Kimchi Fried Rice And Fermented Foods

One can hardly get bored with food storage when this tasty treat can be made.

Towards the end of the growing season, I was able to buy two napa cabbages for $1 each. I love kimchi and wanted to make some to last the next few months. Perfect timing and price. The spicy, fermented Korean sauerkraut has a flavor that is to die for. At least, I think so.

Fermenting foods is a great way to preserve them and to make some foods edible that wouldn't normally be edible. Wines, Beer, bread, yogurt, various vegetables and shark are all foods that are fermented. Yes, shark. I tried it while in Iceland a few years ago. That is one fermented food that is not for me. It's got to be an acquired taste. Anyway...

Some benefits to eating fermented foods:

• They improve digestion
• Increased vitamin content
• Preserves the food that is fermented
• Increases flavor

While Kimchi is good right out of the fermenting container, I love making fried rice with it. Kimchi fried rice is slightly different than "regular" fried rice in that the egg is fried and placed on top. I love breaking into the yolk and watching it run through the rice and cabbage mixture.

Maybe I will post my recipe for kimchi someday, but for now, I will post my recipe for the fried rice. My recipe is heavy on the onion and garlic, as I like both. This is one serving.

Kimchi Fried Rice

3/4 cup of Kimchi
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp garlic
3/4 cup of day old brown rice
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 egg

Heat 1 tsp olive oil and add onion and garlic. When onion is tender, add Kimchi. Saute for a few minutes and then add rice and sesame oil to pan. Spread the mixture in the pan and let the bottom brown. Using another tsp of olive oil, fry the egg. Place egg on top of the cabbage and rice mixture and enjoy.

Banana Smoothie

After I had opened the carton of almond milk yesterday, I didn't want it to go to waste. And I'm notorious for letting dairy or dairy substitute products go to waste! Milk, butter and cheese are just something I don't use a lot. (If I buy a half gallon of milk, half of it will be sitting in my fridge a month later.)

It's one of the reasons that you'll find me using almond milk a lot. It's something that I can buy, place in my pantry and not worry about it going bad. I just have to remember to use it up within 7-10 days of opening it. 

After such a savory meal yesterday, I was craving something sweet. As bananas are inexpensive, they are one of the fresh items that are almost always on hand in my house. The bananas I have are getting to be too ripe to eat, so a perfect solution was to make a banana smoothie. There is no need to add any sugar to this smoothie, as the bananas and nutmeg are sweet tasting enough.

This was great as a dessert!

Banana Smoothie

2 medium bananas
3/4 cup almond milk
nutmeg to taste
cinnamon to taste.

Cornbread

Black Eyed Peas and Cornbread.

Cornbread goes well with many soups and chilis. I thought it might also go well with the black eyed peas I made yesterday. It will be a great way to use left overs.

In my version, I used whole wheat flour that was milled using a WonderMill. I also used polenta, which is a bit courser than cornmeal and the end product has a crunchy texture. I didn't have any milk on hand, but I did have some almond milk.

Sometimes, it's about using what you have on hand.

If you want, corn kernels and/or jalapenos can be added to the batter. Jalapeno cornbread is so good! I have some jalapenos but I'm saving them to add to venison chili sometime next week.

After pouring the batter, I realized the pans didn't get greased. Luckily, it came out of the pan fairly easily. I ate the cornbread with butter and honey. It turned out great but I would like to find a way to make it without butter.

Polenta, wheat and almond milk. All organic.

Cornbread

1 cup wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal or polenta
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup almond milk (or milk if you have some on hand)
1/2 cup butter

Preheat the oven to 375. Melt butter and let cool for a minute or so. Combine with sugar and eggs and beat until well blended. Add almond milk and baking soda and mix. Add cornmeal, flour, and salt and stir. Pour into a well greased 8X8 pan. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Black Eyed Peas

A few months ago, organic Black Eyed Peas were on sale at my local co-op. I decided to pick up a 25 lb bag because, well, it was a great price. But here's the thing - I've never prepared black eyed peas before in my life. It's time to find a few recipes and start using them up.

While looking for recipes, I found that there is a tradition to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day as a way to bring luck and prosperity in the new year. Perfect timing as we will be ringing in the New Year in a few days and this is a dish that I will be able to make for a gathering at a friend's house.

Looking at several recipes online, many of them use celery. Yuck. I can't stand celery, so modified the recipes that were found and made my own version. Some recipes also add either salt pork or bacon. Not having any on hand, this version is vegan.

Some people say to soak the beans overnight, but others say you don't have to do so with black eyed peas. I chose not to soak the beans.


 Black Eyed Peas

1 onion
1/2 cup dried bell pepper
1 tbsp olive oil or canola oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp black pepper
5 cups water
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups Black Eyed Peas
2 tsp salt


Soak dried bell peppers in water. Chop onion and garlic. Add olive oil to a stock pot. Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add soaked bell pepper. Saute until tender. Add Black Eyed Peas, tomatoes, spices (except salt) and water to stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until desired tenderness. Add hot water as needed to keep the beans covered. When beans are tender, add salt (and more spices to taste preference) and cook for a few more minutes.

Serve with brown rice or corn bread.

Why Food Storage?

Many people have started paying attention to the idea of food storage these days. There are as many reasons as there are people including:

• Being prepared for emergencies (hurricanes and other disasters) 
• Protect in instance of loss of job
• Ability to save money on groceries
• Having all ingredients on hand and not needing to run to the store for just one or two items

I personally started my food storage before I made a change in my career. I didn't loss my job, but I knew that I would have less income for several months. In anticipation of this change, I decided to buy extra food, knowing that in the coming months that funds would be tight.

It was smart decision.

Here I am, six months later and I still have less income than I did previously. And I have been, for the most part, living on my food storage, although I do have opportunities to buy fresh fruits and veggies occasionally.