It’s my brother’s birthday. He doesn’t much like traditional cakes, so I made him Korean yakbap (steamed sweet rice cake). Someday I will master square cutting.

Ono Korean in Kailua-Kona, the Big Island.

Dinner: Stuffed acorn squash.
(Korean rice mix filling - brown rice, black rice, glutinous rice, dried dates, black beans, chopped walnuts and chopped almonds)

In the oven now, to be served along-side truffle salted salmon.

Today’s indulgence: Banchan. 

Grand assortment of banchan at today’s dinner (only a few dishes shown). As a side note, I think that restaurants are inventing dishes to keep up with diners’ expectations of banchan as interest in Korean food grows. Each time I visit a Korean restaurant the banchan are more creative. Delicious, yes… but traditional, no.