Kimchi for all seasons

My husband has discovered that he loves kimchi. We ate at a Korean restaurant and it was the most memorable part of the meal. Since then, I bought a couple different brands of kimchi at the food co-op, and then someone there said, It’s nuts to buy this stuff when it is so easy to make.”  Really?  Yes, actually, if you can get your hands on the authentic “red pepper powder” which comes in various sizes of flake (we used the smaller flakes imported by Hansung Sikpoom Trading Corp), kosher salt, a good sized head of Napa cabbage, radishes of almost any description, onions, carrots, garlic, ginger, and brown rice flour, miso (or you can use the real fish sauce but we don’t), add slant-cut scallions, and you’re all set! We now dream of an authentic ceramic kimchi pot … but that’s another story.

It takes time to make kimchi. The vegetables salt soak for at least 4 hours, and then the whole thing gets put together and sits out for 24-48 hours (we’ve always done at least 48), with occasional checking for bubbling. THEN it sits in the refrigerator for as long as it takes for you to eat it up. We’ve kept the tale end of a batch for 5- 6 weeks and it still tastes great, but sometimes it doesn’t last even 3 weeks because we love to share it.

Here’s how we make our kimchi – and be advised that the pepper glows slowly as it ferments. One recipe called for 1/2 cup, another for 4 cups (yes, 4 cups) of red pepper powder. Some use two medium heads of Napa cabbage, we like to either use one big one or one medium and 1/2 of a different cabbage for texture. 

You will need 2 chunks of time: the first is about an hour to get the vegetables organized into their salt bath. The second is at least an hour for the rinsing out, making the pudding/sauce, preparing the additional ingredients and then assembling the kimchi in its fermentation container. Don’t plan to leave town while you are fermenting kimchi, because it is also critical that after the first 24 hours you do check on it. Depending upon how much head space it has in your fermentation container, it can bubble up quite a bit once it gets started, and you will need to open it and compress it down – perhaps sticking a chopstick into the sides along the inner edges to release the bubble build-up. Your house will begin to smell like a kimchi batch at this point. Stick it out for another 24 hours and you will have a marvelous kimchi for weeks to come. (You can dole it out into smaller jars with good lids to store it or give it to friends, or to eat up a jar at a meal and still keep the others closed.)

Equipment to have on hand:

A medium saucepan to make the “sauce/pudding?

A large bowl (big enough to hold everything)

A large wide baking pan (enamel, ceramic or glass is good) to salt the cabbage

A good sized wide serving bowl to salt the radish/carrot mix

A colander (draining rinsed veggies)

A whisk (stirring sauce)

A fermentation container that closes tightly – either a cookie jar or flour contaner type thing, a large pasta storage container or other glass or ceramic tightly lidded container (not plastic)

A good knife or two (I use one large chopper and one paring)

Long handled wooden spoon

GLOVES – you can use dishwashing gloves

Measuring cups (1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup)

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup Kosher salt

1 large head Napa cabbage

8-10 big red radishes or 1 good chunk Daikon or Korean radish

4-6 carrots

“Pudding” SAUCE:

3 cups water

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup sugar

Add to Sauce Before Adding Veggies:

1/3 cup Korean red pepper powder (you can adjust this to taste)

1 cup onion chopped finely (2-3 slices of large Vidalia or 1 medium sized regular)

1/2 cup smashed garlic, chopped roughly

1/4 cup finely chopped ginger

1 cup white miso – (1 tablespoon miso in 1 cup water)

6-8 scallions slivered slantwise

REMEMBER THAT AFTER PREPARING THE VEGETABLES, IT TAKES MINIMIMUM OF 4 HOURS OF SALTED SOAKING.

Preparing the veggies:

Rinse the cabbage well, cutting off the biggest part of the stem but leaving part of it to hold the leaves together. Slice the whole head in half LONGWISE, through the stem core so it opens into two parts like a book. This way you can rinse between the leaf layers. If it is a huge head, you can slice it one more time though NOT through the core so the 1/4 parts stay connected. Then spread the kosher salt between the layers, carefully getting inbetween the leaves and let this sit in a large pan for 2 hours. (Use about 1/2 cup salt)

Once you have the cabbage organized, wash and peel the radishes and carrots, slicing them any way you want to run into them in your kimchi. We have made little cubes, and we have sliced in rounds and slants… We like all of this, so make your own choices. Put these peeled pieces (it will be about 2-3 cups of each) into a wide bowl and sprinkle and toss with kosher salt. Let sit 2 hours as well. (Use about 1/8 cup salt)

IN 2 HOURS: you will turn the cabbage pieces and add a little salt in between the layers making sure to get to the parts that are less softened or not salted from the first side. Also turn and stir the carrots/radishes and add a little fresh salt. (Use 1/8 cup salt for all of this or less)  LET SIT ANOTHER 2 HOURS.

At some point you can make the pudding/sauce and leave it quietly cooling – OR you can do this in 4 hours and set the bowl in a sink or bowl full of cold water to cool it faster while you prepare the other materials that go into the mixture.

4 HOURS AFTER STARTING:

Put 1/2 cup brown rice flour (or use sweet rice flour if you can find it) in a saucepan with 3 cups water. Turn on medium heat and stir with the whisk, calmly and continuously. When you first start to see bubbles, add the 1/2 cup sugar and cook, stirring, for another minute. This will really start to look like pudding!  Remove from heat, pour it into a large bowl (big enough for everything to fit into it) and let it cool.  YOU CAN ALSO COOL IT IN THE PAN, putting the pan into a larger pan of cold water.

While the pudding is cooling, finely chop the onion and ginger, measure out the pepper and smash and chop the garlic. You can sliver the scallions too if you are using them (these are optional). Dissolve a tablespoon of white miso into one cup of cool water.

RINSE THE VEGGIES:

Take the cabbage out of the pan, dumping out the salty water. Run cold water through the cabbage leaves, then leave it soak a few minutes in the pan with cold fresh water. Take the cabbage out of the pan, rinse it under cold water, then let it soak AGAIN for a few minutes in fresh cold water in the pan. While it is soaking, DO THE SAME THING with radish/carrot mixture.  Dumping them into the colander and run cold water on them, rinse the salty water out of their bowl and then let them soak in the bowl of fresh water. DO THIS TWICE TOO. After rinsing for a 3^rd time, you can let the radish/carrots drain in the colander, while you RINSE THE CABBAGE a 3^rd time. Then squeeze out the water from the cabbage (you can squeeze it like you would doing a handwash … it’s so limp!)

Shake all excess water off the radish/carrot mixture.

COMBINE THE PUDDING with SPICES

Add garlic, onion, ginger, miso, and pepper flakes to the cool pudding and stir it with a long wooden spoon until it is one strange red-flecked substance.

Take the cabbage and rough chop it into 2-4 inch chunks of various shapes. Add this to the bowl of spicy mix, then add the well shaken carrots and radishes, and scallions if you are using them.  Stir gently until everything is coated well.

Put your container in the sink and put on your gloves.

Handful by handful, stuff the spiced veggies into the jar, carefully pouring the last of the spicy juices in as well. Close the lid, and set this somewhere visible but out of the way for 24 hours. You will want to make note of how high the ingredients start out in the jar, making sure there are several inches of air space above that level when you leave it to ferment.

CHECK YOUR KIMCHI after 12 hours and push it down if it has started rising. CHECK YOUR KIMCHI every 3 hours after the first 24 hours. I’ve come home from teaching a class to find kimchi juice all over the kitchen counter and a hissing screw-top lid!! We left more head space for the next batch and used an even larger container. 

ENJOY YOUR KIMCHI. 

There’s every reason on earth to take a tiny sample taste after the first 12 hours just to taste what’s going on.  Remember, though, that all the flavor melds and changes as it ferments so it may be surprising in the end that you don’t taste the salt so salty or the pepper so distinctly. 

WARNING:  Making kimchi may be habit forming, and can lead to interesting experimentation! You might find yourself serving rice noodles smothered with kimchi to guests! (We do!) 

Quick Vegan Dinner: Roots, Grains, Asparagus

This was a meal prepared in advance for a cool supper on a hot day. I steamed the root veggies ahead of time and cooked the quinoa til nearly done, leaving it in the pan with the lid on for the afternoon! The key to this combination was that each dish had a distinct texture, flavor and sauce. I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos in cooking the quinoa with garlic, splashed just a bit of Ume Plum Vinegar on the asparagus, and made a quick peanut sauce for the roots. It was fast, fun, filling, easy and tasty.

ROOT VEGGIES for 2-3 people

a handful of baby carrots, you could use chopped regular ones
two parsnips cut in diagonal slabs
3 golden beets cooked in quarters
a good sized "japanese" sweet potato - or white yam in chunks

Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (ground peanuts with salt or without salt -- not sweetened)
2 Tablespoons Tamari
3 Tablespoons water
2 teaspoons black vinegar or red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
(if you like sweet, you can add tsp mirin)

QUINOA - Red & White!
1 cup EACH red & white quinoa
4 cloves garlic chopped finely
1 medium onion chopped fine
3.5 cups water
3 teaspoons-1 tablespoon Bragg's Liquid Amino (this is salty)

ASPARAGUS with GRAPE TOMATOES

a good handful of fresh asparagus, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
about 12-15 grape tomatoes cut in half lengthwise
1-2 tsp Ume Plum Vinegar (splash on before taking out of pan)

1) Scrub, peel, cut and organize your vegetables. Steam the roots in a pot with a steamer insert and you can use the cooking water to make the quinoa (a nice subtle flavor sharing). The key is to get the chunks about the same relative to the soft or hardness of the root -- so that a hard root that would need longer cooking needs to be a smaller chunk relative to a soft root that cooks faster ... parsnips and carrots cook fast relative to beets and sweet potatoes. You can add other roots!
2) Cook the quinoa with the garlic and onion and the Bragg's until it's nearly done, then turn off and leave covered til you need it. I used it at room temperature.
3) Last thing is to cook the asparagus in a little water, covered. Cut up the tomatoes while the asparagus cooks. Stir it a couple times to be sure it cooks evenly. Add the vinegar (or squirt lemon on it if you don't like vinegar) while still in the pan. Add the tomatoes while the asparagus is still warm, stirring into the cooking juices with vinegar.

Serve and eat!

Chick Pea Burgers (with secrets)

I haven't eaten hamburgers in years, accompanying my husband's occasional grilled beef burger with a companionable portobello mushroom on a roll. In times past I ate turkey burgers as well. So I know how easy and satisfying it is to pile up the pickles and relish, onion and sliced tomato on something filling, chewy and tasty between the bread slices. The black bean & beet patty was better on the plate, so today I wanted something to eat on bread that was crisp on the outside, dense and flavorful on the inside and could stand up to my husband's relish and chili sauce. I started with a can of chick peas and a handful of ... are you ready? peanuts! It ends with a coating of crushed Ryvita sesame rye cracker and all's well!  I broiled them on both sides before baking them for 20 minutes.

Chick Pea Burger (no oil)

1 can chick peas (about 1.75 cups, drained)
2 Tblsp peanuts (dry roasted low salt)
1 medium carrot, grated
1 medium parsnip, grated
1/2 cup raw spinach, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp parsley
2 Ryvita Sesame Rye crackers

1. Smash the chick peas with the peanuts in a bowl. Chop the spinach, grate the carrot and parsnip and mix in with the chick pea mixture.
2. Combine all the spices and herbs in the bowl, mashing and stirring. If this feels too wet, add just a little flour of your choice (brown rice or chick pea flour) perhaps up to a tablespoon. You don't want this to feel dry though. Moist is good but not wet.

3. Crush the two crackers on a plate. Form 4 burgers, rolling their surfaces in the crumbs (this should just cover all four).
4. Place on a piece of tin foil on a baking sheet or pan and put under the broiler for about 5 minutes on each side, turning carefully with a spatula.  Turn down the stove to bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.
Serve as you wish! One was plenty for me on a piece of Ezekial sprouted whole grain bread with pickle slices, onion and lettuce and our fresh cole slaw. My husband had two, one with double bread and the works, the other more simply.  As always, put more spice or heat into these if you want them that way. Good nutritional content from the combination of legumes and vegetables for 170 calories!

Chickpea burgers Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 Serving (112g) 1 burger Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 169 8% Total Fat 5g 8% Saturated Fat 1g 3% Trans Fat Cholesterol 0% Sodium 400mg 17% Total Carbohydrate 25g 8% Dietary Fiber 3g 10% Sugars 2g 0% Protein 7g 14% Vitamin A 11% • Vitamin C 7% Calcium 5% • Iron 8% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. courtesy of cronometer.com using my data.

If you want to make up your own slaw, I recommend that you use what you have. Here's what I used.

Cleaning the Fridge Again Cole Slaw
leftover nub of cabbage
leftover nub of radicchio
one remaining stalk celery
1/4 of a red pepper, finely chopped
two slices dill pickle finely chopped
dash- 1/8 tsp celery seed
splash of pickle juice
squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Made about 3.5 cups - which disappeared between 2 of us. Very satisfying crisp, crunch, tart and sweet flavors, contrasting well with the warm, chewy textures of the chickpea burgers.

3 Great Soups for Any Weather: Spicy African Peanut Soup, Cauliflower Leek Soup, Carrot-Ginger Soup

Here are three soups that have been delightful for dinner, and then for lunches.

First, a Spicy African Peanut Soup!  Adjust the cayenne for your taste.

African Spicy Peanut Soup w/Sweet Potato & Coconut  

Based on Deborah Madison’s recipe she got from James Peterson’s Splendid Soup book

NO OIL (or 1-2 tbsp roasted peanut oil to saute)

1 large onion chopped in 1/2 inch dice

2 large garlic cloves minced

1 cooked sweet potato, peeled, steamed in slices and chopped into small cubes

3 cups water ((save any steaming water and use it for this)

1 cup chopped cilantro with stems

1/8 (she said up to-1/2) tsp cayenne or hot red pepper flakes to taste

1.5 tblsp curry powder (she said 2 tblsp)

a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes – or your own quart jar with juice

2/3 c peanut butter – organic not sweetened

1 cup light coconut milk (or more if you want)

sea salt

Directions: 

    1.  Heat about 1/2 cup water in a soup pot and sauté onions, garlic & cilantro stems til just starting to soften (10 minutes). Add sweet potato cubes, cayenne and curry, stir and cook a couple minutes.

    2.  Add 3 cups water and the tomatoes. Stir well, bring to boil. Drop in the peanut butter and simmer until peanut butter has  dissolved and onions are soft – about 15 minutes. Stir in coconut milk. Season with salt – not much though. 

    3.  Before serving, add the toppings of your choice. Top with cilantro/lime/yogurt/ --

        whatever you like! Even crisped onion or nothing at all!

Spicy African Peanut Soup Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 Serving (200g) Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 198 10% Total Fat 12g 19% Saturated Fat 2g 8% Trans Fat Cholesterol 0% Sodium 264mg 11% Total Carbohydrate 19g 6% Dietary Fiber 5g 18% Sugars 9g 0% Protein 7g 15% Vitamin A 11% • Vitamin C 23% Calcium 6% • Iron 11% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. courtesy of cronometer.com based on my estimates

SECOND: A simple Cauliflower Leek Soup based on a recipe of the month on the internet from cookshopny.com, so creamy without dairy!

CAULIFLOWER LEEK SOUP

8 cups of strong vegetable broth (I used a box of Field Day Savory Organic Vegetable Broth)

1 whole head of garlic roasted

The white part of 2-3 leeks chopped (save the greens for making a stock)

1 large head of cauliflower sliced and chopped

1/4 cup of toasted pumpkin seeds

4 Tbsp chives chopped finely to garnish

Directions:

     1.   Roast garlic at 400 F for 30 minutes.

     2.   In a large saucepan fry the leek in a little water until soft. Add in the cauliflower and stir for a couple of minutes until starting to soften. Squeeze in the roasted garlic pulp.

     3.  Cover with the vegetable broth. Bring to the boil, then simmer FOR 30 minutes until the cauliflower is soft.

     4. Let the mixture cool enough to put batches in the blender. Transfer to a clean pot and heat on low to serve. Garnish with pumpkin seeds, chives or scallions. 

Cauliflower Leek Garlic Soup Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 Serving (300g) Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 40 2% Total Fat 0g 0% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Trans Fat Cholesterol 0% Sodium 268mg 11% Total Carbohydrate 9g 3% Dietary Fiber 2g 9% Sugars 3g 0% Protein 2g 4% Vitamin A 1% • Vitamin C 73% Calcium 4% • Iron 5% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. courtesy of cronometer.com based on my estimates

THIRD:  DELICIOUS CARROT GINGER SOUP  

(I made this one up to have it the way I like it, warms the cold edges!)

8 medium sized carrots, peeled and chopped

1 medium potato, chopped with skin

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1-2 chopped parsnips  

1 large chopped onion

2 medium chopped stalks of celery

1.5 tsp dried tarragon

1/4 tsp or 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup leftover winter squash (acorn, butternut, hubbard whatever!)

6 cups water

Directions:

     1.  Chop up onion, parsnip, carrots, and celery and cook about 35 minutes with grated fresh ginger and tarragon in 3-4 cups of water until starting to soften. 

     2.  Add salt and squash (I used this because it was left over ...). Cook another  5-10 minutes, and puree! You could use vegetable broth instead of water.  Serve plain, with scallions, with plain coconut yogurt, or a little oven sizzled garlic!

Carrot Ginger Soup Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 Serving (436g) Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 101 5% Total Fat 0g 1% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Trans Fat Cholesterol 0% Sodium 178mg 7% Total Carbohydrate 24g 8% Dietary Fiber 6g 23% Sugars 6g 0% Protein 2g 5% Vitamin A 46% • Vitamin C 33% Calcium 7% • Iron 6% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs. courtesy of cronometer.com based on my estimates