Nectarine Salad with Cilantro, Scallions and Feta (or Sea Salt): Pushing my own comfort zone

For HKL for having the courage to cook something else

Recently one of my friends actually had the audacity to cook something NOT on my blog. To my satisfaction, what she decided to make did not please husband and the next day she ended up back on my blog, making the Turkey and Green Beans in Lettuce and later telling me what a HUGE hit it was with her husband and mother. I felt that warm sort of satisfaction that comes from feeling like I'm always right. When we talked later, I mentioned to her that her husband's tastes buds aligned very well with the flavor profiles on my blog and that she should know that, because my blog is fairly consistent in the flavors it uses and showcases. I don't often do experiments and for the most part, you almost know what you are going to taste if you are consistent user of my blog because I tend to go with very consistent flavors and style. For example, you aren't going to find very French influenced dishes on my blog, only because I tend not to like them.

But the consistency of food and flavors on my blog is also a bit of a handcuff - because I generally steer towards and cook those ideas of food that are familiar and comfortable. I don't really extend myself beyond my comfort levels - classic baked goods, easy meals, marinated meats, starches. I am not expanding nor am I really innovative or different in my cooking. Perhaps the biggest stretch this year has been the Korean Tacos as it pushed my food ideas a bit, but even that wasn't that much of a reach for me. I've been locked down to my food and flavors and I'm interested in trying to change that.

Over this past weekend, I had the opportunity for 49 hours in Napa with some girlfriends, and one of the things that I really wanted to do was to look for some things that were unexpected in cooking. During a trip to Signorello Vineyards, I had the chance to watch Chef Eric prepare some food that was going to be used in a wine and food pairing on their terrace. (Incidentally a gorgeous property with a beautiful view and pool - worth going for the view and food pairing.) He was cooking up some Kobe beef but it was this one side dish that intrigued me - this peach and jicama salad. I didn't get to taste it but watched him prepare it and was very intrigued by the flavors involved. He had cotija cheese on top of his and jicama and it all seemed very unusual and weird. I asked him about it and he told me the following, "I was originally going to do it with mango and not peaches, but the mangos were not good this morning, but the peaches were so I ended up doing it with peaches." Really I thought. He could just decide to put a different fruit in and it would taste good.

Since I did not pay for a food and wine pairing, I did not get to taste it, but the flavor combination intrigued me so much that I decided to try a similar idea. I found a couple of beautiful yellow nectarines at the grocery store and thought the flavor contrast between yellow and white nectarines would be nice. The rest I sort of figured out on the fly, and it was DELICIOUS. I was cautious about trying it with some Korean Marinated Flank Steak and Korean Chili Paste Spicy Chicken and found myself extremely surprised by how well they went together. As a person with a pretty traditional Korean palate, I'd probably want to serve this more with a simple chicken, or grilled fish, or just regular steak (unmarinated like Chef Eric did when he made it), but it is an excellent side dish.

Daughter #1 could not get enough of it. She ate the lion's share of the portion I made today (equivalent of 4 good sized peaches) and kept on saying that the salad was too yummy. Daughter #2 gave it a few bites, and she preferred it without cheese (she is not a cheese lover) and liked it sprinkled with the special pink Himalayan salt I picked up this weekend. I offer two versions - one with feta and one sprinkled with salt, both equally delicious.

Nectarine Salad with Cilantro, Scallions and Feta
Serves 4-6 as a side dish

4 nectarines, cut around the stone, sliced about 1/4 inch thick. (a mix of white and yellow is lovely)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup scallions, finely chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (can be left out for a dairy-free option)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, quickly whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and cilantro. In a large bowl, place the nectarines and scallions. Pour the cilantro lemon juice dressing on top and toss together. Right before serving, add the feta cheese and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

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Salad here without cheese and just finished with beautiful pink Himalayan salt

Garlic Ginger Green Beans with Beef: How to Say Goodbye

To dear Husband, without whom I could not have gone

I did something this past weekend, something that I have never done since becoming a mother; I left Son and Daughters at home and I went on a mini-getaway. Granted there are two other occasions when I did leave kids at home, but both were when I was in the hospital delivering a child, so in terms of something purely for my pleasure, going somewhere, this was it. Husband generously told me to take a weekend off, go away and enjoy myself and he would man the fort (with some assistance from grandma). At first I didn't believe him, but the opportunity seemed too amazing to pass off, so with two girlfriends, we decided to leave town for 48 hours.

However, leaving is NOT as simple as it seems, for although I was leaving the family behind, I had a seemingly harder time leaving responsibilities. The day before, hen I informed Daughters that I was leaving, Daughter #1 exclaimed, "But what are we going to EAT mommy, when you are gone?" I had already planned to leave some things in the fridge for them to eat, but didn't realize how much that meant to the kids until hearing her worry about the food. It added additional pressure on me to think about what Daughters, Son, Husband, and Grandma would eat while I was away.

This is one of the dishes I prepared and left behind for Son and anyone else who wanted. It is a variation on Green Bean Bits but I just throw in some beef and ginger to change it up. Son can have just this with rice and I feel he is getting a balanced meal. It is simple and easy to prepare and yummy enough so that all can enjoy. And I could say good-bye, just a little bit easier with it ready for my family.

Garlic Ginger Green Beans with Beef
Serves 5

1 lb fresh green beans (I like French green beans - pretrimmed at Costco)
1/2 lb beef, finely chopped (I used bulgogi cut beef, but ground beef or turkey would be equally good)
5-6 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
2 tablespoons ginger, grated
2-3 tablespoons mild flavored oil (I like canola or can even use olive oil)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut green beans into 3/4 inch bits. The easiest way to do this is to grab a handful, line them up and slice through the bunch.

2. Heat a fry pan over medium high heat. Add oil. Add garlic, ginger, beef, and a pinch of salt. Saute for a minute until beef is almost cooked and then add the cut green bean bits. Saute over medium high heat until green beans are tender and slightly blistered, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Serve and enjoy!

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And the WINNER is...

There was a recent Michael Pollan article in the NY Times where he likened food shows and our culture's obsession with food to pornography - the passive yet sensual enjoyment of something, without active participation. That article, for a day made me walk around saying, "Hey - I'm a food porn star." Well..not really. In actuality it saddened me to think of a whole population of people who were more interested in watching what went on in a kitchen instead of trying to get in there and make something.

What this blog giveaway did however, was make me question the validity of his comments, because based on the 37 entries that I had for this giveaway, people aren't watching and reading me cook, they are going out and DOING it. Reading the comments, hearing what people were making, what they were eating was enough to make me excited and wishing that I could afford to give every single entrant a beautiful microplane grater. Alas, my blog earnings don't allow me to do that...yet. I did receive lots of wonderful comments from unexpected places and I am really appreciative of the time that people took to give me a comment and some encouragement. Thank you for helping me celebrate a year!

After eliminating some one double entry, and one invalid entry, I was left with 37 valid entries. After getting a number from www.random.org - the winner is

SILLIE SMILE! Thank you all for participating!

Until 100,000 hits, or next year (whatever comes first)...

Pork Belly (삼겹살 Samgyupsahl) and Kimchee Fried Rice: Kimchee lovers unite!

While living in Hong Kong, Husband often criticized the Korean food I prepared. He was satisfied with all the non-Korean things, but the Korean food always brought out the critic him. It was "not enough salt" or "smelled funny" or "doesn't taste like my moms." Granted we were newly married and he was probably not used to my style of cooking, but I also know that I needed some more help on perfecting dishes. (I would get serious training later at the hands of my grandmother while living in Korea.) However, one dish he never complained about was kimchee fried rice. I used to go out of my way to get the kimchee, the pork belly, and fry it in the too tiny kitchen, while sweating and cursing Hong Kong weather.

This is now a favorite among our whole family, including allergy son. In fact, the first day Son had it, I was completely taken aback at Son's ability to eat spicy food. Although it wasn't super spicy, it still had more kick than any of the other food he had eaten up to that point. He loved it, gobbled it down, and I called husband with the question, "Guess who likes kimchee?" Husband responded," I don't know, the girls?" I said, "No. Someone new." He guessed Son and when I further related that he liked it spicy, he bellowed into the telphone, "That's my boy."

**Preparation notes
Do NOT throw away rice that is in your rice cooker. Do not leave rice in your rice cooker for too long either. Instead, cool the rice down and portion it off into single servings and seal them into ziploc bags to freeze. This is an easy way to ensure you always have some single servings of rice on hand and they also make for GREAT fried rice. In our family, I know that we are often eating fried rice, I often just portion a huge chunk for future fried rice usage.

Pork Belly and Kimchee Fried Rice

3-4 tablespoons oil (I use Canola because of Son, but a mixture of canola and sesame oil is fine)
1 lb pork belly, chopped into bite-sized pieces. (the Korean market sells it pre-sliced so I just chop it into small pieces.)
1 onion, diced
2 tablespoons of chopped garlic
2 tablespoons of grated ginger
3 cups of kimchee chopped into bite-sized pieces, the "riper"(more fermented), the better
6 cups of cooked rice

Optional garnishes:
chopped scallions
sesame seeds
fried egg

In a large fry pan or wok, over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil, chopped pork belly, onion, garlic and ginger. Cook and saute until pork is almost cooked through and fat has rendered, about 3 minutes. Add kimchee and cook until kimchee is translucent and cooked through. This time will vary as the riper the kimchee the less cooking time it will need. The more "fresher" kimchee will require more time for it to reach translucent stage, anywhere from 5-8 minutes. Also watch to make sure that the pork and kimchee is not too watery, as this will make the rice soggy.

Push the kimchee and pork to the outer portion of the fry pan leaving a hole in the middle. Add 1 tablespoon more of oil and quickly add the rice. Using your spoon gradually blend in the kimchee and pork into the rice. Cook together until all ingredients are well blended and incorporated together.

Serve and sprinkle with a bit of chopped green onion, sesame seed or egg if desired.

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Greek Panzanella Salad: Thinking About Friendships

For HKL who told me to make it and CJR who gave me the beautiful salad bowl

I admit it; my friends spoil me. One close friend, a rather private person, declared to me that she would friend more people on facebook in order to publicize my blog to people who didn't know me. Another friend sends me recipes asking me if they will work for my blog. Yet another wants to host a movie night so that my blog readers who may not know me have a chance to meet me. There are more that these cases of my wonderful friends coming together trying to help me promote my blog. One friend cooked for other people during a weekend and talked about my blog for 20 minutes (her menu was from my blog) and basically forced her guests to take down the website. (not really, but you know.) All these small gestures from my friends, all trying to publicize my blog and help it gain even more support - just tickle my insides and make me smile. I know they all want to encourage me and keep me going and it is truly those small gestures that get me going on the computer on days when I'm tired.

This recipe was one I saw on Ina Garten's Show, and the episode is appropriately titled, "What Are Friends For." It looked so appetizing and I immediately wanted to make it. Coincidentally enough, friend HKL also saw it and decided she would make it - and then sent me pictures and the recipe as well. What are friends for than to send you recipes of yummy food?

A traditional panzanella is an Italian bread salad and it is a way to use up old, stale bread by soaking it in water, squeezing the excess water out and tossing it with dressing and vegetables. This is not that kind of salad - it's really a Greek salad with really yummy homemade croutons mixed together with the dressing, hopefully to suck up all the delicious juices. It's a GREAT one for any potluck (as it needs to be served at room temperature) and a great side for a bbq. Tonight daughters and I had it with the Greek Roasted Chicken and it was gobbled up quickly. I only have one regret and that is I only had crumbled feta vs. chunk feta, as the crumbled feta made the salad not look as clean as I would have liked. However, I think from an eating perspective the crumbled is better as I don't necessarily like a huge chunk of feta to land in my mouth. For the most attractive presentation, cut the vegetables in EQUAL, bite sized chunks. This gives the salad a uniformity, while giving it beautiful color, texture and crunch.

Greek Panzanella (from Ina Garten)
Serves 6

Good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
Kosher salt
1 hothouse cucumber, (I used 3 persian/kirby cucumbers) unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted

Dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

Directions

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.

Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature. (I chose NOT to do the let alone method, as I prefer my salads more crisp and it was also very delicious.)

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Perfect for your next potluck

Turkey and Green Beans in Lettuce or Over Rice: One dish, two meals

A month after I was married, I moved to Hong Kong. Husband's job was there, and tearfully, and I mean tearfully I left the Bay Area, my family, my church, all my friends, my teaching career, and took off to a foreign country where I knew no one, save husband. We lived there for 3 years (husband for 4) and even now, I look back upon the experience as one of great learning and challenges.

One thing I really loved about Hong Kong was the quality of Chinese food - high quality, refined, delicious, unique, special and so different from what I had experienced here in the US. Even now, I cannot really enjoy the Chinese food here as it pales miserably in comparison to what I had eaten while living in HK.

So this dish - I am not going to call it Chinese food. I don't even want to call it "Asian" as it seems to be the easiest label thrown on foods these days. This is simply a dish that I used to make which is simple, satisfying and delicious. It does rely on some Chinese ingredients, but really it is just a yummy dish. You can serve it over rice for sort of a Korean "bimbimbap" style meal, or in lettuce, for those of you wishing to watch your carbs intake. It is great as an appetizer or even as the main meal. Daughter #1 LOVES it so much, she has it both over rice and and in lettuce and she can take down a good amount of food.

Turkey and Green Bean Lettuce Wraps (or over rice)
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
3 tablespoons grated ginger
3 tablespoons minced garlic
2-3 tablespoons of mild flavored oil (olive, canola, vegetable)
1.25 lbs ground turkey or ground chicken or ground pork
1/2 lb of french green beans (the skinny kind), cut into 1/2 inch pieces (or you can substitute 1 can of water chestnuts, chopped)
1/3 cup hoisin sauce (my preference is Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian which has NO artificial color in it)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce

For wrapping
1 bunch of romaine lettuce, leaves separated and washed
1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
1 cup of cucumbers, diced (use Persian cucumbers, Japanese cucumbers or English cucumbers)
3 tablespoons sambal oelek or chili garlic sauce (available at your local Chinese supermarket.)

Optional toppings
1/4 cup of chopped peanuts
1/2 cup washed fresh mung bean sprouts

1. Heat a large fry pan/wok over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add turkey/chicken/pork and cook until almost all cooked, about 2 minutes. Add green bean pieces and continue cooking until green beans are tender, another 2-3 minutes. Add both oyster sauce and hoison sauce and continue cooking until all the sauce is combined with the green beans and turkey.

2. Take one piece of romaine, and in it place a good heaping two tablespoons of turkey green bean filling. Top with a sprinkling of cucumbers and cilantro. If spice is desired add just the tiniest dab of sambal oelek.

3. Alternatively this can be placed over rice and then topped with a sprinkling of cucumbers and cilantro. Mix and enjoy.

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Ready to be eaten...what are you waiting for?

Blog Giveaway - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BLOG!

To YKK who first explained to me that I could do what I was doing on a blog

I made a phone call a moment ago to wish friend SPK a happy birthday and also to thank her for this journey that this blog has put me. It was her original demand that I produce a week of menus so that she didn't have to think of one. I never thought a year ago that I would still be doing this, still be working hard it, and still be enjoying it, but here I am. I am still going. I still love it, still obsess over what I will make next, and especially still love all the feedback and support. I get most excited when I can get someone who hasn't really enjoyed cooking to think about it again and get back into the kitchen. I am excited when moms who thought they were too busy to cook realize that with some practice and a few good recipes, they can produce delicious meals for their family.

Food brings people together, and families coming together at a meal is one of the most important and beautiful things about life. That is why I still cook, and that is why I will continue to encourage people to keep cooking for their families, no matter how small the effort. As Yoda once said, "There is no TRY. There is only DO." Do it. Cook for your families, your friends, your loved ones. It changes life in that moment, and it changes someone's perspective.

To honor that notion, I am having my second blog giveaway to celebrate a year on the job. This giveaway is for my FAVORITE grater, a NEW microplane grater, the one I simply cannot live without. I do my lemon zests on here, my cheese, ginger, garlic and it is an essential item in my kitchen.

To enter, simply enter a comment below which includes the following two things:
1. What do you intend to cook next from this blog?
2. For whom do you intend to cook it?

(FYI - I am stickler for following directions, probably due to my former career as a high school teacher, so if you fail to answer one of these two questions, your entry will be disqualified.)

A single winner will be chosen at random one week from today. ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. (But each spouse can enter once.) Please make sure you leave at least an email so that I can contact you and get your mailing address so that you can receive your prize. (US addresses only please.)

Thanks for all the fun and support this year! Hopefully another good year of recipes is still to come.

Asparagus Bits: It's all about garlic

I don't worry about vampires. I tell my kids not to worry about them. I tell my family, there is NO WAY a vampire would get within 50 feet of us with the amount of garlic this family consumes. We got through pounds of garlic in a week, and if there is no garlic at a meal, I feel bereft. The flavor is so essential to family's way of dining that if cook something in garlic, Son and Daughters #1 and #2 know it will taste good. It is, in fact, one of the most common things I hear when I take dinner requests. "Mom, can you cook that green vegetable (spinach, garlic, broccoli, asparagus) in garlic?" Ahhh...music to my ears.

This dish is almost exactly the same as my recipe for Green Bean Bits and I decided to make it because Son, with all of his many allergies and food restrictions LOVES green vegetables and I make them for him at least twice a day. I decided to try it out with asparagus and it was SUCH A HIT (imagine little 19 month old with fistfuls of asparagus pieces, shoving them into his mouth). Daughters both liked it as well, and I have to say, they taste pretty darn good. They are easy to eat (for kids) and easier to make (for moms.)

Asparagus Bits with Crispy Garlic
Serves 4

1.5 lbs asparagus
8-10 cloves of garlic thinly sliced (more if you like to keep away the vampires)
2 tablespoons mild flavored oil (I like canola or can even use olive oil)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut off and discard the tough woody side of the asparagus. Cut the remainder into into 1/2 inch bits. The easiest way to do this is to grab a handful, line them up and slice through the bunch.

2. Heat a fry pan over medium high heat. Add oil. Add garlic and a pinch of salt. Watch VERY carefully as garlic can quickly burn. Wait until garlic is golden and then add the cut asparagus bits. Saute over medium high heat until asparagus are tender and slightly blistered, about 3-4 minutes.

3. Serve and enjoy!

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A delicious plate to enjoy

Coffee Ice Cubes: Don't waste coffee and relax...

For TR who told me people would be interested in this

One of my students asked me recently, "What's a vice?" and I explained to him that a vice is something that is morally wrong, addictive, or corrupt that has a hold on you that you can't stop doing it, taking it, or drinking it. He then asked me, "Do you have a vice?" and I hesitated only a split second before replying, "Yes." He asked."What is it?" and I said, "Cussing." Yes folks I do love to cuss. I restrain myself, bite my tongue, sit on my words, twist my fingers, all to control the words that are not pleasing, not genteel and unladylike from coming out of my mouth. This is a vice I struggle to keep under control.

My other vice is coffee. I love it in all shapes and forms; I love to drink it in the morning when I first wake up and after the kids have gone to bed in the evening. Because I just adore it, I have to drink decaf as the amount of coffee I would like to drink in a day would probably wire me and not allow me to sleep. I also have to make it at home (although I do really love a coffeehouse coffee) because my habit would run me about $7.50 a day; add that up and it's $232 in a month. I have a thermal carafe pot and I'll prepare a large pot in the morning and I usually get a morning cup, a cup for someone who is visiting, and my evening dessert cup. But there are times when I don't find enough time to finish the carafe and I'm stuck with some coffee at the end of the day. I often just put it in a cup and refrigerate it so it's an "iced" coffee later, or my recent trend is simply taking the leftover coffee, pouring it into ice cube trays and freezing it for later use.

Today I took out some of the ice cubes, added some of a packet of Equal and poured low fat milk over the cubes and let it sit for a bit. Very quickly the coffee ice cubes melted, coloring the milk slowly and delicately with a caramel brown hue. The flavor? Ice cold coffee and milk - can't be beat. It was like drinking dessert.

I'm not going to write a recipe for this one; I will just simply to tell you, don't waste the coffee that is in your pot. Try not to use coffee that has been sitting in there all day on that low heat (that would taste horrible) but if you finish your morning cup and you have a bit leftover, turn it into ice cubes and some time soon, you too can have a delicious cold coffee treat. I find that if I indulge in my coffee vice, I have less desire to succumb to my other one. (the mouth is full and satisfied.)

Soy Reduction Glazed Chicken: Entering Middle Age

To my old physical body...

I've never been one to really complain about my age. When I turned 30, it was really no big deal, and 35 passed without a hitch. Those ages didn't really bother me because I didn't FEEL old, nor did I really look it. But as I near 38 and calculate that half my life is over, I notice things on me that seemingly have appeared overnight: white hairs sprouting in the FRONT part of my head (those who have white hair patches hidden, this is totally different), tiny little spider veins over the upper part of my thighs, and a midsection that doesn't seem to want to shrink, no matter the amount of exercise I throw at it. My body, my youthful body, the one that I had used, loved, and cared for was leaving me without a backward glance. In its place was a less attractive, less glamorous, and more worn version of myself.

But I decided to go down fighting and in recent weeks have been trying to significantly lighten up my diet, eat no cupcakes or cookies, and especially in the evening, eat a meal heavy in vegetables, with some protein and a touch of starch. The result was that I started looking better, feeling less "old", and created a new dish that makes chasing youth taste delicious.

The meal is one of a soy glazed chicken recipe my mom used to make for me and I added to the top of the Ginger Slaw with a handful of chopped cilantro. It's my own version of an "Asian Salad" only without all the fussy extras of fried wontons or fried noodles (not really the friend of people who are trying to lose their mid-section anyways).

Soy Reduction Glazed on top of Ginger Slaw with Cilantro

Soy Reduction Glazed Chicken
Serves 3-4

2-3 lbs boneless skinless breasts (breast tenders are also fine for this)

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 inches of ginger root, peeled, and sliced into thin slices (you do not want chopped ginger as you'll get bits of floating fuzzy stuff which isn't cute in this recipe)

In a heavy sauce pan, add water, soy, sugar, sake, sesame oil, garlic and ginger slices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Once the sauce is cool, pour over chicken breasts and allow them to marinate in the refrigerator. The longer the marination, the more intense the flavor. At least 3 hours.

Due to the nature of breast meat, I would recommend either cooking a fry pan or on the bbq grill. In both cases, cook the chicken over medium heat until they are cooked through, about 5-7 minutes per side. In both cases, watch carefully as the sugar in the marinade lends itself to burning easily.

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