Happy Seolnal (Korean New Year) Eat Your Kimchi

I swim every morning with Kim Li who came from Korea only a couple of years ago. We have the best time, even more entertaining because she speaks no English and I don't speak Korean. Somehow, we manage to laugh and exchange ideas. We've taught her to say "see you tomorrow" and she's got it down pat. One day I asked her for her recipe for Kimchi (kim-chee). It took a couple of minutes but then she said, in her most outgoing voice "Ahhhh, Kimchi". I did the smile and nod thinking she didn't really understand but sure enough, the next morning she showed up with a recipe, hand printed, exactly as follows.

A Korean superfood eaten with every meal, it's said that Kimchi is part of a low fat, high fibre diet that keeps Koreans slim and trim. AND, since it's a fermented condiment, it has health benefits that both aid digestion and even helps to prevent yeast infections. There are many different recipes; this one is one of the simpler ones I've seen. Fellow blogger Kevin, from Closet Cooking has done alot of experimentation with many different recipes for Kimchi and I know he's hooked on it.

1 whole head Napa cabbage
1/4 cup sea salt
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup*red pepper paste (ko-choo-kah-rhoo)(*quantity depends on your heat tolerance)
1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp ginger, minced
3-4 sliced green onions
2 Tbsp fish sauce
A pair of kitchen gloves

1. Separate leaves of napa cabbage and chop into bite sized pieces (no need to clean them yet, we'll be giving them a good rinse in a bit)



2. Add sea salt to warm water, stir to dissolve
3. Add salt water to cabbage and give a light toss to distribute the salt water. Set aside at room temperature for 4-5 hours, stirring at the 2 hour mark.
4. Wash and strain the cabbage 2-3 times. After rinsing off all the salt water, return cabbage to a large bowl.


5. Add red pepper paste, garlic, ginger, green onions, fish sauce. Put on your gloves and give the kimchi a good mix massaging in the flavours.



6. Kimchi should sit at room temperature for 1-2 days and then transferred into capped jars. You can eat it with just about anything.

* The 1/3 cup of red pepper paste gave the kimchi a good amount of heat. If you're not a fan of spicy food, put in less.

Here's a great video that walks you through the steps.



Link:

History of Kimchi
Korean New Year 2012

Cranberry Sauce

I never love cranberry sauce or jelly out of a tin. It's just not as flavourful as home made. And why wouldn't you make home made - it's just so easy and supports our local cranberry farmers.

I happened to be following Johnston Cranberries on Twitter (@CranberryFarmer) and saw a recent marketing video for his farm. Many thanks to Jake Thomas of Riley_Lake_Productions (@RileyLakeFilmTV on Twitter) for allowing us to share this wonderful video about cranberry production on the Johnston Cranberry Farm.

1 pkg (12oz) fresh cranberries

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sugar

In a medium saucepan stir together orange juice and sugar. Add cranberries and cook on medium heat, stirring often for about 15 minutes. Cranberries will start to pop and soften. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

I can't even share a finished product with you - it was all gone before I could even get a photograph.

Hot Sauce - The Perfect Condiment

An absolutely easy peasy recipe. All you need is a blender and some mason jars. I like to use the jam size jars. I tend to give alot of hot sauce away as gifts and have earned a good following of neighbours who let me know when their supply is getting low.

For One Batch - about 4-5 jars

2 cups ketchup
3/4 cup regular mustard
4 cloves garlic
1 tblsp salt
1 cup vinegar
2 tblsp sugar
1 tblsp dry chili peppers
1/4 - 1/3 cup lemon juice
1 heaping tblsp parsley flakes

Put everything into the blender - mix for a couple of minutes until well blended.

Wipe your brow - you worked hard.
Fill jars.

Note: I generally make about 20 jars at a time so I make sure to buy the large tin of ketchup and the large container of mustard.
The longer the sauce sits, the hotter it becomes
If you like things really spicy, add more chili peppers