Bulgogi Marinade sweetened with Carazuc: GIVEAWAY!!

The very very generous folks over at Stephen James Organics  have graciously agreed to sponsor my next giveaway and it's a super fabulous package of 2 bags of carazuc, pink Himalayan salt, and a can each of cocoa and regular pili nuts.  Not only are they sponsoring one winner but they want to give away TWO!  I'm so lucky that these folks are super generous.

I came to know about Stephen James through a friend of mine who lives in HK and told me about a contest that they were having.  I ended up entering the rice pudding and by some crazy twist of fate, I ended up winning second prize.  With that win, I politely asked if they might be willing to sponsor a giveaway and they completely have been generous and amazing to work with.  Their products are organic, unusual, and unfortunately not available in stores in the US (they are in Hong Kong!)  but you can find them on amazon.com.

The product I really enjoy using is their carazuc, which is a sweetener but it doesn't spike your blood sugar levels.  I've used it as a one to one substitute in a lot of my baking with great success, but I wanted to experiment with it in my savory cooking, and so I decided to marinate some Korean bulgogi (thinly sliced ribeye) and the results were really wonderful.  The carazuc adds sweetness and an depth of flavor to the meat and made for a delicious meal that my kids really loved.  It dissolves in liquid similarly to sugar (probably a bit faster) and has a slightly smoky hint but tastes great with the meat.

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to marinating my bulgogi, so aside from the carazuc, I marinated the way that my mom taught me and the way that my family loves best.  I always makes sure my marinade is fully mixed, carazuc/sugar fully dissolved before dipping each individual slice of meet into the marinade and then adding it to a separate bowl.  My mom told me that this is the REAL way of making bulgogi and I have to say it's the only way I do it.  I'm not tempted to try and dump everything all together in a bowl - it just doesn't make sense to do it that way.  Your chances of getting a nice even marinade on each slice is drastically reduced.

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Now that you've entered the contest, definitely think about trying out this delicious marinade on your bulgogi.  If you don't have carazuc (because you haven't won the contest yet) go ahead and substitute sugar, and then when you do WIN the contest, substitute the carazuc.

Bulgogi Marinade Sweetened with Carazuc
Serves 4 to 6 people

Ingredients
¼  cup soy
¼  cup carazuc or white sugar
¼ cup  water
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sake
2 T minced garlic (or more if you like it more garlicky)
¼ cup green onions finely chopped
1 tablespoons ground sesame seeds
2 teaspoons black pepper

1 to 1.5 lbs thinly sliced ribeye (bulgogi cut, available at your local Korean market)

Method
Mix all the marinade ingredients together making sure that the carazuc/sugar is completely dissolved.

Have a clean storage container ready and dip each slice of bulgogi into the marinade and place into your storage container. Continue until you are done with all the beef.

There are two fry pan methods of cooking the beef - one that gives you lots of extra liquid (which husband LOVES) and one that gives you no liquid and just a really flavorful beef (which is what I love.) The liquid saucy version means that you have to cook the beef in a cold fry pan. Put the beef in a fry pan and then turn on the heat and cook it over medium heat until done.

The non-saucy, more caramelized version means that you start the beef in a HOT fry pan. Heat up your fry pan and then place the slices in there and cook over medium high heat, quickly until it is all cooked through.

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Maple Bacon: Simple changes

The other day, I got a notice taped to the side of my house which read, "Free TV pick up, Thursday March 28" and I was very excited.  Inside Children's playroom sat a large, 17 year old TV, one of the big clunky heavy ones, that was basically unused and just hanging out.  The opportunity to eliminate it was just too good and so Husband and I decided that we'd lug the TV to the curb as the flyer requested and get rid of it once and for all.

Only it wasn't that easy as since this is one of the OLD types of TVs, the thing weighed more than the two of us combined.  I also don't consider myself a weakling but this TV was HEAVY.    After barely making it to the front where Husband and I realized that we hadn't opened the door in preparation, we had to set the thing down.  Then we decided to push it across the foyer, and then we got stuck in the front door.  Husband had the brilliant idea of using a cast off office chair as a type of dolly so I grabbed that and we clumsily hoisted the TV onto the chair and basically pushed/dragged the chair-TV combo to the front.  We set the TV down and walked back into the house.

Can I just try and express to you how different the room looks without the big black box?  It's totally opened up a new space, and that simple elimination of one rather clunky piece of antiquated technology dramatically changed the space into something phenomenally new.   You can see more white walls, you have more space to move around and I have more room to rearrange the lego build area AGAIN.  

Simple changes make for something brand new.  Even in cooking, simple changes can make something taste even better.  I decided to brush bacon with maple syrup and see what yumminess could occur and the result was delicious - salty, sweet, slightly caramelized.  It's amazing on a BLT sandwich, delicious with pancakes, and the best part is that you cook it in the oven so it's easy to make.

Maple Bacon

Makes 8 to 12 pieces

Ingredients

12 to 16 ounces of thick-sliced applewood bacon (you can try thinner slices, but it will cook up faster in the oven)

2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup

Method

Preheat oven to 400.

On a large roasting rack, lay bacon in a single layer.  Definitely use a rack as you want the bacon to drain the fat.  Place bacon in oven and cook for 16-20 minutes, until golden.  Remove from oven and then brush a nice layer of maple syrup on top of of each slice.  Return to oven and bake for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from oven, and immediately remove bacon from roasting pan and drain on a paper towel  If you do not remove bacon immediately, the syrup will harden,  it will stick to the pan and will be near impossible to remove.

Serve alone, with pancakes, or on a BLT.

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Blueberry Crumb Cake: When the crumbs fall in your lap

After I finished my lessons today, Daughters came up to me and basically tattled on the behavior of Son, who had, in their words, behaved badly at the park, teasing and being unnecessarily mean to some younger kids who were complete strangers.  I was so shocked and stunned I couldn't react.  Why would my sweet, adorable, little ANGEL do such a thing?

I knew, however, that their words were true.  They were relating the story of my angel as he's growing up and learning HOW to behave in social situations, and this particular behavior I found very offensive and troubling.  I came out and looked him straight in the eye and I said calmly, "I want you to think about what you've done, and after mommy cools down a bit, we are going to have a conversation."

"I don't WANT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION!"  Son sobbed, through a river full of tears.  Good, I thought to myself.  At least he feels something and he knows that something is up.

As I collected my thoughts in the shower, I knew I wanted to make a point about the meanness of words.  I wanted him to understand the pain that comes from being mean and how words, however small, can cut deeply and often do.  I collected my thoughts, thought of the Bible and the ministry of Jesus while He was on earth.  Ultimately, I wanted him to know of the damage and pain that hurtful words and teasing cause.

After everyone was clean, calm, and composed, we all sat down on the sofa, albeit #3 was less than attentive as he hates the feeling of being in trouble.  But we sat, discussed and I explained what the Bible taught us about how to treat others and ultimately what Jesus taught us about how to treat others.  I ended with what it means to be a victim of someone who is unkind and teases and says mean things.

"Mommy writes stories about her life, her work, her food and there are more than a few times where people think that saying mean or unkind things to her is okay.  But I want to tell you that oftentimes those words hurt mommy's feelings and just because the person who says them to me is a stranger, it doesn't make it easier to hear.  How do you think mommy feels when someone says something mean to her?  And how do you feel knowing that people say mean things to mommy?"

#3 proceeded to burst out into tears, some out of remorse, perhaps some out of the relief that it wasn't going to be a super long tirade of mommy explaining all the things that he had done wrong.  I tried to take the crumbs of pain from my own life and turn them into something of value and of learning for Children.  I'm not sure if they'll remember it the next time the temptation to tease someone but hopefully they've learned from my own crumbly experience and it'll become a small part of their own learning.

I made this delicious blueberry crumb cake this morning, without any thought of the crazy mental gymnastics I'd end up doing in order to figure out how best to react to the afternoon's bullying/teasing situation.  The cake is buttery, totally rich and delectable, and if you're a person who likes crumb (like me!) then you're going to love the rich buttery wonderfulness that is in this cake.  This certainly isn't low calorie or a diet food, but it's a delicious way to showcase blueberries and a more-than-nice-enough cake to share with others.  I shared mine with teachers, neighbors, and friends.  

The recipe has two parts as you have to make the crumb topping separately from the cake itself, but making crumb topping (melt butter, add sugar and flour) is so easy you might decide that you want to add a crumb topping on everything.  Make the cake, either in a bowl of an electric mixer or with a hand mixer and sprinkle with a ton of blueberries and you're ready to go!

Blueberry Crumb Cake 

(adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food June 2008)

Makes 1 8X8 inch square, serving 6 to 8 people

Crumb Topping

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

½  cup packed light-brown sugar

¼  teaspoon salt

1 cup of all purpose flour

Method

In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and  salt; add 1 cup flour, and mix with a fork until large moist crumbs form. Refrigerate topping until ready to use.  (Refrigeration really helps set the crumb topping so that when you go to bake it you get a gorgeous topping and not a bunch of melted stuff.)

Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

1 cup sugar

¾ cup all-purpose flour 

¼   teaspoon salt

½  teaspoon baking powder

1  teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

11 oz fresh blueberries

Method

Preheat oven to 350.   Line an 8X8 baking pan with parchment, leaving overhang of paper if possible, and grease well with either butter or cooking spray.

Whisk together remaining flour, baking powder, salt; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Scrape down sides.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture. 

Spread batter evenly in pan and sprinkle with blueberries.  On top of blueberries, sprinkle chilled crumb topping.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares.

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Snickerdoodle Cupcakes: When the glass is half full

To all the people at BIES and everyone else that came to help out!

Our book fair is a twice a year event, with the opportunity to raise cash funds for our library, so that our wonderful school librarian can purchase books.  Our book fairs make a fair bit of money for our library and it's an opportunity that I have where I can talk to kids about books, ask them what they are reading, and essentially berate them into trying something new.  You'd be surprised how many kids and parents come back to find the crazy book fair lady (that's ME) waving her hands wildly and encouraging kids to try something new.  "Enough of Percy Jackson. How about some Newberry Award Winners?"  Yep, that's me.  Crazy book fair lady.

I do love the book fair, and each time it occurs, it's a week where Family is completely ignored.  I don't believe I cooked a single meal during the week of the book fair.  I relied on all my frozen soups, all the food I had frozen ahead of time, left Children to their own devices where homework, piano practice, and extra math was concerned and basically lived and breathed the book fair.  I still had to teach my students so I worked around that schedule, but the book fair consumed JA's and my time completely for a week.

The number one problem I HATE dealing with during book fair is the stress over volunteers.  We have a signup sheet, but invariably I end up running around school about a week prior, begging friends, acquaintances, strangers  to volunteer an hour or two of their time. But even with cajoling, begging and threats I have never filled my 78 volunteer slots on the sheet. I think the closest I ever came was about 50 percent filled, and this time the book fair was no different.  I ended up getting my neighbors, the fabulous C family to help out, and this included the father, the mother, daughter and son, who all came out to cashier, watch the door, and run around campus looking for an extra trashcan.  I also had to ask people who were busy with the auction from the weekend before, and even though they had just come off of an intense month of planning their fundraiser, a number of them offered to come and help.  My close friends who saw my stress and desperation willingly gave hours to me and new faces who just wanted to try something new and volunteer also showed up. 

At some point I stopped focusing on the 50 percent of slots that weren't filled and became grateful for the 50 percent of slots that were, and the wonderful set up and breakdown crews, and different cashiers that dashed in from full time jobs to give time for an hour.  The people that came to help at our book fair party just rocked it. Sure it wasn't as many as I wanted or needed, but there were new faces this time who were willing to just give their hour.

A huge thanks to people who just came out and helped.  I'm grateful.  To my co-chair JA - you're awesome and a huge reason I keep doing the book fair.  I wanted to make something for people who went the extra mile to help out so I experimented with these snickerdoodle cupcakes.  They are super yummy, taste like the cookie with the hints of vanilla and cinnamon, and just satisfy that simple cupcake/cookie craving.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Makes 24 regular size or 48 mini

Snickerdoodle Cake

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out

2 ¾  cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½  teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

Method

Preheat oven to 350. 

Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.  Add vanilla bean seeds.  Mix again.

Measure the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.

Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  (Minis might take 1 or 2 minutes less)

Snickerdoodle Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup of unsalted butter, softened

1 8oz pack of cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3-4 cups confectioner sugar (I try and use as little as I can, but make sure it's pipeable)

Method

Cream butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until texture is uniform. Add cinnamon and mix again.  Add 2 cups of confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. Add 2 more cups and again mix on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. The key to really creamy frosting is to NOT beat too much air into the frosting but rather, on a medium speed, beat it until it is creamy.

When cupcakes are fully cool, spread frosting with a knife or using a piping bag and tip.  (Wiltons 2D and 1M are both nice ones to make swirls.)

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Sweet rewards.

Vanilla beans should you need them - this is where I get mine.
T

Two great books that I loved to sell at the book fair this year.

Pasta with Sausage, Broccolini, and Garlic: A Year Supply of Pasta Giveaway!

The folks over at Golden Grain Pasta generously offered to send me 8 boxes of their new Hidden Veggie Pasta, and also offered to sponsor a giveaway of year's supply of pasta (2 boxes of pasta a month -24 boxes total) for one lucky reader!  I couldn't turn down such an opportunity to try pasta, which is one of Family's absolute favorite meals, so I asked them to send me my sample!

Although the pasta does have some vegetables in it (carrots and squash), it isn't enough for me in terms of providing my family an adequate mix of protein, vegetables, and starch.  Time is always short in my house so I wanted to make a one pot pasta.  I decided to make one that used the vegetables that are dark green, broccolini, with some yummy Italian sausage and garlic.  The end result was a meal that everyone enjoyed and gobbled down.  The recipe has a dairy free option, which uses more chicken stock, and a dairy option which uses some heavy cream.  Both versions are very delicious.

Pasta with Sausage and Broccolini
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 box of Golden Grain Hidden Vegetable Pasta (or your choice of another pasta)
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casing removed, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, minced or through a press
¼ chicken stock
1 lb broccolini, chopped into 1 inch pieces
¼ cup heavy cream or chicken stock (depends if you want it to be dairy free)
3 tablespoons of basil, finely chopped
¼  cup Parmesan cheese (for serving)

Method
Boil water for pasta. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, over medium heat, add olive oil and sausages. After sausages are browned, add garlic. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add chicken stock and broccolini. Cover and cook until broccolini is slightly tender and bright green about 5 minutes.

Toss in pasta, and toss together well.  Finish with cream or additional chicken stock.  Add basil and serve.  Pass Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

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Vegan Blueberry Banana Muffins (with Carazuc): The things we do for love

With Husband now home, there has been a lot of adjustment.  I'll be truthful - the first days of adjustments have been hard for me.  The wakeups happen much earlier, there are additional lunches and breakfasts to pack and prepare, and I need to be much more alert and on the ball.  I'm helping manage and orchestrate the lives of five people, not four, and Tuesday - let's just say Tuesday was extra special.

In an effort to help Husband adjust to the commuting life back in the US, I've found myself doing things I never thought I would.  I've analyzed bus routes, compared alternative modes of transportation, looked at carpooling possibilities and hunted down a bus line in order to see how his commuter life could improve.  On Tuesday, I got out the map that charts the bus that travels around our city and takes its passengers to the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station.  I wanted to find every single stop near our house - ones that could be reached by foot, others that could be driven to.  I wanted to check ease of parking, ease of access, and the best scheduling in terms of his early morning commute.  As I drove the route, I began planning in my head, my future as a bus driver.  Just kidding.  As I drove, I had a moment of wondering - WHY AM I DOING THIS?

Let me be clear.  Husband didn't ask me to do it.  I wanted to do it. I wanted to find the best way for him to get to work.  I wanted to help him negotiate a tough commute and give him lots of options.  I wanted to get him to work faster, easier, with less stress.  And so I took an hour out of my day to figure it out.  Turns out there is a bus stop right near our house, a quick 4 minute walk away, that he doesn't have to drive to, and he can catch the bus there.  When I found the stop and measured and calculated time and scheduling efficacy, I did a huge fist pump in the air as I felt it was pretty darn awesome.

Why do all of this nuttiness?  Because I'm crazy?  Maybe, but not likely.  Because I love driving around aimlessly up and down streets, as if I'm on a treasure hunt for bus stops? Not quite.  Because I have time to spend and gas to burn?  No way.  I do it, because I love Husband.  I find myself wanting to do something lovely for him, even if that loveliness is something as mundane as working out his morning commute.  I don't want to go into a full sappy speech about why he is so wonderful and how much I love him.  I know it.  Because there is no one else on earth that would get a personalized bus route and parking analysis except for Husband.

After driving like a bus driver all over my city, I came home and whipped up some of these muffins.  I'm continually experimenting with Stephen James Organics Carazuc, because I love the flavor and the sweetness it adds while being a healthier choice than refined sugar.  You can use maple sugar or brown sugar in place of the carazuc if you can't get your hands on carazuc.    The muffins turned out to be something that Children loved, so it turned out to be a pretty darn good day after all, with the bus routes, yummy muffins, and a lot of love.

Vegan Blueberry Banana Muffins (with Carazuc)
Makes 12 to 14 regular sized muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
⅓  cup unsweetened coconut milk (from a carton - Trader Joes or So Delicious)
½ cup carazuc (or brown sugar)
3 large ripe bananas
1 cup fresh blueberries, or frozen unthawed

Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cupcake/muffin pan with liners. In a medium bowl, measure out and mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mash and squish bananas and carazuc (or sugar) together.  Add vanilla, oil, and coconut milk..  Mix well.

Add blueberries to the dry mixture. Toss until blueberries are well coated with flour mixture. Add dry blueberry mixture to the wet mixture. Use a VERY light hand to mix at this point. The more mixing you do the tougher the muffin so try not to over mix. You want everything well mixed together but not over mixed.

Divide batter equally in liners. Bake until golden brown, about 22-30 minutes.

Cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Then enjoy.

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