milgwimper

Oddly enough, the word grape is only mentioned once in the entire thread. Thanks though. ← Here is a simple recipe from the Ball Blue Book for grape jam. Rewritten in my words. I would say it was parahrased but I tend to make it longer not shorter... GRAPE JAM Makes 3 pints. 2 qts. stemmed Concord grapes 6 c. sugar Separate the pulp and skins of the grapes. You can chop the skins in a blender or processor, then add about 1/2 cup water to the skins into a kettle just enough to keep it from sticking. Cook the skins gently for 15-20 minutes. Cook the pulp without any water until soften then sieve out the seeds. Combine pulp, skins, sugar and slowy bring it up to a boil stirring to make sure all the sugar dissolves. Then bring the mixture to a rapid boil about 10 minutes or so almost to the jellying point. Keep stirring so that the mixture does not burn or stick. You may have to skim off some foam it if developes. Pour into hot sterilized jars with 1/4 inch head space, cap and process 15 minutes in a BWB.

YAY!!!! I am glad you won! I am a little jealous but its okay I will have to make some brownies to soothe me. So are you dancing around the kitchen with the book? What are you going to bake to celebrate? I'll eat a brownie in celebration of you winning, and I will eat a brownie for me losing, and I'll eat another... Seriously congratulations on you winning the book!

Sheena I would leave out the kimchi for a day or two more at room temp. I think the short time out didn't allow for it to ferment. I usually leave mine out for 2-3 days. You can put a little bit of the juice from your other kimchi that is fermenting to boost and start this one. Leave the kimchi out at room temp, and check each day to see if it starts to ferment then refrigerate. Good luck and tell me the results. Hang in there you are doing much better than a friend of mine, who decided she needed to store her kimchi outside like in Korea. She was so proud she had made her first jar of kimchi. Then kimchi jar exploded in the hot texas heat. Luckily no one was in the backyard.

Thanks Tepee! We are a family of garlic lovers too. DH used to tease me about my use of garlic, and then he said I didn't use garlic in ice cream. Yeah well we ended up eating garlic vanilla, and chocolate ice creams, with garlic chips in garlic salsa that day. Man you have to love gilroy some days. It wasn't a pleasant ride hope but definitely something to write home about. I will have to try your recipe soon. I think I am gaining pounds looking at all the wonderful pics!

Isn't it nice when your Korean mother is proud of you for making kimchi...Yeah my mom said the same thing when I made my first batch by myself too! Okay for the kimchi, tell me what ya did and how are you storing the kimchi right now. So you salted the radish, and then after a while rinsed and added the spices? Is the kimchi left out at room temp? If it is out at room temp and still not fermenting, you can try to add a little more brine to the radish, or if you have some left over kimchi juice from fermented jar add a little bit of the kimchi juice to the batch to get it started. Hmmm a mystery.

I learned how to make ramen by the time I was 5. Tthe first thing I learned without a mix or opening up a prepacked thing had to be grilled cheese sandwiches. Then follwed a lot korean food and baked goodies.

That sounds good! Macaroni cheese with crunchy panko parmesan topping and gooey cheesey goodness inside with a large side of medium rare steak with lots of black pepper. Hot rice with samgyapsal wrapped with perilla and lettuce leaves, and all the panchan...*cry* Real cheese mixed with melted velveeta, and rotel, and potato chips! Sour gummies with buttered lightly salted popcorn. BROWNIES!

Domestic Goddess thanks for posting your recipe! I love all versions of deokbokki. I will have to give these a try...Although lately finding deok has been interesting, and fustrating lately.

This isn't fair I just woke up to reading this and my stomache is growling! Teepee the grouper looks really good but what made my stomache ache was the egg tofu. I wouldn't mind a recipe if you have it. Also I was wondering what type of program are you using for your pics to get the border and the watermark/initials?

Ba ga ji is just a general word that means 'bucket.' I'm so impressed with people making Kimchi at home! I don't think I have the balls or the patience to try this myself. And the local supermarket kimchi here is so good that my mom doesn't even make her own any more.. ← Yeah Ba gah ji does mean bucket but I can't remember the word for the plastic round tub or the metal one. The only one that seems to pop into my head is sesu dae and that is for washing your face...I need to relearn korean. When I was living in CA I was spoiled! Yeah my mom still made hers but on the off times she would be some good super market kimchi. Unfortunately where I live now I can buy kimchi but they come in really small jars and are a bit expensive. It is easier to make my own, and cheaper too. Although I will have to try to source out some chongak mu...

Nothing (outside of the Middle East, that is) can cast the slightest shadow upon the Chengdu washrooms. Scud is still scarred by that. P.S. - Kopchang, yang, and machang tonight, with way too much soju (okay, any amount of soju is way too much) ← I have to agree with Yoonhi and take over the mul kimchi, although I love fresh perilla with grilled meat! ::Wimper:: The food picks look so good; my mouth was watering at each post. So many things I want to eat but can't get here! I hope you can get a chance to eat the rice paddy snails I would like your opinion on those. I love kopjang especially if they have been marinated and grilled! Yummy! Although I do like them in chongol too...You're making me hungry I need to leave! LOL YES! Please do a soondae run! Although I do love deokbokki and odeng too...

Thanks for posting about your trip! I hope there will be pictures **beg** The dinner with Doddie sounds fun, and sea snails!!! Oh did you try the rice paddy snails, if so how did you like them?

I salted the veggies for only 30 mins, because I was lazy and didn't feel like waiting. I thought it would turn out okay and boy was I wrong. Thanks for the compliment on my mother, very sweet of you and yes she is a fabulous cook Maybe i'll ask her about the kimchi when I call her today, but she won't be able to give me any exact measurements. Everything is to taste. so another quick question. Since I have saeo jjut and all the baby shrimp are whole, do I grind them in the food processor when I am making my kimchi? ← Yes grind in the processor, or use a knife. Good luck and tell us how it goes. Yeah I remember asking my Mom questions about making kimchi, no measurements. It just better if you can watch and help.

Salt both of them together. How long...Hmmm Mom usually salts the normal chongak radishes for 24 hours, but since the radishes are small you probably could get away with 4 hours. When they are salted check to see if the greens a little limp before proceeding. Yeah I love the tops of the chongak kimchi! *sigh* The only thing I have here is Shiraegi namool, which is the dried portion of the radish. I need to grow chongak mu next year!

whoa....dairy in kimchi? I don't know.....sounds very strange to me. If I mentioned this method to my mother, she might beat me with a stick Then again, isn't the same bacteria found in yogurt, the same that naturally occurs in kimchi during fermentation? Lacto - something - or other Sheena How long did you salt the kimchi, and then did you rinse it? I made kimchi last month, and I overly rinsed. The kimchi was good but it needed the extra salt. About the how long to leave the kimchi out depends on the weather. If it is really warm you might only have to leave it out for a day or two, but if too cold it might take almost a week. I gage it by taste or bubbles. Let it sit for a day or two and then taste. Keep tasting until the kimchi seems just about right and then refrigerate. Rice flour, well that is debated. Somepople say that it helps the spices stay near the cabbage, and other says it helps with the texture of the kimchi..*shrug* Sometimes I add the rice and sometimes I don't. The only difference I can see is that the kimchi is more "watery" without the rice. I wish I could get Chongak here but alas I will have to grow it out in my balcony next year if I want some. *sniff* Tips: Well the things I learned when I made kimchi. You can decide what to use or discard. Use sea salt or kosher salt. Salt every leaf really well. Let it sit in brine 2-4 hours or 24 hours depending on weather but make sure to "turn" the ones in the bottom to the top so all cabbages get some of the brine. Rinse well, but not so well that the cabbage isn't salty at all (really don't do that!) You can use salt in place of the saeu jjhot (salted shrimp) or fish/shrimp sauce. I perfer the salted shrimp, salt, and fish/shrimp sauce in that order. a little bit of sugar helps with the taste. (about 1 tbsp for about 1 gallons worth of napa kimchi) Don't leave the kimchi out for more than a month in warm weather... ← well lets just say that after sitting out for 24 hours, my baechu kimchi looks like crap. The leaves aren't even translucent and are still hard and not even wilted. I basically crapped out and salted the leaves for a whopping total of 30 minutes. Next time I will definitely salt the leaves overnight (this seems to work for my mother) and do a good rinsing off the next day. I also noticed that the kimchis, both baechu and kkakdugi, are incredibly watery. I think I am more of a fan of the rice flour method, as it seems to add texture and consistency. I would really like to go to the korean store this weekend and buy some radishes to try out the rice flour method. I will probably have to buy a bigger mixing bowl and some big jars though before I do anything else. I find that those big plastic bowls that they sell in asian stores (you know, the ones that you use to clean yourself with in korean showers - for washing your hair, washing your face, etc) are great for mixing large batches of kimchi in or for salting your veggies. Also when using fermented fish in kimchi, can I use any fish product? Has anyone ever tried belacan in making kimchi? I wonder if that would result in an extra tasty and extra fishy result. ← Try letting the bechu sit for longer 2-4 hours at least. I had better luck that way, or over night. The rice four does make it a little less watery. I use the metal mixing bowl, but my mom has both the plastic ones and a really large metal one to mix kimchi. I think the smaller plastic ones are called pah gah ji...But aren't they a little too small? But then again there are the big bowls but I forget what they are called in korean. Now belacan might be interesting. I would experiment with a really small batch first. Also different areas of korea put different seafood inside of the kimchi. Mom loves salted fermeneted oysters, clams, squid, and cod. Well not all at once!

LOL Yeah I make sujaebi when I am lazy too! Although I usually just put in mehrucchi (the anchovies) garlic and boil the heck out of them, and go from there. I made my Mom make me sujaebi before I left California... Yeah I would love to go to korea too! Don't think I will be going any time soon. Maybe in three years from now if I am lucky.

Sheena How long did you salt the kimchi, and then did you rinse it? I made kimchi last month, and I overly rinsed. The kimchi was good but it needed the extra salt. About the how long to leave the kimchi out depends on the weather. If it is really warm you might only have to leave it out for a day or two, but if too cold it might take almost a week. I gage it by taste or bubbles. Let it sit for a day or two and then taste. Keep tasting until the kimchi seems just about right and then refrigerate. Rice flour, well that is debated. Somepople say that it helps the spices stay near the cabbage, and other says it helps with the texture of the kimchi..*shrug* Sometimes I add the rice and sometimes I don't. The only difference I can see is that the kimchi is more "watery" without the rice. I wish I could get Chongak here but alas I will have to grow it out in my balcony next year if I want some. *sniff* Tips: Well the things I learned when I made kimchi. You can decide what to use or discard. Use sea salt or kosher salt. Salt every leaf really well. Let it sit in brine 2-4 hours or 24 hours depending on weather but make sure to "turn" the ones in the bottom to the top so all cabbages get some of the brine. Rinse well, but not so well that the cabbage isn't salty at all (really don't do that!) You can use salt in place of the saeu jjhot (salted shrimp) or fish/shrimp sauce. I perfer the salted shrimp, salt, and fish/shrimp sauce in that order. a little bit of sugar helps with the taste. (about 1 tbsp for about 1 gallons worth of napa kimchi) Don't leave the kimchi out for more than a month in warm weather...

Ahhh It just looks so good!! Between your Arroz Caldo and Congee from Ce'nedra I am tempted to make some myself, but I promised DH we would have some type of pork tacos...Hmmmm

Texture, taste, aroma, satisfaction. Bagels made at either St-Viateur or Fairmount (the two top bagel places) are all handmade, and baked in a woodfired oven after being boiled. At almost any given time of day you can walk in to see one guy cutting and rolling the bagels, one guy inserting them into the woodfired oven on a long wooden board, and one guy manning the register. They have a great texture you can really sink your teeth into, and they're good enough to eat by themselves. It's like the taste of really good bread with a hint of smoke. I'm not exactly doing them justice, but when you've had them you know. So dinner tonight was Sichuan food, as you may have guessed from the mise en place photo. The main meal: Gong Bao chicken with Jiang Zhi Jiang Dou (Longs beans in a ginger sauce), with rice. Otherwise known as the infamous "Kung Pao" chicken, this classic sichuan dish is a wonderful combination of sweet, sour, spicy, and numbing. I get the impression that Dunlop's version is much closer to the classic Sichuan version than the innumerable bastardizations to found in chinese restaurants around the world. I had tried this before with Pork and it didn't turn out quite as I would've liked, but tonight it was perfect. Tender chunks of chicken in tangy, hot, and numbing sauce with crunchy morsels of roasted peanuts. And as per the Sichuan custom, we finished the meal with soup: My apologies for the steamy picture. What we have here is Lian Guo Tang (pork and white radish soup). A simple unassuming broth made with the water the pork is cooked in, scallions and ginger. You take slices of white radish and pork out with your chopsticks, and dip them in a pungent relish of sichuan pepper, dried red chiles, and soy. It makes for a very interesting contrast between the explosive flavor of the relish, and the soothing simplicty of the soup. I loved the tast it left lingering in my mouth. ← Wow everything looks quite delicious! Don't apologise for the steam it just makes my mouth water more! I can't wait to see more! Your eggs look really delicious, but I think someone else beat me to the question about the hot sauce YUM!

SheenaGreena, I believe they do tangerine makkoli in chejudo, cause they grow a TON of them over there....that and tangerine sujaebi Oh Tangerine makkoli sounds good too, but the tangerine sujaebi sounds good one minute and then another not so much. I love sujaebi!

Wow I had that energy once and loved hand mixed milk shakes, but then somehow the energy desserted me. But I still hand mix ice cream til I get the soft serve consistancy. Thanks Peter your blog is so interesting, and the food. Oh the chinese cookie like thing I forgot the name! They look so good you have to send me some now!

Peter I hope you will like them. My brother and father cannot stand the texture of the snails, but I love them! Phage- That sounds so sad that there wasn't a soul there to eat any of the delicious food...*sigh* I can't be everywhere. I have to agree with you though on the peach makkoli it is so pretty!

I remember them being a little bit crispy, but not has cruncy as an apple. I love fresh jujubes! One of my fav things when I was a child was picking fresh jujubes with my korean Grandmother, and eating as many as I can before taking the rest home. Now I don't remember what we did with them when we brought them home, maybe the rest the family ate some and then dried the rest, but I don't remember making anything out of the fresh jujubes.

For Korean: I have not see all of these in one restaurant but at least you can look to see if they have it. Although some I have seen only at home. I am sure other people have more ideas than mine but these are the ones off the top of my head. My niece doesn't like spicy at all and some these are her favourite. Mandu in it s various forms, Bulgogi, Kalbi, Seng kalbi (unmarinated kalbi which you dip into sauce), All of the previous BBQ wrapped in lettuce leaves. Bibimbap, Rice cake/mandu soup, (vegetable, fish, meat, crab) chon, chap chae (mung bean noodles), White radish soup (mu guk), Meat ball soup (wang ja tang), bean sprout soup (kkong namul guk), Pan fried tofu, tofu marinated in soysauce (tubu jorim), Kamja jorim (marinated potatoes, somtimes they add a little hot pepper powder to this), Kalbi jim (Ribs braised in soy sauce eat with rice it is salty), mung bean pancakes (bindae ddeok), Stir fried Julienned potatoes (kamja namul), steamed egg (gaeran jim), Kalbi tang (short rib soup), Jjajjang myun (black bean sauce noodles). Then there are the desserts and teas. Okay my brain is straining too hard now, but the sad thing is now I can only think of Pad Thai and sticky rice and mangoes for Thai. It is too early in the morning for me. I am going back to bed.

Welcome Ce'nedra! Yeah I am a new poster but a VERY long Lurker...Hmmm the weight of the ddeok... I knew I should have weighed some but I don't have any in the house right now. I am thinking the weight of the rice cake is around 400 grams. I will try to get to the store tomorrow and buy a package and make the recipe, but I can't promise anything I am still in the throws of trying to get my house in order. Not to mention Volks fest is going to start next weekend. Is your name from the David Eddings book?