Hm… I think it’s around that time of year when people start getting in a funk and a bit out of sorts. Myself included. I think I’m just antsy for spring to arrive (maybe Bunny too?). So I’m trying to keep myself busy with baking, writing, working out, church stuff, trying new cafes, etc, but I don’t know if it’s helping much. I should probably spend more time outside in nature and get more vitamin D, but being the homebody that I am, it’s just so much easier to stay home and binge-watch the whole season of ‘House of Cards’. Ya feel me? Anyway~~~ Here are some things I’ve been doing, eating, and making:

Here’s something exciting! There’s a small veg*an Korean publication called “Begun,” which is also how you pronounce ‘vegan’ in Korean (you see what they did there?). It’s all in Korean so I haven’t actually read it all, but I’ve seen it around at a few veg cafes~~ Anyway, this month marks their 2-year anniversary and so they had a special issue with a bunch of guest contributors, and they asked if I would submit a recipe~ So I shared my recipe for carrot-pineapple cake which I also blogged about here. I’m thrilled to be a part of their anniversary issue~~

Here’s a late dinner of mixed grains & lentils, sauteed veggies, and half of the vegan macrobiotic burger patty I got at Marche the other week. I honestly wish I could have an endless supply of them.

On another day, I had nothing in my fridge except a few tomatoes and tofu, so I made a curry with them with some masala spice mix and ate it with some cooked grains.

And now on the baking-front, things have been a bit Valentine-themed for the past few weeks. Lots of hearts and a lot of red and chocolate….

Most of it was for the bakeshop, but some was just for friends. :)

And for Botton Cafe this week, I made a red velvet layer cake with white chocolate & cashew cream. It got topped with some fresh pomegranate kernels for a little more ‘pop’ of red. One of the customers sent me this photo because she enjoyed it so much. I love it when other people send me pictures of my food. :) (photo credit: Kim Jee Yeon)

Another pic she took: my 4-layer carrot cake. (photo credit: Kim Jee Yeon)

Botton’s coffee & Alien’s Day Out cakes are like best friends. (photo credit: Mellowsong!)

The ladies at Botton gave me some of these handmade paaht bean treats as a lunar new years gift. It’s a traditional Korean dessert that is firm but also creamy and not too sweet at all. I love anything paaht, and this was delicious and also pretty to look at. They come with all kinds of different fillings, but this one had walnuts for added nuttiness and crunch.

Had an early meeting at a cafe last week and I took some breakfast carrot muffins with me.

Speaking of muffins, one of my new favorite muffins to make these days is Lemon Millet. Since poppyseeds are now all of a sudden nowhere to be found and iHerb won’t ship them to Korea due to regulations, I added toasted millet instead for some extra crunch and texture. Ever since I had that carrot millet muffin at Dovetail Bakery in Portland, I’ve been in love with adding millet in baked goods.

And finally, here’s a trick for you soy latte lovers in Seoul. Since most cafes don’t provide soy milk as an option on their menu, sometimes I’ll just bring in my own soy milk and ask if they can make a latte for me with it. And if I’m lucky, they’ll even give me a discount on it, since I’m providing the milk (small independent coffee shops do this more so than large franchise cafes where the baristas don’t have the freedom to give out discounts). Just ask nicely while flashing them your puppy dog eyes. :)

Ok that’s all for today. ta ta~~~~

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