Have a box of instant potatoes and not sure what to do with them?
This morning I had a hankering for potato pancakes so I did a search for any recipes that might be brave enough to incorporate instant mashed potatoes. I found an Instant Mashed Potato Pancakes recipe at Food Wishes. Food Wishes is a foodie blog including recipes with video instructions by Chef John.
I made these Instant Mashed Potato Pancakes for breakfast and followed John's recipe, except I had to add a little more instant potatoes to mine to get the correct consistency. Next time I'll add less water. Another slight adjustment I made to the recipe is omitting the vegetable oil because I cooked these on my Grandmother's non-stick electric skillet.
They are pretty darn good all by themselves but perfect with a dollop of sour cream as suggested. I put my pancake in a bowl my dad made back in 1967. He used to throw a lot of clay around back then and our whole family has cherished pieces of his handmade pottery.
If you've been following my blog you know how much I've been craving homemade Korean kimchee.
I developed a taste for kim chi in high school while living in Japan. All of my close friends from that time in my life are of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese descent so I experienced a lot of delicious, authentic oriental dishes and I miss them (and my friends).
Now that I'm in Texas I can't find kim chi anywhere so I learned how to make it from scratch at Koreancuisine (Anna Kim) on YouTube! I've been eating it plain on top of steamed Kokuho Rose rice, spooning it into my Roo Hoo Rook Korean noodles, and making kim chi potato salad. I still have quite a bit left to use up so I'm constantly searching for more recipes to incorporate the kim chi!
Okay, back to my homemade recipe, the first thing you have to do after you've chopped all your veggies is soak the cabbage in salt water (brine) to pickle it, the process not only leaves a tasty amount of salt within the leaves but causes them to remain crunchy. I bought a big beverage party-bucket to soak my Napa cabbage in and it worked great! The chopped cabbage soaks for two hours then you rinse it in fresh water. It is imperative that you remember to rinse your cabbage three or four times in fresh water after it has soaked in the salt solution or it will be entirely too salty to eat. While it's soaking you get to make the "good stuff" which is a mixture of chopped green onion, daikon (Korean radish), and a sauce of apple, apple pear, garlic, ginger, and salty fish sauce (or anchovy sauce). Sounds pretty crazy, huh? It's so good!
I used my food processor to puree the sauce. It looks like applesauce when it's done but it sure doesn't smell like applesauce! I didn't have any daikon so I substituted red radishes (not the same but they will do in a pinch). Next time I make kim chi I'll be sure to have the correct type of radish, although Anna Kim did mention in her video that you can use any type of radish in the recipe. The puree, the chopped green onions, and the radish are mixed together by hand (wear rubber gloves) to complete the sauce for the kim chi.
If you suffer from heartburn while eating spicy foods you better take your antacid medicine before eating kim chi! Anna's recipe calls for 1 1/4 C of red pepper flakes! Oooo, yeah, you better believe that's hot stuff. I love it but I'm one of the lucky people who can eat spicy without detriment. Keep in mind it's a side dish and served in small portions with rice or a meal so a little goes a long way. After I rinsed my Napa cabbage and mixed the sauce into it, I spread it out in a 9x13 inch dish, covered it over with cling wrap and then put the lid on my casserole dish to sit overnight at room temperature. This allows the fermentation process to occur. Think of it as "ripening". Store the kim chi in the refrigerator for three days before eating. You can eat it right away but it will not achieve full flavor until it's allowed to chill.
I recently bought Kim Chi Ramyun noodles from my local oriental market because I was craving Korean kimchi. The noodles are good because the seasoning packet has the flavor of kim chi but haven't sated my craving for cabbage kimchi!
I can't find fresh kimchee in the grocery stores or markets so I've decided to make my own.
Searching the web, I found two great videos with different recipes:
I'm amazed at all the different recipes out there and these are two that sounded yummy to me. There are so many variations, it's impossible to try them all. The kind of kimchi I know and love is red-orange, spicy, flavorful, and gloriously odoriferous!
If you have a favorite home-made recipe for kimchi, please share it with me!
This craving was sparked by the blog post of Kat @ Our Adventures In Japan: kim chee potato salad
Decided on a recipe using my homemade turkey broth, I made up my own! I've been making vegetable soup from scratch the last few months because it's healthy, easy, and delicious. This is a new twist on my basic soup recipe:
While this is simmering in the kitchen it's hard to keep from taking a taste because it smells so delectable, like Thanksgiving all over again but easier because it's one pot cooking! The beauty of this soup is the homemade broth and made-from-scratch yumminess plus the fact that the turkey meat is pre-cooked so the soup doesn't take long to heat and serve.
Homemade Turkey & Vegetable Soup by biologie-me.blogspot.com
3 C mixed vegetables (peas, green beans, carrots, lima beans, corn)
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 T seasoned salt
1 cube cilantro "bouillon" or 1 T chopped fresh cilantro/parsley
In a large soup pot, heat garlic in olive oil or a small amount of broth. Add minced onion, carrot, celery, and parsnip. Saute over Med-High heat until softened. Add chopped sage, bay leaf, and the turkey broth. Bring to a simmer. Add diced turkey and mixed vegetables. Bring back up to a simmer. Add black pepper, salt, and cilantro cube (or fresh cilantro/parsley). Simmer an additional 10-15 minutes.
I've never made it from scratch before so I checked the interwebs and found out it was a very simple and easy process. My mom sent me home with the carcass of our 24 pound Thanksgiving turkey and I had a baggie of veggie scraps in the freezer just waiting to take a plunge in the slow cooker.
After completing the broth recipe I'll throw all the veggie scraps in the compost pile. I'm already planning on using the compost for my Spring Vegetable Garden. Spring planting begins as early as February 25th here in South Central Texas!
I can't wait to make a soup recipe with my homemade broth. I'll be sure to take some photos of the completed dish and share the recipe here on my blog. I plan on making something hearty and low-fat with tons of flavor. Haven't yet picked out the recipe because there are so many to choose from and I'm having trouble deciding. If you have a favorite homemade soup recipe including turkey meat and veggies, please comment below! I plan on serving the soup with a "crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside" slice of whole-grain bread.
To make the broth I freeze leftover veggie scraps in a large freezer bag until it's nearly full. Then it's time to make the broth! Because I just so happened to have a turkey carcass (skin, meat, and fatty tissue removed), I'm making homemade turkey broth today.
Homemade Turkey and Vegetable Broth
Turkey carcass (no remaining skin)
2 whole carrots, rinsed with skin on
1-2 whole onions, rinsed with skin on
1-2 celery stalks including leaves, rinsed
1 head of whole garlic, rinsed with skin on
any extra veggie scraps on hand
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorn
1 herb sachet (any fresh or dry herbs you have on hand)
cheesecloth to wrap all the veggies in a neat package tied with butcher string
Combine all ingredients except the herb sachet into a large slow cooker, cover with water and set the cooker on low for 12-24 hours. 20 minutes prior to completion, add the herb sachet. Strain liquid into a large bowl or stockpot. Toss used veggies into the compost. Use broth immediately in your favorite recipe and freeze the rest in 1 gal freezer bags for later.
NOTE: If you'd like to skim off any remaining fat, chill the broth in the refrigerator overnight. Skim off the layer of fat which will form at the top of the broth for a low fat stock.
They are pretty darn good all by themselves but perfect with a dollop of sour cream as suggested. I put my pancake in a bowl my dad made back in 1967. He used to throw a lot of clay around back then and our whole family has cherished pieces of his handmade pottery.
