The Most Important phrases for being Vegan while in Korea~

     A lot of people learn the general "고기없이" which literally means "Meat in this?"

The MOST important statement (the one that has saved me over and over" is saying "I can't eat____" versus "I don't eat"  or "I won't eat."

Learn this~
"______ 못먹어요." ~"I can't eat _____."

Sub in any animal goods to just clear this up~
1. 고기 (gogi) meat
2. 소고기 (so gogi) beef
3. 돼지고기 (dweji gogi) pork
4. 닭 (dak) chicken
5. 생선 (sang seon) fish
6. 해물 (haemul) oyster/scallop
7. 오징어 (oh jing-oh) squid/ fishcake
8. 문어 (moonoh) octopus
9. 새우 (sayoo) shrimp

Here are some common Animal products~
1. 치즈 (chee-juh) cheese
2. 우유 (oo-yoo) milk
3. 크림 (kuhream) cream
4. 버터 (buhtuh) butter
5. 계란 (gaeran) egg


Here is how to ask that something be made WITHOUT something/a certain ingredient.
"_______ 빼고 만들어 주세요."~ "______ bbaego mandeuloh jusay-yo."


Vegan (and veggie) survival phrases!!~

Get Up Organization: Marriage Matters~ It's time

     Not only is this video touching (and loving), it's well done, and has a very important and strong message...

Check it out  <~ sign the petition

Thanksvegan~ the binge of gastronomic proportions

     Saturday evening was all about friends, appreciation, and an abundance of delicious food at gastronomical proportions. Kia and Sean hosted another amazing party in honor of that good ol'binging holiday dubbed "Thanksgiving" but this one was (and is) Thanksvegan...a massive spread of cruelty free Homor-Simpson-drooling-sounds noms...ugh~

     Kia is a magician in the kitch, she made such a beautiful spread of visual-groans and moans. (I'm so glad that I didn't eat anything for nearly two days...I stretched my stomach by consuming jugs upon bottles upon cartons of water....ㅠㅠ). She whipped up the classics, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, biscuits, stuffed mushrooms, and some other new and funky dishes. She made honeyed-ham out of seitan, a stuffed seitan roast, squash gnocchi with a sage cream sauce, and stuffed pumpkin with a lemon lentil salad. Ugh~ feast your eyes...(I'm still digesting!)

vegan ham in a pineapple glaze (photo taken by VeganBeats)

cranberry sauce from scratch (photo taken by VeganBeats

stuffed mushrooms (photo taken by VeganBeats)

bisquits (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Sean made a spinach dip ^^*(photo taken by VeganBeats)

from left to right: green bean casserole, stuffed seitan roast, squash gnocchi with asparagus and a  sage cream sauce (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     Mipa brought over a green bean casserole!! This was my first time EVER having one...and..nom nom nom~ it's all I can say^^*

ughhh~ (photo taken by VeganBeats)

the roast and loads of veggies! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

cutting of the roast! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     For a starter, Kia whipped up a bacon-cheese potato soup and this was divine! I used it as a gravy for everything...savory, warm, comforting...amazing!

     My plate(s) were full....and there was dessert for later! ^^*

the plate..(photo taken by VeganBeats)

     Mipa, Anna, and Dan all brought some goodies over (ugh I really wish I had!!) and they were yummy as well! Dan brought over "burgers" that were kidney bean based, and so yummy! I kept nomming on this with the spinach dip and Anna's sun-dried tomato spread!

Dan's bean burgers (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Anna's sun-dried tomato spread on veggies! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     Dessert was a big spread of amazing sweets~ literally amazing~ Kia made a pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate pudding pie with coconut whip cream! Anna made an apple crisp with bitters and Mipa brought some gingerbread cookies~

pumpkin cheesecake (photo taken by VeganBeats)

pumpkin cheesecake and the chocolate pudding pie! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Anna's applecrisp (photo taken by VeganBeats)

sliced up! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

photo taken by VeganBeats

tehe! ^^* (photo taken by VeganBeats)

photo taken by VeganBeats

     I am still in the process of digesting, I'm thoroughly stuffed, have had more than many plates of delicious noms...a great change from the daily carrots, cucumbers, and ssamjang~

Thank you and again, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!~

Go to Mipa's shop to get vegan goodies!!

Loads of "grazies"

     As tradition has it, and as influenced as I am (evidently), today/tonight brings about all these feeling of immense gratitude...I have come rather far from a year ago and have accumulated a lot of experiences, people, moments, thoughts, lessons, etc that have gotten me to an all around content and blissfully smiley state...I'm overall and broadly very thankful for many many things...list maybe? (in no particular order)~ and yeah, I'm photo bombing~~~

Jaxs, my best friend, my sister..love love love (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     For nearly a decade (wait...a whole one!) I've shared so many experiences with Jaxs, she's taught me so much, has helped me out in more ways than I can ever explain and has made Korea (and my life) so much brighter...xoxox~ (trust there's more but...this is a blog, my heart's not ready to be too publicly vulnerable, sheesh)

고구마 and tea! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     A while back, way a while ago, as I was walking home from EDLS I nearly stepped on something scurrying on the ground. I figured it was snow at first but when I bent down I spotted this tiny wide-eyed hamster peering up at me...meeting one another during sweet potatoe season, this guy got dubbed, 고구마 (goguma) meaning just that...'Sweet potato.' He's sassy and obnoxious, and too cute to handle!

photo taken by VeganBeats

     Hamlet has brought so much love and comforting snuggles since we began our journey as Seoul roomies. She greets me when I come home and socializes all the time. She's a love bug that went from skittish nervous wreck, ducking under everything that could shield her from the outside world to a snobby attention craver~ 

photo taken by VeganBeats

     The first person I met the first day of EDLS and the sister I can never forget. She took me under her wing, provided support, genuine happiness, and shared so many fun adventures with! She's AMAZING, beautiful, and one of the greatest woman I have ever encountered in my life. Without her, Seoul would be lacking MAJOR soul!

photo taken by VeganBeats

     Ani~ a best friend, a soul-sister, fighter, strong woman, all around bad ass, and someone that lifts your spirits. Ani is brilliant, and we shared Vietnam together, along with Vermont, and again, words do not add up to the adoration!

photo taken by VeganBeats

     Korea's culture, land, the color it has to offer~

photo taken by VeganBeats

      Random (and special) events and gatherings that have been presented to me, granting me opportunities to meet some pretty amazing people!~ 

     Like the bakesale where I finally met Mipa! And where I met the beautiful and wonderful Kia and Sean (love love love)~ Also where I met Chris and some other beautiful seouls! And like the Tod's grand opening!

photo taken by Jaxs

     Wine nights with Jaxs, wine while looking over Seoul, tall buildings...ahhh wine~

     Long walks, wanderings, and trucks around the area where I make discoveries, clear my head, build up those endorphins...etc. 

photo taken by VeganBeats

     Markets where you meet the business owners/farmers, haggle, barter, and get to smell and be surrounded by fresh produce, steaming rice cakes, and sweet fruits. I love the chaos involved, the yelling sales, bustling shoppers, bag shufflings...the craziness is relaxing, somehow. 

photo taken by VeganBeats

     I'm thankful for far too many things to really get into...wine, friends, the people and crew back in VT, the memories I still hold onto from VT, organic veggies, my family here, the beautiful people I have in my life, art, shows...

ahhh~ thanks year^^*!~

~Happy Thanksgiving~

     This is the second Thanksgiving I've sent Seoul-side and I can remember the one I had last year. Chillin in my apartment, snuggling with the kids...repeat, yea!
     I WISH I WISH I had an oven, I miss playing chef~
Usually I prepare all the noms for Thanksgiving for the fam back home (last year they went with lasagna because 'it wasn't the same') and this year I've got a skype date set with them!!
     Anyways...I went with the whole binge-y Thanksgiving American theme and this is my vegan Thanks feast...

veggies and ssamjang! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     There is no traditional mashed taters, steamed onions, warm peas, cranberry sauce, or tofurkey...but this is spicey savory delish deals. I started with a carrot and cucumber dipped in 쌈장 (ssamjang) and then I whipped up a curry and served it with shitake red quinoa. The curry consisted of sweet potatoe, carrots, tofu, and seaweed. The curry was different in that I added lemongrass, red chilli strands, galangal, and cambodian black pepper. 

whoa curry! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     Delicious and filling~

Ahhh and this is who I get to snuggle with...yea, I'm thankful^^*!~

yea I'm cute!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

brief update...

     I wish I had more to share to get people up to date...there are some new things("") in my life that have inspired a lot of joy and productivity. ^^*!~
I've got a bunch of sketches already done, in the works, in progress, etc. I've been more than lucky to have someone model for me!! (thankye!)

     BUT along with that, I've been super busy and...functional! Happily functional, pleasant and content. I'm walking a lot, getting those endorphins up (and reminding them that they're alive) and getting the natural coolness of the weather to get me a bit more inspired.
     I still need to work on getting some sort of regular sleep pattern, I've been putting much more effort into getting rest but getting my eyes to shut and this mind to slumber off is proving to be more of a challenge. For about two weeks I was doing well but I'm not sure what's going on...I'll blame it on the butterflies!

     I have been snuggling with the kids more, been spending more time with friends, keeping my weekdays to productive motions...Sundays have officially become beyond-chill days (not angry about that AT ALL)!

     ~~I'm happier...focusing on keeping it that way~

Cute fruit~

     I didn't eat all of these in one sitting, but this is some eats I've been having over the past week!!

photo taken by VeganBeats

     

positive Strides~~

     I've been absent and away from blogging usuals~ what's with that?!
The past few weeks remain an ever increasing high and positive state of being. My healthy, fun, new sleep pattern is honestly dwindling but outside of that, I've been in such a great place! ^^* (knock on wood eh!) I've been socializing much more, and have been taking my own personal 'hell yea' risks! Allowing my heart to just be, and open up has been a-struggle or cautionary path but...hell it's there and it wants to exist and be acknowledged and used. So it's doing it's thing.
     Not stating that it's out there loving on everyone or even doing that "I'm completely in-love with you" jumbo but it's opening itself up again...I'm opening it up again. I've found myself more present with friends, with family, with work...with myself. Granted there's always room for growth and improvement but being in the place I have been for such a period of time is...I'm very grateful.

     I'm in a place where I'm loving life and excited for the next things and plans that will go into action~

Here's to the uphill hike! (and this time, I've already got hiking shoes on!) ^^*!~


(ahhh, in terms of the began theme~~) I've got nothing worth posting or sharing...unless you've never seen cucumbers and carrots >.<*

I've been drinking loads of tea (LOADS), mediocre Korean "coffee", and the same wine~

Vegan noms will be back...as soon as there's something worth showing~

Seriously, everyday same thing: a cut up carrotand cucumber with some 쌈장 (ssam jang).
아, wait for it....

Hope all is well for all of y'all...^^*~

Two Gallants in Hongdae!

     Saturday evening was filled with birlliant music, Two Gallants came from the states to DGBD (DRUG) in Hongdae. The opening bands were Table People and On Sparrow Hills. The opening bands were great and Two Gallants were...breathtaking!
     Jaxs is seriously their biggest fan in these parts and it brought me back to high school to listen to some DANK talent again, and with Jaxs of course.

Here are some shots from the show...check them out, see them live...Do IT!

On Sparrow Hills (photo taken by VeganBeats)

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

photo taken by VeganBeats

My favorite song is "Nothing to You"~ I've listened to Two Gallants fro a bit, but what they delivered blew everything out of the water. So thankful they came to Seoul, and shared their brilliance with this peninsula!

more shows for these ladies! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Apartamento

     After the art inspirations of last week, I wandered over to 가루서길 (Garusogil) to meet with some buddies for a few drinks and conversations. I've been tromping this street for a while now, and each time I fall a little bit more in love with it. I never thought it would happen, but this lady here is starting to like fashion! (Whaaa!!!) I've gone from skinny jean-cons-band tees to dresses and dare I say, heals.
     Garusogil is a strip lined with trees and loads of vintage, craft, and fashion-themed shops. But besides that, there are lots of cute restaurants, bars, and cafes. I've played in a bunch of the cafes but this time around I got introduced to Apartamento. (CNNGO review) This cafe/bar is truly lovely, it is located on the second floor and a lot of the tables lie next to wide windows overlooking the street. Apartamento is better known for their pizzas and rustic Italian cuisine, but I have to say I can only speak for their wine and mimosas for now...and for that, go!

mimosa ^^* (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     The drinks aren't on the cheap side (10,000W for wine-14,000W for other cocktails) but with the ambiance and general pleasure of the place, I think it's worth it. My mimosa was bubbly and tangy, and truly delicious. Last time I had a mimosa was when I was in the states, Christmas time 2010. It's been a hella while. My nana and I knocked back a bunch of these giggling like children while everyone drank alcohol-free cider and hot drinks. Ahh, nana, how we rage!
     One of the great added touches of Apartamento is the way they serve their water. It's in recycled tall glass bottles, very much like balsamic vinegar jars, or home winery bottles. They also give garlic bread twists (not vegan) but it was cute.

water and stix! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     I don't have any pictures of the wine, but for 10,000W a glass, it wasn't bad at all. The red house wine was dry and full bodied...I've been falling in love with wine again~ missing VT.
Anyways...Apartamento is worth checking out...I'll be back for sure!

Twitter: @apartamento_bar
Directions: Sinsa station exit 8 (신사역 8번) walk straight and take the left onto Garusogil street. When you are next to the Tom'n'Toms, look across the street and diagonal from there in the 2nd floor you'll see Apartamento!