Bread

So I finished the last day of school before spring break, and on the way home I stop by Paris Baguette to pick up some bread since we were out.

Holy crap, I was just there 2 days ago!!! Where do I get my bread now??? So I got some bread from the corner store as an emergency measure, but it was only so so. And bread here in Korea is already not so great so...

I decided to learn how to bake bread. I've been making my own bread for years, ever since I got my first bread machine back in college, but I've never made bread by hand before.

After reading around on the internet, I made the New York Times No Knead Bread. It made a nice looking, rustic loaf :) As promised it had a crunchy crust and a holey crumb.

However, Haley and I decided we didn't really like our crust that crunchy. So I found an alteration of that recipe: The Cook's Illustrated Almost No Knead Bread. 

We also wanted our bread to be a sandwich loaf, rather than a round boule, so I bought a loaf pan (for the low, low price of $19! Yeah, that's Korea...)

Result: Yay!!! Yummy sandwich bread at home :) I made a white loaf and then a whole wheat loaf, and both turned out well. Softer crust, finer crumb... And tasty :) Here's a photo of the remains of our whole wheat loaf (it used to be rather larger!)

Oh, and it turns out Paris Baguette is just being renovated; they'll be back in business on the 6th :)

Avocados

Dinner last night was baked potato wedges, toast, and herb cheese omelet. With AVOCADO. We haven't had any avocados for a long time, and last night's avocado was delicious :)

Location:Jwa 3(sam)-dong,Busan,South Korea

Salmon Dinner

I was complaining to my Korean coworker about the stupid, bony little fish they eat here, and how sad I was when I cooked fish for dinner and we got bones in every bite. She explained that in a Korean family, the mom cooks the fish and then *picks through it with chopsticks*, removing the bones for everyone in the family. No, really. Happily, a Canadian coworker overheard our conversation and mentioned that Emart has salmon fillets for sale. Oh yeah! When I bought the fillets, the fish monger explained that it was imported from Chile. Wow. Anyhow, tonight's (very late) dinner: teriyaki marinated salmon, rice, and broccoli. :)

Location:Jwa-dong,Busan,South Korea

They're not kidding...

No joke, this recipe really does make the Absolute Best Pancake Syrup!

Makes: 2 1/2 cups of syrup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon corn syrup or honey

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

* buttermilk substitute

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup milk (less 1 tbsp)

Directions:

Bring butter, sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract, corn syrup, and cinnamon to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once simmering, whisk in baking soda. It will foam up quite a bit; whisk and cook for 5 more minutes or so (till the foam is mostly gone) before removing from heat. Serve warm.

Notes:

If you don't have buttermilk, measure 1 tbsp lemon juice into 1 cup and fill the rest of the way with milk.

The milk will curdle as the mixture boils. Don't worry -- it'll be fine after you whisk it :)

The syrup will thicken as it cools, so make it up before you start cooking your pancakes and it will be perfect by the time you need it :)