Korean Beef Tacos: A happy fusion

To JY who figured out that these could be brought home.

I'm actually writing this post while mad at myself. I should have thought of it first. I LOVE Korean bbq and I LOVE all things taco - why couldn't I figure out that I could make this, throw Daughters and Son in the back of a taco truck and drive around in the wee hours of the night selling these Korean tacos? Instead the folks over at Kogi BBQ are making the big bucks slinging Korean bbq tacos all over LA hotspots...sigh...yet another missed opportunity. On the bright side, I'm sure Daughters and Son are thankful they aren't rattling around with a bunch of pots and pans during the wee hours of the night.

But my friend and blog reader JY figured something out -she figured out that these could be done at home. She had a dinner party and made her own Korean bbq tacos using my Flank Steak Marinade and her guests went to town. No lines, no wait, just make your own Korean bbq tacos with her spin in the toppings and the fixings. BRILLIANT and GENIUS is what I thought. She said it was a huge hit. Then she asked me if I had any ideas for a cilantro cucumber topping. And I did. And so then I decided that I needed to make these myself and figure out what components I would put on a Korean BBQ taco. This is my own version and not to be compared to the original Kogi BBQ tacos - only because I've never had it and have no idea what it tastes like. Here is what I came up with.

Korean BBQ Flank Steak
Bulgogi
Ginger Onion Scallion Slaw (I am really pleased with this and the slaw is a great addition to any BBQ spread)
Spicy cucumber cilantro relish
Sesame chili sauce
Corn tortillas

As an addition, offer the Soy Pickled Jalapenos on the side

To have a meal you simply prepare all the components and then allow your diners (guests) to make the taco of their choice. When they are done, charge them $2 for each taco and you're ready to open your own taco truck.

Korean BBQ Tacos
serves 6
2 lbs marinated and cooked flank steak or bulgogi (for fun try 1 lb each. I am calculating about 1/3 lb per person. If you have massive carnivores, up the poundage of meat per person to 1/2 lb, or 3 lbs total)

I have two pics - one with the flank fully cooked and not rare at all, cut up into small pieces. It had to be finished in a fry pan after being grilled (to get the super caramelization on all sides.)

This second picture is of the flank, directly off the grill after having rested for 20 minutes. Slightly rare in the inside, still in slices. I slightly preferred this version, but both cooking styles work.

Ginger Cabbage Slaw
6 cups of cabbage, shredded. (about 1/2 a head of a good sized cabbage)
1/4 cup of red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of scallions chopped

Dressing
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
Pepper to taste

Whisk ingredients of dressing all together. Place the cabbage, onions and scallions in a bowl. 15 minutes before serving, pour dressing over salad and toss.

Cucumber Cilantro Relish
2 cups chopped cucumber (I used the Persian cucumbers but an English/hothouse/kirby cucumber with the seeds removed would be just fine)
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro (do not be afraid to use some of the stem for this - the stem is YUMMY)

Dressing (optional for those with kids. I just topped Daughters' tacos with the cucumber and cilantro with no dressing)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Korean chili powder (gochu gahloo) or chili pepper flakes
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

In a small bowl whisk the ingredients for the dressing together. In another bowl place cucumber and cilantro. Pour dressing over and toss gently to coat.

Sesame Chili Sauce
1/4 cup Sambal Oelek with garlic (or ground red chilis - available at your chinese market - super HOT)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Mix all ingredients together. Set aside.
Assembly
Put all the components - the beef, the cabbage slaw, the cilantro cucumber relish, sesame chili sauce and warm corn tortillas on your table. Place a couple of slices of beef in the center of the tortilla. Top with the cabbage slaw, the cucumber relish and the sesame chili sauce (use SPARINGLY it's HOT!). Fold it up and enjoy!

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All ready...just needs to be folded up!

Greek Salad: Pretty to share

A couple of days ago, after struggling to make ANYTHING in the week go right, I made this pretty salad. I found it incredibly soothing to make something that had order, sense, precision after a week of mediating fights between daughters, struggling with a toddler son who decided that leaping out of his crib at 18 months was a good idea, and dealing with hot weather that threatened to fry the last few IQ points in my head. It was not a good week. I'm not normally one to try and create straight lines and army style fashioning in a salad, but I started to do it and suddenly it made sense and made me feel that for the moment, I had control over SOMETHING. Okay, it's only a pile of vegetables but man, the control I exercised over it was precise and total. How often does a mother get to say that?

This salad goes great with any sort of grilled meats. We served it at an impromptu bbq we had over the weekend.

Menu:
Guacamole and chips
Orzo Salad with Feta, Tomato and Pinenuts
Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Cupcakes
Fruit salad

The Greek Salad was a huge hit and I even made my burger the "Greek Salad Burger" by simply topping my dry burger with a nice serving of salad. It was delicious.

Greek Salad
Serves 6-8

Dressing
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste (keeping in mind that both olives and feta are salty)

Salad
2 heads of romaine, washed, dried, and chopped into bite sized pieces
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut (I like the diagonal cut myself for visual interest)
1/2 hothouse cucumber (sometimes called Kirby), chopped
1/2 cup of Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
1 cup of feta cheese, crumbled

In a jar with a tight fitting lid, put all the dressing ingredients in. Shake well.

In a large salad bowl, place the chopped romaine lettuce on the bottom. Take the cut tomatoes, and carefully line them up down the center of the salad. Then take the cucumbers and make a line on either side of the tomatoes. Feta cheese goes on the outside the cucumbers and then the final touch is black olives at the very edge of the salad bowl.

Present salad first with its regimented lines. Allow people to oooh and ahh over it's regularity and beauty. THEN, right before serving, pour 1/2 dressing on top and toss well. Add more if needed. (no one likes a salad with too much dressing.)

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Almost too pretty to mess up.

Edamame Salad with Ginger Dressing: A touch of refreshing

For SL who will be celebrating her 1st birthday and is lucky that her mom is pushing to make a beautiful birthday spread.

"I have a recipe I need for you to figure out," said the voice on the other end my cell phone. For a moment, I felt a bit like it was some sort of test, competition, or game so I froze and just listened. As it turned out, it was SL'S mom, one of my best friends asking for a specific recipe to get created. Edamame Salad. That's what she wanted. She was at a restaurant and proceeded to describe what she saw there (incidentally was not eating, but just SAW) and asked me to make something along the same lines. She wanted to make one to make for SL's first birthday party bash as she has part of the menu figured out, with the Korean BBQ Flank Steak and the Ginger Soy Bbq Chicken, but is looking for sides. She decided she wanted an edamame salad - a great color counterpoint to the grilled meats as well as being a simple side. I told her I'd work on it and figure it out.

A few things I kept at the back of my mind - I wanted a salad that could be made a bit ahead of time, and one that was really refreshing to counteract the richness of the meats. I wanted simple flavors that really held up well and would be something that you couldn't stop eating. I decided to do two versions of dressings - one with a soy sesame base, and one a vinegar ginger base and decide which one was more along the lines of what I was looking for. I tried it out on a few people and the result was split as to what was preferred - I definitely had a preference for the ginger vinegar based one - because it simply tasted FRESH. Fresh and light and none of the heaviness and richness that I associate with soy sauce and sesame oil.

The salad is best made about 3 hours ahead of time, but no more than that. It needs to be nice and cold for optimum flavor. If you need to make things ahead of time, get the dressing done, have the edamame boiled and shelled, and the veggies chopped. Then 3 hours before you need it, just dump it all together and chill it in the fridge. The flavors will marry beautifully and you will have a wonderfully refreshing and light salad.

Edamame Salad with Ginger Dressing
Serves 6

2 packs frozen edamame beans in their shells. (generally about 400 grams. If you choose to go with preshelled beans, you'll need around 2 1/2 cups.)
Salt for boiling liquid
1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 cup scallions chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Dressing
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Cook edamame beans according to package directions. When done cooking, make sure to rinse well with cold water to stop cooking. Alternatively, drain the hot water, and then dump the beans into a bowl full of ice water. Set aside.

2. Mix ingredients for dressing together.

3. Shell the edamame. Place the beans into a bowl. Pour dressing on top. Add cilantro, bell peppers, scallions. Toss to coat. Chill in the refrigerator before serving, up to 3 hours.

Preparation note: If you are planning on making this ahead of time, cook the edamame and shell them, have the veggies chopped and ready to go and the dressing ready. Keep everything in the refrigerator, and then 1 hour before you need to serve, simply toss it all together and return it to the refrigerator.

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Fried Tofu topped with Spicy Scallion Soy Sauce

I'm on a bit of a kick right now for "small plates" or Korean side dishes, banchan. Because hopefully what my readers can do is find a variety of different "small plates" or "banchan" dishes and put together meals more easily than they have in the past. I try and choose those dishes that require simple preparation but are yummy and readily eaten by all members of the family. This tofu dish is a huge hit with Daughters and Husband (and ME) as it is delicious hot, or room temperature and tastes delicious. The frying part of the tofu is the most difficult (meaning the most messy) as you can have splatters everywhere, but the rest of the dish is so easy that you won't mind the frying part too much.

Fried Tofu with Spicy Scallion Soy Sauce
serves 4

1 block of firm tofu
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, more if needed

Sauce
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce (I prefer low sodium for almost all of my cooking)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (Kadoya brand is my preference)
3 tablespoons chopped scallions
1-2 teaspoons of red chili powder (고추가루 gochu gahloo) - optional if you do not want spice
2 teaspoons sesame seed

Directions
Carefully slice tofu. Make one cut down the center and then cut into even 3/4 inch thick pieces. You should get about 16 pieces of tofu. On a plate, lay down a piece of paper towel. You will drain the tofu on here AFTER cooking.

In a heavy fry pan over medium high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Carefully lay down tofu pieces. CAREFUL! It can begin to splatter. Use caution. Cook until golden and crisp on one side (about 3 minutes) and carefully turn over so that it gets golden and crisp on the other side (another 3 minutes). Remove from pan and place on plate with the paper towel. (It collects the excess oil.) Repeat until all tofu is cooked.

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for the sauce together.

Plate the tofu on your serving dish. Carefully spoon a small amount of sauce on top of each slice of tofu. Can be served hot or warm.

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A plate of beautiful tofu (this one is without the chili powder)

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: A love affair

For UJY who asks for these cupcakes whenever she can and has consumed more of these than anyone I know.

UJY is having a love affair with these cupcakes. She can't get enough of them. She will eat these non-stop. There has only been ONE time I've heard her say, "I'm cupcaked out" and that was the one time I had delivered 26 cupcakes to her house and she ate the lion's share of them. All other times, she will not say no to having these. It's the frosting, the cake, the vanilla bean - all of it. She loves it all. She repeatedly tells me, "I refuse and will not eat cupcakes from anywhere else - only these. These are the only cupcakes I eat." A high compliment. I should name these after her.

Unfortunately I can't take credit for them. I got the cake recipe from my favorite cupcake blog, Cupcake Bakeshop and really, the only thing I've done is up the vanilla bean in the cake as I found a great deal on them and so they aren't AS expensive as buying in a supermarket. To me, those tiny black flecks in my cake are so beautiful and delicious, I can't resist having more of them in the cake. The frosting, vanilla bean cream cheese is also wonderfully gorgeous. It's not overpoweringly sweet so the vanilla sings a lovely note and you can actually taste it, instead of just pure sweetness. The cake itself is simple to make but the vanilla bean elevates it to elegance. These are my go-to cupcakes for bringing to people's homes as well as celebrations at home. Don't miss out, grab them while you can, and have your own love affair.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes (from the Cupcake Bake Shop)
26 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2-3/4 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
1. Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
3. Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Scrape out the vanilla bean seeds into the milk. (put the remaining pod in a bag of sugar and make your own vanilla sugar. YUM!)
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk vanilla bean mixture and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting (enough for 30 cupcakes)
1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1 8oz pack of cream cheese, softened
1 whole vanilla bean, split open with a knife and vanilla beans scraped out (Amazon.com has 16 beans for $15)
3-4 cups confectioner sugar (I try and use as little as I can, but making sure it's pipeable)

Cream butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until texture is uniform. Add 2 cups of confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. Add 2 more cups and again mix on low speed until sugar is all incorporated. Add scraped vanilla beans (get every last bit) and mix on medium speed for 8 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides. The key to really creamy frosting is to NOT beat too much air into the frosting but rather, on a medium speed, beat it until it is creamy.

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These are so good...will you be able to share?

This is where I buy my vanilla beans.

Jang Jolim 장조림, Korean Soy Stewed Beef : Korean Side Dish Basics 101

For HLK who loves it, but doesn't know how to make it

I was talking to a close friend of mine who mentioned how much she loved Jang JoLim (Korean Soy Stewed Beef 장조림) but had no idea really how to make it. She knew the basic ingredients but had no idea about proportions or technique, so here I am with a mini-lesson on this great, basic side dish. This one is a great one to have around in your house because it lasts for a while, and for those of you with kids, it's great to mix up with hot rice and have almost an instant meal. Just add some green vegetables on the side. Old school Korean folk will tell you that the stewing liquid, mixed with hot rice and a freshly cracked egg is one of heaven's delights. My girls love it mixed with their rice and sometimes I mix it with rice and just throw in some sauteed spinach and it's an impromptu bibimbap.

For a quick vocabulary lesson, for those of you who are curious about exactly what this means. Jang - is from soy sauce (ganjang) and Jo Lim - means to REDUCE (as in the reduction of liquid.) So you have a soy reduction, which is essentially what the beef is cooked in. And you thought only the French did reductions of sauces! HA! I don't want to call this a beef stew, because Kalbi Ggim is more of that but the beef is cooked in a reduction of soy sauce and then served.

It is incredibly simple and straightforward, and having this in your fridge will probably mean that you can throw a meal together quicker than you had expected.

Jang Jo Lim 장조림 - Korean Soy Stewed Beef
(recipe can be halved)

1 lb flank steak, cut into 2 inch square portions
1 1/4 cups of water
1 cup of reduced sodium soy sauce (Kikoman with the green lid)
10 cloves of garlic (or less, but my kids LOVE eating it)
1 jalapeno (optional - for a slight bit of heat, but I leave this out when cooking for the kids)
4 eggs, optional

1. Soak cut flank steak pieces in cold water for at least 45 minutes. This is to drain out the blood. You'll notice the water getting pinker. Doing this step means you WILL NOT have to skim off yucky beef foam, and your soy sauce reduction at the end will be clean with no sediment. (A much more attractive reduction)

2. While flank is soaking, boil 4 eggs. In a pot, place eggs in cold water. Bring eggs to a rolling boil then REMOVE from the heat. Allow to rest in the heated water for 10 minutes. Drain and add cold water to the pot. Peel eggs. Set aside.

3. After 45 minutes drain flank steak. In a heavy saucepan add water, soy sauce, garlic, jalapeno (optional) and flank steak pieces. Place on high heat and bring to a hard boil with UNCOVERED. Once it boils, then cover and reduce the heat to a low simmer, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add boiled, peeled eggs to the pot. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

4. Remove from heat. With a chopstick, poke a piece of beef. The chopstick should go through very easily. If it doesnt, place back on heat and cook for an additional 5 minutes. When it has cooled enough, shred a piece of beef with your fingers into small pieces. Place on serving plate. Cut one egg into beautiful slices. Place onto plate. Pour a bit of the soy reduction sauce on top of the beef and serve.

5. The remainder put in an airtight container UNCOVERED and allow to cool. You will notice a layer of fat solidifying. Remove it. Then store in the refrigerator. Will keep for 1 week.

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Flank pieces in a pot after having been soaked in cold water.

Flank pieces with soy and water. Enough liquid to cover all the pieces of meat.

Flank steak, soy sauce, water, and garlic being brought to a hard boil.

Eggs added to the mixture after it has been cooking for 20 minutes and cooked for an additional 10 minutes.

Chopstick tender and ready to shred.

Shredded and ready to eat

Fully cooled, in a container, fat removed, ready to be stored in the fridge.

Green Bean Bits with Crispy Garlic: Easier for your kids to eat

For Son, who can't eat many things, but loves this

On a recent visit to Son's allergist, I was informed that I was to "expand the diet" of Son. After testing for numerous things, although Son was allergic to peas, he was NOT allergic to green beans. But because Son's eczema gets wildly out of control and he scratches until he's red and raw, it is hard for me to take the leap and introduce new food items to him, even when the doctor says it's fine. But I was told to keep "expanding the diet" and in the back of my mind I knew I had to take the step.

As Daughters love green beans, I have many methods of preparations for them. But for ease of eating for Son, I decided to try something new. I cut the french green beans into 3/4 inch pieces because I figured that they would be easier for Son to consume. I also defaulted to his favorite preparation of green vegetable which is the crispy garlic version I use with broccoli and bok choy. The result was a super yummy side dish that was quick to cook and quick to eat. Son agreed and gobbled up bits of green beans by the fistful and it was clear that he liked it.

On another note, cutting the green beans up may make this vegetable less intimidating for those kids who do not like green vegetables as now the bits are bite-sized and easy to pop into their mouth. I never thought about how difficult green beans could be to eat for kids, until today, when Daughter #2 said, "Hey mom! Look! These I can chew really really fast."

Green Bean Bits with Crispy Garlic
Serves 5

1 lb fresh green beans (I like French green beans - pretrimmed at Costco)
5-6 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
2 tablespoons mild flavored oil (I like canola or can even use olive oil)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut green beans into 3/4 inch bits. The easiest way to do this is to grab a handful, line them up and slice through the bunch.

2. Heat a fry pan over medium high heat. Add oil. Add garlic and a pinch of salt. Watch VERY carefully as garlic can quickly burn. Wait until garlic is golden and then add the cut green bean bits. Saute over medium high heat until green beans are tender and slightly blistered, about 5 minutes.

3. Serve and enjoy!

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The Ultimate BBQ Ribs: A confession of truth

For JEL who forced me to admit that sometimes I don't follow my own recipes

I need to clarify. I don't intentionally do it. I'm not trying to keep it a top secret. But sometimes I adapt as I go along. Sometimes the recipe I write on my blog is not the one that I am currently using. It's hard being a food blogger and at the same time have a lot of friends for whom I enjoy cooking. Most friends know to ask me, "Is this on the blog?" and I usually can reply, "Yes" or "Not yet, but it will be." But sometimes the recipe on the blog is not EXACTLY what I am doing anymore, because sometimes I am trying something different or changing things up.

After I made these ribs on a recent occasion, JEL who is best friend and most frequent eater of my food commented, "I don't think these are the same ribs that are on your blog. These taste different."

I gave her a stare and said, "Of course these are the same. They are the ones I always make."

"No they aren't. Something is different. Mine didn't come out like THIS!." Meanwhile, her son is shoving a rib in his mouth and wiping his tonsils with the bone. "What time did you put them in the oven?"

I gave it a momentary thought. "They've been in there since 3:30ish I think. So about 3 hours."

She said victoriously, "SEE! That is NOT how you have it on the blog."

And then I realized - she was right. I had started out with Tyler Florence's Ultimate BBQ Ribs recipe, but I've changed things up to make it easier and tastier, and so the ribs that are on my previous blog posting are not really what I make anymore. I DID make them that way, but it's just changed a bit.

In order to keep things truthful, I'm re-posting my version of Tyler Florence's Ribs - which is essentially the same but a change of cooking times and some technique in the sauce. I love this one and daughters can't get enough of this one either. This is a great one for a party at your home because you can make the sauce ahead of time and just let the oven do the work (3 hours of baking while you do something else.) You won't regret making these.

Finally, I'll finish my confession and make things right. If you were a visitor to my house in recent months and had ribs, THESE ARE the ones you've had. Promise. It's hard being honest when you're a food blogger.

The Ultimate Barbecued Baby Back Ribs (adapted from Tyler Florence)

2 slabs baby back ribs (about 3 pounds)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 bacon slices
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 onion
3 smashed garlic cloves
2 cups ketchup
1 cup peach preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or 1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika

Special equipment: Kitchen twine

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Put the ribs on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Stick them in the oven, and let the ribs bake, low and slow for 3 hours.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat a 2-count of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the thyme and bacon and cook slowly for 3 to 4 minutes to render the bacon fat and give the sauce a nice smoky taste. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly, without coloring, for 5 minutes. Add all of the rest of the sauce ingredients, give the sauce a stir, and turn the heat down to low. Cook slowly for 20 minutes to meld the flavors. With a hand blender, puree the sauce (all the bacon, onions, garlic, thyme all chopped up.) Put some sauce in a separate bowl for basting, reserving the remaining sauce for serving.

Baste the ribs with the sauce and let them continue cooking, basting twice more, for 30 more minutes. When the ribs are cooked, take them out of the oven. You can let them hang out like this until you're ready to eat.

When ready to eat, preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and broil the ribs, basting with the sauce. They should become crisp and charred, about 5 minutes on each side.

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Delicious ribs...great for parties.

Sweet Rice Flour Coated Thinly Sliced Beef: Mochi beef? You've never had this before...

For my grandmother who always tries to give me the best of what is on the table and JCM, whose daughter also has many allergies

Excuse the long name of this dish. I have no idea what to call it. I described it to my mother - she's never heard of it. It is something that I've eaten ONE TIME, in some remote restaurant in the outskirts of Seoul. I ate it while sitting with my extended family in Korea, and I only remember this dish in that particular meal. I remember eating it, loving it, and leaning over to my grandmother and asking her, "WHAT IS THIS?" as I'd NEVER had it before. Understand that my mother and both grandmothers are truly excellent Korean cooks so I've often felt that there was very little I hadn't tried in terms of Korean food. My grandmother immediately understood I liked it, gave me two more slices from her plate and said to me in Korean, "It is beef that has been coated in sweet rice flour and cooked." I never made it however, because I just didn't remember eating it - until a week ago, when I bought a box of mochiko (sweet rice flour)and was contemplating what to do with it. I am so glad I remembered it because I am forever trying to come up with ways to feed son who is allergic to all essential Korean ingredients (soy sauce, tofu, sesame seeds, sesame oil) and it bothers me that I don't have more things in my repertoire to cook for him. I also need things that are fast and easy, and believe me, it doesn't come faster or easier than this.

You simply take UNMARINATED bulgogi beef (thinly sliced rib eye), dredge it in sweet rice flour (mochiko) and saute it in oil. The result is a slightly crispy and chewy piece of thinly sliced meat. It's vaguely reminiscent of a chicken fried steak but it is far more subtle and tender than that. The touch of scallions and the sprinkle of salt finishes the dish. Son chomps this down with Garlic Bok Choy and eats with such relish I want to give him what's on my plate.

Sweet Rice Coated Thinly Sliced Beef (surely there is a better name for this than that)
Serves 4-6

1 lb of bulgogi meat (thinly sliced ribeye)
1/2 cup of mochiko (sweet rice flour) - more as needed
2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
Canola oil (or some other mild flavored oil)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a fry pan over medium heat and put 1 tablespoon of oil.

Take each slice of meat and carefully coat both sides with flour. Place two or three slices of coated meat in fry pan. Do not over crowd. You want to crisp up the coating, not steam it. Remove when meat is cooked and slightly caramelized. (this is the yummy part)

Place on serving platter and sprinkle with a dash of salt. Continue with beef until all is cooked.

Before serving, sprinkle the top with green onions. Serve with dipping sauce (optional).

Dipping sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
dash of black pepper

Mix soy and vinegar together.

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Sauteed Bok Choy with Crispy Garlic: Loving the green

I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm obsessive about what goes into Daughters' and Son's bodies. I worry myself wondering if Daughters and Son are getting enough nutrition, wonder if they've eaten enough, mull over how to get them to eat more, how to get them to eat what I want them to eat. Close friends admire what they eat, saying they can't imagine their kids eating such things. Son's pediatrician confirmed that despite Son's numerous allergies, he continues to go up on the weight chart and is healthy as she could want.

I think I'm lucky however. I think Daughters and Son have a very well-balanced palate. They know and understand what tastes good and they also understand how to well balanced meal. (particularly Daughter #1.) I think part of it is something about the way they were made and the other part is how I've approached food with them. One thing that I have committed to - GREEN at every meal possible. I don't often get it in at breakfast, but I get it in at lunch and dinner. Daughters and son get a green vegetable, as much as possible, twice a day. Why do I do this? Because, if they see it, they will eventually eat it. I think NOT trying to expose kids to green veggies is a mistake -because they just get used to not seeing it. But the key is making green veggies easily (because it's an extra thing to cook) and tasty - my default? Veggies sauteed in oil with crispy garlic. Something about those crispy garlic chips gets my kids eating them. They'll eat spinach, broccoli, bok choy, pea shoots, gai lan (Chinese kale) - any number of green veggies as long as they are sauteed with the crispy garlic. The other trick is to CUT your vegetable so they aren't choking on them on the way down. This preparation is simple enough to make but tasty enough for adults to eat whatever kids don't. Don't be afraid of offering your kids something green every meal - the WORST they could do is try it and not like it (or not want to try it at all) but showing that your priority is a healthy green vegetable will eventually get them to eat some as well.

Sauteed Bok Choy with Crispy Garlic
1/2 lb bok choy
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoons oil (canola or even olive oil is fine)
Salt and pepper to taste

Gently rip apart all the leaves of the bok choy from the stem. Wash well and chop into 1 inch pieces.

Heat oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add garlic and some salt and watch them sizzle and as soon as they begin turning golden brown, toss in the chopped bok choy. Stir the garlic and the bokchoy until the bok choy is cooked. (about 2 minutes) Serve.

**As an alternative, instead of salt, you can cook the bok choy with garlic. Put on a serving platter. Put a few dashes of both oyster sauce and toasted sesame oil on top.

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Bok choy with the leaves pulled off, getting washed

Bok choy cut into bite sized pieces

Cooked bok choy topped with dashes of oyster sauce and toasted sesame oil

Cold Tofu with Cilantro, Scallions, and Soy Sesame Sauce: As simple as it gets

I get asked a lot, "How do you cook with three kids?" The answer, I don't cook all the time. Sometimes I just construct. I take simple things and just dress them a bit and make a dish. Tofu is one of my favorite ingredients to do this with, because you can literally do almost nothing to it and still create something yummy. Tofu is, in and of itself, a good dish - and dressing with a few simple touches makes it special. This is one of my fall back dishes when I have nothing to cook for daughters. (son is allergic to soy so not for him) It takes minutes to put together and is especially refreshing and yummy in the summer. Go out, buy a pack of tofu and make this for an easy side dish or appetizer.

Cold Tofu with Cilantro, Scallions, and Soy Sesame Sauce
Serves 4-6

1 package soft tofu (sometimes called silken)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons chopped scallions
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves

Carefully slice tofu into even pieces (about 1/2 inch thick). Lay them flat on a plate.

Mix soy sauce and sesame oil together. Spoon a tiny bit on top of each tofu piece. Top each tofu with a few pieces of scallion and a cilantro leaf.

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You can easily prepare single servings as an appetizer like this.

Ham and Egg Cups: Hamuffins! (Not really)

For those who know how to laugh with me

I like life. I love life when it has a lot of humor in it. I don't understand very well those things that are too serious, unless I find the funny in it. I don't relate to people that well if they have no humor. I like to smile but I love to laugh, love hearing the joyous laughter of my friends, of daughters and son, and of husband, especially when I bring them to the raucous crashing sounds of joy.

These ham cups for some reason, brought out the major giggle in daughters. They watched me construct them and laughed as I put them in the oven in muffin tins. Somehow the vision of these eggs being baked in ham "liners" as they put it just killed them. And they laughed. While they ate them they laughed too, but they cleaned their plates. Ate it ALL. Every last bit of it, which tells you that despite their curious appearance they actually taste really delicious.

I actually found the recipe on this blog, and she had taken it from the book "Gale Gand's Brunch! 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend's Best Meal" by Gale Gand with Christie Matheson. I had to tweak the recipe a bit because I don't know what kind of muffin cups Gale Gand uses, but there was NO WAY I could crack two eggs into each muffin cup. I also didn't have any homemade pesto, so I just blitzed some basil and olive oil. I'm REALLY glad I did this because the ham imparted enough salt to make the whole thing well flavored. With pesto, I think it would have been too salty. This comes easily together if you have all the ingredients ready (packaged shredded cheese, pesto, tomatoes and eggs) and bakes up in a flash. I hope it brings out the laughter in your home as it did in mine! Happy laughing!

Ham and Egg Cups (adapted from Gale Gand's Brunch: 100 Fantastic Recipes for the Weekend's Best Meal)
Serves 4

1 teaspoon unsalted butter, for the tins
4 (1/16-inch thick) round ham slices (the largest you can find at the deli)
1/4 cup of basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large eggs
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or cheese of your choice, havarti, fresh mozzarella, cheddar, ricotta all would be nice)
4 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a mini food processor, blend together basil and olive oil.

Butter 4 compartments of a metal muffin tin. Fold each ham slice into quarters; insert the point end in a buttered muffin cup, and let it open, it will have a ruffled look.

Place 1 teaspoon basil olive oil mixture in the bottom of each ham cup. Place 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese on top of basil oil. Add one half of cherry tomato to the bottom.

Carefully crack a single egg into each cup. Top with the other half of the cherry tomato and a small dab of basil olive oil mixture. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the egg white looks set but the yolk is still a bit runny. Remove the ham cups from the muffin tin and serve them in small bowls or lined up on a platter.

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Photo directions

Ham cups in buttered muffin pan, with 1 teaspoon of basil olive oil mix

Eggs cracked on top of 1 tablespoon shredded mozzarella and a half of cherry tomato

The final touches - another half of cherry tomato, a dab of basil olive oil, and fresh black pepper

Brunch Pizza: Pizza before noon? Of course you can.

In my continuing quest to try new things with pizza dough, I thought I'd be fun to try making a brunch pizza - BRIZZA! The concept was simple; put the ingredients of an omelet onto pizza dough and bake it. I am not the inventor of this food item as it exists at some restaurants but what I'd like to do is bring it home as it is super easy, super fun, and super delicious. Daughters loved this as they have been eating a lot of pizza, but found the addition of egg really exciting. They kept asking, "What do you call this mom?" They giggled when I said in a pseudo-Italian accent, "Brreeeezza!" Incidentally, there is nothing that says that you couldn't enjoy this at any time of the day.

Brizza
1 grapefruit sized chunk of pizza dough
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 cup of diced ham
1 cup of mozzarella shredded
4 eggs
1/4 cup basil, chiffonade
olive oil for oiling dough and drizzling on top
pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 500 with either an inverted cookie sheet or pizza stone inside.

On a well floured surface, roll out pizza dough into a good size - about 16 inches across (or whatever will fit in your oven - feel free to make it a non-traditional pizza shape. Brush olive oil over the entire surface.

Open the oven and quickly place all your items on either the pizza stone or the inverted cookie sheet. Due to the nature of the egg, it is better to construct the pizza inside the oven. Lay down the cheese, ham, zucchini slices, (I made quadrants so I could figure out where to crack the eggs) and then as the final touch, carefully crack the eggs on top.

Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the whites of the egg are set. Remove from oven and sprinkle with basil chiffonade and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Finish with some pepper.

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A beautiful brizza - have it for breakfast or lunch

Sprucing up the blog

Dear readers -
You have spoken and I have tried to accommodate. Quite a few of my avid readers have asked me repeatedly to create a "printable recipe" function as printing from a blog is not always easy. There is always the simple, highlighting the text you want, and then from your print window dialog box clicking "selection" but no one ever remembers to do that. The "printable recipe" function was NOT easy to create, but thanks to fellow food bloggers at Dishing Up Delights and Closet Cooking I've gotten a low tech version to help make this work. I'll spare you all the gory technical details, but I will be going back to all my recipes in the blog and creating printable versions of them. This may take some time, but all blog posts going forward will have a printable version. I also have to spend some time making labels for all my posts. These tasks are not as exciting to me as writing about new recipes and creating new dishes, but a blogger's work is never done. Thanks for being patient and I hope with the new printable version, more of you will be cooking...well - MORE!

Soy Pickled Garlic and Jalapenos

For my mother-in-law, who always makes these for the family and lets me watch her make them.

I wish I had a scratch and sniff blog, because this mix of jalapenos and garlic in soy sauce has such a great smell, my mouth waters when I walk by them. Even writing about them has got me salivating. *scratch here* (this will work when I get my technology up and running)

I think every Korean family has their own version of these soy pickled jalapenos and garlic. Everyone has a secret technique, secret ingredient whether it be sugar, vinegar, MSG what have you. But my mother-in-law makes them really simply - and I love hers. The great thing about hers is that because there is no sugar or vinegar, you can "age" these in your fridge for a very long time with no worries that it will deteriorate. Acids from vinegar tend to break down the jalapenos and garlic too quickly so they can't do the duration in the fridge. I feel that sugar also does the same and for me doesn't really enhance the flavor experience.

This recipe will be strange, as it really doesn't have measurements. It will be up to individual people to figure out what jar they will use and make decisions as to how much garlic and jalapenos to use and to make it.

Soy Pickled Garlic and Jalapenos

1 good sized jar with a wide mouth which is big enough to hold your garlic and jalapenos. ((My favorite jar is this huge one that had marinated artichokes from costco, but you can decide what you'd like to use)
Bunch of jalapenos, sliced. Cut of the stem and just use the remaining portion of jalapenos, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
Bunch of whole cloves of garlic, tough woody top portion trimmed off
Soy sauce (I always use low sodium Kikoman, with the green lid)

Technique
1. Place all chopped jalapenos and garlic into the jar. Try and layer and mix up so the jalapenos and garlic are well distributed in your jar.

2. Pour soy sauce into the jar, NOT all the way covering the jalapenos and garlic. Do not cover about the last 1 1/2 inches of garlic and jalapeno. The reason is that the soy sauce will draw out water from the garlic and jalapeno and soon the soy sauce will eventually almost cover the jalapenos and soy sauce.

3. Allow the garlic and jalapenos to sit in the soy sauce for a good 4 hours. Eventually you will notice that the garlic and jalapenos are almost covered by the soy sauce.

4. CAREFULLY drain the soy sauce into a heavy saucepan. Leave the garlic and jalapenos in the jar.

5. Bring the soy sauce to a boil. As soon as it boils, pour the soy sauce BACK into the jar.

6. Let the jalapenos and garlic cool. Cover and place them in the fridge for at least one week. The flavor changes the longer you leave them. You can enjoy these for up to 6 months.

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Jalapenos and garlic after 3 weeks in the fridge.

If your mouth doesn't water from looking at these, you're missing out.

Strawberry Banana Muffins: Like a smoothie but baked

For BKL and MKL, both who asked for the recipe before I had it written down

Normally I wouldn't post two muffin recipes in a row - it sounds too - well - indulgent. But friends heard about it and wanted to try it and here I am, posting a double header of muffin recipes. These muffins are very similar to the tropical muffins as the base is essentially the same, but just switching out the ingredients. But they taste VERY different and are really yummy. My kids actually preferred these over the tropical muffins and husband walked around grumbling that he "only got to eat 3 of them." They aren't any harder to make than other muffins - you just need to wash and chop some strawberries and you are good to go.


** Preparation tips
Bananas taste the best in baked goods when they are the worst looking for eating; black, mushy, squishy make for GREAT baked goods. If you can't bake when your banana is looking its worst, freeze it in a ziploc bag. When you are ready to bake, place it in the fridge to defrost over night and in the morning it will be defrosted and perfect.

If your child eats only part of a banana, cut off the eaten bit and stick the other portion into the fridge. You will save banana and as a bonus get some baking goods.

Measure out all dry ingredients the night before - sugar in one larger bowl, and the rest of the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl. Have your butter cut and measured in a bowl, ready to melt and your egg all ready to go. Paper liners in the muffin pan already all set up.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick of butter, (6 tablespoons or 85 grams of butter) melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 large ripe bananas
1 cup fresh strawberries, diced (I don't think frozen strawberries would work in this recipe, so make them while you can!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake/muffin pan with liners. In a medium bowl, measure out and mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until well combined. Add melted butter. Mix well. Add vanilla. Squish bananas into the mixture. A nice squish should break the bananas up well enough to be incorporated into the batter.

3. Add strawberries to the dry mixture. Toss until strawberries are well coated with flour mixture. Add dry strawberry mixture to the wet mixture. Use a VERY light hand to mix at this point. The more mixing you do the tougher the muffin so try not to over mix. You want everything well mixed together but not over mixed.

4. Divide batter equally in liners. Bake until golden brown, about 22-30 minutes.

5. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Then enjoy.

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Tropical (banana, coconut, pineapple) Muffins: A tropical vacation

I fantasize about vacation. I fantasize about going somewhere warm, sunny, with ocean breezes and a very able-bodied person answering my every whim. I think about going somewhere with a pool that I can sit in and swim in without any worry and a beautiful view from a pristine hotel room in an exotic land. I fantasize about all these things. But it's only a fantasy because traveling with three small children, one with a cornucopia of food allergies means that it's probably going to stay in my dreams for a long while.

I decided to send myself on a little breakfast tropical vacation with these tropical muffins. I've always loved banana muffins but was excited to try and mix it up with some other flavors to change things. I am EXTREMELY glad I did because these muffins are really yummy - moist, flavorful and a total vacation for your senses. Do some prep work the night before, and 8 minutes of work and 25 minutes of baking produces delicious muffins in the morning. These muffins are fool proof and you won't regret making them.

** Preparation tips
Bananas taste the best in baked goods when they are the worst looking for eating; black, mushy, squishy make for GREAT baked goods. If you can't bake when your banana is looking its worst, freeze it in a ziploc bag. When you are ready to bake, place it in the fridge to defrost over night and in the morning it will be defrosted and perfect.

If your child eats only part of a banana, cut off the eaten bit and stick the other portion into the fridge. You will save banana and as a bonus get some baking goods.

Measure out all dry ingredients the night before - sugar in one larger bowl, and the rest of the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl. Have your butter cut and measured in a bowl, ready to melt and your egg all ready to go. Paper liners in the muffin pan already all set up. Set out your pineapple and coconut also ready to go.

Tropical Muffins (banana, coconut, pineapple)
12 muffins

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick of butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 large ripe bananas
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained and slightly pressed on for the juice to come out (I use the Dole crushed pineapple in the can)
1/2 cup dried coconut (if you can find the unsweetened variety, feel free to use.) and a bit more to sprinkle on top of the muffins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake/muffin pan with liners. In a medium bowl, measure out and mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until well combined. Add melted butter. Mix well. Add vanilla extract. Squish into the bowl bananas and mix. Add pineapple and coconut. Mix well.

3. Add dry mixture. Use a VERY light hand to mix at this point. The more mixing you do the tougher the muffin so try not to over mix. You want everything well mixed together but not over mixed.

4. Divide batter equally in liners. Sprinkle tops with some coconut. Bake until golden brown, about 22-30 minutes.

5. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Then enjoy and go on a mini vacation.

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Ginger Garlic Sesame Noodles: In the name of friendship

For HYK who can't stand cilantro and for her husband, KK, who loves cilantro and still loved this dish.

I posted a couple of weeks back on a Cold Sesame with Cilantro and Scallion Noodles. As I LOVE cilantro, that noodle dish is just perfect for me and I can't get enough of them. However, I have one girlfriend who is not keen on cilantro - and by not keen, I mean, she can't stand it. I think she's nuts for not liking it but I respect her for being very quiet about her dislike of cilantro and have watched her slowly, methodically, piece by piece take out cilantro when it made an appearance in her meal. She often looks at my blog and asks, "Can such and such dish be made without cilantro?" and I'll respond, ""Yes, but it won't taste that good."

As she was coming to a dinner party at our house, I wanted her to enjoy the noodle dish, but felt like merely taking out the cilantro wouldn't be as tasty. I wanted to up the flavor but leave out the cilantro and this is what I created. Her husband LOVED it, and kept on going back and forth between this version and the cilantro version. To up the flavor, I decided the addition of chili pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger would add enough so that cilantro wouldn't be missed. I essentially changed the flavors of the dish and made something new. It was a delicious noodle salad, and I think that from now on, when I have a bigger event to cook for I'll make both versions so that those who do not like cilantro can still have some cold sesame noodles. This is great with any grilled meats, salmon, or would make a great addition to an outdoor picnic or potluck.

Ginger Garlic Sesame Noodles
Dressing
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I like canola)
2 tablespoons sesame oil (100% sesame oil - I prefer Kadoya brand)
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

The Rest

1/2 cup thinly chopped green onions
1 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced or grated
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your eating audience)

8 oz thin spaghetti or angel hair (I recommend getting Barilla's whole wheat thin spaghetti as it has enough bite to withstand the marination in dressing)
Salt for boiling the noodles

Optional Additions (choose one or more)
1/4 cup carrots, julienne
1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup cucumber, julienne
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1 cup baby spinach

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. (Don't forget to salt the water.) Drain pasta, but do not rinse.

2. While pasta is cooking, in the same pot (make sure it's dry) you cooked your noodles, over VERY low heat heat mix honey, vegetable oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red chili pepper flakes. This is to help melt the honey to incorporate it. Remove from heat.

3. Dump pasta into the pot. Pour dressing all over pasta. Toss together scallions and sesame seeds. Place into your serving bowl or storage container. Cover and chill for a few hours.

4. If adding options, add them before serving to ensure crisp vegetables.

Printable Recipe

A yummy bite of noodles!

Parmesean Crusted Flatbread with Arugula, Prosciutto, Cantaloupe with lemon vinaigrette

For GLH who gave me her pizza stone and pizza peel.

Having a child with severe food allergies (son) has knocked the life and enjoyment out of eating out as a family. If we do go out, I have to pack separate food for him, worry about if he's going to eat something off the table that he shouldn't, and it essentially kills the joy of eating out. But every cloud has a silver lining; it's actually made me a better cook, because now, if I want to eat something, I have to make it.

Hence the obsession with pizza dough - because I do love really delicious wood-fired pizzas, and I love the arugula topped salad type pizzas. One lovely friend gave me her pizza stone and pizza peel and I've been fiddling with a pizza stone on my outdoor gas grill as an alternative to heating up an oven, and may I just say - I LOVE IT! There is a slight art to it, as the few burnt pizzas and flatbreads attest to, but I can say now, I really understand how to make my pizza stone turn out beautiful pizzas and flatbreads.

This salad is perfect for a weeknight appetizer or meal (very light meal.) It's great because you can give you kids their own homemade pizzas while you eat this incredibly deluxe and fancy meal - that essentially takes no time at all to put together. (arugula in a bag, cantaloupe cut, squeeze lemon,throw on top of pizza - TADA!) It's slightly salty, tart, sweet, tangy - all in one. I got to enjoy this while daughters enjoyed their roasted tomato, basil, mozzarella pizza - and it almost felt like I was eating out. Well, almost, because I essentially was the waiter, the cook and the cashier, but you get the idea.

I'm still loving the pizza dough (for pictures) I made a couple weeks back and I'm still fiddling around with proportions of wheat and white flour. I do like about 3 cups of white whole wheat flour to 3 1/2 cups of white flour. I've done a full white whole wheat dough and although tasty, I found was almost too chewy for a great pizza dough.

Olive Oil Master Dough (from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day)
Makes 4 1lb loaves. This recipe is easily doubled or halved

2 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (I bought the Fleishman's Yeast in a jar, and then stored it in my fridge after opening)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar (I substituted 2 tablespoons of honey)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used 3 1/2 cups regular unbleached all purpose flour and 3 cups whole wheat white flour)

1. Mix the yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil with the water in a 5-qt bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Mix in the flour without kneading, using a large wooden spoon. (because of my hand problem, I did use my stand mixer with the dough hook. You do NOT need a stand mixer, just mix with a large wooden spoon.)

3. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. It will rise and get super big. You can use the dough at this point, or refrigerate and use over next 12 days.To make one flatbread, pinch off a grapefruit sized piece of dough. When you do this, your dough will deflate. This is okay, as it will rise again later. Loosely cover and refrigerate the rest to use over the next 12 days. (or less if you are a motivated flatbread maker like me!)

** Preparation tip - make this Sunday night, after the kids are in bed...it'll take you 15 minutes to make. Let it rise and then stick it in the fridge to have hand for the week of food you can make with it.

Parmesan Crusted Flatbread with Arugula, Prosciutto, Cantaloupe Salad
Serves 2

1 grapefruit sized chunk of pizza dough. (make your own or buy some) If you are using cold dough, let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes.
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded, grated, or thin slices

1/2 of a really good ripe cantaloupe diced (I used an heirloom seed Tuscan - smaller but so much sweeter and amazing)
4-5 slices of prosciutto, sliced into two inch pieces
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups of arugula, washed and spun dry
salt and pepper to taste

On top of the grill instructions (Requires pizza stone) Unfortunately I have a gas grill and no good way to explain how to use a charcoal. You could experiment or simply use the oven directions.

Heat up your pizza stone on your grill with the lid closed. A good 10-15 minutes should do it.
Flour your surface and roll out your dough into a good sized circle. The thinner you roll the crisper your flatbread.

I've had problems moving a fully assembled pizza onto the grill (my own lack of talent possibly) so I've started assembling on the grill - which can be good, but also can be bad due to loss of heat. If you are a talented pizza peel user, please use it and assemble before hand if you can.

Open the grill and lay your dough disk onto the pizza stone. (slight sizzle) Brush entire surface with olive oil. Sprinkle 1/2 cup parmesean cheese all over surface. Turn down grill heat to low, so you can bake the top and not burn the bottom. This will bake for about 8-10 minutes depending on your grill heat.

While flatbread is cooking, assemble salad. Toss arugula with lemon juice and olive oil. As soon as flatbread is ready, when the bottom is nice and crisp and brown and the cheese is all melted and brown, remove from heat and place arugula on top. Attractively lay the cantaloupe and prosciutto pieces on top as well. Sprinkle with black pepper. Serve immediately.

In the oven instructions

Preheat oven to 500. Place pizza stone or inverted cookie sheet inside. Preheat for about 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out or stretch out dough into a good sized circle (or other shape that seems to form - you can cut into attractive pieces later.)

Working quickly, place dough on top of preheated cookie sheet/pizza stone. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 7-8 minutes, or until flatbread is nice and golden brown on top.

While flatbread is cooking, assemble salad. Toss arugula with lemon juice and olive oil. As soon as flatbread is ready, when the bottom is nice and crisp and brown and the cheese is all melted and brown, remove from heat and place arugula on top. Attractively lay the cantaloupe and prosciutto pieces on top as well. Sprinkle with black pepper. Serve immediately.

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Happy To Wake Up Blueberry Muffins: Loving mornings again

I used to very much be a morning person, up with the first buzz of the alarm and cracking and happy to be at 'em. But somehow the things I do as a mother have turned me into a NON morning person. The first crack when my eyes open, all I want them to do is shut them again. The pending chaos of three kids, changing diapers, feeding, brushing teeth, washing faces - all of that often makes me want to roll back under the covers and close my eyes.

But motherhood never lets you have that extra five minutes of shuteye and three children 5 and under make it near impossible to ignore the duties and the calling of motherhood and so I get up. Oftentimes with dread, regret, or annoyance, but I do get up.

But these muffins make getting up in the morning much brighter. I prep the ingredients the night before and already it puts a smile on my face. I know when I wake up in the morning, I'll have something warm and delicious after 5 minutes of work and 25 minutes of baking time. When I wake up, I sneak downstairs, toss the ingredients together and get it into the oven before the kids even notice that I'm not in my room. As the muffins bake and I am getting kids ready, changing diapers and washing faces, the smell of lemon and something yummy wafts upstairs making what I'm doing easier. Daughters will say, "Something smells good mom" and I'll reply, "Something good is coming out of the oven."

I've fiddled with one of Ina Garten's Recipe from her latest book barefoot contessa back to basics only because I don't want a streusel topping on my muffins. I think it is unncessary fat and sugar and I don't like giving it to my kids, especially as a morning meal. These also have less butter (only 1/2 stick vs. many recipes which call for a full stick) and less sugar. I also don't believe in using an electric mixer first thing in the morning as some muffin recipes call for and these don't use a mixer. The extra flavor comes from vanilla and lemon zest and the moistness and richness comes from using buttermilk. In a nod towards streusal toppings, I've sprinkled the tops with raw sugar which was an idea that came from another food blogger - it adds a bit of that streusal crunch but not too sweet.

Make these and wake up with a smile on your face.

** Night before prep notes
Line muffin tin
Measure out all dry ingredients into large bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt)
Lemon zest ready in another smaller bowl
Butter cut and measured (you can leave it out covered so it's even faster to melt)

Happy to Wake Up Blueberry Muffins (adapted from barefoot contessa back to basics)
Makes 16 regular sized muffins

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 extra large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups fresh blueberries (or frozen, UNTHAWED)

2 tablespoons turbinado or raw sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and mix with a fork. Add blueberries and toss all together.
3. In a separate bowl mix buttermilk, butter, lemon zest, vanilla extract and eggs. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until JUST blended (don't over mix as you will make tough muffins.)
4. Scoop into prepared cups, filling them until just full.
5. Sprinkle tops with turbinado sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Printable recipe

The trick to easy scooping in the early morning - a disher #16

Korean Thinly Sliced Ribeye - Bulgogi and Steamed Cabbage

Korean food has become very much mainstream and many people now know bulgogi. My most recent trip to a Korean restaurant was one where my family and I were the ONLY Koreans in the joint. The rest of the eaters were Chinese, Russian, Japanese,Filipino, Caucasian - and seeing that was a very interesting experience for me. People want to eat Korean food and I am excited about that.

But most Korean restaurants here don't do steamed cabbage as an option of wrapping your meats. We've seen the dduhk (thinly sliced rice cake), the moo (thinly sliced radish), the ssangchoo (red leaf lettuce) but no steamed cabbage, which is a pity because it is simply so good. Steamed cabbage is slightly sweet so it really goes well with bulgogi as well as other Korean marinated meats. (Spicy pork or just pork belly with steamed cabbage is also great.)

Bulgogi Marinating Mini Lesson

Korean beef is generally based on a good marinade and if you have a good one, you can do a lot of things with it. The following marinade can be used to marinate flank steak, which then can be grilled and sliced across the grain for a really nice meat; flank steak, kalbi, or bulgoki can all use this marinade. Another trick to marinating and saving time - it doesn't hurt to do MORE and actually the effort to do more is well worth it - because it doesn't actually take more time to marinate more meat. I usually do a triple portion, and then I have enough to freeze two packs of whatever (kalbi, bulgogi or flank) and then I can quickly defrost it if I want to make something with it in the next month or so. So when you buy your meat, just buy extra with the thought that you'll freeze some to have ready for a quick meal later.

Bulgogi Marinade
for about 3-4lbs of meat (easily doubled)

1/2 cup soy
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup sake
2 T minced garlic (or more if you like it more garlicky)
1/4 green onions finely chopped
sesame seeds
black pepper

Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Have a clean storage container ready and dip each slice of bulgogi into the marinade and place into your storage container. Continue until you are done with all the beef.

There are two fry pan methods of cooking the beef - one that gives you lots of extra liquid (which husband LOVES) and one that gives you no liquid and just a really flavorful beef (which is what I love.) The liquid saucy version means that you have to cook the beef in a cold fry pan. Put the beef in a fry pan and then turn on the heat and cook it over medium heat until done.

The non-saucy, more caramelized version means that you start the beef in a HOT fry pan. Heat up your fry pan and then place the slices in there and cook over medium high heat, quickly until it is all cooked through.

Printable recipe

Steamed Cabbage

It's a bit odd to me to be explaining how to steam cabbage, but if you've never cut one up to steam, it can be a bit strange. How do you cut it? What do you do with it? I thought I'd just show some pictures and explain.

Cut your cabbage head in quarters (with the core on the bottom.)

Cut out the core on each of your 4 pieces.

For the prettiest leaves, tear out the middle section of the cabbage as the leaves aren't flat and they are somewhat curly and not smooth. If you aren't concerned about it, don't worry - you can just use it all. If you want it to look more refined, remove the center core and use it in fried rice. Separate the leaves and steam in a steamer for at least TEN MINUTES. (sometimes it can take longer - you want the leaves to be nice and tender)

Steamed cabbage leaves.

Lay your bulgogi in the cabbage leaf and top it with sahmjang (Korean soybean paste) and green scallions.

Peekaboo! The tastiest flower you'll ever eat.