Cucina Kaleena: Cooking in an Expat’s Kitchen

Brownies topped with walnuts. Lick the pan? Don’t mind if I do!

In recent months I have sprained my ankle, burned my leg in the second degree, nearly chopped off the top of my thumb, and fallen down the stairs on more than one occasion. “A right walking disaster you are”, is how one friend described me. And it’s true, I really am my own greatest health hazard, particularly in the kitchen (which is where I almost lost my thumb and my right leg). Nevertheless, my love for cooking and baking keeps bringing me back to the danger zone and I’ve been whipping up quite a few delectable feasts lately.

Back home I was spoiled with a spacious kitchen that was, come to think of it, bigger than my entire studio apartment now. Wherever I go, I affectionately name my cooking space “Cucina Kaleena” because it rhymes and such and everyone should have a fancy rhyming name for their kitchen, right? Even if their “kitchen” has now become an outcropping of their bedroom with a double stovetop, one-square-foot of counter space, and a microwave stacked on an oven on the floor.

Kitchen in Korea — This is where the magic happens…

Small though it may be, with a little creativity I’ve been able to cook to my heart’s delight and feast on both healthy meals and decadent treats. I try to do most of my shopping at the local outdoor market right outside my building, and the rest at the big stores like E-Mart and Home Plus. Whatever I can’t find in Korea I order from iherb.com. Let me tell you, iherb is an absolute MIRACLE.

I tend to stick to my western style recipes, and I probably won’t ever cook Korean food until I’ve left the country and find myself craving it. I mean, why would I cook it when I can just go get a (much better) meal cooked for me for $5? The ingredients here can be a bit pricey, but eating out is considerably cheap.

This post is simply to share some of what I’ve been making lately just for fun, and to let you know what it’s like cooking in an expat’s kitchen.

Enjoy!