Pug Life

My favorite thing to do after a long day of work/classes is to walk my little pig dog, Finnegan. He is already so accustomed to me photographing him that he knows to sit still and look at me when I have my phone out. Every first Sunday of the month, Alta Plaza park in San Francisco has a "Pug Sunday". All the little pig pugs in the city make the journey over to Pacific Heights to romp around pugnaciously. While there, a woman took out her camera and Finnegan stopped what he was doing to pose for her. She laughed since Mr. Pig was such a good sport and model for her.  I know it's probably weird to other people, but I really look forward to Pug Sundays and having these snorting pigs running around. Being a crazy pug lady, it is my dream one day to have a pug farm. I'm sorry if this seems a bit borderline hoarder-ish, but I am sure Z will stop me before I ever reach that point... (Hopefully)

Here's to many more pictures of my spoiled pig pug, Finnegan.

Hollywood Hiking

I'm so excited to visit my family in Southern California next week. Summer in the Bay area usually consists of windy days and foggy nights, which I look forward taking a break from. I remember last year for the 4th of July, Z and I were bundled up to watch the fireworks atop the beautiful albeit windy Bernal Hill. I finally developed these pictures from a previous hike that my sister, cousin, and I completed. It's getting harder and harder to find places that will develop my film for a good price. The place I went to also did not do such a great job scanning my photos, so everything is a bit off. I really need to get into developing my own film or finally invest in a nice digital camera. Sigh!

Even though most of my family lives in Southern California, we had never done the Hollywood hike up the winding trail to see the sign itself. To be honest, the thought never appealed to me since it is what all the tourists do when they come to this little city covered in smog. Looking back on the photos, it reminds me that my pasty white legs could use some sunshine and doing touristy things are fun every once in a while. 

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!