All posts tagged: Christmas

Date-Pecan-Marshmallow-Dessert

Mam’s Celebration Date Roll

Firstly, Happy Leap day, everyone! I know someone who actually turns 2, officially, today! Do you know anyone who has a Leap year birthday? What did you do with your extra day? I studied, cooked a recipe I’ve been trying out, went on a few walks to hit my goal (one more to do!) and worked on this post. It may not have been exciting but it was productive! Secondly, my apologies for the lateness of this recipe as I know I have had some requests for it for over 6 weeks and I’m only getting to it now. I promised myself that I wouldn’t post any new recipes after my last IMK until this one was out, hence the delay – but I kept true to my word and this is my first recipe since then. The below recipe is one my Mam adapted years ago from a recipe she found in the Irish Independent newspaper (way back in 1985!). It was similar enough to something she remembered her own mother making that she was …

Minty Hot Chocolate

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. -Charles M. Schulz Disclaimer: This post was supposed to be published on the week before Christmas, in fact, the original name for this recipe was Christmas Morning Minty Hot Chocolate. However, I didn’t have time to actually try this hot chocolate until Christmas morning.  Consequently, the posting of this recipe was delayed until now: My 2014 New Year’s resolution was to quit coffee. I had had coffee before coming to Korea but only rarely and usually iced. The very day I arrived in Jochiwon (my current town), I started drinking Maxim Coffee and it was love at first taste. I arrived in Korea the last week of May and spent a delightful week visiting my brother in Gangwondo. On the 1st of June I lugged my huge bag to Jochiwon by train. When I arrived, the co-ordinator from the Office of Education picked me up and brought me to my school. I was so nervous that when she asked me if I was …

Maggie’s Fried Onion Bits

Banish (the onion) from the kitchen and the pleasure flies with it. Its presence lends color and enchantment to the most modest dish; its absence reduces the rarest delicacy to hopeless insipidity, and dinner to despair. – Elizabeth Robbins Pennell Onions are one of my favourite foods and, so, I completely agree with the above sentiment. It’s rare for me to make anything savoury without onions, and fried onions are a particular favourite. One of my favourite holiday dishes is Green Bean Casserole. I love the taste of the beans combined with the tang of the fried, salty, onions. I was only introduced to this dish when I moved to America in 2001. I couldn’t believe how good it was and when I would come home from college I would insist we make it. However, as mentioned previously, I have sisters who hate mushrooms which meant instead of using cream of mushroom soup, my mom made Cheesy Green Bean Casserole—which is even more tasty. When I came to Korea, I wanted to make my mom’s recipe, as I much …

Tomato, Orange and Lentil Soup

Soup is the song of the hearth…and the home. -Louis P. De Gouy Christmas is here! I am so excited! After all, December is one of my favourite months—Christmas and my birthday rolled into one glorious wintry month! So, in honour of both those great events I have dedicated this month to Christmas inspired food. First up, things have been insane lately: before Thanksgiving even hit Korea, I had been sick almost a week. Now, it’s over two weeks later and this cold is hanging on with its icy toes. It doesn’t help that the weather has completely changed over the last week or so. Before Thanksgiving, the weather was a bit cold, but mostly decent and you could do things like go for an 8k walk. Since the 1st December, though, snow has hit on average 5 days out of 7. It’s much colder and this hasn’t helped me to recover at all—despite mostly staying inside, wrapped in a blanket, with the ondol (floor heating) and space heater on full blast. To top it all off, …