Travels with George and Marta – Page 39 – Journeys in the Botanical World

Inside Jogyesa Temple Seoul

Posted on March 9, 2010 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

Yesterday, I showed you the beautiful exterior of the Jogyesa temple in Seoul. We had a chance to peak inside the interior of the Great Hero Hall on our quick visit. First we had to take off our shoes.

The hall was full. Many people were chanting and bowing so we did not have a chance to explore much of the temple interior. But even from the sides, the Buddha triad was stunning. They represent the Sakyamuni Buddha in the center, Amitabha Buddha to the right and Bhaisaiya Buddha(Medicine Buddha) to the left. The hall is known as the Great Hero Hall because it enshrines the Buddha Sakyamuni. The Buddha Sakyamuni is known as a great hero because he overcame greed, hatred, and delusion and is their original teacher. There is also a smaller wooden statue of the Sakyanumi Buddha in the hall.

Too quickly it was time to leave. It gave us just a taste of all there is to see in Seoul. Here are a few more pictures of the interior of the temple.

Amitabha Buddha

Jogyesa Temple in Seoul

Posted on March 8, 2010 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

The best stop on our half-day tour of Seoul was at the Jogyesa Temple. This is a Seon or Zen Buddhist temple and it is the only temple within the ancient Seoul’s city limits. It was built in 1910 and is Zen Buddhist center today. It is definitely a retreat from the fast paced urban life.

The temple consists of several buildings. I wish I had known more about the center before my visit. You enter the temple grounds through the One Pillar Gate. This gate is the boundary between the spiritual world of the temple and the secular world outside. We were attracted immediately to the Great Hero Hall which is stunning. It is the heart of the temple and enshrines the Buddha Sakyamuni.

The building is of wood. On the exterior, there are beautiful cosmic designs known as “Dan-chung” painted on the beams and columns to protect the wood and decorate the temple. The doors are covered with fine lattice work and the life of Buddha is depicted on the painting around the building.

Also on the grounds is a 500 year old lacebark pine. There were other significant buildings such as even-story stone stupa which holds a relic and the Paradise hall and bell pavilion. I explored the areas but did not have time to find out more.

Here are some pictures of the exterior of the temple and the grounds. Tomorrow I will post pictures of the inside of the Great Hero Hall.

One Pillar Gate where you enter the temple grounds

Examples of the Dan-chung decoration – here on the gate

The beautiful lattice doors

Detail of the lattice doors

Paintings on the exterior of the temple

The 500 year old lace bark pine outside the temple

Sunday Slow Suppers – Green Chilies Casserole

Posted on March 7, 2010 by MartaMarch 7, 2010

I couldn’t resist this week’s Sunday Slow Supper dish. It is a Green Chile Casserole and the recipe was recommended by Marcia of Happy Trails for Us.

The recipe calls for chicken but I was intrigued by the ingredients and wondered if I could adapt it for G by substituting a fish instead of chicken. It actually worked very well. It was a little richer than what I typically serve with fish but not bad. I used Tilapia which worked well but I think with the rich sauce it would have been better with shellfish such as shrimp. Next time I’ll try it with shrimp.

Here is the original recipe and I have notes at the bottom on what I used instead.

CHICKEN AND GREEN CHILIES CASSEROLE
Adapted from COOKS.COM

4 chicken breasts, cooked, shredded (or use rotisserie chicken, skinned, boned and cut into small pieces)

1 lg. onion, chopped
4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. chili powder
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 small can diced tomatoes, drained
Chopped cilantro to taste, @ 2 tblsp.

12 corn tortillas, torn into small pieces

1 c. grated Cheddar cheese
2 c. Monterey Jack cheese (mix cheese together) – lighten dish with low-fat cheeses

Make sauce by first sauteing onions in butter, then add flour, stir to make a roux, add liquids and salt – cook stirring until smooth and slightly thickened. Add chopped green chilies (drained) to sauce. Add chili powder. Add tomatoes to sauce (both well drained). Add cilantro. Taste, and adjust seasonings for “hot” factor.

Place a layer of chicken in bottom of greased 3 quart casserole, then a layer of torn tortillas, then cheese and sauce. Repeat ending with cheese on top. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until bubbling, 20-25 minutes. Let sit 15 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

May be prepared ahead and baked the next day or may be frozen thawed and baked at serving time.

Note: I cut the recipe in half because there are only two of us. It made a 10×7 Creuset stoneware pan. I used about 1 pound of fish in place of the chicken. I pan fried it until lightly browned and then crumbled. I’m thinking of using about a pound of shellfish next time instead.

Pan fried Tilapia

Sauce

Finished casserole

Looking for a fish handout

Photohunt: Foreign

Posted on March 6, 2010 by MartaMarch 6, 2010

Waiting for Bulgogi lunch in Seoul Korea

What to choose… what to choose…. Foreign has so many ways and places for interpretation. We love to travel to foreign countries. According to Webster dictionary, one of the definitions of foreign is alien in character. We travel mostly to western countries which end up not being that foreign.

We made our first trip to Asia last year. We traveled to Borneo Malaysia. It could definitely be considered foreign but since they spoke a fair amount of English and we were familiar with Southeast Asian cooking, it was not that foreign to us.

But we did have a layover on the trip back from Borneo to Seattle in Seoul. Asiana airlines provided us with the option of taking a free day tour of Seoul. It was the perfect way to experience a country very foreign to us.

Korea uses the Hangul alphabet which I can not read. The area I live in Seattle has a large Korean population but I have not explored the restaurants or stores. We knew very little of the culture or cuisine. I’ve seen signs on Korean restaurants – “Bibimbap“, “kalbi”, “Kimchi” and “Bulgogi”. But all the dishes were totally foreign to me.

We stopped for lunch during our tour at Bulgogi restaurant. Bulgogi is thin slices beef in a soy sauce marinade that are quickly grilled or sauteed. First we had to figure out what G would eat since he does not eat meat. He could try Bibimbap. He wasn’t too enthusiastic but would give it a try.

We arrived at the restaurant and had to take off our shoes before entering. We were escorted into a separate room where there was a long low table with burners and it was lined with pillows. Oh my goodness – I was going to have to sit on the floor. I’m not that flexible any more and it was definitely a foreign experience to eat sitting on the floor.

We found a place and set down. We ordered drink. G and I ordered a Kass beer which we had on the flight. The servers sit down an amazing array of condiments – non of which I recognized. They then brought the marinated beef which they set on the burners which were between every other party. They fired them up and the scent of soy-marinated beef filled the room. Yum!

The beef was cooked in no time. The servers came around to cut it up with a pair of scissors and chopsticks. Another couple on the tour was familiar with bulgogi so they showed us how to eat it. Take a piece of lettuce, put a bit of rice on the lettuce, a slice of the bulgogi meat and add your spices. Kim chi – a pickled cabbage spiced with hot peppers; Ssamjang – a spicy paste, pickled turnip and many other items foreign to me.

It was delicious! I loved the soy-sweet taste of the beef. It is not as good as kalbi which I absolutely love but not bad. G thought the bibimbap was ok. I think it was a little too foreign for him. I would love to try bulgogi again and there are a couple of places near by to try. But I have to admit – it was very foreign to us.

Low tables and burners setup for bulgogi

Condiments for bulgogi

Kimchi – hot and spicy fermented cabbage

Bulgogi cooking at the table

Time to serve – the server cuts it up with scissors and mixes in the onions and mushrooms

If you want to know more about this dish, check out these video from Epicurious on bulgogi.

Around the World in 80 dishes – Korean Bulgogi

Day tour of Seoul

Posted on March 5, 2010 by MartaMarch 5, 2010

Central Business District – Seoul

It has just been over a year since our trip to Borneo. We had a long layover in Seoul on our return. Asiana has a great option for the layover. You have an option of a hotel room or you can take a day tour of Seoul. The hotel room was tempting because our flight from Kota Kinabalu left at midnight and arrived at 6:30am in Seoul. We would continue on to Seattle at 6:00pm – 12 hours. But we were very curious about Seoul and felt the bus trip would be a great option to get look at the city. We had booked our flight on-line so we called the Asiana reservation line and made a reservation for the trip.

Incheon was pretty deserted when we arrived at 6:30am. We asked where to go to get vouchers for our day trip and they told us go exit through baggage and go to door or gate 13. We were really confused. We went down to the carousel 13 in baggage and it was deserted. So we decided to go out. Incheon is a huge airport. We looked around and realized that the areas near the different doors were numbered. We found the area 13 and there was an agent who gave us vouchers. We had to gather in the area around 8:30am.

We went in search of some breakfast. Nothing much was open yet but we had a good time viewing the different menus and window displays. Most of the restaurants were serving a Korean style breakfast which was not what we wanted. We couldn’t figure out what the Korean dishes were and did not want anything that might have meat. I think we finally decided to have a coffee and pastry at a Starbuck-like coffee shop.

We went back to the area and we were still confused. Every so often someone would come out and call out a name. It took us a while before we figured out that it was people who were being transported to a hotel. We finally found a group that was still waiting and asked if they were on the day trip. Yes. Good. So we waited around.

They finally called us around 9:30 and we boarded the bus. It is about an hour by bus. The bus went by tollway. It was the end of February and everything looked barren and gray. The areas along the water had some industry and greenhouses. So we had crossed over River into the main area of Seoul.

The river was lined with tall apartment buildings. We went by the Blue House – Cheongwadae where the president of Korea lives. This area had more trees and outdoor areas. Much of the area that we saw had high rises and very little open space.

We entered the CBD and our first stop was at Cheonggyecheon Stream. This stream had been covered over and a freeway ran atop it in the 1950’s. In the early 2000’s, the president decided to tear down the freeway and uncover the stream which provided more open space in the high rise area. I can see how it would be a beautiful place to visit in the summer. It was freezing and a bit windy but architecturally very interesting. We also visited a near by tourist bureau.

We reboarded the bus and moved on to visit the center of Zen Buddhism in Seoul – the Jogyesa Temple. What a peaceful spot in the midst of the urban. A ceremony was going on inside the beautiful temple but we had an opportunity to peak in and see the the three large golden Buddhas. More on this in a post to follow.

It was time for lunch. The bus parked in front of the Harley Davidson store. What a sight! Hogs in Korea. From here we walked a short block to a Korean Bulgogi restaurant. Stop by tomorrow to see lunch.

It was time to shop after lunch. The bus took us to the Itaewon area. It was filled with both Korean stores and many typical American stores such as Nike, McDonalds, Burger King. We went into a couple of stores but nothing was tempting.

It was almost 2pm so it was time to return to the airport. We still had about 3 hours spend in Incheon. I was able to find the free internet and museums after cruising the stores. The sun went down and we boarded our final flight to return to Seattle.

Skylines of Seoul

One of the more interesting buildings – Jongro Tower

Cheonggyecheon Stream

Waterfall near beginning of Cheonggyecheon Stream

Cheonggyecheon Stream

Harley Davidson Seoul

Bikes on display

Here is a map of Seoul and were we stopped:

View Seoul Day Trip in a larger map

Spring seeds are sown

Posted on March 4, 2010 by MartaDecember 26, 2014

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January and February have been amazing. Just under normal rain but record setting temperatures. We are risking all and going for an early garden. We have lettuce and pea starts. We put these out today! We do have some reemay ready just in case the temperature drops. There is still strong chance for a frost. We have had snow in March and even April. But all the signs point towards a warm and early spring so we’re going for it.

We did also lost part of our pea crop last year to fusarium wilt. It is soil born so we took half of the soil out of our beds and we’re giving it a try. I’m a doubter so G also potted up a pot with peas just as back up. Yeah!

Pretty in Pink

Posted on March 3, 2010 by MartaMarch 3, 2010

Flowering Plum ‘Thundercloud’

My neighborhood is pretty in pink – fluffy wispy clouds of pink blossoms! Spring is here.

The early spring has continued here in the Pacific Northwest benefits of El Nino. March came in like a lamb. I sure hope it doesn’t go out like a lion. The flowering plums are in full bloom and without any rain, the pink clouds dot the hillsides and neighborhood. I feel like I’m walking in a forest of pink cotton candy.

I took my camera with me on my walk today and captured everything that was in pink. Check out what I found that was ‘pretty in pink’.

Mediterranean Pink Heather

Flowering Quince

Azalea

Rhododendron

Camelia

Pieris japonica

And look what else I found! I couldn’t believe it. Definitely pretty in pink.

Cedar Butte Trail

Posted on March 2, 2010 by MartaNovember 23, 2014

I don’t know why it has taken so long for us to do this hike. It is located just across from Rattlesnake which is one of our favorite hikes in the winter. Cedar Butte is a small knob just east of Rattlesnake Lake near North Bend. It is lower than Rattlesnake Ledge – 1800 ft but the trail is about the same workout. It is 2 miles to the top and a 900 ft elevation gain.

The drive from home takes just about 1 hour. We usually try to get out before 10 or 11 at latest. The southbound Express Lanes are usually open until 11 so we can quickly get through downtown Seattle and head east. The forecast was for partial sun and a high of 60. 60 degree! on the first of March! We took the just after North Bend (home of the Snoqualmie Casino and a large Outlet mall). The parking lot was pretty empty. Probably not that unusual for a winter Monday.

The trail starts at the Iron Horse State Park. The first mile is along the John Wayne Trail – a rails-to-trail from the old Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. It starts at Cedar Falls and goes over Snoqualmie Pass to Easton and beyond. We have cross country skied on part of the trail south of Cle Elum. A great resource for many different sports.

Follow the John Wayne Trail for about a mile until it crosses a bridge over Boxley Creek. Look to the south for a trailhead for Cedar Butte. The trail starts up and soon comes to a junction. Here you have a choice; go to the right and you will reach the summit in about 1 mile with a good grade or go to the left and save a 1/2 mile distance but be prepared for a steeper climb.

I prefer a gentler trail on the downhill so we decided to go the shorter steeper trail to the left. It continued through the cut forest for a short distance and the it entered a very magical forest. It seemed as if everything had been airbrushed in brilliant green. It was the spring growth of moss. There was long tendrils of moss on some of the branches of the maples. The trunks of the taller evergreens were sprayed with a fine coat of moss. It gave it a surreal feeling of being in a room that had just been spray painted.

Soon we reached the Saddle Junction where the trail to the right rejoins and we headed up the final 1/4 mile or so to the summit. The switchbacks took us to the top while views of Rattlesnake and the I-90 corridor peaked between the trees. The summit was a little bit of a disappointment. The trees have grown up blocking much of the view. You can still see up the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie Valley bounded by Tenerife Mountain on the West and Mailbox Peak on the East. It took us just a bit over 1 hour to make the two miles. Not too bad.

We headed back down quickly passing the Saddle Junction and heading on the other longer trail. We entered into the magical moss forest again. The wind was blowing and creaking the trees above our heads. All was quiet besides the rustling of needles from the wind. We passed the Boxley Blowout where in 1918 the City of Seattle’s Cedar Dam burst and blew out the area. There was not much to see today so we continued on and we were soon back to the John Wayne Trail.

We made it back to the car shortly. The weather had continued to be warm but cloudy. We could see some signs of Spring in the forest; the brilliant green of the moss, the young leaves of fox glove, a few bright pink blossoms of thimbleberry, blossoms of Indian Plum – but there was still a lot asleep. No sign of trilium, no fiddleheads of bracken ferns, no maple racemes. It may feel like Spring in the city but it is still mostly sleeping in the forest.

Here are some photos of the hike.

Trailhead at Iron Goat State Park

The start of the John Wayne Trail

Start of the trail

Eerie Mossy Forest

Moss Hair

Mushrooms on moss

Saddle Junction

Rattlesnake Lake and a portion of Rattlesnake Mountain in the distance

Trail to top after Saddle Junction

View from the top

March Madness – Blogging everyday for a month

Posted on March 1, 2010 by MartaOctober 14, 2014

I love our Slow Travel blogger community. We are a group of members of Slow Travel that have blogs. Many of the blogs are provided by Slow Travel and others have their own. But all of us love to write about our travels – planning, traveling, memories. Many of us also blog on weekly basis. But we need a push and support to do it daily.

In February 2008, several of us made a special effort – okay a mad effort – to blog every day. It was great fun and a lot of work. I really enjoy looking back at what I thought to blog about everyday. I have to admit -some of my favorite posts were from this month. I took a pass in 2009 but I’m back in 2010.

This year we have decided to try to blog everyday in March 2010. It will be harder. There are more days – but I’m up for the challenge. I hope you drop by to see what I come up with daily. And also visit my partners in blogging :

A Journey of 1000 Miles … Begins With too Much Luggage
As the Seasons Change
A Wine Lover’s Wanderings
Candi’s Corner, Wanderlust and Passions
Churches in Venice
Eden’s Wanderings and Wonderings
Follow My Bliss
Jerry’s Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!
Let us go then, you and I
Old Shoes, New Trip
Palmabella’s Passions
shave ice and gelato
Vagabond Artist
What I Really Think
Whistlestop Cafe Cooking

Photohunt: Daily

Posted on February 27, 2010 by MartaFebruary 27, 2010

This Photohunt theme is daily. This theme had a lot of potential but I ran out of time. I’ve been tired recently so I picked up some vitamins. I just need to take One Daily. They have helped a bit.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.