Cucumber Kimchi(Oi Kimchi)

My friend Sonja is a bit obsessed with South Korea and everything pertaining to the country.  Her two oldest daughter's have served as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in South Korea so Sonja has been to South Korea and has valid reasons for her obsession.  After having a plethora of cucumbers from my garden and an urgent need to preserve them before my family went on a Summer trip to New York City I decided to indulge my friend's love of Korean food and make cucumber kimchi.  She was able to help me and provide the Korean chili powder for this easy recipe.  I'm not familiar with kimchi at all so this was a new experience for me, but I love making food for my friends.  Hopefully a few more Korean recipes are on the horizon for my family. 

 My cucumber kimchi, its pretty to look at isn't it?

Ingredients:

1 lb Pickling Cucumbers (3 Lebanese cucumbers)
3 Green Onions
2 tablespoon Gochugaru (korean chili flakes, found online or at Asian Market)
1 tablespoon grated Gala Apple
1 tablespoon White Sugar
1/2 tablespoon Fish Sauce
1/2 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
2 cloves of Garlic
1/2" piece of Ginger
Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

I don't know why I included the white onion in my photo, it is not in the recipe.  It was photobombing my recipe photo.  

 Cut cucumber into 2 inch long by 1/2 inch wide pieces, removing seeds if they are present.  

Sprinkle salt onto cumbers in a sieve.  I have some Himalayan Pink Salt I used but that isn't a requirement, sea salt will work just as well.  Allow to drain in sink for 20 minutes.  This will help remove excess water from the cucumbers and change the cellular wall inside the cucumber so the spice mixture will penetrate more.  

 Slice green onions width wise to create long skinny pieces then lengthwise into 4 inch matchsticks.   

 This is the Fish Sauce I forgot to include in my original photo.

Grate the peeled ginger and garlic with a microplane.  This is one of my favorite tools, it creates a delicate grate without all the work of cutting.  Dice one quarter of the apple flesh into small pieces.

Combine the Gochugaru, onions, garlic, ginger, and apple in a metal bowl.  Stir until a paste is formed.

Brush the salt off the cucumber and add them to the paste and stir until combined.  Finally sprinkle the sesame seeds on the mixture.  Transfer to lidded mason jars and let set for 12-24 hours at room temperature on your counter.  Refrigerate after curing.  The cucumber kimchi may be eaten after refrigerated. 

Enjoy!

Cucumber Kimchi(Oi Kimchi)

Ingredients:

1 lb Pickling Cucumbers (3 Lebanese cucumbers)
3 Green Onions
2 tablespoon Gochugaru (korean chili flakes, found online or at Asian Market)
1 tablespoon grated Gala Apple
1 tablespoon White Sugar
1/2 tablespoon Fish Sauce
1/2 tablespoon Sesame Seeds
2 cloves of Garlic
1/2" piece of Ginger
Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt

Process:

Cut cucumber into 2 inch long by 1/2 inch wide pieces, removing seeds if they are present.  

Sprinkle salt onto cumbers in a sieve.  Allow to drain in sink for 20 minutes.  This will help remove excess water from the cucumbers and change the cellular wall inside the cucumber so the spice mixture will penetrate more.  

Slice green onions width wise to create long skinny pieces then lengthwise into 4 inch matchsticks.   

Grate the peeled ginger and garlic with a microplane.  This is one of my favorite tools, it creates a delicate grate without all the work of cutting.  Dice one quarter of the apple flesh into small pieces.

Combine the Gochugaru, onions, garlic, ginger, and apple in a metal bowl.  Stir until a paste is formed.

Brush the salt off the cucumber and add them to the paste and stir until combined.  Finally sprinkle the sesame seeds on the mixture.  Transfer to lidded mason jars and let set for 12-24 hours at room temperature on your counter.  Refrigerate after curing.  The cucumber kimchi may be eaten after refrigerated. 

Enjoy!

Crunchy Beef Tacos

My family participates in Taco Tuesday.  We loved the Lego Movie, as you can tell.  Good thing is, we're eating tacos on Tuesday for dinner and not trying to Kragle each other.  Tacos are one of my favorite foods.  Since Tuesday is taco night, I try to make a different type of taco each week to spice up our menu.  On a particularly busy night, a couple weeks ago, I introduced my children to Taco Bell's family pack of tacos with both soft and crunchy.  Well needless to say, the crunchy tacos were a hit.  Last week I tried to make my own crunchy tacos, and well they weren't as big of a hit.  This week I decided to try and re-create the Taco Bell flavor, minus the weird ingredients that I knew had to be in those tacos.  While researching the ingredients in Taco Bell crunchy beef tacos, I learned the main ingredients, the normal ones and decided I could use those as a starting point.  Here before you, for your viewing and maybe your eating pleasure, is the recipe I came up with.  These tacos were indeed delicious.  I actually used fresh ingredients and no dried or powdered substitutes.

 Oh my goodness, are those some beautiful looking tacos.

Ingredients:

12 Crunchy Taco Shells
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 1/2 cups Whole Canned Tomatoes in Sauce
1/4 cup Water
1/4 Yellow Onion
2 Dried Chili Peppers
4 Baby Bella Mushrooms (You can substitute 1/2 beef bouillon cube)
1 clove of Garlic
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder
1 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 Tomato
1 cup shredded White Sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese

Using a blender blend the tomatoes, cocoa powder, onion, garlic, mushrooms, chili peppers,
and water until smooth.  I used my trusty Vita-Mix and created a very smooth sauce.
A little back story to adding the mushrooms.  Mushrooms are high in the molecule
responsible for the umami flavor or beefy flavor.  I used the mushrooms as a natural way to
 boost the beefy flavor of the taco meat.  If you want to, you could use bouillon instead.
Taco Bell uses autolyzed yeast to add beefy flavor.

 Smooth sauce, see how pretty it is?

Pour sauce into small sauce pan over high heat.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  

Dice the tomatoes, cut the lettuce, and shred the cheese.  These will be your taco toppings.
You may also add sour cream and salsa.  We were out of sour cream.  I know, for shame.  

Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium high heat.  If you have a wok spatula, use that, or a
flat wooden spatula.  Cook and break up the beef into small chunks just until cooked through. 

Add the sauce and stir to combine.  Simmer for another five minutes to allow
flavors to come together.

I heated up our taco shells on a small cookie sheet in our toaster oven on low heat
before serving the tacos.  

Spoon some of the beef mixture into the shell and spread some lettuce tomatoes and
cheese on the beef.  Top with Sour Cream and salsa.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Beef Tacos

Ingredients:

12 Crunchy Taco Shells
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 1/2 cups Whole Canned Tomatoes in Sauce
1/4 cup Water
1/4 Yellow Onion
2 Dried Chili Peppers
4 Baby Bella Mushrooms ( You can substitute 1/2 beef bouillon cube)
1 clove of Garlic
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder
1 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 Tomato
1 cup shredded White Sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese

Process:

Using a blender blend the tomatoes, cocoa powder, onion, garlic, mushrooms, chili peppers, and water until smooth.  I used my trusty Vita-Mix and created a very smooth sauce.

Pour sauce into small sauce pan over high heat.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  

Dice the tomatoes, cut the lettuce, and shred the cheese.  These will be your taco toppings.  You may also add sour cream and salsa.  

Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium high heat.  If you have a wok spatula, use that, or a flat wooden spatula.  Cook and break up the beef into small chunks just until cooked through. 

Add the sauce and stir to combine.  Simmer for another five minutes to allow flavors to come together.

You can also heat up the taco shells on a small cookie sheet, in a toaster oven or an oven on low heat, before serving the tacos.  

Spoon some of the beef mixture into the shell and spread some lettuce tomatoes and cheese on the beef.  Top with Sour Cream and salsa.

Enjoy!

Swiss Steak With Root Vegetables

The Swiss Steak recipe I shared with Julia and the NY Daily News I shared earlier was my second incarnation of Swiss Steak.  This recipe is similar to my mom's version of Swiss Steak and it is very good as well.  Do you like an all in the pot recipe?  You might like this incarnation of Swiss Steak.  

This mess of meat and vegetables reminds me of my mom more than my own reincarnation.

Ingredients

2 lbs Chuck Roast
1 Yellow Onion
4 cloves Garlic
4 large Carrots
2 lbs Potatoes
2 pints Brown Mushrooms
3 cups Stewed Tomatoes (San Martzano if you can find them)
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Flour
Olive Oil

 Cut chuck into large chunks, dredge in the flour.

Pour oil into a preheated 12 inch skillet, enough to just cover the bottom.  Cook chuck over medium heat until browned on both sides.

 Peel carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Rinse mushrooms.  Cut potatoes and carrots into large chunks.

Place carrots, potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms in a pressure cooker pot or slow cooker.  Place chuck on the vegetables. Pour tomatoes and cream on met and vegetables. 

Cook everything in a pressure cooker on high for 55 minutes or low for 6 hours in a slow cooker.

Enjoy!

Swiss Steak With Root Vegetables

Ingredients

2 lbs Chuck Roast
1 Yellow Onion
4 cloves Garlic
4 large Carrots
2 lbs Potatoes
2 pints Brown Mushrooms
3 cups Stewed Tomatoes (San Martzano if you can find them)
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 cup Flour
Olive Oil

Process

Cut chuck into large chunks, dredge in the flour.

Pour oil into a preheated 12 inch skillet, enough to just cover the bottom.  Cook chuck over medium heat until browned on both sides.

Peel carrots, potatoes, and garlic. Rinse mushrooms.  Cut potatoes and carrots into large chunks.

Place carrots, potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms in a pressure cooker pot or slow cooker.  Place chuck on the vegetables. Pour tomatoes and cream on met and vegetables. 

Cook everything in a pressure cooker on high for 55 minutes or low for 6 hours in a slow cooker.

Enjoy!

Swiss Steak

Back in January Julia Xanthos from the NY Daily News came to our home.  Julia had found this blog/website and was asking if I had a recipe I would share in a food feature.  With my three daughter's we shared the process of making Swiss Steak and Julia filmed us.  She asked a lot of questions for her article and took photos of the recipe process as well.  Today my recipe was featured on EthNYC Eats, isn't that so cool!  Maybe being the mom of five children makes my recipe an especially good choice for Mother's Day.  Who knows why my recipe was chosen, but the video turned out really well.  If you get a chance check out my recipe here.   The video is below as well.

Spring Salad Balsamic Vinaigrette

For my son's 5th birthday in December last year, I made a salad to go with the homemade pizza.  The salad was sort of like a salad my sister-in-law Kandi made for family holiday dinner's.  Our friend Carmen asked me for the recipe.  I told her I would be posting it, and here we are months later.  I'm sorry Carmen, this took way too long to post.  This salad even won over her husband Tom, go figure! If you happen to be like my friend Angela, and love salads, then this is for you. 

 If you like salad, and your into everything in your salad, this will fit the bill nicely.

Brown Sugar Pecans Ingredients

1 cup raw Pecans

3 tablespoons Butter

1/2 brown Sugar

 Place a medium size skillet over medium heat.  Add butter to pan and allow to melt.

 Add brown sugar to butter and stir.

 Allow butter and sugar to melt and bubble.

 Place pecans in pan with melted sugar.

Stir pecans until coated and shining.  Allow to cook for a couple of minutes.
Be careful they will burn.

Pour pecans on a piece of parchment paper on the counter to cool.  Break up when cool.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Ingredients

2 tablespoons Honey 
1 tablespoon Spicy Brown Mustard 
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed Black Pepper
1 large crushed Garlic Clove
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar 
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 Place all ingredients in a pint size mason jar with lid and ring screwed on.
Shake the jar to combine.

Spring Salad Balsamic Vinaigrette Ingredients

Brown Sugar Pecans
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Spring Salad Greens
1/2 cup dried Cranberries
1/4 cup Feta

Rinse and dry spring salad and place in a large bowl.  Add pecans, cranberries,
and crumbled feta.  Toss with Balsamic Vinaigrette.   Add as much you prefer.

Serve with pizza or any other entree.  

Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Pecans Ingredients

1 cup raw Pecans

3 tablespoons Butter

1/2 brown Sugar

Process

Place a medium size skillet over medium heat.  Add butter to pan and allow to melt.

Add brown sugar to butter and stir.

Allow butter and sugar to melt and bubble.

Place pecans in pan with melted sugar.

Stir pecans until coated and shining.  Allow to cook for a couple of minutes.  Be careful they will burn.

Pour pecans on a piece of parchment paper on the counter to cool.  Break up when cool.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Ingredients

2 tablespoons Honey 
1 tablespoon Spicy Brown Mustard 
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed Black Pepper
1 large crushed Garlic Clove
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar 
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Process

Place all ingredients in a pint size mason jar with lid and ring screwed on.  Shake the jar to combine.

Spring Salad Balsamic Vinaigrette Ingredients

Brown Sugar Pecans
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Spring Salad Greens
1/2 cup dried Cranberries
1/4 cup Feta

Rinse and dry spring salad and place in a large bowl.  Add pecans, cranberries, and crumbled feta.

Toss with Balsamic Vinaigrette, add as much you prefer. Serve with favorite entree.

Enjoy!

Phở Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

Rememebr when I made Phở Bò (Beef Pho)? This is a chicken version, and I've made it as simple as possible.  We all like simple right?  This was our dinner shared with two bachelor friends. Our gentlemen guests were so excited to have a home cooked meal and were completely impressed.  It has been cloudy and cold, so soup was wonderful to come home to.  Plus when I went to pick up our friends, I was on the wrong side of the street.  Anywhere else this woudn't be a big deal, but next to the Queensboro Plaza Train Station, it meant a whole lot of lanes and barriers, dividers, and no way to cross.  I ended up turning too soon and going across the bridge to Manhattan and coming back to Queens.  Thankfully, we finally made it back to the apartment and a wonderful wafting smell from my pressure cooker where the broth was cooking.  I highly reccomend making broth of any kind in a pressure cooker.  The results are always fabulous and fast.

 This is a steaming hot bowl of flavor beyond any chicken soup you have ever experienced.

Ingredients:

4-5 pound Rotisserie Chicken (Costco really has the best price and sized chicken)
2 large bunch of Green Onions
7 large cloves of garlic
3 pieces of Dried Ginger
Roots and Stems of 1 bunch of Cilantro
2 whole star anise
12 cloves
2″x1″ piece of Cassia Bark (a.k.a. Saigon Cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
80g Light Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt

1 Jalapeno

1 Lime

Water

Japanese Noodles or Rice Noodles

Remove chicken from bones.  Place chicken bones in pressure cooker pot with 1 whole bunch
 of green onions, 1/2 bunch of Cilantro, star anise, cloves, cassia bark, black pepper, sugar, fish
sauce, salt, and add water to the top of the fill line for your pressure cooker (mine is 16 cups).  

Set pressure cooker to high for one hour.

Strain broth through a fine mesh sieve into a large stock pot.

Bring to a boil.  We used Japanese noodles, but you can use traditional rice noodles if you want.  Cook noodles in broth according to package instrucitions.

Slice jalapeno thinly.  Slice remaining bunch of green onions.  Remove remaining cilantro
from stems.  Place all ingredients aside on a serving plate.  Cut chicken or shred chicken into bite
size pieces and serve next to the broth and plate of vegetables.

This is a build your own Phở Gà bowl.  Add ingredients then the noodles and broth over top.
We really had fun building our soup bowls and customizing how much of each ingredient.

Enjoy!

Phở Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)

Printable recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

4-5 pound Rotisserie Chicken (Costco really has the best price and sized chicken)
2 large bunch of Green Onions
7 large cloves of Garlic
3 pieces of Dried Ginger
Roots and Stems of 1 bunch of Cilantro
2 whole Star Anise
12 Cloves
2″x1″ piece of Cassia Bark (a.k.a. Saigon Cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
80g Light Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt

1 Jalapeno

1 Lime

Water

Japanese Noodles or Rice Noodles

Process:

Remove chicken from bones.  Place chicken bones in pressure cooker pot with 1 whole bunch of green onions, 1/2 bunch of Cilantro, star anise, cloves, cassia bark, black pepper, sugar, fish sauce, salt, and add water to the top of the fill line for your pressure cooker (mine is 16 cups).  

Set pressure cooker to high for one hour.

Strain broth through a fine mesh sieve into a large stock pot.

Bring to a boil.  We used Japanese noodles, but you can use traditional rice noodles if you want. Cook noodles in broth according to package instrucitions.

Slice jalapeno thinly.  Slice remaining bunch of green onions.  Remove remaining cilantro from stems.  Place all ingredients aside on a serving plate.  Cut chicken or shred chicken into bite size pieces and serve next to the broth and plate of vegetables.

This is a build your own Phở Gà bowl.  Add ingredients then the noodles and broth over top.  

Enjoy!

Ham & Bean Soup

Maybe it's the nesting instinct, or maybe pregnancy cravings.  Either way I wanted to make this recipe. Most of us grew up with a certain red label soup brand made famous by a certain artist.  One of the soups I enjoyed from those red label cans was Ham and Bean soup.  I don't buy canned soup anymore, so that left me with my all time favorite cooking.  Taking recipes that are traditionally pre-packaged and canned that I grew up with, and making them the old fashioned way. This way is so thrilling for me.  You don't have to agree with me, it's okay.  This is a simple recipe, truthfully, so why wouldn't you try it at least once.

All that ham and beans, oh my goodness yes!

Warning, IGNORE the potatoes they were photo bombing.

Ingredients:

1 lb. soaked/brined Navy Beans

1 large Yellow Onion

1 large Carrot

4 cloves Garlic

2 lbs. Smoked Sliced Ham

Water

Peel and dice onion and carrot.

Cut ham into one inch pieces.

Place all ingredients in pressure cooker pan, add enough water to have 13 cups.

Set pressure cooker on high for 30 minutes.   Allow pressure to naturally release.

Enjoy!

Ham & Bean Soup

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

1 lb. soaked/brined Navy Beans
1 large Yellow Onion
1 large Carrot
4 cloves Garlic
2 lbs. Smoked Sliced Ham
Water

Process:

Peel and dice onion and carrot.

Cut ham into one inch pieces.

Place all ingredients in pressure cooker pan, add enough water to have 13 cups.

Set pressure cooker on high for 30 minutes, allow pressure to naturally release.

Enjoy!