Devour this

Books: food of life

I love books: always have, always will.  From grade school days of devouring Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley Twins paperbacks to getting caught with a flashlight and book under my pillow to working in book publishing and being surrounded daily by bound words on pages, the love affair has lasted and there's no end in sight.
Tomorrow will mark my first book club meeting -- some friends and I have been toying with Virginia Woolf's  Mrs. Dalloway for the past month and tomorrow...we discuss! (We'll likely mostly eat and drink and chat.)
  A wonderful English professor and friend from Rutgers gave me this lovely copy of Mrs. Dalloway.  I had a hard time finding the cover image to show you all.  A more recent cover displays a modern-looking scene with a woman in floppy hat and flowy dress -- no doubt embodying Mrs. Dalloway herself, but this cover seems much more appropriate to me. The other looks too casual, lighthearted, and capricious, while this geometric, almost stark imagery seems to be better suited to the story.

Anyway, I'm sure you're more interested in what I've cooked for our little book club tomorrow.  I made a huge pot of Tomato-Lentil-Vegetable Soup adapted from At Home with Magnolia by Alyssa Torrey, once owner of Magnolia Bakery in NYC. (Full disclosure: the publishing company I work for published this book.)  I have thoroughly enjoyed this pretty little cookbook and have found more than a few recipes entirely satisfying.  This soup is no exception.  Chock full of fresh veggies and plenty of plump green lentils and brown rice, I don't think anyone will be leaving my apartment hungry tomorrow evening.

*I apologize for the unattractive photos -- camera phone in use.*
In my gigantor Calphalon stockpot (thank you, Jen and Joel!), we have onions, garlic, carrots, celery, spinach, corn, tomatoes, veg stock, lentils, brown rice, cumin, salt, and pepper -- as I said, loads of veggies and lots of flavor!
Here's my adored pot and you can also see my brand new, beloved mandolin.  A great purchase.  It was invaluable in making homemade potato chips and onion dip on Oscar night, but more on that another time.

For tomorrow's event, I'm also planning to make a Sicilian-style potato gratin from this month's Bon Appetit magazine and some chocolate-ricotta pudding from Moosewood's Simple Suppers (thank you, Jessie and Brandon!).  Photos and reviews to come...

Ode to local market

I have been a terrible blogger.  For this, I apologize.  I'm not sure I really have anyone to apologize to so I'm mostly apologizing to myself for not keeping up with this more.  I really enjoy it, but I've let it slip away the past few months.  I could bore you (or myself, rather) with excuses, but I'll forgo all of that.

Instead, I'll offer a montage of another thing I'm sorely missing these days.  My town's little farmers' market.  Yes, the mile-square, riverfront, city-outside-the-city plot of over-developed land known as Hoboken has its very own farmers' market.  It's tiny, but it's efficient, well-planned, and well-loved.  I adore Union Square, but this little market on Washington St. has a special place in my heart. 
I'm ready for this mild winter to be on its merry way so I can stop here on my home.  If we're not getting any snowfall, what's the point?

And happy birthday to my sweet Rori -- who's now lucky enough to live in California and take advantage of the spectacular Santa Monica farmers' market every month of the year!  Speaking of which, I sent her this wonderful book -- check it out.

And happy birthday to dear Gil!  For whom half of Jac and Gil is named -- we really need another farmers' market shop and bake!

Like the Olympics

Jeff took me out on a Valentine's Day date for the first time in the 3+ years we've been together.  Was it worth the wait?  Click and see.

Missing you

OK, OK -- it's been a while, I know.  A long while.  I've missed writing, I've missed cooking.  I'm in a nostalgic mood these days.  Over the holidays I went to Korea to visit my parents and other family members whom I haven't seen in 10 years!  It was a delightful trip and, of course, the food was outstanding.  I miss it a lot.  Here's my first dinner in Chinhae:

Lots of different types of kimchi, rice, and meat sizzling on the tabletop grill.  The raw shiitake mushrooms and garlic that were grilled alongside fatty pork were my favorites.  The tables were filled with fresh lettuces, bean sprouts, radishes, and all kinds of other foods that don't fill my fridge here at home.  And of course I miss my dad sitting at the table across from me.
Here's a lovely lunch in Busan:

I miss my mom eating beside me. You can just catch a glimpse here of her gold-toe socks.
It was nice to have these floor chairs to rest your back against something.  Sitting on the floor for every meal takes some getting used to.  My dad was always eyeing a table where there was a wall for him to lean against.  Want to see this meal up close?

And that's my sweet aunt (Emo) across the table, chopsticks ever at the ready.
This restaurant was known for their fresh fish.  We had sashimi aplenty, rolls, and fried fish, too.
See?

Here's a restaurant we went to in Seoul:

I even miss taking off my shoes before entering any restaurant or house.  It seemed so much cleaner and more home-y.  This place boasted a pretty good buffet.

OK, now I have to go Skype my parents to see when they'll fly me back there.  The Han Ah Rheum in NYC's Korea Town just doesn't cut it.  I did go there recently to buy some moo (giant Korean radish), bean sprouts, tenjang paste, Korean ramen, kimchi, banchan, Yakult yogurt drinks, and rice, but it's not the same.