making kimchee

kimchi is one of my favorite things to eat! now that i've begun making it, i have been eating a whole lot. its all probiotic, salty, spicey goodness. i read a few different recipes before i started, and i've made 4 or 5 batches now, and have refined what i like. namely, adding cilantro. hey! here ya go:


you need a giant glass jar or many small ones or a bowl you can cover for the duration of fermentation. also a colander is essential, sesame.

My recipe contains cilantro, which is a non-traditional ingredient and will affect the flavor. the other ingredients are all traditional. I do not use fish or shrimp paste/oil which are often found in traditional recipes. other variations i've seen add sugar, or sweet fruits like apple or pear. often if you buy kimchee at asian markets, there will be MSG in it.

do what you see fit, do what you like! i will tell you how i do what i do. its easy, its beautiful, its fermented. it won't go bad, its delicious, and its full of probiotic goodness. when you eat it, i suggest adding a fat, like sesame oil or avocados, as it will then feel and taste and be a more balanced food. kimchee can be eaten alone, or added to other foods like soups, noodles, salads.... enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!


Jacqueline Dandelion's Cilantro Kimchee



ingredients:

(you can use any crispy/hard vegetables you like. my first batch, i used a ton. now i use just what i like)

red cabbage (1/2 a head makes enough to last a week if i eat some every day. a whole head makes too much for my jar. if you have space, do it up) (chopped)

daikon radish (chopped in big pieces)

green onions (chop)

fresh cilantro (chop)

fresh ginger (mince)

fresh garlic (mince)

korean chili powder (do yourself a favor and get the korean kind. i did it with regular american dry chili, and it was not as good. just watch out if you go to a korean grocery and avoid the spices with msg. read labels, yo! always!)

salt

water

---------
so, toss the cabbage and daikon in a bowl, cover with warm water and salt. how much salt? well, i eyeball it. you're making brine here, so you need enough salt to pull moisture and start pickling the vegetables right away. i fill the bottom of a mug til it seems to me that "hey, thats a lot of salt!" and then i mix it with warm water and soak the veggies. its probably about 1/4 cup or a little more of salt. and enough water to cover. this is when you brine any hard veggies you want to use. i prefer red cabbage over traditional napa cabbage because its firmer and crunchier and prettier. let it sit for at least an hour.




during the brining time, you can mince the ginger and garlic, and chop up the cilantro and green onions. set aside the green babies, and mix the garlic and ginger with about as much red chili pepper as you used salt in the brine, and warm water to make a paste.

i use a whole head of garlic, and about an equal amount of ginger


if you have a food processor, you can make the paste by combining these ingredients in it. then you don't have to mince as finely, cus the machine will do it for you!!! i've done it either way and it doesn't make much difference. i guess it depends on whether you'd rather sit and chop for a long while, or if you'd rather do more dishes.



ok, so its been an hour, right? those veggies look brined, right? they're all crisp and super salty. so, drain them over a bowl to catch the brine. keep it, you may need it. ok. rinse the veggies THOROUGHLY!!! if you don't, they'll be so salty you will cringe. i did that one time. i couldn't eat the kimchi straight, i had to make it into other things. so trust me, rinse it! keep that brine! ok. next.

this is the fun part.

in as large a container as you can, mix everything! the brined veggies, the cilantro, scallions, and the pasty goodness you just made.

mix it up! i use my hands, cus its fun and efficient!
look how pretty:




yum.

so now, put it into jars, or one huge jar, or a bowl, but that's not preferable. a cylinder is best.
pack it in tight and if its not watery, cover with the brine you saved til the veggies can be pressed down and be covered with brine. but don't over-do it. remember, its salt water you're dowsing them with.

weigh down the veggies so they're not hitting the air. its not like super crazy important to make sure no milimeter of veg surface is exposed, but do your best to keep the veggies submerged. i've found the easiest way for me to do this is to fill a tupperware/leftover tub container thing with water or brine, and push it down into the veggies, or weigh it down with a plate. its only important the first day, it seems, anyway.

so, leave the whole thing out somewhere room temperature and not too bright, for 24 hours or more. the longer you leave it out, the faster it will ferment. its still going to ferment in the fridge. i leave mine out for probably a day and a half, then fridge, and find it delicious on the 3rd or 4th day, and all days thereafter. it lasts me about a week, if i'm the only one eating it.


yum. enjoy!!!

cilantro is my own addition. i love cilantro and i figured it would be good, and i was right! you can do whatever you want! maybe you hate cilantro! whatever, dude. Use what veggies look good, use herbs you like. or just use the green onions, or none at all.

kimchi is awesome for so many reasons. once you've got the chili powder and a bunch of salt, the other ingredients are super cheap. you don't need green onions or cilantro, really. you could make it with just cabbage, garlic and ginger. garlic+ginger+chili powder are essential, i think. otherwise it would be some other fermenty vegatable thing and not kimchee anymore.





i have found that adding avocado when you eat it is fantastic. i also make a noodle dish with it that i'm pretty into. maybe i'll tell you about it later. <3

tip for ya

frozen veg ends, originally uploaded by jacquelinedandelion.

throw your veggie ends into the freezer- anything chopped off the good parts, anything going bad but not all the way there yet, skins, tops, scraps.
when you have a bunch, make broth! all you do is boil this stuff in water for awhile, like 10 minutes or so, more if its not flavory enough, and then strain.

i suggest throwing in extra garlic, and i suggest not using too much ginger in your broth (bitterness).

you can then use the broth as a drink, or to make a soup, or to boil pasta or grains, or to add to anything savory you're making where you would add water. increasing the life of your veggies. sweet.

mushrooms and greens

i went to the H-mart again the other day. H-mart is a korean grocery chain. there is probably one near you, if you live in the US. there may not be. but i bet there is some kind of asian market where you can peruse and find things you've never eaten before...


anyway. this time i bought a bunch of greens and a bunch of mushrooms. tat soi is one of my most favorite greens in the world. i ate it first when i worked on my friend margaret's farm near pittsburgh, pa, and she was growing it. it was SO good. so rich and dark and delicious. shiny and dark. spinachy. anyway, yes, i had to buy it when i saw it.

also "chinese celery" which is basically just leafy celery rather than stalky celery.

i also had some cilantro and some pak choi.

one red onion began the pot, i browned it with some coconut oil and salt. then i added ginger, water, red chili powder, palm sugar, tamari sauce, garlic, and the greens, all chopped up. i also put in shiritake noodles, which are made from yams and are delicious and weird.





i bought a bunch of mushrooms, so i put them in, too.




also, i had gotten these "soy puffs" to try. they're like, puffed tofu. i threw them in the pot, too.










in my bowl, i put a dash of each umeboshi vinegar and toasted sesame oil, and sprinkled on some nutritional yeast, because i love nutritional yeast.




deeeelicious.

pistachio truffles

DSCN1766, originally uploaded by jacquelinedandelion.

My newest batch of chocolates, pistachio-rose with dark chocolate shell, and white-chocolate pistachio with dark chocolate lace.




ingredients in random order: pistachios (roasted, unsalted), coconut palm sugar, coconut oil, sea salt, cocoa butter, bourbon vanilla extract, coconut milk, dark chocolate, rose water, rose petals

they are so very creamy and flavorful, i'm proud of them! vegan white chocolate is coming along! no soy, either. chocolate-making is delightful. today, i'll be working on finishing the other flavors i began last night, coconut-oolong, and korean-red-chili, and i make make some separate red chili candy that is not chocolatey, just delicious and spicy sweet. candy candy candy.

Sesame Leaf

At the asian market the other day, I bought sesame leaves. Having never seen a leaf from the plant on which sesame seeds grow, I assumed this was it. It even had a faint sesame-spinachy smell. The smell must have been psycho-somatically induced, however, as korean sesame leaves are actually perilla, and have nothing to do with the sesame seed plant.

I was curious what sesame seed plants look like, and i found this sweet picture of the plants being bundled so the seeds may dry for harvesting:

Perilla is an herb, apparently the Korean variety is called Sesame Leaf, while the Japanese variety is known as Shiso. I had Shiso in my garden a few years ago as the farm I had worked on grew a whole bunch to sell as a gourmet spice at farmers' markets. I took a couple of seedlings.

Red shiso is used in pickling, and its what gives pickled ginger its lovely pink hue. I have eaten it in many recipes.

For this bunch of Sesame Leaf, I'm planning to add into the epic veggie broth I'll be stirring up this weekend. I might save a bunch of leaves to do this with:

(recipe found here)

Kkaetip saengjeoli:

Rinse 100 grams of sesame leaves.

Prepare seasoning (yangnyeom), consisting of
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. gochugaru
2 pods green chili, chopped
3 pods red chili, chopped
1/4 medium western onion, minced
1/2 spring onion, sliced crosswise in small pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 finger ginger, minced

Layer leaves and allow to marinate briefly.

Serve as side dish (banchan).




although I'll substitute tamari for soy sauce, and possibly add a dash of ume vinegar and probably lemon juice as i love that sort of tang.

(image found here, which has more recipes that look awesome.)







yum.

Master Cleansing; purification ritual

cleansing experience and purification tips.

I'm currently in day 8 of the master cleanse. I have been doing this internal cleaning since i was about 17. Back then, when i ate a pretty standard american diet, I needed it bad. It was a lot more intense, with a strong detox effect at least one of the days, usually the 3rd and 4th day. I would get light headed and confused, unable to connect my thoughts very well. That would pass and towards the end of the cleanse, I would become so clear and energetic, rejuvenated.

since for the last 3 and a half years, i've followed this dairy- and gluten-free diet, maybe i'm not as dirty on the inside. At times over the course of this new lifestyle, i've been more or less clean, depending on whether i was choosing to or not to consume sugars, caffeine, non-glutenous grains, alcohol, and meats. I wanted to cleanse recently as I had been smoking cigarettes, eating sugar and fried foods often, and over-indulging in alcohol which led me to more poor food choices. (I ate PIZZA! ergh! i don't even like pizza!) I was feeling bad. physically sluggish and inflamed, exhausted. So, i decided to use the cleanse as my gateway to the radiant health I have known before. On day 8, it seems to be working. I'm enjoying the clarity of sobriety and mornings without caffeine. Stretching and yoga asanas have become a daily routine, as well as light meditation. AND i can't wait to eat clean, nourishing foods when I am finished. I prepared a batch of kimchi for when i'm done, and I have plenty of veggie scraps for broth.

I drank a lot of tea during this cleanse, as well as incorporating coconut water a couple of times. i had one foggy day- the 2nd day, and it was just in the evening. i was spacey. Since then i've felt pretty normal. Clear. My sleep has been better. The one thing that has been going on is a lot of muscle soreness, though. There are insane knots in my shoulders, my glutes are sore, and my mid-back has been bothering me so much! i feel like I can't do anything for more than 10-15 minutes before i'm uncomfortable.

on the cleanse, your tongue turns white




or yellow.


but then, it clears.

advice:

if you're using smooth move, make sure you take it 10-12 hours before you need to leave the house in the morning, as you do not want to be out in your car or walking or public transportation and have that urge. if you use salt water, I don't know what to tell you. that stuff makes me feel terrible. but everyone's different.


definitely drink water between cleanse drinks. and herbals tea so you get to have some flavor action and some other nutrients. this also helps you form poop.

you may be inclined to think a lot about food. go for it. you may find yourself obsessing about more healthful things. read about different dietary choices, read recipes! read about radiant health. enjoy planning out the way you will think and feel about the food you will enjoy when you are finished.

smelling other peoples' food can feel like a feast to someone on a cleanse. I find that it is not frustrating at all, and i love smelling what people are cooking. walk into an indian or thai restaurant and smell the air! don't be afraid to sit with friends who are eating. you'll be fine.






PURIFICATION, beyond the master cleanse

to enhance your rejuvenation, and come out feeling pure and fresh, i suggest you perform some rituals for yourself.

-take baths. assuming you enjoy them. cleansing is a time to pamper your physical self. adding epsom salts helps pull toxins, so its physically helpful, too. i have been adding patchouli-mint salts to my baths, which make me feel grounded and refreshed.


-clean your environment! get rid of anything that isn't serving you. anything you don't LOVE or put to use *frequently* is junk. clean your windows and kitchen and bathroom, get the air circulating! even if its cold out, open the window wide for a moment to replace stagnant air with fresh, clean air.

-sit comfortably in comfortable clothing that you love. put on any jewelry or other adornments which make you feel powerful or special. birds and feathers, snakes and skins, are good totems to have around you for the energy of rejuvenation. stones such as quartz, rose quartz, and amethyst will give you more healing, cleansing energy. light candles with intention.
visualize the changes you want to make. take time to list on paper or in your mind the things you are leaving behind and the things you are moving towards. picture yourself in the situations you want to create for yourself. imagine radiant health, what that looks, feels, and tastes like. spend a few moments focused on your breathing, breathing out the old, breathing in the new.



-exfoliate!!! use a dry brush and/or a salt scrub. dry brushing also increases lymph circulation, therefore stimulating MORE internal cleansing! sweet.

-smudge your home and your body with a sage bundle. I suggest doing this at the very end of the cleanse, in the evening of your last full day of it, before the day you plan to break it. Smudging purifies the energy around you, dispelling stale stuff and cleansing everything. its a powerful feeling, walking into an environment that has been cleansed this way. get all the corners and closets and under the bed!


enjoy the time. pamper yourself. get enough rest. get some light exercise in every day, like stretching, dancing, yoga, walking, galavating, etc. make sure to spend time in nature. happy cleansing <3 <3 jackie

holiday delights

2 years ago i made vegan chocolate truffles, and they were DEElicious. i'm going to make some this year, and i'm thinking about flavors.


in the past, the flavors i made were:

peanut butter
pumpkin spice (nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, mace)
curry-lime
chili-hibiscus

and they were delicious.

i used dagoba baking chocolate as well as some ghirardelli chips, and for the inside of all the truffles, i mixed the melted chocolate with cocoa butter, coconut milk, coconut butter, and the flavorings. i mixed them over the stove in a double-boiler, then put them in the fridge once they were uniformly mixed. when they cooled, the texture was like modeling clay. i used a melon baller to scoop out circles, then used a wooden skewer to dip each one into melted plain dark chocolate. i dusted each one with appropriate spices or decorated it with little dried bits of the ingredients.

anyway. this year i'm thinking of making more intricate little guys. like making a creme or something to put in the center with the chocolate instead of just blending the flavors in with the chocolate, like putting actual penanut butter on a bit of chocolate instead of blending the two. so you bite in and see peanut butter and chocolate. am i being redundant? i aim for clarity through this foggy mind of mine right now. i'm going through nicotine withdrawal. please forgive me.

so flavors i was thinking about maybe:

raspberry, using raspberry preserves

mint (maybe with a cream?)

peanut butter and honey

vanilla + sea salt

eh? eh? sounding good? i'm not sure yet.
also i think im making these for new years rather than christmas

oooh also maybe some liquors? a local place makes these champagne truffles that are SO damn good... i wonder how they do that. i want to do that!

maybe some with this lambrusco i bought a case of...

ok, well, we'll see how they turn out! let me know if you have any suggestions! <3

working like a dandelion

i'm working on a real website! i can be so scattered and silly about these things.

this one blog is difficult to maintain because i set a parameter around making this a food/health/garden blog. but i also like to make pretty things and sing and dance and party and travel and space out and wonder and wander, and i want to tell you about all those things, too! the other hard part is my lack of design skills. my craftswomanship is very simple. i have grand visions, but a tough time with the execution of it all. anyway. it isn't quite ready yet, but it may not be for awhile, so if you'd like to have a gander, mosey on.

late august garden update

so summer is falling down and its been raining for 4 days. i can't believe its almost over. this transition, summer into autumn, is my least favorite time of year. it makes my heart sink. all i can think about is making some big change in my life to keep me occupied enough not to fall prey to the sadness. the dreary-time-of-year deep blues. i better stock up on vitamin D supplements while i have an income. i'm already thinking of jumping off the deep end and moving to an unfamiliar place...

anyway. the garden is just becoming abundant. here and there i had little harvests, but now there are real meals going on. and soon it will be even more plentiful! there are so many big green tomatoes about to turn, and about a dozen cucumbers almost done plumping. the corn, oh, the corn! its not ready yet, but its got ears! and hair! like a real baby! i love my corn babies. i can't wait to partake in their delicious! here are some pictures:


the whole darn thing


nature's candy, sugar cherry tomatoes, everyones' favorite snack.


flamingo peppers... i'm not sure if they're done maturing so i let them get a little older for now...




the flowering bloody butcher corn, so pretty!



ground cherries. of the cossack pineapple variety. these things are so amazing. nutty and sweet and tangy and buttery almost... they're so odd and delicious!!! yum. and prolific plants, man.


sugar snap peas and muskmelon leaves... i can't wait for the melons!!!

there a lots more garden pics on flickr- cayenne pepper, 5-color peppers, more corn pics, broccoli, and such if it fancies you to look at growing things.







love

summer salad

i do not like lettuce. only butter/boston/bibb lettuce that is green and watery and not bitter at all. i do NOT like bitter lettuce. keep your endives and frisee, you gourmand. give me the sweet stuff.

i like to use herbs as my salad greens, and pea shoots are another fave. anyway. here's an easy, delicious salad to make when peaches are ripe and beautiful heirloom tomatoes are juicy.



cilantro, tomato, avocado, peach, and squeezes of lime+orange juices. that's it.
so good.

i made a small, personal portion and put it in a tortilla wrap, to go.