7. 7
   Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
8. 8
   Bake at 350° for 9-10 minutes.
9. 9
   Leave on sheet one minute until set.
10. 10
    I changed the amount of salt in here. My original recipe calls for 1 tsp of salt but that may be too much for some. A few people have made it as is (the majority) with no complaints on salt, however a few commented it was too much. I think 1/2 tsp can be used with no alterations to the recipe. I will leave it up to you either way you still WIN !

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/soft-molasses-cookies-63981#ixzz1j88WnJ88

Malaysia (in Journal form)

Journal for Malaysia:

Jan 5

We’ve arrived. The heat envelops me like an overheated electric blanket as we walk outside in the airport bay towards the air conditioned building. It’s a welcome change to the icy grasp of the fridgid Korean winter. We’re nearly running.  Immigration lines are long, and I’m not known for my patience. I’m neither excited, nor apprehensive.  In fact, it seems that all of my emotions have gone on their own travels.  Somehow, standing in this line, with unfamiliar looking dress, and nationalities feels like an everyday activity. Maybe I’m just in shock that we’ve actually left. It all kind of feels like a dream rather than reality.

The smell of the city matched the piles of trash littered around.  Although my eyes were focused for our hostel the cars and motorbikes whizzing by with their black smoke exhausts sputtering out frighten me. I’m an adventurous person by some standards, but often when I’m first transported to a new place, especially one as dirty and poor as China town in Kuala Lumpur, I automatically find myself thinking, “What am I doing here?  I want to go home where everything is familiar.”  I’m having those thoughts now.  They will pass with time.

The Irish ( Dee and Lisa) met us at our hostel, and we tweeted like happy birds until we’d caught up on their travels through Singapore.  Some of my emotions are seeping back into my nervous system. Perhaps they tired of their travel already.

Jan. 6

Today is a travel day.  We arrive at the bus station to find that either the 10:30 bus doesn’t exist or we’ve missed it.  We have to get the 1:00 bus instead.

Malaysia has some impressive busses. I’m reminded of our Equadorian bus experiences and I’m thankful that this is not a dirt splattered school bus with cracked plastic chairs, but oversized plush and exceedingly comfortable chairs. This four hour ride might not be too bad.

The ride is pretty uneventful until the last hour when the bus begins to make it ascent up into the Cameron Highlands.  The view is gorgeous, but the constant twisting around the mountain is making me motion sick.

Jan 7

We’ve signed up for a tour starting at 8:30 am.  So far, I haven’t gotten to sleep in once on my vacation.  Although I’m grateful to be in this beautiful lush and green countryside, surrounded by jungles and the largest tea plantation in the entire world, I’m really looking forward to the beach, and chillaxing for a few days. 

The tour includes:

A muddy trek through the jungles, over the scariest bridge I’ve ever seen, let alone crossed.  It was made of bamboo, but half of it was inoperable as the other bamboos had fallen loose, and only one side still had a hand rail.

Rafflesia which looks like a giant flower, but is really just a giant form of fungi.

A milky tea colored waterfall.

 

A blow dart demonstration by the aborigines, and a caged monkey the village was keeping as a pet until he grew large enough to eat.

A strawberry farm

A massive tea plantation. Just amazing.

An insect exhibit of some of the most gianormous bugs I’ve ever seen/held.

girls from the village.  They said on average the families have 9-11 children in each tiny house.

Tea plantation, owned by a Scottish family

horned beatle

A leaf like praying mantis

Yes, we are holding GIANT scorpions. 

Jan 8

We wake up for our 7am pick up.  Langawi, the island we’re going to next is not close. We’ll be traveling a long time today. And not one of us is chipper. I think this beach fix will be much needed.  Lisa just asked if we can go on a banana boat. 

Christmas breakfast

Christmas Eve, our Irish friends came over.  The plan was to watch Christmas movies, have a sleepover, and then eat breakfast together and spend Christmas day lounging before Christmas dinner.  It was an awesome plan.  Kyle and I especially loved waking  up the girls by jumping on them like terminally happy puppies when morning came and yelling out, "It's Christmas!"   We also tried two new breakfast casseroles, and they were DELISH!

Overnight French Toast

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 loaf brioche or challah (French toast can also be sliced 1 1/2 inches thick)
• 8 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup pecans, measured then chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• (optional) maple syrup and powdered sugar for topping

 

Directions

1. 1In a small bowl combine brown sugar and melted butter and pour on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
2. 2Arrange slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping if necessary.
3. 3Combine milk, eggs, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl and pour evenly over bread slices.
4. 4Sprinkle chopped pecans over bread slices.
5. 5Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-12 hours.
6. 6In the morning, take the casserole out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes while you are preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
7. 7Bake casserole for 30-35 minutes. If top starts browning too quickly place a foil loosely over the top of the casserole for the last 10 minutes or so. You want it to cook long enough to make sure the bottom part is cooked but don't dry it out completely.
8. 8Remove casserole from oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup.
9. 9Adapted from www.ezrapoundcake.com

Egg, potato, and bacon breakfast casserole.

Ingredients

• 6 baking potatoes
• 1 pound ground pork sausage
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 12 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
2. Prick potatoes with a fork, place on a medium baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes, or until tender but firm. Remove from heat, cool, peel, and cube.
3. Cook and stir sausage in a medium saucepan over medium heat until evenly browned; drain.
4. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir potatoes and onion into saucepan, and cook until potatoes are browned and onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with seasoning salt. Place potato mixture in the prepared baking dish. Cover with sausage. Sprinkle with cheese, top with eggs, and season with salt and pepper.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until eggs are fully cooked.

A new Adventure Begins!

(This one was written a few days ago. Couldn't post it because we didn't have internet at the time.)

We’re currently sitting in the airport “spa” which is really just a fancy jimjilbang (sauna and communal sleeping room).  It’s a convienent service, being able to sleep at the airport, but also costly, nearly $20 a person.  Our flight to Malaysia is at 8:45 am.  I’m a mess.  My stomach is in knots.  The whole packing process has been trying, to say the least. We’ve lived together in Korea for two years, and packing up our lives here was much more difficult than I imagined it would be.  We are both ecstatic to be going on this three and a half month trip, but I don’t think I’ll breath easy until we make it to our hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Our basic itinerary looks something like this:

1 week malaysia

1.5 weeks laos

2 weeks vietnam

2 weeks cambodia

2-3 weeks Thailand

3 weeks in malaysia and indonesia

Early April Fly to England.

1 week in England (visiting friends)

1 week in Ireland (visiting other friends)

4 days NYC (visiting bff)

And then April 22 or 23 (I can’t remember) HOME!

(Any suggestions from fellow travelers would be welcome and appreciated)

So much has passed since our last post; Christmas, the preschool talent show, New Years, pakcing up our lives, an apartment sale, saying goodbye to wonderful friends and students. Many of the posts following this one will mostly likely be catch up. While we’re on the road, my guess is that our posts will be much more sporadic, and probably shorter.  We will try to keep you updated on our whereabouts and our welfare but internet is not always guaranteed, and indeed in some countries even government controlled. Stay tuned for more to come!

Salamat Everyone!

Greetings from Malaysia!

A quick update of our current travels;

We had a lovely first night in Kuala Lumpur at the Reggae Mansion. Extremely helpful staff and lovely large rooms with big beds helped set our next adventure off on a good start. The trip to the Cameron Highlands started off a bit slow but now that we have arrived, it's shaping up to be a lovely trip indeed.

Tonight we had our first authentic Malay dish; A fish soup in a spicy and sour broth with lots of herbs and spices and big chewy noodles. Delicious!

Tomorrow will be an early start on a trek into the rain forest. We're hoping to see the worlds largest flower and if the rain holds off long enough, we should get a trip to a waterfall or two.

Many more pics to come!

Insects again

Last year in the summer, I posted about crazy insects.  I'm adding two more.  Wow, Korea has some insane looking insects!

creepy looking spider

 

Oriental long-headed locuts, are in the grasshopper family. 

Hallasan mountain

Our last day in Jeju, we decided to hike the highest mountain/volcano in Korea.  We had to wake up super early in order to both hike the entire mountain and make our plane.  We didn't take our time as we were a little concerned about our timing.
The whole thing took us around 7 hours.  The hardest part was coming down, at least for me.  It killed our knees. Going up wasn't a cinch, but I'm always afraid of falling on my way down, and I generally walk like a grandma. Heres the video.  It was a fun, challenging experience, but I'm glad its over.

Hallasan video

The Dog Cafe in Myeogndong

Its not what your thinking... We didn't eat dog.  In fact a dog cafe is quite the opposite from eating dog.

A couple years ago, I posted about a bird cafe in Insadong (the traditional area of Seoul).  And only a few months ago, I posted about a "Dr. Fish cafe." Korea is funny like that. They're not an animal society.  That is, that traditionally, they haven't had domestic animals in their tiny apartments. So to compensate, Korea has created "cafes" for people to socialize with animals.  There are bird cafes, fish cafes, dog cafes and cat cafes.  There may be others, but I haven't heard of them.

We recently made our way into Seoul, Myeongdong, to be exact, just for the chance to play with some doggies.  We seriously have doggie fever. We miss having animals around so much, I sometimes throw a sock across the room just to see if Kyle will go fetch it.  If I promise to pet his hair, he'll pretty much do anything I ask. :)

Entering into the dog cafe, the fee is 8,000 won (about 8 bucks) but it comes with a free drink of your choice.  We sat our stuff down at a half eaten bench, but realized that the dogs didn't always come to you.  So we made our way to sitting on the floor.  I made the mistake of taking my green tea latte with me.  Some of the doggies found it and began enjoying my drink too.

After which, Kyle's boot was peed on. Obviously he was desirable territory needing to be marked.

When we sat on the floor, many of the dogs jumped straight into our laps wanting attention.  Many of the dogs however, were quite content taking a nap in their corner, or playing pull the other dogs tail with their friends.

The whole experience was surreal. There were at least 15 dogs out and about playing. A few of them, including an English bulldog became our favorite.  This English bulldog, probably my same weight wanted with every fiber of his being to be a lap dog.  And he didn't let his size put him off this goal.  He moved from person to person any time we kicked him off because our legs had fallen asleep with the weight of him.  He was quite a lovable giant.

We spent a good two hours in the cafe playing, laughing, and having our spirits lifted by the loveliness of the doggies. It was wonderful therapy, something I wish we'd discovered much sooner.


Directions:
From the Myeongdong subway station walk down the main street.
At the first intersection turn left, toward Uniglo.
Either the first or the second right, turn right.  Just as your turn right you'll see the picture with the doggy on it (on the right handside). (And happy feet behind it)

Baked Meatballs = AWESOME!

We recently had a hankerin for some spaghetti and meatballs. Being in a country that isn't known for it's variety of culinary tastes, we weren't sure if we would be able to pull this one off. However, a super easy recipe and a bit of ingenious "wingin it" and we managed to whip up a lovely dish. Here's the original recipe first;

1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground lamb
1/2 lb. ground round (beef)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, or if you want to go all fancy, Pecorino Romano
5 oz. of frozen Spinach
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. Basil
1 1/2 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Mix everything but 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs
Roll into golfball sized balls and roll the balls in the bread crumbs.
Bake in 400 F preheated oven for 20 min or until slightly browned.

Here's the modifications I made;

1 1/2 lbs. ground pork. Everything else is too freakin expensive in Korea.
1/2 cup of the cheap green bottle Parmesan
1 stock of leeks chopped and saute'd with 1 tsp of fresh garlic in olive oil with 1 1/2 tsp Basil and 1 1/2 tsp Oregano (I hate parsley)
Skipped the garlic powder
Kept everything else about the same.
Best meatballs I've ever had and soooo simple!

Jeju part 2

DAY 3
Another touring day, this time with clear skies.
Oedolgae Rock - Cool rock with a funny story. According to the giant plaque next to the observation deck, the rock was once disguised as a War General to scare off some would be invaders. The Invaders were so scared by the statue that they turned around and all committed suicide. True story (according to the Koreans)!

Jusangjeolli Cliffs

These crazy looking rocks were formed when liquid hot magma was forced up through tubes underwater. Purty neat we thought and stunningly beautiful! Some Ajimas were selling pineapple on a stick near by. It was so delicious we had to buy 2!

Sanbangsan Mountain 

This was a beautiful mountain with a Buddhist Temple at the top inside a cave with a dripping spring coming down the middle. The water was said to have healing powers. It tasted quite good too!

Next we headed off to the world famous LOVE LAND! This place is carazy! Not a place to bring the kids to. It's crude, it's crass and not the kind of thing you would expect to see in a conservative country like Korea. Perhaps the juxtaposition adds to the entertainment value. If you're open minded enough, there's actually a bit of artistry to the place and even those who don't care much for the "in your faceness" can't help but admire the creativity of some of the sculptures. I would say it's a must see for those with a good enough sense of humor and a high tolerance for deviousness. 

For dinner, we headed downtown. There are several restaurants in the downtown area that are listed in all of the guidebooks. The Mexican restaurant comes highly recommended. For those who have been in Korea, it's pretty much a Dos Tacos with a slight price hike. It is Jeju after all. The place is quite small so expect a wait but the enchiladas were worth it. 

Here is the link to my pictures which is all of the CRAZINESS that is Loveland.

DAY 4 

This was our "chill by the beach" day. The beach outside of our hotel was very pleasant. Small and a bit crowded by midday but what place isn't in Korea? In the evening we rented a Kayak  and cruised around the bay a bit. The water was lovely and the sunset was beautiful.

DAY 5

This was our big adventure day. The tour group had left and we were on our own to make our way to the other hot spots we hadn't hit on the tour. For those ignorant, lazy travelers such as us who stubbornly haven't learned the language, the bus system on Jeju is not Foreigner Friendly just yet. But with my awesome navigational skills and a bit of luck we got going in the right direction. 

Our first stop was Jeongbang Waterfall. It's big, it's beautiful and it was a lovely first stop to our adventure day. The trek getting there took a lot out of us though and since there wasn't much left that we hadn't already seen, we decided to hit the beach one last time. 

We tried to sort out how to catch the bus over to Jungmoon beach. We knew we were close and that there were buses that would take us there. We found the bus stop sign about half a mile down the road and waited a good 45 minutes watching several buses go by on the other street of the intersection but never having one stop at the actual bus stop. You would think someone would have moved the sign. You would think that the bus driver would have thought, "hey, maybe those people standing out in the blazing hot sun are waiting for this bus I'm driving that's supposed to be stopping at that bus stop." You'd be wrong. We finally got fed up with being passed by so the next bus we saw, we chased that sucker down! I had to remind myself that yelling at him wouldn't do any of us a bit of good. 

Alas, we made it there eventually and got dropped off at the Hyatt Regency. One of the nicest, and most expensive hotels on Jeju. It looked absolutely lovely inside however and the pool looked ever so inviting. We seriously considered stealing in for a dip but decided to hit the beach first. The beach was super crowded, surprise surprise and the waves were quite rough at the not so crowded end. But we lounged and had a dip and took a lovely stroll then headed back up to the Hyatt. We walked in like we belonged there and commandeered a few fluffy spa towels to dry off with and changed clothes in the lovely bathrooms. From there we headed back into town for dinner. 

The Baghdad Cafe offers some lovely Indian food. Again, a bit pricey but it's Jeju so it's expected and the ambiance was very nice. Be sure to try the desert. Melts in your mouth! 

DAY 6

Halasan, nearly the death of us. This one deserved a post unto itself. Stay tuned.