Salt Lake

 After hanging with my chicky, I headed up with my friend Mindy for a long weekend of fun in Salt Lake. I spent Thursday all alone in her house while Mindy went to work to make some monies. She took Friday off so we could spend some more time together.

On Friday we went to a little area with a Korean gift shop, Korean bakery, and Korean grocery store! We got all the makings for kimbop (Korean sushi (kind of) ), Chapaghetti (a ramen with black bean sauce and veggies... one of my favorites!), chocopies (like moon pies, I've been told), and tasty treats from the bakery.

That night we went to visit with Mindy's Russian friends from church and Anya made Korean chicken and rice porridge. It tasted like really good chicken and rice soup from Cambells. With whole cloves of tasty tasty garlic in it. I am making it. While we waited for it to cook, we watched an episode of a new Korean drama that looks very promising.

The next day, Mindy and I got up and made bulgogi kimbop! Sooo good! We took a piece of seaweed, spread some rice, then added pickled radish, spinach, carrot, and bulgogi before rolling it all up.

Isn't it pretty? Mindy does such a good job. Here's one that I rolled up! It got a little rice on the outside, though. Sad. :(

More tasty shots of kimbop.

 While we (meaning Mindy...) sliced it all up and rolled it into foil for when the Russians came over, I said hello to an old friend of mine from college.

It no longer smells like marshmallows, which is sad, but it still always makes me really happy to see because I remember when Mindy would accidentally set things on fire. Cookbooks, eggs, beans... Good times, good times....

I didn't take any pictures (which is a real tragedy), but we headed down to European Tastees, a Russian bakery and grocery store to buy candy (which I am still working through...) and meet up with my friend Nasa. She is currently going to grad school at BYU and had an internship at the Mongolian embassy in D.C. (did I mention she is from Mongolia? And super adorable? And that my parents almost adopted her? True story.). We caught up and talked about the crazy happenings in our lives since we saw each other at Halloween. I started per-requisites for grad school, she got engaged. Same old same old. Yep, my Nasa is getting married in D.C. next July and wants me to be a bridesmaid and help plan her wedding. I am so happy and feel so special. ^^

Diane came up and brought her baby Emily (who had surgery a few days prior, so she was a little clingy to Mama, though she did walk a little for us!). I had seen her and Anna (with baby Noah), a few days earlier, but it was fun getting to see her again and talk some more.

After Diane headed out, Nasa, Mindy, and I went to another Korean restaurant and had some more tasty Korean food: bibimbop in a hot stone pot (veggies and meat with egg and chili sauce over rice), japjae (glass noodles and veggies), and clear soup (I think it was a kind of miso?). I always taste the kimchi and usually hate it, but the kind there was pretty mild and not as sour as some places. I actually kind of enjoyed it and ate several more pieces.

Man... I want bibimbop so much right now. Mmmm....

Sunday we went to church (P.S. Mindy's ward has some pretty adorable boys in it) and then headed over to The Russian's house to make and eat tradition Cuban food: ropa vieja (shredded delicious beef), black beans, and rice. It took SOOOO LONG to make! We didn't get to eat until, like, 8pm. But it was SO worth the wait!

 Then we sat down on the couch with our tasty food and watched an episode of a Korean drama. It was a multicultural evening. :)

Monday was my last day in Utah. Sad day. But we made the most of it by making panda cookies! You might have noticed that we made/ate a lot of food. This is absolutely true. I think I was hungry all of ONCE while I was in Utah.

 When I say that "we" made panda cookies, I kind of really mean Mindy. I did a little mixing, but I mostly took pictures.

I am not the most adept cook, and I felt that my lack of skills would only be detrimental to our, er, already sad looking cookies.

We found that our cookies might have smooshed a little before they made it too the pan. They look better than the bread we made last time I was there... but still not all that great.

We used raspberry Jello to make the pink parts, so it tasted really good. However, the poor pandas look really sad. And by sad I mean smooshed.

Then it was time to go home. I took my suitcases, my poster (Van Gogh Tardis!!), and headed back to Oregon where I get to take care of the animals and clean the house and go to work. Utah is way more fun.

Also, I am now currently obsessed with several new Korean songs: Gangnam Style (you might have heard of it), Sexy Free and Single (BIG BANG!! I'm sorry I won't see you in L.A. in November! I have to go to D.C. next summer and I can't afford both of you! I'm sorry! D: )...

And Marshmallow. It is SOO CUTE. And soooo very deep. *snicker* The song raises several deep philosophical questions: What is the significance of the giant marshmallow man? Why does she cook a fish in her bedroom? Why does a shark chase the marshmallow man across the stage at the end?

You know you want to watch it! Do it!

And that's it for now! I went back to work today and it was pretty good. We got four new ladies in. I hope they stick around longer than the last few. Come on! It's a fun store! With food! And awesome people! Come PLAY!!

P.S. I start up grad school FOR REALS at the end of the month. Can you believe it? It's kind of surreal for me. We'll have to see how that goes soon.