Teaching English in South Korea with my two children

Living in Bucheon, South Korea with my two children: December, 2008

                     

Early morning in our neighbourhood - the entertainment district, chockablock full of restaurants, street vendors, shopping malls and bars that catered to Koreans and/or westerners. We lived on the 10th floor of Triple Tower B and walked to our schools daily. When we exited our apartment building's lobby, we could access a Blade Runneresque cacophony of sights, lights and sounds.

A huge park near downtown - the hub of much activity throughout the year - picnicking, cooling in the water fountains, running, exercising on the machines at the outdoor gym, playing soccer volleyball and celebrating events.

One day after work my Vice Principal took us out to this restaurant and we met his oldest friend there. This became our favourite bulgolgi restaurant - barbequed pork eaten with sesame and lettuce leaves stuffed with garlic, pepper sauce, onions and kimchee. Best to only wrap as much as you can eat in one bite! Always keep your elders' glasses full by pouring soju or makju or whatever they are drinking, holding your sleeve and arm of your pouring hand as you pour. Women are expected to hold their glass with both hands and turn away from older men as they drink. This convention is not common among younger university age South Koreans, rather their parents' generation. The teachers at my schools did observe this tradition and I was expected to demonstrate respect for men in the same manner.

WWI 1917 Diary Scanning, Tortilla Bake and a Groom's Cake

I have been scanning the WWI 1917 diary that my grandfather kept as a gunner when he joined-up underage at 16 like so many other kids did. I have all of the letters that he wrote to his parents from the period of training at Petewawa in 1916 up to the end of the war in France and a diary from 1918 to scan. I sense his barely contained excitement for the adventure yet to come while at Petewawa and feel his battle weariness creep in as he trains at Shorncliffe, England after a long sea voyage and finally begins running ammunition to the front lines in France. His experience at Vimy Ridge is a horror that is delivered in understatements in his diary and barely referred to in his censored letters home, with place names scratched out with pencil or completely removed by ripping off the address at the top of the page. He refers to a friend who was a the front and was sent to London with shell shock.

My grandfather's youth is evident at times in his plaintive requests for more money to be sent from home, cigarettes, chocolate, good boots and silk underwear to discourage the "visitors", a polite euphemism for body lice. He also would like to be advanced money to purchase a revolver for close combat, as recommended by soldiers returning from the front. Grandpa Mulkins had a privileged upbringing in Ottawa and his attitudes, like many of his era, were WASPish. His diary entries reflect this background. His commentary on war culture is interesting and often funny and his illustrations of shells and cars are a snapshot of the era and evidence of his youthful exuberance. Also, a heralding of his future occupation, post-war as an architect. I am looking forward to reading through all of the material again, as it has been a long time since I have done so.

Tortilla Bake

The other day I made a tortilla bake to use up some leftover chicken, salsa and romano beans.  I had soaked and boiled up the beans and used them with pasta, but these were the last of the last and needed to be eaten or frozen. I opted for eating! Sometimes we buy a cooked chicken from Metro on Tuesday night because the price is very close to what it would cost for a fresh chicken and it gives us at least one or two more meals after that using the meat in other dishes. Anywho, I layered olive oil and small whole wheat tortillas in a round casserole dish with dollops of beans, salsa, cut up chicken, cumin, diced garlic, sliced red onion and grated chedddar cheese (although sometimes I spread cream cheese on the tortillas and skip the cheddar until the top).  I usually need to open a bottle of tomato sauce to supplement the salsa a little, to ensure juiciness. On the final layer, I crush organic blue tortilla chips and grate either parmesan or cheddar and throw on sliced onions. I wrap it in tinfoil for the first 45 to 60 minutes @350 and remove the tinfoil for another 15 minutes or so, and sometimes brown the top further with the broiler. It's great with a salad and if you have sour cream or yogourt and some guacamole. Yum.

Groom's Cake

For my daughter's 14th birthday party last April, I had asked her if she would be interested in having the truffle/cookie cake that Prince William was having for his wedding. Being a chocoholic like moi, she thought it sounded delicious. And, it was. We made it again last weekend for dinner guests and gave some to my parents - it's simply too rich to have hanging around, yodelling suductively (!) for you to have a smackerel at all hours. It's just better for your health to share it. Really.

7-ounces of butter tea cookies - McVitie's brand Rich Tea Biscuits are used by the royal family - I use chocolate covered butter cookies
1 cup whipping cream (35%)
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 1/4 cup) butter
16 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) bittersweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the glaze:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup whipping cream
6 ounces (about 1 cup) bittersweet chocolate chips

Coat a 7- or 8-inch round springform pan with butter.

To make the cake, with your hands break up the cookies into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces; you want chunks, not crumbs.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the cream, honey and butter. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes, or until bubbling - my ancient microwave takes longer. Add the chocolate and stir until melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla, then the broken up cookies. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, using the back of the spoon to smooth the top. Gently tap the pan on the counter to eliminate any air pockets.

Refrigerate for 3 hours or until thoroughly chilled.

Once the cake is chilled, prepare the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and cream. When the mixture reaches a boil, remove it from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until completely melted and smooth.

Carefully remove the sides from the springform pan. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, then remove the bottom of the pan from the cake. Ha! Easier said than done - I had to wrestle with my cake and springform base for ages, coaxing the bottom away from the cake by gently inserting a knife between the cake and pan all around the cake until it finally gave way. Set the rack over waxed paper or parchment paper to catch drips (for eager tasters).

Pour the glaze evenly over the cake and spread with a knife to completely cover the top and sides. Allow to firm up, then transfer to a serving plate. Refrigerate leftovers. If your family is lucky, they will have a bowl, spatula/spoon, a springform pan and the paper under the rack to sample the cake and glaze while the cake is chilling. This recipe is not for the faint of heart - it seems to appeal to diehard dark chocoholics rather than kids who tend to be milk chocolate lovers. Buon Appetito!

A Frog, a Dog, a Cat and a Dragonfly

or

Paul, Larry, Priscilla and Sy

or

A June Afternoon

By: Beth Mulkins

My friend teaches English to kids in Rome, Italy and he asked me to make up some rhymes to use in his lessons. This is what I wrote.

There once was a frog named Paul,

Who, one fine day in June, sat upon a wall –

Until a dragonfly flew by,

And Paul (the frog),

Jumped off that wall (Getting that dragonfly NOT AT ALL!),

And landed on a big dog!

Whose name was Larry (short for Lawrence),

And wouldn’t you know – a cat called Priscilla then ran along a fence,

And Larry,

Who loooooooooooved to chase cats,

Growled, puffed-up, and looked kind of scary –

Ran and chased, chased and ran,

Until Priscilla (the cat) jumped behind a delivery van,

And disappeared between two houses and down an alley with a garbage can,

Overflowing with balloons and flowers,

Leftover from a baby shower.

On and on that cat raced –

Even though Larry had long ago given up the chase,

Until at last Priscilla arrived at the pillow she called home,

In the center of a large pink and white frilly bed, inside a house within the heart of Rome.

Paul, meanwhile, grew weary,

(And not to mention a bit leery),

Of his dog friend called Larry,

With the big teeth, and who like to chase cats and all things hairy –

So PLOP! He went onto the ground,

And whom do you think he found?

A dragonfly named Sy –

Who said he flew by,

And would Paul like to have a game of chess –

Because, he did confess,

That it would be a most splendid way to spend a lovely afternoon,

In June.

So Paul said yes,

And they played a lazy game of chess,

On that hazy June,

Afternoon.

The End

What's for dinner tonight?

Lately, perhaps due to recovering from a virulent, persistent and persnickety flu, I have been inexorably drawn to all things hot - any type of tea, coffee, soup, piping hot food. So, on Monday, I made a tomato sauce with olive oil, garlic and onions and added some large leftover meatballs that I had made on the weekend. Popped it into the oven to bubble away for an hour and boiled up some whole grain Barilla spaghettini. Oh man, was that hot and really hit the spot with some freshly grated parmesan cheese on top, black pepper and olive oil. Last Sunday I roasted a chicken - a Frankenchicken, the last squab left on sale at the grocery store - with lovely yellow flesh potatoes cut up with carrots, onions and garlic. The bird was stuffed with a bunch of my straggly kitchen thyme, onions, garlic galore, salt and pepper. I had read that roasting with the breast down makes the white meat juicier and for the final 20-30 min. turning it over to brown the breast skin. It worked rather well; the meat was flavourful and very moist.

On Sunday morning I made a huge batch of oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chip and raisin/cranberry cookies from a culinary mystery that I was reading (Gingerbread Cookie Murder, Fluke, J., Levine, L., Meier, L.). We have been eating these cookies all week and loving the texture and flavour of the coconut.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, rack in middle

1 1/2 cups melted butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (I use dark), packed down
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, beaten
3 cups oatmeal
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sweetened dried cranberries or Thompson raisins or a combination of both
3 cups coconut
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 cups nuts or less if desired - walnuts or almonds or pecans would be yummy - I omitted due to the nut rules at my son's elementary school

Melt the butter in a small bowl in the microwave and let cool a little. In a large bowl, combine the sugars and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla extract - stir well.

Add the beaten eggs and stir. Beat the warm, not hot, butter. Gradually add oatmeal, flour and dried fruit coconut and chocolate chips (and nuts if including) and stir until thoroughly mixed after each addition.
I had to use my hands to finish incorporating all of the ingredients. I have a diminutive apartment size oven and it would take a month of Sundays to bake little cookies for a batch this huge, so I used a tablespoon to measure dollops onto moistened parchment paper to bake for 8 or 9 minutes. My method yielded 36 cookies and a 9x13 ceramic pan of 36 small squares. So many cookies, so little time...
I always love to hear what people are making for dinner or what they have been enjoying lately. It's wonderful to exchange food information and ideas. I think that food is one way we connect with each other from birth to death - every rite of passage, every day of our lives we have food for every situation or non-situation.

The Rainbow Garden

 

By: Beth Mulkins

 (This is another English as a second language rhyme for my friend in Rome.)

Red, purple, green

Red, purple, green

These are the beautiful colours that I have seen.

Tomatoes, aubergines, beans

Tomatoes, aubergines, beans

Red, purple, green.

Yellow, orange and blue

Yellow, orange and blue

I think they could be flowers, do you?

Dandelions, lilies and bluebells

Dandelions, lilies and bluebells

Fresh and pretty flowers for us to smell.

All of the colours of the rainbow are here then,

In this bright and cheerful garden!

The End

Rainbow Garden Garden

Rainbow Garden Aubergine or Eggplant