Weekend Warrior

If Finnegan could speak, I am fairly certain he would say that Fort Funston is one of his favorite places to visit--besides his food bowl and warm comfortable bed. I've blogged about this place before, but I was able to take more photos this time around because the sun was out and the beach was clear that day instead of being deeply immersed in shroud of fog. There are a few ways to get directly to the beach, but this day we decided to go down what seemed like a thousand wooden planked steps to the sand. Finnegan loved it. He scooted up and down the steps excitedly. He is a peculiar pug in that he appears morbidly obese, but when given the chance to go hiking or run about in the outdoors--he's a maniac with so much energy. He's willing to do almost anything physically, which is the complete opposite of his lounging and napping attitude the rest of the time at home during the weekdays. He truly is a weekend warrior.

During this visit, he was brave enough to run up to the waves creeping up the beach and even got close enough to sniff a crab. (Albeit it was not alive, but shhh! Don't let him know about that! He's still a courageous little pug!) If you're looking for a good place to let your pups roam free, Fort Funston is the place!

Japchae 잡채

I've been wanting to add new dishes into our repertoire of recipes and since my office recently moved closer to a Korean grocery store, I decided to try my hand at making Japchae. Japchae is a nice beginner's dish  into Korean food since it is not too complicated to make...you just have to make sure that you have all the ingredients available.

I followed this recipe and added a few more ingredients, but here it is for good measure (ha ha):

Ingredients:

• Starch noodles (“dangmyun”)
• *150 grams of beef (I used marinated pork --> see note below)
• 1 bunch of spinach
• 1 medium size carrot
• 1 medium size onion
• mushrooms (5 dried shiitake and 1 package of white mushrooms)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 7-8 green onions
• soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and  toasted sesame seeds

Makes 4 servings.

How to prepare your ingredients before stir frying:

1. Soak 5 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for a few hours until they become soft. Squeeze the water out of them and slice thinly.
2. Slice a package of white mushrooms (2 cups’ worth).
3. Cut a carrot into thin matchstick-shaped pieces 5 cm long.
4. Cut 7 -8 green onions into 7 cm long pieces.
5. Slice one onion thinly.
6. Slice 150 grams of beef into thin strips.

Now let’s start!

1. Boil 2 bunches of noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 3 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.
2. Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside.
   *tip: Take one sample and taste it to see whether or not it’s cooked properly. If it feels soft, it’s finished.
3. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.
4. Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl.
   *tip: When you drain the hot water from the pot, don’t discard the hot water. Put it back into the pot so you can cook your spinach quickly.
5. On a heated pan, put a few drops of olive oil and your carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).
6. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.
7. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.
8. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.
9. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.
10. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.
11. Serve with rice and Kimchi, or as a side dish.

 *Note:  For the Meat, I used pork strips marinated in gochujang (Red Pepper Paste) instead of the suggested beef and added 1 red bell pepper for more veggies. I also used my cast iron skillet to give everything a nice sear.

I hope that you enjoy making and eating Japchae as much as I did! Enjoy!

Half Moon Bay

When driving down to Fremont to visit Z's parents, we always passed by the off-ramp to Half Moon Bay while taking the San Mateo bridge.  My curiosity continued to grow as I asked Z tons of questions about this bay since his family usually went there for special occasions, such as Mother's Day. I had also heard through the grapevine of people heading down this way to pick up pumpkins for Halloween and then Christmas trees in the later seasons.

One day, Z surprised me and we took a day-cation to the mysterious (at least in my eyes -___- ) Half Moon Bay. Growing up, I have always lived near the beach. My younger days were spent exploring the beaches of the Central coast (my favorites), then off to the warm sandy beaches of Oahu in Hawaii (since my father was in the Air Force), and then finally the crowded beaches of Southern California.  I must say that my beach is more along the lines of the Northern Pacific coast where the beaches only get prettier and less populated. The times I did go to the beach in Southern California were for bonfires, sunbathing, reading, and of course--people watching. Now I mostly like exploring beach caves and climbing on rocks. It's nicest for me when it's a bit overcast even, because if it's too sunny and hot, I can't hike around as much or I get all sweaty and gross.

Located 35 minutes south of San Francisco along the Pacific Ocean, Half Moon Bay is a stunning slice of the Golden State and boasts an unrivaled combination of coastal town friendliness, charm, and natural beauty. After checking out all the cute boutiques that the town had to offer, we decided to check out the tide pools at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach. The reserve stretches for 3 miles and is an underwater park designed to help conserve and protect ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems. We arrived during low tide and were able to view sea anemones, mussels, hermit crabs, and other beautiful creatures hiding among the rocks.

After exploring the beach, we stopped at Barbara's Fish Trap for lunch. It is a small seafood restaurant overlooking the water serving delicious Italian dishes, sandwiches, and of course--the essential clam chowder or fish n' chips basket! I forgot to take photos of the food for everything was much too delicious to stop and snap a photo. Half Moon Bay is truly a beautiful place to visit when you want to escape from the busy hustle of the city for a while.

Spring Cleaning

Spring is finally here! Along with the arrival of blossoming flowers, I thought that my blog needed a change as well. Hopefully this will streamline everything that I eventually have planned for this page. One of my goals is to streamline my closet and post some of my pieces in a shop later, which I am pretty sure Z will appreciate since he won't have to look at my exploding closet. 

These last set of Portland photos are from a trip to the Portland Japanese Garden that Z and I trekked all the way from our hotel in Downtown to see it.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to take some photos to share with my mom, whom is a huge fan of Japanese gardening, art, and just anything Japanese in general.  The garden itself is sprawled across 5.5 acres and is composed of five different Japanese gardening styles: Flat Garden, Strolling Pond Garden, Tea Garden, Natural Garden, and the Sand and Stone Garden.  

The Sakura blossoms were my favorite part of the gardens as they were in bloom during our visit. I never used to be a fan of the color pink when I was younger, but the color is growing on me now. The blush pink flower with its hot pink--almost red center is simply a breath taking sight.  If you are ever in Portland, make sure to check out this lovely garden.