i hope you eat good food, grow beautiful things, and have more love than you know what to do with.
As you all know, I’ve been slowly getting rid of the plastic in my life in an attempt to be environmentally friendly as well as becoming more self sustainable–and in the event of the collapse of society/apocalypse, I would much rather have a kitchen well stocked …
I first learned how easy it was to make pastry cream from my sister (The Chef) two Thanksgivings ago. She made choux cream puffs which is a little more involved than just filling a graham cracker pie crust with pastry cream and piling berries on …
1. Precook the chicken wings (I did it in the pressure cooker) because we fought a bout of salmonella from undercooked chicken this year, and I don’t want to take any chances. Allow to cool.
2. Heat vegetable oil on high (or in your deep fryer if you have one) to prepare for frying.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sweet potato starch, baking powder, salt, and pepper together.
4. Toss wings in bowl to coat lightly.
5. Fry twice, allowing to drain and cool slightly between fryings. Toss into soy garlic glaze sauce after second fry.
6. To reheat, preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and roast until crispy again (about 12-15 minutes directly from the fridge.)
Recipe for Soy Garlic Glaze
1. In a saucepan, combine everything except the water and the corn starch and bring to a boil.
2. Combine water and corn starch, then add to saucepan. Turn off the heat and stir quickly until sauce is thickened.
3. Drizzle over the chicken wings.
Recipe for Cheesy Kimchi Topping
I had been dying to try this recipe since I have a can of sweetened red bean in my pantry that will expire sooner or later. It was a huge hit with everyone in the house, and I absolutely loved how pretty it came out. …
Colds blow through our house like a tornado, and despite the fact that neither of the kids go to daycare, the husband-unit often brings something home with him. While his immune system seems to be impervious to the viruses that ravages the winter seasons, myself …
One of the plants I was super excited to get my hands on this year was Crocus Cartwrightianus, otherwise known as Cartwright’s crocus or wild saffron. It’s widely accepted as the wild ancestor of our modern saffron, before it mutated into the sterile triploid form (propagated only by corm division).
I got this because I absolutely love how beautiful the all white variety (‘albus’) is, not that I would like to use it for the spice itself (the flavor is not as strong as the domesticated saffron but can be used in the same way.)
Since it is diploid, it will set seed if pollinated, but due to the fact that it comes out so late in the year, (it is also an autumn crocus) most insects will have died off/gone dormant so hand pollination is preferred.
Evidently, it is possible to cross cartwrightianus with sativus to produce viable seeds, and that may be an experiment in my future.
It’s growth habits is identical to Crocus sativus, coming out in late fall, needing full sun, well drained soil, and not watered too much. A relatively easy plant to grow and it looks divine against the dark brown leaves that have fallen from the trees.
The last of the dandelions are holding on as the cold weather moves onto Long Island. I saw them as I worked in the yard yesterday, and knew that if I didn’t nab them now, I wasn’t going to see them until next spring. They …
You never have kimchi when you need it–especially when you’re craving kimchi fried rice and all the other things you could make with it! This week I set out to make my own from scratch, as I think the work and love I put into …
When we get deep into the fall and almost winter, I start dreaming about saury. It’s one of the fish that most symbolizes the Autumn, when it migrates outward into the ocean. In Asia, it’s a delicious treat, while in other parts of the world, people prefer to use it as baitfish for catching bigger game. I was excited when I saw some at the Korean supermarket, and took a pair home, dreaming of a simple dinner of broiled saury and rice.
Most groceries stores will have gutted the bile duck out for you since it can get really bitter (although some prefer the bitterness to chase away the grease) but if they didn’t, just carefully slip the belly under the gills towards the tail, locate the bile duct and liver, and pull it out in one piece (if you prefer not to leave it in). Be careful not to puncture the bile sac or else it will turn everything bitter.
An optional thing if you don’t want the fish to curl under the broiler is to make diagonal slits along the body.
Recipe
1. Preheat the oven to broil (about 450 degrees Fahrenheit) and brush saury with sake (this will help remove some of the fishy smell.) Pat dry.
2. Sprinkle with salt and place in oven (alternatively can be grilled) for about 10 minutes, until the flesh is tender and the skin crisp.
3. Garnish with lemon wedge, grated daikon with a side of soy sauce for dipping.
*Note: Saury is a fish that has a lot of pin bones–if you grill/broile until slightly crispy, the small bones on the back will be edible.Â
I had some radishes left over from making the perilla kimchi and wanted to use it up before it went bad. Our whole family loves pickled radish, especially as a side dish. Traditionally, it’s said to improve digestion and clear your palate. Normally it’s done …