Flower Boy Ramen Shop + Recipe

In the spirit of the drama with Jung Il Woo "Flower Boy Ramen Shop"

Ramyun is an integral part of east asian, and college culture. It is cheap, filling, and delicious. Found in all sorts of places: Shops, delis, train snack carts, etc. To eat, just add hot water! I remember during my school days popping by the local deli afterwards to catch a cheap bite to eat when I was almost broke.What more could one want? A slightly smaller waist perhaps.
I have been eating this since.......I dunno. Never got sick of it!
Recipe: Spicy Seafood Ramyeon

Ingredients:
1 pack of ramyun
Cook according to package instructions. Note: For a healthier version, don't add the entire soup base-its filled with sodium and most of the time, msg.
Suggested additives
Shittake mushrooms, thinly sliced
Eggs-hardboiled or poached
Leeks sliced thinly, may be added as a topping
Kimchi :D
Peppers
Carrots
Potatoes
Tomatoes!!!
Green peppers
Cabbage (Bok Choy)
Spinach!
Bean Sprouts
Broccoli
Seafood: Shrimp, lobster, Squid, etc.
Gochujang or any type of hot sauce
Be creative. It will ALWAYS taste good. I even added milk when I was little and it was still delicious.
Eat, exercise, and be merry!

Pan-Fried Lemon Chicken

Hello cookievisioners

Sorry for a long 2 month absence. Its just that life in the real world has caught up to me and I'm averaging 3 hours of sleep a day. So what would I choose? Sleep or blog? Blog, definitely.Love you all :D

So today being a weekend and all, I got home late with unexpected visitors and I had to cook something fast. I started to just pan fry chicken drumsticks rubbed with a bit of salt, without oil, to make it healthier. However, I got more creative I guess (or less forgetful perhaps) and I added Rotisserie Chicken Dressing, teriyaki dressing, BBQ sauce, and some slices of lemon. And the end result turned out...pretty good!

So here's how you do this.

Get your raw drumsticks,
Wash them, (Do not add salt because the chicken will taste too salty with all the seasonings)
Marinate in Teriyaki sauce and Rotisserie chicken dressing for 5 min. You may add some scallions/onions if you wish
Now, time to get out your frying pan, turn heat to medium high, and add the meat.
When frying, dont forget to flip it occasionally to keep it from burning. 
After the meat has whitened a bit, you can use a knife to slit the meat a bit to allow it to cook faster.
Wait wait Patience is a virtue :D (3 min) You may turn the chicken one or two times during this period.
Now add BBQ sauce. Spread on to chicken evenly.
Cut up some lemon wedges and put them on top of the meat.
When you feel the chicken is almost done, verify by sticking a toothpick deep into the meat. If it comes out red with blood still, you need to wait more. Perhaps cut a few more slits in the meat to let it cook faster.
Later on, cut up some lemon wedges. Serve them as garnish. I would say that for a health conscious person, I would share 1 drumstick with another health conscious person. And serve with a heap of raw lettuce and some rice to balance out the heaviness of this dish.

ALSO IMPORTANT NOTE: The liquid left in the pan after you cook the chicken is known as "drippings." They are the main constituent of gravy. Mhmmmm.

So to make gravy, add 1/2 tablespoon flour to the pan, stir, and add 1/2 cup hot milk slowly until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt to taste, pepper, lemon zest, etc. What ever you like. You may serve this with mashed potatoes, or put them on rice, our use it as dip for lettuce. However, gravy has lots of calories-around 40-50 for 1 tablespoon. Use with caution.

From southernfriedchickenrecipe.com

Ok so this is my sunshine thought for the day. Enjoy your meal!

Movie Review: Dorian Gray (2009)

*The movie came out 2 years ago but this still is just too hot!

What should one do alone on a chilly rainy autumn afternoon in NYC? If one is feeling a bit daring, and wants a movie to match the dreary atmosphere, Dorian Gray (2009) directed by Oliver Parker is the perfect pastime, offering a refreshing blend of Gothic supernatural horror and Victorian melodrama. The sinister Belle Epoque London the movie was set in will be sure to make you feel quite fortunate, minus the quaint but dark background music. 

Dorian Gray, convincingly portrayed by Ben Barnes, is a young, handsome, naive, and gullible young man who arrives to London alone, with all his immediate family dead. He acquires two radically different friends, one a painter, Basil Howard (Ben Chaplin), who is semi-romantically attracted to his beauty, and another, a witty socialite, Lord Henry "Harry" Wotton (Colin Firth), who is attracted to his naivete. Basil is so attracted to his physical perfection that he makes Dorian his chief muse, and paints a picture of Dorian that is so real and beautiful that it unwittingly awakens the inner vanity of Dorian. Dorian first becomes aware of his beauty and fiercely wished to stay young forever and half seriously accepts Harry's joking suggestion that he makes a deal with the devil: his soul for eternal physical beauty. I easily imagine Basil as the virtuous, preaching "angel" on his right shoulder and Harry is the witty and absolutely incorrigible "devil" on his left shoulder. Of course, spoiler alert, Dorian Gray easily falls under the manipulative influence of Harry, who leads him to a hedonistic, decadent life with the sole purpose of seeking both amoral and moral pleasures and new sensations (aka he is Living the Life). Dorian also discovers that his portrait is magical. It bears the weight and effects of all the sins and pleasures Dorian commits, becoming uglier and monstrous while Dorian keeps his eternal beauty and never ages or scars. Dorian inherited a huge pile of cash so he doesn't have any financial problems, and does not work, like all gentleman living in his class, preferring to lavish money on exotic objects and experiences. This movie graphically chronicles his changing personality, the details of his hedonistic life, and his ultimate deadly remorse.

The horror aspect of it was mild, but delightfully chilly and pleasingly intellectual. It is mainly centered on a mixture of psychological and supernatural. Dorian is haunted by not a ghost, but a magical portrait, which serves as a mirror of his own soul. If Dorian chooses to be good and lead a virtuous life under Basil's influence, he would not be afraid of the portrait at all. However, Dorian's fear stems from his fateful choice of leading a life of unrestrained passion and decadence that causes the portrait to alter horribly into a monstrous, demon-like creature that sits in a dusty corner of his attic, exerting a growing unhealthy influence on him, first, to warn him of possible intruders to the attic room it was in, and later, to tell him to kill those who knew his secret, which furthers his path of self destruction.

I just want to clarify that Dorian Gray the movie directed by Oliver Parker and The Picture of Dorian Gray the novel written by Oscar Wilde are different and should not be confused with one another.The movie was never meant to follow the book down to every last word. Many movies and plays throughout the years before have done a better job of following the book word for word. Yes, the timespan stretches out too far. They cut out some minor characters. In the book, Dorian and Harry talked in Basil's garden, not some seedy bar. Harry never had a daughter because he divorced his wife. So what? The book was merely the inspiration, the foundation of which This Particular Movie was supposed to be based on. If it were supposed to be an exact reenactment, at least the screenwriter (Toby Finlay) would be smart enough to give it the same name as the book to indicate its connection. So a word to some critics out there who are against the movie because of the book. Its a movie, not a book. Make reviews based on how well the movie delivers, not how it matched up to the book. Give the screenwriter some credit for being creative! This makes the most sense because Parker gave very good film adaptations of Wilde's other plays, such as The Importance of Being Earnest <==must read and watch if you didn't. Absolutely the wittiest drama ever! 

Also, The Picture of Dorian Gray novel by Wilde was much more subtle in its references to sin, probably to evade Victorian censorship and stay in circulation. While I was reading it, I didn't even detect anything wrong with it that could not be put in even a children's book. Yet it was supposed to have scandalized Victorian society and used against Wilde in his fateful trail, as the introduction humourously referred to it seen as "a naked man at a tea party." Most of the sins Dorian commits are not written or just hinted at through allusions to disgraced and humiliated former friends, or a terrible secret written on a paper that the reader does not know. Some experts say that purposefully keeping the references vague forces us formulate our own definition of sin. However, its really hard for a  movie to do that, as a movie is purely visual and usually offers little room for imagination (that's why watching TV doesn't prevent Alzheimers, when reading books do). Dorian Gray the movie must clear through the fog of elaborate diction and "(un)dress it up a little" to suit the bold tastes of a twenty first century audience and it does so through beautiful cinematography. Just enough spice so it's sexy, not campy. And it dresses to impress.

So read the book, watch the movie, do both, take your pick. Just don't do neither without having a prejudiced mindset.

Rating: 9/10 

I did not give it a full score because the movie does go a bit fast. It could have gone through the relationships a bit deeper. For example, the relationship with Emily Wotton, Harry's daughter, was a bit shallow. The movie didn't really show how different she was from the other ladies that Dorian consorted with. Sure, she's from post WWI, more modern, and Harry's daughter (aka Off limits), but I don't see why they fell so deeply in love. She must have been based off Hetty Morton, but anyway, she's pretty, and Dorian likes pretty ;D

This is my first movie review ever, and also the first time I watched a horror movie. Why, because I am a proud wimp ;D Horror stories, not even movies, can scare me unpleasantly in two ways: 1) They are either too disturbingly gory that I remember them in nightmares OR 2) They are too psychologically scary and play with my mind too much so that I start actually believing in them. Yes, I'm a proud wimp. That's why I rarely step outside the bounds of romantic comedies in the first place.

However, this movie was an exception for many reasons.
Why I mustered my psychs to watch this:  
1) I read the novel which inspired this, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and it was not that scary, perhaps because of the antiquated diction. But anyways, it focused more on the psychological changes inside the main character rather than the horror of the portrait.
2) The novel which inspired this, The Picture of Dorian Gray was written by Oscar Wilde, my favorite author of ALL TIME! *Fangirl scream*
3) I rarely will finish watching a movie without a hot lead. And Ben Barnes does not disappoint ;-)

Halt. (British way of saying Hot but I'll stop ;D)

Mr. Barnes how do you look so fresh even though you are decomposing? 

Come and look, if you dare..... 

Moderation: Maximum Happiness

Coming from a rising foodie, this may sound queer. But perhaps, moderation is the key to enjoying things to the fullest.

If you asked me about the importance of moderation a short while ago, perhaps even a week ago, I would have psh'ed at you and said "bullsh*t." Or perhaps, have quoted from my favorite author, Oscar Wilde ""Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess"(if I can remember it at the moment). In fact, I am so anti-moderation that I have a fridge magnet which says "Moderation is for Monks." If one just briefly ponders it, considering only the state of one's happiness, Oscar Wilde is perfectly honest. Why should we limit ourselves when we are around a great quantity of enjoyable, beautiful, or delicious things?If you love ice cream and you are surrounded by a quart of it, why limit yourself to a scoop? From the healthy point of view, moderation keeps our health in balance. But most of us live without moderation when we are surrounded by many things we enjoy-heck, that's why buffets are still open. We all "know" moderation is good for us, but we "feel" its bad for us. However, Wilde wisely saw through human beings, and summed it up in one great epigram: "Man is many things, but he is not rational." (Women too, Oscar!) Translation: Our emotions have greater control over our actions than our reasoning, usually in the realm of comestibles. 
 
How can we "feel" moderation is good for us?

Be Optimistic 

Be happy. That makes you pleasantly unique because most people are not optimistic.
Picture courtesy of http://royalsblog.kansascity.com/?q=node/490

 
Today, after my daily morning ritual of checking my weight on the scale, a pretty exciting thing, because I was trying to lose some weight, I found that I had (thankfully) not gained any weight but also did not lose any weight, which defeated the purpose. I have tried weight loss many times before, but usually, gave up due to my former life principle: Moderation is for monks. This time, I didn't tell myself that I just couldn't lose any weight and instead, tried logically reflecting what that I did kind of splurge a bit on dinner. I didn't tell myself, like I usually did, that I really didn't make an attempt to lose weight and instead, just lived life like any other time. This gave me hope in that I will get results once I really put all my effort into this endeavor.

Basically, give moderation an actual go before denying yourself.  THINK POSITIVE! Really.

Action 

Small portions make food look all the more pleasing, doesn't it?
Photo courtesy of http://bentobox.bzzagent.com/?page_id=8

For breakfast, I started limiting my portions. This means 1 slice of homemade raisin bread, 1/2 bowl of bitter melon stirfry from yesterday (they are so delicious, but an acquired taste. Will post recipe next time), and green tea. Also, I had some leftover fried anchovies and exactly 11 peanuts.
What I found was that this made breakfast...fun! I ate slowly and carefully so that I would finish everything at approximately the same time. It was like a game where I had to plan out every bite. And along the way, I was enjoying the flavors of the food more, and I could distinguish the flavors more distinctly. This was way better than eating just eating mindlessly while thinking "food is awesome!" When all the food ran out, I felt I was just pleasantly full, and did not feel like my stomach was about to burst. I then finished with 3 strawberries, which I also ate in a pleasant manner.

So moderation makes everything all the more enjoyable because you know its limited, and therefore, you savor/value every bit more.

I examined my previous lifestyle and in the end, felt the importance of moderation. 

Food and Film Should Be Tastefully Enjoyful, not just Enjoyful Tastefully

not like that ^^

We think that in order to have the maximum enjoyment, we should indulge in our whims as much as possible. However, the whims we indulge on are not necessarily beneficial to us in great quantities. For example, cookies and television (har har) are good in measured doses. A cookie a day won't kill you anyway. A movie a week is a great treat.

Although 20 cookies a day may seem swell, afterwards, your conscience (and stomach) won't feel so well. It may seem luxurious to be a couch potato for a day, but the pounds will dramatically increase at a quick rate. So do you still like the life of a fat glutton? Or would you like to slim down and wear Louis Vuitton?
Haha that was fun ;D

Commitment 
Moderation does not mean that you cannot indulge in your whims, just that you cannot make a habit of indulging in large numbers. Less is more (satisfying). You also have room for dessert. Guilt free.

 A small portion of dessert leaves you with a pleasant craving. And you will never grow sick of the things you love. Enjoyment will leave you with pleasant memories and improved self esteem, not guilty recollections of thoughtless and wasteful indulgence.

Easy Hotdog Hong Kong Style Borscht

Photo courtesy of hongyi86 on Flickr

Hong Kong Borscht (Luo Song Tang 罗宋汤) has always been one of the most delicious soups my mom made. It is a regular lunch of mine, as its very versatile and easy to make. It is guaranteed to be tasty, no matter how much or how little stuff you put into it. It's a great hit at hong kong and southeast asian bakeries, although you could easily make the same yourself under 15 minutes.

Today, I wanted to eat a hotdog for lunch, but I only had the sausage and no bun, so I decided to put my hotdog soup style. And a soup with ketchup, to me, will always be HK Borscht. So instead of regular beef, I made today's soup with just 2 hotdogs, onions, and carrots. It was rich and satisfying, and proved that I could still cook something nice with an almost empty fridge.

Recipe 
Ingredients

•   vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 hot dog sausages, chopped
• carrots, julienned (like matchsticks) 
• 1 bottle of ketchup 
• other vegetables, any kind, chopped
• rotisserie chicken seasoning (optional), 1/2 teaspoon
• water, amount depends on desired quantity of soup
• salt/pepper to taste

Directions

• in a saucepan, over medium heat, heat vegetable oil.
• add hot dog and onion. Stir until onion is clear. Add rotisserie chicken seasoning
• add desired amount of ketchup. Quickly stir and add water immediately. Add carrot/hard vegetables. Simmer on medium-low heat.
• When it is on a small boil, taste. If you feel soup needs more richness/thickness, add more ketchup.Taste frequently
• When you feel you added enough ketchup, and the soup is boiling, add salt and pepper to taste. 
• You may serve with pieces of bread or salad croutons. Enjoy!!

Scrumptious and Healthy Berrynana Orangape Smoothie

Want a smoothie but scared of the fat? No fear! Have a satisfying and rich one while getting your morning protein and fruit.

Scrumptious and Healthy Berrynana Orangape Shake  
Total time: 5-7 minutes Serving size: 1 cup/8 oz

Looks creamy? Tastes like it too. Thank you banana and protein! 

Ingredients (in whatever proportion unless specified) 

• Strawberry 
• Banana 
• Orange juice
• Grape juice 
• Protein Powder (preferably 1 tablespoon, or according to package directions) *My protein powder is vanilla flavored, but if your brand does not have flavoring, add a teensy drop of vanilla extract*

Equipment:

• A blender/smoothy maker 

Directions
Cut all fruit into small pieces so that your blender can puree them easily. You don't want to have fruit chunks floating in your drink. Put them inside blender cup, add orange juice, add grape juice, and protein powder. I like to shake my cup a bit to let the powder distribute more easily. Blend to desired consistency. Open your container and smell. Taste. Add honey if you want to sweeten it more. Enjoy. 

Eat your fruits and save your figure!

Autumn: Park Hawthorn Harvest

First of all, I hope everyone has made through Hurricane Irene safely and peacefully on the Eastern US Coast and I offer my sincerest condolences to those who haven't. It was pretty tame in NYC, with naught much but some flooding but luckily, since I live in the suburbs on higher ground, there wasn't any flooding-just a few uprooted trees in the park here and there.

Speaking of the park-last Friday, the last sunny day we had before the tropical storm hit, I went for a walk, wondering how many trees would be struck down by the predicted fierce winds. Along the way, I saw some delicious looking berries. Since childhood, I have always LOVED foraging! In my early business mindset, I imagined that I could sell these berries for money, just like a farm child and be able to earn my own allowance. It didn't occur to me that perhaps other people could just go and pick the fruit themselves. Now, older, more mature, and an aspiring foodie (I hope), I just picked them simply because they taste distinctly different from store brought produce, and hey, free food. Who don't want free food? So whatever is edible, I pick. I pick dandelion leaves (salads) in spring, blackberries in the summer (raw or jam), and wild garlic (allium chrysanthum) and even to the extent of enduring the vile stench of the ginko fruit to harvest the inner nut, which has very high nutritional value and great health benefits. *Ignores stares from neighbors and passerby*  But I have never eaten wild hawthorn-I always had to buy them from the health food store, and not at a cheap price either...

Although I didn't know what they were, I boldly took some to take home to try. Actually, around 1 lb, in fact. At home, after washing them properly, they tasted absolutely wonderful. They were delicately sweet, with a touch of fruity tartness. It tasted apple-like in fact. Judging from the seeds, I identified them as a type of hawthorn berry-completely edible and in fact, is very beneficial to your health. It was a lucky and tasty catch! However, this is not advised to do by yourself if you don't know about wild berries, and I know better than to try something like this again. Eat smart.  

How to Wash 
Simply just pour berries into a large bowl, remove leaves and stem, and gently scrub them with your fingers in bunches. Rinse 3-5 times to wash out dust/dirt.

 Enjoy them the way they are or add them to yogurt and salads. You may store them in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Yum! A delightful and health snack!

The Marriage of Nutella and Butterbeer

I couldn't find a Nutella Butterbeer recipe anywhere on the web, so I decided to make it myself, and also a new version of butterbeer without relying too much on heavy cream... I use a lot of whole milk, which is actually only 3-4% fat... It should taste like caramel, milk, and nutella added together. I usually work with an almost-empty refrigerator, so I don't have fancy ingredients usually. If you don't like Nutella, just try the recipe without it and tell me how it is!

Cookievision's Super Easy (Nutella) Butterbeer Recipe
Takes around 15 minutes. Serves one or two, depending on amount of milk added.
Ingredients:

• butter, 1 1/2 tablespoons
• sugar, 1/4 cup
• whole milk (lots of it!)
• vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
• cinnamon (optional)
• nutella 1 tablespoon (optional)
• whipped cream (optional)

Directions:
NOTE: Assemble all ingredients beforehand because this is a really fast recipe and sugar burns fast.

In a saucepan, heat sugar on moderately high heat. May add a small splash of water to help sugar cook more evenly and not burn. Quickly stir with spoon until sugar just stops boiling. You should have a brownish liquid. Add butter and vanilla extract to the pan and stir until butter melts. Turn to low heat. Add milk (one or two cups) and stir vigorously until well mixed. You may add more milk if you wish, if it is too sweet. Also add the nutella if you wish, and stir until mixture is well blended. Pour into mugs. Drink as is or serve with whipped cream on the top and a sprinkle of cinammon.To store, put in refrigerator and reheat as you wish. Keeps for 1-2 days.

Harry Snape (not slash)

After watching the last Harry Potter film in a while, a big what-if came up to my mind. 

What if Lily and Snape married?
Seeing the angsty relationship between Lily Evans (Harry Potter's mom) and Severus Snape (a Death Eater turned Order of Phoenix member) portrayed in such a heartbreaking fashion (kudos to Alan Rickman!) I couldn't help feeling quite disappointed that Lily never got to see the good in Severus and also that Lily Potter and James Potter's relationship really lacked sustenance and realism. How does someone she despised as a bully for most of her life suddenly become the love of her life? How does someone like Snape whom she befriended for most of her life suddenly become hated just because he called her something insulting? He did apologize afterwards and she should have accepted it, because he was angry and humilated and wasn't in his right mind... just because of a fight that James Potter conjured up. I really think that if Lily just stuck to Snape, his great love for her would have caused him to give up becoming a Death Eater-because even becoming that was part of his plan to seem powerful, sexy, and awesome to Lily. If she flat-out told him that she would like him as a force of good, I think he actually has a chance of living a happier life...
Anyway, I just love Heathcliff-type characters, so dark, brooding, and tragically romantic ^^ 
I had lots of fun morphing pics to see how Harry Snape  looks like:

No wands pointed dangerously at you either...

 Instead of 

And look like this when he grows up

Rather James-ish! Snape might not be happy about this... but he has Lily's eyes more so than Harry Potter...

 But there would be a dramatically different story (with no Voldemort trying to take his life probably?) if Lily actually got married to Severus... I still ship them nonetheless...
Tell me what you think!

Cookievision's Impromptu Veggie and Tofu Pasta with Side Dish

I wanted three cheese pasta, but had only 1 cheese and some veggies. 
This ain't authentic. Its my invention.
Prep + Cooking Time: 1 hr 15 min  
Serves 4 people. Hungry ones ;D 
Ingredients 
4 teaspoons olive pomace oil (or vegetable oil or any oil suited for frying)
6 cloves garlic, finely minced (may add more or less depending on taste)
1 small onion, diced (may add more or less depending on taste)
1/2 cup carrot, chopped 
1 green pepper
2 squares chinese dry tofu (dougan), in medium-thick slices 

Chinese dry tofu and one type of hot pepper

1 can tomato puree (or your favorite pasta sauce)
1 1/2 teaspoon rotisserie chicken seasoning
1 tablespoon butter
1 lb pasta
Whole milk, heavy cream, or cream cheese (depending on how creamy you want your sauce to be)
2 slices American cheese
sugar and salt to taste
2 fresh hot peppers (optional)
Chinkiang black rice vinegar (optional)

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large nonreactive saucepan, heat oil and butter on medium heat. 
When oil gets warm, add onion, garlic, carrot and stir with spatula.
When onion becomes slightly translucent, add rotisserie chicken seasoning and stir .
Add tomato puree or pasta sauce, or both. Stir. 
When sauce starts to boil a little, add sugar and salt to taste. Add green pepper. Turn to medium-low heat to prevent sauce from flying out pot. Stir.
Add tofu slices. Turn to low heat. Stir.
If you wish, add cream cheese. Stir.
Add American cheese slice. Stir until it disappears. Add another.
Turn off heat. Add milk/heavy cream to desired creaminess. Stir sauce.
Combine the pasta with the sauce in the pot. Mix thoroughly with spatula.

Optional side dish
Slice hot peppers into small pieces. Be careful to not touch the inner white part, because that's where the capsaicin is. The capsaicin is the chemical that makes peppers hot. Your hand will feel painful for a few hours afterward if you do. Mix with chinkiang black rice vinegar. This side dish will tone down the richness of the pasta sauce.
Enjoy!!

I await your feedback.

Ja Myung Go Ep 14 RECAP *spoilers*

I will start recapping from 14 on because this is where the adult characters show up.
Story up to now:
2 girls were born in Han-controlled Nakrang Territory to General Choi Li on the same day, approximately the same time. An imperial oracle told the emperor that these two girls will bring disaster to his kingdom, so he would need to kill them. Choi Li is unfortunately assigned with the task of killing his own daughters. Choi Li has two wives, therefore the children born would be half siblings. One wife, Wang Jasil, is beautiful, cunning and ambitious, a femme fatale type of character who will go to any length to save her daughter, even seducing the oracle to change his prediction to labeling her daughter as the princess of salvation while the other daughter would be the princess of destruction. The other wife of Choi Li is Mo Haso, who is elegant, virtuous, and kind, and due to Wang Jasil's scheme, she was forced to kill her child, but was unsuccessful due to fate, and she sent her child down a river in a boat to Shandong, China, where she becomes part of a circus troupe and grows up without knowing of her true identity.  Later on, Choi Li and his brother in-law Wang Goeng overthrow the Han from Nakrang and establish the Kingdom of Nakrang, where a power struggle ensues and ends with Wang Goeng's murder.Choi Li becomes king. Queen Wang Jasil's daughter, Princess Lahee, is his heir apparent. In Goguryeo, Prince Hodong, meanwhile, suffered a troubled childhood where from a young age, he had to fight against his step-mother, Queen Maeseolsu, who wanted to kill him so that she could produce a heir to the throne and give more power to the Biryuna tribe of her father. He had to survive multiple murderous attempts by his step-mom and, to protect himself, becomes a master swordsman and statesman from a young age.
Prince Hodong, who by now is a young adult, is absolutely furious when he hears Queen Maeseolsu has a child.  
Note:
I decided to start my drama recaps from here because this is the part where the story truly develops. This drama gives a REALLY LONG INTRO (13 episodes) about the history of the characters, which might be a reason some viewers gave up watching. However, I felt like the childhood scenes gave more depth to the character, and when the adult versions were finally introduced, I felt like they were my old friends. So if you want to get to the good parts, you should probably just watch from episode 14 onwards...

Jyamyummy eye candy ;-) aka Ja Myung Go Stills

To me, the addiction of watching dramas springs from mostly 2 sources: the ingenuity of the plot and the hotness of the characters, but not necessarily in that order. I'm a fangirl and proud of it. Usually, dramas usually meet one of the standards, and sometimes, neither.Ja Myung Go (2009) is one that, surprisingly, satisfies both qualities. 
I came across this fusion saguek drama when I was looking for something off the beaten path. This is probably one of the most underrated hi-budget dramas there was. It never got its chance to shine, with ratings while it was currently airing peaking at around 10% at the most. It was also cut from around 50 episodes to only 39 because it was owned by Queen Seon Deok. It was beaten by other popular dramas such as Queen Seon Deok, which came out around the time it was airing.
Early warning. This is a tragedy so if you can't tolerate sad endings, don't watch. But most sagueks have sad endings...
This centers on the tragic korean folktale of the love story between Prince Hodong of Goguryeo and the sister Princesses Lahee and Jamyung of Nakrang.
Every character, except for Park Min Young(Sungkyunkwan Scandal), is completely new to me. 
The stills: Wouldn't you want to see how this plays out also? I have to say Prince Hodong is pure eyecandy.
The Pictures that Started this all....

Hotness incarnate.

Appetizers:

Park Min Young as Princess LaHee of Nakrang, the wife(unconfirmed, will watch later) of Prince Hodong of Goguryeo

She reminds me of chili peppers, just saying...

Entrees: The Main Dishes/Characters 
Princess Ja Myung  (Lahee's sister and Hodong's True lover...) portrayed by Jung Ryeo Won

I think the headpiece is a bit overdone....

Prince Hodong (Goguryeo) portrayed by Jung Kyung Ho

Hodong. Nuff said.

Dessert: A Combo!!

Menage a Trois anyone? Just kidding...o_o

Stills mean a lot to me. I watch mainly for a good plot and hot actors ;-)
I know this drama doesn't center in on food much at all, but aren't the actors delicious enough? O_O
I use too much food analogies.... but oh well, fangirls have a cannibalistic streak ;-p
Recaps to come.

Muscle Girl Stills!

No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only.

I will definitely watch this.
Reason No. 1 
1. LEE HONG KI!! (Jeremy from You're Beautiful!!)
2. Also, really curious as to see how fluent Lee Hong Ki is in Japanese...
The only reasons all circulate around Lee Hong Ki... I know, I'm shameless, tsk tsk tsk but he's one of my favorite singer/actors ;-)  
Some yummy appetizers(excuse me, pictures) of LHK to eat (I meant look, sorry!) as you wait... (I confess to blatantly fangirling).
*No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only.

^_^ *

His smile is just angelical! ;-) *

Jeremy. What else can I say?  :-) *

These pics look delicious! I am going to look out to any food references and find the recipes for them!

Credits: happyhappyred + Only_Honggi
Reupload: LiaHongki@primindo *

One of those rare shows where Korean and Japanese artists collaborate!! Ganbatte!

Pasta-La Sfera's Pasta Aglio e Olio-Supper

This is the dish that made Seo Yoo Kyung become a cook at La Sfera. I was really curious on how Pasta Aglio e Olio tasted so good so I decided to make some myself...it doesnt look like much, but if cooked the right way, it is AMAZING.

Sample picture courtesy of residentevilchef.com 

Cookievision's Pasta Aglio e Olio 
Time: at most 30 minutes
Serves 1 (large portion)
Ingredients
1. 1/2 lb of any kind of pasta you like
2. 2 cloves of garlic or more if you want to enhance the flavor
3. A pinch of ground dried chili pepper (add to taste). Fresh hot peppers are a good substitute.
4. 3 to 4 tablespoons good olive oil (do not use extra virgin or virgin! I recommend pure olive oil which is refined and is healthier to heat)
5. a pinch of curry powder
6. salt, 1 teaspoon
7. grated parmigiano or pecorino romano cheese (optional)
8. 1 cup shrimp, shelled and deveined. 

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, fill with 2-3 quarts water, add 1 teaspoon salt, bring to a boil, then add pasta.
2. While the pasta is cooking, peel your garlic and mince garlic into tiny cubes. Be careful!
3. Chop up your dried/fresh chili pepper
4. Get out your fry pans and a cooking spatula, turn on your stove, and add the olive oil. Then, add your shrimp, and cook for 1 minute, then add minced garlic and pepper. Sauté with spatula until the garlic turns brown and the shrimp turns pink. Immediately turn off the heat because you don't want to overcook the garlic. Mmmm!!
5. Now, when the spaghetti are cooked, drain them and transfer them to the pan, and use your spatula to mix the noodle and the sauce together (its pretty hard to flip noodles like the chefs did in the drama so I don't recommend it as a first try)!

6. Transfer to a serving bowl, and enjoy with a bit of grated cheese, dried parsley, and some fresh grape tomatoes!

Mangia bene! 

Pasta-The Three Fired Chefs Bread Pizza-Brunch

This morning, the refrigerator was almost empty. There were no leftovers or any traditional sandwich fillings, so I decided to make my own version of a dish they ate in the Korean drama Pasta (see at dramafever.com!)

Cookievision'sBread Pizza
Serves 4 
Total time needed: usually 1ess than 15 minutes. Varies with amount of people you want to serve.
Ingredients  
1. 8 slices of bread
2. A jar of pasta sauce
3. Shredded or chopped up sharp cheddar cheese (or any type you like or have)
Directions
1. Spread generous amount of pasta sauce on bread (I usually use 1 tbsp)
2. Add cheddar cheese bits on top, just like pizza. If you are cooking for someone you <3 then you could make cute designs. Have fun!  ;-)
3. Now here, you could either
         a) microwave it for 3 minutes (to make it hot and melt the cheese)  ----Like in the movie version
         OR for a crispier version:
         b)get out your skillet/fry pan (ply pan in korenglish :-) ) and add 1 regular spoon of vegetable oil, heat
         for around 10 seconds, and add your tomato and cheddar bread, and toast until the cheese melts or
         until you are too hungry to wait :-)

ENJOY!!

-Rokujo of Cookievision