I’m still here! Alive and kicking~
Haha, I think I am officially the worst blogger. *cringe* The gaps between real blog posts are getting longer and longer… But it’s a new year (Oh, btw, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!), so with a fresh mind, I’m sitting my ass down to bang out one last Random Eats post about 2014. Get ready for a lot of old pictures…. Especially if you follow me on Instragram, I’m sure you’ve seem most of these pics before. Bear with….
So… going all the way back to mid-November….
Remember when the ginko leaves were gorgeous and yellow for like a minute, before winter really started? sigh.
There was a lot of fall-inspired desserts, like sweet potato pie…
Pumpkin pie…
And the vegan thin mints made a triumphant return for the holiday season~~
Oh, and I turned 31 in November! Officially into my 30s. Yup. Right up in there. I’ve never really been into huge birthday celebrations (normally just dinner with a few close friends) because I can’t deal with all the attention. And I feel pressure to make sure everyone is having a good time. But this year I ended up having a joint birthday party with my staff Ye since our birthdays are a few days apart. We planned this hippie themed dress up party and it was so much fun. Haven’t laughed so much and so hard in a really long time. Definitely grateful for my friends… This past year so many of my closest friends left and went back home. So I was feeling a bit abandoned and lonely for a while. I really miss everyone. But I realized that I still have some really good friends left and new people are constantly coming into my life and stirring things up! LOve it.
And one of my friends made her first vegan cake, just for my birthday! It was carrot cake with a vegan cashew-based frosting– dense, very flavorful, and also completely delicious. For her first vegan cake attempt, it was damn good~ Well done Esther!
My good friend Dele adopted a husky!!! I got to meet javi the husky and he’s sooo chill~~ he’s pretty skinny from living a pretty hard life at the shelter, but my friend is definitely gonna take good care of him now and fatten him up a bit. He’s got such a loving forever-home now and will live a comfortable life. I really want to adopt a dog soon….. But I’m always concerned about how Bunny would react to it or whether I even have time to take good care of it.
And then Thanksgiving week was a complete whirlwind. We had a whole thanksgiving menu at PLANT, all week long~ with homemade tofurkey, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, herby lentils, cranberry sauce, kale mixed green salad, and hearty whole grain seed bread on the side.
It was a lot of prep every day! Definitely one of the busiest weeks in Plant history. Haha. We were so grateful for so many people who came to celebrate thanksgiving with us. It especially means a lot when customers come and share their lives with us and allow us to be a small part of their lives. It’s honestly the most gratifying thing about what I do.
Oven-roasted tomatoes, soon to be turned into….
Tomato Soup! We’ve been on a bit of a soup kick at the shop lately. The weather just calls for it.
And on another week, we had tortilla soup with vegan qusadillas.
Mapo Tofu with a ton of brocolli.
The Christmas/Holiday season was a complete blur. Not that it was that busy at the shop, but there was just so much going on in terms of social events and holiday shopping, birthdays, and also making a trip to Cheonan.
Christmas dinner at Cheonan. Vegan soy bulgogi, doenjang jjigye, and vegan kimchi. Homemade Korean food is the best.
Bunny “helping” me hang up Christmas lights in my apartment. I had to keep an eye on her so she wouldn’t snip through the cord with her teeth! I can’t even count how many earphones she has bitten through.
Flower Gin! This place is an adorable teeny tiny shop that sells (can you guess….) flowers and also serves gin tonics! It’s a bar, but also a flowershop, whattt. The lady who owns the shop is really nice and the service is great. Infact, that’s where I got my flower-crown made, for my hippie birthday party. The drinks there are great too. I like how she puts a small rose in each drink, as well as thin cucumber slices. It’s a great spot to get a drink with a girl friend, or if you’re a guy, take your lady friend there on a date–she would be impressed and it will give you a chance to show of your feminine side. ;) Flower Gin is in Noksapyeong, one of the last shops on the main street, past Baker’s Table and Paco Loco.
8 Pieces up the street in HBC.
Grabbed some dinner at 8 Pieces the other night cuz my friend and I were craving pizza. Not a whole lot special about this place… They have a brick oven and a vegan pizza on their menu. It doesn’t have any special topping~ just tomato sauce, onions, olives, and fresh baby greens on top.
The crust is crispy and thin which is how I like my pizza crusts.
Brunch at Il Gattino, also in HBC, which used to be called ‘Good to Go’. They just changed the name, but it’s pretty much the same brunch food during the day, and then for dinner, apparently they have a different Italian food menu which I’ve heard is pretty good. I usually get the Roasted Veggie & Hummus Sandwich with avocado. I’m not 100% sure about whether the bread is vegan though….
Last but not least, PLANT got its second consecutive Blue Ribbon Survey award (award? certificate? not sure what to call it exactly, haha) for the upcoming year 2015. I don’t really take these things seriously, but it’s just a nice stamp of approval… it’s good to know we’ve been selected and acknowledged by the public in this way. :) More than anything, I’m really grateful for all the support of fans, blog readers, customers, vegan, non-vegans, haha. everyone.
2014 has been such an incredible year of growth for me. I never thought I’d be running a cafe/restaurant as a sole business owner, but here I am, and I’m so thankful. Ofcourse, there are days when I feel like I’m stuck in a rut and I consider shutting the whole thing down and running away to a remote island, but the majority of the time, I love what I do and I’m loving life. There were so many big decisions to make and fears to overcome this year, but I’m proud of the leaps of faith I’ve taken. And I couldn’t have done it without the support and encouragement of my closest friends (you know who you are), my family, and my business mentors. I also met some incredible people this year… customers who have turned into my closest friends, and employees who have become like my right hand. I love you guys. 2014 was one to remember, but I’m excited for what 2015 will bring. Hopefully more growth, a solid vision for the future of Plant, and more amazing friendships formed. Hello 2015!!
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