varying degrees of light

A lot of people ask what it's like to be back in the States and what I missed most while I was living in Busan. I'm back in the States now, having spent a few weeks at home visiting the parents and sisters and reveling in the one place in town to see everybody who isn't bound by blood or household. I had lots of seasonal beers, shared a few bottles of wine, drunken midnight pizzas, Chinese food in Orange City, and savored everything my mom thought to put on a plate*... which really was a whole lot of food that was better than anything we found in Busan. Sorry, Kosin students and your enthusiastic recommendations. Sorry Elijah, Ashley, and Adam, and your "Oh, Oriental food is soooo good." I know it. You don't need to tell me. You all lose to a woman sourcing her ingredients from Sioux City and cooking in a small, snowy town with two traffic lights and seventeen churches. I'm in Los Angeles now, and what I've eaten so far includes Lebanese lamb chops, falafel patties, chicken mole tamales, chicken verde tamales, flank steak marinated in tomato sauce, chicken roasted with garlic and rosemary, sweet potato gratin, fennel salad dotted with pomegranate, roasted brussel sprouts**, warm potato salad, steamed/sautéed asparagus, balsamic chuck eye steak, and Greek salad. And wine. At the moment, I'm sipping a latte and thinking about what to have for lunch as well as what to make for dinner. "Beer-cheese soup?" I asked Christina, thinking of finding a hoppy beer and sharp cheese to mop up with a crusty loaf. "My husband is lactose-intolerant. :( " to which I shouted, "YOU'RE lactose-intolerant!" and the patrons at Antigua Coffee/Tea raised many an eyebrow.

What else to eat?

*I'd like to provide more detail, but I'll have to do so after calling home.

**ForageLA --Matty, pay attention. Also you, Andrew Kroeze.