Moved

I don’t think anyone’s checking this but just in case, I am ending this blog and continuing to post recipes in my primary blog at www.sosopie.wordpress.com.

Namuls- Korean seasoned vegetables

As discussed here, a traditional Korean meal consists of rice, main dish and a selection of banchans.  Banchans can be a few or many, ranging from namul (seasoned vegetables) to grilled fish.  I tend to make namuls.  They can be relatively simple to make and the ingredients more readily available.

Namuls generally require the vegetable to be seasoned, salt, garlic, scallion, sesame oil, crushed toasted sesame seed, soy sauce and Korean crushed red pepper.  The key is that the sesame seeds must be toasted and crushed.  This process brings out the best nutty flavor of the seeds.  My mom still makes her own by dry toasting the seeds in a large wok.  Then she uses the ancient Korean method of crushing the seeds.  She carefully pours the seeds to into a thick, as in like 5 or 6 layers of cotton thick cotton cloth sack that she makes herself.  Then she hammers the crap out of the sack.  That was my job when I was a child.  Ah hem… It was a particularly satisfying chore during the turbulent teenage years. 

Some namuls like Kong Namul (seasoned bean spouts) and Sigeumchi Namul (seasoned spinach) can be used in Bibimbap.  Kong Namul can be eaten as a side or put back into Kong Namul Soup.  Sigeumchi can be used in Kim Bap (Korean Rice Roll) and in Jap Che.

My recipes are simple and authentic in the sense that this is how my mother made them.  But like any other dishes, there are many variations out there and several good websites that provide pretty pictures as well.  As I stated in my introduction, I write these recipes to record for my daughter, for her to be able to replicate the tastes from her childhood.

 

Sigeumchi Namul Recipe

Time:  Prep 5 min, Cooking 10 min

Serving size: 2-4

Serve with: As a side dish or be added to Bibimbap or Kim Bap

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spinach
• 1 clove garlic finely minced
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs crushed toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp salt to taste
• 1 tsp soy sauce (optional)
• 1 tsp sugar to taste (optional)

Directions:

• Prepare the spinach if bunched by separating the leaves, trimming the stems and washing thoroughly several times in cold water.
• Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds.
• While waiting, prepare a large bowl of icy water.
• Remove spinach quickly and rinse in cold water in to order to stop the cooking process. 
• Gently squeeze the spinach to remove excess water.
• Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, seeds, salt, garlic, and sugar and mix into spinach.
• Serve with an extra dash of sesame seeds on top.

 

Kong Namul Recipe

Time:  Prep 5 min, Cooking 30 min

Serving size: 4 – 6

Served with:  As a side or added to Bibimbap

Ingredients:

• 1 pound or 1 bag soy bean sprouts
• 1 clove garlic finely minced
• 2 scallions chopped
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs crushed toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• a dash of crushed red pepper (optional)
• salt

Directions:

• Rinse the sprout gently in cold water.
• Put the sprouts into a medium size pot and add enough cold water to cover the sprouts.  Add some salt and set to boil with lid on for about 20minutes.
• Remove the sprouts with a metal pincers into a colander to drain thoroughly and reserve the “soup” if making Kong Namul Guk (soup).
• Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, seeds, salt, garlic, and scallion in a large bowl.  Add the sprouts and mix gently.

This can be served as a side warm or cold, added to bibimbap mixture or added back to the reserved water to make soup.  If making soup, you can reheat the broth add more salt to taste.  The soup is served with rice.

Alternatively, you may replace the soy bean sprouts with mung bean sprouts.  These sprouts can be blanched in boiling water, rinsed in cold water and mixed with the same ingredients.  Mung bean sprouts have a slightly different taste.  I actually prefer soy bean sprouts.

I don’t think broccoli traditionally grows in Korea and for all I know still doesn’t.  How do I know?  Because there isn’t a Korean word for it.  Whenever you see an English word being used by Koreans, chances are it’s because there is no Korean equivalent.  My mother just decided to make it this way one day and we really enjoyed it growing up.  So much tastier and healthier than plain boiling or with melted cheese thrown in.  Blanching keeps more of the nutrients!

 

Broccoli Namul Recipe

Time:  Prep 5 min, Cooking 10 min

Serving size: 2-4

Serve with: As a side dish or be added to Bibimbap but chopped up finer

Ingredients:

• 1 pound broccoli cut into smaller florets 1.5 – 2 inches
• 1 clove garlic finely minced (optional – I don’t like raw garlic but my mom does)
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 1 tbs crushed toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp salt to taste

Directions:

• Cut the broccoli into smaller florets.  If you like the stem you can cut that as well.  I would just cut off the tough skin first.
• Prepare a large bowl of icy cold water.  
• Blanch the florets in salted boiling water until just tender, about 2-5 minutes.
• Immediately remove and plunge into the icy cold water bath .
• After the broccoli has cooled down, drain in colander, shake off excess water and set aside.
• In a large bowl mix sesame oil, seeds, garlic, salt to taste.  Add the broccoli and toss well.
• Serve with an extra dash of sesame seeds on top.

Easter left-over – Potato and Ham Soup

Last of the ham is finally gone! I always get this feeling of deep satisfaction and relief when the last bit of left-over has been eaten up. I hate waste. Absolutely hate it. I’m always amazed by how much waste we produce, how much we discard. There are people, many, many people in the world who would be grateful for those scraps. But I digress.

I was inspired by Simply Recipes, but I am not going to reference the site because… drum roll please… this recipe is my own. My very own!

I do have a few here, but I know they are pretty rare. It isn’t because I rarely cook out of my own head. I’m just too lazy to jot down the measurements that is so key in writing up a recipe. I, somehow doubt that a smidgen, a splash, three shakes and a dash would be appreciated.

Potato and Ham Soup Recipe

Time: 20 min prep, 30 min cooking

Serving size: 4

Serve with: French or Italian bread and mixed salad

Ingredients:

• 1 small to medium sweet onion sliced (I only use sweet onions like Vidalia)
• 1 cup of chopped celery
• 4 medium russet potatoes peeled and cut into smaller chunks
• 1 cup of peas
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 cup of chopped left-over ham
• chives or scallion to garnish (optional)
• 6 – 8 cups of stock made from the ham bone and/or canned vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 – 1 cup of milk, cream, plain yogurt or sour cream to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Sautè the sliced onion and celery in the stockpot with olive oil until the onions and the celery start looking translucent
• Combine 6 cups of stock/broth and potatoes, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. During the last minute, add the peas, garlic halves and thyme.
• After the soup has cooled down, remove the thyme.  Reserve some of the potato and peas in a separate bowl.  Puree the rest in batches.  You can puree to creamy smoothness, but I usually like to have it just a little chunky.
• Reheat soup gently and stir in your cream base.  I like sour cream or a mixture of sour cream and milk in all my creamy soups.  Add the reserved potatoes and peas and the chopped ham.
• Sprinkle a dash of pepper and chopped chives/scallion before serving.

Easter left-overs – Egg Salad

Easter is over and I have an over abundance of eggs and ham left-over.  Even after having the in-laws over again on Monday for dinner.  I actually like eating hard boiled eggs as a snack and since the ham came out OK, eating it for two days in a row hasn’t been a real hardship.  But we are going on third day and I am looking for some new ideas.

One no brainer idea is to just throw some chopped ham and even egg into a salad for lunch.  I suppose I could make a ham sandwich.  Egg salad would also work.  If it was the weekend, I could whip up a yummy ham and cheese omelet.  Well, who’s to say that you can’t eat an omelet for dinner?  Hm, as I ponder new ham and egg possibilities, here is a recipe for my version of egg salad.  I generally find the store bought salads bland and like the texture and crunchiness that the celery provides.  Perhaps not to everyone’s taste!

Egg Salad Recipe

Time: 10 min

Serving size: 2 -3

Serve with:  toasted whole wheat bread

Ingredients:

• 6 hard boiled eggs (Why 6?  Because that’s what I have left)
• 2 tbs of chopped celery
• 1 tbs of finely chopped carrot
• 1 tbs finely chopped sweet onion
• 1 baby dill pickle finely chopped
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 – 2 tbs mayonnaise to taste (I don’t like a lot of mayonnaise)
• 1 tbs Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Put chopped onion in a medium sized bowl.  Squirt some lemon juice and let it sit while chopping the hard boiled eggs.  Put the eggs and the rest of the ingredients together and mix.  Squirt some more lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Lemon Bars

I am not a baker.  I know how to bake a few things from scratch, but baking generally intimidates me.  It always has and it probably always will.  I usually stick to a few tried and trues or boxed cakes and brownies.

This is surprising since baking to me is akin to chemistry.  Considering that I majored in Biochemistry, took lots and lots of chemistry labs, which by the way, I did well in, one would think I would be more comfortable.  But I am not.  May be because I never had to eat my experiments?

I have made some effort over the years to add a few baking recipes to my repertoire.  I purposely experimented one year in making homemade muffins.  So, now I know how to make a pretty good banana and blueberry muffins.  But I say I’m not a baker because, I would never feel comfortable tweaking recipes.  Or coming up with my own.  Which is very different from my cooking style.  I’m all about tweaking when it comes to cooking!

A couple of weeks ago, I finally made a chocolate cake from scratch.  I was surprised at how simple it was.  Granted, it was a very easy recipe and I had to make it twice to get it right.  It required a fancy bundt cake pan.  The first time I tried to take the cake out, it completely fell apart.  In any case, I got some really good reviews and one “eh”.  If you can believe it, the “eh” was from my very own husband!

Feeling empowered, I decided to make something different for dessert for Easter.  I decided on lemon bars.  I fondly remember my mother-in-law making lemon bars.  Of course it is very important for me to have an easy recipe.  I did my googling and I decided on one from FoodNetwork.

Lemon Bars Recipe

Ingredients:

Lemon Topping

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Shortbread Base

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut butter into 1/2-inch pieces. In a food processor process all ingredients until mixture begins to form small lumps. Sprinkle mixture into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan and with a metal spatula press evenly onto bottom. Bake shortbread in middle of oven until golden, about 20 minutes. While shortbread is baking, prepare topping.

•  In a bowl whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until combined well and stir in lemon juice and flour. Pour lemon mixture over hot shortbread. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. And bake in middle of oven until set, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan and cut into 24 bars. Bar cookies keep, covered and chilled, 3 days. Sift confectioners’ sugar over bars before serving.

Easter Appetizer and Sides

Easter is holiday that I always struggle with as far as a meal is concerned.  I don’t know if it’s because I did not grow up having any “traditional” Easter meal.  May be because I associate Easter with brunches?  I’m certainly always wanting to go out for a brunch.  Heck, I would even settle for a local diner breakfast.  I just don’t get very excited about cooking for Easter.

Since my mother-in-law passed away, Easter like every other holiday meals has fallen to my lap.  For the past few years, we have also qualified for one of those free items.  You know your choice of free turkey, ham or frozen lasagna?  Since I don’t eat roasted turkey outside of Thanksgiving and the frozen lasagna has fallen into the “no thank you even if it’s free” category, we have settled on the free ham.  I think we pay a little extra for the pre-sliced spiral ham and while I’m not a big ham fan, I find it acceptable.

So, I guess the ham has by default become part of our traditional Easter meal.  We have had it for the last three Easters.  But all other accompanying dishes?  It’s all a toss up.  I couldn’t even tell you what I made last year.

This year, I tried to come up with a menu that perhaps I could follow from year to year.  The result was an “eh” for me.  Everything tasted fine, but I felt like I was missing something, a splash of color in middle of bland canvas of dairy items.  Thus, I write the following recipes with mixed feelings.  I probably would make some these again, but probably never again together in one meal.  You will see that the common ingredient was cheese, butter, mayonnaise and sour cream and it was just too much dairy for me.  All the recipes are adapted from Simply Recipes.

Cheesy Bread Recipe

Time: 15 mins prep, 5 mins cooking

Serving size: 6 – 8

Ingredients:

• 4 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese*
• 4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 oz shredded Monterrey Jack
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped green onion (to taste)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp sour cream (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened to the point of being slightly melted
• 1 to 2 loaves of French or Italian bread (I used Ciabatta), depending on the size of the loaves and how much you spread you put on the bread

Directions:

•  In a large bowl, mix together the cheeses and the green onion. Stir in the mayonnaise and sour cream. In a separate small bowl blend the butter and garlic until smooth. Add the butter mixture to the cheese mixture.
• Preheat broiler. Slice loaf of bread in half horizontally, lay crust side down. Spread cheese mixture over the bread. Place under the broiler until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.
•  Remove from broiler and let sit for 5 minutes until cool enough to handle. Slice the bread with a bread knife.  Serve immediately.

* The original recipe called for a lot more cheese (1.5 lb in total).  I found the proportion I used to be enough for my one French bread with left-over spread for another half a loaf.

**I served this as an appetizer.  It was really good.  Once the bread cooled down completely and the cheese hardened, I popped the slices in the toaster oven for a few minutes and it was as good as new.

Deviled Eggs Recipe

Time: 5 mins prep, 25 mins cooking

Serving size: 24 deviled eggs

Ingredients:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 – 1 Tbsp minced shallot (to taste)
• 1 squeeze from fresh lemon
• salt and pepper, to taste
• paprika

Directions:

•  First hard boil the eggs.  I usually just put eggs in cold water and let it boil about 15 – 18 minutes.  Drain and run cold water, changing water to keep it cool.  The following is the direction to hard boil eggs from Simply Recipes:
  • Fill up a large saucepan half-way with water and gently add the eggs. Cover the eggs with at least an inch of water. Add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water (this will help contain egg whites from leaking out if any of the shells crack while cooking). Add a pinch of salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil. Cover, and remove from heat. Let sit covered for 12-15 minutes. Drain hot water from pan and run cold water over the eggs. (At this point if you crack the egg shells while the eggs are cooling, it will make it easier to peel the shells.) Let sit in the cool water a few minutes, changing the water if necessary to keep it cool.
• Peel the eggs. Using a sharp knife, slice each egg in half, lengthwise. Gently remove the yolk halves and place in a small mixing bowl. Arrange the egg white halves on a serving platter.
• Using a fork, mash up the yolks and add mustard, mayonnaise, onion, lemon juice, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Spoon egg yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika

 

Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe

Time: 15 mins prep, 1.5 – 2 hrs cooking

Serving size: 4 – 6

Ingredients:

• 4 large russet potatoes, about a pound each
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, Monterrey Jack or mixture*
• 4 strips bacon
• 1/4 cup chopped scallion or chives
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Scrub the potatoes clean under running water with a brush. Poke each potato in several places with the tines of a fork so that when the potatoes are cooking they don’t explode.  Rub the potatoes all over with a little olive oil. Place directly on the middle or top rack of the oven (I placed aluminum on the rack to avoid any liquid from burning the bottom of the oven).  Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. They should give a little when pressed.
• Cook the bacon strips in a frying pan on medium low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Let cool. Crumble. 
• Alternatively, you can use already cooked bacon.  Just follow the directions on the box.
• Allow the potatoes to cool to touch. Slice the top third lengthwise off the potato. Use a spoon to scoop out the insides, forming a potato “canoe”, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato on the skin.
• Alternatively you can slice the potatoes in half, lengthwise. In this case you may want to bake an extra potato so that you will have more potato filling to mound into the potato boats.
• Place the scooped out potato insides, sour cream, milk, and butter into a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher. If you want a creamy texture, beat with an electric beater until desired consistency. Note, do not over-beat potatoes, they can turn glue-y.
• Mix in the crumbled bacon and scallion/chives with the potatoes. Reserve some of the extras to sprinkle on the tops of the potatoes. Spoon fillings into the potato shells. Sprinkle with extra toppings and cheese.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Place potatoes on a roasting pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes until heated through.

*I reserved some of the cheese mixture from Cheesy Bread and used it to top the potatoes.

Easy Mushroom Risotto

Made by DH and modified from a recipe from recipezaar.com.  This is one of the easiest risotto recipe I was able to find on the internet, easy being important since the husband was cooking.  Next time I’m going to experiment by adding some white wine which is common in other risotto recipes.

Time: 10 min prep, 35 min cooking

Serving size:  4 (The original recipe has 1 cup of rice serving 6 but that would never fly in my house of rice lovers!)

Served with:  crumb coated cod and broiled asparagus

Ingredients:

• 1 lb mushroom, sliced (white, cremini or mixture)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 4 cups of hot vegetable broth
• 1 cup of hot water
• 1/2 cup of grated pecorino romano
• 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• In a deep non-stick skillet, sauté mushroom in butter, season with salt and pepper and set aside
• Sauté onion and garlic in oil until soft.
• Add in rice and stir for 1 minute until the rice is coated in oil.
• Stir in 1 cup of the hot broth and let it simmer while frequently stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed.
• Repeat with the remaining broth until the rice is done.  If you need more liquid, you could use hot water at this point.
• Add the mushroom, cheese and parsley, season to taste and serve immediately.

Crumb-Coated Cod

This recipe has been modified from the original recipe enough where I wonder if I have to give it credit.  But never-the-less, the original is on allrecipes.com.  It calls for a package of Italian salad dressing mix.  Since I a) don’t have a package of Italian salad dressing mix and b) like to make my own dressing mix, the only ingredient I kept was the cod and the crushed stuffing mix.

Time:  10 min prep, 20 min cooking

Serving size:  4

Served with:  mushroom risotto and broiled asparagus

Ingredient:

• 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• juice from a lemon and 1 lime (We didn’t have enough of one or the other)
• mixture of seasoning (1 tsp each salt, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, basil and dill 1/4 tsp black pepper – next time I would mince my own garlic)
• 2 cups of crushed stuffing mix
• 1 – 1.5 lbs of cod fillets rinsed and dried, can be cut into serving pieces or left whole

Directions:

• In a shallow bowl, combine the oil, the juice and seasoning.  Marinate the cod fillets in the dressing for about 10 minutes.
• Place the fillets on a greased baking sheet and top with the stuffing mix
• Bake at 425° F for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork

Cooking time:  10 min prep, 20 min cooking

Serving size:  4

Served with:  mushroom risotto and broiled asparagus

Sweet Potato Fries

I was skeptical when DH made this for the first time a few weeks ago, but he has turned me into a convert.  In fact, it is my current favorite side dish.

I’ve seen many variations of this recipe on the internet.  I’m sure they are all delicious, but I’ve kept mine very simple in order to retain the main taste of the sweet potato.  The best thing about this recipe is that it is so simple and easy to make!  And if you have a 5 year old that likes to help out…simple and easy is very important!

Remember that sweet potato fries baked in the oven does not have the crispy texture of regular potato fries.  I think deep frying them would result in crispier fries but that would defeat the whole purpose of being healthy.  Never-the-less, the fries are sweet and quite delicious, especially served on the side with juicy burgers.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 sweet potatoes
• 1 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp paprika

Direction:

• Pre-heat the overn to 425° F.
• Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them length wise, a little less than 1/2 inches thick on all side.
• Put the olive oil, salt and paprika in a ziplock bag, add the potatoes, seal and shake until the potatoes are coated evenly the mixture.
• Lay out the potatoes on a non-stick baking sheet.
• Bake in the oven about 15-20 minutes or until the top side is browning.  Turn the fries and bake on the other side for another 15-20 minutes.  Serve immediately!

Easy Black Beans and Rice

This recipe is adapted from Simply Recipes.  I had this on my menu for two weeks and never got around to it until last night.  This is definitely an easy recipe and yummy to boot.  Both DH and Soso like it a lot. I was worried that it was a tad spicy for Soso, but she handled it fine.  I would hold on the Tabasco/cayenne powder if your kid is not used to food with spice at all.

I modified the recipe by adding a mixture of chopped tomatoes (2 Roma), handful for chopped cilantro, juice from a lime and a pinch of salt to the rice and beans.  The salsa gave the rice a nice piquant flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (for added flavor you can substitute roasted red bell peppers or some chopped pimentos)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 16-ounce cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• A few dashes of Tabasco or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 heaping Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional Lime wedges and cilantro for garnish

Directions:

•  Cook rice according to package instructions. White rice usually takes 15 minutes to cook once the water is simmering, and 10 minutes to sit.
• Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high. Sauté onions and bell peppers for 3-4 minutes, until just beginning to soften, then add garlic and sauté a minute more. Add the black beans, vinegar and Tabasco or cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir in rice and oregano.  Salt and pepper to taste.