WHAT WE ARE

This is a group of loosely associated foodies working together to make life more delicious.  We love spending time in the kitchen and we want to share that joy with others who.  If you would like to be part of our little group fill out the easy little form we've provided to make it all simple for everyone:  This is the form.

WHAT WE AREN'T

We are not food service professionals.  This is a place of sharing, not selling.  Everything you swap will vary in taste, flavor, perfection.  These are homemade foods, not mass produced food stuffs.  The beauty is in the variety, the unpredictability, and the humanity of it all.  We aren't people who take ourselves to seriously and this is not a "western food only" zone.  It's open to every delicious thing you can come up with.

WHAT IT INVOLVES

How will I know when the swaps are happening?
Participants are asked to contribute on a schedule that suites them.  We will use these to make an annual calendar of events starting in March.

How often will I need to swap?
You will be expected to participate in swaps at least 3 times each year.

Do I have to be present to participate?
No, you do not have to be present to swap.  However, you must provide product to be swapped.  If you bring it or someone else brings with with a list of what you want, that's just fine.  We can have your items shipped to you wherever you are in Korea.

How will we make sure the trading is equal?
We will work out a fair marketing points system for items.  When you bring your items you will be given a certain number of points that can then be used to swap for other items at the swap.  We are working on a cute and clever name for these points, but for now they are called points.

THE 5 SIMPLE RULES

1. Don't be an ass.  

2. Give the good stuff.  

3. Respect the group.

4. Don't be high maintenance.

5. Be reliable.

JOIN THE SWAP

 

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Where it all begins.  An idea.

THE KITCHEN

FROM: England

LIVING: South Korea

This last weekend we finally had the opportunity to visit one of Korea's most dedicated expat home brewers in his fantastic little home brewing hideaway on the outskirts of Seoul.  His small three bedroom apartment was decked out to the teeth in everything a person would need to make the beers of his dreams. 

On this particular Sunday a small group of beer making newbies and experienced brewers had gathered to make and IPA that our host, Rowan, had decided on.  It was delightful to have the opportunity to be part of a group so excited and willing to share their knowledge and passion for brewing.

Although our host, had quite the setup, most brewers in Korea make it happen in their studio apartments. So if you are interested in home brewing, don't worry about having as much space as our host.  With that said, here is how the day went:

We started the day by sampling the many grains Rowan had on hand.  We instantly found great value in this, not only as people interested in making beer, but also as beer drinkers.  Tasting the ingredients gave us a deeper insight into the flavors we have been tasting all these years.  It was like things we hadn't even known were a mystery finally made sense.

After that it was time to get started and grind up the grain for the beer.

While one group was working on grinding the grains, inside a second group was prepare the water for brewing.  Boiling, adding tablets, and filtering.  It quickly became clear that brewing is one of those magical things that is best done with a group of people who love talking, problem solving, and who aren't in a big hurry.  You know, the best kind of people.

Then there was the mixing of the grain, the water and getting it cooking.  We love stirring so we did that whenever we could.

After these basics were taken care of, it was time to break out a few of the past beers and give them a try.  They were of course, delightful.  As were the stories of how they weren't right, what could be done better, and the tales of all that had happened on that brew day.  Each bottle held a memory of community, adventures, dreams, hopes, and ideals.  It was like opening a moment in time that had been trapped in a bottle.

During each step of the process we tasted the progress.  To be honest, we would drink that as is.  The grains are just delicious.

For a long time it was mostly just sit and wait, but at a certain point, things started to go pretty quickly. 

And with the addition of a little soju and the yeast, bam, an IPA ready to ferment and eventually bottle.  That's sure a lot of beer.

On the long subway ride home we couldn't help but feel we had just witnessed the whole point of this expat life we have chosen.  It's about the stories we create with those around us and save in our memories for future lazy Sundays.  The stories that age into rich and vibrant tales of adventure and turn us all into heroes in someones mind.

To learn more about brewing your own adventures in Korea, check out these links.  There are so many stories yet to be brewed:
Seoul Brew Club: http://www.facebook.com/groups/161208454016072/ 
Seoul Home Brew: http://www.seoulhomebrew.com/
Home Brew Korea: http://www.homebrewkorea.com/

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 THE ITEM

Homemade Kimchi

When you are lucky enough to be offered homemade kimchi, just say yes.  Even if you hate it, take it and give it to a friend who loves it because it's culinary gold.  Personally, we find that unlimited kimchi is one of the many delicious perks to living in the countryside.  Our current supplier is one of our employers whose family has become like family to us.  This is just one of the boxes delivered this year during 김장 (kimchi making season).  In addition to this, we are allowed unlimited refiles for the rest of the year.  

You might be thinking, "Isn't this a bit of an overkill for a bunch of foreigners?  Not in our kitchen. We have already finished half of this giant tub in only last three months.  It's just magic in about everything we put it in.  We don't eat kimchi because we have to, we eat it because we love it.

The two kimchi based recipes we make the most of are these :

Kimchi Fried Rics:

Kimchi Jjigae:

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A sample 3-4 person basket

THE SERVICE

Organic Home Delivery

**** Special update :: WWOOF CSA contacted us and let us know that you can order weekly organic baskets without bread!  The will add additional produce in place of these items. ****

After our time together at AsiO Gusto exploring Asia's magical slow foods, our friends at WWOOF told us they were thinking about starting an organic home delivery service.  We were over the moon as soon as we heard.  This has been something we were dreaming might happen.

They sent us our first sample box in December, and then a second one came in January because the first had a bit of trouble finding us in the mail.  The lesson being, don't always trust your landlord with giving you an accurate address.  Double check your details in Naver.

The box contained enough things for a few simple meals.  One of the highlights, which we weren't expecting, were the fantastic eggs.   We immediately decided we wouldn't us them for baking or dumping in ramon, instead we saved them for breakfast (which you can see below).  The fruits and veggies were also excellent, and the greens were especially top quality.  It's always a plus, for us, when our veggies arrive covered in the dirt they grew in.  It added a little bit of magic to the experience.

Our only issue came in the form of the bread and the "side dishes" that we received.  Since we are driven to cook, in large part, by our allergies and chemical sensitivities we were sad to see so much of our basket were things we couldn't/shouldn't eat and - well - we also thought the bread was terrible and can't recommend it to anyone.  It tasted like a dry flour paste and it definitely had preservatives in it.

In order to solve this issue, we contacted WWOOF and suggested that customers be allowed to request substitutions.  They said that they would consider it, but for now they recommended ordering the vegan delivery option in order to avoid receiving the breads and side dishes.  This is what we will do.  So instead of getting bread and omelet, we will get more produce.

Despite our issues with some of the products, we are very happy with our WWOOF CSA delivery.  We feel confident that WWOOF listens to its community and will provide some sort of solution for those of us that can't use the bread and side dishes.   We will let you know what there final decision is and what to do if there are products in the boxes that you can't eat.

Who Is It Good For?

This box is great for busy people who want to eat healthy and always have a little something around the house.  Unlike the grocery store, where you usually have to buy a Korean sized portion, these boxes come with a nice amount of food for two busy people.  The catch is that the box we received (that you see in pictures) was the 3-4 person option.  So I don't really recommend even considering the 1-2 person box if you are more than one person.  That's right, pass-go and proceed straight to the 3-4 person box.

If you aren't sure that this service is right for you, there is also the option of ordering one box to give it try.  I recommend this as the best place to start.  You can't lose with $40 of organic food delivered to your door.

WHAT WE MADE WITH WWOOF CSA

Eggs Baked Over Tomatoes and Garlic

Topped with Rosemary Carrots

Garnished with Onion Bread

The great thing about this dish is that you don't need a real oven.  You can easily make it in a small toaster oven using tinfoil if you don't even have a pan.  We used this recipe from Whole Living.

Don't worry about making your eggs fit in the tomatoes though, it tastes just as good making a bed of medium sized tomatoes and cooking them only 20 min.  Then break the eggs evenly over the top of the cooked tomatoes before putting them back in the oven for 8 more minutes.  Maybe it's not as pretty, but it's crazy delish.

This recipe was so good we added it to our weekly breakfast routine.

Get signed up for organics from WWOOF CSA

www.wwoofcsa.com

Breakfast tasted like it was straight from the farm.

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