Gochujang packs a funky, complex punch with salty, smoky and spicy notes. It is a red chili paste which is fermented. I don’t always have the time to make it traditionally, which may require a trip to a speciality grocer or natural foods store and a couple of months to ferment. The weather must not be too hot, which is one reason the making of traditional Gochujang is done in Springtime.
I’m including a short cut recipe here, dynamite on rice bowls and in stews. I’m also including an image of a store bought version that I consider VERY GOOD!
Using it requires you to mix it with vinegar, sugar or Maple, water and Tamari , which is the best way to add the right amount to your rice bowl.
Here’s how it’s done. This is a Vegan recipe and offers a few shortcuts, if you don’t have 2 months to wait for a true ferment:
INGREDIENTS:
MISO PASTE
MAPLE SYRUP
KOREAN CHILI FLAKES
TAMARI SOY SAUCE
A HEAD OF GARLIC, minced
Mix them all together and play with the ratio of sweet, salty, hot and garlicy.
Give it a try and you may be so impressed that you decide to try making it the old fashioned way!
So, it’s been a week since my heart attack. The heart attack that happened after I suggested to my doctor that I needed a baseline stress test. Actually happened right on the tread mill! My own suggestion and I pushed to move it forward at least 2 months. Now please I said, not scheduled for summer. It’s been a good thing.
This soup has been a comforting and nurturing presence for me as I rebuild my strenght. It’s also wonderfully appropriate for April’s cool and rainy days.
I call this AMERICA’S RAMEN BOWL! Classic chicken noodle .
I always start with a very good chicken, the size doesn’t matter, from the natural foods store, rinse it and cover it with spring water in a big pot.
Add fresh bay, garlic aplenty, a rough chopped onion, carrot and celery. Salt and pepper. Stew it slowly, letting the bird perfume the house. When it temps as done, let the pot cool, then lift the bird out to pick the poached meat off. Skim the fat off the top .I save all the bones but not skin.
Set aside the meat, you’ll likely have extra so made chicken salad or tetrazzini . I return the bones to the pot with the stock, you can roast them in the oven first, if you like a deeper flavor in the broth. Add additional stock if needed to cover the carcass. Add 2 tbs. of vinegar and let the pot come to a gentle boil. Let it cook for hours for a nourishing bone broth and to cook off the vinegar taste. Vinegar pulls lots of nutrients from the bones.
Once you strain off the stock, set it aside. Disgard the bones. Chop garlic, onion, celery and carrots to return to the pot. No oil is needed. Bring to a simmer while you chop the meat you’ll return to the soup pot. Add that in and season with salt and pepper. I like a bit of turmeric to make it golden.
I use broken linguini noodles for the soup and cook them separately, adding them back in as I reheat the soup. I put in some starchy water too to build the broth. This keeps the noodles from getting too soft.
To finish each serving, I have lots of freshly chopped parsley for the top, to boost the goodness.
So, eat well, listen to your doctor, but also, listen to yourself. You’re more tuned in than you may think! And you’re your own best advocate.
Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish, typically a supporting role for the traditional corned beef and cabbage meal often cooked at Saint Patrick’s Day.
It’s dish of creamy mashed potato and a cooked, chopped greens. My preference is kale. This dish can be elevated by the addition of extra cream and/or butter and sometimes bacon. To change it up, you can sub in some parsnip for part of the potatoes, adding sweetness. I like adding chives at the very end. If you look hard enough in your winter garden, you may actually see a few beginning to sprout, if your chives grow in a protected and sunny spot. Chives are dependably one the of the first things a spring garden can offer.
The recipe is forgiving, so here we go, serves six
INGREDIENTS
3 pounds russet potato, peeled, rough chop
3 packed cups of chopped kale
Salt and pepper , to taste
1 cup chopped scallion
2/3 stick of butter
1 1/2 cups of light cream
Chives, crispy bacon are optional garnishes
METHOD
Boil the potatoes, drain. Mash with cream and seasonings. Set aside.
Melt butter in a pan , add and cook the greens and scallion with a bit of salt, tossing until tender and bright.
Add the greens mixture to the mashed potato, stirring well. Adjust the seasonings and add a bit more cream for proper consistency.
Turn into a covered casserole and keep warm. Top with chopped chives at the last moment. You’ll feel the luck of the Irish after trying this dish!
The name means “re-boiled”, the flavor…out of this world. On the heartiness level, we give it a 10. It is essentially a country vegetable soup.
While preparing a pot of this luscious soup requires a bit of time ,gathering and chopping, the rewards are well worth it.
Nutritious, satisfying and flavorful, you can steer the result into the vegetarian sector or make it with a meaty beef soup bone.
Traditionally served over a slice of Tuscan bread, remember that this soup is largely vegetable so it doesn’t need to cook forever. If you choose to use a beef bone, cook that ahead to break it down and to make your bone broth so the rest of the ingredients don’t suffer. Did you know that boiling bones with a bit of vinegar draw out the bone essence? And the flavor cooks off, so no worries!
Here are my list of ingredient contenders : lots of garlic, minced, onion, celery, carrot chopped. Rutabega, cabbage and celeriac , medium dice. You’ll add a big can of chopped tomato and fresh herbs like basil and parsley just at the end. In the summer only I might add corn, okra and zucchini. A bit flourish of good olive oil in the bowl, just before serving and a smattering of herbs. That’s it. It’s not a recipe, but a creation, so feel unfettered! If you choose MISO, remember, we never cook it. Think of it like bouillon. It adds flavor and aminos, it’s a live food that gets diminished by heat , so swirl it in last, like salt.
POUR INGREDIENTS INTO A JAR AND MIX WELL. STIR A SECOND TIME.
COVER AND REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT
CHOOSE A SEASONAL TOPPING LIKE FRESH BERRIES IN THE SUMMER OR A FRUIT COMPOTE IN THE WINTER
TOP OFF YOUR PUDDING AND ENJOY IT COLD.
It’s a New Year! Try something new and maybe even plant based. Chia is loaded with fiber and smart fats, low in cholesterol . Your body will thank you after the holiday feasting!
Marshmallows and chocolate are a match made in heaven.
One way to elevate the experience for winter is to make them yourselves and add a few to that steaming mug of goodness you’ll want for winter warmth.
Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1/2 tsp. White vinegar
1/3 cup agave or honey
1/2 cup water (for syrup)
1/2 cup water (for blooming the gelatin)
2 TB gelatin powder
GOOD Vanilla to taste
Instructions:
Bloom the gelation.
Place 1/2 cup water in mixing bowl.Sprinkle in gelation and stir to moisten. Set aside.
Make the syrup:
Place sugar and remaining water in a pot. Add vinegar honey, stirring gently. Heat and swirl until the sugar dissolves.
Bring to a boil , cover and simmer for 2 minutes . After 2 minutes check the pan for any sugar crystals. If none, clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
Cook until the temp reads 242 degrees. (hard ball stage)
Prep the pan:
Using butter, grease a 9 by 9 inch pan.
Set aside.
Mixing:
Place the bloomed gelatin in a mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed for a minute to break it up.
Add a pinch of salt.
While the machine is mixing on medium to med low, slowly and carefully stream in the sugar syrup-, adding along the wall of the bowl (not on the moving whisk!)
The heat of the syrup should dissolve all the gelation.
Increase mixer speed to high for 5 minutes. You should have a fluffy, glossy mixture similar to meringue. Add the vanilla and mix another minute.
Getting it into a pan:
Spread into the prepared, buttered pan while still warm, using an offset spatula to smooth down the top.
Curing:
Let the marshmallow set for 6 hours at room temperature.
After that, turn the marshmallow out onto a counter to cut., any size you like. I choose a 1 by 1 inch square, and use a buttered knife for a clean cut.
Dusting:
Use cornstarch to dust them with.
These keep for quite a while in an airtight container….as long as there are no children in the house!
We’ve struggled through October’s “Pumpkin Spice” moments, eaten muffins, cake, quick breads and coffee flavored like pumpkin.
Let’s give things a savory twist just in time for Thanksgiving. How about a silky, rich Pumpkin Bisque, scented with local cider and freshly ground nutmeg?
A bit of white wine, or coconut milk rich, homemade chicken stock and plenty of roasted pumpkin rounds things out.
I use celeriac in mine, which is celery root and usually found in a natural foods store at this time of year.
Puree all with a stick blender and you get something wonderfully satisfying and comforting. Easily makes a meal and also freezes well.
Another of this recipe’s virtues is that it can easily be made Vegetarian or Vegan. A show stopping first course served individually in a small pumpkin for Thanksgiving dinner!
CLASSIC PUMPKIN BISQUE/ SERVES 6-8
INGREDIENTS
1/4 C. OLIVE OIL
1 CUP CHOPPED VIDELIA ONION
1 SMALL BALL OF PEELED, DICED CELERY ROOT
1 TB. MINCED GARLIC
1 # PUMPKIN PUREE
1 QT. RICH CHICKEN STOCK, a splash each of white wine and cider
1/2 C. HEAVY CREAM OR COCONUT CREAM
MIX OF WARMING SPICES, TO YOUR TASTE: FRESH GINGER, FRESH GRATED NUTMEG, CURRY POWDER, S AND P
METHOD
HEAT OLIVE OIL IN A LARGE POT WITH A HEAVY BOTTOM. ADD CELERY ROOT AND ONION, PINCH OF SALT.STIR, COOK TILL TENDER
ADD GARLIC AND SPICES. COOK A COUPLE OF MINUTES LONGER.
POUR IN THE CIDER, WHITE WINE AND CHICKEN BROTH. ADD THE PUMPKIN PUREE. STIR UNTIL WELL COMBINED. BRING TO A SIMMER, STIRRING. THEN LOWER HEAT AND COOK COVERED, PERHAQPS 20 MINUTES.
USE AN IMMERSION BLENDER TO MAKE THE SOUP SMOOTH. ADD CREAM OR COCONUT CREAM TO FINISH AND STIR.
CHOPPED PARSLEY TO GARNISH …OR TRY Toasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin oil!
PRO TIP: Looks great when served in small individual pumpkins.
Imagine a double smoked pork chop, it’s fat crispy, the flesh succulent. Now imagine that bite with a drizzle of a reduction of star anise spiced cider reduction. Elevated. To be sure…and so easy. Bonus, it makes the house smell good and it’s actually easier than pie.
Here’s what I do :
Find a gallon of locally pressed apple cider
Empty it into a heavy bottomed kettle.
Add spices you like, I use star anise and allspice, 1 cinnamon stick. Maybe some lemon peel.
Let it simmer all day on a low flame.
When you get close to the bottom of the pot, now that’s the time you need to watch it. Do not let it scorch. I takes a practiced eye to get your syrup right. If you leave it too long, it gets stiff, like taffy. Just right and you’ll have a lovely syrup to drizzle judiciously over roast pork.
And BONUS if you happen upon juice containing a lot of natural pectin, once in a blue moon you’ll get Cider Jelly, which is heavenly on toast and impossible to find in speciality shoppes anymore.
Full of flavor and just natural sugar, it works for me!
It’s a wonderful moment in the garden and a great time to be cooking”all the things” you planted in June. But maybe like me, at this point you can’t eat one more cucumber or tomato?
I reach for one of the many gluten free brownie mixes you can find at the local market. Buy it. Bake it. Cool it. Then destroy it!
Directions:
Crumble the whole pan of brownies into a bowl and add a bit of decent rum. Mix it gently, until it will hold into a ball shape.
Make small 2 bite balls and set them aside.
In a separate small bowl, mix cinnamon powder with a small amount of chipotle powder ( you want just a hint of heat).
Toss the brownie-rum balls in the spice dust and set aside on wax paper.
These keep quite a while in a covered plastic container in the fridge, in a single layer is best.
These dessert snacks are surprisedly good, if a little surprising.
If you decide that you love the umami of fermented black garlic, the retail cost of it may scare you away. Why not make it at home? Just get ready for some smells!
Well, let’s cut to the chase. You’ll need a rice cooker. It’s an easy way to maintain the consistent temperature and humidity that fermenting garlic requires. It takes a week or more for the garlic’s flesh to become black, dense , sweet and chewy, similar to a date.
Although relatively new to the restaurant scene, black garlic has long been a staple in Asian kitchens.
If, in fact, you’re ready to try this….Google a detailed tutorial on the subject, and give heed to these tips from a pro ( who is not me):
Be certain you know the temperature of your rice cooker…or you may get char. The ideal range is around 150 degrees.
Seal in the moisture as best you can to attain that chewy texture, wrap the garlic heads in foil and also the top of the cooker.
Make it in an outbuilding or garage so your whole house doesn’t smell garlic-y!
So, now you’ve made it. How to use it? Think of it as a way to deepen the flavor if things you already make and love….pesto, chermoula or chimichurri sauce es…hummus, etc.
It tastes great and comes with a range of health benefits too!
Gochujang packs a funky, complex punch with salty, smoky and spicy notes. It is a red chili paste which is fermented. I don’t always have the time to make it traditionally, which may require a trip to a speciality grocer or natural foods store and a couple of months to ferment. The weather must not be too hot, which is one reason the making of traditional Gochujang is done in Springtime.
INGREDIENTS:
Instructions:
