It takes a village: Bibimbap

Prof. Hubs and I love Korean food. We especially love Kimchee (pickled cabbage,) Kalbi (beef shortribs,) and Bibimbap (rice and vegetables.) Since our move to Midwestia I have chronicled the lack of feasible ethnic food eateries in our area. And though this fact in itself is really, really inconvenient it actually has forced us to become more adventurous in our own kitchen so that we needn't go without our favorite dishes from around the world-we just have to cook them ourselves. Which is how I came to prepare bibimbap... Let me state that this recipe is the product of a collaborative effort-I must thank several of my Korean friends for their guidance in the production of this dish... Thanks to their tips plus some desperate housediva ingenuity the final product tasted just like my favorite bibimbap from K-town in NYC!!!

DESPERATE HOUSEDIVA BIBIMBAP (for 2)

1 cup short grain brown rice (note: traditional bibimbap uses white rice)

half a bag of washed baby spinach

10 mushrooms (preferably shitake, but white will do in a pinch) cut into slices

10 baby carrots cut into matchsticks or 3/4 cup shredded carrot

1 small zucchini cut into matchsticks or 3/4 cup shredded zucchini

handful of korean bean sprouts (I can't find these in midwestia so don't stress if you can't either)

2 eggs

Sriraicha sauce (or, if you can find it, Gochujang, Korean chili paste)

BULGOGI BEEF (optional..,and soooo delicious)

1 ribeye steak trimmed of fat and cut into little thin bites

3/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp honey

1 onion, diced

5 garlic cloves, diced

splash of sesame oil

splash of rice wine vinegar

About 40 minutes before serving begin to cook the brown rice...it takes about that long.

When rice is close to being done, or IS done it's time to cook the individual components of the dish. Blanche the spinach in boiling water for a minute or two, until wilted. Remove from boiling water, rinse in cold water and squeeze out excess. In a wok or sautée pan heat a bit of sesame oil and cook the carrots until just softened.

Remove carrots from pan, add a dash of sesame oil to pan and cook mushrooms (with a dash of salt) until soft and thin.

Remove mushrooms from pan and add a dash of oil and cook zucchini with a dash of salt until translucent.

Keep the cooked vegetables separate from one another on a plate.

If cooking bulgogi beef, now is the time to heat up a wok on high and add the beef, I just throw the whole thing in there (with marinade) and stir it around for a two minutes until the beef is cooked. In the pan you used to cook the veggies, heat a bit of oil (canola, peanut, etc.) and cook 2 eggs, over easy.

Assemble the plate: One cup of rice, covered with beef, veggies (separate, but next to each other) and fried egg. I like to top with a dollop of sriraicha sauce (because we can't get the special Korean bibimbap sauce here in Midwestia...) and then mix it ALL together and enjoy!!!

Healthy side dish idea for Holiday feasts and beyond!!!

In general, I don't like cauliflower. I think it goes back to the years of boring veggie trays at various school events (I also don't like that plastic-tasting ranch dressing that comes in tubs that often accompanies those trays.) In my entire life thus far I may have only enjoyed this pale cousin of the broccoli prepared 2 ways-the first is a roasted preparation with salt and pepper (because I believe that just about every vegetable is delicious when tossed in olive oil, salted, peppered and roasted...) and the other preparation is as a flavorful substitute for mashed potatoes which appears at the end of this post.

I am always looking for ways to incorporate different vegetables into my diet which is what drove me to give cauliflower a whirl in Midwestia. I also love comfort foods and I'm constantly on the lookout for ways to enjoy lighter versions in a healthy way. (It is due to the latter that I often substitute whole wheat flour for white or agave nectar for honey/sugar. I don't cook with fake sugars like splenda: I don't like the taste and I mentally feel less satisfied if I know that I am not eating actual calories-Although I am guilty of hypocrisy in this matter because I have been known to use butter-flavored crisco sticks to make my famous ginger cookies...and I really can't think of anything LESS natural than butter-flavored crisco stick) With that in mind, here is an all-natural recipe for delicious cauliflower mash:

Rich & Creamy (and garlicky) parmesan mashed cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 head garlic

handful parmesan

2 large dollops sour cream

S&P

Remove papery outer shell of garlic head. Wrap garlic in foil. Roast head of garlic in foil in oven at 400 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, squeeze out yummy roasted garlic from clove.

Wash and cut cauliflower into florets

Boil cauliflower in large pot of water until tender (about 10 minutes)

Drain really, really well. While still hot, combine with sour cream, parmesan, roasted garlic, and s&p. Puree mixture in Food Processor, Blender, etc. until the texture resembles that of mashed potatoes.

Enjoy as a low-carb, starch free, veggie side dish!

Capery-mustardy fish

It's amazing how quickly a favorite dish can become tiresome. I often find myself making the same dishes ad nauseum because of their prep time, no matter how sick I am of the dish itself. That's one of the reasons I discovered this next recipe. Prof. Hubs and I like to eat fish a few times a week but we seem to grow tired of them faster and faster these days! I wanted to find a new, fast, tasty recipe for white flaky fish filets and this one fit the bill-and after making it a few times we're not sick of it...yet. Thanks to Ina Garten who's classic take on good food made this recipe possible. And thanks to Prof. Hubs who is always willing to try a new recipe, especially if it presents him with the opportunity to eat sour cream.

YUMMY NEW CAPERY-MUSTARDY FISH

based on a recipe by Ina Garten

• 4 (8-ounce) fish fillets (we used cod)
• s&p
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 teaspoons capers

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Lightly oil a baking dish. Salt and pepper the cleaned fish filets and place in dish.

Combine sour cream, 2 mustards, shallots, capers in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it's barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it's done.)

Bon appetit!!!

Mushroom Goodness

As is evident from my lack of posts in recent weeks, I have not posted in a while. The recent past found me in NYC for another whirlwind week, back in Midwestia for a minute, off to Michigan, then to Toledo, then to Midwestia, then to Detroit, then...well, I've been travelling. Now that I'm back (at least until Thanksgiving, when I will travel for food) and have gotten a chance to decompress for a day, I'm ready to share some amazing culinary treats!

In the next few posts I would like to concentrate on recipes that require little time but reap big results-as in delicious results. The first of these is my mushroom goodness recipe. I originally came across a form of this concoction in a BON APPETIT magazine from several years ago. In that incarnation it was used as a topping for pizza. Since first appearing in my kitchen it has since made waves as a pasta topping, a polenta topping, a chicken topping, and of course, a pizza topping. It's really, really wonderful. Prof. Hubs doesn't really like pizza but since he tasted the mushroom goodness he requests it regularly.

I like the whole wheat pizza dough recipe in the NEW BASICS cookbook best, but feel free to use your own, or the premade balls of dough available at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and grocery stores everywhere... Then top the pizzas with obscene amounts of fresh mozzarella and grated parmigiano reggiano.

MUSHROOM GOODNESS

based on a recipe from Bon Appetit

E.V. olive oil

2 onions, cut into thin rings

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 package mixed mushrooms (or regular button mushrooms, or shitakes, or...well, you get it.)

1 minced shallot

1 cup dry white wine

large pinch of dried rosemary

s&p

In a large sautée pan, heat oil over med-high. Add onions and sautée for 15-20 minutes, until well caramelized (browned, sweet smelling and translucent.)

Remove onions from pan. Add more oil to pan. Add mushrooms, shallot, garlic and rosemary. Sautée for 4 minutes. Then add wine. Cook until alcohol smell is gone and majority of liquid is absorbed. S&P to taste.

Now top your pizza/pasta/polenta, etc.

(cook pizza at 500 for about 10 min, until cheese is bubbly)

Bon appetit!!!