It’s Christmas, it’s Hanukkah, it’s Kwanza, it’s Pancha Ganapati!!! Whichever holiday you celebrate, or don’t celebrate, I hope you’re enjoying this time of year. It’s a wonderful time to be reminded of what’s important & spend time with those we love. I’ll be busy baking away today & tomorrow. We are teaching on Christmas Eve & I want to share a little baking love with my co-teachers & students.

On Christmas Day Mr. FGK & I will be lucky enough to spend the day with some swell kids! We’re going with a group of volunteers to bring a Christmas party to those who might not have one otherwise. Each year, Daejeon Cares, a local organization with some amazing & dedicated volunteers, arranges Christmas visits to local orphanages. Volunteers chip in & try to fulfill the kids wish lists. This year Mr. FGK & I got gifts for some really young kids & I have to say, shopping in the toy aisle is the most fun! Another great thing about getting the really little ones, is that my wrapping skills are seriously lacking. I tried so hard this year. I even studied this video of the woman wrapping at a Japanese department store & tried that technique. It didn’t work out & so I have some really awesome gifts that are very poorly bawled up in wrapping paper. But I’m thinking the younger the child, the less they will notice. Fingers crossed anyway!

I won’t be posting again until next week so before I leave you, I have a few announcements to share:

1. The results for the K-Blog Awards:

Recently I was nominated for the K-Blog Awards (Korea Blog Awards). I’m very excited & honored to announce that I was a finalist for Best Lifestyle Blog!!! Seeing as I’m still very new at the game & have only been around for a few months, this was a big confidence boost for me. I feel great to know that I’ve reached many new readers thanks to the nominations. And I’m thrilled to know that the judges & voters thought enough of my content thus far to make me a finalist. It’s another big step for FGK! So thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

2. #ExpatExchange14:

Diane at OuiInFrance organized an Expat Exchange for the holidays that I was lucky enough to participate in (especially since I was a little tardy to the party). I was paired with a Polish-American family currently living in Poland. There were two small children so I had fun shopping for the kids. I always want to share Korea with others but don’t know how. This was a great way for me to seek out unique & exciting Korean things for people who might not have been here or experienced it before. I asked my students to write letters to them wishing them a Merry Christmas. As it goes with children, I was really surprised at some of the very sweet or very weird things they wrote. Here is a peak at the Korean goodies I sent:

And here is a peak at the goodies I received from Poland:

They sent packet after packet of marinades, spices, grog mixes, etc. I’m so excited to get cooking with these and to learn more about Poland. I’ve had the most fun translating directions from my marinade packets & trying to understand the language. The package was full of thoughtful little touches & it warmed my heart. I promise to share more about those marinades & spices once I get to cooking them.

3. Easy Homemade Apple Sauce:

Here is a recipe to keep you warm this cold winter or even a quick & easy side dish for your holiday menus. The hardest part of this one is peeling the apples. It’s that easy! The trick is, instead of mashing the apples or using a food mill, I just threw it all in the blender.

Happy Baking & Happy Holidays!!!