Fall is in the air! It is a crisp 63 degrees here in Seoul and it is my favorite time of the year!  Time for stews, chili and all things PUMPKIN!!   This is a super easy recipe (from my friend Tracey) to get you all in the spirit of fall.  (And to prove to you all I haven't completely lost my marbles here in Korea.  I still eat normal things, not just pig parts!)

Preheat oven to 375F

I box of yellow cake mix
1 can of pumpkin (14 or 15 ozs, I can't remember exactly - the smaller one)
1-2 cups of chocolate chips

Mix pumpkin and cake mix together.  Toss in chocolate chips (however many you want)

Bake at 375 for 17 minutes.

They will be begging for more. 
I had to make a second batch because my people ate the first batch as they were coming out of the oven. 
True story.

To all my Facebook friends, remember a couple of weeks ago I posted this:  "Out of all the things I ate on our date last night, the pig intestines were the best."?  Well this is the blog you guys have been waiting for.  (And I'm sure you have been waiting on pins and needles, right? :)

It was hours before date night and I had planned NOTHING.  NADA.  ZILCH.  So I turned to my trusty friend Google, who never disappoints, and came up with the Gwangjang Market.  Gwangjang Market was the nation's FIRST market and I have NEVER been.  WHAT?!?!  Anyway, back to the nation's first market - it is the oldest (duhh) covered market and it is bustling!  The market sells mostly textiles, traditional Korean clothing (if you need a Hombak this is the place to go!), herbal medicines and vintage clothing and is only open during the day from  9AM-6PM. Since we arrived after 6PM we didn't get to see much of the selling in action, but from what I have read this is an area that not many tourist visit and it is very old school Korean.  But what we went for wasn't the shopping.  We went for the food.  Korean street food, oh baby!  There is nothing quite like Korean street food!

We started our journey out at the first little store we could find for a little brewsky.  And this guy below, well he just cracked us up.  I wish I would have gotten a picture from the front.  He was having a ball, invited us into his store and just danced around like a total dork without a care in the world.  He was awesome.

Our friend B always adds another level of entertainment to our date nights.  The little Korean lady had to come over and help him get this shirt on as she shook her head in laughter.  Don't worry, he bought the shirt. 

Continueing  down that first alley of Gwangjang Market we happened upon this:

As we continued on our journey I knew we were getting close.   I had read that the spider like market had the good food stalls in the center of the market and as we walked the aroma was growing stronger with each step we took.  We started seeing a few vendors of herbal medicine and then gifts that they were packaging for Chusok.  And then the mother load of food stalls, we knew we had arrived!   If this had been my first stop in Korea I would have probably turned around and ran the other direction begging to return to the states, but alas it wasn't my first stop and I was (somewhat) excited to try a few new things! 

As you can see there are TONS of fun things going on in this market!

We finally found a stall that didn't look too intimidating.  It was a bibimbap buffet style booth, but it still had some of the 'good stuff'.  We sat down and started preparing our bibimbap and started talking to his local Korean couple. This young girl is the one that helped us on our food adventure.  She said she LOVES sundae and insisted that we try it, and so we did.

Sundae is that sausage roll looking thing below. Basically it is pig intestine stuffed with noodles and blood.
We also had a little the pig feet (jokbal)...

We followed everything down with a bit of makkoli, an alcoholic beverage made from a mixture of wheat and rice, which gives this Korean goodness it's a milky, off-white color, and sweetness....

Sundae wasn't bad at all, in fact I ate Hubby's as well as my own.
True story.
And jokbal aka - pig feet (pictured) tasted like, well pig. No big thang there.

The next item to tickle our tastebuds was deep fried pig skin (I don't know the Korean word for this tasty treat), but hey if I can do sundae I can do pig skin, right?  I'll just put it this way; I would rather eat an entire plate of sundae than to eat this chewy substance again.  It wasn't terrible, but I don't ever feel the need to eat it again.

Next up on our list of luscious lickables was this:

It doesn't look that bad now does it?  I'm not exactly sure what it is, but you are supposed to eat it warm.  The local Koreans that we were hanging with told us it was, are you ready for this?  Pig cartilage, from knees and elbows.  I tried looking it up and I am finding that it is another style of pig skin.  Either way this was by far my least favorite dish.  I couldn't spit it out as that would have been rude, so it was followed down by an entire bottle of Makkali (OK, not really, but it sounded good.)  This is one Korean dish that will not be passing through my lips ever again.  I would rather eat a plate of deep fried pig skin before eating this delicacy again.   

After that things just got interesting.  This guy all dressed in white with his spray painted motorcycle and boots, horn blaring came driving through this market where it is hard to even walk around!  How he got his motorcycle through these alleys are beyond me.  You could tell the people working the stalls were not very happy with him. 

Once our bellies were full we head out and took a stroll down the Cheonggyecheon Stream where we happened upon a young singer performing. 

We ended our night with a little night shopping in Dongdaemun where Hubby picked up some really hot glasses and I got myself a super cool old lady hat.  :)

                                            There is never a dull moment when living in Seoul! :)

I'm sure there are many ways to get to Gwangjang Market, we went by cab/subway -
Jongno-3-ga Station Exit 12. 
Walk straight for a few blocks, you will come to a bigger intersection, look to your right and you will see the entrance to the Gwangjang Market.
 Enter and walk down the alley for quite a while...you will start seeing food stalls, but don't stop until you hit the mother load and start seeing places to sit and eat.  You will know when you have arrived. 
Good luck and happy eating!! :)

Happy Monday!

I had no idea the Colonel was married.

Always, always make sure you take your toilet paper into the stall with you.

Well, they were close!

Last weekend I went out and met my friend Yenjoo, a local Korean I met the last time I lived here.  Yenjoo and I had a great time catching up and roaming the streets of Seoul in search of the National Cemetery.  On our walk to the National Cemetery we walked past this plant - I've seen it serveral times and I LOVE this plant.  Does anyone know what it is and how to care for it?  I'm going to have to buy one someday soon. 

Yenjoo and I walked & talked for about 45 minutes before making it to the National Cemetery.  At one point we took a wrong turn and it took us through a neighborhood when I saw this on a back porch:

I ask Yenjoo about them and she told me that most likely they had bean past in them, not Kimchi.  She continued by saying most Koreans do not make Kimchi in pots like this anymore.  Today they make it and store it in their Kimchi refrigerator.  The best time for making Kimchi for the year is in November.  I really would like to be invited to a local Koreans home to make Kimchi (hint, hint....) this year.

If you decide you would like to go to the National Cemetery take the Subway to this exit.  From here it is a very short walk.

Dongjak Station (Seoul Subway Line 9), Exit 2 or 4.

 

Seoul National Cemetery was established under the  presidential decree of Syngman Ree in 1956, at the time it was the country's only national cemetery.  

Here is one of the soldiers guarding Memorial Tower.

Memorial Tower.

Memorial Tower holds the names of over 104,000 soldiers who died during the Korean War. Their names inscribed on the wall - their bodies were never found.  There are also the remains of over 7,000 unknown soldiers whose bodies were found.

Buried here are the remains of 165,000 martyrs and soldiers, police men, and reserve forces who sacrificed themselves for their country.

The reflecting pond.  I'm not sure that is really what it is called, but that is what it was for me. 

This couple seemed perfectly placed here.

I have a thing for Lily Pads.

I had no idea this was the Korean National Flower until Yenjoo pointed it out to me. In Korean they call it: Mugunghwa (무궁화).  In English, it is the Rose of Sharon.

After a very somber afternoon at the cemetery Yenjoo and I went out for lunch in hopes to end our time together on a high note. 

Yenjoo, knowing I am a little adventurous when it comes to Korean food ordered for me.  I'm not sure what this is called, but I can explain it to you.  Dried fish, rehydrated by marinating in some kind of medium spicy marinate and then deep fried.  It was interesting. I liked it, but most likely this will not be something I order on a regular basis.   

We ended our day together at a FANTASTIC little coffee shop. I LOVE having coffee in Korea! 
Thanks for a great day out Yenjoo!

I love spreading cheer, and that is what I did when I took a few new friends to the flower market (aka - My Happy Place) last week. 

I can't believe it took over 2 months for me to get to the flower market (in Gangnam by the way - for all you Gangnam Style followers)!  Once again this will most likely become a biweekly ritual for me.  I just can't help myself, so many pretties all in one place! 

Now, I'm pretty sure most of my friends think I am INSANE for going to the flower market at 5AM, BUT even so I had a full car, so my question is am I really that insane if I have followers at 5AM?  I think not.

We started the morning off with a little birthday surprise in the car!  :)

After chowing down on cake we were off....
What I would give for scratch and sniff computers! 
How can one NOT be happy here?

Fall at the flower market.

Three of my lovely friends, they will most likely shoot me for this picture, but don't they look overly happy for 5AM?!?!  The flower market will do that to a person.

The flower market is located on the 3rd floor of the Express Bus Terminal.  You can get to the Express Bus Terminal on line 3 (Express Bus Terminal is the subway stop.) I've never taken the subway, so after that you are on your own!   

Driving directions from post:
Go out the commissary gate 
Turn right
Go over the Bampo Bridge
After going over the bridge get in the right lane (the road splits)
And go down
At the first light take a left
Get in the right lane
Right after the Sinsegae Mall & Marriott parking you will see signs for the Express Bus Terminal parking.
Turn right into the EBT parking
Get a ticket from the man in the booth
Take your ticket inside the flower market and look - once you get inside the flower market turn left and look on the wall right after the glass doors, you will see a calendar hanging on the wall with a round stamp on it - stamp your own parking ticket.  This will not get you free parking, but you will get a discount.  The most I have ever had to pay for parking here is 3,000 won.

I know, I know, we have been here for 3 months (as of tomorrow) and I still have not showed you guys my entire house.  As I told my MIL, I had all the boxed unpacked and the house pretty set in the first couple of weeks, but I ALWAYS tweak it for weeks/months to come.  

                                             This is what our front porch looked like as we were moving in:   

And this is what it looked like up until 2 days ago.  I have now moved the bench inside (I have plans for it) and am looking for a cute little bistro table to put on the front porch (better than a bench for sitting and chatting with friends and family).  I also have a couple of more plants out front.  For all my Texas & CAV peeps, notice the Texas flag and CAV flag? They will both always be in my heart and on my front porch!

Ganesha made the trip back to Korea with us too....Ganesha has logged more miles in his passport than many people I know.  Thailand ---> Korea ---> Texas --->Korea.  I wonder where he will go next?

Happy Wednesday!  :)

We had high hopes for this restaurant as it is very close to our house: just exit the walk out gate, turn right, cross the street and bam, there it is - maybe a 10 minute walk.

After looking over the menu I decided on Jjamppong - otherwise known as spicy seafood soup.  Yes, I'm totally excited!  Seafood soup that you cook at your table - it served 2-3.  The kids were ordering something different. 

When I ordered our server, the lady pictuered below said "NO" and gave us the little 'x' with her fingers and then she said 2.  I again told her 1 order of soup, not 2 orders of soup.  She said "NO" again with the little finger 'x', but her no was stronger and she waved her hand in front of her mouth like it was hot.  I tried to order it again giving her the thumbs up that I am OK with spicy.  Then I got the BIG  arm cross "X".  No.  No soup.  Then she waved her hand at me and walked off and I could tell she was totally annoyed with me.  For real?  I thought they must be out of soup and I just misunderstood.

So when she came back (still seeming annoyed) I ordered Bibimbap.
Which was totally YUMMY.

Then the ladies at this table came into the restaurant.  We were finished with our meal when THE SOUP NAZI  delivered MY SOUP to these ladies!!!  Are you kidding me?  It was the EXACT SOUP  I was trying to order.  GRRRR......  I'm not sure where the miscommunication was, I still want my jjampong!  I totally felt like I was in this episode of Seinfeld. (Seriously, click the link.  Instead of an Italian accent imagine a Korean one.)

In the end our meal was good, and the boys have had a fun time mimicking our Soup Nazi.
Anytime I mention soup this is what I get now:
The big arm cross 'X'.

Followed by their best interpretation of the Soup Nazi:
NO.  NO SOUP FOR YOU MOM!

(I still have NO IDEA why I couldn't have jjampong.)

FOLLOW UP:  I now know why I could not have jjampong.  It does not SERVE 2-3 people, you have to order 2-3 servings to order this!  Thank you to my readers for setting me straight! 

I'm not so grumpy anymore.  :)

At a rest stop.
Korean rest stops are like no other. 
More on that later.
Place of an empty tableware.

Marbled Pork Beef.
I'm not sure what it is, but we ordered it anyway.

Street food. 
We offered Boy 1 $100 USD to eat the entire face.
He declined.

One can wash their pig face down with a little 'Sex on the Peach'.

Remember this picture?  And how I was bursting with excitement about what was about to happen?
This is the blog you have been waiting for.
Here goes the big reveal! 
(MOVE THAT BUS!)

As my friend Lori said, this looks like a room 'Dexter' set up.
I only wish I had done it as well as Dexter.  My room had flaws.
And I paid for those flaws.
(PS...If you haven't watched the show Dexter, you REALLY need to.) 

                                                                      This is a birthday party.
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE birthday parties?  Maybe it has to do with the fact that I only had 1 birthday party while growing up.  Maybe it is because I love seeing that smile on my kids face when they see what I have created for them.  Maybe it is because at every birthday party I hear "This was the BEST party EVER."  Maybe it is because I am still a kid at heart.... 

                                         But mostly I think it is because of that sweet, sweet smile...

We started the party at 10AM with chocolate pancakes with chocolate chunks and chocolate syrup and topped with vanilla ice cream.  It really can't get much better than that - can it?

Well maybe it can, when you have 6 friends and 3 siblings to share it with.

And then your mom ask if you want marshmallows to go with it and when you say 'yes' she throws them at you.
While Dad tops you off with whip cream.
That might make it a little better.

Oh, I'm sorry did you say you wanted whip cream ON YOUR PANCAKES? I thought you said on your head.
My bad.

The kids had a nice selection of foods to choose from.

Here, have a little cheese & whip cream in a can. 

I love the look in his eyes.

Dad coming up from behind to do a sneak attack on the birthday boy.

Oh man!

He's not sure he is cut out for this type of party.

But then again maybe he is as he comes back for more! 

Big brother couldn't resist getting in on the fun!

45 minutes of pure FOOD FIGHTING FUN!

How can you not love these sweet nasty faces?!

Happy 7th Birthday to my sweet baby boy! 

I know what you are thinking. 
"What do you do with them now? They are a nasty filthy mess.  What about your porch.  You are one insane woman."
*Once the food fight was over I took out the water hose, brought out the shampoo and gave them all showers OUTSIDE!    We scrubbed and cleaned for a good 30 minutes!  I mean really, how fun is it to have a shower outside in all your clothes while other kids from the neighborhood gathered to see what in the world was going on.  While children were being hosed off the clean ones played on the playground.
*My porch - sigh....  Well you saw the set up.  Plastic EVERYWHERE.  For the most part it was a great idea.  The plastic on the walls worked well.  The plastic on the ground....not so well.  If I were to ever do this again I would search a little harder for 1 solid piece of plastic and then I would double layer it.  It took me 2 hours to clean that back porch.  Oh and the ceiling survived pretty well...only a few things landed there.
*Yes, I am insane, but in a good way. (I think.)

Happy Birthday sweet love!

Just FYI, you might want to have the kids step out of the room.

If you have ever walked the streets of Korea you know how overwhelming it is.  When one first arrives in country they are typically on sensory overload.

There are things EVERYWHERE.  

Koreans are masters of space manipulation.  

They build high above ground going many, many stories high.

And they build underground.  If you see a set of stairs go down and most likely you will find an underground shopping area. 

There is no way you can take everything in when walking down a street in Korea.

As we were walking down such a super busy street in Busan Hubby happened to look up.  (We were with our kids mind you.)

I noticed him looking perplexed. 

He nudged me and told me to look up (as quietly as he could NOT to draw attention) and check out the banana.

I did:

Wow. I got a good laugh and totally drew attention.

And then I noticed this.

WHAT?!?!

I didn't even notice this until I was looking at pictures tonight.

Check out the sizing chart to your right.

WOW.  Good times, good times.  :)