A New Year Begins! 01/01/2012
A new year begins and a new resolution to post more on here! We have so many students coming here all the time now and from all around the world. Almost every morning I prepare a western style breakfast for them. Everyday is different and runs from simple eggs and potatoes to baked goods like muffins and pastries; sometimes we have quiche or hummus, and even good ole' biscuits and sausage gravy. If you would like to join us you can see us on the page marked Joe's Breakfast Bar, where I have posted a live streaming video from the room where we eat. If you go here, you can see and chat with us too! 2 Comments Spring has sprung and summer is heating up! 05/26/2011
Here we go! The spring has been a short break between the cold and the hot. A few weeks of cool weather was wonderful, but summer will soon be here in full force. Right now we are having warm days and cool evenings with some rain thrown in to make it interesting. The pollen has stopped and the yellow sand has blown thru, So the air is nice and clean and I can start getting out on my scooter again and taking some pictures for you. The valley is beautiful and green, the rice paddies have been planted and the mountain is green again. Such a beautiful valley I live in. Wish you could come here and see it for yourself! I'll add some more recipes in the next few days, got some cool things I've come up with. Next week I'm gonna try my hand at making sausages with Korean ingredients. There are no real Korean sausages out there, other than soondae, which is pig intestines stuffed with noodles and some meats. It is actually quite good, but I'm going for more a fusion type thing. I'm thinking a Ginger-Sesame Oil-Garlic Pork sausage and a Mountain Berry Wine-Garlic Beef sausage for starters. Stay Tuned! Has it really been this long? 02/24/2011
Wow! I had no idea it had been this long since I posted anything on here. I deeply apologize for running away. I have had 3 bouts of illness from colds to flu, running around getting my visa renewed, bringing students from Seoul to HQ, preparing the Breakfast Bar every day I'm at HQ, attending classes at night and helping the students in anyway I can. My kitchen is finished and I have been busy cooking treat for everyone and making meals. I have been looking for chickpeas to make Hummus with since I arrived here two years ago. Last week I was in Seoul to pick up my college buddy Douglas Bonner to bring him to HQ for study. We went to a fried chicken restaurant he remembered from his last trip, but they were closed. While we were looking around for a new place to try we stumbled upon a truly International Market just off the main street in Itaewon. They had chickpeas! Dried or in cans. I got a bag of the dried and brought them back with me. So what does this have to do with anything? Well, the universe always takes care of us. This week we have a student from Dubai. For him Hummus is a staple food. I had no idea he was coming, but the universe did, so it made it possible for him to have some comfort food. I confess that I did take some time off at Christmas to go to a special indoor/outdoor water park/sauna. Have you ever run outside with no clothes on in the snow to get to a hot tub? Try it sometime. It's invigorating! I just got my scooter to running again. It has been so cold that it would not start. Even if it had started then I still couldn't have ridden it. It's been below freezing for most of the months of December and January. But the temperature broke this week and it is nice and warm outside. Soon I'll be back on my scooter and sending pictures to you of the beautiful valley I live in now. Hugs to all!! Foreigner Breakfast Bar 11/03/2010
We started a Breakfast Bar for foreigners here at the Nonsan Main Center. Right now it is small, but we have milk and cereal, toast and jams, boiled eggs, waffles, and sometimes we have bacon, sausage, fruits, cheeses, and more. The center is providing us with space and facilities, but we have to supply the food ourselves so we ask everyone who participates to contribute some to the pot, about 10,000 won (US $10) per week is enough. It's nice to get together with each other and discuss the meditation and what we are doing. Hope to see all of you soon! Hungry? Try these! 10/03/2010
Look at the Korean Delicacies page here. Complete with pictures and my opinions on the food. Come for a visit and we can try anything on the list, plus I have a few more you might like also! (evil grin....) I found another lake near my home! 09/24/2010
I went out on my scooter today, and found a lake nearby. I knew there was one there, but not sure how to get there. On my way there I found two sets of the totem, or wood carvings, that the Koreans of old would put at the gateway to their village. These represent the queen of the earth and the king of the sky. Then I found the lake where you can rent a fishing barge and go out onto the lake For the pictures go to the Photos page. Oh, and those spiky green balls on the tree are chestnuts!! New Nature Pictures!!! 09/23/2010
OK, the weather is so nice that I had to go outside and make some pictures. The spider is as big around as my hand, the persimmons are just about ready to eat, the butterfly was very cooperative, and the dragon fly is called a Go-chu-san Dragonfly or a Hot Red Pepper Dragonfly! So very cool!!! Baekje Festival in Gongju 09/23/2010
This weekend I went to the Baekje Festival in Gongju, a celebration of one of the Three Kingdoms in Korea around 2000 years ago. The Baekje Dynasty was very highly civilized and traded with countries all around Asia including Japan, China, Russia, and many more. In 1971 the tomb of King Muryeong was accidentally discovered and had never been robbed. It contained almost 2000 artifacts from the Baekje period which proved the high state of culture and accomplished trading that had been achieved. This festival celebrates this period in Korean history with a month long-two city wide festival in Gongju and Buyeo, the main cities of the Baekje Dynasty. The Pictures I posted today are from the Art Complex in Gonju. Soon I will go back and post more pictures of the parades, plays and more. Enjoy! I also posted some more pictures of the area I live in. Fall has come and the air is crisp and cool and the sun was back out today! Nature's Path - A New Poem 09/13/2010
This is a new poem I wrote. It is the first thing I have written in a long while. If you guys would like to see more of my writings, I will post some. Nature’s Path The wind blows, the tree bends The cloud comes, the rain falls The sun shines, the earth grows warm The flowers grow, the bees make honey The flea bites, the dog scratches The man walks, the path goes on The wind does not know that it blows The tree does not know that it bends The cloud cares not if it comes or the rain falls The sun does as it does and the earth thinks not about being warm The flowers, the bees, the flea and the dog All have no thought of what they do But man does not see the world around him He just follows the path in his mind Not seeing the real world He only sees the world in his mind Made from the images he took of the real world He only follows the path in his mind And he follows that path to his grave and beyond To see the real world man must escape his mind He must discard the images and thoughts in his mind To see the world that is true He must cleanse his mind and discard his attachments to it This is the only way to freedom To happiness To eternal life To Truth It is the only way to follow the natural order And have the mind of the universe © September 14, 2010, Joe Gattis, All Rights Reserved Wow! Over The Top Salsified Fritters 09/11/2010
Wow! I made these yesterday and they were fantastic! You can find the recipe on my Recipes page on the left, or click here. I have been making a Beer Batter Corn Fritter for a long time, but these just beat it hands down! I loaded them "Over The Top" with corn, sausage, onions, black olives, and jalapeños then top them with my Black Bean Corn Salsa! Try these and let me know how they come out! | Click here to learn more about Maum Meditation
AuthorThis is Joe Gattis's blog for his journey to South Korea to study Maum Meditation. "Joe Moksa" is Korean for "Pastor Joe" a nickname given to him in his first visit in 2003. Say Hello!
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