Adventures of a healthy-ish pseudo-foodie

Day 2. I'm very excited about this. Excited enough that I got brave and fermented for the first time. I've been watching a lot of  Maangchi videos , and she's always talking about how much she loves this radish kimchi. So I got my hands on a korean radish and tried it, and now I'm going to try to always have some in the fridge. I've also made it with a daikon radish, and it's note quite as good (less sweet and more radish-y), but it's still good. She says that one can eat it immediately or let it ferment for a few days.  The first time I made this, I tasted it immediately and it was amazing. I could have eaten the whole jar. The second time, I let it ferment for 24 hours, and the third time, I let it ferment for 48 hours. I think 48 hours is my favorite. Maangchi's recipe is  here . The only change I made was to reduce quantities. The Recipe: 1 lb Korean or daikon radish, peeled and cubed 1/2 tb kosher salt 1/2 tb sugar 1/2 tb garlic, minced 1/4 tsp ging...

I wanted to keep eating food so I could keep dipping things in the sauce I made this sauce to go with  enoki mushroom pancakes . It's delicious, and I'm excited about the leftover sauce in the fridge. I need to acquire some dumplings asap. I followed  this recipe  from A Spicy Perspective (just the sauce, not the pancakes). I'm going to try their pancake recipe sometime too. The Recipe: 1/2 c soy sauce 1/4 c water 1 tb rice vinegar 2 tb sugar 1 tb sesame oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp sesame seeds 1/2 tsp gochugaru Mix. The Verdict: Overall grade: A Overall reason: Easy, versatile, and delicious. Time to prepare: 2 minutes Husband quote: "I didn't know this was supposed to go on the pancakes until the very end, but it was delicious on the rice."  

The best yogurt. I tried this when I first got an instant pot and decided it wasn't worth the effort, mainly because the amount of yogurt that I was left with after straining was the same price (or slightly more expensive) than just buying a tub of Nancy's. But I now realize that where I went wrong was that I used 2% milk instead of whole, and I probably didn't let it "set" fully, and then I had to strain it too much to get it thick. I'm better at it now, and it's totally worth it. I'm glad that quarantine led me to try again; it's been hard to find good yogurt through grocery pickup, so I've taken to just buying extra milk and making the yogurt myself. In addition to now using whole milk and making sure that it actually sets, I also follow a tip that I read somewhere: After completing the "boil" step, I take the lid off and boil the milk for an extra 5 minutes. This makes the yogurt thicker. My instant pot is a Duo M...

Made in advance of the enchiladas It is the time of year to look for ways to use up tomatoes! I have canned plenty of puree and tomato sauce, I have made chili and tomato-based farro and sweet and sour, and I have a year's supply of salsa in the freezer. And so, enchilada sauce. I worked from  this recipe  from Dinner Then Dessert because it's easy. And because I was cooking 8 things at once, I simplified it further and skipped the roux, so mine is super watery. I'll add flour next time, but this one tastes good and the texture is passable. The Recipe: 2 tb vegetable oil 2 tb flour 3 tb chili powder 8 oz tomato sauce 1 c vegetable broth 2 tsp cumin 1 tb garlic, minced 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp salt Heat oil in a saucepan. Add flour and chili powder and stir until the color turns a bit brown. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk. Cook for 8-10 minutes until thickened.

Enough flavor for about 50 meals. My friend, Thu, invented this sauce and served it to me at lunch one day. I demanded her recipe and made it for company two days later, and received rave reviews. I could eat this on anything. I have had it on tofu (yum) and grilled vegetables (yum) and in my mind it would be perfect with shrimp or other seafood. Thu suggests adding tomatoes if serving it with seafood. I will try that. She told me the recipe without quantities, so I did my best to quantify it below. Hers was still better, so there is room to perfect the recipe below, but it's a delicious starting point. The Recipe: 1 medium shallot, minced 1-2 garlic cloves, minced 3 tb sugar 1/4 c fish sauce 1 small splash soy sauce Saute shallot and garlic until golden brown Add sugar and stir until melted Add fish sauce and soy sauce and stir Simmer to slightly thicken the sauce.  The Verdict: Overall grade: A Overall reason: Unusual and delicious ...

Still hot. The last time I made blackberry "jam," I just boiled blackberries with a little bit of sugar and lemon and called it good. It was not jam. It was sauce. It was good, but I wanted jam. This time, I found  this recipe , which promised actual jam without the need for pectin or much sugar. Sounds like my error the first time was just not cooking it for long enough.  This is easy, delicious, and only takes a little bit more time (but not much more effort) than my previous attempt. My only change was that I added a splash of extra lemon juice to each jar to increase the acid content even more before water-bath canning them. Probably not necessary, but I did it. The Recipe: (from Practical Self Reliance) 5 cups blackberries 1-2 cups sugar, depending on sweetness of berries and how quickly you want it to gel 2 tb lemon juice, plus a splash in each jar Combine ingredients in a heavy pan. Cook on medium-low, stirring periodically, until it gels. Al...

I could not figure out how to take this photo without my reflection in it. Previously, my pickled beets have all happened very unscientifically and they have turned out great. This time, though, I wanted to actually can them (water bath), so I carefully followed  this very official-looking recipe  to make sure I had the correct acid content and instructions. It worked, and I now have three jars on the shelf waiting for winter! Rather than copying the recipe into this page, I will just leave this link here: http://www.atcoblueflamekitchen.com/Recipes/Recipe-Box/PICKLED-BEETS

I wasn't confident enough about the acid content to can these, so they are in the chest freezer now. This week, the CSA gave us three hatch chilies! I successfully roasted and peeled them, and then, faced with many tomatoes and a good onion and a jalapeno pepper, I decided to make salsa. I loosely followed  this recipe from Chili Pepper Madness . It is so good! I'm mad that I don't have any chips or tortillas or anything that would be good for snacking with this salsa at the moment. The Recipe: 3 hatch chilies 4-5 medium tomatoes, halved 1 white onion, cut into chunks 4 cloves garlic, smashed 1 lime, juiced 1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed salt to taste Coat the chilies in olive oil and salt. Roast them under a broiler for 20 minutes, flipping half-way through. Immediately transfer to a covered bowl to cool off, then remove the skins and stems. Place halved tomatoes, chunks of onion, and garlic cloves on baking sheets. Bake at 350 f...

Before: Beautiful berries from Thistledown After: 11 jars and bellies full of strawberries The first thing we accomplished on our Summer Fun to-do list was strawberry picking and making jam. The last time I canned strawberries, I went without the pectin and ended up with strawberry sauce. It was good, but it wasn't as good as jam. So this time we did it the right way. I knew we wouldn't need much sugar, since these strawberries were SO sweet. I searched through many recipes that claimed to be low-sugar but actually contained a lot of sugar, and eventually settled on  this one from Lively Table . Easy and delicious. The only change I made was not running the strawberries through a food mill or blending them. We opted for chunky strawberry jam. The Recipe: 4 c strawberries, stemmed and washed 1 c water 3 tsp lemon juice 4 1/2 b low sugar pectin 1/3 c sugar Mash strawberries with a potato masher. Place mashed berries, water, lemon juice, ...

They look benign, but these have SO much flavor. In our previous CSA, we were allowed to list three items that we never wanted to get, and turnips were at the top of my list. Then we switched CSA's, and our FIRST WEEK with the new one, guess what was in there? Since pickling has worked well for other less-desired CSA items (radishes and beets, I'm looking at you), I searched to see is pickled turnips were a thing. And I found  this Momofuku turnip pickle recipe , which gave me an excuse to use the kombu in our pantry. I followed the recipe exactly, even though it seemed like too much sugar. And yes, they are sweet, but in a good way! They packed great punch on an asian-themed salad, and I plan to put them into our tofu bibimbap bowls this week, especially since we ran out of kimchi. The original recipe says that at Momofuku, they serve these as a snack, but I don't think I'd snack on these without something bland for balance. The Recipe: (from Mo...

I made those! When the CSA box hands you radishes, you eat one. Then you try to give the rest to the neighbors. Then, left with no other option, you pickle them. Then you discover that the pickled radishes are really good. I followed  this super-simple method from My Korean Kitchen . I picked it because it had good reviews on Pinterest, but mostly because it was easy, and I wasn't willing to dedicate a lot of time and effort to these things that none of us really liked. But it turns out that they are delicious.  As is clear from the original recipe, these are good with Korean food. They are also good on Vietnamese rice bowls. And they are PERFECT on salad with hard boiled egg and honey-mustard dressing. And the toddler ate half of them in one sitting, just as a snack. We might actually need to buy more radishes. The Recipe: 1 bunch radishes 1 c water 1 c sugar 1 c white vinegar Pinch of salt Thinly slice the radish bulbs and place them in gla...

I forgot to take a picture. When I was in high school, and I was regularly preparing myself tofu stir-fries because I didn't want to eat whatever meat dish that my family was having, I used to just throw every Asian-themed sauce from the fridge into a pan and it would taste pretty good. My tastes have become a little bit more refined, so I've been searching for an actual recipe for a brown stir-fry sauce that doesn't require broth (which I don't usually have on hand in small quantities). I found  this one , toned down the spice, and upped the garlic, and it's good! I generally have all of the ingredients on hand, and it only takes a minute to throw it together. I can make it in advance and keep it in the fridge until I'm ready to stir-fry. And right now, over an hour after dinner, I still have garlic breath. It's a keeper. The Recipe (makes the right amount for 1 block of tofu and a corresponding amount of vegetables): 2 tb soy sauce 2 tb wate...

Beauuutiful. My mother-in-law makes a really good raw cranberry relish (with apple and orange), so I haven't had cooked cranberry sauce in a few years. But I started seeing some recipes for making it in the INSTANT POT and since I had some leftover gravy to use up, I decided it was a good excuse to try another instant pot recipe. I went with this  Zen and Spice recipe  because it looked easy and because I was excited about the cinnamon. The cinnamon was a good call. It makes it feel really warm and rich, instead of just sweet and acidic like sometimes cranberry sauce is. I'll be making this again. The Recipe: (Taken from  Zen and Spice ): 12 oz fresh cranberries, rinsed 1 granny smith apple, diced 1 orange, zested and juiced 1/2 c sugar 2 tb maple syrup 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp sea salt Place cranberries, apple, orange zest, and orange juice in instant pot.  Pressure cook for 1 minute. Natural release for 7 minutes. Change to Saute setting, a...

Envision the sprinkle of paprika that would make this more photogenic. I've had a hummus breakthrough. Thank you,  Inspired Taste . I've been making hummus on and off for a while. It's always been better than most store-bought hummuses, but not better enough to get really excited about it. It's mainly been a texture issue... it's been kind of clumpy and not very rich-tasting, and I always figured that the rich creamy ones in stores and restaurants were laden with fats and/or chemicals to make them so. Turns out it's just a matter blending the ingredients in the right order. Tahini and lemon go first. Blend them for a good minute until they're kind of whipped together. Then comes the rest, minus water, and then the water. I also squeezed fresh lemons this time instead of using bottled lemon juice, and it makes a big difference. It's worth keeping lemons on hand. I briefly glimpsed something in the original recipe that debates the merits...

It was SO hard to take this photo before digging in. Snow days definitely bring out the "ish" in "healthy-ish." But they taste so good. I got hooked on rarebit sauce during college. We used to get it at this Welsh pub where they served it with homemade potato chips. Heaven. Since I had a baking bug today, soft pretzels seemed like a good accompaniment. I turned to Alton brown for both recipes:  pretzels  and  rarebit sauce .  The pretzels are outstanding. They're done the REAL way: boiled, then baked. It brought me back to my bagel-shop-managing days. It's a process, but it wasn't difficult and it really didn't take as much time as I thought it would. It's worth it if you can spare a couple of hours. Alton Brown's instructions are great and I followed them exactly, so I won't regurgitate them here. In confidence that his recipe will never disappear from the internet, I say  read Alton Brown's original recipe  if you wan...

Crunchy, herby, tasty. I bought too many pistachios a very long time ago for some recipe. The remainder have been sitting in my freezer ever since. An unknown number of months and one move later, I decided it was time to find another pistachio recipe. I landed on  this Food Network recipe  for pesto with kale and pistachios. I pretty much followed the recipe except for increasing the amount of garlic. One clove of garlic in a pesto recipe? Blasphemy.  If I weren't spoiled by the creamy, delicious wonder that is  Spinach/Avocado Pesto , I would probably make this my new go-to pesto recipe. But alas, that one's still better. And now that I'm used to avocado pesto, this one was just so un-creamy in comparison. It's kind of clumpy and has a little bit of crunch. The kale doesn't get melty the way basil and spinach do, and then you add pistachios into the mix, and it's less creamy even than your standard non-avocado pestos. Was there life before ...

Imagine your favorite shape of noodle and choice of veggies and protein. It's the sauce that matters. I'm a big fan of Ellie Krieger's recipes, and I think  her recipe for peanut noodles  may have been at the root of my initial fandom. The sauce is a little lighter than a lot of peanut sauces, and I haven't met a pasta, rice, stir-fry, or spring roll that wasn't made better with its addition. Make ahead. Put on all things Asian-ish until it's gone. On this particular day, I wanted something easy to put it on. So I got short pasta and spinach (which could just be thrown in raw), and took just a few minutes to pan-fry some tofu.  Fried: Jess's tofu cooking method of choice. The Recipe: 1/2 c peanut butter 1/4 c soy sauce 1/4 c water 2 tb rice vinegar 2 tb lime juice 1 scallion, cut into pieces 3/4 inch fresh ginger, grated 2 tb brown sugar 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes Optional: chopped peanuts or scallion for topping...

Sweet beany goodness. A major facet of my love affair with adzuki beans is the red bean paste in steamed buns (and ice cream). I decided it was time to learn how to make it. This particular batch of anko would be destined for steamed buns, and just in case there was any left over, I also armed myself with an adzuki brownie recipe.  Note that you could either blend it for a smooth consistency or leave it lightly mashed, which is what I did. I like the variation in texture. Looking pretty beany before mashing. The Recipe: 1 c adzuki beans 1 c sugar 1 tsp salt Soak beans in water overnight Place beans and their soaking water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer 10 minutes. Drain in a colander, then put the beans back in the pot and add 4 cups of new water. Bring to a boil again, then simmer 1 hour. Drain the liquid from the pot. Add sugar and salt. Stir and mash the mixture over low heat until it reaches the desired consistency. The Ver...

Maybe one day I'll buy a gravy boat. This stuff is pure gold. I think I found this recipe the very first time I prepared Thanksgiving dinner, in college. It's the only Thanksgiving recipe I've kept from year to year. Everyone who's tried it has loved it (or at least pretended to), and many have asked for the recipe and/or asked me to make it again. Seriously, if you have any interest whatsoever in mushroom gravy, look no further. This is your recipe. I usually use a combination of white and cremini mushrooms. The original recipe suggests using a mixture of exotic mushrooms. I've tried various sorts over the years and they're good, but it's also so good with your standard (cheap) mushrooms that I don't think it's necessary to splurge on the mushrooms. The only kind I haven't liked in it were shiitakes. They were too tough and stayed chewy in the final product.  Not quite doubled, but these quantities are slightly more generous tha...

Cream cheese? No - something much better. This story starts last Christmas Eve, when my pseudo-step-brother-in-law Anthony brought some mysterious Lebanese "garlic sauce" to contribute to the fondue feast. It was the consistency of cream cheese but it had so much garlic that it kind of hurt to eat it, creating this pleasantly warm burn as it went down. I loved it. We devoured the stuff and garlic emanated from our pores for about 3 days afterwards.  A few days ago, I got a craving for this stuff. Since it came from a Lebanese deli in Portland, I was left googling recipes. I'd had a suspicion that the "sauce" was yogurt cheese, and sure enough, I found some recipes for Garlic Labneh (yogurt cheese) that fit the description.  There are many fancy variations on this recipe on the internet. I decided to start simple: mix lots of grated garlic and a little bit of salt into some yogurt, strain it overnight, and eat. It was so good that I don't see a...