Go Crazy with Kimchi

Lake shot of the day

I woke up pretty sore from these last few days of running. I looked out the window, realized that I really didn't feel like going outside today (good thing I didn't, because it turned out to be really windy), so I went down to the weight room and did my usual 40 minutes on the elliptical while looking at some stupid book on colleges... I need big books that will stay open. Boring, but at least I got to sweat some.
Breakfast was amazing, if I do say so myself. I plan on eating this amazing gingerbread until it's gone, so I need to get creative here.
Gingerbread Parfait with Caramelized Apple Chutney, Greek Yogurt, and Cashew Butter
Sounds gourmet, no?
Basically, I just layered the ingredients with a drizzle of Whole Foods raw fresh cashew butter, which I'd never had before. Very mild, but refined. Delicious, in fact, but a completely different creature from peanut butter, which is attention-seeking and hogs the spotlight.
I heated the gingerbread first. It went great with my chutney, which has proven to be versatile! My dad ate it with chicken for lunch, and, just as I predicted, it makes a nice accompaniment to meat.
Lunch: leftovers! We must clean out that fridge! More of that seitan pie (now that I think about it, it really isn't a pot pie, because the crust isn't puff pastry and there's a bottom crust), spinach and more vegetables.

And a pear.

I went to the bookstore and bought:
-A better edition of Anna Karenina
-TALES OF BEETLE THE BARD, which I've already read. And all the proceeds are going to charity! Go Rowling!
-There was a 20% off cook book sale, but I couldn't find anything I wanted! I have more than enough cookbooks, but what I really want are some good Japanese, Korean, and African (not just North African) cookbooks.

I was a little hungry later on and had a bowl of Amy's chocolate vanilla bunnies with a little GoLean Crunch, half a banana, blackberries, and soymilk.

Therefore, I wasn't too hungry for dinner, but my dad and I cooked, and I'm really glad we did. We were thinking of just having more leftovers, but we ended up incorporating leftovers into what I made, which was bibimbap! I've never made Korean food at home, but it really wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. The only difficulty was stir-frying EVERY single topping separately. (Check out the awesome peanut oil-pouring shot!)


Toppings we used:
-Carrots
-Burdock (also known as mountain yam... it looks like an extra thick, hairy, brown carrot)
-Cucumber (But only the skins, which is interesting)
-Watercress
-Instead of beef, I used some "soy chicken" from Chinatown, which is basically just tofu rolled up to look like chicken... no TVP here. I seasoned it with sesame oil, soy sauce, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, and a little sugar.
-Leftover mung bean sprouts
-Leftover Korean zucchini seafood-pancake (literally a tiny piece)-- we used this instead of a sunny side up egg
-MUSHROOMS
-and of course, kimchi.
-AND some pear-- this really evened out the spiciness


(All mixed together)
We microwaved leftover brown rice and mixed it with chili paste and sesame oil, then topped it with the vegetables... and more chili paste.
I ate the entire bowl, minus some of the soy chicken. The carrots and burdock were the best part-- they were a little burned, almost like shoestring potatoes or something!
Mm, this is one of those meals where I just don't want a dessert because I want to remember it. To get rid of that garlicky kimchi taste, I had a tangerine.

I finished Interview with the Vampire. How come nobody told me it was so philosophical and depressing? Any slightly more cheerful vampire stories? Or just good books in general?