Napa cabbage (2)

Salt (a lot)

Carrots (thinly sliced)

Green onions (chopped in1.5 inch pieces)

Korean Turnip (thinly sliced)

Rice flour 1/2 cup

Water 2 cups

1/2 tsp fish sauce

2 slices korean pear/pear/apple (about an 1/8th )

1.5 bulbs garlic (peeled)

1 thumb nail sized piece of Ginger

1/2 cup water from rehydrated kelp (optional)

Gochukadu, red pepper flakes

Remove outer leaves of Napa cabbage.

Place on cutting board and insert a knife about 3 inches from the bottom of the cabbage and chop. Pull halves apart. Repeat for four quarters per cabbage

Generously pour salt into each cabbage leaf and place into a bowl… to kill. Allow to sit until all the leaves are wilted but crunchy. Rotate quarters from top to bottom of bowl as needed. This will take a number of hours. Be prepared.

When your cabbage is killed, prepare other ingredients.

Heat 1 cup of water until hot. Place a couple pieces of kelp to hydrate in the hot water. Set aside (optional)

Pour water into a small pot and heat. Add rice flour and whisk until thickened. Also set aside to cool

Chop or Juliene slice carrots, green onions and turnip. Place in a bowl

Get killed cabbage and rinse off excess salt. Squeeze leaves to get out extra water. Chop into inch long pieces and add into the veggie bowl

Peel and chop ginger. Peel and chop apple.

Place Apple, ginger, garlic into a blender

Add 1/2 cup kelp water, rice goop, gochukadu and fish sauce into blender. Blend until smooth. Add to the cabbage and veggies, mix until we’ll incorporated.

Grab mixture and place in jars. Be sure to press veggies down below the liquid.

Leave jars on the counter for Atleast 24 hours. Burp the kimchi by removing the lid to let out excess air. Secure lid and place in fridge… it’ll be ready to eat after a week

Tteokbokki is a popular Korean street food. I love it. It’s one of the easier Korean dishes to make. It’s my adaptation that doesn’t require anchovy stock (because I never have any) and no Asian fish cake (as my intolerances doesn’t allow me to any more). There are many options to put in tteokbokki… here’s how I make mine

2 cups water

1 heaping tablespoon gochujjang (red pepper paste)

1 tsp gochugaru (red pepper powder)

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp korean granulated beef stock

2 handfuls tteok

1/4 tsp sesame oil

A few cabbage leaves (chopped)

1 pack ramen (optional)

A few strips or balls of Fish cake (optional)

Mandu or dumplings (optional)

Pour water into a frying pan and bring to a boil. Add in gochujjang, gochugaru, beef stock and soy sauce. Gently stir

Add in cabbage and tteok. Allow to simmer for a few minutes.

When liquid is reduced by a third, add ramen, mandu or fish cakes. Gently stir until liquid is thick

Remove from heat and add in the sesame oil. Stir to incorporate. And enjoy!

1 cup lemon huice

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1/3 cup lemon zest

Combine first four ingredients in a pot and set over medium high heat.

Whisk for an eternity (10-15 minutes depending on your stove)

When it starts to thicken, add in lemon zest and remove from heat. Move into jars or put cling film over top of the curd and refrigerate. It will thicken some more and set.

NOTE: this makes a lot. So, I put in small jars and freeze. It does affect texture a bit and the liquid separates a bit as it thaws. You can either drain or stir in. If stirred, the curd becomes a more loose consistency.

One of our kids does not like to eat meat. Being a little obsessed with finding the best ways to make tasty and healthy foods, we sought out how to make meat more appealing to picky kid. We heard some years ago to do a “dry brine” which sounded alien. What the heck? Well…. we gave it a go and I’ve never looked back. My husband will sometimes forget what food was like before and try different recipes he finds online. Nothing has ever come close to a dry brine. I’ll start with simple instruction/explanation and end with why it’s the best.

To do a dry brine…. get your meat. Coat your meat in salt. Or a dry rub with salt. Do this the night before or worst case, that morning. Sprinkle and resist the urge to “rub in” the salt, it doesn’t work. Now, you’re reducing the amount of salt on the meat with it now sticking to your hands. Also, you’ll have meat contaminated hands. Trust science. So. Don’t do this.

For whole chickens…. rub salt into the cavity with your hands. A little extra salt for the breasts compared to legs and thighs. If you have a turkey do it ATLEAST two days prior. Stick it in the fridge and wait. In the words of Porky Pig… that’s all folks.

The reason this works is because of osmosis. Salt by its nature will draw moisture to it. Water will come out of the meat drawn out by the salt. The salt will then melt and the salt water will now be pulled back into the meat. This is oversimplified but that’s what happens. Though this takes time, hence prepping the day before.

Why dry brine is the best! Clean up is the EASIEST. There’s no contaminated bacteria water or milk to discard or risk spilling from a traditional brine. I will trim and salt in whatever container I plan to store my meat. Very little clean up. I keep a clean hand and a meat turning hand.

It is the tastiest! I’ve heard people rave about their seasoning or marinating practices… so I’ve tried them but I’ve found few to even come close to the dry brine. Dry brining seasons your meat deep to the inside. Flavor in every bite. This is how I do turkey and it needs no salt or gravy or anything added to it. Including the breast. So good.

And finally! Dry brining is the best because the salt added into your meat helps hold water. This translates to tasty, tender meat that is not dry. Even if you over shoot it a bit. We make pork chops, pork tenderloin, brisket, whole chickens, turkeys, chicken cutlets, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, and steak this way. I do not use this for fish, ground meat, or pulled pork.

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cup distilled water (or reverse osmosis water

Optional but recommended: garlic powder, additional salt, oregano, salted butter

Put flour into a bowl.

Add yeast and salt on opposite sides of the bowl (salt will kill the yeast and inhibit your rise)

Add water and mix

Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about ~ 10 minutes

Shape into a ball (bread term meaning to pull sides down and gather to the bottom of the dough to make into a ball. Go around the dough and get all sides. You want a somewhat taut surface, pull sides and gather at the bottom as needed)

Let rise until double the size (about two hours)

Gently pull dough out of the bowl. Do not punch it; that breaks the gluten matrix built up during the rise. It is totally unnecessary, be gentle.

Divide into four or more and shape your pizza. Use a rolling pin if easier. No rules. (Optional: Make dough on corn meal or a light dust of flour if using a pizza stone so that it’ll transfer easier onto the stone. I use make pizzas on parchment paper and transfer that on to the stone)

Before adding sauce and topping, I recommend sprinkling a light dusting of garlic powder. After adding toppings, sprinkle a little salt (if using low moisture mozzarella) and a little oregano. A little oregano goes a long way.

Bake your pizza on a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a pizza stone. For a crisper crust, bake at 450. For a softer, chewier crust bake at 400. It’ll take longer but my kids prefer the softer bread over crust.

Take out pizza and brush crust with butter (optional). Cut and serve. (Unlike a loaf, it does not need to rest before cutting)

Bones of a chicken carcass

Half an onion

4 cloves garlic

1 large carrot

1 celery stalk

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp salt

Add all ingredients into a large pot and cover with water.

Simmer for atleast 6 hours and add water as needed

Stock should become opaque and smell amazing.

Strain out bones and vegetables. Allow to cool before transferring into jars.

2 sticks softened butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup cream

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

Beat butter until fluffy. (Use whisk attachment)

Add powdered sugar one cup at a time (reduce speed)

Add in salt

Add in cream and extracts. Beat at high speed until fluffy and light. It will take an ivory color.

3 cups AP flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 sticks unsalted butter (softened, not room temp!)

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs (room temp) (or 1/2 cup aqua faba if egg free)

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl

Beat butter with whisk attachment until fluffy. Should look like frosting and be an ivory color. Whisking should take a few minutes. This completely sets the texture for the cookie and is vital.

Add brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Remember to scrape the bowl.

Switch to beater attachment. Add one egg at a time until incorporated. Don’t rush it or the dough will split and give a poor texture. Beat until it looks like smooth frosting.

Add dry mix in three parts. Increase the speed of your mixer to not over strain the motor.

Beat in vanilla last.

Fold in chocolate chips by hand.

Scoop cookie balls into a bowl or container. Separate layers of balls with parchment paper for easier removal.

Refrigerate for at least two hours (I often do this over night).

Heat oven to 350

Place parchment paper over cookie sheet.

Place cookie balls about two inches apart and smash cookie balls down to atleast a half inch to quart inch thickness. This will ensure your cookies will not have over baked edges with a raw middle.

Place cookie sheet into the oven and immediately drop the temperature to 325. Ovens lose heat when opened and beginning at a higher temperature keeps the oven closer to the desired temperature. Otherwise, it begins cooking at a lower temperature and you get a less than perfect bake.

Bake about 11-13 minutes depending on your oven.

Remember to raise the temperature between batches. If using a convection oven, remember to adjust the oven temperature down if your oven doesn’t do it automatically.

Cool cookies on the cookie sheet for at least two minutes before moving to cool on a cooking rack if you can.

Store completely cooled cookies in ziplock freezer bag on the counter for a couple days or in the freezer. If frozen, set out to thaw for a couple minutes (I hate a microwaved cookie but you can. It does affect texture). Cookies thaw very well into fresh cookies. I always freeze my extra cookies.

3 cups whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp butter

Whisk all ingredients except butter and vanilla into a saucepan.

Whisk constantly at Med high heat until thickened. May take 10 minutes, don’t get discouraged… just keep whisking.

Once thick, remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.

Pour into container or pie crust.

Refrigerate for 4-6 hours

12 Tbsp butter melted

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs room temp

4 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup of chocolate chips and mini m&m’s or cranberries and white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

Melt butter in a medium sized bowl.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl

Mix in brown sugar into butter and when fully mixed in add eggs one at a time.

Pour in dry ingredients and vanilla into butter mix.

Fold all together

Measure out the add ins (chocolate chips, nuts or fruit), fold into the batter

Grease a 9×13 pan. Pour batter into the pan

Bake for 22-25 minutes until the top is shiny.

Cool then cut out of pan.

When making cranberry bars, sprinkle white chocolate chips on top immediately after removing from the oven. Let sit for ten minutes then spread melted chocolate across the top like a frosting. You can top it with chopped cranberries and chocolate chips