Kimchi

Delving into the wild world of lacto-fermented foods...

from Nourishing Traditions
by Sally Fallon

Korean Sauerkraut (Kimchi)

• 1 head cabbage, cored and shredded [called for Napa but I used green]
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup daikon radish, grated (optional) [I didn't have any]
• 1 Tbls freshly grated ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 tsp dried chile flakes
• 1 Tbls sea salt
• 4 Tbls whey (if not available, use an additional 1 Tbsp salt)

Place vegetables, ginger, garlic red chile flakes, sea salt and whey in a bowl and pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down until the juices rise to the top of the cabbage. The top of the vegetables should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.

The most difficult part of this recipe was mashing the kimchi down until the juices rose to the top. Took forever, likely because I was using the wrong sort of tool. At the time I was starting to think it was never gonna happen, but eventually it did work, I closed the lid, and then began the waiting. Three days on the kitchen counter and then a few weeks in the refrigerator (our basement is technically 5-10 degrees too warm to be considered cold storage).

We broke-in the kimchi this week. Delicious! Sauerkraut it is indeed (we love it!); the carrots and chile flakes add a fresh note to the otherwise familiar flavor. We'll be using this to top our hot dogs and brats and to accompany our burgers this summer. A big thumbs up.

No Whey. Yes, Whey!

Plain yogurt is the bane of my existence. (Okay, not true. I live a privileged life--most food writers do--but not that privileged. However, for the purposes of this post, just go with it.)  Every other month I place a container of plain yogurt in my cart, convinced I will enjoy its wholesome taste the next breakfast.  Think of the parfaits! my heart sings. Upon returning home the supermarket trance breaks, and I remember I don't routinely stock granola or fresh berries (coffee with perhaps a slice of toast are generally all I can rustle first thing in the morning). The unsweetened dairy is slowly buried in the fridge behind ketchup and pickles.  I invariably rediscover the container weeks later and am faced with that most fearful of all challenges: make something amazing that very day from four cups of nearly expired plain yogurt or else toss it all out and prove myself unworthy of life itself. (Something like that.)

This most recent near-yogurtpocalypse I maintained my composure and rescued the entire container from ruin. I've already blogged about using a cup for a sauce;  I then separated the remaining yogurt into whey and cream cheese.

Whey and Cream Cheese
from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

• 2 quarts piima milk, whole-milk buttermilk, yogurt, or raw milk

[...]When using yogurt (either homemade or good quality commercial plain yogurt): 

Line a large strainer set over a bowl with a clean dish towel. Pour in the yogurt... cover and let stand at room temperature for several hours or longer. The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. Tie up the towel with the milk solids inside, being careful not to squeeze. Tie this little sack to a wooden spoon placed across the top of a container so that more whey can drip out. When the bag stop dripped, the cheese is ready. Store whey in a mason jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container. Refrigerated, the cream cheese keeps for about 1 month and the whey for about 6 months.

Makes 5 cups whey and 2 cups cream cheese 

I had less yogurt to begin with and thus gleaned far less than the five and two cups noted in the recipe. Nevertheless the amount of cream cheese was perfect for at least one week's worth of breakfast toast, and the whey, since I am forgetful of its existence and unpracticed in its uses, is still in the fridge, ready for use.

Disaster averted. This time.

Brown Rice & Resolutions

As part of my new year's resolutions I decided to make at least 24 new sauces (or dips or dressings) in 2012. Sometimes it's too much to make an entirely new main dish, but a new salad dressing seems doable. And I'm happy to inform you that January isn't even half over and I've already succeeded in making a new sauce! (Please, hold your applause until the end. Thank you very much, though, thank you.)

from The New Laurel's Kitchen:

     Stroganoff Sauce

1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbls cornstarch

1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 Tbls butter
1/3 - 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1/4 tsp salt or 1 Tbls shoyu
black pepper

Combine buttermilk and cornstarch and set aside. Saute onion and garlic in butter until soft. Crush the garlic with a fork. Stir in mushrooms and cook just until tender. Remove mushrooms and juices from the pan and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Stir and cook until thickened, then return the mushrooms and their juices to the pan. Season with salt (or shoyu) and pepper.

The recipe claims to taste "like a sour cream sauce," and I suppose it does. And I even cheated a bit when I made it by substituting vinegar in milk rather than using the buttermilk that was called for (tell me I'm not the only one who doesn't ever have buttermilk on hand?) I also used dried mushrooms instead of fresh (soaked in boiling water for 10 mins to reconstitute), and they worked great.

Overall, I'm happy with the sauce, but I admit that when I first tasted it I thought it was just okay. What took it from okay to happy? Putting it on the bestest, most delicous rice ever.

I made this rice almost as an afterthought (had to put my sauce on something) and am still amazed by how wonderful brown rice is when done right. I'm not kidding. I'm a convert. No more brown rice in the rice cooker,  not ever again. This is the way it should be:

from Nourishing Traditions:


     Basic Brown Rice I
     (unsoaked rice)
    

2 cups long-grain brown rice
2 Tbls butter
2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
3 cardamom pods
4 cups stock or combination of water and stock
1/2 tsp sea salt

In a heavy, flameproof casserole, melt butter and olive oil. Open cardamom pods and add seeds to the casserole. Saute rice in butter and oil, stirring constantly, until rice begins to turn milky. Pour in liquid, add salt and bring to a rolling boil. Boil, uncovered, for about 10 minutes until water has reduced to the level of the rice. Reduce flame to lowest heat, cover tightly and cook for at least 1 1/2 hours or as long as 3 hours. Do not remove lid during cooking. Serves 6-8.

My rice took exactly the 1 1/2 hours on the stovetop. And. It. Was. Wonderful. It sounds ridiculous, to say rice tasted wonderful. But I'm serious, cross my heart and everything. Wonderful.

Sauce + Rice = superb side for dinner and delectible leftovers for lunch (which I'm eating right now). Very, very pleased with this receipe attempt! (This is what I'd hoped for, starting Wellcookbooked!)

You may now applaud.

Sweet Potato Sadness

So, overall Thanksgiving was happy and tasty. But... there was one hiccup. Perhaps the worst thing (culinarily) is when you present a recipe made of quality ingredients in the highest of hopes and it doesn't thrill anyone, not even yourself. And it's not because of a mistake the cook made, it's just... the food. That's what happened with my sweet potatoes this year.

Rather than go the typical SAD route of dousing them with sugar and animal hoof goo (i.e. marshmallows) or after baking them in their own skins and splitting them to be served with butter and salt (my favorite!) I tried out a recipe that, well, just didn't work out as I'd wished.

From Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions:

Sweet Potato Puree 

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• grated rind of two lemons
• juice of two lemons
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Boil potatoes in water until tender and then peel while still hot. Place them in a bowl, mash and mix with butter, lemon rind, lemon juice, egg yolks and sea salt. Transfer mixture to a buttered ovenproof casserole and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 1/2 hour.

Frankly, this dish tasted really "healthy," which, as healthy as sweet potatoes actually are, wasn't was I was looking for in a Thanksgiving dish. Left alone to bake, sweet potatoes are divine, sweet, earthy (can something be earthy and divine? If so, it's this root!). This dish was too bright (because of the lemon) and too rich (because of the egg yolk). I forced myself to finish the dollop on my plate and will brave through the leftovers, but I'm not gonna enjoy them. Sadness.

Next time I'll just roast 'em up and let 'em shine on their own---sweet potatoes really don't need anyone to fuss over them. I've learned my lesson.

Thanksgiving Review

Hope your Thanksgiving was as blessed as mine! My husband and I and our girls celebrated at home, just the four of us this year, so we held back on creating too many dishes (okay, my husband reminded me to hold back), and it all turned out very well, over all. I'll be setting up the hyperlinks to my posts on the dishes below as I have time to write them. Stay tuned!

New dishes:
Onion-Cranberry Compote (see below)
Sweet Potato Puree
Cranberry Pie with Whole Wheat Crust

Dishes I've mentioned before:
Sandy's Gingered Squash
Cranberry Sauce


And Justin slow-roasted a turkey and we had Riesling, sparkling pear juice, and coffee.

Really very good!



As an alternate to my usual sweetened cranberry sauce I decided to try out a more savory version this year. And it was good. Very good. (Is it disturbing that so far my only greatest Thanksgiving acheivements can be categorized under "sauce, cranberry")?

From Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions:

Onion-Cranberry Compote

• 1 1/3 cup raisins [the recipe calls for both yellow & dark raisins, I just used all dark]
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 lbs small white onions, peeled [I used 1 large yellow onion]
• 3 Tbls butter
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 2/3 cups fresh cranberries

Soak raisins in water for 10 mins. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute onions in butter until well coated. Add raisins with soaking liquid and remaining ingredients except cranberries. Liquid should just cover the onions--if not, add a little water. Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove cover, add cranberries and simmer uncovered for 15 to 30 mins until liquid has thickened. Let cool. Maybe made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Serve at room temperature. Makes 4 cups.

What I most liked about this recipe was it blended so well with the rest of the holiday food! Truly a delicious relish. I personally plan to make this one again next year. Not to replace the sweeter version, but to complement it and give diners a more flavorful plate.