Korean Flower Arrangement~ About the flowers

I have been going to this Flower arrangement class ever since we moved to Korea and I have made such good friends and learned a lot!

Flower Arrangement is the term but this art involves using branches, stems, even rocks (as props), twigs and flower buds along with the actual flower. Some flowers fade off so soon while many buds bloom after the arrangement giving a new twist to the arrangement. Some stems shoot out leaves and buds right after they are immersed in water and some just stay the same whether in water or out of it. And then, my favorite kind, there are some flowers that stay on and on :)

The orange and yellow alstroemeria stay on and on for a long time! While the violet anemones die out very fast. The White Spray buds blossomed which made the arrangement so lovely! The Marigold buds bloomed too, giving the arrangement a more whitish look. 

Highlighting the heavy white rose with bamboo, willow and spray flowers. Roses last for a long time. The willow are still looking good! 

The beautiful orange rununculus flowers looked gorgeous for a long time while the purple camillas needed water spray to bloom

Bright Red Gerbera and yellow-orange orchid along with an orange tint from the alstroemeria gives this arrangement the focal point while the asparagus leaves and and the budding twig add character and depth to this arrangement. This is one of my favorite arrangements. It lasted a long time, with the twigs growing beautifully.

Anthurium lasts forever. It was such a thrill to have the pink anthurium in the arrangement along with potted plants which kept this arrangement pretty for quite some time!

Red tulips, violet iris makes this arrangement interesting along with the flowering twigs. 

K for Korean Flower Arrangement for ABC Wednesday

Japchae- Tasty treat

Japchae is a popular Korean noodle dish that I love making. The chewy texture of the translucent sweet potato noodles along with the plethora of veggies makes it so colorful and tasty.

The colorful, flavorful and healthy Japchae

The authentic Korean version of the Japchae can be found here. My version is an easy, quick-fix, veggie probably Indianish version of the same :)

The sweet potato noodles takes a bit more time to cook than our regular rice or wheat noodles. I cook it with salt and oil to make the noodles stringy and not mush together. I also wash the cooked and hot noodles in cold water to ensure it does not mush together. Keep it aside. It looks nice and translucent. And tastes a bit chewier than the usual noodles. It gives it an interesting taste.

I like using all the veggies I have in my fridge in this dish :) Mainly, I ensure I have the red and yellow bell peppers, button mushrooms and garlic. I love to use bok choy, broccoli, carrots in it.

I sautee chopped garlic, long strips of the onions, colorful peppers, bok choy and spinach in sesame oil. Then, I add the soy sauce, sugar, salt and a pinch of black pepper and let the veggies take in the flavor of the sauces. Then, I transfer all of this to the noodles. After mixing it well, I let it warm and make sure the noodles absorbs the soy sauce too. Last, I add the toasted sesame seeds as a garnish. Easy to make one dish meal :)

J for Japchae for ABC Wednesday

The Third Culture Kid

Today I understood the concept of Third Culture Kids. At a seminar with Libby Stephens,  I was introduced today to the new breed of kids with a passport from one country, living in another, living with parents of yet another culture. What a mouthful! Imagine the culture confusion and language crisis in that set up!

These kids might be the "cool" kids with multiple passports, who have visited a lot of countries in the world, understand and speak different languages. But they are also the kids who constantly have to make new friends, adapt to different cultures, traditions and languages, missing their favorite grandma.

It is a tough life these kids have to adapt to and my kids had a bite of this fruit. Missing our home, (Bangalore still being referenced as home) crying for days after hearing the news of the death of our cat, missing the good Sagars, the touch of the familiar furniture even; Even more tough was adjusting to to the sub zero temperatures, yellow dust, slippery snow and heavy jackets. It was tough for them.

It was so good to see so many people on the same boat, coping up with the same problems coming together to bond and so good to listen to the world renowned speaker give us hope that all will be well.

I for Interesting Information about the Third culture kids for abc Wednesday

This week in doodles

This week has been so busy so far with the Korean class becoming more and more complicated and the number of school meetings increasing as my son approaches the 12th grade. I still found some peace and quiet with my doodling :)

decorating the left hand :) 

My ideal world would be sweet!

Oh just lines!

Just letting my mind do the drawing!

In color!

H for decorating the Hand and Handmade doodles :D for ABC Wednesday