SIDENOTE - korean beef was the dish's name introduced to me by my fantastic mother.  I've learned to take caution when learning recipes or names of dishes from her.  On one normal day of Christmas (it really was a normal day because my family doesn't really celebrate any form of Christmas anymore besides the mandatory Christmas day church but that's a story for another day) we had a wondefully cooked turkey.  Nice and crispy on the outside and had a nice flavour of chinese cooking and found out my mom had it done from some restaurant.  My best friend was over having dinner and found it to be pretty good.  She asked my mom where she had it cooked and got a reply similar to "from the Chinese."  Since I am one of the few translators of Chato-to-English I knew she meant she had it cooked from a Vietnamese restaurant within a local Superstore called Kim Truong (sp?).  The next year the turkey was converted into ham by "the Germans".  That's a wonderful skill to have.  Similar to alchemy, I guess,  instead turning everything into ham.  Anyway, after an internet search, I found korean beef is the name for the dish but is also known as kalbi/galbi.  Apologies for the sidecourse.  Back to the story.

...also known as kalbi or galbi.  Instead of making it why not go to a Korean restaurant?

My time out eating food and drinking soju with my brother and his friends in a Korean restaurant in Toronto was also a big influence.  They introduced me to kampoongi, something something moo-chim, some other good dish and the wonderful world of soju & beer.  The atomsphere was hot and humid as hell (assuming hell has some water left for humidity), the food was nice and spicy and the only thing to relieve yourself from the heat was a cold shot of strictly beer or soju.  When one person drinks everyone's gotta drink but these weren't your let's-see-how-fast-we-can-get-drunk shots.  This was a laid back casual way of tagay-ing the drinks.  This was the atmosphere I wanted to create with my friends at a restaurant near my apartment called Right There!.

Right There! is a Korean restaurant that started off as a Korean museum and teahouse and expanded their delish dish list over time.  Say that 50 times fast!  Located on 472 Stradbrook Ave., this uniquely furnished restaurant is owned by, surprise surprise, a Korean couple.  I think the entrance was the museum portion of the building displaying some statues and teapots and such which were for sale.  This is where we were greeted by one of the owner's who seemed like a nice traditional Korean lady (if I've ever known a traditional Korean lady).  She had a grace that needed to get used to that easily adds to their atmosphere and style.  In the background, your ears will be soothed with music dvds from artists like Josh Groban and Celine Dion.  Personally, I'd rather listen to soothing Korean music and not understand it but everyone's got their preferences.  It'd be a hoot to watch some hardcore drunk Koreans go at it singing their hearts out to My Heart Will Go On.  With dishes appropriately named I Heart Pork BBQ and set menus named Happy Beef, what's not to love?  It makes you just want to hug that carebear sitting on the lacquered tree stump beside you.  Yes, you've read it right.  Their decor makes me envision a nice Korean wood cabin with wooden tables, stumps, I mean chairs, and spoons all heavily protected by clearcoat...well, with the exception of the spoon.  Speaking of spoons, let's head on to the meal.

Their menu selection isn't vast by any means but they offer enough variety for the beginners like me to enjoy.  Unfortunately, they didn't serve any of the dishes I liked in Toronto but as long as they had Korean beef or kalbi then all was well.  One of my buddies, R&E, had been to this place several times and suggested to try the shrimp pancake.  He's a good friend of mine and is one of my go-to guys for asian culture knowledge and is available if any of you ladies reading this are interested! Aaah?  Aaah?  Nudge nudge. Ahem!  They also have a nice selection of Korean sushi although I wasn't interested in sushi at the time.  The Korean lady was very helpful to answer all of our questions although at times we were lost in translation.  After several confusing discussions we came to agree we were having 2 orders of kalbi, 1 order of shrimp pancake, 1 order of yummy spicy chicken, 1 order of Happy Beef, and 1 order of Happy Octopus.  For alcohol we were going for soju and beer.  We found out they were out of beers because of Canada Day.  What?!  Screw birthday plans next year.  I'm hitting this place up next Canada Day!  For today, I guess we'll just be drinking soju and water.

Let's start off with the water.  In some asian restaurants you'll have tap water or sometimes lemon or even cucumber inside the pitcher of water.  The first time I've ever been to Right There! I had cucumber water which was nice and refreshing during the summer months.  This time around they served us some Korean iced tea water.  Mmmm you might think but it was sugarless.  Imagine a Korean form of the ice tea you get from the our friends down below the border in the Dakota states.  Don't get me wrong because it was cold and refreshing although the after taste was something I wasn't expecting.  So bring on the soju!  Now the nice Korean lady had 4 bottles of what I thought were soju laid out on the center table.  I asked what kind of soju they had and she said they only had one type.  Confusing as this is, I just looked back at the 4 bottles and said "Ok, I'll take the soju."  Looking at the menu, they did only list one as soju and the rest were different kinds of wine although I did see one which looked like a chum-churum soju bottle (the one I've had with my brother and his friends in Toronto).  Anyway, soju is a Korean alcoholic beverage that can resemble sake or vodka but soju is much smoother and a tad bit sweeter.  I'm not an alcohol connoisseur, yet haha, but I'd much rather drink soju than sake or vodka straight.  After a few rounds of soju shots we tried the plum wine.  It comes in a similar bottle and contains some actual plums inside.  This was a tamer sweeter drink that the ladies prefered with only 14% alcohol.  When we reached the bottom of the bottle a few of us tried the plum.  Since it was preserved in this soju mix it made me think about a green olive having a plum's child in a home sojubath birth.  If you can follow me with that imagery you pretty much can imagine the taste without having it.  With around $15 a bottle, both can yield around 8 to 10 shots of nice chilled smoothness to compliment the spicy food that's about to come up.

All the dishes started lining up and looked great.  I like especially like the serving plates and dinnerware and stone bowls!!!  Well, we didn't have anything with a stone bowl but I did have it before and will be added to this review near the end.  All of the dishes came with panchan/banchan which are various Korean side dishes.  They come in four different types: kimchee, seaweed, potato, and some white vege (daikon?).  Kimchee is a spicy pickeled cabbage and is one of the most well known Korean items.  I can taste kimchee in some of the dishes I've tried.  Some people loved the potato panchan and although I looooove potatoes it didn't bring anything different to the table for me and all of my previous potato experience.  The loser of the 4 was the white vege one as hardly anyone commented on it.  My favourite was the seaweed.  Some of you might not like it and might even be a little squeemish towards it but I love sushi and seaweed salad so naturally I'm going to like seaweed panchan.  We could only do so much with the side dishes and started on the main entrees.

My least favourite dish was the yummy spicy chicken.  The name really surprised me because it didn't turn out too yummy or spicy for me.  It reminded me of a bland asian chicken stew called yummy spicy chicken.  Alright, it wasn't that bad but I did forget how it tasted like.  Next on the list is the shrimp pancake.  Now I've had buttermilk pancakes and potato pancakes, which are the best thanks to my BFFE for the introduction.  This was more similar to ukoy, a filipino dish where you take shredded papaya, bean sprouts and shrimp and coat it in some sort of cornstarch batter (I think) similar to pancake mix but not and deep fry the hell out of the thing.  Yes, yes, here we go with the deep fried foods again.  The taste was a little different but it was good.  I'm glad we ordered it because it wasn't marinated or covered in sauce like all the other dishes.  It came with some sort of soy sauce and vinegar mix with sesame seeds on the side or something along the lines of that.  I don't think I'll be craving this dish anytime soon though.  The happy beef and the happy octopus were set meals that came with the same sides: rice soup, 8 pieces of Korean sushi, japchae, kimchee pancake and salad.  If you can imagine how a tamed down watery version of congee or lugaw then you've got the rice soup down.  My highlight eating this soup was using the wooden spoon...NEXT!  I don't remember how the salad tasted like but I know it didn't put my tastebuds off and coming from the shrimp pancake, the kimchee pancake was no surprise.  The Korean sushi was nice.  I saw some beef in the pieces I ate but I'd much rather go to a sushi bar to eat sushi.  The only item I am currently craving from this meal set is the japchae.  It might have been so good because of the noodles and boy do I love noodles but I've got to say japchae is gooooood!  Japchae is glass noodles stir fried in sesame oil and mixed with sliced beef and veges.  I think soy sauce, a bit of sugar and some spice are also added.  Great stuff!  Now, the best is yet to come...the korean beef (kalbi)!!!  I've got to let it out and say Korean beef is my favourite form of BBQ.  Nothing else beats it (so far).  The kalbi we had here was very good.  So good that my chompers took everything off the bone.  I MEAN EVERYTHING!  Well, that's how I eat!  If you haven't tried Korean beef and love BBQ go and get it NOW!  I don't think you'll be disappointed.  If I had to come back, I'd be making my own combo called Feeling the Happy Beef Noodles So Soju Good.  In it would be 1 order of japchae, 1 order of kalbi and 1 bottle of soju (an expensive combo I'm sure).  After all was down and out, I wasn't 100% full but was content until I saw the price haha.  While it won't break the bank it is a bit more on the pricier side of asian cuisine.  What would a birthday dinner be without some post meal pictures?  We asked the nice Korean lady if she could take our picture and she gracefully agreed.  "Say kimchee.  Sreeee Twoooo One," she said and snapped a nice picture of us.  Boy does that add to their vibe and also adds something else to my photographing repertoire.  Say kimcheesy!!! Flash!

Right There! Tea, Food & Wine Korean Museum Restaurant

APPEARANCE     ©©©©     4/5

VALUE               ©©©        3/5

TASTE                N/A

Yummy Spicy Chicken

APPEARANCE     ©©       2/5

VALUE               ©©©     3/5

TASTE               ©©        2/5

Shrimp Pancake

APPEARANCE     ©©©      3/5

VALUE               ©©©       3/5

TASTE               ©©©       3/5

Happy Octopus

APPEARANCE    ©©©©     4/5

VALUE              ©©©        3/5

TASTE              ©©©        3/5

Happy Beef

APPEARANCE     ©©©©     4/5

VALUE               ©©©        3/5

TASTE               ©©©        3/5

Korean Beef/Kalbi

APPEARANCE     ©©©       3/5

VALUE               ©©©©    4/5

TASTE               ©©©©     4/5

Bonus Dish Review - The first time I came here I had ordered Bi-Bim Bap.  Sounds like your nephew causing ruckus with that inflatable hammer you got for him at The Red River Ex, I know!  This was a dish the nice Korean lady kept pushing.  It's a great comfort food dish that comes in a hot stone bowl.  This is like a combo in itself as it has rice, veges, beef BBQ, and a freakin' sunny side up egg on top!  If you like crispy rice like I do (ya know, when you cook fried rice and the part that sticks to the pan and gets all nice and crispy) this dish has something extra special for you.  Since the rice is cooked in the stone bowl the part that sticks to the edge is all crispy!!!  Wondaful!  It looks nice when it's served but our server suggests to mix it all together and sort of ruins the whole appearance.  This is a great wholesome meal leaving your stomach content and satisfied that it had the Bi-Bim Bap experience.  One side of caution though.  If you tend to stay away from mushy things then you might not enjoy this dish so much.  It's still great but can be a tad mushy when it's all mixed up.

Bi-Bim Bap

APPEARANCE     ©©©©     4/5

VALUE               ©©©       3/5

TASTE               ©©©       3/5

As much as we are trying to stay away from too much red meat, kalbi  is the one exception that our family can all agree on.  Korean-style beef short ribs, kalbi (or galbi) is very simple to prepare and cook.  Perhaps the most difficult part is finding a butcher to cut them correctly (if you live near a Korean grocery store, it is sold in large 3 lb packs usually).  Korean-style beef short ribs contains 3 ribs and are cut across the bone about 1/2" thick.  You may be familiar with the large rectangular kalbi favored at Korean restaurants, but I find three-rib style cut much simpler for home cooking.

Kalbi is most delicious grilled, but it can also be pan fried or broiled in the oven.  The traditional way to eat kalbi is wrapped in red leaf lettuce leaves or perilla leaves (geneap) with a little rice and a bit of ssamjang.  Ssamjang is a combination of fermented bean paste (tenjang or Korean miso) and and kochujang (Korean red pepper paste) with minced garlic, sesame seed oil and chopped scallions.  However, Kalbi is just as delicious served non-Korean style à la big slab a meat on a plate.

A barbecue at onespicymama's house - kabli served with (clockwise from top left) kimchi, pickle kimchi, radish cubed kimchi, perilla leaves, fresh Korean cucumbers, fresh Korean hot peppers, red leaf lettuce leaves, potato salad and ssamjang.  Oh, and some Rolling Rock.

KALBI - KOREAN SHORT RIBS

3 lbs. sliced short ribs, 1/2" thick
2/3 C. soy sauce
1/4 C. sesame seed oil
1/3 C. water
1/2 C. sugar
3 cloves garlic

2 Tbs. crushed toasted sesame seeds
1 onion, sliced
1 bunch scallions, sliced 3 " long sections

Combine soy sauce, sesame seed oil, water and sugar in a large bowl.  Whisk until sugar is dissolved.  Add garlic, onion and scallions and combine.  Add short ribs and make sure to coat both sides with marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour, but preferably a couple of hours.  After pre-heating grill well, cook short ribs about 3-4 minutes per side on medium high. 

The biggest dilemma is how to cut up the meat into manageable sizes for placing inside a lettuce wrap.  I find kitchen shears work magic on kalbi.  And what of the bit of meat around the bones?  Most Koreans would say that's the tastiest part. 

Groups: up to about 6 ... because it gets full in there at lunch

King Tofu House
1425 W Artesia #17
Gardena, CA 90247

310.324.1155

i was depressed but, strangely, these pigs cheered me up. i can't begin to say why.

i think the pigs were drugged, because they just lay there. only one moved and only one oinked. i think they're galbi by now.

Fortunately for us, a lot of students (or their parents) like to give teachers sweet treats on White Day.

AJ and I got some candies and suckers, and we each got a box of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.

After work we hooked up with some other teachers and headed to a restaurant that serves galbi (beef short ribs). This was by far the very best food I have had since we got here. I can honestly say, it was DELICIOUS. They cook the meat over hot coals right at your table and serve it with banchan (many side dishes). Some of the side dishes included gimchi, onions, bean sprouts, roasted garlic and corn (the corn dish was odd, but it tasted good).

Overall, today was a day for the taste buds. Mmmm

So today, we tried the Korean BBQ spot in Torrance, CA (on Western and Rosecrans Ave.)  It was good.  I couldn't decide between Galbi or Soon Tofu.  But I went with Galbi... meat! :D  It was pretty good, however, there were a lot of little fatty pockets ... not very good cuts.  But the meat was tender and it tasted good.  

You got the little dishes ... however, they were just a little stingy on portions.  Maybe because it was two girls or maybe they think you won't eat it... but they put like 5 pieces of broccoli, a few cucumbers, and a bit of mushroom.  But they hooked us up on the salad... and that we barley touched, because we already got our Galbi.  We also tried their "brown rice" ... which is Akai rice (its red) and it supposedly helps with cholestrol problems.   It came in a little bamboo bowl and it was pretty good.

The tables have a little grill in the center and you can cook your own food.  Or you can get a hot pot and cook your meats and veggies in a broth. 

 This is the closest Korean BBQ near Belkin and I would go again.  However, it's not my first choice.

E quella magia, per noi, si ripercuote nella letteratura, nella lingua e nella musica.

Di tanto in tanto nel nostro Paese, un artista "orientale" diventa famoso.

Era il 1988 e pure io fui folgorato dalla bellissima voce e dall'incantevole volto di una donna israeliana: Ofra Haza.

La canzone è la popolarissima "Im Nin'Alu". Si tratta di un poema del rabbino Shalom Shabazi, il testo del poema, come riportato da wikipedia e come cantato nella canzone inizia con:

Im nin'alu daltei n'divim daltei marom lo nin'alu

tradotto più o meno in

Se i cancelli del ricco sono chiusi, i cancelli del paradiso non lo saranno mai.

Qui trovate una traduzione del testo.

(Nota personale: il video parte con quel potente "Im Nin Alu" e un primo piano altrettanto potente. Che bella donna! La voce di Ofra Haza è incredibile, si tratta di un mezzo-soprano, ma la lingua in cui canta sembra aumentarne l'estensione)

Poco dopo fu la volta di "Galbi", cioè "Cuore mio"

video originale

mentre qui è in una interpretazione dal vivo

(Nota personale: la voce è sempre magnifica! e nel video originale mi fa morire il vecchietto con la barba!)

O la, un po' meno nota, "Shaday":

Queste canzoni, furono quelle che lanciarono Ofra Haza come cantante internazionale.

Durante questo periodo, la sua voce, è stata prestata a varie collaborazioni. Ad esempio

"Give peace a Chance" del 1991:

"Temple of Love" dei The sisters of Mercy, un gruppo rock-gothic, anno 1992:

(Nota personale: Musica come un torrente e la grande voce di Haza che spunta su tutto)

"My Love Is For Real" di Paula Abdul, 1995:

(Nota personale: Paula altra bella donna però...mamma mia i balletti! e la voce di Haza relegata a qualche vocalizzo...peccato!)

"The river lullaby" da "Il principe d'Egitto", 1998:

ALT!

Salto indietro nel tempo!

Quasi sconosciuta a noi occidentali sono le origini artistiche di Haza. Non ci pensiamo quasi mai, ma essendo una Israeliana ha svolto il servizio di leva.

Fa quasi "tenerezza" vederla cantare una canzone dedicata a "Flash Gordon", tratta dal suo primo album, 1980, "Al Ahavot Shelanu" ("Our Love", "(Il) Nostro Amore"):

o mentre canta, dallo stesso CD "Shir Ahava Lachayal" ("Canzone d'amore per il soldato"):

o quella che fu la canzone che la rese famosa in patria "Frecha's Song", in inglese traducibile più o meno in "Bimbo's Song", la canzone di una donna che pensa solo a divertirsi, qui l'interpretazione è presa da un film in cui Haza ha recitato:

(Nota personale: ehm...la preferisco come cantante, non voglio dire che sapesse recitare, ma con una voce come la sua...)

Del suo secondo album, "Bo Nedaber" ("Let's Talk", "Parliamo") i brani più noti sono "Tfila", "Preghiera":

e "Simanim Shel Ohavim" ("Lover's Signs", "Segni degli amanti"),

È con il terzo album, 1982, "Pituyim" (Tentazioni) che raggiunge una maggiore notorietà ed alcuni noti parolieri iniziano a scrivere canzoni per lei. Un esempio "Gabriel":

(Nota personale: l'immagine che avevo di lei...beh dopo queste canzoni è cambiata. Non avrei mai detto che all'inizio si fosse concessa una così grande parentesi nella musica pop! Non che mi dispiaccia! Anche se non si capiscono i testi, le canzoni hanno delle musiche simpatiche)

Ma è il 1983 che segna un gran cambiamento nella sua carriera artistica. In quell'anno partecipa al Euro Festival con la canzone "Chai" (Viva). Il festival si teneva nella città di Monaco, Munich..., passata alla cronaca per il tristissimo episodio delle Olimpiadi del '72, e la canzone proposta da Haza acquisì un senso patriottico visto che conteneva la frase "Am Yisrael chai" (Il popolo di Israele vive):

(Nota personale: quindi, anche se leggera come musica...contiene al suo interno un fortissimo messaggio politico!)

Grazie a questa partecipazione, e al secondo posto raggiunto, divenne una "eroina" in Israele, e nel 1984, oltre all'album Bait Ham ("A Place For Me", "Un posto per me"), pubblicò l'album "Yemenite Songs" (Canzoni yemenite). Album che si rivelò un punto di svolta nella carriera di Haza. Qui la possiamo vedere mentre si scatena in un ballo dopo aver cantato "Lefelach Harimon" ("As a slice of pomegranate", "Come una fetta di melograno") canzone tradizionale eseguita durante un matrimonio.

(Nota personale: c'è di tutto in questo video, musica occidentale, musica orientale, balletti... Ofra scatenata...divertimento senza problemi e un po' senza senso come accade nei matrimoni. Bello!)

L'anno dopo, 1985, pubblicò l'album "Adama" (Terra):

contenente anche "Goral Echad" (One fate, Un destino)

E questo ci riporta più o meno al punto da cui siamo partiti. Alla sua fama mondiale. E alla nota più triste: il 23 febbraio 2000. Il giorno in cui attraversò i cancelli del paradiso.

Voglio lasciarvi con una versione del 1978 di "Im nin'Alu", in cui possiamo ammirare una Ofra Haza giovane e piena di speranze:

Al prossimo Venerdì

now there is, thanks to xkcd. yay for math. 

there’s some delicious korean food. like galbi or bibimbap. but then the rest of it is just... you know, like a lot of fucking grapefruit.

for instance:

it tastes good initially, but then it burns my face.

or it tastes good really and truly, but i have to use scissors a knife tongs chopsticks and a spoon — all at once — to eat it. plus i’m sittng cross-legged and i have to hold a lettuce leaf in my other hand.

or, worst of all, it doesn’t taste good, it’s tricky to eat, and it’s not terribly healthy — like acorn jelly. man, fuck that shit.

I had Soon Tofu ($8) It was YUMMY! ...the seafood was hooked up! And my buddies all tried the Galbi which is BBQ short rib for $14 a plate. It was a little pricey, but they hooked you up on the meat portions.

Awesome Fact: Hodori is a tiger in Korean.

EatAtHodori

1001 S. Vermont Ave., #102

Los Angeles, CA 90006

213.383.3554

I've tried to cook certain Korean dishes over the years with varying degrees of success, and with enough tries (and enough luck) I could usually end up with something that I would eat. But over the years I've slowly stopped cooking much of anything, Korean or otherwise, that wasn't either frozen or from a box. Or both. (Yeah, think Ellio's pizza.) For Korean food, we have been frequenting our local (and not-so-local) Korean restaurants so often that not only are we becoming restaurant regulars, something I hate being, but our wallets are becoming considerably flatter. So I decided to try cooking Korean food again.

Last weekend we drove half an hour to our nearest decent-sized Korean grocery store. The place was packed, presumably with people shopping for the upcoming Lunar New Year. As soon I walked in I was faced with a row of refrigerators where I immediately started looking for떡 (ttok, or chewy Korean rice cakes), which I had never made before but wanted to try. I didn't see them, but we did get beef for 불고기 (bulgogi) and 갈비 (kalbi). We got a 10 lb. bag of short-grain rice as we had planned, and a bowl of instant pre-packaged 전복죽 (abalone rice porridge), which was a pure impulse buy. And since I eventually did find the떡 and refrained from buying any 빼빼로 (pepero, or cookie sticks dipped in chocolate), I considered it a successful trip.

Here is what I have tried so far this week:

1. 전복죽: The abalone rice porridge was not really "cooking," since all you have to do is stick it in the microwave and tear open some little pouches and heat it up. But it was a new food that I wanted to try and was pretty good, if a little watery -- although I'm not sure how thick it's supposed to be. This isn't the exact brand that I tried, but it looked very similar:

2.떡: I bought the sliced oval kind of rice cakes, not the stick kind, and thought that I would stir fry them with some tofu and vegetables. (Full disclosure: I usually use a bottled stir-fry sauce and frozen vegetables, so this is really only one step closer to actual cooking than microwaved rice porridge.) Since I had never bought rice cakes before, I was surprised to find that they were as hard as wood chips. Given their stiffness I was a little skeptical of cooking them for only 2 seconds in boiling water, but it worked and they became soft almost instantly. Next time I'll try rinsing them after I drain them and won't let them sit before throwing them in the stir-fry, so hopefully they won't stick together as much. Still, very tasty! (And no, I won't be making the spicy떡볶이 anytime soon -- talk about hotter than the sun!)

3. 갈비 찜: This is the big recipe -- actual cooking, with no convenience ingredients. I had bought the kalbi thinking I would make the Crock-Pot kalbi-jjim recipe that I saw at Kimchi Mamas, but unfortunately I didn't start early enough and needed a version that didn't take as long to cook. Luckily, I found this kalbi-jjim recipe at Muffin Top and decided to give it a whirl for dinner tonight.

It turned out pretty good given that I used the wrong cut of kalbi, or at least I'm pretty sure that I did. My kalbi was pre-cut into slices that were about 1/4" thick, and so I'm guessing that this is the grilling kind, not the braising kind. I also didn't realize how much extra sugar I needed to add after replacing the sweet dessert wine with Chardonnay, which was all I had on hand. Thankfully I was able to add sugar partway through the cooking with no detrimental effect. I can't wait to try it again with the right kind of kalbi, and maybe this time in the slow cooker with a dessert wine!

**********************************

My family, or at least my father's side of the family, immigrated to the U.S. from Sweden and Norway several generations back. But we never ate lutefisk when I was growing up, and if my parents ever saw some I'm sure they would run as far away from it as they would from kimchi. However, we did grow up eating such "safe" Swedish classics as Swedish meatballs, peppakakors (ginger cookies), and Swedish coffee rolls.

And I know that if I'm ever interested in cookin'* up one of those Swedish specialties, my mom will be right there to help me.

*In case anyone is wondering, this particular spelling of "cooking" is a reference to the Korean show Nanta, or Cookin', and is not at all related to my pronunciation. :-)