My Version of Homemade Kimchi

So, I know all of you want to know how I'm surviving here in Germany without Korean food at my beck and call...

I am having to make my own kimchi!

Anyhow, I realized that to keep my Korean-ness in tact, I decided to learn how to make kimchi at home and luckily, I was able to find an simple recipe that resulted in delicious kimchi.  Also, I am able to find just about all the ingredients I need here as well without having to specially import or order anything...

Anyhow, I thought I'd share how I do it here with you.  I made my third batch today.

I found the recipe at this link from Pinterest:  http://www.withaglass.com/?p=8738  I took this recipe and blended with a bit of another recipe I saw on Pinterest, and it resulted in a simplified, tasty kimchi that I could eat immediately, but tasted even better two days later with some fermentation!

So, the ingredients you need:

* 1 Chinese (Napa) cabbage
* about 3-4 tablespoons coarse salt (I usually use sea salt)
* two heaped tablespoons of Korean chili powder (or you can just use the red pepper flakes by McCormick's, but use only one tablespoon because it may not be as red, but it is super hot)
* 1 tablespoon sugar (or about half an apple or pear...but I haven't tried this)
* about a half a thumbnail size chunk of fresh ginger, peeled, but no need to grate
* 2-3 scallion stalks, cut into small pieces
* 1-2 garlic cloves (I usually go overboard here because my whole family loves the garlic flavor...)
* 2 tablespoons fish sauce (this can be found in the international aisle in most regular grocery stores - I personally don't think this adds any fishy flavor, but if you think it may bother you, you can omit, I think)
* small scoop of cooked rice

OK!  On with the show.

First, chop off the end of the cabbage and discard the most outer layers of the cabbage.  Then, chop up the cabbage into bite-size pieces.  Then, I rinse the cabbage and sprinkle the salt on top and mix it so all the cabbage pieces are covered.  This is to break down the cells a bit and reduce the water content in order to make it maintain some of the crispness after it ferments.

(This is two cabbages, by the way...I just double the recipe so I don't run out within a week!)

Let it sit in the salt "marinade" for about an hour or so, but check on it periodically to make sure it's not getting too salty for your taste.  You'll see water starting to come out of the cabbage.  To check the saltiness (and crispness - like a pickle), just grab a piece of cabbage and rinse it well under fresh water and taste it.  If it's salty enough for you, it's ready.

Once the cabbage is ready, take the cabbage and rinse it thoroughly in cold water to wash out the excess salt and stop the pickling.  Squeeze out as much water as you can and put it in the container you want to ferment the kimchi in so you don't have to transfer it again and dirty another container!  Make sure it's large enough to accommodate the excess juices that will come out as it ferments and make sure it's also large enough for you to mix it well with the marinade.

Now to make the marinade.

Take all the ingredients (3 through 8 in the list) and put into a container in which you can blend all the ingredients together really well.  I use one of these for blending (makes for really easy clean-up):

So, I throw everything into this:

Then, I take my hand blender and blend it to smithereens!  See?

Now, if you don't have one of these handy hand blenders, you can easily use a food processor or a regular blender...just make sure you clean it well so you're not trying to blend margaritas later and you get kimchi flavored margaritas...

Once you've done that, then you need to add the small scoop of cooked rice.  The original recipe calls for a rice paste or something, but no need to go through all that work.  You're just trying to make it come together (I think), so I got the tip from my mom and use a small scoop of cooked rice.  I can't tell you exactly how much to use, but I just used about this much for a double batch:

Please pardon my weird looking hand, but I wanted to give you something to be able to relate the size.  Don't know if it helps at all...

Anyhow, drop that scoop of rice right into the blender (or cup for blending) and blend away once more!  Once it has blended in, then you are ready to marinade the cabbage!

I usually put on my disposable gloves now and just use my hand to scoop out the marinade paste and drop it right into the prepared cabbage, like so:

Now, mix it all up so all the cabbage is thoroughly covered by the paste.  Like so:

Now you're all done!  I usually leave it out at room temperature covered for a day or two before jarring it all up in mason jars and refrigerating it.  I continue to taste it as it ferments to make sure that it isn't getting overly tangy!  Although, if it does get overly tangy, it's still salvageable because you can now stir-fry it with a bit of sesame oil and eat it like that, or stir-fry in some rice with it and make some kimchi fried rice!  Either way, there you go!  Easy enough?  

You can also add some grated carrots or turnip slices or whatever other vegetable, I think.  I have added turnips I found here in Germany and found that these added a nice flavor, but added a little too much spice for the girls, so I left them out in this batch.

Hope you enjoy the kimchi and let me know if you have any questions!

Italian Drip Beef

This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cooking inspirations, the Pioneer Woman.  She posted the "Italian Drip Beef" that you make on the stove, so I adapted it for the slow cooker.

So, here's my take on Italian Drip Beef in the slow cooker.

First, gather the ingredients:
2 to 3 Pounds of roasting beef (I usually use a pot roast)
2 cups any broth (or one can) - I usually don't have beef broth on hand, so I use chicken or vegetable
3 heaping tablespoons of Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon salt (but I skip it if my broth is already seasoned)
1/4 cup water
1 jar of Pepperonicini Peppers, with Juice

Then, get your slow cooker and put the slab of beef in it like so:

 Add the two cups of broth:

 Add three heaping tablespoons of Italian Seasoning:

 Grab your Peperoncini peppers...here's the brand our grocery store carried:

Pour in the juice and anywhere between half to all the peppers.  Jeff and I both really like the cooked peppers, so the whole jar goes in, but it does get a little too spicy for the wee ones, so you may want to reduce the amount you put in the pot:

Then, I take my tablespoon measurer (reducing another utensil I have to wash) and stir around the Italian seasoning so I don't have too much dry seasoning sitting on top of the beef or surface of the broth:

There...all mixed in:

Then cover, and cook on high for about six hours or on low for about ten...

When it's done, it'll look kinda like this:

And then I usually take two forks and just shred it right in the slow cooker.

This goes great with rice and a side of vegetable, or you can put it on a roll or toasted bun and it makes a great sandwich with a slice of cheese on top.

Enjoy!

My adventures in Pinterest things...and cooking.

For those of you who know me, I've recently (as in the past three years or so) developed an addiction to cooking...mainly baking, but I'm branching out into other cooking arenas. Anyhow, since I have stopped working outside the home, I have had more time to enjoy the kitchen and share with you some of my creations.  

I'm a "simplifier" when it comes to cooking.  I don't like having to buy a whole bunch of random ingredients and equipment just to make one dish.  I search out simple recipes (and simple activities) and try to do them with what I have on hand.  Pinterest is absolutely fantastic for finding brilliant people who have already done most of the work for me in simplifying recipes or activities...so I thought it might be a good idea to create my own blog as I venture through the different posts and my trial and error attempts with the pins I choose.  I will also include some of my easy favorite recipes...

So, I hope you can join me sometime and leave me your comments on how the recipes or pins worked out for you!