Down to hEarth

I  won’t include many photos in this less-than-elegant post about a standard Korean stew. There’s different ingredients every time I make it and there’s no precise cooking methods that need to be followed. But, I can eat this mildly-spicy, meaty soup for days on its own or with a bowl of rice. Please understand that this stew is best with “agak-agak,” which means “measure by taste or as you like it.” “About-about.” I never pay attention to how much of something I add, not very white of me.   The necessary components for my version of a kimchi jjigae are:  A pot full of water or chicken stock, or water with some chicken stock/cubes  A lot of kimchi, obviously - use a surprising amount. A lot. I have used 1kg-1.5kg for a big pot and Max has said “I want more” - so really go ham on the kimchi. The brine of the kimchi is also an important ingredient so save the liquid that it comes in Gochujang sauce, see picture. If I get a small squeeze container, I use about half. It’...

 Andy chooses the most interesting recipes to become an expert in. I LOVE that caramel was one of these choices.   INGREDIENTS 2/3 cup heavy cream, 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt  

 The basics of oatmeal are this: 1 cup of oatmeal to 2 cups water. Just double the water of however much oatmeal you are making. Just beware! A cup of oats makes a lot more oatmeal than you might realize! For my faraway daughter - this is what I do so she has oatmeal for a few days: 1 1/2 cup rolled oats  3 cups water pinch of salt 1 cup various dried fruits and nuts A tsp of maple syrup or cake brown sugar - or more up to how sweet one wants the oatmeal. A dash of cinnamon or mixed spice - cardamon is nice too Can also add cut up apple Process: Put water with a pinch of salt in pan and start heating. Cut up nuts, fruits, etc., and add to water. Add sweetener of choice as desired and a dash of spice. Don't add fresh fruit yet. When water starts to boil, add oatmeal, stir and lower the temperature. You want to see that it is bubbling a bit. Add fresh fruit now. Let oatmeal simmer for a few minutes and then put a lid on it, turn off the heat and walk away for about 15 minutes. I...

 Sauteed Spinach has always been a fast side dish - but take it to the next level of richness with a little cream... Looking around the internet at different recipes showed some basic common elements - with lots of different ways to make it just what you want. For me (and faraway daughter) this worked pretty well: Ingredients: 2 packages of fresh spinach - washed and spun dried. Not a big deal if a little wet 2 T olive oil or butter (or both!) 1-2 tsp flour or cornstarch 30 g or to taste chopped shallot or yellow onion 1 small chopped garlic clove (optional) juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 cup cooking cream or half n half  Process: Add oil/butter to saute pan - heat low. Add shallots, let soften slightly then add garlic. I like to slow cook my shallots/onions to soften them up before caramelizing a bit. Don't burn them.  Add in the spinach and slowly cook it down until it is softened.  Add in 1 tsp of the flour - basically enough flour to absorb the oil/butter and coat the o...

Bringing flavors together in this dish was fairly straightforward. I have found  with Italian cooking that if the components like red sauce or a filling taste good - the overall dish usually is great. I know how I like my red sauce to taste: fresh and sharp with that tang of good herbs and garlic. I want the meat - whether sausage or ground - to be seasoned well. Fillings: use good pesto or fresh basil. Fresh cheeses. Good pasta - homemade if possible. Cooking outside of my own markets on the other side of the world means I have to try different products to get the right fresh flavors - and it has turned out to be pretty straightforward. For me, Italian cooking will aways mean using the best farm to table ripe vegetables and fresh ingredients. I'm learning that this is true for any cuisine. And when one sees large pasta shells at the store - one must do something with them, right? 1. Prepare the Red Sauce and the Shell Filling Red Sauce: Here in Malaysia, I go with what I can find....

I had lemon slices, fresh basil and the meyer lemon linguine.  I always have pesto in the pantry or fridge - there was shrimp in the freezer and leftover salmon in the fridge. Add garlic and shallots, a little wine - how can this be anything but delicious?  In a saute pan: Add 2-3 T of olive oil and heat up the pan. Add about 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots. Let shallots soften and just start to brown - and then add about 2T chopped garlic. Add 1-2 T butter and saute until aromatic. Add in 1.5 T good pesto sauce. Add half a lemon - chopped up with rind etc. The lemon melts into the saute. Add about 1 cup of white wine - I used a Sauvignon Blanc, salt and pepper - and simmer until liquid reduces about half way. Don't dry out the pan.  Optional: I added in about a 1/4 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes and a good pinch of chopped basil (keeping most the basil to garnish after pasta is in serving bowls) Bringing this together requires cooking up the pasta before you add in th...