Balcony, Bowling, Kimchi

Well, our balcony door is now locked for the duration and we have a great big piece of metal bracing poking through our wall. The hole has been there since last year but was covered by a sheet of wood or something. They cut these holds exactly to hold the braces. Originally they braced underneath and then had to move the braces on top. This saves a move. Sensible. However, I heard today that the reason the completed balconies don't yet have walls is because the company haven't come down to do it. Not exactly sure what that is all about but it doesn't bode well.

We did it, our team is #1 today now all we have to do is fight to keep that next week. We are playing against the previous #1 team who are now #3. We are being fairly closely pursued by the new #2 team, I forget the point difference. Wish us luck. We would all be so chuffed to win for a change.

I spent this evening making the Kimchi from the recipe I posted a couple of days ago. I have to leave it for 24 hours before using it. However, it is not the regular colour of Kimchi. We will see what it tastes like. I may be punished for taking the easy recipe. Tomorrow I am planning to try the Moroccan Stuffed Peppers for supper. I hope that will turn out OK.

I thought this sounded interesting and unusual. In the picture it looks a bit like scrambled egg.

Sautéed Mushroom Guacamole

5 medium-sized avocados, ripe (soft ,not squishy)
8 oz white, cremini, or mini bella mushrooms, halved then sliced
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup white wine or vegetable broth for deglazing
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small lime, juiced
1 medium tomato, diced (or 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved.)
1 small red onion, diced (roughly 1/8-1/4 cup)
Salt

1. Set frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Once hot, stir in mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes, or until beginning to brown. Sprinkle with some salt.

2. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Pour in wine (or broth) to deglaze, cooking until liquid dissipates. Remove from heat to cool.

3. Guacamole

4. Cut your avocados in half and remove pit. Spoon out avocado into a medium-sized bowl. Mash until you reach desired consistency (chunky or smooth.)

5. Add garlic, salt, and freshly squeezed lime. Stir to combine.

6. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, and onion, stirring until combined.

7. Cover and refrigerator until chilled, probably a good hour minimum.

8. Give it a taste test to see if it needs more salt or lime.

9. Serve on its own, with tacos, or burritos!

Author: The Cookie Writer

Author Notes
You can grill your mushrooms on the BBQ with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Amount of lime and salt needed is based on preference (so taste as you go!)

Have a great day
 

Balconies

And so it begins. They have fenced off the area around our wing and have begun building the bases for the gantry to stand on. This is five floors below us. They dug a trench and then a rounded section. They filled it all with gravel and have put a frame in the rounded section. Not sure why unless the ground is not flat enough. The grass was beginning to come back, joke. Because a pottery frog vibrated off our toilet tank due to the drilling across the wing, I asked our neighbour if she had had any problems, someone had suggested taking down pictures etc. She said she hadn't had any problems with pictures or even with a small pot pourri pot which stands on her toilet tank. So I guess I won't take our pictures down after all. It would be a great nuisance we have such a lot of them. We had to take them all down when we had bed bugs. Most, in the living/dining areas, are from our son-in-law Mike. See link this page.

I am not sure how much blogging I will be doing once they start. Neighbour said they went out to breakfast a lot. Also, if it turns out to be a hot August, we won't want to be in the apartment anyway. Not sure what we will do mind you. Obviously a couple of afternoons we will be at the bowling alley, but that doesn't take care of many hours.

I love Kimchi and have thought about making it for a while, but all the recipes I have seen appear to be rather complicated. However, this one looks easy peasy so think I might have a go at it. I first got to like Kimchi because when we lived in North Carolina, we were very close to Camp Lejeune - a Marine base. There were lots of Korean wives and hence lots of Kimchi.

Kimchi

Cabbage soaked in the flavors of garlic, ginger, soya sauce, vinegar and chilli flakes. Here's for you Kimchi Salad recipe, a Korean favorite.

1 kg cabbage
1 Tbs salt
2 Tbs spring onions-chopped fine
1 Tbs garlic-chopped fine
1 Tbs ginger-chopped fine
1 cup soya sauce
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 Tbs chilli flakes
Sesame (til) oil

1. Chop cabbage, place in a glass or steel bowl and sprinkle salt over it, and mix well. Leave thus for 3-4 hours, till a little wilted. Squeeze a few times till cabbage has softened. Mix in the rest of the ingredients except the oil and transfer into sterilized jars. Seal and leave for 24 hours, before using. To serve garnish with some sesame oil

Servings: 6

Author: Chef: Niru Gupta

Have a great day

BP Monitor, Asian Grocery. Towing.

Started my Tuesday by going to the Nephrologist’s office and being fitted with a 24 hour blood pressure monitor. So far it’s clocking me at readings in the 180’s which is not good. I always shoot up when I am at a doctor’s anyway, I seem to be doing it all the time right now, it’s about 10:30 a.m. and I have already had three readings, I have always hated BP monitors anyway. I’m probably wrong, but I think some people have naturally high readings, however the docs don’t seem to believe that. Later: I don’t know if the damned machine has gone wrong, but it doesn’t show any readings at all although it reverts to the time when it has monitored me. I would hate to think I have been through this for nothing. I have to take it back early in the morning (this morning when you read this) and the forecast is for thick snow. They might not get their $4,000 gadget back on time.

I mentioned, the other day, about our friend’s grandson finding a Korean store. It turns out that they are not just Korean,  but Asian so sell lots of oriental foods. We went in there on the way back from the specialist and I bought some Kimchee, some pickled ginger and some peeled garlic. I always peel garlic and keep it in a Mason jar with some paper towel to absorb the moisture, this way, I don’t have to go through the hassle of peeling it. They had some very large bags of garlic as well as some huge pots of both Kimchi and ginger. I restrained myself.

Now I’m a bit miffed. We finally got back the reimbursement for our tow when the brakes went on our car some weeks ago. However, the tow cost $71 and we only got $50. They said that was the maximum our policy allowed. We don’t really have a policy it’s a bonus provided by Meineke when you have a full service from them. I had problems with this whole thing right from the beginning and now to be short changed, I will never use this again. We have coverage through Dominion Auto which is like CAA or AAA and in future I will be sure to use DAA – I’m not really sure why I used the Meineke one anyway. It’s not Meineke themselves, but some insurance headquartered in Boca Raton.

I was recently discovered by Nancy Mock at Hungry Enough to Eat Six. I returned her visit only to find a super recipe for mashed potatoes. I asked Nancy and she gave me permission to use it in my blog, so here it is. Don’t you think they look delicious?

Garlic Mashed Potato Roll-Ups
Ingredients:

1 TB butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 slices thick country white bread
2 cups mashed potatoes, warm (ideally the mashed potatoes should be smooth with no big pieces of potato. If necessary stir in some milk or half and half one tablespoon at at time to make the potatoes creamy and smooth. Use a potato masher to get rid of any big lumps.)
garlic powder
ground pepper
salt
4 TB butter, melted

Directions: 
In a small skillet, melt the tablespoon of butter over medium heat. When hot and starting to sizzle, add in the minced garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes until just before the garlic starts to brown. Remove from heat and add the garlic into the mashed potato. Stir to mix in. 
Cut the crusts off the bread slices. Use a rolling pin to flatten each slice. Place 1/4 c. of mashed potato onto a flattened slice; use the back of a spoon to smooth out the potato and cover the slice. Sprinkle the potato with a little garlic powder, pepper and salt. Gently roll up the bread and potato into a cylinder. Repeat with the remaining bread and potato. Brush the outside of each roll-up with melted butter. 
Spray a small skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat up over medium-high heat. Add in the roll-ups two at a time and cook for about 5 minutes, turning them to brown on all sides. Transfer to a warm plate and repeat with the remaining roll-ups.

Serve warm. Makes 8 roll-ups.

Have a great day

DST, Korean Food.

I was up fairly early on Sunday morning and then realised that as the clocks were going forward, I really wasn’t that early at all. I read an article about daylight savings changes and apparently they have discovered that an increase in heart attacks is associated with the ‘spring forward’ event and a decrease when we change back in the fall. Also a lot more traffic and pedestrian accidents occur in the period following the spring change. A poll taken in the States indicated that a lot of people think its a waste of time. It was also discovered that the mere fact of changing all the clocks costs the country (the US still) quite a lot of money, $434 million per year. Many places don’t use it anyway, Saskatchewan and some parts of BC in Canada, and Arizona and Hawaii in the US, are amongst those who don’t. Of course the US decided to change when they put these time alterations into affect and so we, in Canada, followed along to keep in sync.

I ended by making up my sleep in the afternoon. 5:30 is just too early and I was tired.

Saturday we had a delightful evening at a friend’s and enjoyed our dinner of schnitzel with Portobello mushrooms. Their grandson has recently returned from Korea where he has lived for several years and he found there is a Korean store in Kitchener where one can buy kimchi apparently. Guess who is going to check it out this week? I love it but the kimchi I bought recently wasn’t all that hot (spicy) – I figure in a Korean store it is going to be much better. One can make it at home of course, but living in an apartment we haven’t really got the space.

I have just finished eating supper, but looking at this recipe makes me feel hungry. I guess this classifies as a fusion recipe.

Miso Soup with Sweet Potato Dumplings

Epicurious
by Shawn McClain
Green Zebra

photo by Ann Stratton

This spicy soup from Shawn McClain, chef at Green Zebra in Chicago, is rich in immunity-enhancing vitamin A.

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups sliced bok choy
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 cup edamame, shelled
• 12 wonton wrappers
• 3 tablespoons white miso, plus more to taste
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Preparation

Heat oven to 375°F. Prick holes in potatoes. Bake on a baking sheet until soft, turning once, about 1 hour. Cool, then peel and mash. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic and shallot, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add pepper flakes. Stir garlic mixture, salt and pepper into potatoes. Place bok choy, sprouts and edamame in a pot with 2 cups water and set aside. Lay 1 wonton wrapper in palm of hand. Drop a heaping tablespoon of potato mixture in the center and make a fist to gather edges. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Set dumplings on top of vegetables in pot. Bring to a boil. Cook, covered, until wrappers are translucent, 3 to 6 minutes. Divide veggies and dumplings among 4 bowls. Add 4 cups water to pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add miso, stirring until it dissolves. Divide among bowls; top with scallions.

Have a great day

Grouse, Anniversary, Vincenzo’s.

Well after all my grousing yesterday, I do feel better today. What an odd word grouse is, do Grouse grouse? I just did some Googling and Wiki tells me the grouse with which I am familiar is the Red Grouse which is considered a game bird and as every Britisher of my age group knows, is hunted from August 12th or The Glorious Twelfth. I have never eaten a grouse and understand it is a similar bird to the Ptarmigan and the only thing I know about that is that in The Clan of the Cave Bear, it was a favourite of their Mog Ur when cooked stuffed with its own eggs. I imagine Red Grouse are very good eating from all I have heard and the amount which are shot each year. However, I still haven’t found a connection between the bird and grousing or complaining.

Today the old man and I celebrate 41 years of wedded bliss, or something, and have decided to go to the Boa Nova Rodizio Grill which calls itself a Portuguese restaurant with a Brazilian twist; in Kitchener. You know; where they bring the skewers of fire roasted meats to your table and carve off what you require. Delicious. There is an hors d’oeuvres bar and then when you are ready you eat the barbecued meats and if you wish you can finish with barbecued pineapple. I just realised today that in fact the pineapple isn’t considered dessert and they have desserts as well. They gave Matt a cheesecake with a candle for his birthday some years ago, so I guess I should have known. Our anniversary is yet another of those celebrations where I drink fizz, or wines made by the methode champenoise. Sparkling wine anyway.

This is getting like being on vacation because Thursday we will be eating at the Red Lobster prior to our first Travel League outing this season. Now where can we go Friday? I gained a few pounds whilst away so I actually have to work at losing them again. Restaurants don’t help.

Think I mentioned I brought back some Kimchi from NC. Meant to get more. Matt doesn’t like it but I adore it. I guess I could make my own, but don’t really have room in an apartment for storage of such things. I decided to call my favourite deli store, Vincenzo’s and lo and behold, they have it. Not only that, I thought I would ask about horseradish and they assure me they have one which brings tears to the eyes. They are a good place to shop so I believe them and will try it out. Now we have a different bowling alley, we don’t pass them each week so have to make a special trip.

This recipe comes from Kevin at Closet Cooking who is also a fan of Kimchi and does make his own. Actually, re-reading it, maybe I will have a go at making my own. Not sure if I can get gochugaru, maybe I should check in Vincenzo’s for that too.

Kimchi

Ingredients:
1 medium napa cabbage (about 2-3 pounds)
1/2 cup salt
1 bunch green onions (sliced into 1 inch pieces)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 inch ginger (grated)
1 cup gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce for a vegetarian version)

Directions:
1. Cut the napa cabbage in half, remove the core and slice the cabbage into 1 inch wide strips.
2. Place a layer of cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle some salt onto the cabbage. Repeat until all of the cabbage is in the bowl and salted.
3. Let the cabbage sit in the salt for a few hours.
4. Rinse the salt from the cabbage.
5. Mix the cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, gochugaru and fish sauce in the large bowl.
6. Place the cabbage mixture into a sealable container, leave a couple of inches at the top.
7. Seal the container and let ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days.
8. Place the container in the fridge and let ferment for a couple more days.

Have a great day

K = Kaiser and Kimchi

Many people are familiar with the title Kaiser which was used in Germany and Prussia to denote their Emperors. Kaiser Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor. He was the grandson of England’s Queen Victoria and reading about him sounds like a real idiot. I could use a stronger word. He abdicated at the beginning of World War I which was prosecuted by his generals but basically caused by his aggressive foreign policy. He, himself, ran to the Netherlands to live. However, many people do not realise that Caesar, the title of the Emperors of Rome was also pronounced the same way, not with a soft C but a hard one like a K. In fact the way we say a lot of Latin words is not how the Romans themselves pronounced them.


When I lived in North Carolina I used to buy Kimchi a lot. It is a  Korean pickle which was readily available there because we were surrounded by Marine bases. Many of the Marines had acquired a taste for it when in Korea, also a number of them had married Korean wives who, of course, made Kimchi. It is pretty hot and spicy. I have never tried making my own, but maybe now I have this basic recipe, I will have a go. I have never found it for sale here. I found this recipe by Kevin at Closet Cooking. Thanks Kevin. This is a very simple version, there are many different versions however, if you want to be adventurous.


Kimchi

Ingredients:
1 medium napa cabbage (about 2-3 pounds)
1/2 cup salt
1 bunch green onions (sliced into 1 inch pieces)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 inch ginger (grated)
1 cup gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce for a vegetarian version)

Directions:
1. Cut the napa cabbage in half, remove the core and slice the cabbage into 1 inch wide strips.
2. Place a layer of cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle some salt onto the cabbage. Repeat until all of the cabbage is in the bowl and salted.
3. Let the cabbage sit in the salt for a few hours.
4. Rinse the salt from the cabbage.
5. Mix the cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, gochugaru and fish sauce in the large bowl.
6. Place the cabbage mixture into a sealable container leaves a couple of inches at the top.
7. Seal the container and let ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days.
8. Place the container in the fridge and let ferment for a couple more days.

Have a great day