Buckwheat Noodle Salad {Recipe}

Hi guys! just wanted to share this yummy and satisfying noodle salad recipe. We love this so much we made it twice at the Banchan Workshop series. Speaking of which, I had a blast hosting another workshop last weekend! It was all about Kimchi and I can't wait to share more about it. In the meantime, please try this easy to make buckwheat noodle salad, promise you will love it!

PHOTO BY LISA WONG JACKSON // @good_on_paper

DOWNLOAD PDF RECIPE HERE

A Sweet After-School Snack Suprise {Recipe} & Looking Forward

Hey guys! Happy 2016! It's been so dead around here, I know!!. I was itching to post but I had a rough start to new year with a traumatic wisdom tooth extraction and back-to-back winter viral attacks for our family. It was no fun and our spirits were down for so long. But I'm happy to say that we are bouncing back and getting back on the swing of things. I have ton of things to catch up on but wanted to take a moment to sit down and look onwards to this year and think about personal and family goals. I don't usually make NYR (for the reasons that we all know) but I think it's important to have some visions, goals as an individual and as a family. I hope to share them with you here in next couple of weeks/months but for now I'll leave you with something sweet to nibble on!

This is one of our favorite after-school snack. It was also recently featured on FeedFeed! It's called Ma Tang (맛탕). It's a candied sweet potato and I've seen many variations of it but I tried making it this way and it was yummy! Boys shouted out big YASS! when I picked them up from school and told them this was waiting for them at home. Hope you guys get to try it and enjoy it. It's perfect for long cold winter days (thinking about the folks in east coast right now buried in snow).

1 // Peel and cut Asian sweet potatoes. 2// Coat lightly with potato starch. 3// Deep fry them in vegetable oil 4// I fry them twice to make it crispy on the outside and softly cooked inside. 5// Drain oil on kitchen paper towel and drizzle with some maple syrup. 6// Sprinkle toasted black sesame seeds. 

TIP: Used oil for frying vegetables can be recycled. Use small round pot to avoid using too much oil.

Kwang Jang Market Mayak Gimbap {Recipe}

This recipe is one of my favorite from latest Banchan Workshop #4. It's a very famous street food in Korea currently selling at Kwang Jang Market in Seoul. And it happens to be vegan! I like this a lot because it's so much easier to make this at home than regular Korean gimbap using less ingredients. It's a hand-rolled gimbap with seasoned rice and vegetables, in this case spinach, carrots and pickled radish. You can replace the fillers if you'd like, I think the key to this dish is making the mustard dressing to dip. 'Mayak' actually means drugs in Korean. I'm sure Koreans named it as such because it's that addictive? The name is definitely catchy and makes you want to try them! Well, you don't have to go all the way to Korea to eat this. You can make this at home! Check the recipe below and if you do get to try making them, make sure to leave a comment on how you like them?!!

PHOTO BY LISA WONG JACKSON // GOOD ON PAPER

DOWNLOAD RECIPE HERE

Love The Kims | Family Photoshoot with Melissa Baerwald

There is no doubt I love taking pictures and appreciate good photography. I've recently learned to love good storytelling and documenting through photos, thanks to Melissa! She's a friend that I have worked with as a colleague for many years in the past. We both appreciate art, design and photography (even little bit of knitting!) and always had plenty to chat about. That's why I am so excited and happy to see Melissa launching her own documentary portrait and lifestyle photography biz based in Seattle! She loves to capture honest images of families through their story and their essence. I love her wide and low angle style and variations with bw photography. I was so thrilled when she offered to take some snaps of us when she had plans to visit bay area. 

Melissa thought our photoshoot wouldn't be quite complete without stopping at one of my favorite coffee place in Oakland. She's known me for a long time and I guess she knows me well. We stop by at Trouble Coffee in West Oakland to fuel up with some coffee and yummy toast before heading to OMCA (Oakland Museum of CA) for the shoot.

We went over to OMCA (Oakland Museum of CA) which is located near the lake and downtown in Oakland. I like taking the boys there on early dismissal days from school. We like going there to walk around the green area, follow along all the cement wall steps, grab some snacks at the museum café and even do our homework there. It's really a nice change of scene for us and sometimes we really need to get out of the house and go somewhere without having drive far. We love that you don't have to pay for the admission if you just want to use their facility. Art exhibits are great both covering history (California) and modern art. We actually had some time to check out the exhibits this time with Melissa. We also like the Friday Night's at OMCA / Off The Grid for line up of food trucks and live music performances. I would really love for more families in the bay area to know how much OMCA can offer.

I love this photo of us near this glass reflection installation. This says so much about us. We usually don't feel like we have to always do things together. As much as we like spending time as a family, I realized that we are different; and at times, it's quite ok to be standing alone, facing different directions and doing our own little things. We are connected regardless.  

Glad that I did this session with Melissa. When you see these photos, you cannot help but to feel gratitude. This was not a fancy dressed up family annual photo session, a studio shot...I'm thankful that Melissa captured these moments honestly and beautifully. With me actually in it!!! How often does that happen when I'm usually the main person taking the photos. Ha! Next time, I'll have to make sure to invite her to our home and document whatever is that we are doing in our own little space. Of course with everyday chao and utter mess being huge part of it!

There she is (well sort of). Thank you Melissa for taking the time to shoot that day! I have never seen a photographer who is willing to get down on her knees to get great photos. We had a great time!

If you like Melissa's work and interested in learning more about family documentary photography, please go visit her website/blog here! www.melissabaerwald.com 

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+ Photography and Editing by Melissa Baerwald

Traveling with Kids | A Day Trip to Guerneville, CA

A few weeks ago, boys had Veteran's Day off from school. It was on the middle of the week and we had no plans other than veggie at home. We decided to drive up to Guerneville up in Sonoma County for a little day trip, outing by Russian River. It turned out to be the most relaxing enjoyable family time we had. Here is a quick recap and few recommendations. It's such a cute quaint town to visit for a day trip or on a weekend. We are excited about going back in Spring/Summer time!

Big Bottom Market - A small market/café with yummy salad and sandwiches to pack to go on a picnic by the river. Walking distance to Johnson's Beach. (Main St.)

Boon Eat & Drink Café - A small Californian bistro with fresh seasonal ingredients. Good for brunch and early dinner! (Main St.)

Guerneville Bank Club - Old bank turned into ice cream parlor and pie shop. Get a scoop on little history in the gallery, a photo zone in the vault, a scoop of handmade ice cream and pie.

Commerce Fine Goods - Inside Guerneville Bank Club, find small fine goods store with handmade items from local artisans. A must visit when in Guerneville.

Johnson's Beach by Russian River - It's not the sandy beach you're thinking of. It's a quiet river side beach where you can skip rocks, feed the ducks and have a nice afternoon picnic. 

Armstrong Redwood National Forest - Nice redwood hiking trails and picnic area. Only 5 min drive away from Main St. 

First Annual Online Yard Sale

Hi Friends! I'm really excited to host my very first online yard sale over at my instagram account skycreatives_yardsale! I've been wanting to do this for a long time and happy that I finally got around to it. I'm sure you've heard of this book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo". I haven't read this book yet but I've heard so much about it. I'd like to think that I am an organized person but when it comes to things around the house, I am not very tidy and especially sharing space with kids, there can be piles of clutters always forming in just about every corner. I realized you can not declutter without letting go of your old things so I hope this is a good start for me! I'm hoping some of my old treasures will become someone else's new treasure. Here is how the Instagram online yard sale will work. Please read instructions below.

Pictures of items on sale will be posted over at skycreatives_yardsale instagram account. This account is a private so please request to follow.

1. Comment if you are interested in purchasing. Please leave a comment if you need more description about the item(s). (e.g. Dimensions)
2. DM (Direct Message) or Email your info (see below) to @skycreatives_yardsale or lee_selina@skycreatives.com. Name (First, Last)
   Your Instagram handles Item(s) you want to purchase Your email address Your PayPal account email address (if different from above) Shipping or Pick-up Your shipping address
3. Shipping cost estimate will be provided within 24 hours (via DM or email). Ship to US only.
4. Payments are received via PayPal. Send payments to lee_selina@skycreatives.com via PayPal (send money as friends & family) PLEASE DO NOT SEND PAYMENT UNTIL YOU GET A FINAL QUOTE AND CONFIRMATION FROM ME. THANK YOU!
5. Orders are prioritized by info received via email or DM. Commenting on Instagram does not guarantee you to claim the item.
6. Sale is not final until payment is received.
7. Photo will changed to SOLD OUT once payment is received and buyer notified via DM or Email.
8. Packages will ship out every Monday.
9. If you are local, you can pick it up from Private Mailbox & General Store in Oakland. Mention that you are there to pick up online yard sale item from SKYCreatives (Box #500). Private Mailbox is also donating $100 to this fund. THANK YOU! Private Mailbox & General Store 484 Lake Park Ave. #500 Oakland, CA 94610
10. All sales are final. There are no refunds or returns. If you have any problems or concerns, please DM or email me.
11. All proceedings (not including shipping) will be donated to public elementary school in our neighborhood to support programs like Art, Music, Ecoliteracy and PlayWorks (Physical Ed).
12. Yard sale will stay open until end of the year or until most items are sold.
    

    Thank you in advance for participating and donating to support public education!

Thank You!

  

Banchan Workshop #4 - Korean Street Food - Part II

Hey guys! Hope you're having a good start of week. Here is the remaining recap from Banchan Workshop #4 I hosted recently (see previous post for Part I). I finally had a chance to go through all the photos that Lisa took at the event. There were too many good ones to choose from. You can see how the dishes from the menu turned out and also download the recipe in the link below!! 

After spending first half of the class prepping all the ingredients, we took a little break and I showed the class how to make Gyeranjjim (Steamed Egg). I love sharing these easy to make egg techniques and recipes at the workshop!

We love making all the sauces and salad dressing from scratch!

Shin Dang Dong Tteokbokki (신당동 떡볶이) // Printable recipe HERE

Busan Uhmook Tang (부산 어묵탕) // Printable recipe HERE

Kwang Jang Market Mayak Gimbap (광장시장 마약김밥) // Printable recipe HERE

Seafood Naengchae with Korean Pear (새우냉채) // Printable recipe HERE

Gook Jae Market Mixed Seeds Hotteok (국제시장 씨앗호떡) // Printable recipe HERE

We had a blast once again cooking and feasting together. We look forward to doing it again next year and have lined up few more. If you would like to join us, make sure to sign-up for mailing list HERE and follow me on Instagram to find out what's cooking in the pipeline! Thanks to everyone who chipped in to help make this event successful! 

Don't forget to leave me a comment here about what you would like to see more at these workshops!

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This post is in partnership/sponsorship with Feastly, Whole Food Market, Allegro Coffee Roasters. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We thank you for ongoing interest and support!

Photography and editing by Lisa Wong Jackson at Good on Paper.