Fall in Love with Pumpkin Bisque

i love making, eating and giving this away. maybe you'll enjoy it too


Pumpkin Bisque

3-4 carrots, washed, peeled and sliced and diced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (more for personal taste)
1 tbsp ginger powder, or 1 tsp fresh crushed/minced ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne or Cajun (usually i use cayenne only if i want it REALLY spicy, Cajun will bring a nice flavor with the ginger and onion)
4-6 cup veggie stock (this is where steaming all the veggies comes handy. I put 4-5 cups of water in a big steamer and steam all the veggies, ginger and garlic together and then use the steaming water as my stock)
1 med sweet pumpkin (skinned and diced)


(optional) 2-3 small sweet potatoes diced (makes it thicker)

your choice (adding this is not vegan friendly, but delicious): heavy whipping cream, yogurt, 2% milk



In a large, heavy stockpot, steam all the veggies until soft. [Until the pumpkin and potato fall off the fork or knife.] Very Important... Don't dump out the water at the bottom!!!

Then, puree the veggies together in a blender or food processor. (I only own a blender, but sometimes the veggies get soft enough i can just hand mash them for a slightly chunkier bisque)

Add the mashed/ blended veggies to the 'steaming' water. Lower heat, adding a pinch of salt and pepper with the cajun. Cover pot and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Mashing again if you did it by hand.

Here's where i differ from most bisque recipes, i don't usually use heavy whipping cream. Sometimes I'll use a 1/4 - 1/2 cup of my homemade yogurt or sometimes just 2% milk till it gets to the creaminess I like... and sometimes I don't use anything at all. so maybe that takes away from its bisque-ness, but whatever.



Makes a whole bunch... i've never been good at keeping track of exactly the amount i make or how many servings i doll out.
so once I'm tired of eating soup for a couple days I add turmeric, coriander, and cumin to taste and then i have a re-heated curry for rice! I'll add shredded coconut if I have it as well for entertainment value :)


Enjoy!!!

[Basically] Sugar-Free Pineapple Dream Cake

Sugar-Free Pineapple Dream Cake 

 (made in a toaster oven... with bread pans ^^!!) - i'm still trying to find my pictures!!! i know i put them somewhere!

Okay, so this was an experiment that didn't turn out so bad.
Back at home in Michigan, my mom makes this heavenly cake for many family gatherings. Her "Mother's Heavenly Healthy Pineapple Dream"... alright a bit of a mouthful so let's just keep it to sugar-free pineapple goodness? I suppose that's not much better. This is a labor intensive recipe if you're going whole-organic fruit, nothing canned - you've been forewarned! So, whatever You end up calling it, it's bound to delight the taste buds, satisfy the stomach, on go easy on the waistline.

(also, note, there are so many crazy variations of this cake that are potentially sugar free, that I'll put a suggestion list for you at the end!)

ingredients:

• 5-8 mandarins separated,peeled from their skin*, and crushed (or drain 1 medium sized can of excess high fructose corn syrup/water)
• 1/2 to a whole of a medium sized pineapple cored, crushed, and drained** (or drain 1 large sized can of excess high fructose corn syrup/water, and crush)
• 3 cups of whole wheat organic flour
• 1/2 cup of low-fat (or fat-free) greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp of salted butter (softened)
• 1 large free-range egg
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract (optional)
• 1/4 of shredded organic coconut (optional) 
• 1 container of fat-free/sugar-free cool whip - although since the rest of the cake seems alright to me, sometimes I use 1 package of vanilla pudding mixed in with the cool whip for added richness
• spray butter
• 2 cake pans of your choice - I prefer the expandable ones, but for this I had to use my bread tins in my toaster oven (the joys of baking in Korea without a real oven!)

the how to:

let's make the cake part first!  

1. Butter your pans... and heat up your oven to 325 degrees.
   
2. Sift together in a large bowl all the dry ingredients... flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Here in Seoul the cheaper version of vanilla comes as a powder, so I would usually sift this in as well.
3. Now make sure the butter is very soft and nearly melted and whip it into the greek yogurt until well mixed, then add the egg. If your vanilla extract is liquid whip it into the yogurt mixture.
4. Now, after you've skinned and crushed the mandarins, you can take a big spatula or wooden spoon and fold them into the yogurt mixture...
   [NOTE]: If you used fresh mandarins make sure not to drain the juice produced from the crushing, as this is the sugar your cake needs! However, if you used canned mandarins, do not use the high-fructose corn syrup. I can't be blamed for the constitution of the cake if you do ^^!
5. Now, you are ready to fold and easily mix your dry and wet ingredients. Don't over mix, but make sure the flour is well saturated.
    
6. Okay, you can split the batter between the amount of pans you chose for layering, or throw it all in the one expandable to slice up when it's cooled.
7. This cake should only take 15-18 minutes to become golden brown on the top, use tinfoil to protect from burning if it hasn't passed the tooth-pick test yet, and watch it till about 20-22 minutes till finished.
8. Rack it (them) up to cool, and start work on the pineapple filling.. mmmhmmm.

now make the filling! this is easy!

1. Take your fresh pineapple** (or your drained canned pineapple), and fold it in with the cool whip. Add a pre-made pudding mix (like vanilla or strawberry) for added richness to the filling.
2. You can also add 1 tsp of almond extract in the mixture for a nice paired taste with the pineapple.

finishing the cake 

1. After completely cooling, and if you want even sitting in the fridge for a few hours... Using as many layers as you'd like layer the filling and your cake. But make sure to leave enough filling to cover the top! Sprinkle with organic shredded coconut for a fluffy texture and paired taste!

*skinning mandarins - self developed technique:

1. separate the sections
2. use a sharp thin knife to slice off the interior edge
3. peel back the sides
4. scrape it off the remaining skin into the bowl

**preparing fresh pineapple - if you don't have a coring tool handy you can follow this YouTube video. You can save all but the skin and the top of pineapple and use it for something else, like juice and marinades!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBrBzzwxHgI


I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I did ) and still do. Here's a list of other more interesting flavor combinations I could think of (not all of which are possible in a sugar/fat - free environment... good luck):

CAKE FLAVOR > > >	PUDDING FLAVOR > > >	ADDITIONAL IDEAS
Chocolate	Vanilla	Chocolate Shavings
Strawberry	Banana Cream	Sliced Strawberries
Butter	Chocolate Fudge	White Chocolate Shavings
Lemon	Cheesecake	Sliced Kiwi
Coconut	Devil's Food	Toasted Coconut
Orange	Lemon	Diced Mandarin Oranges
German Chocolate	Coconut	Toasted Coconut
White	Pistachio	Finely Chopped Pistachios
Fudge Marble	White Chocolate	Chocolate Shavings
Banana	Chocolate	Sliced Bananas
Pineapple	French Vanilla	Crushed Pineapple

what's your favorite? maybe i'll try and make it ^^!

BBQ - Korean Galbi in a Nami-do Pension

 

Do your own Korean "Galbi"

Essentially BBQ Korean Family Style

So the director of LCI Kids Club, took all of the foreign and Korean staff out for the weekend to Nami Island. Shin took us to a pension where we had our own buffet of Galbi and sides, Kimchi Jigae, and of course... plenty to drink.

 

she had her own wine bottled and sent with us for the occasion.

 

there were plenty of veggie sides:

lettuce for wrapping, peppers, garlic, kimchi, lotus root, 

potato salad, regular lettuce salad, fruits and cookies

 

that's Director Shin on the left, she made the kimchi jigae all by herself for us, 

saying our hangovers needed to be taken care of

 

what the spread kinda looked like, after a bit of destruction

 A couple really handy things to remember when making Korean Galbi.

-choose prime cuts of meat and instead of seasoning them, grill them nice and even then pair them with veggies (grilled or fresh) in lettuce pockets

-mix salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes together and drizzle a little sesame seed oil on top for casual meat dipping

-get some mild galbi red pepper paste, or even dukbokki sauce to dip the meat and lettuce wrappage in

Enjoy!

Egg Drop Rice-noodle Soup

Korean Rice-cake (with Egg) Soup 

(Duk Guk with Egg/ 떡국)

Duk mandu guk is a variation of duk guk (rice cake soup), that soup includes dumplings or mandu). This soup however, just emits the mandu and uses the egg-drop instead!

ingredients:

• 2 cups of sliced rice cakes (they can be found in the international isle or maybe your local Asian Grocery store, sometimes they look like little peanuts too, that's okay they're just the shape of the rice cake)
• 1 tsp anchovy powder (myulchi garu 멸치 가루) [optional]
• 1 tsp minced garlic (when i don't have minced on hand I double or triple the amount, depending on my garlic mood, and just use powder)
• 3 cups of soup stock, your choice for taste (chicken broth/ beef broth)
• 1 bunch green onion chopped small
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs (or 3, depending on the level of eggy-ness you'd like)

the how to:

• Soak sliced rice cakes for 5-10 minutes, while they are soaking continue.
• Beat egg and add pinch of salt and pepper. Set this mixture aside and begin work on the soup.
• Boil the soup stock with anchovy powder (optional) and garlic.
• Add rice cakes when boiling for 2 min. Reduce heat to medium heat for about 15 minutes - add chopped green onion, continue the simmer for 2-3 minutes. 
• Quickly, re-whisk the eggs, salt and pepper. Then, while stirring the soup base in a circular motion drizzle your egg mixture into the broth. Turn off heat and prepare servings.
• For each serving*, get a large bowl. Scoop up some soup with enough rice cakes, garnish some more chopped green onions.

*Serve with roasted seaweed at the table for people to individually add into their bowl throughout the meal.

enjoying the egg-drop soup lunch with 

bananas, gim, kimchi and other assortments of korean side dishes

Very Berry Muffins

Everyone's Favorite Muffin... 

            Berrified!

 

Here, look now. I'm not going to say that these aren't anything special... They just get eaten up literally as I'm taking them out of the oven. Every time, never fails.

So here's the recipe for you:

berries... whatever kinda you'd like. my personal preference is a combination. i also like to use fresh non-frozen, pesticide free berries (like the ones from my backyard... the best kind)

*my combo: 

blueberry

black berry

raspberry

*the trick is not over or under-doing the amount. a lot of recipes will give you cup amounts and what not. this is probably because they aren't just going out back and picking what they need or something like that. My suggestion is to just make the batter separate then add your berry-mix in after. that way you can control how many and what go into your cakes. (as "a rule of thumb" i usually use about a 1/2 cup minimum of each type of berry, but when want a berry muffin, i want a very-berry-muffin)

the cake part:

2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar (or If you're using liquid Stevia remember that 1 tsp. is enough to replace 1 cup of sugar)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

the how to:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (If you're going to make tiny batches in a mini oven/ toaster oven just make sure you have tinfoil ready, the tray in the middle, and it set to baking temperature.)

Mix the (dry stuff) flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt... but mix the butter and sugar (stevia) separately until well blended.

Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture, just giv'em a good beatin', then gradually sift the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture. After this is well mixed fold the greek yogurt into your batter using a large spatula or wooden spoon... fold it well, <3.

Lastly, fill your muffin molds 2/3 full and then drop in your desired amount of berries*. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until it passes the clean toothpick test.

*here i like to sprinkle some cane sugar or large granules of sugar (demerara) on the top, just make sure they don't melt or burn by using the tin foil.




 


Somethings to think about when you're making a healthier (cup)cake!

Make a lighter cake batter by replacing some of the oil and butter with applesauce, apple butter, marmalade or yogurt (like in these vanilla and chocolate ones.

Adding fruit or veggies and using less sugar in your batter will add texture, keep the cake moist and up the nutrients.

If you want to pack in a protein punch try using some of your favorite vanilla protein powder in place of half the amount of recommended sugar. It works really well to add a richness when you mix it in with the yogurt first!

Go easy (or forget it all together) on your icing. If you like a cream cheese icing try and use it sparingly. Personally these deliciously sweet berry muffins don't need anything extra!

Making Paneer Cheese

Making Paneer Cheese at home

I first made my most beloved Indian dish at home in America. I could eat Palak Paneer day in and out! There are so many different ways to make this delicious (and potentially very healthy) Indian dish. 

Below is the recipe for just the Paneer cheese. I decided to show this separately from the actual main dish because there are many different form of paneer you can make depending on what you're using it for! 

*it's fantastic stuffed in to Naan bread with spices (sweet or spicy) then pan fried... like Kulcha!

ingredients:

• 8 cups (half gallon) milk (organic non-processed whole milk works best)
• 1/4 cup lemon Juice

*want more? double up, just make sure your pots and pans are big enough... though I find that this amount makes just the right amount for a double serving of Palak Paneer... mmmhhh my favorite!


how to:

1. Mix lemon juice in half cup of hot water and put aside.
2. Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, making sure not to burn milk.
3. As the milk comes to a boil, add the lemon juice gradually and stir the milk gently. The curd will start separating from the whey, turn off the heat.
4. Once the milk fat has separated from the whey, drain the whey using a strainer line with cheesecloth, or muslin cloth.
5. Wrap the curds in a muslin cloth, rinse under cold water, and squeeze well. This process takes out the sourness from the lemon.
6. To take out the excess water, press the wrapped paneer under a heavy pan for about 1 hour.

 

  

The round ball of paneer (above) is what I ended up pressing for two hours under a weighted pan. I just put the cheese on my cutting board wrapped in a loose round shape using the cheese cloth, the on top of it a pan with things to weight it down. I tilted my cutting board slightly so that the excess whey and water would run down it into a catch tray (I can use it to boil rice or noodles, or even freeze it for other cheese till later)

Enjoy your Indian!!

Here are some tips I found for making different kinds of Paneer:

If paneer will be used to make any dessert dish:

1. The most important part of making paneer for dessert is how much water to take out from the paneer.
2. To check if right amount of  water is out of the paneer, take a little piece of paneer on your palm and rub with your fingers. After rubbing the paneer for about 15-20 seconds, you should be able to make a firm but smooth ball.
3. For making sweets, paneer can be refrigerated for 1 to 2 days.
4. Paneer from half-gallon milk will make about 15 to 20 rasgullas.
5. I suggest 2% milk for rasgullas, rasmalai, chamcham or any other dish in that category.
6. For sandaish, burfee or any other such dish use regular whole milk.

If paneer will be used for making main dishes:

1. Before Pressing the paneer knead it enough so paneer is not crumbly.
2. Press the paneer instead one hour, two hours making firmer.
3. Cut the paneer to desired shape. Paneer can be refrigerated for a few days or kept frozen for months.