Commonly asked questions
how did you come up with the name dear saturdays?
the name dear saturdays came about from an encouraging sermon i heard while going through some trying personal and professional times.
the pastor shared that in the timeline of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, we often neglect saturday since the key moment we really talk about is good friday or easter sunday. friday represents the day of suffering and sunday is the day of restoration, and the purpose and design of saturday in was to give space to pause, reflect, and process.
when i started this blog, it really felt like i was in a looooooong season of saturdays. i learned that however uncomfortable and ambiguous the in-between moments of pain and full healing may be, that time was intentionally carved to help me accept all that happened, be ok with sitting in stillness, and hold onto my faith that my life was in good hands.
are you actually allergic to soy?
yes, my body thinks that soy protein is the enemy and will self-destruct in the name of attacking soy protein. i’m thankfully not allergic to soy sauce since most of the soy protein in the soybean breaks down into amino acids in the fermentation and brewing process. v inconvenient for being someone who has a food blog mostly dedicated to korean food, i know.
how do you juggle a full time 9-6 job and work on dear saturdays?
i love eating, i love food, and i love learning about the culture and history that shapes how and what we eat. i also itch for a creative outlet from my serious desk job in tech so dear saturdays helps scratch that itch!
building dear saturdays does require sacrificing nights, early mornings, and weekends where i could have laid in bed and ate chicken nuggies, but i’d say it’s a fair trade. so far. hahaha
i also don’t have kids so that sort of helps.
who is the person behind the scenes filming your videos?
so glad you asked! it’s my verrryy talented artsy brother, austin. you can find him and his work here!
are you still mailing perilla seeds?
i will always be selling perilla seeds. please donate $5 (or more!) to the loveland foundation, take a screenshot of your donation, and send it over along with your mailing address to dearsaturdaysblog@gmail.com
what camera equipment do you use?
i use a sony a7r and my handy dandy iphone!
do you have any restaurant recommendations?
a tonnnn. here are all of my recommendations pinned on google maps:
new york: brooklyn, nyc, upstate, pizzzaaa
maine: coastal maine
washington state: seattle
what are your pantry essentials?
soy sauces: sempio 701 for braises and every day cooking. regular sempio guk ganjang
jangs: gochujang
fish sauce: red boat
hot sauce: obrigado hot sauce, crystal lousiana
spices: fine and coarse gochugaru, whole black peppercorn, toasted and salted sesame seeds
salts: diamond crystal kosher salt, maldon salt for finishing
sugar: raw cane sugar, honey
dried goods: dashima, anchovies, shiitake mushrooms
alliums and roots: always have shallots, green onion, yellow and red onions, and ginger on hand
vinegars: rice, white balsamic, red wine
fats: mainly olive oil for cooking, kerigold unsalted butter, sesame for flavoring, frankie 457 olive oil for drizzling
emulsified fats: kewpie mayo, crème fraîche because it’s deeelicious in/on pretty much everything