motivation

I seem to be missing it at the moment.

I haven't been for a run in over a week - but that's mostly because I've been working 10-12 hour days for the last eight out of nine, and I am (understandably) tired after that. But, I'm off today and I just can't seem to find the gung-ho to go running in the rain. Probably because it's actually raining. Anyway, I'll see if I feel like it a little later on, and if not, then will force myself tomorrow. I'm just a little worried about what this has done to my schedule. I'm not sure I can do week four again... I'll try but might be stuck on it for another week. It was hard last time, and now I haven't been in ages, it's going to be even harder!

So, I haven't got much to update, because (as I said) I've been working like a madwoman. Monday to Thursday, Friday off, and then Saturday to Tuesday. I'm finally off today and I don't want to do anything - but I'll have to go to the grocery store later as we're out of just about everything!

Tomorrow I'm making Kimchi fried rice - I picked up some kimchi a couple of weeks ago when I was in Tottenham Court road, and Tom has been bugging me to make it... But I just haven't had time. If you don't marinate the pork for a few hours, it just isn't as good. I've also looked up a few other Korean recipes and am planning on trying my hand at them again in the near future.

I guess that's it for now... just a quick update... until we meet again!

Reverse psychology

I didn't have any plans on Saturday, which was somewhat of a relief after the week I've had. I went out three out of four nights in a row and didn't get more than five or six hours of sleep a night, so having a night off to catch up was nice. I figured I'd putter around the house and get some chores done, then hunker down with a movie and a bottle of wine...

But I got bored by 2 PM and decided to wander down to Soho and check out the Pride events. I haven't been to Pride in years, but there was a time when I went every year, mostly because so many of my friends back home are gay, but also because the atmosphere at Pride is always so welcoming and happy. I knew a couple of people who would be down that way and thought I might meet up with them. I wandered around for about an hour just taking in the festive feeling and snapping photos of the characters that were celebrating. Here's a sample of the best that I got.










It was nice to feel the vibe, but I didn't end up sticking around. I was so tired that I wouldn't have made it much longer. Instead I headed to the Korean shop that was not too far away and loaded up on some deok bokki and other Korean delights like kimchi. Then I came home and had a mini Korean feast! It was good. I watched Sex and the City: the movie and hit the hay at a reasonable hour - for the first time all week!

It's been a hectic week for me, and this, after I told myself I would be good and go home every night and go to the gym and generally be healthy - I only have 25 days before I'm virtually living in a bikini for two weeks - but it seems like by telling myself to be healthy, I played a little reverse psychology on myself. So, this week I'm telling myself that I'm going out every night and not going to the gym at all and I'll eat pizza for dinner every night!

(If you haven't already, scroll down and watch the two videos I've posted... good stuff, especially the Happy Day one!)

dawn

nothing terribly interesting to report... sorry. but i do have to keep writing every day (though sometimes i take the weekends off...) so here i am. i found another interesting korean product at the local store today. it was right on the counter near the cash register so i asked if i could take a picture of it. the 'store lady' looked at me like i was nuts! but not too much more than usual... so i guess it's the kind of thing that is expected of me... here it is:

Dawn Hangover Solution

i'll let you know if/when i have the chance to buy some and try it... i should have just bought it today and kept it around for the occasion, since you never really know when you're going to need it, and usually by that point you're too hungover to walk to the store! oh well, maybe i'll pick it up tomorrow. i really love the picture of the typical korean man on it too... hilarious!!!

just one of those funny korean things that i thought i'd share... hopefully there'll be something more interesting to post soon! hang in there!

mmmm....Kimchi....

“It’s rotten cabbage.” My introduction to kimchi by a friend couldn’t have turned me off any more. I like cabbage, for the most part, but rotten cabbage? I wasn’t so sure about that. “It’s like sauerkraut,” another friend told me, I still wasn’t convinced. Well, as it turns out, kimchi isn’t really like either of those things, so in order to dispel the myths of kimchi, here is the truth.

I was hesitant the first time I tried it. I picked up a piece of leafy cabbage, turned the colour of a sunset by chili powder, and put it in my mouth. My first reaction was to spit it out, but you can’t be rude like that when surrounded by a table full of Koreans. They all looked like children on Christmas morning, waiting to see my reaction. I managed to chew it and get it down. I smiled, and said, “it’s not that bad,” even though I didn’t like it at all. It was pungent, with a strong odour, and a little too spicy for my liking. But not all kimchi is made alike, or so I’ve learned since my introduction to it.

Kimchi is, technically, rotten cabbage, as my friend so eloquently put it. But it is also much more than that. The Kimchi Field Museum, in Seoul, has documented 187 varieties, and different recipes abound. According to Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp., the main ingredients of kimchi are Chinese cabbage, sliced radish, parsley, mustard leaf, green onion, garlic, ginger, salted fish juice, rough salt, powered red pepper, and seaweed. Some recipes call for pyogo mushroom, raw oyster, raw shrimp, or fish. After mixing all of the ingredients together, the kimchi is put in a ‘kimchi jar’ (large earthenware jars), and then it is buried – about a foot underground, until it’s time to eat it. The length of time kimchi is fermented varies depending on the recipe, but it can be between a week and years. The longer it ferments, the stronger the flavour.

Kimchi has been around since around the 7th century. Koreans needed a way to ensure vegetables were readily available during the winter months, and so kimchi was born. Early variants did not have the all-important chili peppers – they were only introduced to the peninsula in the 16th century, by Portuguese traders. Even then, there are no early recipes showing the use of chili pepper in kimchi, it is thought they only became a part of the mix in the 18th century. Chinese cabbage is also a ‘new’ addition to the Korean national dish. It has only been used since the 19th century, before that it was made with indigenous vegetables like radish, cucumber, and perilla leaves.

Kimchi has been called on of the healthiest foods on earth. One of the reasons for this is the lactic acid bacteria that is formed during fermentation. This bacteria is partially what gives kimchi its distinctive sour flavour, but also prevents other bacteria from growing. It also helps relieve intestinal disorders and can be a major part in preventing obesity, diabetes, and intestinal cancer. It is low in fat, high in fiber, and full of many different vitamins – a little kimchi a day, will keep the doctor away. On the flipside, it has been speculated that kimchi can also be a cause of gastric cancer. In 2005, Korean researchers discovered a 50% higher risk of stomach cancer among ‘heavy’ consumers of kimchi. But, you would have to eat around 70 pounds of it a year for your entire life for this to be a possibility, so eat up!

Kimchi is an acquired taste – I’m proof of that. I didn’t like it the first time I ate it, and now I have it with almost every meal. I’ve become a wiz at making kimchi-fried rice, and have it a couple of times a week now. You can also make kimchijeon – Korean pancakes with kimchi – kimchi soup, kimchi noodles, kimchi and curry on rice, kimchi pizza, heck, you can make just about anything with kimchi, and if you have a dish that doesn’t need any, it’s always a great side-dish.

Questions? Comments? Let me know.