Kimchi~~~ (What Koreans say instead of "Cheese~")

So.. I've finally decided to write down the recipe for my Kimchi. Anyway... I may have to go through a lot of revisions to make the recipe understandable, so if you have any suggestions, let me know! :)

Kimchi 김치 - Pickled cabbage

Ingredients
- 4 heads of napa cabbage (배추)
- 6 cups of salt

To get the cabbage ready to make Kimchi, cut each of the napa cabbage into a fourth. Run water over the cabbage so it'll be throughly wet. Fill a large size salt shaker with salt, and salt the cabbage "generously" between each leaf. (My mom just makes a really, really saturated salt water and dips the cabbage in the solution, but I've found my method saves time in the longer run, even though it may initially take longer.)

*Koreans usually have a large size tub, just to make kimchi, but I just use the sink. I just scrub it down before and after, and it makes it easy to prep and rinse the cabbage later.

After all the cabbage quarters have been salted, sprinkle more salt over all the cabbages (be very, very generous - I used about 6 cups of salt total for 4 heads of cabbage). Then fill the tub (or the sink) with water so that the cabbage will be submerged under salt water.

* Here, I used a plate and a bowl full of water to make the cabbage stay under the water.

Leave the cabbage in the salt for 3-4 hours, rotating the top and bottom layer half way. When you think the cabbage is ready, pick out a small size leaf (3-4 inch long) and test it (make sure to throughly rinse it under running water). When the leaf bends easily and you can taste a little bit of salt (you don't want it too salty), it is ready. Rinse the cabbage a couple times and squeeze most of the water out.

Kakdugi (깍두기) - Pickled radish

Ingredients
- 4 Korean radishes (무)
- 1/2 cup salt

To get the radish ready for Kakdugi, peel and wash the radish and dice it into bite size.

 

The easiest way is to cut it into 1-inch disks.

Cut the disk into 1-inch chunks, then slice it (1/4 inch thick).

Sprinkle the radish bits with salt and mix.

After half an hour (30 minutes - radish doesn't take long at all. Be careful not to leave it too long), rince it a couple times under cold running water.


Kimchi Sauce

Ingredients
- 2 cups of chopped Korean radish (half a head)
- 1 medium or 1/2 large onion
- 1/4 cup of minced garlic (or 12-15 cloves)
- 1 cup of fish sauce
- 1/4 cup of sweet rice flour
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 cup of chopped green onions
- 4-5 cups of hot pepper powder (고추가루)

Prepare the radish by chopping it very thinly or using a slicer.

 

 

 

Blend the onion (add the garlic if you are using the garlic cloves).

 

In a small pot, mix 1/4 cup of sweet rice flour with 1 1/2 cup cold water.

Heat up the mixture over medium heat, strring occasionally.

*As the mixture heats up, you will start to see little chunks. When this starts to happen, keep mixing, until the whole thing turns into a glob of glue...

In a big metal bowl (or any bowl you don't mind getting stained), mix the radish, onion juice, garlic, sweet rice glue, chopped green onions, fish sauce, sugar, and the hot pepper powder.

 

 

 

* My mom says this is the best tasting fish sauce that she could find in Utah (and one of the most expensive). I haven't tested any other brands, but I'm sure they'll work too.

 

 

 

* If the sauce looks too dry or too thick, you can add 1/2 cup of water.

 

 

* The sauce is ready!

 

Final Steps

For Kakdugi, mix the sauce with the pickled radish.

 

For Kimchi, apply the sauce to the pickled napa cabbage, and make sure to get each and every single leaf (this is why it takes forever to make kimchi, but it's well worth it).

Enjoy! and let me know how it went if you do try my recipe. :)

* Make sure to wear gloves when handling the sauce. It will stain your skin and clothes.

Halloween 2012

For this year's Halloween, I didn't have to spend too much time on our costumes. Alden said he wanted to be Mario again this year. Ellie said she didn't want to be Princess Peach again but just a princess. (She calls herself princess whenever she's wearing a skirt or a dress). Joe had to dress up to fit in a theme that his team at work was putting together.

At OrangeSoda, every year, they hold a big Halloween party, and every team chooses a theme to dress up and decorate their cubicles with. His team decided to have "Occupy Wall Street" as their theme. Joe just didn't shave for a few days and just put on jeans and a hoodie as his costume. Ha ha. He just took a little tent and a sleeping bag as props to set up next to his chair at work.

And as for me, oh well.. I didn't have a costume. I guess I could say I dressed up as a stay home mom. Ha ha.

In the morning, Alden's Sunbeam teacher threw a Halloween party. She had treat bags for the kids and games prepared. There were a couple tossing games (a tennis ball in pumpkin baskets and a bean bag in a box painted as a pumpkin with holes punched through the mouth, nose, and eyes). Alden did a great job with the games. Afterwards, they played with some toys.

After the party, we came home and invited Al's friend, William, to come play with us at the house. Joe came home for lunch to give us the car, and we had chicken alfredo for lunch. Alden went over to William's house after lunch to play, and Ellie went down for a quick nap.

At 3:30, we went over to Joe's work to go trick-or-treating. The whole building was all decorated. There were arrows on the floor guilding us through the building. The kids went around the building, collecting candy. Joe's co-workers were very generous with their candy and the kids collected a whole basket full of candy each. (I forgot my camera!)

The haul from Joe's work

 

 

We came home to sort through the candy, then went back out to go around the neighborhood for more candy. We just went quickly around the cul-de-sac and a few other houses around the ward boundary. When we got home, Yeagi and Jonathan came by, so we had dinner together (fried rice). The kids skipped dinner and got full on candy, chocolate cupcakes, and pumpkin cake. Ha ha.

 

 

 

 

Busy weekend

Early last week, we got the news that a brother that served as a couple missionary with Joe in Sydney had passed away. He was a great man, with love and respect from everyone around him. A couple friends from Korea, Sammy and Young, actually flew in from Korea for the funeral. They stayed with us Friday night, and Joe got to catch up with them.

Saturday was the funeral, and we all headed to the ceremony. Because of our kids, we had to step out into the foyer, but it was a beautiful ceremony. We saw a lot of people from Joe's mission, too.

They all went to lunch together after the ceremony, and we headed out to Lake Point for Lana's 1st birthday party. Laura did such a great job decorating everything. I loved the fall/halloween theme, and especially Lana's birthday outfit!

 

(This cake was soooo good. I had two gigantic slices...)

 



 

Tom and Laura put Lana in her "birthdy suit" for the cake, and Lana had a slow start but eventually got pretty into the cake.

 

 

Ellie had an ice cream cone and managed to finish it without much mess. :)

 

 

After the party, we got to stay longer. Kids played together, and adults watched a movie together (well, except for me. I fell asleep.)

 

On Sunday, we went to see my friend from high school before church. Cassie is actually from Orem, and we met each other in Florida for the HOSA national leadership conference. We've kept up with each other since then (only actually got together twice). She now actually lives in Florida and was visiting her parents in Orem, so we wanted to see each other's kids (we hadn't seen each other since before we got married). It was so good to see her and her kids and catch up. Her daughter Brooklyn and Al played really well.

It was a loooong weekend (we are having the guests from Korea come back here again today-Monday) but it was fun and full of people we love.

 



Eli's 100 day party

In Korea, turning 100 days old is a big deal. I guess babies didn't used to make it that far as often a long time ago, and the tradition stayed. It's kind of like a baby shower except it's with the baby, and Koreans usually go all out and rent out a reception hall, invite the whole family and town, and have a full-on buffet. Well, we couldn't afford to do that for Eli.... So we decided to have a small party at the house.

For Al, we had a really big baby shower, and we actually forgot about his 100 day. Oops. At the end of the day, we realized it was his 100 day birthday, and managed to take one picture. For Ellie, my mom didn't want a baby shower but wanted a 100 day party instead, so she had a pretty big one, with the help of both her grandmas.

For Eli's party, both grandmas were gone. One in Chicago, and the other in Hawaii. But I had some help from my sister and some friends, so it wasn't too bad. We had the party Sunday evening. I had all the food stuff planned out earlier that week and had gone shopping. Joe and I worked from Friday night to decorate the house and to prepare the ingredients. I made Teriyaki Chicken, Japchae, rice, stir fried veggies (courtesy of Yeagi and Walmart), Thai curry, and Kimchi. I also had some rolls from CostCo, Salad that our neighbors brought, and fruits that my friend Moa brought.

 



We invited friends and family, and most of Joe's family was there except for Jamie and Sam (Sam was sick) and grandpa. Jonathan B's grandmother was visiting and wasn't feeling good, so he stayed home with her, and Yeagi came with her parents-in-law. We had three families from the neighborhood come (Hutchings, Lees, and Neffs), and Nancy and Moa came.

We just had a good time getting together and eating. We had cheesecake, cookies that Laura made, and ice cream for dessert. I was too busy eating and having fun with friends and family that I forgot to open presents until most people had left... :P Oh well. Eli behaved really well through the party and looked very handsome in his new plead button-up shirt that my mom bought. :)

Thanks everyone for coming!

Testimonies

Yesterday during sacrament, Alden kept asking what was next. We had a lot of sustainings and a baby blessing, so I guess he was just wondering when it was going to be over...

He asked the question again when the young men were going around with the water, so I told him that after that, people were going to go up and bear their testimonies, talk about how much they love Jesus, etc. Just for fun, I asked Al if he would like to do that too, and to my surprise, he said yes!

I kept asking him, over and over, just to make sure that he wasn't just saying yes. I wanted to make sure that he understood what he was about to do, standing in front of all the people and speaking into the microphone. He was pretty sure he wanted to go up, so we discussed what he would say. After deciding what to say, I asked Ellie if she would want to come with us too because I was pretty sure she would freak out if I went up with Al and left her there. She said she wanted to come too!

Well, I was getting more nervous than the kids because I knew I would have to bear my testimony too if I went up there with them, and I hadn't done that in a long, long time... But worrying about the kids and trying to talk to Al (maybe secretly hoping he'd change his mind), I didn't have much time to think about what to say.

Anyway, we went up there, and Al's testimony went something like this.
"I love Heavenly Father. I love Jesus. I love my family. When I get scared, I can say a prayer and not be scared. And I have a picture of Jesus in my room to help me not get scared. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Ellie's testimony was, "I love Jesus."

Then it was my turn, and I didn't know what to say, so I said something like, it's great to have kids old enough to want to bear their testimonies so I have to too. Anyway, after I came back down, I realized it wasn't much of a testimony. I remember, a few years ago, an apostle (I don't remember who it was) recommended sharing our testimonies with our closest people, our families, and not just to the ward members when convenient, on a fast Sunday. So I would like to share some thoughts here, things that I didn't get to share yesterday.

When President Monson announced that the women can now go on missions at age 19, Joe and I joked about how I could've gone on a mission too. I had always thought about going on a mission, but had not really set specific plans for it. I had medical school in the future, but both my brother and sister had served, so I thought it might be good to go. When I shared the thought with Joe (we were dating at the moment), he said something to the effect of not being able to wait for me. (He says he was joking now, but I'm sure he meant it...) I stayed, got married, and had kids.

Sometimes, I think it would've been wonderful to go, build my testimony, teach people, etc. but now I know that that wasn't for me. I'm grateful to have married this wonderful guy, I am grateful that I was able to finish my education, and most of all, I'm grateful to have these wonderful children who are such great examples to ME and inspire me to become better. My life couldn't have turned out better, and I love where we are in our lives now. Joe and I have no worries, and we are so blessed to have a house, a job, and a wonderful family.

I am grateful to have this true gospel in my life and to be able to be with my wonderful family for eternity. People say things like, "I would give anything to be with my loved ones." Well, I know what I've got to do to accomplish that, so I'm going to keep it up and be the best I can. Thank you for all of your great examples to me! I love you all!

Alden's Birthday Party

I consider birthdays to be pretty important. I want to make the person feel special, and If anything, it's a good excuse to plan a party. :) If you knew in college when I was single, you would know how much I love parties. I would always host potluck parties, movie nights, activities like haunted houses or laser tag. Anyway, now that I have kids, I spend most party planning focused on their birthday parties.

Joe always complains, "I only got like once birthday party growing up, so why should the kids get a party every year?" Well, I remember a lot of parties that happened on my birthday, and they are pretty good memories. I would like to do the same for my kids.

Last year for Al's birthday, we had a Mario theme. I stayed up all night making mushroom cupcakes and Mario cake and star shaped cookies. Al had a Mario shirt (I sewed on blue fabric in the shape of overalls on a red shirt) with a 3 sewed on the front, and we went to the Kangaroo Zoo after the party at home. 

This year, he said he wanted an Oreo ice cream cake. I called around Coldstone, Dairy Queen, and Baskin Robbins to see how much they were, and the cheapest on was $25 and was too small to feed everyone that would be coming to the party. I found one at Walmart for $15, and Joe said that was still too expensive. He said, "With that money, we could buy a whole tub size ice cream. Why don't we just put candles in the tub of ice cream?" 

With that, I had an idea of making an Oreo ice cream cake, relatively easily. I decided to make several ice cream cupcakes, and arrange them into a shape of a cake. I got some whipped cream, Oreos, and ice cream. All of that ended up costing about $15, but we had lots of left over cookies and ice cream, so I guess we can't complain... 

For Al's party, we decided to go to Cornbelly's. We were planning a trip there with Sophie and her family anyway, so we invited everyone else in the family to come with us. Joe's dad, Faye, John, Tom and Laura and their kids, and Jamie and Sam were all able to make it. The kids were sooooo excited about it, that was all Al could talk about for a few days. He even made his own "corn maze" during dinner one night!

Sophie and Al were so excited to lead the company. They ran up ahead and kept saying, "I think it's this way... We came from there so we have to go this way... This way is blocked!"

Half way though, however, I heard Al say, "I don't like this anymore. Let's go back." ha ha. Thank goodness we didn't have to back track. We finished the maze in just under an hour, and considering we had four year olds lead us, I think we did pretty well...

After the maze, we went around to play with other attractions they had, and the kids had a blast, and the adults had fun watching them (and some adults also enjoyed jumping on the jumping pillow...). 

We came home for pizza and ice cream, and before I knew it, the boys (the adult boys) had pulled out the Nintendo 64. I guess that was expected because Jonathan Broadwell, Jonathan Rigby, and Tom could not stop talking about games all night... We started a Golden Eye tournament, and the night turned into a party for the adults (the kids had fun watching but it was way past their bYed time and they were all so tired). 

Everyone had turns playing, and the most exciting game has got to be the one between Joe's dad and my sister Yeagi. Neither of them had played the game before, and they don't usually play games anyway, so it was a really close game. They picked it up pretty quickly but at about the same pace, so everyone in the room was so nervous watching them try to kill each other. It finally came down to the last kill (4:4), and Yeagi ended up winning (Jonathan B was so proud of his wife, he was jumping up and down). 

Alden really enjoyed the party, and he is still excited about his real birthday and turning 4 years old. Today, we went to Jump On It for the last time (at least for free) since he will need to pay starting tomorrow. Al and Ellie had so much fun, and they went to sleep excited about another fun day tomorrow. Everyone is starting to come down with something, so hopefully he doesn't feel miserable tomorrow.

Alden's turning 4!

Alden is turning 4 this week! It's crazy how fast time has gone by. Joe and I still can't believe we have three kids and our oldest is 4 now. We've been so blessed to have such nice kids, and Alden is awesome. We couldn't hope for anymore.

Alden is still pretty short and small for his age, but that doesn't mean he's behind in anything. He can jump and run and play well with other bigger kids at the playground, and he sometimes leads bigger kids in playing games like tag or hide-and-seek. He is very friendly and will go up to other kids at the playground and ask, "Do you want to be friends?"

He is a really good brother to his little sister and brother. He looks out for Ellie and is so nice when playing with her (most of the time). He will share toys with her and take turns. When Ellie wakes up in the morning, he will go get her since she can't open the door on her own (she's now in a toddler bed. She she was in the crib, Al would take toys to her cuz he couldn't get her out). Sometimes he takes advantage of her and give her smaller portions of food or less turns, but most of the times, they play really well. He will play and try to get Ellie involved so she can have fun too. He loves Eli too, and is always asking to give him kisses and hugs. We have to hold him back a lot of times because he will try to kiss or touch Eli when he's asleep...

Al's been reading like crazy and can read at 1st grade level. We like to go to the library and pick out new books for him to read in the easy reader section. He's read so many books this last summer, and he reads probably 4-5 new books every week. His favorite books are the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Williams. Even though they are pretty easy for him now, he still enjoys reading them and have read each book a dozen times. He is also learning math. He can do simple addition and subtraction that is less than 20. He can do 6 + 10, 5 - 2, etc. in his head and will say, "Let's do it in our heads!" He can also count by 5 (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.). The biggest number he know how to say is "One hundred million three thousand hundred!" and he will say things like, "I love Eli one hundred million three thousand hundred!"

He loves music and loves to play the piano. He can play the Popcorn Popping on the piano, and we just started learning Follow the Prophet. Since we don't have a real piano, we are borrowing Jonathan Broadwell's electronic keyboard. Al loves to turn on the music (mostly classical) on the keyboard and dance to the music. He recognizes a lot of the classical music because they are on the tv show, Little Einsteins When he recognizes the music, he will shout, "Little Einsteins!" and jump and dance saying, "Look at my cool moves!"

Just last week, Alden started praying all by humself. It's mostly the same prayer every time, but he does a pretty good job covering the basics. Whenever we ask for a volunteer for the prayer, Al and Ellie both shout out, "Me! Me!" so we have to have them do rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets to pray. When we go to church, he likes to sing along the hymn now because he can read the lyrics. When he comes across a question he can't answer (like "why do we have two arms?"), he answers, "That's because Heavenly Father made it that way."

We can't believe how fast time flies. Before we know it, he'll be going to school!