Yummy Hummus Bean Dip and Whole Wheat Flatbread

Bean Dip:
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 or more cup lemon juice (juice from one lemon)
1/4 or more cup olive oil
1 can cannellini or garbanzo beans
Dash of paprika (optional)

Put lemon juice and tahini in food processor and blend about 1 minute. Then add all ingredients except olive oil into food processor and food process. Pour in olive oil as you process.

When serving, put a dash of paprika on top. Serve with flatbread.

Simple wholewheat flatbread (makes about four small sized pieces or two large pieces--serves two):

1 cup whole wheat flour (for fluffier bread, you can add an extra 1/2 cup white flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yogurt
1/8 cup olive oil
Enough water to mix with dough, but keep dough firm

Combine salt, baking powder, and flour and stir well. Add all remaining ingredients except water. Add water gradually as needed to mix dough, but keep dough firm. After mixing, form into a ball with a spoon or hands and leave covered with a damp paper towel for at least 20 minutes but as long as an hour.

Roll into balls and then spread out on well-oiled aluminum foil. Four pieces should each be about half the size of your hand or so and should be spread out to about 1/4 thick or so. Put in oven on middle rack at a preheated 375 degrees. They should cook in 12-15 minutes or so. Take out of the oven, allow to sit 3-5 minutes, and then eat with bean dip.

Healthy Kimchi

This recipe comes from Mr. Brown Goes Around.

Why make your own kimchi?

First, you can decide what you like in it!  You can add other vegetables, even fruits like pears and apples, a little more honey/sugar to make it sweeter, you can brine it longer to make it a little saltier, and adjust spice levels to your taste.  This recipe, for example, is much more fiery than most kimchi you will get in the store, so those who don't like it so hot can cup the powdered chili from 1/2 cup to 1/3 a cup--that will still keep it plenty warm.  Also, many store-bought kimchi will have two ingredients you might not want--MSG and potassium sorbate.  Neither of these additives are necessarily bad for you, but they are certainly not doing you any good, either. 

Note, though, that you really do need to try to find this one special ingredient--the Korean hot pepper flakes or powder which can be purchased from Amazon in case you don't have any nearby Korean groceries.  You can also use Korean hot pepper paste (gochujang).

But what makes kimchi healthy?

Why to try it: Kimchi (or kimchee) is loaded with vitamins A, B, and C, but its biggest benefit may be in its “healthy bacteria” called lactobacilli, found in fermented foods like kimchi and yogurt. This good bacteria helps with digestion, plus it seems to help stop and even prevent yeast infections, according to a recent study. And more good news: Some studies show fermented cabbage has compounds that may prevent the growth of cancer.

 And kimchi enthusiast Eric Armstrong points out its cardiovascular  benefits as well given the other ingredients like garlic and ginger.

Kimchi is a full-spectrum artery-purifier. Selenium from the garlic works to scoop cholesterol off of arterial walls. Allicin from the garlic works with the onions [not in my recipe] to raise the levels of HDL transport molecules which carry the cholesterol down to the gall bladder. The high levels of Vitamin C are used to convert the cholesterol to disposable substances. And the glutathione peroxidase made from the garlic along with the phytochemicals from the fruit and vegetables all work to magnify Vitamin C's availability. If there is a single-food defence to heart ailments, kimchi has to be it!

Healthy Kimchi Recipe

• 1 medium to large Chinese or Napa Cabbage
• 1/2 gallon (4l) water
• 1/4 cup (100g) coarse salt or table salt
  
• 1 small head of garlic, peeled and finely minced (about 6-8 large cloves)
• one 2-inch (6cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1/4 cup (60ml) fish sauce
• 1/2 cup Korean chili powder (mix with 1/3 cup of hot water) or chili paste
• 1 bunch green onions (about five or six stalks), cut into 1-inch (3cm) lengths (use the dark green part, too, except for the tough ends)
• 1 medium daikon radish, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon honey

1. Slice the cabbage lengthwise in half, then slice each half lengthwise into 3 sections. Cut away the tough stem chunks.

2. Dissolve the salt in the water in a very large container, then submerge the cabbage under the water. Put a plate on top to make sure they stay under water, then let stand overnight or at least 5 or 6 hours.  When ready to prepare, briskly rinse under running water.

3. Once you are ready to prepare your kimchi, mix the chili power with 1/3

4. Mix the chili paste you've just made with the cabbage with half of the green onions (the green parts).  You can use a wooden or plastic spatula. 

5. In a food processor, process the rest of the green onions with the garlic and ginger.

6. Combine all ingredients (including fish sauce and honey) and mix.  If mixing by hand, wear rubber gloves since the chili paste can stain your hands, and as this recipe is very spicy, it could burn them, too.

7. Pack the kimchi in a non-reactive jar (or other container--enough to hold it all and cover it tightly with a few inches of room at the top to prevent the kimchi from spilling over once it begins to ferment). Let stand for two to three days in a cool place, around room temperature.

7. Check the kimchi after 1-2 days. If it’s bubbling a bit, it’s ready and should be refrigerated. If not, let it stand another day or two, when it should be ready.

Once it is ready, refrigerate it and (as long as you dip it out with clean utensils) it should last at least three weeks and as long as six.

Sourdough Bread Recipe

This is my mother's sourdough recipe and I feel almost guilty even giving it away it is so wonderful.  I do always use the mix of whole wheat and white bread.  It really comes out too heavy if you use 100% whole wheat.

Bon Appetit!

Starter:
Mix together:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
3 Tablespoons instant mashed potatoes
1 cup warm water
Set out 8-10 hours, then refrigerate.  If you don't use every 3 - 4 days, discard 1 cup starter and re-feed.  Feed starter every 3 to 4 days

Bread:
6 cups flour (plain, self rising, or 4 cup whole wheat plus 2 cup white flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
1 cup starter
1 and 1/2 cup warm water

Mix and knead 8 to 10 times.  Cover with waxed paper and let raise 8 to 10 hours, punch down and put in three loaf pans.

Second Rising: 8 to 10 hours

Bake at 325 degrees 45 to 60 minutes.

Since this recipe has no added yeast, every loaf, every time may turn out different.

On the raising time:  let it set long enough to raise but keep and eye on it, if it raises to long, it will fall when you bake it. 

Good Luck!

Chao Ga, Vietnamese Rice Porriage

INGREDIENTS

* 3 cups water

* 3 cups chicken stock

* 1/2 cup glutinous rice

* 1 cups long grain rice

* 1 cup chicken meat, shredded

* 2 tablespoons fish sauce

* ½ teaspoon sugar

* ½ tablespoon poultry seasoning


GARNISHES

* ½ teaspoon white pepper (black works also)

* 2 spring onions or scallions or green onions, sliced thin


DIRECTIONS

1. Place rice and glutinous rice in a large pot with water and stock.

2. Bring to boil then lower heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally.

3. Cook until rice is very soft and mixture is thick. Roughly 45-60 minutes.

4. Add fish sauce, sugar, shredded chicken, mushrooms, and poultry seasoning.

5. Stir Gently.

6. Spoon porridge into individual serving bowls.

7. Garnish with spring onion.

8. Sprinkle with pepper.

Stock and Chicken Noodle Soup

Don't Throw Out That Bird Carcass!

Monday is coming up, and hopefully you have a pretty picked turkey carcass in your fridge, but I certainly hope that you didn't throw it out because you have a big pot of stock just waiting to be made.

This year I make Cornish Game Hens for a Thanksgiving Party I attended, but I asked my host if I could have the turkey carcass to make stock with. I was able to pick about a half cup of meat off of it still, which I did and refrigerated, and then I threw the entire thing--what I couldn't pick off, skin and bone--into a 12-quart pot along with the game hen bones, covered with water, and started boiling it down. I let it boil for two solid hours, about 20 minutes at a full boil and then the rest of the time at a low rolling boil, and then strained. By that time it was already delicious, but I really like my stock to be flavorful.

Chicken or Turkey Stock Recipe (Or Cornish Hen Stock!)

I had about 6.5 or 7 quarts of base stock. Next, I added:
four large cloves of garlic,
half and a yellow onion,
a cup and a half of carrots diced small,
three stalks of celery sliced thin (did you use all your celery on that stuffing?)
one medium potato diced very small since I basically wanted it to dissolve to naturally thicken the stock a bit,
some fresh parsley (optional)
a few turns of the pepper mill (not too much),
about 1/4 a teaspoon each of:

dried rosemary,
sage,
marjoram,
thyme,
and just a dash of nutmeg.

and I also added about 1 teaspoon of salt.

Remember that stock is a base for other recipes, so you don't want to go all out and over spice it. More pepper and salt can be added, for example, if your particular recipe needs it. For now, I am just concerned with creating a very tasty stock that won't overwhelm whatever I happen to use it in.

After cooking all the other ingredients at a low boil for about one hour I let it cool and then began straining it. First, I emptied out about half of that is just stock with no veggies in it. I put it in ice trays to freeze, and from there transferred it into freezer bags. The reason for putting it into ice cube trays is so you don't have a huge mass of stock you have to chisel at or constantly be defrosting and refreezing. In cubes, if you need a cup of stock you can just grab about six or seven ice cubes. You do need a lot of ice trays--more than I had--so I also put some in freezer bags, putting 2 cups into each bag.

I set aside about 1.5 quart of the rest for the recipe I'm going to give making sure I had veggies in it. The rest of the stock, with the veggies, I froze in 2 cup portions in freezer bags.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

With the set aside stock, I made a simple and delicious "chicken noodle soup."

I simply cooked about 12 ounces of whole wheat egg noodles in my stock, adding about 1-2 cups of water.
I also added about 1 teaspoon or less of salt,
and I added an additional 1/4 teaspoon of thyme,
and the 1/2 cup of meat I'd been able to pick off the leftovers.

That made four generous servings (or six modest ones) of the most delicious "chicken noodle soup" you could hope for. It would have also been good with a few turns of the pepper mill while cooking. And, with the leftover stock, I can make the same meal again