Thailand

With all the Asian markets around me, I couldn't help but fix up this delicate soup while it was a little chilly. Tom Kha Gai literally means "Chicken Galangal Soup" and is a relatively traditional soup from this country. The balance of flavors is really incredible and there are several ways of varying the recipe.

Tom Kha Gai
3 cups chicken broth (I use one can and then add two cans of water and use the chicken in the recipe to make a more "homemade" broth flavor)
4 kaffir lime leaves****
3-5 inch section of fresh lemongrass, cut on an angle ~1/2 inch thick
6 slices of galangal ~1/8 inch thick (you may use 2 similar slices of fresh ginger if that's all you have)
1/4 cup Fish sauce (nam pla)  Don't skip this ingredient!
1/2 cup lime juice
2-3 Thai chilies, finely chopped
2 chicken breasts or thigh meat, cubed
1 large can coconut milk
Chopped cilantro

**** Kaffir lime leaves are extremely controlled in my area as the tree is known to carry a bug that is currently destroying some of the more delicate ecosystems in California. If you can't find these leaves, just use the zest of one of your limes. It's not exactly the same flavor, but you get a similar effect in the soup. Just make sure your zest does not contain the bitter white part of the peel.

Combine your chicken broth, lime leaves (or zest), galangal (or ginger), fish sauce, lime juice, and chilies in a sauce pan. Bring to a slow simmer and add the chicken and coconut milk. Simmer long enough to cook the chicken and flavor the broth (about 20 minutes). Add the coconut milk. Serve in a small bowl as an appetizer or a large bowl (with rice or rice noodles) as the main meal. Always serve with a generous sprinkling of cilantro.

I've also seen this soup with straw mushrooms and thin slivers of red bell pepper. I don't care for canned straw mushrooms, but I think the bell pepper would be fantastic. I've read that Laos has a similar dish that is garnished with dill instead of cilantro. If I had some dill I'd try it both ways.

Southeast France

I know I gush about just about every dish I've made so far, but this one was really amazing.

This week I made Pissaladiere, which looks, sounds, smells, and tastes impressive while being one of the cheapest and easiest recipes I've done so far.

This dish is a Nicoise specialty that uses a few key ingredients that this area of France is known for. Onions, anchovies, olives, and olive oil. If you think you don't like anchovies, try this recipe. You can vary the amount you use in the recipe to make it light or heavy handed in flavor. When baked, these salty fishes add a nutty element to the dish that contributes to the depth of its flavor.

Pissaladiere:

Puff pastry or pie dough (just enough for a bottom crust)
4 lbs onions (I used about 7), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
12-15 nice olives (I love kalamatas. DON'T use canned black olives!!!)
3- infinite anchovy filets
1 sprig thyme
2 1/2 oz (or a nice dribble) olive oil
pinch of white sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Salt your onions lightly , add sugar, garlic, thyme, and olive oil and cook them until soft, over low heat, until soft and translucent (up to 45 minutes) Don't brown them! You're not making onion soup.
Place your pastry or dough in the pie dish and allow it to sit ~15-20 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 390
Bake the dough 10 minutes to dry it out.
Remove from oven and either spread your mashed anchovy paste on the bottom or sparsely scatter a few filets. Add your onions in a very thick layer, it should fill like a pie when you add the filling.
Arrange your olives on top and add the rest of your anchovies (if you please).
Drizzle a tad of olive oil on top and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to rest for a few minutes, but don't let it cool yet.
Serve it nice and hot or at room temperature (I like it piping hot).

The caramalized onions and salt from the olives with the nuttiness of the anchovy were to die for!

Burkina Faso

This week I cooked a recipe from Burkina Faso called Boussan Touba. The recipe seemed a little simple to taste very good, but I tried it anyway. I am so glad I did! The ingredients transform into a nutty, savory, cruchy and chewy cake that I will definitely be making again. I already bought the ingredients to do it again.

Blackeyed peas are one of the main agricultural products of this country (beside millet and peanuts) and is the main ingredient in this particular recipe. The actual name of the dish pokes fun at the "characteristic" large ears of one of the ethnic groups, but I think it should mean "bean recipe you'll never want to live without".

Though the recipe can vary a little, this is the one I used:

1 can of blackeyed peas, drained
2 carrots, diced small
1 onion, minced
1 egg, whisked
1/3 c flour
bread crumbs to coat (can also use flour to coat)
oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste

Sweat the carrots and onion until the carrots are soft (probably about 10-13 minutes) and add some salt and pepper. Sweating is a method of releasing the fragrance of these ingredients without searing them. They shouldn't turn brown, just get softer. Add the can of peas and heat them through. Transfer the ingredients to a bowl and mash them. It doesn't have to be perfect, there should be pieces of carrot and small chunks of onion and individual beans, but try to mash up some of it. You can use a blender if you want.
I don't own many kitchen appliances, so I find other ways of blending, mashing, and reheating. I figure most of the foods I'm cooking weren't originally made with a Cuisinart, so I should be okay.

Add the whisked egg and stir to combine. Add the flour in small amounts, making sure to combine it all thoroughly. The mixture should be thick and sticky at this point. Add more or less flour to your liking. Then use spoons to measure out balls of the mixture which you will coat with flour or bread crumb. Flatten them with your palm and fry them in oil (about 2-3 minutes per side). Light salt and pepper when they come out, then put them in your face!

As you can see from my photo, the oil was a little hot for the top bean cake but it still tasted fantastic. They're usually eaten over rice and I threw together a little butter lettuce with some parsley oil on top. The flavor is incredible and the protein in the beans and egg keep you full like you've had a serving of meat.

Bon Appetit!

visit 1 to Mexico

It was a bit chilly for most of the week and I looooove eating hot and savory soups to warm up. This soup isn't specific to Mexico; similar to my last post it is found in many varieties all over the world. Caldo de Res basically means "Beef soup", and I absolutely adore this recipe. Find yourself a good butcher for the meat dishes I'm making, for goodness sake. The flavor of food is highly affected by the quality of ingredients you use. This soup allows for a lot of creativity. You can use whatever vegetables tickle your fancy!

Caldo de Res

2-3 lbs beef shank or neck bones
1 onion, chopped
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
3-4 bottles beer (I've tried a few different brands, but I prefer using a sweeter amber like Fat Tire)
4-5 bottles of water (just re-fill your beer bottles)
2 ripe plantains (black)
2 medium russet potatoes
1 can corn (or 4 halved ears of corn)
5 celery stalks, large chunks
4 carrots, large chunks
1/2 head green cabbage, roughly chopped
1 bunch cilantro
2-3 limes

Sear your beef bones over high heat until they get a nice crust on them. Alternatively, you can roast them on low heat for a few hours with the carrots and potatoes in the pan. The taters get a great texture this way and the meat has a lovely flavor. Either way the soup turns out well. I use both methods according to how much time I have on hand. My instructions are for short-preparation. Once the beef is nicely seared, add the onion and continue on high heat for ~2 min. Salt liberally. Add all the beer at once, and then add the water. Bring to a simmer for at least 1 hour, more if you have time.

Remove beef bones and allow to cool before removing as much meat as possible to add to the soup. Keep the stock boiling! Taste and salt very lightly; it should taste fairly bland still. Add the plantain and carrot, simmer ~10 minutes. Add chopped potatoes and corn, simmer ~10 min. Add celery, cabbage, simmer ~5 min. Serve in a large bowl with a liberal amount of lime juice and a nice sprinkle of cilantro. This is supposed to be a very rustic dish, so cut your vegetables in nice large chunks!

The picture doesn't do it justice. The veggies have a great color and should be cooked lightly enough that they have great texture. The ripe plantain gives a surprising savory sweetness that contrasts beautifully with the salty acidity of the broth. If you want a more starchy effect, use the green/yellow plantain. Sometimes I buy them and store them in the cupboard until they're scary black. The blacker they are, the sweeter they taste.

I have a ton of leftovers of this soup, which was fine because it was all I wanted to eat for 2 days after making it. A winner!

Cuban fare

Last week I visited Cuba by making a Picadillo and supporting dishes. You can find a number of renditions of this dish worldwide, it's basically a modified beef and potato hash. While I like the idea of this dish, I'm not too crazy about cumin and this dish called for it. I tried only using a touch of it, but my cumin radar is too sensitive. Nevertheless, I think this recipe will also stay in my repertoire but without that specific spice.

2 large potatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2/3 c green olives, chopped
1/2 c capers
2 Tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb ground beef
2 c red wine
1/3 tsp cumin
pinch oregano

Cook the potato, drain, and set aside. Sautee garlic, onion, bell pepper ~2 min. Add beef and pinch of salt. Drain off any fat that remains after cooking (I use the lowest fat mixture I can buy from the local butcher). Add wine, capers, tomato sauce, olives, raisins, cumin, oregano. Simmer to reduce for about 30 minutes. Drink the rest of your wine during this time.  :)   Fold the potato chunks into the mixture and heat ~5 minutes. Should be sort of saucy, but not soupy by this time.

Serve over white rice with fried plantains and black beans.

1 can black beans
1 can green chilis or jalapenos
1/2 onion, minced
chopped cilantro

Sautee chilis and onion ~2 min, add beans and heat through. Garnish with cilantro.

I can't tell you how much I love potatoes in this dish, it was wonderful. A little strange coming across the olives and capers, but somehow the whole mixture just worked. I've been making breakfast burritos from the leftovers with a bit of hot sauce on them. Not totally authentic, but I like it.

Cha Ca Thong Long

Wow, I have LOVED cooking from Vietnam! Here's another incredible recipe that is definitely going in my repertoire.

~1 lb firm white fish (halibut, bass, snapper)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/3 tsp ground ginger
1Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced shallow
1/2 tsp each salt, pepper
1-2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp sesame oil or olive oil

Combine all ingredients and marinate for at least an hour. I put mine in the fridge for 24 hours and it was wildly delicious. Also, your fish will take on a beautiful yellow color from the turmeric. It is a very visually appealing dish even if the colors didn't translate into the photo I posted.

Sautee your fish over high heat ~3 minutes each side. The heat will sear the outside of the fish and give it a nice crust.
Sautee some red and green onion if you like.
Prepare some vermicelli rice noodles and place your fish on top. Serve with minced dill, chopped peanuts, (I tried but didn't like it as much with some mint and Thai basil) and some crisp lettuce for texture.

Sauce:
juice of 2-3 limes
2Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp chili paste

mix the sauce and you can either use it to dip or pour it over the top of your dish. This was amazing. The turmeric, peanuts, and dill were so complimentary to each other. Add the sweet/salty spice of the sauce and this dish is one I would eat any day of the week.

My freezer is fairly low on seafood now, so I may be cooking with chicken, pork, or beef next. Possibly Cuban cuisine?

I'll try to be better at posting on time, this recipe was one I cooked last week but I've been inundated with start-of-semester madness. Hopefully I can get this under control!

Bun Ca from Vietnam

My second attempt at a Vietnamese meal turned out so much better than the first. I made Bun Ca, a vermicelli noodle fish soup. I always thought Bun was a cold noodle salad-type dish, but this one has a delicious broth in the recipe that made it almost pho-esque. It's going to stay in my repertoire, whatever the case.

I used a nice white fish (which I thoughtfully didn't label when I put it in the freezer bag after catching it), something like mahi mahi, halibut, bass, etc.

Marinate fish steaks or chunks in 2-3 Tbsp fish sauce (the better quality, the better the flavor), 1/4-1/2 tsp of black pepper, 1/2 tsp sugar, and one thinly sliced shallot for at least 15 minutes. Longer is better, but I wouldn't leave it more than 30-40 minutes. While it is marinating, make your broth and noodles.

** just a note on the noodles, I already ate the leftovers and preferred the texture of the noodles the next day over the freshly boiled ones. If I make this again, I'll make the noodles the day before and keep them in portions in the fridge.

The broth called for fish balls, which I don't care for, so I removed them before eating the soup. If you don't have access to fish balls, you can boil a couple chunks of your fish meat in the broth to add flavor.

Broth:
3-4 pints chicken stock (or seafood stock if you have it)
10 fish balls (I took these out before serving the soup)
1 Tbsp salt, sugar
Bring to a boil for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat and add 1/8 tsp each of cinnamon and allspice (you can add 1-2 star anise if you like)
Add a scored jalapeno pepper, and a few sprigs of dill and thai basil. Steep the fresh ingredients for 5 - 10 minutes, then remove. Keep the broth boiling hot after this for serving!

Noodles:
I suggest you prepare them ahead of time, but you can just follow the directions on the packet. Use vermicelli rice noodles.

Fish:
While the fresh ingredients are steeping in the broth, heat a skillet to fairly high heat and sear your fish on all sides. You may allow the fish to finish cooking in the soup as the broth is boiling hot when you add it to the bowl.

Presentation:
Place a large handful of noodles in the bottom of a bowl (use one that is wider than it is deep) and arrange tomato slices, pineapple slices (delicious with the spiciness of the broth), cilantro, sliced fresh jalapeno, thai basil, bean sprouts, and a chunk of your seared fish. Add hot sauce (like Sriracha, if you can. Mexican sauces impart a lot of flavor that can mask the delicate broth you just made) if you wish. Ladle the hot hot broth over top and enjoy!

I like to serve a dipping sauce with these types of soups. This time I used Hoisin, Sriracha, and fish sauce.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip to Vietnam and I can't wait to try my next Vietnamese fish recipe!

Vietnam/China

It was only after I made this meal that I realized it was not originally a Vietnamese meal but Chinese-- nor is it a meal. It's a dessert, which explains a lot.

Black Sesame Coconut Soup

250 g black sesame seeds
300 g chinese rock sugar (brown sugar to substitute)
1 c water
200 g peanuts
400 mL coconut milk

Dissolve the sugar in 1 c water and bring it to a boil. Add ground sesame seeds and peanuts (best to use a food processor or spice grinder) and reduce heat. Stir the mixture thoroughly, it will be very thick. Add one can of coconut milk and stir, then heat for 3-4 minutes over medium heat. Do not boil!

I was ravenous when I made this and was pretty upset by how sugary it was. I guess I totally missed the part where I added equal parts sugar and water! Yikes. If you want a little bit of savory in your soup, add a large pinch of salt. I actually like this soup much better once it's cold.

I think this week I'm going to do Vietnam over again. I still have some fish in the freezer from this summer, so I'm going to use 2 Vietnamese recipes.

Last week was my first day back in the classroom and this week I'm beginning at my second campus (and next week, the third). My schedule will be pretty hectic, but I'm going to stick with my round-the-world experience.

a visit to Italy

But first, a note on the kimchee. Holy cow, let that recipe marinade for a week or so in the refrigerator and I'm eating it straight from the jar like it's candy.

Okay, so I fish a lot and I'm often faced with bags of fish in the freezer and only a couple tried and true recipes to cook it. I get bored eating it the same way, so when I heard about this Italian recipe I decided to give it a try. It was so good, wars could be prevented by serving it. The technique is called acqua pazza, or crazy water-- as in it's friggin' crazy that my fish could taste this good by poaching it in water!

There's a ton of different recipes for the actual poaching water, but I'll share the one I used. The fish you use is ultimately up to you, but I'd recommend a white, meaty fleshed fish such as halibut, tilapia, bass, etc. For crying out loud, do NOT use orange roughy or I will hunt you down and beat you with my tiny little fists. Tangent: Orange Roughy is a deeeeeeeep water fish and they don't reach reproductive maturity (ie. they can't get knocked up) until they're about 30-35 years old. When do humans reach reproductive maturity? Eleven? Anyway, there's literally no restrictions on the fishery (which is categorized as deep sea mining, wtf) which means we're catching and eating EVERYONE in the population whether they've been able to pop a couple kids out or not. This is NOT a sustainable fishery. Whew, back to the subject.

So originally, this recipe was used by Neopolitan fishermen who would poach their daily catch of white fish in seawater with tomatoes and olive oil, so as you can imagine the basic ingredients you would use for it today are salt, water, tomatoes, and olive oil. The addition of a few aromatics make this dish one of my top favorites and one I plan to use to seduce Mr. Right (or his mother, for that matter). On to the recipe!

Over medium heat, cook:
1/2 c diced carrot
1/2 c diced fennel bulb
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

After ~5 min add either 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) or 1 1/2 c diced fresh tomatoes
1 c water
1/2 c dry white wine (like a chardonnay or something)
1/4 c chopped/sliced kalamata olives
2 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
salt to taste (probably only about 1/2 tsp or so since lots of the ingredients are salty) and only add the salt once the rest of it has reduced.

Simmer until reduced by about half, then lay your fish in the mixture and cover for 8-10 minutes. Flip your fish halfway through. Serve in a shallow dish and garnish it with some of the pretty fennel fronds. Great when served with mashed potatoes and a simple green salad.

Enjoy your "trip" to Italy!

nostalgic writing

This is a short writing exercise I completed shortly after moving here. It holds a lot of memories and emotions for me, so I apologize if it's over the top for my readers. It's never been evaluated or pre-read, so again, apologies.

“Look at those two fighting! And here comes one from behind and…. He’s got it!” Her laugh seemed to leap from her throat like the last shreds of sunlight bouncing between tiny ripples on the lagoon surface.

            “Oh, what a little rascal,” Graceful fingers pushed the sunbleached hair behind her ear. She looked expectantly at him, her mouth still open in a grin.

            “Yeah, they’re feisty little guys.” What an idiot, he thought. She would be gone in one short night and all he could manage to do was soak up her presence, his mind slipping into a sort of autopilot while his eyes strained to imprint the last detail.

            This wasn’t the special evening he had imagined for them. He had been stuck with the chore of the evening feeding because he had forgotten it earlier. As a result, they were pretty much stuck on the island for the night. They had done this countless times before. Tripping over the same tree trunks, stubbing toes on pesky nubs of old coral that stuck up through the packed dirt. What had become a mindless chore to him was an adventure for her, always.

            “Christ, why didn’t I slow down?” he continued in thought. Now I only have this one memory. Always impatient to finish feeding and move on to the next task, he rushed her with impatient sighs and restless shifting of weight. Even deserting her mid-laugh at times. He cringed visibly.

            “What?” she asked.

            “Just thinking,” Thinking of how much I will miss your fascination with the mundane. The mesmerizing way you can turn the ordinary into an adventure. How you can be enthralled with shore crabs fighting over pieces of putrid sardine.

            She crouched down by the waters’ edge to peek at a crab-battle that had slipped behind a rock. How can something so tiny occupy such a large part of my heart and fill such a huge portion of my mind? He wanted to touch her. His arm raised involuntarily a few inches, but he lowered it instantly. He wanted this scene to play out without his interruptions.

            Her sunkissed cheeks beamed at him.

            “Come here and look,” she pointed slyly at the crabs darting in and out of the water. With a small sigh that combined both heartache and resignation he did as she asked.

            The sun continued to slip behind the mangroves, leaving them in a still and quiet warmth. The sky turned deeper blue and the first two stars winked on.

            “Well,” she said finally, “I guess I could use some dinner,”

            “You got it,”. Suave. Simply suave. I hope she doesn’t remember what an absolute moron I was tonight. He touched her face, feeling her press the weight of her head against him.

***

            She always pushed it. It was as though the dramas that played out along the waterline cried out to be observed. As though the little crabbies would politely divvy up the scraps and wave at each other in a neighborly manner if there were no one to watch their antics.

            Tonight was different. He was absorbed in something she could almost understand, if she allowed herself to. But she wasn’t ready for that. No, she thought, not ready yet. She tore the scraps of fish into small ribbons and toyed with the tiny warriors clambering over the rocks in front of her. A lone eel poked its head from a hidey-hole to sniff at the aroma.

            “Not for you, my friend,” I can’t believe he’s letting me get away with this. I love it. She looked up at him. His eyes were so searching that it nearly frightened her.

            “Look at those two fighting! And here comes one from behind and…. He’s got it!” she laughed. He really loves me. Her stomach flipped. This was not what she had envisioned when this tall handsome man had first asked her for a drink. She had not planned on liking him so much. She had not expected that he should like her in return.

            “Oh, what a little rascal,” she said. Though whether she was speaking for the crab or the man beside her was uncertain. The water reflected his dark form like the barest whisper of a shadow. This is what it will be like when I’m gone. All I will have are the impressions of memories. Recollections of feelings.

            “Yeah, they’re feisty little guys.” She grinned down at the sand. He would never have said something like that on any normal day. A normal day and he would be halfway up the hill toward the apartments and I’d be sitting here by myself. Not that it mattered. He never mocked her childlike interests, merely left her to them. Her eyes traveled to his feet. Brown from the sun and freckled, just like the rest of him.

            She absentmindedly picked apart a cube of fish and tossed the bits to the waving claws of her tiny audience. Her heart ached and her eyes begged for release, but she wouldn’t face the fact that she had elected to leave him the next day. The thought both scared and excited her. What a man for me to have met now. Now, when I am dead set against anyone standing in the way of my crazy dreams and foolhardy ideas.

            He had stood next to her as she waded through the despair of divorce. He had held her head in his hands when she thought she could withstand no more. He had shown her the excitement of his interests. They shared the wonder of breathing underwater. She remembered with a small shake of her head how he had guided her to their first minor skirmish. How her stomach had been knotted! Bile rising in her throat, her heart pounding wildly, adrenaline coursing like jolts of lightning down her limbs. In the end the argument had been, well, relieving. His embrace just as warm afterward as it had been before. And she was leaving him.

            “What?” she asked after coming to her senses and finding him still staring at her, as though trying to interpret her like a piece of intriguing art.

“Just thinking,” he replied. Yeah, thinking of me naked. She gave a wan, one-sided smile. That was alright. He had shown her the wonders of intimacy, too. And how. She squatted down to hide her smile. Ah, I’m going to miss all this. I want to remember it all. The warmth, the humid air like a warm blanket. The sound of a hundred tiny claws clicking and clacking away. The splash of a fish, the rustle of the leaves. The smell, oh the smell of the ocean and beach. The fruit on the trees on the hillside. And my man. I’ll always remember how he did this for me.

“Come here and look,” a giggle barely concealed itself behind her request. He’d never have done this if she were staying. I wonder how far I can push this, she wondered. He obliged, not without a small sigh that almost sounded like a plea. She pointed at the armored battle before her. Please come get me, her heart cried. Tell me you need me, you want me, tell me your heart feels as empty as mine. Her mind broke in with clipped edges, arguing something about freedom and the open road. Oh shut up, she thought. The sun had gone down and she was having difficulty telling his shadow from the rest.

            “Well,” she said finally, “I guess I could use some dinner,” I’m not ready for this to end, please let it continue. If this one night could last for eternity…

“You got it,” His hand reached out for her and she smiled knowing she would never have to duck under it. Her heart cried out in agony knowing she would never feel it again in this way.

Kimchee 2 and American

Well, it's not bad. It's not the best I've had either, but not bad for a white girl's first attempt at a Korean favorite. I'll throw down the recipe here in case you want to try it:

1 head Napa cabbage
1/2 c salt
1/4 c fish sauce
1/3 c Korean chili powder
3/4 c daikon radish (matchsticks)
1 Tbsp minced ginger
Korean salted shrimp (optional)

Roughly chop the cabbage and soak it in water in a large bowl with the salt on the counter for at least 24 hours and as much as 48. Don't loosely drape a rag over the bowl or you'll repeat my error of drowning your bills. Drain and rinse the cabbage. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and add the cabbage. Toss with your hands until the mixture evenly coats the cabbage. Stuff the mixture into a clean, sealable jar (I used a very clean old spaghetti jar) and leave it on the counter at least overnight, as much as 48 hours. Crack the lid every 8-12 hours to release any bubbling (that's the fermentation occurring!). Store in the fridge, it gets better with age!


I also had a very American dish this week and I wanted to share the recipe with you guys. I already had the ingredients on hand, so it was an easy meal-- thank goodness, because I was so sick this week I hardly had the energy to do anything at all!

Senate Bean Soup

White beans
quality ham hock (I prefer smoked)
1/2 c chopped carrot
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c chopped onion
1 bay leaf
salt to taste

Pre-soak your beans for a few hours (overnight is fine). Drain and rinse. Fill your bean pot appropriately (you can also use the slow-cooker for this) and nestle your ham hock so it is mostly submerged and isn't just sitting on top of the level of the beans. Bake at 300 for 2- 2 1/2 hours. Sautee your vegetables and bay leaf in whichever oil you prefer (I like a pat of butter). Introduce the veggies to your beans when there is about 40 minutes left in the cook time.Depending on your ham hock, you may be able to remove them at this time to shred the meat but you need to be the judge of when the ham is done. At any rate, try to get the meat off the bone and back into the beans.

Some recipes call for a little instant potatoes to be added at the end, but I prefer to serve mine runny over some nice cornbread. Cracked pepper on top seals the deal!

Kimchee, lesson 1

As you all remember from my last post, I'm making kimchee to help me experience other cultures since at this rate I won't be financially capable of walking down the street in the next 20 years. My Napa cabbage is resting in salted water, as instructed, for 48 hours. I also have some mangoes that I'm trying to ripen in a paper bag which produces a myriad of fruit flies and 4 unripened mangoes. My thought last night was that I should cover the bowl with a kitchen towel in case those pesky flies decided to take a dip. Well, I also have a cold so my brain isn't working at light speed. Twelve hours later I don't have any fruit flies in the bowl of cabbage, but about an inch of water wicked its way out of the bowl via the towel and spread all over my bills which had to be dried like delicate laundry next to my heater before I could mail them. Touche, Korea. Cleaning up was an adventure too, since I've lost my equilibrium and can barely stand up straight without feeling like I'm in the spin cycle of a washer. At least if my kimchee comes out horribly I won't be able to taste it because of my cold!

Travel and food

I decided I need to spice up my life with a little travel this year. Clearly I don't make much money as adjunct faculty so I needed to come up with a different, more economical way of traveling. Even though I don't venture too far into the city, I should take advantage of some of the great cultural markets nearby before I leave this bouncy house of fun called LA.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to branch out in my cooking. I already cook quite a bit of ethnic fare, thanks to my own heritage, but I love trying new foods when I go to exotic places. Instead of breaking the bank, becoming an expat, or marrying a sugar daddy, I've decided to cook at least one exotic meal a week from a different country. If I love the recipe, I'll share it with you. If I hate it, I might share it with you anyway.

This week is a little bit of Korea. I'm making Kimchee from scratch. Right now I have the Napa cabbage soaking in salt water and it'll stay on my countertop for 2 days, yum. I know, a bowl of Kimchee does not a meal make. Take it easy, I'm clearing out some holiday food before I go grocery shopping.

Happy New Year!