Cooking at Home: Mexican-Inspired Shrimp Tacos with Coleslaw and Guacamole

Mexican-inspired shrimp tacos with coleslaw and guacamole
IT'S TACO TUESDAY! This week's recipe: Mexican-inspired shrimp tacos with coleslaw. Swapped cilantro for parsley and added extra guacamole. A delightfully delicious good time. (Also, I gotta say, taco holders are such a great investment.)

Cooking at Home: Grilled Italian Sausage and Bell Pepper Ciabattas

Grilled Italian sausage and bell pepper ciabattas
Tonight's dinner: Grilled Italian sausage and bell pepper ciabattas. Okay, so this recipe technically requires a grill but I don't have a real grill, so I used my air fryer instead and let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS AS HECK. I skipped making the warm marinara dip because I just find dipping burgers in sauce to be tedious, so I cooked the peppers and onions together in the marinara, melted the parmesan in it, and spooned it on top of the sausage patty instead and I honestly think it turned out even better. Plus, the ciabatta works perfectly with the Italian flavours and with holding up all the saucy veggies. Would definitely make again and maybe add some mozzarella to create a pizza burger or something.

Dining Out: Korean Street Food at the Toronto Korean Festival 2022

Since all the summer food festivals are going on right now (MY GOD I HAVE MISSED THEM), Carmen and I decided to make a stop at the Toronto Korean Festival today since it's the last day. Within 45 minutes, we had:

Spicy tteokbokki and a deep-fried combo (3 fishcakes, 2 kimari, 2 japchae rolls) from Sinjeon Toppoki
Half (mozzarella) and half (sausage) Korean corndog with honey butter fries from Arirang Hot Dog
A cinnamon croffle and an iced peach tea from Cookie Lab
Mango bingsu from Bingsoo Korean Dessert

I think we did pretty good. Considering we had eaten lunch not 2 hours beforehand.

Next up: The Ex!

Unboxing: BTS Recipe Book

The second BTS release with Cake, HYBE's education sector, is a 252-page hardcover cookbook aptly named BTS Recipe Book. It is available in two versions — Global and Japanese. The Global version includes both English and Korean, which is the edition that is featured in this post. The Global version has a kelly green cover with the title, "BTS Recipe Book," printed in metallic silver. It is available on Weverse Shop for $29.72 USD or ₩32,000.

BTS Recipe Book — Front
BTS Recipe Book — Front and Back
BTS Recipe Book — Introduction

For those who may not know, BTS has done a lot of cooking on camera, from Bon Voyage to Run BTS! to In the Soop. This whole book was based on J-Hope's question to the members on a particularly rainy day on In the Soop: "Should we have some pajeon today?" In Korea, pajeon, or scallion pancake, is the go-to food when it rains, but international ARMY may not know the significance of this, and this line of thought is what brought about the creation of the BTS Recipe Book.

BTS Recipe Book — Table of Contents

This cookbook includes a total of 15 recipes across 5 sections: 

1. For a Simple Pick-Me-Up

• Kimchi-bokkeumbap (Kimchi Fried Rice)
• Janchi-guksu (Banquet Noodles)
• Budae-jjigae (Spicy Sausage Stew)

2. When It Rains

• Pajeon (Scallion Pancake)
• Sujebi (Hand-Pulled Dough Soup)
• Dak-bokkeumtang (Spicy Chicken Stew)

3. When Feeling Peckish

• Nurungji-gwaja (Scorched Rice Crackers)
• Bungeobbang (Carp-Shaped Red Bean Pastry)
• Hotteok (Sugar-Filled Griddle Cakes)

4. Scrumptious Late-Night Snacks

• Chikin (Korean Fried Chicken)
• Tteokbokki (Spicy Rice Cakes)
• Ramyeon (Korean Instant Noodles)

5. When You need a Boost

• Suyuk (Boiled Sliced Pork)
• Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup)
• Galbijjim (Braised Beef Ribs)

The book states that "the recipes in the BTS Recipe Book are based on the actual recipes used by BTS, while the specific measurements, ingredients, and preparation steps were finalized after consulting with culinary experts."

BTS Recipe Book — BTS' Kitchen: Kitchenware
BTS Recipe Book — BTS' Kitchen: Basic Ingredients
BTS Recipe Book — Basic Preparations
BTS Recipe Book — Group Photo

Aside from the recipes themselves, the book includes a section called "BTS' Kitchen" that features kitchenware, basic ingredients, and measurements needed for all the recipes in the book; and a section called "Basic Preparations," which features how to make the basic foundations of most of the recipes (e.g. rice and broths).

BTS Recipe Book — Chapter Recipes Introduction
BTS Recipe Book — Recipe Introduction
BTS Recipe Book — Recipe Ingredients
BTS Recipe Book — Recipe Preparations
BTS Recipe Book — Recipe: BTS' Choice
BTS Recipe Book — Individual Member Photos

Each chapter has an introduction page with lyrics from a corresponding BTS song (e.g. the chapter, "When It Rains," includes the lyrics from BTS' song, "Rain"), and a recipe introduction page that lists the key features and preparation difficulty of each recipe in the chapter. Each recipe includes detailed descriptions and explanations of what BTS said and did when they were cooking and eating it, a list of the ingredients (and alternative ingredients) with the exact quantities given in two different measurements, a QR code that links a video that shows all the preparation steps, every preparation step in chronological order (that also includes a visual reference for ingredient length as well as tips for best results), and a section of each BTS member's preference for eating it.

Oh, and of course, there are lots of photos of BTS cooking and eating peppered throughout the book. BECAUSE IT ALL COMES BACK TO BTS. 

BTS Recipe Book — Special Gift (Magnetic Frame)

A little bonus gift — a mini magnetic photo frame — is included to showcase photos of your cooking skills (or lack thereof). 

This cookbook was created for ARMY like me, who watches all this content of BTS eating and cooking, and ends up just drooling and hungry and wanting to re-create the dishes at home but is far too lazy to actually look up recipes. I didn't know I needed this until they announced its release. Anyway, guess I'll be making a trip to the Asian supermarket this weekend...

Unboxing: BTS Lyrics Inside

In June, HYBE's education sector, HYBE EDU, was acquired by Cake Corporation, an edutech company. Their first release with BigHit Music after the acquisition is a 180-page hardcover book called BTS Lyrics Inside, which "features the lyrics, interpretations, and behind-the scenes anecdotes of the ten BTS songs ARMY loves. They have been carefully selected from the many great songs written and composed by BTS." BTS Lyrics Inside is available on Weverse Shop and retails for $26.94 USD or ₩29,000.

BTS Lyrics Inside — Front
BTS Lyrics Inside — Front and Back
BTS Lyrics Inside — Front Endsheet
BTS Lyrics Inside — Table of Contents

The preface included in BTS Lyrics Inside explains the purpose of this book best, so I'll be using their descriptions.

"While there are many great songs that BTS was actively involved in writing the lyrics for, this book presents a selection of 10 songs in total... to ensure adequate coverage of the deeper implications of the lyrics and various anecdotes related to the songs. The selection was based on two surveys about fans' favourite BTS songs conducted in 2020 and 2021, with responses from approximately 145,000 and 204,000 ARMY, respectively."

The 10 songs featured in BTS Lyrics Inside are:

1. Boy with Luv (feat. Halsey)
2. ON
3. Life Goes On
4. IDOL
5. FIRE
6. Magic Shop
7. We are Bulletproof: the Eternal
8. Mikrokosmos
9. Spring Day
10. Yet to Come

BTS Lyrics Inside — BTS Discography
BTS Lyrics Inside — Hangeul and the Pronunciation of the Korean Language
BTS Lyrics Inside — Part 1: Opening

"We also analyzed the set lists from several performances and fan-meets, from Love Yourself Tour in 2018 - 2019 to BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in 2021 - 2022, and classified 10 songs into categories such as opening song (OPENING), dance number (DANCE), song dedicated to ARMY (FOR ARMY), and closing song (CLOSING), which are based on the progression of a concert."

BTS Lyrics Inside — About the Song

"Each chapter focuses on one song and consists of three sections: About the Song, Sing Along as You Fan-Chant, and Lyrics Inside. Two or three chapters make up a part, and each part ends with some concert-related episodes of a feature covering an aspect of Korean culture that may help deepen readers' understanding of the songs.

In the About the Song section of each chapter, there is a brief introduction of the album and the song, as well as little anecdotes from BTS' lyrics writing and official interviews."

BTS Lyrics Inside — Sing Along as You Fan-Chant

"The Sing Along as You Fan-Chant section presents all the lyrics, their Romanized pronunciations, and the fan-chant to make it easier to sing along to the song."

BTS Lyrics Inside — Lyrics Inside

"The Lyrics Inside section is designed to help readers understand the Korean lyrics written by BTS by offering a translation of the words, an explanation of the vocabulary and expressions used, and an in-depth interpretation of the song. This section also includes genuine quotes from interviews and social media posts of BTS relevant to the lyrics to help readers relate to the messages conveyed by BTS songs."

BTS Lyrics Inside — Music Video Commentary
BTS Lyrics Inside — Back Endsheet

"We... hope that this book will enhance readers' understand of the language of the songs while also deepening the connection they feel with BTS even further, so that they can share the same musical experience as BTS through the universal language of music that bridges BTS and their fans."

BTS Lyrics Inside — Handwriting Note
BTS Lyrics Inside — Handwriting Note (Inside)

The first edition of the book also includes an 80-page notebook of all the lyrics of the 10 songs along with pictures so you can write your own notes in it.

BTS Lyrics Inside isn't necessarily a must-have for casual ARMYs, but it's a really nice item to have for ARMYs who want a deeper look into the intent and background of BTS' lyrics (and maybe learn Hangeul while they're at it). I almost wish they had released this sooner because it has some great information about their concert culture, like official fan chants, cheering order, using ARMY Bombs, what to expect during encore, etc. Still, I think this is a beautiful volume to have with great series potential. It's actually an opportune time to release more volumes since BTS is on a group music break right now...

Friday Five: Four months

This week's Friday Five:

1. How good are you at wrapping gifts? I'd like to think better than average. I mean, I'm not stellar or professional by any means, but I did work in retail for 15 years which came with quite a lot of gift-wrapping, so I do have some experience.
   
   
2. When are you likely to begin your Christmas shopping this year? I don't really celebrate Christmas, so I never have a set Christmas shopping list, but for a couple friends and my immediate family, we usually agree to do some kind of holiday gift exchange. I usually start shopping maybe 2 weeks to a month in advance, depending on what I've decided to gift (some things are available online only, for example, so I do have to take into account shipping times).
   
   
3. How do you feel about candy canes? Totally indifferent. I don't hate them, but I don't go out of my way to eat them, either. Although, generally, if I want something minty, I'll just eat a mint, and if I want candy, I don't really want mint-flavoured candy... 
   
   
4. Have you been naughty or nice this year? I lean towards nice. But like, my wallet's been pretty naughty...
   
   
5. In what way was today most December-like? I mean, I guess it's been getting a little colder at night, but like, I don't consider 20℃ to be remotely December-like. Maybe all the sales going on right now?
   
   

Take Out: Blueberry Cassis and Tahitian Vanilla Soft Serve from Butter Baker

Blueberry cassis and Tahitian vanilla soft serve in a handmade waffle cone
Ying and I made it in time to try Butter Baker's soft serve flavour of the month: Blueberry Cassis! 

Wow, wow, wow, wow. It is positively DREAMY. Delightful! Dazzling! Divine! And there's only 5 more days to get this deliciously delectable flavour. Wonder if I can squeeze in another trip this week... (Also, NORMALIZE EATING ICE CREAM FOR DINNER!)

Butter Baker 

140 Amber St., Unit #10

Markham, ON L3R 3J8

(905) 604-3997

Cooking at Home: Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Spinach in Onion Tomato Sauce

Gnocchi with mushrooms and spinach in onion tomato sauce

It has been raining all damn day and I'm PMS-ing and all I wanted was comfort food, so I decided to make gnocchi with mushrooms and spinach in an onion tomato sauce. And because that's not enough carbs, I made garlic bread on the side, too. This is surprisingly my favourite gnocchi dish I've made so far — it's flavourful and subtly creamy but not too rich or saucy, and the mushrooms add the perfect amount of "meatiness" to a vegetarian dish. It was really fast and easy to make, too. 10/10, will absolutely be using this recipe again.

Dining Out: Japanese BBQ at Shinta

Had an early dinner with some co-workers at Shinta this evening:

Japanese BBQ
Garlic shrimp, sous vide pork belly, and toro beef
Plates upon plates upon plates of meat
Berkshire pork belly, marinated lamb with cumin, and marinated salmon
We literally ordered everything on the menu which resulted in so much food that our server ended up having to layer our plates on top of each other. Basically, it was GLORIOUS. Man, what a great way to spend hump day. I wonder if we can make this a regular thing...

Shinta

Jubilee Square

280 West Beaver Creek Rd., Unit 37-39

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3B1

(905) 597-0305

Run BTS! 2022: Special Episode — Telepathy, Part 2

[A surprise discussion topic: What should we do now?]

Namjoon: "I think, instead of keeping things too broad, we should just focus on what we want to do next."

Hobi: "Are there anymore new things to try?"

Jimin: "We've done this show for a really long time and tried all sorts of segments."

Namjoon: "I do have an idea."

Hobi: "What is it?"

Namjoon: "Getting middle-aged men just from around the neighbourhood and playing 7-on-7 foot volleyball."

Jungkook: "Hyung, let's go learn sepak takraw!"

Namjoon: "Take serious sepak takraw lessons."

Jin: "How about farming?"

Yoongi: "Do you want to time laps? Racing?"

Taehyung: "Should we start eating first?"

Namjoon: "Sure. We can't think right now because we haven't eaten yet."

Taehyung: "No, I don't think my brain could think even if we ate."

Okay, this Telepathy game was so cute and endearing. Kudos to the Run BTS! production team for thinking of this idea and for having the balls to actually execute it. 

And also, I've never tried grilled brisket on sushi rice with wasabi and I think this has to be in my life ASAP.

BTS Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Teaser

So the themes are nature, solitude, and the Wild West...?

Okay, still waiting for the full explanation video. But the photos look beautiful!

BTS Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photos: Calm, Mono, and Wild

Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo — Calm
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo — Calm
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo — Mono
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo — Mono
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo — Wild
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo — Wild
(Photo source: BTS Official Twitter)
Okay, this makes much more sense. There's three sub-themes to RM's photos. BigHit was just like, "BE PATIENT, WE WILL EXPLAIN THE THEMES." 

BTS Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photos

Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo
Special 8 Photo-Folio: Me, Myself, and RM — "Entirety" Preview Photo
(Photo source: BTS Twitter)
Whereas Jungkook's photos had a very distinct theme, it's hard for me to pinpoint RM's. At first, I was like, "Okay, we got nature!" but then there's a bicycle in front of a huge American motel sign and I got lost. Maybe it reflects his love of nature, art museums, and um, Americana? (Even the skit they released doesn't explain much.) Hopefully, they'll release an interview or production film to explain RM's inspiration. 

Anyway, they're already releasing the second of 7 (8?) photobooks. At this rate, we are going to be broke before November.