Goop-da!

The Korean word of the day is 굽다 (goop-da) which means to bake! I'm actually surprised that the word exists in the Korean language since Koreans (or most Asians, for that matter) do not bake. Most homes do not have ovens or if they do, they are very, very tiny.

This, for example, is my oven. It's located in the utility room next to a sink, the washer and dryer. It's obviously an afterthought added by the landlords for their predominantly American tenants. (For which I heartily thank them.) The top portion is a broiler rack and the bottom is the regular oven. I'm still learning how to manipulate the gas oven because it's difficult to get a set temperature that stays there for any length of time. Plus, I'm doing it in Celsius. Luckily, the previous tenants printed up a big list of conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit and I bought an oven thermometer which dangles from the rack so that I can get an accurate reading of the real temperature. It's always an adventure cooking in this oven but I'm sure I'll eventually get the hang of it.

Aside from my tiny oven stuck in the laundry room, the rest of the kitchen is spacious, with lots of storage space and countertop room, which is a marked difference from the shoebox kitchen we had in Hawaii. I'm most excited about what I've dubbed my "baking corner."

Here you can see my Kitchenaid and all the workspace underneath my cupboard full of my baking supplies. Conveniently, this is the space closet to the oven as well. I stocked up on cake mixes and brownie mixes. I like to make certain things from scratch but cake mixes often come in handy as a quick base for a lot of different items. And I find it to be more cost effective.

I have my containers of flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, toffee bits (love toffee bits!) and chocolate chips. (I prefer to use real chocolate instead of chips, but I can't find good baking chocolate here, so I'm reduced to using chips again. Oh well.)

And of course I have my baking agents (salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa) and a bin full of sprinkles, flavorings (vanilla, rum, maple, lemon extract, etc.) and food coloring. Everything I need to bake within an arm's reach.

Underneath it all is my cabinet full of my essential baking items including Pyrex glass dishes, cookie sheets, muffin pans, wire racks, pizza stone, bowls, cookie cutters (located inside the cake container), round cake pans, pie pans, springform pans, measuring cups, pastry cutter, flour sifter, rolling pins and my ice cream maker.

I'm so excited to do more baking in my new baking corner. I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Martha Stewart cupcake book that I just ordered which, I have on good authority, is pretty awesome. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to share some more recipes and baking successes with you.