Jack Black Wishes me a Happy Birthday

So my friend Katherine went to a movie opening in Austin. She said Jack Black was there, and she waited in line so he could tell me happy birthday!
He loves me! I just knew it!

Thank Katherine! That's the best happy birthday since Planet Dan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to MEEEEEEEEEE

Hooray!
FOR my birthday, I recieved:

Boots - Anthony
AirPop Popcorn maker - Anthony
Earings and Barrets - Anthony
Hard Boiled Egg shaper - Anthony
Low Carb Toritillas - Mom
Laughing Cow Cheese - Mom
Crystal Lite - Mom
Fiber One Brownies - Mom
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray - Mom
Topsy's Popcorn Butter Salt - Mom
Cranium - Dad
Gravy Packets - Dad
Money for the wedding - Dad
Korean Guampa for Mate - Austin

I am still recieving more gifts as we speak....more to follow! Hooray!!!

Korea Visits

At the world famous Namyangju movie studio:


With our buddy Brian, who was kind enough to be our guide.

Aunt Geri and Mary with Brian in the mock traditional village:


Raging with coffee ice cream:


For some reason, there is a giant piano-shaped bathroom.


We went on a trip with Kurt to the DMZ.

At the last train station in S. Korea.


Cassie is a pretty big deal....


Eating chipa guazu at the only Paraguayan restaurant in Asia.


And a bizarre statue/advertisement we saw on the street in Hopyeong:

A Halloween Favorite

So, I figured out what I will be for Halloween. Yes, it's been done. Yes, it seems too easy.
BUT

My students are gonna love it!

Most of them know who Pippi Longstocking is, and have read her books. But in Korea, they don't celebrate much Halloween, so I can't just go and buy a wig and an outfit. I have to make it myself. So I'm not gonna go all out with the hair. I DID, however, buy some Apricot hair dye. Let's hope it works. I'm optimistic, and I saw this pic online, so I'm gonna try to copy it. It looks pretty 'Longstocking' to me.

Now, if only I could find a monkey. I found a lot of great costume pictures. Some of the cutest, I found here.
This was my template.

Of course I found a lot of different types of costumes. Lets just say I like this


Better than this

A couple good photos

I've given up Diet Coke, but not squirrels.

Namhae Island

We took a trip to Namhae Island, on the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula.




The terraced fields are for rice, their main cash crop. They also grow a lot of garlic.





The area is also famous for makgelli, a homemade rice wine.




Sending up lanterns... Each one has the hopes/prayers of the person sending it up.

The locals set us up with an entire truck load of bivalves.



I caught this fish with my bare hands.



This truck window is rigged Korean-style... with a chopstick.


Eating the fish we caught... sashimi style.



And grilled.

Birthday Maddness!!!!

Happy Birthday, Anthony!!!!

My Lunch

I made my lunch to take to work, and I thought....this is a weird lunch. But it sure does look delicious.

I just made some pickles, and after about a week in the fridge, we opened them up. I actually like them. They taste fresh, not like sandwich pickles. I also made my quail eggs this morning.
I put the hard boiled eggs in a 1/2 cup of water, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce and simmered until the sauce was absorbed. Then I put a teeny bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds on them. Yummy.
And of course, some delicious cherry tomatoes.

Don't forget the vitamin water.

Popeyes Chicken in Maseok, South Korea

We went to Maseok for a friend's birthday party, and was pleasantly surprised by there being a Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen in the Lotte Mart. Now, I know that Korea is not lacking in fried chicken joints, and this ain't no Go Chicken Go, but I really wanted to much on some southern style chicken! Plus the question....do they have the sides of biscuits and red beans and rice?

As I waited, if not a little giddy with antici.....pation, for my order, I looked at the menu and YES, they did have delicious biscuits, but NO red beans and rice. No matter. I ordered a small order of delicious chicken nuggets and seasoned french fries, which are hard to come by in Korea.

My order was called, I jumped up out of my seat and bounded to the counter to collect my hot tray of Louisiana fried goodness. And LO!
They drenched my nuggets in a sweet yet WAY too spicy hot sauce!!!!!
Whaaaaa??????
WHY?????? WWWHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYY????
M'BAERE??????? NOOOOO!!!!!!

I was really sad.
I tried to wipe off the sauce with a napkin, but to no avail. In the end, Anthony had to help me out by eating all the parts of the nuggets contaminated by the hot sauce. This is what he gave me to eat.

The hot sauce somehow soaked into the chicken, so even the delicious white meat was contaminated by spicy sweet sticky sauce. Next time, I will say "Ani (no) Saw-suh (sauce)".

On a side note, we did see some interesting flip flops in the market. Balloon shoes are very popular here. This is taking it to a whole new level. Is this in the States? Scary....

Oven baked pork ribs

I made some pork ribs in the oven a couple days ago. A grill or smoker would have done better, but you work with what you have. Another problem... You always want to cook pork low and slow. The lowest setting on my oven here is 160 C or 320 F. Ideally, you'd want to cook at 225-250 F.

In any event, here are the racks. And the Cass Red beer I usually drink.


Here is the bone side.



Ribs have a membrane attached on the bone side, so I cut that off by working a sharp knife between the meat and the membrane. I hear that it's easier to just score the membrane with a sharp blade. I'll try that next time.

After getting rid of the membrane:



Time for the rub. From far left then clockwise: brown sugar, onion powder, seasoned salt, cinnamon, celery seasoning, paprika, dry mustard powder. Basil and fine black pepper are in the middle.



To help the rub stick, and to give the meat a baked-on crust, mix one part water and one part mustard. Mop the ribs.


Raw but rubbed.



Add water to the pan to keep the oven moist.

After about 35 minutes, pull out the meat and give it a mop. I've tried tomato based mops in the past, but this mustard/vinegar one was tastier.

half cup water, half cup cider vinegar, 3 tbsp yellow mustard, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cayenne.



I wait about 30 minutes between mops. After the first mop:



After the second mop:



After the third mop,



After the 3rd mop, the ribs go into some tin foil to retain moisture.

About 35-40 more minutes, and you're good to go.






Leave tips here if you've got 'em.