Aloha (알로하)

Well, I am now in Hawaii for 3 weeks trip. I cannot convince my colleagues at the office, but working out here in paradise is not really special after 15 or more trips. The first few trips were great, but after so many times here it is not special anymore. But, I will say that it is more beautiful than my hometown or Seoul. Still, I cannot decide which scenery is best - the flowers and trees or the bikini-clad women. Anyway, here is photo of my condo and a couple of views from my porch looking over the ocean.

Hawaiian Condo 

View From My Porch 

Sunset from My Porch 

I have enjoyed the usual excellent Hawaiian cooking of my two friends here. On my first two days I have had two excellent meals. Friday was wild boar stew and fish soup. Saturday was cow's head stew with kimchi, and fresh home-made guacamole. I understand from my Korean friends that cow's head stew is called 소머리국밥, and is available in Korea... Mrs. Stumbler and I will try next trip in October.

My friends also recommended a Korean restaurant here on the island, which I visited for dinner one evening. It is called "Kimchi #9", which I think would translate to "김치구번". I had a mixed plate of BBQ meats, and I was really wanting some Korean soup. They didn't have my favorite 순두부찌개, but the ajumma recommended a fusion dish that was spicy tofu and chicken soup. I ordered it, but the size was huge - it was enough to serve 4 people !!! So I ate what I could, and took home the remains. I ate the soup, with some kimchi I found at the local grocery store, for beakfast one morning. Speaking of shopping, I found a GREAT bargain on chopsticks - I can buy 60 pairs of chopsticks for 69 cents (W700), so I bought 180 pairs!

Great Discount on Chopsticks 

Mrs. Stumbler was concerned for my health, because I forgot to buy any fruits or vegetables at the grocery store (well, not counting kimchi). So, yesterday I went again to the store and bought some vegetables for cooking. Then, I realized that I needed some salt and pepper, since there were no spices at my condo. I had to go back to the store, and bought some spices: red pepper (고춧가루), salt (소금), pepper (후춧가루), and garlic (마늘). I always joke about how expensive things are in Hawaii, and I say every item in the store is $5 (W5,000). But it didn't sink in until I was driving away that my 4 bottles of spices cost me $12 (W12,000) !!! In fact, the pepper shaker is broken, so I think I will take it back and ask for a new one.

Expensive Spices 

Vegetables for My Health 

So, today's main meal was leftover BBQ, and some vegetables I prepared. Actually, I have no idea what I was doing - I just put some butter in the skillet, and threw in the cut-up vegetables. I added the spices and let it cook. I am quite happy about the taste - it was delicious. I can imagine how it would taste if a real cook prepared it. In hindsight, I think I should have bought a green and red pepper, instead of the orange and yellow pepper - it would have made the food more colorful. I still have 1/2 of the vegetables left, so I will cook this again. I think maybe I will add an onion next time. I welcome any suggestions. Well, more posting in a few days from the beautiful paradise of Hawaii. Aloha (알로하).

Can I Cook??? 

Monday's Main Meal