Spring Break!

My spring break started a day early because I had to stay home with a sick Jacob. He's had a cough for over a month that hasn't seemed too serious until it morphed into something that caused a fever. So, I took him in for a chest x-ray...the doctor didn't say "pneumonia," but I think he has a slight case. Anyway, he's on antibiotics and is doing better. I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to get something done around the house. As we speak, I'm letting the dough rise for my first ever batch of Amanda's famous "Love My Buns" recipe. I'm sure I'll mess them up because she seems to leave out at least one important direction from each recipe in her cookbook (I think it's done purposefully so none of us can rival her experitise in the kitchen). :)

I get to make my oboe debut at church tonight for the Good Friday service. I'm a bit nervous, but unless all the band members were lying to me, I didn't sound too bad at practice. It's good to know that I still remember how to play it after 17 years of neglect.

Today Jacob said, "I wish I had a baby sister." Further along in our conversation, he said, "We'll have to get a highchair and new baby food. I ate it all." Kids are so funny. Jacob's favorite thing to say lately is, "Guess who I love?"...."You!" I love this age!

Here's what I learned today about Korean food. I really want to figure out how to cook some of these dishes, but it's overwhelming because it seems so different. It'll be fun to experience it when we go to Korea to pick up our girl (still seems like a far-off, maybe-some-day, kind of adventure):
A diverse array of foods and dishes can be found throughout Korea.Korea was once primarily an agricultural nation, and Koreans have cultivated rice as their staple food since ancient times. These days Korean cuisine is characterized by a wide variety of meat and fish dishes along with wild greens and vegetables. Various fermented and preserved food, such as kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage), jeotgal (seafood fermented in salt) and doenjang (fermented soy bean paste) are notable for their specific flavor and high nutritional value. The prominent feature of a Korean table setting is that all dishes are served at the same time.
Kinds of Traditional Korean Food
1. Bap (steamed rice) and Juk (porridge)Boiled rice is the staple of Korean cuisine. Most people use sticky rice, which sometimes has beans, chestnuts, sorghum, red beans, barley or other cereals added for flavor and nutrition. Juk is thought of as highly nutritious and light. Many varieties of juk exist, for example, juk made of rice, red beans, pumpkin, abalone, ginseng, pine nuts, vegetables, chicken, mushrooms and bean sprouts.
2. Guk (soup)Soup is an essential dish when rice is served. Ingredients of different soups include vegetables, meat, fish, shellfish, seaweed, and beef bones.
3. Jjigae (stew)Jjigae is similar to guk but is thicker and hardier. The most famous jjigae is made from fermented soy bean paste. Jjigae is usually spicy and served piping hot in a heated stone bowl.
4. Jjim and Jorim (simmered meat or fish)Jjim and jorim are similar dishes which are prepared with vegetables and soaked in soy bean sauce, then slowly boiled together over a low flame.
5. Namul (vegetables or wild greens)Namul is made from slightly boiled or fried vegetables and wild greens mixed with salt, soy sauce, sesame salt, sesame oil, garlic, onions, and other spices.
6. Jeotgal (seafood fermented in salt)Jeotgal is a very salty food made of naturally fermented fish, shellfish, shrimp, oysters, fish roe, intestines and other ingredients.
7. Gui (broiled/barbecued dishes)When cooking gui, marinated meats are barbecued over a charcoal fire. The most popular meats of this type are bulgogi and galbi. There are also many fish dishes which are cooked this way.
8. Jeon (pan-fried dishes)Jeon is a kind of pancake made from mushrooms, pumpkin, slices of dried fish, oysters, unripe red peppers, meat or other ingredients which are mixed with salt and black pepper, dipped in flour and egg and fried in oil.
9. Mandu (dumpling)Mandu is dumplings stuffed with beef, mushrooms, stir-fried zucchini, and mungbean sprouts. Pork, chicken, or fish is sometimes used instead of beef.

I'll end my blog entry with a fun video of Jacob and his cousin, Michael performing a couple of songs while jumping on a mattress. Jacob doesn't get far into "Twinkle Twinkle" before running out of steam.