You scream. I scream, we all scream for Kimchi!

Today I had the pleasure of spending the day with my friend's mom, and she taught me how to make kimchi. Kimchi is a flavor similar to pickling but is fermented instead. Because it does not involve heat, the cabbage retains its crunch. In a word, it can be described as delicious!

I was first exposed to kimchi when I had bulgogi fries, which is a Korean BBQ beef dish served over french fries with kimchi and a creamy sirachi sauce. However, kimchi is delicious in all kinds of applications or on its own, but no matter what the application, I prefer mine cold.

Mrs. E took me out shopping for ingredients. We went to the Asian market and got a head of napa cabbage that was about the size and weight of a 5 pound bag of sugar. We also got a good size ginger root, head of garlic, and about 5 small chilli peppers.

Mrs. E told me about how she learned to make kimchi and how she had a special wooden bowl that she had been using for years . Even though the bowl had broken, she still kept it. To me, is what traditional foods are all about: telling a story She was also careful to explain to me that there is no real recipe, it is all about taste and preference.

To start, we took two bowls: one for the leafy part of the cabbage and the other for the stalk portion.The reason that they are separated is because stalks will take more salt and time in the next part. Take the cabbage and remove all of the loose leaves. Starting with the stalk, cut on a diagonal to get 0.25-0.5" until you reach the leafy part, then cut the leaf down the stem, stack on top of one another and continue down the diagonal in 1-1.5" pieces. Make sure to separate into respective bowls. Quarter the remaining cabbage, remove any brown core and cut on a diagonal width-wise starting at the leafy end. Once you get to the stems, cut lengthwise.

Bowls of cabbage leaves and stalks

In a non-reactive bowl, layer cabbage leaves with standard table salt, then toss to coat. Repeat the same with the stems, but this time use a bit more salt. Don't worry about over salting because you'll rinsing before the final step. Remember to toss each bowl regularly to ensure that it is uniformly coated.

While that is brining, peel and slice ginger and all cloves of garlic in the head. Place in a mortar and use the pestle to grind up. 

Once the it has been smashed up, add the chilli peppers and continue to grind until everything is in small, uniform pieces.

  

Add about 1/4c brown sugar and 1/8c of paprika. Mix well.

Note: Paprika is optional but it keeps the appearance appetizing and reduces browning.

Add 1/2 to 3/4c of white vinegar. Set the sauce aside to marinate. 

Mixture will be mostly uniform in size and soupy

You can combine the leaves and stems at this point, tossing well.

Let sit for several hours until wilted.

Notice that cabbage has wilted and has reduced in size nearly half
and there is quite a bit of water in the bag. 

Drain liquid and place cabbage in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Toss and let sit for 5 minutes. Squeeze the water out and transfer to another clean bowl. Test a piece of cabbage. You want it to taste salty but not overcome the palate. 

Rinsing cabbage on the left and squeeze out on the right.
Look how crunchy it is!

Taste sauce and make adjustments if necessary. You can add more chilli or brown sugar or even fish sauce. Then add sauce and toss until well covered. Transfer to non-reactive containers. Make sure to pack down because it will shrink.

You can enjoy right away or wait or it to ferment a couple days out on the counter then store in the fridge. Please note that the more the mixture ferments, the more likely it is too look puffy or bubble up when opened. This is natural and all a matter of preference. 

The moral to this food journey: good food is like a song.

It has meaning; it can be simple, yet complex; and made with love.

Simply, Splendid Salsa

This reason is not any different from any other salsa that you will find on the web but I figured that I would share in case no one realized just how easy it was to make salsa!

Salsa:
2-3 medium sized ripe, but firm tomatoes, diced (I do not seed them but feel free to do so)
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 c chopped, fresh cilantro
1-2 sliced of pickled jalenapnoes
1 small lime, juiced
salt

1. Place chopped tomatoes in a bowl and sprinkle with salt then let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients;
2. Drain off most of the liquid from the tomatoes, add remaining ingredients (including lime zest but be careful not to add too much because it will make it bitter).

If you can help yourself, this is best if you wait about 15 minutes to give the flavors time to meld. However, no one will hold it against you if you can't because this stuff is pretty amazing and I have actually eaten this as a meal with some chips, but also goes really well with poached eggs or tacos.

Poached egg with lime hollandaise sauce and fresh salsa

Enjoy!

Lentil Medley

I only recently had lentils for the first time. Though I do not eat them often, they make a great versatile filler to almost any meal. This dish can either be served as a side or a main dish and goes together quickly and spends most of its time simmering.

• 2TB safflower oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion,chopped
• 2c carrots, chopped
• 1c uncooked lentils
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 2c veggie stock
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 TB olive oil

1. Heat safflower oil over medium heat then add garlic and onion. Continue to heat until fragrant.
2. Add carrots and  cook until tender. Add lentils and stir until coated. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetable stock, tomatoes and kale. Let cook until kale starts to wilt. Add pepper and bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for about 30-45 minutes. Stirring occasionally. 
4. When lentils are almost tender, remove cover and increase heat and continue to cook until liquid is mostly evaporated. 
5. Remove from heat and let sit for 5minutes. Add lemon juice and oil, toss and enjoy! 

Don't worry if you have leftovers, these are the perfect addition to salads, soups and wraps! 

Parsnip "Fries"

I know that I have been slacking on posting. We are actually in the process of simultaneously packing one house up and unpacking at our new house. This is in an attempt to make the process less stressful, but I do not think that it is working.

The thing that sucks the most is that my backing/cooking stuff is divided between to places and it has made it difficult to "create." I was determined to cook stuff this week and decided with the recent warm weather, nothing would taste better than burger and "fries." However, I have a weird phobia of frying foods and I am not really a fan of potato fries, unless they're sweet potatoes. I happened to have parsnips and I thought "why not."

They are technically just roasted parsnips in the shape of french fries but they're freaking good either way. :-)

• 1# of parsnips, peeled and cut into french fry sized strips
• 1/8c EVOO
• 1TB parsley, dried
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/3c veggie stock
• 2TB garlic, minced
•  1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 4TB butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toss parsnips in EVOO, salt, pepper and parsley. Place in a baking dish with a lid, add stock and bake covered until soft and all the liquid is absorbed (25-45 minutes). 
3. Combine butter, garlic, and scallions. When parsnips are done, toss with butter mixture and place back in the oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes. 
4. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes with the cover on. 

These take a little while to make but they are so worth it!