Coconut Red Lentil Soup (2 Star)

I would categorize this soup as a split pea soup (that also has lentils) and I like split pea soup. But this soup goes way beyond split pea soup. It is magnificent. I would never call regular split pea soup magnificent, just really good. This was beyond good. I have never used red lentils or yellow split peas before and the color created by this combination is beautiful. I definitely can't call regular old green split pea soup beautiful. And the other ingredients in this recipe really made it amazing. The recipe for this soup is from 101 Cookbooks, found here.

I followed this recipe exactly, except for the fact that I used a crock pot. I combined the first five ingredients in the crock pot and set it on low for three or four hours. Then I followed the instructions for the other ingredients, added them to the pot, and cooked on low for another hour or two.

Fantastic!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

These are my favorite pancakes. This post might be better suited for fall, but I make these year round. They are a great way to use the pumpkin (and butternut squash works just as well) that I have frozen from my garden. They taste like pumpkin pie in pancake form. They are moist and tender inside and crisp outside from frying. I got the recipe here, from Allrecipes, and have copied it with my changes to whole wheat.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree, canned or fresh, or butternut squash puree can be used
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar

1. In a medium bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.

2.Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot with butter and syrup or honey.

Kimchi Jjigae (3 Star)

If you are familiar with kimchi, you know that it is the very spicy, fermented cabbage that Koreans eat with every meal. Brandon loves it, but as for myself, I have not developed a taste for it, though I like to try it every now and then to see if it's better than I remembered from the last time. None of the boys like it, either. However, I really enjoyed this jjigae (soup) that Brandon made from the kimchi, and so did some of the boys. It is a spicy soup, but the spice is tempered by chicken, onions, tofu, and broth.



Kimchi Jjigae

2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 lb kimchi
water enough to cover vegetables and meat
1 Tablespoon honey or sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon red pepper paste
1 package extra firm tofu
1-2 zucchini, sliced

Heat oil in a large soup pot on medium high to high heat. When hot, add chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir occasionally until meat is browned but not cooked through.

Turn the heat down to medium and layer the kimchi on top of the meat (leave the kimchi juice in the jar). Cover and let simmer for five minutes.

Add water until the ingredients are covered. Add remaining kimchi juice, soy sauce, honey or sugar, salt, pepper, and red paste. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for ten minutes.

Add tofu (or rubber chicken, as dubbed by our youngest son) and zucchini and simmer for an additional five minutes. Serve with rice.

Kim bap (1 Star)

Kim bap is the Korean version of sushi rolls. Personally, I'm not too adventurous when it comes to sushi and I like to stay away from raw fish, but I do like Kim bap. It took some time for me to learn to like the seaweed but now I really enjoy these rolls. Amazingly, our first born can't get enough of this stuff. He could probably eat at least half of this batch of Kim bap by himself, given the chance. None of our other boys care for this, though some of them do like to eat the seaweed sheets plain, strangely enough.



Making Kim bap involves a lot of steps, so let's get started.

Kim bap

1. Rice

Cook 2 1/2 cups of sticky (Asian, or short grain) rice. Traditionally, white rice is used, but we use brown so that we have the nutritional benefits and we also enjoy the more nutty flavor (our kids favor white but we don't cater to them on this matter). This should yield about 5 cups cooked. Cook the rice far enough in advance so that it has time to cool enough to handle but is still warm and fresh. Do not use rice that is cold because it is then too hard and dry to shape into the rolls. We usually cook the rice and then cook the Pulgogi and the soup (coming up next!). By then the rice is usually done, and we let it cool while we prepare the other Kim bap ingredients. Then we mix up the rice and assemble the Kim bap.

To the warm rice add:

3-4 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2-3 Tablespoons sugar

Combine until thoroughly blended, tasting and adding vinegar and sugar as needed, to obtain a mildly sweet and sour taste. Set aside.

2. Pickled Vegetable

1/3 daikon radish (can be found at Asian markets, but I've also seen it in some grocery stores--other veggies could also work well such as cucumber, zuchinni, or carrots)
vinegar to cover vegetable
1 Tablespoon sugar

Peel the radish and slice into long, thin strips. If you use cucumber, be sure to remove the seeds and then slice into strips. Place in a small bowl and pour enough vinegar to submerge cucumber. Add sugar and stir to combine. Set aside. (This could be done a day ahead.)

3. Meat

We use the cooked Pulgogi. Cut it into long, thin strips and set aside.

4. Carrots

Peel and slice carrots into long, thin strips. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat with a Tablespoon of olive oil. Stir-fry carrot strips until tender-crisp and remove from pan. Set aside.



5. Eggs

4 eggs
1-2 Tablespoons water
a few pinches of sea salt

Whisk above ingredients together and pour into a large, greased skillet (use the same one used for the carrots) that has been heated to medium heat. When eggs have set, flip entire circle to the other side (or flip a half at a time) and cook for another minute or two. Remove onto a cutting board and cut into strips. Set aside.



6. Spinach

10 oz fresh spinach

Boil a small pot of water. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, submerge spinach, a handful or two at a time, in boiling water for 10-30 seconds. Remove and drain on paper towels. Set aside.



7. Assembly

To make the rolls, a bamboo string roller makes things a lot easier. Place it on your work surface with the bamboo sticks running horizontal to you, and place all of the ingredients close by.



Place a sheet of roasted, dried seaweed onto the roller and sprinkle with sea salt.



Spread a layer of rice onto the side of the seaweed closest to you, covering slightly more than half of the sheet.



In the center of the rice layer, place strips of pickled vegetable, meat, carrot, egg, and spinach.



Pick up the edge of the roller that is closest to yourself and carefully fold over until the roller touches the other side of the seaweed. Press down firmly to compact the roll together. Do not allow the edge of the roller to fold under with the seaweed, but keep it on top. Dip your finger into the pickled vegetable juice and moisten the entire edge of the seaweed that is farthest away from yourself.



Continue to firmly roll until the seaweed is closed and the moistened seaweed edge is sticking to the side of the roll. The bamboo roller should make a U shape around the Kim bap and when finished rolling, just unfold the roller so it is flat again.



Remove the Kim bap log to a cutting board and, using a sharp serrated knife, cut into slices. Sample the unruly edge pieces and give the rest of them to the bottomless pit boy who wants nothing more than to eat Kim bap until he bursts asunder.



Place Kim bap slices onto a plate and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.



Then devour! If you don't have a bottomless pit boy who wants nothing more than to eat Kim bap until he bursts asunder, invite over the neighbors to help you out.

Makes around 3-4 dozen, but is quite variable depending on how much you stuff the rolls and how thick or thin that you slice them.

Pulgogi (3 Star)

Since Brandon lived in Korea for two years and developed a love for the food (among other things) he has learned to cook several Korean dishes. Our first-born passionately loves the Korean food that Brandon cooks and recently begged and pleaded until Brandon agreed to make a Korean meal. The next several posts will be about this meal.

First up is Pulgogi or Korean Barbecued Beef. This is probably the most popular of all Korean dishes. As with most foods there are many variations, some more spicy or sweet or salty. The Pulgogi I've eaten in Korean restaurants has been quite sweet. Ours is not so sweet and a little more spicy, adapted from a recipe in a cookbook called "Flavours of Korea" by Marc and Kim Millon.

Pulgogi

2 lbs sirloin steak (I often use a London broil or a roast that is on sale) cut into very thin strips (1/8-1/4 inch thick--either have a butcher do this or cut the meat yourself when partially frozen) across the grain

Marinade

10 Tablespoons soy sauce
6 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed, and finely chopped, or pushed through garlic press
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled, crushed, and finely chopped
4 Tablespoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
1-2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 yellow onion sliced into strips
1 bunch of green onions, sliced
5 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 head of leaf lettuce such as romaine, red leaf, or butter crunch, leaves washed and separated

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and place into a Ziploc bag along with the meat. Knead together and allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour, preferably overnight, turning the bag occasionally.

After marinating, the meat can be grilled, but we always fry it in a large cast iron skillet because our grill is a little crummy and doesn't get hot enough. Heat the pan on medium-high or high heat with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. First stir-fry the yellow onion for one or two minutes. Then add the meat and all of the marinade and fry for 6-8 minutes, turning every now and then to brown the meat but do not overcook! The meat can be a little pink in the middle. The key to tender Pulgogi is to cook on hot heat very fast. Add the green onion during the last minute of cooking and then remove from the heat. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top.

Pulgogi can either be served on top of sticky rice (we use brown) or as lettuce wraps. For lettuce wraps, place some meat and onions in the center of a lettuce leaf along with a bit of rice and a dab of hot pepper paste. Wrap up the leaf and eat.

Black Bean Burgers with Orange Basil Salsa and Baked Fries (3 Star)

I don't think my pictures make this look terribly appetizing but it was very good. Brandon and I especially enjoyed the salsa--the oranges are an unexpected, sweet contribution. Three of the boys really liked this (the burgers and the fries, not the salsa). I found the recipe for the burgers and salsa here. I've been making the fries for years--my own recipe, or everyone's recipe--I've seen variations many different places.





The options for these fries are endless but here is how I made them:

Baked Steak and Taco Fries

7-8 medium potatoes
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2-1 Tablespoon Montreal Steak Seasoning or Kirkland Signature Steak Seasoning which is about the same and less expensive (Or to taste--I'm just guessing here. I don't ever measure, I just sprinkle until it looks good.)
1/2-1 Tablespoon taco seasoning (Or to taste--same as above.)
sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash the potatoes and cut into matchsticks. Place in a large bowl along with the olive oil and steak seasoning and stir together until seasoning is evenly distributed. Pour half of fries onto half of a cookie sheet. Add the taco seasoning to the remaining potatoes and stir. Pour remaining fries onto the other half of the cookie sheet. Spread fries out so that they are in a single layer. Sprinkle sea salt on top, to taste. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until fries are beginning to brown. They may stick to the pan a little, but are easily removed with a metal spatula using strong, quick strokes.

Chicken Enchilada Soup (3 Star)

This is one of my favorite soups, courtesy of Picky Palate, found here. It's another great recipe in which to use my homemade chipotle salsa. Other salsas work well, too. I make the recipe as written and add 1-1 1/2 cups salsa prior to boiling the soup. It adds freshness and greater depth of flavor to an already fantastic soup.

White Bean and Sausage Chili (3 Star)

This chili was so incredibly good! I found the recipe here on Enlightened Cooking and copied it below with my changes. This was the perfect recipe in which to use my homemade chipotle salsa.

White Bean and Sausage Chili

1 1-pound package bulk sage sausage
1 15-ounce can white beans, drained
1 and 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin or butternut squash puree
1 cup chunky-style chipotle salsa (I used my homemade chipotle salsa )
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup crumbled goat cheese (I didn't have goat cheese--and feel a little scared of it--so I didn't use cheese at all and this was still excellent.)

In a large saucepan cook sausage over medium heat until brown and no pink remains, stirring to break up meat; drain fat. Stir in drained beans, pumpkin or squash, salsa, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve topped with goat cheese. Makes 4 generous servings.