lobugast

As many were, I was shocked and disappointed to hear the last...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:12:00 -0500

As many were, I was shocked and disappointed to hear the last month’s announcement of the demise of Gourmet Magazine. I am still baffled. The obvious production cost that it requires, and the consumer’s tendency to lean toward things that are more approachable and earthy in the financial decline are well understood. But the decision to drop Gourmet over so many others, I don’t completely comprehend. And I find myself playing Newhouse in my head. Why not model after New York Times Magazine, and just reduce its dimensions to save printing costs, or better yet, reduce it to pocket size like Teen Vogue or Jalouse? Publish it bi-monthly, or quarterly, even. Or you know.. drop the less beautiful, less inspiring one. But it’s all futile. And the otheone is just fine, I’m sure.

I just hope that the immensely talented people who made Gourmet such beautiful publication are being pulled left and right by others to continue the legacy (hopefully by Jon Stewart’s new magazine!).

I am holding on dearly to the few copies of Gourmet that I have left, 2 of which being the thanksgiving issue from last year, and this year: the final issue. Both last year and this year, I was less than impressed with the cover featuring a picture of a giant turkey roast, but that’s just the cover. So in honor of the deceased grandmother of a food mag, our Thanksgiving menu this year will be inspired by the Gourmet Thanksgiving Issues.

The image on top, one of my favorite page of Gourmet ever, is from last year’s issue. Just so you know, our Thanksgiving table will look absolutely nothing like that.

It’ll probably look more like last year’s dinner, which was pretty clumsily put together, but it makes me imagine cartoon heart bubbles coming out of my head when I see these pictures-

I asked all my friends to bring a dish to make things easier for myself. But finding a main Thanksgiving dish for a couple of vegans is always a bit of a predicament. Having decided a long ago that we’ve been in this game for too long for tofurkey, I have yet to create a main dish that I was truly satisfied with. So this year, I am sticking with something familiar.

Shepherd’s pie. On the left is poblano potato gratin from last year’s issue, and on the right, shepherd’s pie from this year. Last year I made mashed parsnips and celery roots in lieu of the traditional mashed potatoes. I’m thinking about incorporating that, making it a bit more gratin-like, into the shepherd’s pie formula.

Matt, being a Southerner, needs to have some kind of collard greens, and this crazy thing from last years issue looks pretty perfect, so we will try to mimic. And of course there will be dessert, which will look a lot less nice than the picture above. I’ll try, but don’t expect too much, guys. Okay?

I am sad to announce that the kimchi from last month is almost...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:10:00 -0500

I am sad to announce that the kimchi from last month is almost gone. Good news is that it has fermented just enough to be perfect for a nice bowl of soup. Keeping in mind of the last kimchi stew I had, I added carrots and onions for the sweetness, but kept it more traditional, with a lot of spice, and kimchi flavor which yielded a deeply satisfying result.

I really don’t cook for just myself very often. I eat well when I am alone, but when I don’t have others to feed, making sure that I consume all the nutrients that I need and that it’s satisfying in the basic level is the extent of my meal. Even when I am alone while I am cooking, the end result is usually shared. Recently I was admiring a friend of mine who makes elaborate, imaginative meals even when she is just cooking for herself. This day, I think I felt what inspires her to put the extra little effort. Kimchi stew has been my favorite food since I was a child, and I really only make it for me. Because, I am sorry, Korean restaurants of New York, but I always find something wrong and off about your kimchi stew. This was a great afternoon for cooking, away from staring at the screen in my studio, in my light drenched kitchen. The stew was perfect in a sullen day when I had very little appetite but was hungry for something warm.

Later that day when I spoke to my mom on the phone, I told her about the kimchi stew that I made. I was particularly proud of this one, with my use of mushrooms and the carrot. She was surprised by the addition of carrots, so I explained to her that I did it in order to add sweetness without using sugar. And then she said to me in shock, “who puts sugar in kimchi stew?!”

I guess I’ve been living outside of Korea for so long that I forgot how things are supposed to be.

“Your momma’s so dumb, someone told her that it was...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:33:00 -0500

“Your momma’s so dumb, someone told her that it was chilly out side, and she went out with a bowl and a spoon in her hand!”

…….

Okay, sorry.

I have been trying to use the canned and dried food that I’ve been storing for the armageddon. Here’s the chili that I’ve “winged” yet again, using chickpeas, red beans, and bulgur as majors. I looked at 101 Cookbooks for tips, but just worked it what I had. I’ve been putting lot of carrots in everything, because I am afraid that my vision is getting worse by day. I have no idea if that will help anything at all, but I figure it doesn’t hurt to try. (If by any chance you are reading this and happen to be a doctor, or a nutritionist, please let me know if my efforts are futile, and if so, what I should do instead. Thank you.)

This chili became our meal for a good part of last week, and as they say, it did get better everyday, and each time I found something to add. It was a little sad when I found myself scraping the bottom of the pot toward the last day of its existence.

Speaking of chili, I’d like to finally dedicate a short moment of my time in honor of Ben Ali, the owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington DC who passed away last month. His chili were some of my first ever, and the best. Having spent my early teen years as a young vegan going to punk rock shows in DC, Ben’s Chili Bowl was the only place to grab warm, vegan friendly grubs after thrashing around the capital late at night. Here’s to you, Mr. Ali.

Food Recap from AR and JS Wedding Pre-course salad at Ben and...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:11:00 -0500

Food Recap from AR and JS Wedding

Pre-course salad at Ben and Jacks.

The bride and the groom were thoughtful enough to ask the chef to prepare a pasta dish for us vegan/flexigans at the rehearsal dinner but I couldn’t look at another picture of it. I guess there’s a reason why people specialize in things. Some chef’s stick to meat. There are chef’s for vegetables as well. However, the pies were divine.

The wedding day. Les hors d’oevres were awesome. In honor of my purple bridesmaid’s dress, I got a cosmo, and also something called the ‘balled room punch’ which tasted like miami retirement or spring break. Fine enough for me.

And the main event, the wedding cake-

It was made by the pastry chef at Jean Georges, supposedly. I always had mixed feelings about “show piece” cakes, and pastry chefs who think of themselves as sculptors. Normally, I would like my food to be touched as little as possible by hands, and would like to be served right after it’s made, unless the food can benefit from fermenting, or sitting. Also, I kind of care more about the way the food tastes than the way it looks. But then again, this was really my first piece of fancy cake by a famous chef. And it did look pretty amazing, at least enough for me to put my doubts, and my semi-vegan integrity aside.

And at last, we were served a piece. Look at those layers. It always amazes me. I kind of wished that the fondant was made of marzipan, or something better tasting and more substantial, but over all, I was impressed.

I got to sit with my manly man and my favorite girl. Our young new friend made frequent visits to our table. That triflin’ little girl kept tryina steal my man! I had to regulate at one point! But then she goes and does cute things like, raising the glass and suddenly yelling “CHEERS EVERYONE!” on top of her tiny lungs.

First course, butternut squash soup.

This salad was the highlight in my opinion. Spinach with fried sea weed (I think?)

Again, ever so considerate, my dear lovely friend arranged for us to get pasta.

This thing was crazy, I don’t even know what it was. I think it was a tartlette aux pommes with ice cream on top, topped with a apple chip, and dusted with confectioner’s sugar, and caramel sauce?

Just when we thought it was over, madeleines for coffee. I couldn’t have any more at this point.

떡볶이 (tukbokgi). Or ddukbokki. (Or whatever. I really hate...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:29:00 -0500

떡볶이 (tukbokgi). Or ddukbokki. (Or whatever. I really hate writing out Korean words in Roman alphabet.. sorry. But it’s so easy for you to learn.) The yellow pancake looking thing is my new favorite dish: butternut squash pancakes. I learned in from Maangchi’s video, and added some scallions, garlic, and ground black pepper to adjust to my taste.

The initial reaction I received from the ladies in the picture can be roughly translated to something in between , “I’ve never had 떡볶이 like this before.” and, “what the hell kind of a 떡볶이 is this?!”

For those unfamiliar, it’s not normally that colorful of a dish. It’s just orange-ish red, with way less veggies. It should look more like this:

This is the more proper version we made on our previous full-moon 떡볶이 get together, with the ramen, oden, and the whole thing. I get the relaxed, warm feeling just looking at the pictures from that night. In fact, I am convinced that one will find very few Korean people who cannot feel that warm, nostalgic sentiment when talking about this dish. It’s the ultimate after school snack, and it’s probably the meal that many people had during their first time ever dining out “only with friends” experience. Thinking back, I feel a little guilty for perhaps ruining the essence of 떡볶이 by making massive changes for my fellow aficionadas. But I think the real spirit of it is being chatty and overeating together, and we got that part down for sure.

But I had my own reasons for hippifying the street fast food supreme. The night before, I had went to the Lubalin exhibition opening at the Cooper Union, and afterward, conveniently ended up at Song 7.2, the soju bar/ Korean fast food place in the East Village where 75% of the food menu consists of empty carbohydrates, and the other 25%, deep-fried empty carbs. We had already planned our tukboki gathering days in advance. So that night, after devouring my plate of fried sea weed wrapped glass noodles drenched in more traditional tukboki sauce with my pumpkin soju, I realized that should respect the message from my body urging me to not repeat this two days in a row. That is how the tukboki turned out purple and orange.

The main adjustments that took place in this version is the amount of rice cake vs. vegetables (red cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, butternut squash, and mushrooms), the sea weed broth, and the substitution of tofu shirataki noodles in place of ramyun noodles. Ramyun is generally my favorite part about home made tukboki, so this was a bit of a risky experiment. My verdict: Ramyun can never really be replaced, but shirataki noodles are acceptable, especially counting in the lack of bloated feeling afterward. But the dashima, and the 3 different kinds of mushrooms I used really made the dish.

And this made me feel a bit like a real adult. There was a time when I didn’t care what the hell was in the red sauce. I just wanted it to be spicy with just the right amount of sweet. The biggest worry I had was to not get the sauce all over my shirt. I still worry about that, but I am worried more about the consequences of my intake. I considered Coca Cola to be ultimate accompaniment, but now I opt for Chianti.

It turned it into something completely different than what tukboki should have been, but I liked it regardless. I am growing up, slowly, and it’s just fine with me.

The first time I started to have coffee with any regularity is...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:54:57 -0500

The first time I started to have coffee with any regularity is when I visited my friend in Italy because it’s what everyone did, and I just went along with the “when in Rome (or Venice)” attitude. Naturally, my first coffee maker was a mini stove top espresso pot. After realizing that the pot, which I had picked up from a stoop sale, was boiling brown water even without any coffee grounds, I switched over to the French press at Matt’s insistence.

The problem with the French press is that I always end up making too much coffee for 1 person when I’m alone. I usually give the rest to my plants, but one day, I figured my plants had enough caffeine for the week. A normal person would just discard the rest, but why would I (a cheapskate) do that? Good quality fair trade organic snob coffee grounds are not cheap! I also had a big block of dark chocolate that I was afraid might be going stale. So then it was set. I was making a chocolate tart.

A seasoned pâtissière would probably chop the chocolate before melting, but I opted to place the whole block in a microwavable plastic bowl, sink it in a pyrex bowl full of boiling water and see what happens while I make the crust.

By the time the dough went into the fridge to ‘get chilled’, the chocolate was soft enough for me to cut into chunks with a dull knife. Most recipes for coffee+chocolate tart fillings call for instant coffee, or the actual grounds, but I wasn’t gonna do that, obviously. So after reading about a few different tarts, I came up with my weird hybrid recipe, which yielded more filling than I needed. So what was I do with the left over melted chocolate? Make cookies of course!

The tart needed time to get solidified in the fridge over night, so the cookies were an instant treat comparatively.

Here are the formulae.

Shortbread-Like Pie Crust (adapted from Bon Apétit)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 ripe banana
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Beat butter and sugar in medium bowl until light. Beat in mashed banana. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; beat just until blended. With fingertips, press dough into an 8 inch tart pan. Refrigerate 1 hour, then freeze 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake tartlets until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool completely.

Chocolate Coffee Tart Filling

1 1/4 cups coffee
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (65% + cacao if marked) in a semi-melted block form, (but it should really be chopped)
1 tbsp egg replacer or corn starch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Bring coffee to a boil, then pour over chopped softened/melted chocolate, stir until smooth. Mix in with rest of the ingredients. Pour filling into cooled crust and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

Next morning..

About an hour after I placed the whole thing in the fridge to cool, I took it out and laid some sliced almonds along the edge. There’s absolutely nothing healthy about this treat, so I figured, a little bit of nuttiness and protein couldn’t hurt. After coming out of the fridge, it went right in the lunch box with the pumpkin pasta.

As for the cookies…

This is the recipe that I roughly follow for chocolate chip cookies. I think it’s one of the variations of the Jacques Torres recipe. I just mixed everything right in the pot with the left over tart filling mix.

Brush with some marmalade on top, plant in some sliced almonds, and sprinkle with sea salt before putting in the oven.

Oven roasted delicata squash and mushrooms, with kale dressed in...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:16:00 -0500

Oven roasted delicata squash and mushrooms, with kale dressed in tahini sauce

“Left over special” continues-

I think that I have expressed numerous times in one way or another that this Halloween weekend was unusually pleasant, but I left out the highlight. Sunday morning after the Samhain festivities, I woke up to the smell of garlic and thyme roasting in olive oil. It was already lunch time, and my guilt-tripping-Matt-into-cooking-for-me-after-the-master-cleanser had finally paid off.

He had oven roasted delicata squash and mushrooms, with loads of garlic and fresh thyme. He even toasted pumpkin seeds to sprinkle! With just the right amount of salt and pepper, it could have been the best thing he’s ever made for me. And the kale with tahini sauce was great too. Obviously, I was very pleased.

By the following evening, we only had just enough of the squash left for one person, and in the bottom of the baking dish was a little too much garlic and thyme infused oil to just wash away. In an attempt to make this last as long as possible, I turned it into a pasta dish. It was fantastic. I do succeed at times, thanks to other people’s hard work.

Oven baked autumn squash pasta with pumpkin sauce

1/2 or more of cubed delicata squash, and mushrooms, baked in garlic, fresh thyme, and olive oil until the squash is softened
a package of fusilli (this texture rules for holding on the thick sauce) or other kinds of pasta
2 or more cloves of garlic
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 or more of a red onion, chopped
1/2 cup of soymilk
1/3 cup of pumpkin purée (save the rest for pancakes!)
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
a handful of sun dried tomatoes, chopped
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Under cook the pasta, until it’s softened but not quite al dente.

Make the sauce by combining the pumpkin purée, soymilk, garlic and onions, and salt and pepper.

Mix the well-drained pasta, pumpkin sauce, and the sun dried tomatoes in a well-oiled baking dish.

Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs, and bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Serves 4-6

Still awesome after 1 1/2 days!

I made a heaping portion of pasta for a last minute dinner party...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:50:00 -0500

I made a heaping portion of pasta for a last minute dinner party of 3, using all the vegetables I could find in the fridge. Major players were obscene amount of garlic cloves, olive oil, sundried tomato, lots of black pepper, toasted pine nuts, and basil from the garden.

After 20 minutes of prepping, cooking, and cleaning, I covered the pan with aluminum foil and walked over to the location.

Appetizer: arugula salad with tofu with lots of ground black pepper

Main: pasta, potato salad with dill, and zucchini tian with tomato sauce

Dessert; vanilla coconut milk ice cream with Anarchy in a Jar raspberry topping and cookie crumbs.

+ wine, smokes, kitties, and chats through out the meal with favorite people= life not so tragic.

Next morning I mixed the pasta and the zucchini tian for the lunch box.

Strangely, I haven’t thought about bulgogi since I stopped...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:20:00 -0500

Strangely, I haven’t thought about bulgogi since I stopped eating meat 12+ years ago. It’s probably largely due to the fact that this is so much about the quality and the texture of the meat unlike something that still tempts me after all these years like KFC chicken which is all about the crust which is not even really the part of the chicken.

I recently decided to treat bulgogi like KFC- away from the meat. (But of course, with a bit more respect. Please don’t get mad Korean people) Because bulgogi sauce is too good to be forgotten. I had it with kimchi stew, and packed the rest for lunch the next day with leftover rice.

One big misconception about bulgogi is that it’s a type of barbecue dish. While I am sure it’s great grilled, traditionally, it should be more like a stew, with a lot of simmering. I made mine a little more dry than it should be which might explain whey it looks a bit dry. I didn’t know any better.

Aside from the whole no beef part, this recipe below is pretty authentic/ basic. Nothing crazy here.

Mushroom Bul-Seitan (a.k.a. Vegetarian Bulgogi)

1 pack (about 1 lb) of seitan- sliced

For the sauce
1/2 yellow onion-blended- blended
1/2 pear (preferably Korean)- blended
1 1/2 cup filtered water
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp chungju, soju, white wine, or mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp crushed/chopped garlic
ground black pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce, and marinate seitan for up to 6 hours in the fridge.

When it’s ready to cook, prepare the following vegetables:

1 lb mix of different kinds of mushrooms
2 scallions- julienned thin
1 onion- julienned thin
1 or less carrot- julienned thin

In a heated pan, start cooking the marinated seitan in medium-high heat. When about 1/2 of the liquid have simmer away, add the vegetables, and cook in high heat, for about 5 more minutes.

Serves 4-6

Left over special Pt. I A couple of weeks ago, I made a pretty...

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:02:00 -0500

Left over special Pt. I

A couple of weeks ago, I made a pretty big meal for Ben’s birthday and reaped the benefits of not having to cook for the rest of the week. Here’s the acorn squash in the day light which I packed for our lunch to take to work the following day, and the day after.

With the extra stuffing of fresh corn and leeks kept in the tupperware uncooked, I literally whipped up a simple dish of instant polenta and quick greens with field roast the following day before heading to the Guggenheim’s 50th anniversary event.

Lucy insisted on having her polenta with our kimchi, noting that any savory starch dish goes well with it. Having savored my share of oatmeal with soy sauce and sesame oil like a Korean rice porridge in the past, I couldn’t really argue.

There’s a pretty big culinary event that I left out in...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:12:00 -0500

There’s a pretty big culinary event that I left out in October. That is, my very first hosting of Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving celebration. I tried my best to quickly come up with something comparable to the traditional menu, but of course it deviated to match my need, ability, and resources.

One of the biggest rituals for Chuseok is Charye. Of course, we’re not sprung from the same ancestors, so we decided instead, to pay respects to the luminous beings who we have recently lost, as they have profoundly touched our lives: MJ and Swayze. I wish that we had something nicer than Jim Beam to offer, but we had that, and Sagatiba cachaça. And would ever I expect to find Dalton sippin’ on a little glass of capirinha with a dainty lime wedge in Road House? I don’t think so. Although Bodhi, maybe.. and MJ, definitely. Anyway..

I documented some of our process, partially because I think that my mom would get a kick out of them. Fortunately, I think that now I am ready to take it to a more serious level next time. This month is the American Thanksgiving, which is a bit more simple than the Korean one, and I’m quite excited for it, not only for the food and an excuse to get together with everyone, but also because of the leftovers. Which is why I have decided to dedicate this entire week to talking about leftovers! (Something needs to happen with all the food portraits in the hard drive…)

And below is the recipe for my favorite dish of Chuseok.

Vegetarian Taro Soup

*이건 제 방식의 채식 토란국 이니 전통적인 토란국을 찾으신다면 구글이나 네이버를 참고해 주세요 ^^

300g medium sized toran/taro (@ Korean market, ask for ‘toran’. @ Japanese marker, ask for ‘araimo’ or ‘eddo’)
200g of a Korean/daikon radish (@ Korean market, ask for ‘mu’. @ Japanese marker, ask for ‘daikon’)
1 yellow onion
3 large sheets of dashima/kombu (@ Korean market, ask for ‘dashima’. @ Japanese marker, ask for ‘kombu’)
5 large shiitake mushrooms
1 or more medium size scallions
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 or more cloves of garlic, 1 sliced, and 1 chopped
a pinch or ground sesame seeds
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Peel the skin of taro using a knife or a potato peeler, and wash thoroughly. Taro skin can make your hands itchy, so wear plastic gloves if your hands are sensitive. (My hands were fine w/o gloves.) Bigger taro should be cut in half, so that all taro pieces are the similar size. If desired, cut each pieces in to round ball shapes.

Like all Korean soups, taro soup will be eaten with rice, which should be cooking in the cooker before starting the soup. Save the water that was used to wash the rice before going to the cooker, and use this water to boil the taro. This will get rid of the sliminess of the taro. When the taro is soft but still on the firm side (not mushy) discard the water and wash taro in cold water. Set aside.

Wash the radish, cut into quarters length wise, and slice in to 1/3 inch slices.

Put dashima/kombu, half of the scallions, onion, mushrooms, garlic, and radish slices in about 8 cups of water and bring to boil and then bring to simmer. When the radishes are as soft as the taro, take out all solid ingredients using a strainer or a cheese cloth to filter, and keep the water simmering.

Discard the scallions and onions. Wash the radish slices, onions, dashima/kombu, and the mushrooms in cold water. Season the radishes with chopped garlic, ground sesame seeds, and 1 tbsp of soy sauce.

Cut the boiled dashima/kombu into 1.5 inch squares, and slice the mushrooms. Julienne the remaining 1/2 of an onion. Put all ingredients including the cooled taro back in the broth, and bring to boil one more time. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Serve with chopped scallions sprinkled on top.

Serves 4-6.

Mandy and Ray’s anniversary/goodbye Greenpoint brunch on...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:48:00 -0500

Mandy and Ray’s anniversary/goodbye Greenpoint brunch on Halloween

My favorite coupled pals are leaving la petite Pologne for la piccola Italia in a few weeks. The distance between boroughs and even neighborhoods seem to be continents away in New York, which is kind of ridiculous. And I am completely guilty of being the typical NY person who makes every excuse in the world not to go across the bridge. I hope their moving will inspire me to venture out more outside of North Brooklyn.

Cornmeal battered fried tomatoes, tofu scramble, and pumpkin pancakes.

Saturday also happened to be their wedding anniversary. We all got together over brunch to celebrate, and bid farewell to their current apartment. Everything Mandy prepared was awesome. My contribution, in spirit of a sort of Halloween, was the pumpkin pancakes. It worked out well with Mandy’s fruit topping.

New favorite pastry to try out later: Cinnamon rolls with puff pastry dough, chocolate, dried cherries, and crème fraîche topping.

A bit too much food, seeing a bunch of friends, a nap, and hanging with a group of people who make me proud to be with them. All in all, Halloween was great.

I am not a huge fan of fake meats. Part of the reason why I use...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:46:00 -0400

I am not a huge fan of fake meats. Part of the reason why I use mushrooms or other soy products like tofu or tempeh in almost everything I make has a lot to do with that reason. Of course, I love mushrooms, tofu, and tempeh for their unique flavor and texture too, but they’re also such great sources for protein.

In recent years, there has been some improvements in the fake meat options. They are now much more natural, emphasizing more on the flavors of veggies and grains, and no longer taste like a sad attempt at mimicking the taste of animal flesh. My favorite by far are Field Roast Grain Meats. They are great for putting together quick dishes and don’t need much instruction. But today I am here to talk about a staple item in late 90’s vegan punk rock brunch: LightLife Gimme Lean’s.

It’s an inoffensive option. It’s chewy, with a mild salty flavor and that distinctive processed soy taste. I consumed with some what of a reluctance for years because it’s so widely available that it’s hard to avoid. Only recently I started to give it a proper chance, and came up with a solution that satisfied me.

First step is to mix it with more natural flavors that appeal to me, like chopped mushrooms, garlic, herbs, or crushed nuts, and roll it in to little balls or patties. I have yet to try, but I think certain fruit preserves would also go well with it. Secondly, coat it with panko, or corn starch (preferably Korean or Japanese), and then lightly pan fry.

I served it at brunch with hoe cakes, spinach salad, and roasted home fries recently and they disappeared like hot cakes within moments. Of course, I had put some aside before hand for later. I put some in ramyun along with some frozen spinach, Korean leeks, white miso, and zucchini the next day for a quick lunch, and it could have been my favorite experience with Gimme Lean ever.

On a sort of related note, my high-spirited friends have been filling my inbox with all kinds of gross Halloween images. I guess this year’s big thing is (are?) meat babies. See example one here, and example two. And let’s not limit our meat- human body part creations to the forms of mere infants. I don’t think I can bring myself to experiment with that, having watched Martyrs, but if you are so inclined to try making gross looking veggie Halloween dish, I guess Gimme Lean would be your best substitute.

Or, if you really want to gross people out, make something like that with just plain ground vegetables, tofu, all kinds of liquid, esp. beer or malt liquor. Dump it all in a food processor. Not only it will look disgusting, it will also stink. Much like vomit.

……Okay, I am stopping here.

I wish you a fun Halloween without anything offensively gross. :)

Where are they now? : “필승 비디오” special 나를...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:10:00 -0400

Where are they now? : “필승 비디오” special

나를 흔드는건…

무엇일까?

And,

What the hell is maple soju?

And,

Why do all soju bottles always have to be green?

I was about 19 years old when I found out about Andy...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:40:00 -0400

I was about 19 years old when I found out about Andy Goldsworthy’s work through the beautiful documentary Rivers and Tides at Cinema Village. In retrospect, it was a pretty seminal discovery in my personal growth. I had seen a few of his installations over the years, but for one reason or another, I had never made my way up to the Storm King Art Center, where his famous Storm King Wall was standing. Each time I would go up to Dia: Beacon, I would remind myself to check out Storm King next time. Many more meetings with Louise Bourgeois’s spiders and that much more reminders later, thanks to other people’s enthusiasm, I finally paid a visit to Storm King.

The day before the trip we talked about packing lunch bags for our excursion. I ended up working pretty late that day. Around 11:40pm or so, I forced my self out of my bungee chair and started slicing and chopping some vegetables close to midnight. I knew I wanted to make 2 different kinds of sandwiches on the circular baguette from Zabar’s, and I wanted to make easy fillings that can stay in the fridge over night, using the vegetables we had at home. That way, I can quickly put together a sandwich that won’t be super messy in the morning, without spending much.

Here’s what went in the oven and baked for about 40 minutes at 370 degrees:

Sliced egg plant, bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms + crushed garlic + salt and pepper + lots of olive oil

After that, I chopped some sweet potatoes and carrots, and started boiling.
Meanwhile, I started pan-glazing some tempeh with this sauce:

soysauce, garlic, orange juice, minced garlic, mirin, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.

When the sweet potatoes and carrots are softened, I made it like mashed potatoes
All things went in the fridge over night.

As I had planned, I was able to construct 2 kinds of sandwiches rather quickly for 3 people. First, the tempeh and mashed sweet potato sandwich.

I put the mashed orange roots on like I would a spread, and layer with sautéed kale, and tempeh.

After the vegetables have been baked, there are still a lot of garlic and herb infused oil left on the pan. I left it covered over night, and rub the bread on it. It makes a great base for the vegetable sandwich.

Layer order: eggplant + peppers + onions + mushrooms +more black pepper!

The previous day, I had eaten about 1/4 of the baguette. I felt like with so much stuffing, 3/4 of the circular baguette would yield enough sandwiches for 3 people- 2 mini sandwiches for each person + potato salad that Lucy was going to bring. I cut the 3/4 of the bread in half before assembling, so when they were all assembled, it looked like this:

Cut each half in thirds, wrap in parchment paper, and lunch was ready.

I packed the left over orange roots + kale and the pan glazed tempeh in a tupperware in a tupperware for Matt to take to lunch, and left for some fall foliage and sculpture.

The process of getting to Storm King was as beautiful, complex and arduous as Goldsworthy’s work process. I followed directions as instructed from the Map application on my iPhone, and somehow ended up on Caramoor Center for Music, which was a striking place. But still… WTF. I tried again right now just to be sure, but if you type “Storm King Art” on your Map application, it will give you a very precise direction to Caramoor Center for Music, an hour drive away from the Storm King Art Center. I even took a screen shot to prove it!

The lesson here when using GPS device, is to always find out the exact address of the destination. Shame on you google maps, for tricking your blind follower, and shame on me for being an unscrupulous simpleton. 그리구 언니들, 다시한번 미안 ^-^;

After a quick walk around the Caramoor, we decided to at least have our lunch there. We wanted to eat under the picturesque gazebo, but discouraged by the cold breeze, we settled with having our lunch in the car.

The situation wasn’t ideal, but our lunch was delicious, especially with the dill potato salad.

After our lo-budget style lunch, and a couple more detours later, we arrived at Storm King. We chit chatted as we walked through the meadows and the forest, circled around a Richard Serra and gave a quick glance at a Maya Lin. Andy Goldsworthy’s wall was just as expected, but what struck me the most was the open land and the autumn leaves. Every time I visit the Hudson River Valley, I fantasize about living up there. I hope to make it out one more time before all the leaves fall. Apple picking perhaps?

Circular baguette from Zabar’s.

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:28:00 -0400

Circular baguette from Zabar’s.

This year had a lot of first’s for me so far. On Saturday...

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:53:00 -0400

This year had a lot of first’s for me so far. On Saturday was my first ever bachelorette party for my dear friend Ari, which was crazy fun. I think this picture sums up the events pretty well.

They don’t usually dress in all tights and leggings, just so you know. I don’t know if this conveys the stripper poles, pretty insane UES dinner, and bottles of Grey Goose and Johnny Walker involved… but now it’s all out. In the midst of the grinding and air humping, I get a text from Lucy “can’t help making kimchi stew, come over in the morning, bring laver (sea weed).”

Sunday morning, I reluctantly digged myself out of the comforter cave. Like a small animal leaving its nest after a hibernation, I rubbed by face with no soap or water and dragged myself out in search of nourishment 2 1/2 blocks, to Lucy’s house where my all time favorite comfort food was waiting.

Our breakfast only consisted of the soup, rice, and laver, and it’s just what I needed. I provided a link to a video instruction on making kimchi stew when I talked about making our own kimchi. But this one was drastically different than any kimchi stew that I am used to. It was made with well-fermented kimchi that she washed, and stir fried in “butter” before adding broth, which was rich with flavors from mushroom. She also added carrots to add sweetness without using sugar as it is normally.* It tasted a lot like vegetable soup, which I liked a lot.

Anyway, it’s really true that you’re in a constant self realization. Who knew I would have so much fun at a bachelorette party? And who knew that I would be so happy to be devouring vegetable soup tasting kimchi stew? I wish every weekend was a bachelorette weekend. Sort of.

*If you are new to this crazy world of Korean food, and want to try making your own kimchi stew, I suggest starting out with the most traditional way, so that you get an idea of how it’s supposed to be. Use this recipe, and substitute the meat portion to mushrooms.

The Last Brunch with Mandy and Ray One of our constant assigned...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:04:37 -0400

The Last Brunch with Mandy and Ray

One of our constant assigned projects while on summer and winter breaks in elementary school was keeping a vacation journal. Although I enjoyed writing and doodling in my special note books, I would always go for days without writing, and make up for it towards the end by writing several entries at once.

I’m kind of re-living that experience now with this. Part of a reason why I have this blog is to have a justification for my dorky habits, like snapping pictures of food. I have neglected this for a good part of the summer, and I still have loads of pictures that don’t really belong anywhere else but here.

While going through my files, I found these pictures from when Mandy and Ray came over for brunch. I think that was the last time I brunched with them, which I hope to rectify within the next few days. I remember not really wanting to cook that day, so I just made 2 different salads that I make on pretty regular basis, and stir fried vegetables. I also remember that Mandy liked the prosecco mimosa.

Her and Ray’s anniversary is coming up. They got married on Halloween last year. They dressed up as bride and groom, Matt and I dressed up as them. I think that was the first time I dressed up for Halloween, ever, as well as my first attendance at my close friend’s wedding. So, it really was a special day for me. And I guess for them too.

(I will try to provide more recipes, but a lot of times, I never measure anything, and there are not even real ‘steps’, so in that case I’ll just summarize the general idea.)

Red Cabbage and Carrot Salad

*This is my version of coleslaw. I don’t know what to call it

red cabbage and carrots, very thinly sliced
a handful of fresh chopped dill
a handful of raisins
dressing: balsamic vinegar + +lemon juice + minced shallot +olive oil + mustard + honey or maple syrup
as much ground pepper and sea salt as desired

Toss everything and let it sit in room temperature for 20-40 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Cannellini Beans and Watercress Salad

1 can of cannellini or giant white beans
1 bunch of watercress, washed and spinned/drained thoroughly
1 small shallot, sliced
a bit of chopped red onions
lemon dressing: juice of 1 lemon + olive oil
as much ground pepper and sea salt as desired

Toss everything and serve!

Serves 4-6.

I MADE MY OWN KIMCHI!!!!! This is a big deal, people. Even...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:19:00 -0400

I MADE MY OWN KIMCHI!!!!!

This is a big deal, people. Even though I can’t claim to have made it myself. A more accurate story would be that I kept company of my friends while they did all the work and research. I asked questions, and chopped the vegetables and fruits, as per their direction. But kimchi is never made by one person. My mother always had at least 3 other people to collaborate with, and it could be the most communal food item to prepare, which I think is really cool. It’s also probably the most economical and nutritious thing I know about. A huge batch is made a few times a year, and then it lasts forever in its continuously fermenting process. I heard some kimchi can last for more than 3 years, but I am guessing that that is when is stored in a quality clay pot, and buried in the right spot in the ground. I would say the kimchi we made should be consumed within a month, since we’ll be keeping it in a regular fridge. When it gets too sour, it can be made in to kimchi stew*!

I noticed that as I am writing about this, there’s already a seemingly gratuitous amount of exclamation points. And by that, I am also realizing how deeply I am fond of kimchi. All nostalgic sentiments as a Korean person living abroad aside, it has so many dynamic layers. I first love that its flavor is just completely bizarre and powerful, and that it is the definition of ‘acquired taste’. I think I can safely assume that every Korean child started eating kimchi by force. Flavors that naturally appeal to people are sweet, and mildly savory. Kimchi is neither. It’s spicy, salty, and totally weird. Maybe the relationship of Korean people and kimchi is like the culinary Stockholm Syndrome. Anyway, there are plenty of information about kimchi if you’re curious, so I’ll leave the informative part to the experts.

Getting back to the ‘big deal’ part about this, making kimchi is sort of a rite of passage. It means I am a ripe young woman ready for marriage, and that my flower is ready to be picked. Uhh.. okay that’s kind of gross. Sorry. But it is really the last step toward becoming a domestic matron. (When I told my mother that I made kimchi, she was really impressed, so I hope that gives my claim some credibility.) So, this description applies to the ladies in the pictures above, more so than me, who in reality, was more of a spectator. The kimchi we made was fantastic beyond belief, and Gia was kind enough to send me the instructions she followed: Napa Cabbage Kimchi (in Korean)

Ladies are putting their gunz to work

And.. here’s the translation:

Napa Cabbage Kimchi

1 head napa cabbage cut into quarters or 2-inch wedges, depending on size of cabbage
1/3 of a large mino early radish (Korean raddish)
1 1/2 cup coarse sea salt

For seasoning (This will yield more than the kimchi needs. The leftover sauce can be saved and added to stir fry or soup, or more kimchi!)

3/4 cup or less Korean chili powder (gochutgaru)**
4 ounces scallions and Korean leeks
1/2 of a medium sized yellow onion
1/2 of a Korean apple, or fuji, pink lady***
1/2 of a Korean pear
1.5 tbsp finely minced garlic
1 tbsp finely minced ginger
1/2 tbsp sugar

Broth

bring to boil some water to 1 1/2 cup with dashima/kelp, and mushrooms (wild mushroom or shiitake) and simmer until the broth is flavorful, discard the sea weed

take the water off the stove, and stir in 5 tbsp of sticky rice flour (chapsal-garu) or all purpose flour

Dissolve 1 1/2 cup sea salt in 7 cups of water. Soak chopped cabbage in the salt water for at least 1 hour. Mix it up after the first 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, pour the hot broth and stir in the chili powder. Let it sit in room temperature.

Remove cabbage from water and and drain in colander for 2 hours. Mean while, cut the radish in quarters lengthwise, then slice. Be sure not to slice too thin. Mix the radish slices in a handful of sea salt, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Wash and cut the scallions and leeks into 1 inch lengths and slice in halves

Put the fruits and onions into food processor or blender and liquify. When the chili powder mixture cools down to room temperature, stir in the mixture into the chili powder, and the rest of the ingredients for the seasoning.****

When the cabbage is drained, place it in a large bowl along with radish slices, leeks, and scallions. Mix in thoroughly with the seasoning, and blend using your hands.

Tightly pack the cabbage in a gallon-size jar. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and press down to get rid of air pockets. Leave it out at room temperature for half of a day to ferment. During that time, do not move, or open the container! Chill before serving.

*This video linked is not veg friendly at all, but don’t worry. I just substitute all meat ingredients with mushrooms and I happen to love the results.

**You can make your own by drying Korean chili peppers, and crushing into powders, or get some from here

***The fruits are optional, but to me, essential. We also put in some dried jujube in it!

****Traditionally, this is where you would put in fresh oysters or salted shrimp. Some people think that it’s sacrilegious to do without them, but personally, I find the flavors much cleaner and more refreshing without.

Here’s the Pear Croustade as mentioned earlier! After the...

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:32:00 -0400

Here’s the Pear Croustade as mentioned earlier!

After the series of failures on Matt’s birthday, I learned my lesson and stuck to the easy one. I love making fruit tarts of all kinds, because it’s so simple, and generally fantastic, if the fruit it self is in season. I used a Korean pear, and an apple, and followed this recipe from Epicuious, using soy milk in place of whipping cream.

Everything was great until we took the candle out, and discovered that it had melted in a pretty gross way. I guess quality candles are actually worth the extra few cents. As you can see in one of the images above, the birthday dude was not amused. I think it also bothered him to be given a candle that reminded him of the finite nature of life, and thinking about mortality has probably thrown him into a deep abyss of existential dilemma.

Birthdays are hard.