Recipe – Kimchee/ Kimchi

This was on lovethatkimchi.com and I highly recommend checking it out for all things Korean.

Kimchee/ Kimchi

Ingredients
1 long white Napa (Chinese) cabbage, about 1 lb 3 oz
1 cup coarse or pickling salt 5 cups (1 liter) water
1 small long white radish, about 5 oz (160 g), cut in 1 1/2 in (4-cm) julienne strips
4-5 scallion (spring onion), cut in 1 1/2 in (4-cm) julienne strips
1 small leek, white part only, cut in 1 1/2 in (4-cm) julienne strips
2 teaspoons very finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1 1/2 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 large bowl to hold cabbage while soaking in water

Directions
Remove root end of cabbage without separating the leaves. Put all the salt in a large bowl and add 4 cups (1 liter) water. Stir to dissolve all the salt in bowl and water. Fit the cabbage into bowl adding water if necessary so it is covered. Place several heavy plates as weights on top of the cabbage and let sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours. Drain the cabbage and rinse under running water, and squeeze dry.

In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients and mix well. Slightly separate the cabbage leaves and pack them well with the radish mixture. Pack well into glass jar and press firmly to remove air bubbles. Cover jar tightly. If you decide to cut the cabbage into bite sized pieces before adding chili paste that is fine. You can also cut the cabbage into bite sized pieces before soaking in brine water as well. It is just a matter of personal taste.

Once thoroughly mixed, fill the jars with the Kimchi and seal with lids. Allow the jar to sit in a dark room temperature area for 2-3 days. Following this early fermentation process place jar in the refrigerator and return to the fridge after each serving.
Important: Never use a reactive metal container to store kimchi; use porcelain or stainless steel. Plastic will be permanently stained by chili. Store kimchi in a cool, dark place - a fridge is best.

Fabulous Foods – Kimchi/Kimchee

Kimchi, also spelled gimchi or kimchee, (as defined on wikipedia) is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings, most commonly referring to the spicy baechu variety. Kimchi is the most common Korean banchan, or side dish, eaten with rice along with other banchan dishes. Kimchi is also a common ingredient and combined with other ingredients to make dishes such as kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) and kimchi fried rice.

It is a fiery dish that acts as the ultimate pickle. I love going out for Korean food just for the Kimchi. I can eat it by the bowlfuls. No trip to Korean BBQ is compete with out a big bowl of kimchi to eat along side the perfectly seasoned meats and fish.

If you ever get a chance to try it, I recommend that you do. You won’t be disappointed.

Recipe - Thai Basil Fried Rice

Thai Basil Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS

2 cups - Cold, cooked rice
1-2 tbsp - Garlic (minced)
1-3 tsp - Fresh red chilies (finely chopped)
3/4 cup – Chopped red, green, and yellow peppers
2 tbsp – Chopped onion
2 tbsp - Light soy sauce
1/2 tsp - black pepper
50 gm - Chopped chicken or pork or beef or shrimp
2 tbsp - Peanut oil
1 handful - Thai basil leaves
(Feel free to add more veggies or different combinations of meats and veggies to this dish. It's very flexible.)

DIRECTIONS

Heat a wok till the surface is almost smoking. Then add the oil and spread it around till it coats the surface evenly.
Temporarily move the wok off the heat and the add the garlic and chillies, then stir for about 10 seconds.
Then add the peppers, onion, and shrimp or meat.
Move the wok back to the high heat, add two pinches each of salt and pepper and toss around for another 30 seconds.
Add the rice to the pan, crumbling any big pieces to ensure they're all separate.
Toss the rice and the veggies well and keep stirring for another minute or two so that the rice grains are properly coated with the oil.
Then add the light soy sauce.
Stir the mixture around again for another minute. Then add the basil leaves into the rice.
Stir the rice and basil mixture in the wok for another minute, then take it off the heat and serve.

Kiddie Recipes

My niece is 6, and she likes to help me out in the kitchen. But I am constantly freaking out because she is getting too close to the hot oven, or the knives or something. So I found these recipes where she gets to be in charge of all the ‘cooking’.

Graham sandwiches.

Spread half a graham cracker with low-fat cream cheese; top with a little raspberry fruit puree (or whatever fruit puree you like) and the other cracker half. Yummy!

Creepy-crawley crackers.

Spread peanut butter between two round whole-wheat crackers, add pretzel sticks for legs and raisins for eyes, and you've got one fun, spidery snack.

Breakfast Recipe - Breakfast tacos.

Breakfast tacos.
I love to make these on Saturdays right before we head out the door. They really easy to make and very versatile. You could throw in just about anything that you like and they taste great. I like to scramble the eggs with the salsa, it makes it taste extra delish!

Ingredients
Scrambled eggs
Whole wheat tortillas
Low fat shredded cheese
Sour cream
Salsa

Directions
Scramble eggs to your liking.
Spoon scrambled eggs into warm whole-wheat tortillas, top with shredded low-fat cheese, a dollop of low-fat yogurt or sour cream, and salsa.

Breakfast Recipe - Oatmeal cookie pancakes.

Oatmeal cookie pancakes.

Kids love these and they are fairly easy to make. I cheat and use the just add water pancake batter, but you can make the pancake batter from scratch if you want.

Ingredients
Pancake batter
Oats, raisins, chopped walnuts
Brown sugar
Cinnamon

Directions
To regular pancake batter, add oats, raisins, chopped walnuts, cinnamon and a bit of brown sugar.
Pour into fun shapes like snowmen, Mickey Mouse, or turtles and serve warm with syrup.

Smells yummy *drool*

Someone ordered in lunch, smells like French fries, and it smells delicious! I wasn’t very hungry before, but now I am starving and I don’t think that my salad is going to cut it. So as I sit here quietly salivating at the good stuff this chickie is eating at her desk, I got to thinking about smelly stuff that you shouldn’t be eating at your desk. Don’t get me wrong I have no issues with people eating as they work (heck I do it all the time) I do have issues with certain foods though.

Onion buns – these harmless little buns carry a big smell, especially when you warm them up. These should be enjoyed outside of your cubicle, and maybe outdoors.

Boiled eggs – In any form these are stinky. Please don’t subject me to the smell, I am not saying that they shouldn’t be enjoyed, just please enjoy them in wide open spaces.

Steamed or boiled Broccoli - These bad boys are super healthy, and doctors recommend that you eat broccoli quite frequently. But please do so near an open window.

Fish – another good for you food. Most fish is full of omega 3’s & 6’s, heck it even makes your hair shiny, but it should be eaten on the patio.

As you can see it’s a relatively short list. So bon appetite folks, I am off to lunch!