101 on Spicy Korean Food

One fall afternoon in Qingdao, China my husband and I ventured by taxi to a Spicy Korean restaurant.

Now for a foreigner to Korean food there are some customs one must know:

1) Take your shoes off on the elevated dining floor. Asians streets are filthy and they want to keep this dining area spotless.

2) Sit like the Koreans on mats. (Note- Korean chop sticks are made out of metal instead of wood like the Chinese chopsticks.)

3) Watch your waitress turn the hot iron skillet on and bring out your dishes.

4) Don’t let the name “Korean potato pancake” fool you into thinking it’s something out-of-this-world because it’s not. It was rather a neutral taste, nothing extraordinary.

5) Watch your waitress cook your food.

5) Pile the Korean meat and vegetables onto your vegetable wrap. After enjoying the delicious meal ask the waitress/waiter to take a memorable photo (I love how these pictures came out blurry; it tells the story of how they were taken).

6) Thank your Korean waitress.

7) Do as the Koreans do and walk off the paleo food.

Warning: The spicy Korean food may not sit well with Western stomachs.

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Cheesy French Date

Historically and a sometimes practice today in France is to enjoy a warm meal for lunch and a cold meal in the evening. A common delicious cold combo meal is cheese and wine.

Did you have a stressful week? Do you want to catch up with your best friend ( aka lover)? The best way is to enjoy one another with no distractions is to enjoy some good conversation over food. What better way to do this then sparking romance by replicating a French date? Love was nurtured in my very backyard with a combination of conversation, cheese and wine!

My husband and I went to Whole Foods for the intention of buying hamburgers to grill ( because there was a special on quality hamburgers). We got there and minds were changed. I had tossed the idea before of having a picnic of cheese and wine at the park. My husband remembered and suggested we do this very idea.

Tonights data menu:
– cheddar cheese ( good quality on sale)
– quality salami
– sour dough crackers
– wine from Red Bud, IL local winery

Warning for lactose people. This is a great date concept. I am lactose but a small amount of good quality cheese doesn’t bother me. I am still experimenting “with caution” what cheeses my body can tolerate. If you are lactose do you have cheese recommendations?

We got home with the intention of getting the wine and wine opener. With miscommunication we ended up dining in. We were going to do the sophisticated date on the local Tempe Town Lake but things change. I would recommend enjoying the French date in nature: a park, lake, in the mountains, fields, a garden or your own backyard.

Our dining in went well. My husband and I recently bought a house so quality time, with no distractions we were able to appreciate our new home in peace.

My husband and I enjoyed one another over a simple meal of cheese, salami, crackers and red wine.

Do you have any suggestions on global cruisine date ideas? Ideas are appreciated!

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Date Night: 2 Chefs in the Kitchen

An

ideal

date night. Making food together is seriously a bonding experience. The shopping for the food together, the cutting, the cooking….it’s a project made together through team work.

My husband and I went to Whole Foods. We browsed the meat department and found their sausages were on sale.

Buy a meat that is on sale, it’s a surprise and a deal what it might be. This week the meat sale at Whole Foods is “Buck-A-Burger One-Day sale” May 18th only! ( regional)

No antibiotics, ever.
No added hormones.
No artificial flavors, preservatives, or colors.

We made a recipe my Aunt created: Greek Orzo!

The ingredients are as followed:
– box of Orzo
– can of black olives
– 1/4 cup of capers
– can of diced tomatoes
– one yellow onion
– one cup of fresh cut parsley
– half a lemon
– 2 tablespoons of cooking wine

Directions:
1) cook Orzo
2) cut vegetables
3) pour in the rest of ingredients and simmer for 7 minutes

We also bought some wine and enjoyed one another in the comforts of our home!

The night consisted of shopping for food, preparing food, drinking wine, good conversation ( distraction free), tip free by candlelight. Following the romantic evening was an art project we did together.

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