Meet my new buddy

Yep, I'm now the proud owner of a bike (thanks for the Christmas present, Jamie :D)! I've been pretty bummed about the no running thing, so Jamie and I went to test out bikes when he was here over Thanksgiving. I fell in love with this one and it came home with us (even after a little bit of an incident involving me and an oncoming Muni bus).

Right now I'm still getting used to the whole riding with traffic thing, since the last time I owned a bike I was 12 and riding on a dead end street. Since I don't have a lock or a rear blinky light, I can really only ride over the weekend from and to my apartment...I should be able to get ample road practice that way, right?

My plan is (once I'm comfortable riding, of course) to bike to and from work and get some longer rides in on the weekend. Hello, cross training! Nice to finally meet you! I'm pretty nervous about venturing into the open road...any advice for a newbie? I know there are hand signals for turning, the bike lane doesn't mean you are always safe, and I'm not allowed to ride on the sidewalk...basic stuff.

Do I make left turns like a car? Do I make left turns from the bike lane? Jeebus. So much to learn. I think for now I'm sticking to Crissy Field. Wish me luck!

annyeonghi gyeseyo

I am coming back to the States on Tuesday.  This has been the longest three months (haha) of my life, but I have absolutely no regrets.  The Republic of Korea is a stunning, friendly, delicious, confusing, and sometimes frustrating country.  It is a weird feeling to leave the place I have called home for the past eight months.  It is hard to contain my excitement to get back stateside…but, at the same time I definitely have some sadness about leaving the ROK.  I guess you could say I have “gone bamboo” a little.  Maybe bamboo is the wrong term, “gone kimchi” or “gone garlic” is probably more applicable.  I have made some great friends at both bases and without them my time here would have been a fraction as enjoyable.  So with that I would like to say farewell to the ROK.  You will be missed, but don’t worry, I will see you next year :)

Some things I will miss:

• soju monster
• one dollar soju
• two litre bottles of beer
• korean food (lets be honest, korean food in the States is good but it can’t touch the real thing)
• konglish
• kunsan and songtan
• my subs and korean family
• panchan and self service
• amazing and efficient public transportation

Some things you may see me doing in the States:

• bowing
• eating communally (more than normal)
• making “x” signs with my fingers or hands
• saying “aahhhh” or grunting in acknowledgement
• using two hands to accept/hand things over
• asking for “changeee”
• speaking in korean accidently
• use of non-proper english (most already know my limited grasp on the american language)

Things I will not miss:

• kimchi blossoms
• wondering what i just ordered
• 83 inches of snow
• working in negative temperatures
• juicies

These lists are not complete at all.  I’m sure I could add tons more to all three.  The above items are just what came to mind as I typed this post up.  I hope you guys have enjoyed my reports on Korea.  I still have a couple of ideas up my sleeve and have to fill everyone in on the side trips I took once I moved up north (including a visit to the DMZ).

So much to say!

But I'm going to try to keep it brief...not promising anything ;p

I had a post, actually a couple, drafted up this weekend but I got distracted and never got around to posting. Ah well. I made a last minute trip to New Jersey for Easter and so I could squeeze in some time with the nephews since I probably won't get to see them as much now that I'll be a West Coaster. Yep, in case you missed the not so subtle hint, I'm moving to San Francisco at the end of the month! Woo! There's so much to do before I leave!!

I'm really excited about this huge change, but I'm also (obviously) sad and nervous about it all. I've spent the past 10 years in DC - CRAZY! Yeeh. Ok, now what have I been up to...

After the day of eating, sunning and drinking at Crissy Field, I definitely needed a large bowl of veggies to close out my trip. Monday dinner was at Grove Cafe in the Marina. It was nice and cozy and we were able to get a massive bowl of greens each. I went with the Yucatan Chicken (achiote chicken, marinated onions, tortilla chips, sliced avocado and a habanero vinaigrette)

I'm so glad I got the dressing on the side...that was some spiiiiicy stuff! Loved it though...spicy, tangy, a little sweet - all my faves. The bread was great too - a little buttery and pressed. YUM! Excellent way to close things out :)

Things got even better when I found out I got the job shortly after getting home on Tuesday :) I broke the news to everyone and began the planning process. Who knew so much would go into moving across the country??

I had work at the store on Friday and randomly met up with a few friends from college for dinner at Sabores in Cleveland Park. I've eaten at Sabores a few times before and have had pretty decent (albeit slightly pricey) experiences. Six of us sat down pretty hungry and were ready to order. I'm assuming the kitchen wasn't ready for us because it took almost an HOUR for our food to arrive. Mind you, Sabores serves tapas. UH. WTF?

Our food eventually came out and it was mediocre. I got the Brazilian Chop-Chop Salad (hearts of palm, baby beets, celery, radishes, carrots, jicama and water cress dressing)

and the Brazilian Chicken Turnovers (fried pastry filled with chicken, cheeses, red peppers, parsley and tomatoes)

I've had both of these before and really liked them...which is why I ordered them again. This time around, the turnovers were lacking in flavor and I don't remember them looking so fried wonton-y. Same goes for the salad. I remember there being a lot more chunky veggies and more flavor. Ech.

Aside from the service and food, it was a fun night. I was glad to catch up with friends and I also got a little sad that stuff like that probably won't happen so often once I move :( It started to hit me that I'm leaving everything that's familiar behind.

So Saturday I took a quick train trip up north and about halfway there I realized I packed everything for a Sunday morning run except for a shirt. D'oh! Luckily my sister had to make a quick run to Walgreens for some last minute Easter goodies and what do you know...they have t-shirts! FOR $2.50! hahaha. Yes, I totally bought a $2.50 Hanes t-shirt. Amazing.

I helped fill some eggs up with fun treats and I got an Easter box of goodies too! They showed up later on in the week at the office...

My gummy bunny farm went well with this Spongebob Crabby Patty

For real?!

I slept in on Sunday and played Easter bunny before setting out on a 40 minute run/walk in the old 'hood. I remembered why I used to hate running. The neighborhood I grew up in isn't exactly runner friendly. I dodged a lot of stray bushes/branches and tried not to fall on broken pavement. Oh, and most of the roads don't have sidewalks...

I also paid a visit to my elementary school that seems to have gotten bigger

and my middle school that didn't properly fall into a walk segment so it didn't get photographed. Gorgeous day for a memory filled run :) When I got back, I got bamboozled into cooking Easter dinner...but not before some biking with the tots!

When I got back to the house, it was time to get cooking! My mom had a pork tenderloin and lamb chops and I decided to go with a larger scale version of the Tropical Stuffed Pork Tenderloin I made awhile ago.

Unfortunately the store didn't have the couscous I wanted so I got frisky with a box of A Taste of Thai Coconut Ginger Rice and Mango. I basically tossed in some mango chunks while the rice cooked...very nice together! I also made use of the extra juices/sauce in the baking pan by adding some flour and reducing the liquid. No waste!

For some ruffage, I blanched some snap peas, sliced some red peppers and chopped some red onions for a Soy-Ginger Snap Pea Salad

Soy-Ginger Snap Pea Salad

1/4 c soy-ginger sauce (see below)

3 c snap peas, blanched and cooled

2 red peppers, thinly sliced

1/4 red onion, minced

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let marinate for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Soy-Ginger Sauce

3 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp oyster sauce

1/4 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

salt

pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl.

That was the tropical end of the table. I went basic when it came to the lamb chops. Let it be known I've never cooked a lamb chop in my entire life. In hindsight, I'd probably french the chops, but who am I kidding, I don't have the skills for that...yet.

I took a chance and tossed a bunch of flavors together and pan seared the chops (I had no patience to deal with the oven/broiler). I served them with some bitter greens to round the meal out.

Rosemary Lemon Lamb Chops

8-10 lamb chops

1 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp freshly ground pepper

zest of one lemon

olive oil

Combine rosemary, salt, garlic, salt, pepper and zest in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil on lamb chops and liberally sprinkle rosemary mixture on each side. Heat a pan over medium high heat and cook chops for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Arugula Salad with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

3 c baby arugula salad

1/4 c red onion, thinly sliced

1 tomato, quartered and cut in half

1 tbsp dijon mustard

salt

pepper

splash rice wine vinegar

splash maple syrup

juice of half a lemon

2-3 tbsp olive oil

Whisk mustard, salt, pepper, vinegar, syrup, lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl, set aside. Combine arugula, onion and tomato in a large bowl. Mix in dressing (you won't need all of it) to lightly coat greens.

After dinner, we quickly packed up since my parents and I had a long drive to DC. See, I may have coerced them into driving down with me to help pack. What? I'm all by my lonesome! hehe. No joke, my parents got SO much done on Monday while I was at work. I came home and bookshelves were taken down, furniture taken apart. SUCH a relief! They walked down to the store and we decided to grab dinner at...wait for it...Paragon Thai! Surprise!

We split three dishes family style (duh) and had a bunch leftover. I told my mom about the Tofu Pad Thai (slightly spicy) that I like

And my dad eyed the Spicy Tofu with Crispy Thai Basil special (and of course I forgot the actual name since it's been a few days). It was no joke spicy...and slightly sweet. Sort of like a really spicy General Tso.

Also on the table was the Angel Eggplant special (eggplant, minced chicken, tofu in a light brown sauce?). This was probably my favorite dish of the night. What can I say, I love eggplant! The flavor reminded me a little of Chicken Ka Pow, which I love. Two thumbs up!

AGH! So much food! It doesn't end there! My mom took charge of the kitchen on Tuesday and whipped up a Broccoli Rabe, Shrimp and Corn concoction.

I have no idea what went into this flavor-wise...except I did see some garlic...and she asked for some teriyaki sauce, which I didn't have.

WOOH! *BIG deep breath* Sorry for the length...I had a TON of photos I needed to dump in here. I think I've got all the weekend goodies covered :) I'll see if I can get that last recipe from the momma.

Off to crash...looking at all these piles of things to be packed/sold/tossed is making me tired!

Happy Wednesday!

Have you thought about your tofu-licious creations for this week's BSI??

I hopped into the office this evening after 8 hours of jury duty only to find out that everything I needed wasn't completed. As much as that frustrated me, I was pretty psyched that I would be able to get home in time to pick up my drycleaning (that had been sitting since Monday) and get a much needed gym trip in.

After IM-ing with an old coworker who runs a ton, I decided to try a little experiment in the gym. Remember my last treadmill attempt? Well, I was feeling some tenderness in my achilles ever since then. Another coworker (from the store) had mentioned maybe the source of my problem was switching to a softer shoe (those Elites I loved). SO, I pulled out my old Inspires, laced them up and set out for the gym.

Despite the lack of sufficient cushioning, I felt the best I have in MONTHS. I think I even had a goofy grin on my face! haha. I started off with a 2 minute walk and then jumped up to a 3 minute heel striking shuffle at 5.8. It felt ok...a little tight, but I was hoping it would loosen up. Since that wasn't painful, I set my next round of running at 6.5 with quicker forefoot striking. OMG. NO PAIN. BEST FEELING EVER! :) :)

Kept the next round the same...still felt good but dropped it back down to the shuffle for the last set to be safe. Didn't want to jinx things! Followed it up with 15 minutes on the elliptical, mostly because I couldn't wait any longer to report the good news :)

Post-first 'real' run back involved 5 minutes of direct ice, lots of bonding time with the Stick, and some special stretches from my PT. Good Wednesday, indeed!

Sorry for being such a super nerd about all this...it's been super frustrating having this stupid injury the past 4 months. I was so bummed that it disrupted the best and most disciplined summer of training for me AND I've had months of physical therapy that still hasn't fixed me enough to run through the winter. UGH.

After all that frustration and pangs of jealousy that would hit anytime I saw people running (o yes, I started craving runs and getting really upset that I couldn't run), I seriously could not contain my excitement during this evening's run!

YAAAY!! :) :)

Someone is moving...

and it's not me :(

Jamie just got a kick-ass opportunity with another company (yaay!). Unfortunately, that opportunity means he has to move to Korea for 3 months...starting at the end of October (big sad face). Let me provide you with a little graphic:

This is how I chose to spend 5 minutes of my day. HA.

While I'm really excited and happy about his new adventure, I can't help but be a tad bit selfish and sad that he won't be around for a few big events - the Marine Corps Marathon (I know, it's not like it's my first, but still), a wedding, Turkey Day, Christmas, his birthday/New Years. Sad. But it's just three months right? It's not like a whole year of no Chef Jamie. :)

I know, I sound like a big baby, but it's really hard to imagine what it'll be like living without the person you've lived with for (holy crap) almost 4 years? And it's not like he's just moving to the opposite coast - this one mother of a time difference!

So, please excuse me if I have scattered posts over the next few weeks. We've got lots to take care of (including a possible move to a smaller place for me) on top of work and training. Yeesh!

To distract me a little bit and keep me in the positive zone, here are some fall things I've got planned/am planning :)

• Selin in town = good eats (keep an eye out for a post-Proof and A&J report!)
• Sister, bro-in-law and my two adorable nephews in town for a last visit w/Jamie (yay fun kids!)
• Wedding weekend in NJ w/just us girls from college :)
• Mini-vacay to visit Selin in SF (weekend of the FoodBuzz Festival, but still sitting on whether or not I'll partake in the festivities. HELP!)

Ok, that really only brings me to early November haha. More to come after tonight's 8-miler!