Soju and Pancakes

Soup's on!

2010-08-29T19:07:00.000+09:00

It's been a long, rainy week. Considering how skittish I was about eating soup for the first 25 or so years of my life, I'm amazed by how I crave it during yucky weather. Now, don't get me wrong, watery, broth-based soups still make me want to gag. Too much like drinking sea water for my taste. However, I've learned to love heartier, thick and chunky soups with lots of mix-ins. Take for instance, the spicy, creamy red pepper soup I made Sean and I last week during a particularly nasty wet spell. It also gave me a chance to re-purpose a pretty dry and otherwise unsuccessful loaf of whole wheat bread I attempted and then stashed in the freezer so as not to have to face my failure. I made croutons by seasoning and drying them (even more!) in the oven, and they were the perfect addition.

I believe this evolved from a recipe for a creamy red pepper soup that I saw on "Everyday Italian." First, I made it vegetarian and then later veganized it, removing the cheese and adding spiciness to it where there formerly was none, to up the flavor content. This was a particulary great recipe to veganize because it taught me how to make a creamy soup base using potatoes cooked and then blended in. So, it's very easy to use the base recipe and try lots of other veggie and seasoning combinations. I also use this same basic recipe, only replacing the peppers with spinach. I can't decide which I like best.

Spicy Red Pepper Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil

5 large red peppers - roasted, peeled, and seeded

4-5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup dry white wine

6 cups water or veggies stock

pinch of red pepper flakes (to taste)

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. fresh thyme

6-7 fresh basil leaves

salt

freshly ground white or black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, garlic, red pepper flakes, and thyme. Saute until the onions are clear and soft, taking care not to burn the garlic (about 4-5 mins.). Add the water or broth, peppers, potato, wine, sugar, bay leaves, and basil. Turn up heat to high and bring to a simmer. Decrease heat to low and simmer partially covered about 30 mins until potatoes are very soft.

Once the soup has cooled slightly, remove the bay leaves. (If you forget, not the end of the world. I always do. Just blend them in really, really well.) Puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender, or cool and blend in blender or food processor until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more red pepper flakes, if needed.

If you've never roasted your own peppers before, don't panic, it's really easy. Simply put whole, washed peppers onto a foil covered roasting pan and bake them in a really hot oven until they are black all over. Turn them every once in a while to cook them evenly. Then, take them out and seal them in glass container or thick plastic bag (make sure it won't melt) for about 15 mins to steam. When they are cool to the touch, the skin should come off easily. If you don't have an oven, just blacken the outsides of the pepper in a really hot pan and them let them steam. They can then be stored in a glass jar in water for about a week in the fridge until you are ready for them.

Vegan Fail - Episode 1

2010-08-25T22:54:00.001+09:00

I am a compulsive label-reader. I've pretty much always been one. I have very vivid memories of trying to make sense of and crunch the numbers corresponding with the nutritional infomation on the back of the cereal box as I was munching away, trying desperately to reach the toy on the bottom. Few things ever make it into this apartment without a very thorough inspection.

However, I do have the occasional lapse. Somethings just seem so naturally vegan, why would you bother to check? Case in point - vegetable stock. It has the word "vegetable" right in the name for a reason, no? I mean, when I go to make stock, the first thing I reach for is a big, fresh pile of whey power. I'm sure you do, too. Oh, and don't forget the fat flavoring - whatever that means.

I guess if nothing else, it's reinforced my belief that if you want something done right (a.k.a. vegan), do it yourself. I better start saving up my veggie scraps for a long winter of soups.

My Pierogitive

2010-08-24T22:04:00.001+09:00

Ahhhh, pierogies - such exquisitely simple ingredients, yet such complicated assembly. However, if you have the time and the patience, there's nothing like a hot, homemade pierogi. As an added bonus, they're extremely easy to veganize without making too many radical changes. Swap out the butter for a non-dairy alternative, and you're all set.

Maybe it's my Slavic heritage, maybe it was growing up in the Pittsburgh area and nostalgia for the Pittsburgh Pierogi, or maybe it's just that they're worth the effort. Whatever the reason, I'm willing to sacrifice a few hours every now and then to get my pierogi fix.

This particular night, Sean and I served ours as a main dish with broccoli and vegan cheese sauce on the side. There were enough left over for lunch and a snack the next day. They also freeze wonderfully if stored properly.

As I said before, one huge advantage to making pierogies in Korea is that they require only the most basic of ingredients: flour, water, oil, potatoes, onion, non-dairy butter, salt, and pepper. As an added bonus, no baking is required for the no oven set.

If you, too, need your pierogie fix, here's how to get it:

Pierogies (serves 4-6)

pasta:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 - 3/4 cups hot water

stuffing:

1 really big or 2 medium size baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 tsp. salt

freshly ground black or white pepper

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

olive oil

non-dairy butter

First, boil potatoes until soft in a large pot of water. Drain and set aside.
To make the dough, combine flour and salt in a large bowl.
Make a well in the center of the flour and salt mixture and add the olive oil. Pour in 1/2 cup of water and stir the flour in. Add more water, if needed, to make a stiff dough.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 3 mins, or until it is smooth.
Roll into a ball and cover with a clean kitchen towel while it rests for 15 mins.

Meanwhile, Cook the chopped onion in olive oil, covered, over medium heat until soft and translucent - about 5-7 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Next, take the boiled potatoes and mash them with a fork or a potato masher until they are fluffy. Season to taste with salt and pepper and stir in the cooked onions.
Uncover the dough, divide it into 2 or portions, and roll it out on a very lightly floured surface to about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. It should not be sticky, so much flour won't be necessary.
Cut into approximately 3" x 3" squares.

Fill each square with about a teaspoon of potato filling.
Using your finger, moisten the edge of the dough square with water and fold one corner of the dough over the filling diagonally to make little triangles.
Seal the pierogies shut by pressing the edges with the tines of a fork.
Set uncooked pierogies aside on a floured surface or waxed paper until ready to cook

Once all your pierogies are assembled, cook them for 1-3 mins in a large pot of boiling water. They are ready when they float to the surface of the water. They cook very quickly, so watch them carefully.
Once your pieroges are boiled, pan fry them in a skillet in non-dairy butter (trust me - don't substitute olive oil here) until they are lightly browned and crispy on the outside. Salt and pepper to taste.

Here you have it, pieroges in just...ummm...how many easy steps was it again?

It's Vanilla Time!

2010-08-15T16:17:00.000+09:00

A few months ago I started making my own vanilla extracts. There are several reasons why I began brewing my very own vanilla, the first of which being the insane cost of real vanilla extract here. I tried the strange white vanilla powder that are in all of the big supermarkets here, but I found that it imparted more of a vanilla smell than taste to baked goods. Although it's very inexpensive, it just wasn't quite what I was looking for. Luckily, most specialty baking markets and import stores carry real vanilla extract, but at a high cost (6,000 won an ounce!). Plus, I live no where near these places, and there's nothing worse than getting a yummy batch of cookie batter mostly mixed only to realize you are 1/2 tsp of vanilla short, and the nearest place that carries it is an hour away. Of course when this happens it's also usually pouring rain or the sidewalks have been coated in ice. Who wants to go out in that? I much prefer staying home, eating warm cookies, and playing with my dogs.

After buying seemingly endless tiny, expensive bottles that would last me a week or two each, I thought there must be a better way. Low and behold, with five minutes of internet research, I was ready to make my own vanilla and break my depence on import markets. Believe it or not, there are only two ingredients necessary for real vanilla extract: vanilla beans and vodka. Commercial extracts sometimes add sweetners, but I much prefer it without them.

And where do I get vanilla beans, you ask? Well, you will need make one last trip to the import or baking market for those. I've found them at I <3 Cookie in Bundang, and the Bangsan baking market in Dongdaemun. If you really hate riding the subway, you can also order them from G-market at around 1,500 won each by typing in the keywords "vanilla bean."

Now that you have your vanilla beans all you need is some vodka, and any kind of vodka will do. You will taste the vanilla, not it, so buy the cheapest stuff around, or do like me and steal whatever the boyfriend has stashed in the freezer. If he complains, withhold cookies.

(Editor's note: said boyfriend also edits the spelling of "definately" and is wonderful.)

The last things you're going to need now are a jar with a tight fitting lid, somewhere cool and dark to store it, and a little patience. The complete recipe is below.

Your very own homemade vanilla

3 whole vanilla beans, split most of the way

1 cup vodka

jar with a tight fitting lid

First, cut the vanilla beans up the center using scissors, but do not split them in half. Leave about an inch uncut.
Pour the vodka in the jar and add the vanilla beans. Cover tightly
Leave the vanilla beans and vodka mixture in a cool, dry place for at least 8 weeks. Shake the jar every few days in the meantime.
After 8 weeks the vanilla is ready. You can pour off the finished vanilla and add more vodka to the beans to make more extract! You can reuse the beans almost indefinitely. The color will be the most intense with the first batch, but each batch after that still has the same strong vanilla taste and smell, but will look a bit lighter in color.

After you've made yourself your first batch of vanilla extract, bake yourself up something yummy. You deserve it for being so patient! As for my vanilla, it went into a yummy batch of peanut and ginger cookies.

Put to good use, indeed!

Low-key Gnocci night

2010-08-11T22:20:00.008+09:00

Whoever invented the no-carb diet was clearly a diabolical supervillan trying to rid the world of happiness. Okay, maybe a bit extreme, but I certainly wouldn't want to live that way. I was in desperate need of a good carbo-overload tonight so, I thought, "Potatoes, flour.....and nothing else! Perfect!' Top it with a bit of homemade sundried tomato and basil pesto and you've got yourself a bowl full of carb loaded happiness. I served mine alongside a spinach salad with creamy balsamic dressing because, you know, we can't totally by pass the veggies. They do help keep us healthy and junk, and I'm a sucker for a (somewhat) balanced meal.

For a very long time, gnocci were something that I bought from the freezer section of the grocery store. I had no idea what was in them, besides potato, and what kind of kitchen alchemy goes into making them. It wasn't until I was on a FOOD TV binge that I discovered that they are usually, in fact, just potato, flour, and a bit of salt. Since then, I've been making my own and haven't so much as glanced back to the freezer section since.

If you want to try your own, clear some counter space, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to roll your own gnocci. The first time I saw the recipe I was sure it couldn't possibly work but was pleasantly surprised with its simplicity.

Gnocci

1 very large or two medium sized baking potatoes

1 cup (or slightly more) of all purpose flour

1 tsp. of salt

First, you need to cook your potatoes. You can do this several ways: either poke holes in the skins with a fork and microwave them for 4-5 mins and wrap in foil for 20-30 mins, pierce with a fork and bake on 230 C for one hour, or peel and boil until soft.
Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skins (if needed) and mash with a fork or potato masher until they are as smooth as you can get them.
In a large bowl, mix together the salt and flour. Make a well in the center of the flour and put the mashed potatoes into it. Slowly work the flour into the potatoes and once all the flour is incorporated, knead the dough for 2-3 mins. until it is smooth and elastic. If the dough is too wet, add a bit more flour a Tbsp. at a time.
Split the dough into four equal pieces and roll them out in a long tube about 1 inch across. Cut small logs from the long tube about 1 inch each, or however big you like them.
Cook them in a large pot of salted, boiling water for around 3-5 mins. They cook really quickly, and you know they are done when they float to the top of the water.
Top with pesto or tomato sauce and serve hot.

CARE Benefit

2010-08-08T22:46:00.008+09:00

Yesterday evening, Sean and I were lucky enough to have had tickets to a benefit concert for CARE (Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth) at Hongdae Rolling House. CARE is a Korean animal rights group with over 38,000 members to date! I was really excited to attend (almost nothing can drag me all the way across town in this sweltering heat) because this is the first time that a group of this nature existing in Seoul was brought to my attention.

We decided to take full advantage of our hour long trek across town by stopping at a vegan restaurant we've been dying to try in Insa-dong. All-in-all, I have to say it was very good. It's another vegan restaurant run by the Supreme Master of Loving Hut fame. Sean and I split a plate of vegan mandu which was a bit greasy (deep fried, yikes!) but yummy none the less. For our main course, I ordered a vegan cutlet (again - deep fried, double yikes!) and Sean got a veganized version of a Korean beef stew with rice vermicelli, red pepper paste, and mushrooms in it. Plus, we got all kinds of fun little fake meat side dishes and a HUGE plate of kimchi that I left all to Sean. I'm too good to him.

Now, of course it took us a good while to eat all of this yumminess. As a consequence, we were massively late for the 6 o'clock benefit. Unbeknownest to us, this was not a fundraiser at a bar where there is a concert going on in the backgroud, like we imagined. It was a full-on, sit down event with several performers, speeches, and prize give-aways. It was also totally in Korean, which we do not speak. So, I feel like maybe getting there a bit late was okay. The best part about attending was finding out the scope of what CARE attempts to do in regards to animal rights. They have held demonstrations and protests, opened their own animal shelter, reported cases of animal cruelty, and worked to fight against the dog meat industry. In addition to CARE, some members have also formed a vegetarian group called "Green People." As we were leaving, everyone was given a vegan patty sandwich (kinda reminds me of Morning Star chick patties from the U.S.!) and a juice box of organic soy milk. I wished I hadn't stuffed myself silly at dinner because they looked amazing. No worries, though, I put mine in the fridge, and it was really good reheated the next day.

I'm really over the moon that an organization such as CARE exists. I'm definitely going to try and get in touch with them to see what they need as far as volunteers go.

To get to the vegan resaturant, go to Anguk station, exit 6. Walk to the end of the block until it turns left down the main Insa-dong Road. It's on your left hand side down the alley right before you get to Ssazmiegil. It says "vegeterian restaurant" in front in English!

Indoor Grilling

2010-08-07T13:34:00.014+09:00

Yesterday, probably thanks to the oppressive August heat and humidity, I was craving traditional summertime fare. However, it's kinda hard to have a cookout in the pouring rain on the sixth floor of a large apartment complex that is, sadly, balcony-less. So, I had to improvise and bring all the fun of grilling outside into my kitchen. Luckily, I had everything I needed to make a very simple, yet satisfying dinner of barbeque tofu steaks and cucumber salad already on hand. For dessert, I decided to bust out the watermelon I froze last week and whip up two frosty watermelon-ginger slushies. I think I've actually decided that the cook-in is the way to go. Less bugs, air conditioning, and the dogs can come unleashed - kind of a no brainer in my book.

First, for the tofu steaks, slice a block of firm tofu into six equal triangles. Slice once on the diagonal and cut each triangle into three pieces each widthwise. Lay each piece flat and press between two kitchen towels for about 30 minutes to drain some of the water and firm them up a bit.

Now, if you don't already have barbeque sauce on hand, or are feeling particuarly ambitious, you're going to have to make some. It's fairly simple and the ingredients consist largely of other condiments. You do have to spend some annoying time stirring the mix to make sure it doesn't burn. However, feel free to double or triple the recipe. It only gets better with time and keeps for months, covered and stored in the fridge.

Vegan B-B-Q Sauce

1 cup of diced white onion

3 large cloves of minced garlic

2 Tbsp. of sesame oil

4 Tbsp. ketchup

3 Tbsp. mustard

2 Tbsp. soy or shoyu sauce

1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup of dark brown sugar or 2 Tbsp. molasses

2 Tbsp. unsweetned cocoa powder (optional)

pinch of dried chili flakes (optional)

Heat the oil over medium cook. Cook garlic and onions until onions soften and garlic browns slighly, about five minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for about 30 mins. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Sauce will thicken and reduce. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, sugar/molasses, or chili flakes to taste.

You can cook the tofu one of two ways - on the stove or grilled in an oven with a grill feature. For both methods brush the tofu with olive oil on both sides and give it a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper. To cook on the stove, heat a large skillet or grill pan (I love these things!) over medium heat. Cook tofu until slightly browned and cripsy on both sides, turning once. To cook in the oven, place tofu in a foil lined baking pan and grill for 12-15 mins. until tofu is slightly browned. Flip tofu and cook for another 4-7 mins. until lightly browned on the other side.

After the tofu has been cooked, coat both sides with barbeque sauce and return to skillet for another 1-2 mins or grill again for another 2-3 mins.

Now for the cucumber salad. No cooking required. Perfect for the hot weather and for times when you forgot you bought five huge cucumbers over a week ago that are about to become compost.

Cucumber salad

2 large cucumbers, sliced

1 ripe medium tomato, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

approx. ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

sea salt (to taste)

freshly ground pepper (to taste)

fresh basil, chopped (optional, but really good)

Toss the cucumbers, garlic, tomato, and basil (if using) with enough vinegar to coat the salad. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If possible wait one hour before serving to let the flavors blend.

And finally, for the watermelon-ginger slushy: simply blend approx. 2 1/2 cups of cubed, seeded, frozen watermelon with 1 250 ml. can of ginger ale. This would probably also be really good with a few leaves of fresh mint thrown in. I'm surely going to test it out that way next time!

Cookies! NOM NOM NOM!

2010-08-06T16:40:00.005+09:00

Hello. My name is Kia, and I am a cookie addict.
Whew! Nice to finally get that off of my chest. Now that that's out out of the way, let's focus our attention on what really matters - mocha chocolate chip cookies. Intense coffee flavor, mini chocolate chips, lots of rich brown sugar, creamy almond milk, a hint of cinnamon, and some flax seeds and oatmeal to alleviate breakfast cookie guilt. Sounds too perfect? What's the catch, you say? Well, the catch is that once you taste them, it's hard not to keep eating them until they are gone. And that's what I intend to do! Then, I'm going to make some more. Perhaps with hazelnuts, even!

These cookies are the last I've made in a week long cookie-baking extravaganza. Thanks to my recent purchase of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar I've managed to make (and eat!) five different kinds of cookies this week. Believe it or not, they've all turned out wonderfully. I'm in love with this cookbook not only because of it's cute, tiny size and droolable pictures, but mostly because it uses a lot of minimally processed, easy to find ingredients. Not one mention of Ener-G Egg Replacer in the whole book. For the most part, it relies on oils, starches, nut and soy milks, and flax seed to take the place of milk, butter, and eggs. Fellow vegan cookie addicts, run (if you still can after eating so many cookies) out and get this book and start baking away.

Darwin - A Natural Selection!

2010-08-06T09:41:00.011+09:00

So, after months of searching for the perfect dog to add to the menagerie, we finally found him! I still can't belive he didn't have a family and had found his way to a kill shelter. He's the perfect pet in so many ways. Darwin is the most loyal, lovable dog I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. On top of being a big sweetie who loves to snuggle and give puppy kisses, he's also very smart, clean, good on a lead, an excellent watchdog (maybe a bit too good!), graceful and athletic, travels in his crate well, and doesn't kill or maim the cats. I really couldn't ask for anything more in a puppy. No wonder he was originally bred for........food?!?!?

Little did we know that our "jindo mix" puppy was not, in fact, a jindo at all. We became slightly skeptical of his jindo status when our vet informed us that he probably wouldn't top 10 kilos. That seemed suspiciously small even for a mixed jindo. Our vet, much abashed, finally informed us that Darwin is most likely a hwangu, or yellow dog. In other words, he's a soup dog. Now, we could care less what pedigree, if any, that our dog has. However, this has turned the dog meat trade, for me at least, from an abstract horrible concept to something that could have happened to one of my best friends. At first I was sad. Then, it made me angry.

Now, I was under the impression that in Seoul city limits, dog meat is illegal. However, the shot posted above was taken on a main road right down the street from my apartment in a well-trafficked area of Jamsil. I've slowly strolled past there giving staff and patrons the evil eye everytime I've had occasion to walk past, and it's always packed! Needless to say, enforcement of the ban seems to be lackadaisical, at best.

The most frustrating part of the whole situation seems to be what to do about it. I've pondered buying up as many food dogs as I can at dog markets, but then what? There's the obvious problem of having a pack of dogs in my apartment, which is the least impractical part of the equation. The bigger problem seems to lie in giving money to people who raise food dogs. That's certainly not going to discourage them from breeding a whole new pack (or two or three!) of dogs to sell a few weeks down the road. I've also vowed to photograph and report all poshintang restaurants that I come across, but report them to whom? If this restaurant can thrive within a stone's throw of government offices, a post office, heavy foot and motor vehicle traffic, and a police station, does anyone who has the power to stop it care to do so?

I often lie awake at night thinking about Darwin's brothers and sisters. I bet they are or were great dogs, too. It's one of the reasons I haven't thrown up my hands in frustration and said, "Forget it, it's beyond me."

As for now, Sean and I have been trying to subtly educate people on the yellow dogs just by showing off Darwin. We're never out more than ten minutes before being stopped by people who are curious about him. We even had a man gushing about how lucky we are to have the most beautiful jindo he's ever seen. He was almost mobbed every time we stepped outside during World Cup hysteria. People would rush up to him so often and so suddenly, he started becoming distrustful of strangers, which he is just now beginning to overcome. People have seemed a bit shocked when we tell them he's a soup dog, but we haven't met any outright animosity, and they generally just continue cooing at him and trying to pet him as they were when they thought he was a jindo. Hopefully, Darwin can help sway some hearts and minds with his big, expressive eyes and ever-wagging tail.If anyone else is concerned with the plight of Korea's yellow dogs or any dogs raised for food, please sign this petition. You can also find more information and ways to get involved by visiting KARA and the IAKA's websites.

My first BLT!

2010-08-05T13:25:00.006+09:00

Yesterday, I stumbled upon an amazing creation. After experimenting with homemade vegan bacon I decided that I would have my very first ever BLT, or VBLT if you will, and now I totally get what all the fuss is about. How did I go all these years not knowing about how wonderful this simple little sandwich truly is? It's even transformed ingredients that I'm not generally crazy about (raw tomatoes and tough Korean spinach) into one amazing sandwich experience. To make it I toasted a whole wheat bagel, smeared on some garlic-flavored vegan mayo, and layered on some spinach, very thinly sliced tomatoes, and a few slices of vegan bacon. Then, I topped the whole thing with some freshly ground black pepper. Yum.

The bacon was surprisingly easy to make. The one BIG x-factor in getting the flavor down was liquid hickory smoke. If you want to try this, you can pick some up at the Foreign Market in Itaewon. Here's how I made mine:

Tofaken

1 package of firm tofu, drained

3 Tbsp. of soy or shoyu sauce

1 Tbsp. water

1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)

1-2 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

olive oil or vegan margarine for frying

Slice the tofu into very thin strips about 1/4 inch thick. Place strips in rows on a clean kitchen towel.

Cover strips with another clean kitchen towel and put something heavy on top to weigh it down. Give it at least 30 mins to drain some of the water out.

While you are waiting, mix together the soy sauce, nutritional yeast, water, garlic powder, liquid smoke, and maple syrup to make a lovely marinade.

When the tofu has finished being pressed, brush the marinade over the strips and let soak for a few mins. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and fry the strips in olive oil or margarine until crispy. If you really love a smokey flavor, sprinkle a few more drops of liquid smoke over the tofu while it cooks. Drain the oil from the tofu on a paper towel and enjoy.

I hope this helps someone out there get there bacon fix. If anyone else tries this successfully, I would love to hear about it.

Nico's story

2010-08-05T12:13:00.009+09:00

After getting settled back into Korean life, my boyfriend, Sean, and I decided that it was time to get another dog. This time we decided to take our time and make sure we got the perfect dog for us. We definitely wanted a rescue and most likely a medium sized mixed breed. For the most part, we just wanted a friendly, laid back, go running with you type of best-buddy dog. One that was not going to devour our other wimpy, high strung pets that we so much adore. So, after the weeks of searching turned into months, we ended up with a fancy white cat. How did a non-cat person end up with a second fancy cat you ask? I guess I'm just a sucker for a pretty face.
Actually, Nico wasn't supposed to be a keeper. While looking for a dog on Karama's website (a kill shelter north of Seoul) I spotted one of the most beautiful looking cats I've ever seen. I figured if we just sprung her from there, surely some lucky cat lover out there would jump at the chance to take her off our hands. I couldn't just leave her there. I hate the thought of any animal being locked away in a tiny cage awaiting death, but this one struck a very particular, painful cord in my heart. So, after bringing her home and getting her cleaned up and checked out, we found out that she was fairly healthy and really well behaved to boot! As the time came to start posting ads to find her a new home, I just couldn't do it. At least not yet. Maybe if the right person comes along who really, really loves cats and would keep me updated I would consider re-homing her to make room for another foster. As for now, though, I'll guess I'll concede to being a semi-cat person.

Meet the Real Soju and Pancake

2010-07-26T21:44:00.006+09:00

Soju

For those of you who don't know, Soju is a type of Korean alcohol. Generally, the stuff that's sold for a little more than a dollar in convenience stores lacks the warning kick and horrific taste of bottom shelf vodka, but the effects are generally the same or worse.

Soju the dog is, as pictured above, best described with the single word, "intense." He looks to have the weight of the world on his shoulders as he bites his blanket and cringes at everything from his corner dogbed. Generally, he whines, sits pretty, or does anything in his repettoire of tricks to get snacks. These things along with hiding from walks, the cats, his younger brother, loud noises, the world, the sun, and perhaps troublesome patches of air, are what Soju does during the course of an average day. One would not be wrong to say that he is pampered.

Soju is also extremely lucky. He was rescued from the streets of Cheonho-dong in Seoul. He was a toothless, tiny puppy of about 4-6 weeks old in a thin cardboard box. A drunk was showing him to passersby when he was bought and hence came into my life.

Soju is, as of today, almost three years old. He has cemented my long-lived suspicion that I should never have children.

Pancake

...is a Persian cat that joined Soju in Thailand. She is, I believe, evil. While cats will - generally - pretend not to speak your language or ignore you when scolded, Pancake typically acts confused or frightened. All the while, she is mentally adjusting plans to do the same thing you just scolded for more stealthily. Pancake has stolen, among other things, half a chicken, a sandwich while a friend's back was turned, and an entire bag of cheese bagels, which she ate.

The weight difference between her and the bag of bagels was nearly negligable, and I'm still wondering how she ate them and lived to tell about it.

Soju effectively ratted her out about the chicken, keeping it at half a theft, by bringing me some.

Pancake is about a year and a half old, hates nearly everything, frequently acts as if she were on ecstacy, and has the most explicit bouts of heat I have ever seen. She is getting fixed next month.

This blog is about their misadventures and mine.

I am living proof that it is possible to live as a vegan in South Korea without accepting that fish is not meat. I do a lot of baking and cooking. Thanks to problems with antibiotics in meat by-products, Soju has become a vegetarian as well - vet's orders. If you have questions about this blog, please feel free comment. Thank you very much.