Korean Spicy Chive Salad

Every year, my garlic chives never fail me. My chives actually spread and multiplied like crazy this year. I have chives coming up in areas of my raised beds that shouldn't be right now. Today, I decided to harvest a small portion of chives and make spicy chive salad.

Perilla Kimchi

I LOVE perilla!!  It's great when eating grilled pork belly saam!! Mmmmm....pork belly. Instead of using lettuce to wrap the pork belly, I just use straight perilla. This year, I grew way too much, which isn't that hard. I recently killed 3 of 7  plants because I was picking tons of perilla on a daily basis.  I ended up with a ginormous bag...

Napa Kimchi with Fish Sauce

Early in the summer, I was able to grow three decent napa cabbages. They were really chewed up by slugs but decent regardless so I decided to make kimchi.  And do it the old fashioned way.  :-P 

I used a recipe found here: Maangchi. 

Jin Pang or Korean Steamed Buns/ Chinese Bao

I have cravings for specific Korean foods sometimes.  Today, it was Jin Pang or Korean steamed bread also known as Chinese steamed buns or bao. 

Korean Pepper Paste (GoChujang) Part 1

I decided to make Korean pepper paste today.  I'm sick of buying the stuff and finding out that the store bought pepper paste has MSG or some other unsavory preservative.  I like to know what I'm eating even more so these days since it seems like food sensitivity is on the rise.  I found this recipe on Maangchi but instead of making the whole recipe, I made half.  It still made a ton, more than enough for 2 people. 

The Weekend: Final Winter Prep + Bachelor Radish Kimchi!

This weekend has been a busy one so far.  Winter is upon us now and the temps. have been dipping in the evenings to somewhere around 35 to 40 degrees for the past couple of nights.  Most of my veggies can withstand a bit of cold but I still wanted to get ready for the freeze.  Earlier on, I had built hoops out of PVC pipes.  They seem to be o.k. but wobbly.  I'm going to see how they do this winter and if it turns out the hoops aren't stable enough, I'll clamp them down to the sides of the beds. The "sand worms" were a total FAIL!!  They tended to leak sand if it rained and weren't heavy enough to hold the plastic sheeting down.  The good thing was that putting up the plastic when I did was premature anyway; it got really warm again, which gave me a chance to rethink the whole plastic situation.  In the meantime, the sand worms that I had made, I've been using to secure my tulle netting.

Kimchi + Tomato + Frog + Mulch Weekend

Pickles.  I love pickles- dill, bread & butter, relish- LOVE pickles.  But, I don't know how to make Western pickles because I didn't grow up canning or pickling them.  I do know Korean style pickling! So, what to do with 1 small green cabbage and a couple of cucumbers from the garden?

KIM CHEEEEEEE!

Kimchi: Blender Version

I'm always searching for the right kimchi recipe. The first version I made was good but way too salty due to the kosher salt fiasco.  Since then, I've been searching for a better way to make it.  So, the other day, I had dinner with my mother, my aunt and my cousin and a conversation developed about kimchi, of course.  Kimchi is serious business in Korean culture; it's like BBQ in the south! Recipes were discussed and cooking books were pulled out and I soaked it all in!