Only thing missing is the horn shaped basket.

I don't know if you guys have seen this post on decorative gourds at McSweeney's Internet Tendency, but it makes me laugh every year. I'll warn you though: foul language ahead.

PS, yes, these are on my dining room table. A carnival squash (edible!) and two (non-edible) decorative gourds. Welcome to autumn!

Kimchi Fried Rice

After making kimchi on Friday night, I started to think about ways to use it. I know I like it on hotdogs, and I've used it in tacos, but I had never made kimchi fried rice before. I googled around on it a bit and found an approachable recipe over on Rasa Malaysia (which has officially become my go-to site for easy Asian recipes). I changed it up a bit based on what I had around, but I did cook the rice in the morning before work so it could dry out in the fridge during the day. Freshly cooked rice doesn't behave in a frying pan, it's too wet so it gets mushy and soft.

Kimchi Fried Rice
serve 2

Variations on this dish abound on the internet, but most of them are topped with a sunny side up egg. Since I would eat a bowl of packing peanuts if you put a runny-yolk egg on top, I opted in. Oh, and by the way this takes all of 20 minutes to pull together, so consider it for a busy weeknight! Just make sure you have a cold beer on hand, kimchi is spicy. You can use less than the cup I used if you can't take the heat. 

3-4 cups day-old cooked white rice
1 cup kimchi, chopped, plus a splash of the juice
half an onion, chopped
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs, fried sunny side up (optional, but excellent)

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. If you're going to use the eggs, fry them now (cover the pan so the top steams and they'll cook more quickly). Slide the eggs out onto a plate or board, and cover them with a bowl to keep warm.

Add the onion to the oil remaining in the pan (add a touch more if you need it) and cook, stirring regularly, until soft, 3-5 minutes. Add the chopped kimchi and cook, stirring, for several minutes, until the kimchi is starting to brown.

Add the rice. Stir it a couple of times so everything is well distributed in the pan, then pat it into an even layer and don't touch it! for a couple of minutes. Stir, redistribute everything, then pat it into an even layer and leave it alone again for a couple of minutes. I think the key to good fried rice is actually letting the rice brown, and the only way you can do that is by not messing with it too much. Repeat the patting and leaving-alone until the rice is cooked to your liking. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, kimchi juice and sesame seeds, then stir and taste it. Adjust seasoning with more soy sauce or sesame seeds as necessary. Divide the rice between two bowls and top each with an egg.

Making Kimchi

I was talking to my friend Sunny at school a few weeks ago (I graduated back in June but I'm a TA on Mondays) and I mentioned that I wanted to try making kimchi. Sunny is from Korea, and she offered to help me, and THEN she started to ask if I had the right ingredients.



She wanted to make sure I had the right brands of fish sauce (yep, two different kinds) and where I bought my red pepper powder and if I knew which radish to buy (I still managed to buy the wrong one) and by the end of the conversation she had written down the names of the sauces I was supposed to get and we made a date to make kimchi.



I salted the cabbage when i got home from work, but it turns out I should have done it the night before as it hadn't wilted much. I also used a very large grain gray sea salt; you can see it in the photo above. When Sunny got to my house she decided we should brine the cabbage while we put everything else together to try and wilt it further, so we mixed a cup of salt and five cups of water and soaked the cabbage while we chopped the rest of the ingredients.



Sunny would not stand still for a picture, but this is her julienning a few daikon radishes on a box grater (a julienne slicer would have been better, but I don't have one).



We chopped some scallions, ginger, garlic, and some tiny salted shrimp that Sunny brought. We also made a broth with kombu and water and a slurry with some sweet rice flour that we boiled with water until it was thick.



We mixed a paste with red pepper (I bought some at the Korean market in my neighborhood but Sunny brought some that her mom had sent her from Korea and we mixed the two), some of the slurry, a few tablespoons of broth, garlic, ginger, two fish sauces (one made with anchovies and one made with a fish called a sand lance)



We smeared the paste on every leaf of the cabbage quarters, then wrapped them into little bundles and stuck them in a jar. I left it out overnight to start fermenting, and the next evening I pushed the cabbage down into the brine and popped it in the fridge. Isn't it pretty?



I'm not going to post the recipe because it's more of a process that we eyeballed and I'm not entirely confident of it myself. Next time I make it I'll try to get it streamlined and share it with you, and tomorrow I'll share the kimchi fried rice I made with it. Have you ever made kimchi? What's your favorite way to eat it?

Again, but different.

I made another one of those so-called rice bowls for dinner tonight. This time: wild rice, roasted cauliflower (400F, olive oil, salt and pepper, 30 minutes - you'll never want to eat it any other way), sauteed kale. And I threw a few of these pickled mushrooms on, too. Yum.

Oh, and to really change things up, I put it on a plate instead of in a bowl. So crazy!

Quinoa with Kale and Sweet Potatoes

I'm never really sure what to call this kind of dinner. It's really a shame that there's no good name for it because I eat this sort of thing all the time. Cook a grain. Cook some vegetables. Put them together in a bowl. I think some corporate lunch spots refer to it as a "rice bowl" or something, but that makes it sound like something... from a corporate lunch spot. Hm.

So I'll just say it's a simple one dish dinner or an excellent side that comes together quickly: the kale and sweet potatoes cook while the quinoa simmers. And hey, look how pretty it looks next to the centerpiece I took from my cousin's wedding!



Quinoa with Kale and Sweet Potatoes
serves 2-3 as a light meal, or more as a side dish

A note on cheese: I used an aged goat cheese called Colombier from the cheese shop where I work, and I liked the flaky texture and tang in this dish. Classic chevre would be a good fit but creamier, or a sharp feta would be a great counterpoint to the sweet potato.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small bunch kale, stems removed, leaves cut into 1/2" wide strips
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large pinch red pepper flakes (optional if you like it spicy)
2 ounces tangy cheese of your choice (see note)
olive oil
salt and pepper
a beverage for the cook

Combine the quinoa and two cups of water with a hefty pinch of salt in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. It should be done in about 20 minutes.

Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat, then add a tablespoon of olive oil and when it shimmers, add the sweet potatoes in one layer. Partially cover the pan and cook for a few minutes, then stir or shake the pan so the cubes of sweet potato flip and cook on another side. Repeat the steaming/shaking action a few times until the sweet potatoes are cooked. They'll be browned on a few sides, you might have to adjust the heat down a bit if they're browning faster than you'd like. This could take 5-10 minutes depending on the size of your dice.

Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, deglaze the pan with a splash of water, or wine or beer if you're drinking while you cook (ahem). The liquid will help you scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Season the sweet potatoes with salt and pepper and remove to another bowl.

Add another little splash of olive oil to the pan, then add the garlic and chili flakes and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant, then add the kale and saute, stirring, until wilted and tender. This could take anywhere from 2- 8 minutes, depending on how tender you like your kale. Season the kale with salt and pepper. Add the sweet potatoes back to the skillet if they've cooled.

By now your quinoa should be done (if it's done earlier, just shut off the heat and leave the lid on. It'll be fine.). Fluff the quinoa with a fork, then put some quinoa in a couple of bowls and top with the sweet potatoes and kale. Crumble the cheese on top and drizzled with a little more olive oil. Mmm, fall in a bowl*.

*You know, I thought about calling this post "fall in a bowl" but then I figured somebody might  think I ran around tripping and ending up in a cereal vessel. Nope. Autumn in a bowl just wasn't as catchy. Look at the dilemmas we bloggers face! My goodness.

Jalapeno Jammer

I've made these jam filled buttermilk biscuits several times now, but this is the first time I've ever put jalapeno jelly in them. Dudes. Find some hot pepper jelly. I recommend it.

Peter Reinhart's Light Wheat Bread

You know what I love about fall? It's not too hot to bake a loaf of bread. I mean, I like the pretty leaves and I like sweaters and boots, but is there anything better than the smell of bread baking? The loaf you see here is the one I've been baking every week or two for the better part of a year.



The recipe is from Peter Reinhart's book The Bread Baker's Apprentice, which is tied with Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone with my number one favorite cook book. It's a mix of white and wheat flours, and I like to add half a cup of this grain-and-seed blend from King Arthur just to up the hippie factor. The resulting bread is flavorful from the whole wheat flour but not overhwelmingly nutty, so it stands up brilliantly to a variety of sandwich fillings.



It's also a dough that is really pleasant to work with. If you've never made a loaf of bread before but you're looking for a place to start, give this one a try. The dough comes together easily and it bakes up with a nice tight crumb.



And let's be honest, we all know the ultimate test of a bread is how well it toasts. Voila:



Peter Reinhart's Light Wheat Bread

Dudes, if you're baking regularly (or if you wish you were), get on the bandwagon and get a scale. I've been using this one for 3 years, and it makes everything so much easier. Just start pouring flour in the bowl and hit the tare button before you add the next ingredient. Who needs mulitple measuring devices? I dirty exactly one spoon for this whole recipe.

11.25 ounces (2 1/2 cups) bread flour (you could use all purpose, too)
6.75 ounces (1 1/2 cups) whole wheat flour
.75 ounces ( 1 1/2 Tbsp) sugar (or honey, added with the water instead)
.38 ounces (1 3/4 tsp) kosher salt
1 ounce (3 Tbsp) powdered milk
.17 ounce (1 1/2 tsp) instant yeast*
1 ounce (2 Tbsp) shortening (or butter), room temperature
10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) water, warm (slightly warmer than body temp, 100-110F is perfect)
spray oil (I use Pam)

Mix together the flours, sugar, salt, powdered milk and instant yeast in a large bowl. Add the shortening and stir to mix it in a bit. Add the water and stir until the ingredients clump together in a ball. Then dump the whole mess out on a lightly floured counter and begin to knead. It should take about ten minutes of fairly vigorous kneading to get it to where you want it, which is smooth and cohesive, maybe a little tacky but certainly not sticky. You can add a bit of flour as you knead if the dough is sticking.

You can also do this in a mixer, just measure the ingredients into the mixer bowl and attach the dough hook, then turn the mixer on low and add the water in a slow stream, it should come together in a ball, then you can turn up the speed to medium and knead in the machine for 6 minutes or so.

With either method, when the dough is ready it will spring back if you poke it with your finger.

Now wipe any crumbs out of the mixing bowl (no need to wash it) and mist it with spray oil. Shape the dough into a ball and put it in the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it alone for an hour or until it doubles in size. When it's doubled, it will feel pillowy and soft if you touch it gently.

Once the dough has doubled, spray the counter with oil and dump the dough out onto it. Press it into a rectangle about 6 by 10 inches, it will deflate as you press it. Starting at a short end, roll the rectangle into a log, pressing each seam tight with your fingers as you go. When you have a loaf shaped log, pinch the seam closed and roll it on the counter top to smooth it out. Spray a loaf pan with oil and put the loaf in, seamed side down. I usually squish it down a bit, trying to even it out some. Cover it gently with plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Let the loaf rise until it just crests the lip of the pan. When it has risen, Use a serrated knife to slash down the center of the loaf about 1/4" deep. Put the loaf in the oven. After 30 minutes, rotate it for even baking and bake another 15-20 minutes. The loaf is done when it's evenly golden brown all over and sounds hollow if you tap it. If you take the temperature of the finished loaf, it should read between 190F and 200F. Make sure you let the bread cool for at least an hour before you slice it, toast it, and enjoy it with some delicious fried eggs.



*Instant yeast is a lot like active dry yeast but it doesn't need to be proofed or allowed to bloom in warm water first and I prefer it because it's easier to use. If you only have active dry yeast, just use the same amount and let it get foamy in the water first.