👋 Hello everyone!
Somehow it’s STILL January. It’s been a crazy month for us, but what else is new?
Today I’m heading to a K-Pop event, where I will likely spend way too much money on random BTS keychains and the like. I’ve been so lucky to keep in touch with other fans from the L.A. concerts—it’s so fun to chat with other people who are as passionate as you are about something. We have daily discourses on everything from BTS merch to digital perms to whether gochujang is really good on everything (it is), and it doesn’t matter that some of us are in Texas and some of us are in Canada and some of us are in Japan. I think the world becomes much smaller when you open yourself up to connection.
As for J and me, we’ve been hermits this month, only venturing out every so often for coffee, groceries, or the rare dinner out. I’m ready for spring and patio weather, and I’m hopeful that Omicron will make its way out the door along with winter. We’re not out of the woods yet; last year’s crazy Texas-Snowpocalypse happened in February, so who knows what’s still to come. But for now, let’s just think about breezy walks and lemonade, picnic blankets and bluebonnets, strawberry-picking and Easter candy. And maybe, just MAYBE, a new BTS album. ;)
In other news, I’ve been working on my first YouTube vlog! It’s basically just a “here’s what I make and eat sometimes” situation. I have no idea when I’ll finish it, but it’s been a fun project. Anyone else have new projects they’ve been working on? I need a hobby to get me through these winter nights.
What have you been up to lately? I’ve been…
🌮 Eating + Drinking
Toasted English muffin topped with cottage cheese and black pepper on one side, avocado and soft-boiled egg on the other.
Fish tacos! We now always have frozen tilapia fillets in the freezer for quick dinners like this. Easy sauce: mayo whisked together with lime juice and Sriracha.
Jumeok-bap (tuna rice balls), fried red bell pepper, cabbage pancakes, kimchi, seaweed, dipping sauce…
Dinner at L’Oca d’Oro, one of our faves. It’s very hard not to order this mafalde with anchovy, preserved lemon, and focaccia breadcrumb every time we go.
Lettuce wraps with Mandarin chik’n, cucumber kimchi, regular kimchi, rice, carrot, cucumber, perilla leaf, ssamjang, and gochujang. Sometimes lunch gets crazy around here.
It’s been forever since I felt like having oatmeal! This one’s topped with diced, roasted sweet potato, strawberries, blueberries, and almond butter.
I’ve been into oranges lately. That is all.
Homemade pizza is our fave. We just put all the veggies on top and serve it with some kind of salad.
We tried Purple Carrot for one week and decided it was not for us. It’s a plant-based meal kit service; the meals were actually really tasty, but the prep was a pain. My feedback: I’m a good cook who’s looking for easy meals every now and then. These recipes are something I’d make on a not-easy night. So, no.
We picked up steamed buns at the K-market, and they are SO easy to prepare! These are filled with garlic-lime tofu, perilla leaf, cucumber, carrot, and hoisin-chile sauce. (Requisite bottle of gochujang for extra spice.)
I love finding things to put in the waffle iron. This was crescent roll dough stuffed with roasted sweet potato and the crumbs leftover from a box of chocolate-covered toffee. T’was very good.
Veggie soup. I could eat veggie soup for every meal, no joke.
😂 Laughing
That’s it! Thank you for reading—hit reply and tell me what you’re up to.
--Crystal