A simple and delicious dinner
One of the things I really love about the onset of Fall is making dinners in the oven. Tonight’s meal was simple, rustic and delicious. Served this with some rice. For dessert, we had strawberries. So good!
Category: Musings
Camping or Korean food? It’s a no brainer!
See this picture here? It’s from the first time I went camping. I know what you’re thinking: “But Jae, you don’t seem like the camping type.” I’m not. But at the time, I was dating a great guy and he loved camping. How great of a guy was he? So great that I passed up the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles to interview Keanu Reeves.
That time I climbed a glacier in New Zealand
So, I was having a conversation with some people the other day about coincidences. And I started off my story like this: “Speaking of coincidences, I ran into someone from my hometown when I was climbing a glacier in New Zealand.” Yeah. I sounded obnoxious. Even by my standards.
The “Don’t You” question
In this week’s edition of Anonymous Asked a Question, we get a query about whether I think it’s a good idea to enroll my child in a weekend language school.
The best movie never made
This 3-minute commercial is the best movie that was never made. It’s a Thai commercial (and is subtitled)–but you don’t need to read the words to understand what’s going on. Truly moving and inspiring.
What do my clothes say about me?
What do my clothes say about me? Other than the fact that I need to update my wardrobe?
Accents redux
I was embarrassed, and I wanted to tell her that I have spent almost all of my life in the United States, and that I have been fighting an uphill battle to retain my Korean language skills. That I was encouraged by my parents and teachers to speak only English, so that I could assimilate better. But that once I became fluent in English, my Korean all but disappeared.
Protected: Americans use the Internet to abandon children adopted from overseas
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Tomato tarte
I don’t really know what a tomato tarte is. I’ve never eaten one before, and I’ve never made one, either. But the other night, I had nothing ready for dinner. We had been planning on going out to eat. But then my husband had to stay at work longer than anticipated; I was sick (literally — thank you, allergies!) and tired of eating leftovers; and I had a small child who was (rightfully) complaining that he was hungry.
The grasshopper, our cat and Kyle
My little boy is growing up to understand and accept death, which is an important part of life. It’s a concept that I still have difficulty comprehending.
Bananarama
For today’s snack, I sent my child off to school with a surprise: a banana decorated with temporary tattoos. I’ve been wanting to do this since Day 1, but we ate them all before I could do this. This time, I set one banana aside and covered it with tattoos from the film “Cars.” And, as you can see, there’s also a tattoo of sharks. Because … sharks and cars pretty much sum up my little guy’s interests right now.
Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yes, I know this. But, I am not a breakfast fan. I don’t usually like to eat in the morning. I’d much rather drink a cup of coffee or tea (or even a glass of water) and call it good.
Was Miley Cyrus really that offensive?
I thought that all the hoopla surrounding Miley Cyrus’ performance with Robin Thicke on this past weekend’s Video Music Awards would’ve died down by now. But, it hasn’t. And while there has been some fantastic commentary about the meaning of their performance (as it relates to sexism and racism), I was disappointed to see that the majority of comments boiled down to this: Miley Cyrus is a little slut with a flabby rearend.
Good breaks run in the family
When my husband and I first started dating, he liked to tell his friends that I broke his arm. Technically, that’s not true. He did that all by himself. But, it is true that I was the one who suggested we go ice skating. Denton is good at most sports. He grew up skiing and won dozens of trophies racing BMX bikes. I skied once my entire life and don’t feel the need to do it again. As for cycling, remind me to tell you about the time I fell off my bike and onto my terrified 3-year-old child.
Kindergarten
Kyle started kindergarten this week. It was all we could do to get that first picture. His friends were waiting for him across the street and he wanted to join them. To say that he was excited to attend the “big” school is an understatement. For the past four years, our little boy would run to the front door when he heard the noisy parade of children marching to school. He would try to open the door to join them.
Oprah, the $20 lipstick and me
So, ya’ll have read about Oprah and the salesclerk at some chi-chi Swiss handbag boutique, right? Ms. Winfrey wanted to see a purse that retailed for just under $40,000. The clerk repeatedly told her it was very expensive and wouldn’t show it to her. Have any of you had a similar thing happen? I have, on a much smaller scale.
Why I write about the past
Someone privately messaged me and asked why I wrote so much about things that had happened in the past. Do I write about it so much? I’ve been writing professionally for the past three decades and I’d estimate that my pieces surrounding race issues encompass less than 1% of everything I’ve ever written.
Summer meals and memories
This has been our go-to dinner as of late. And so much of it is from our garden. We had a delicious caprese salad with our homegrown tomatoes (nothing like them!) and basil, fresh mozzarella and my balsamic vinegarette drizzled on top. The kid and I made pizza dough in our bread machine, and it tastes so much better than the dough we used to buy from Trader Joe’s.