For those who weren’t aware, I was adopted from S. Korea when I was 5 years old. Growing up in Korea, you’re going to eat a lot of kimchi. Of course, when I came to the United States, and especially to northern Michigan, kimchi was about the only type of food that my parents could offer me in the way of “comfort foods”. Unfortunately, about the only kimchi you could get was at your local grocery store, which wasn’t the greatest, but it did suffice. After a few years, I started to get away from kimchi and enjoyed the finer American cuisine offerings.
It wasn’t until I was almost done with my undergrad years at the University of Michigan that a friend of mine made me a homemade Korean meal. He was only in the United States to attend high school and college, and was about to move to Philadelphia to attend dental school before returning to Korea. This immediately sparked my interest in eating Korean food again as many of the smells and tastes began instantly recognizable. That summer, after graduating, his family invited me to come stay with them for almost two weeks and we traveled all over Korea enjoying amazing foods. When I returned back home, I began making Korean food of my own, albeit not very good at first. It also re-sparked my interest in kimchi again. Luckily the wife also enjoys kimchi as much as I do!
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by Nick on April 24, 2010
This ones comes, thanks to Dave Karczewksi. Dill pickles, a great summertime snack, and generally a pain in the butt to can. Which may explain why I’ve never canned dill pickles (or anything elsefor that matter).
This one doesn’t actually involve any canning, boiling or anything complicated like that.
Here’s the ingredients:
- 4 Heads Dill
- 4 Cloves Garlic
- 2 1/2 cup Vinegar
- 2 1/2 cup Water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 8 Salad/Pickling Cucumbers
It doesn’t get any easier than this.
- Heat vinegar, water and salt until it dissolves. Shouldn’t take too long.
- Put garlic and dill into a 1/2 gallon jar. Pour mixture into a 1/2 gallon jar and let it come to room temperature.
- Quarter the pickles and stuff them in jar. Refrigerate.
I’m told by the source that you can use the brine again for a second batch, add vinegar/water/salt as needed. The third batch, not so much. Start over. But since it’s so easy, shouldn’t take too much time to do.
This has to be in my top 10 favorite foods. Flank Steak is just good eats, as Alton Brown would say. Perhaps you know it by its other commonly known name of London Broil. It’s also a bit tougher than other cuts of beef, so it’s often marinated and is common in asian dishes such as Mongolian Beef.
I got this recipe from Guy Fieri, you know – the spikey faux blond guy on Food Network. But as with all recipes, I never follow it exactly, I’m pretty sure that every recipe I ever make changes a bit, no matter how many times I make it.
Here’s the ingredient list:
- 1 cup roughly chopped garlic (approximately 3 bulbs)
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (approximately 8 large limes)
- 1/2 cup clear tequila
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 bunch roughly chopped cilantro, leaves and stems
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 serrano pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
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Food. It’s an amazing thing really. So much so that “Nick” and “food” just seem to be have always been associated with each other. Though I love to eat food, I have just recently started to branch out into the world of actually making my own food – as in, really try to make delicious food other than sandwiches, bagged lettuce, frozen meals, canned soups, frozen waffles…. you get the picture. Here are the reasons:
- It’s been brought to my attention (wife) that I need to be more adventurous in the world of culinary exploration (cooking, not eating. I’ll eat just about anything).
and
- I’m becoming much more aware of what I’m putting into my body.
After having read Fast Food Nation, and Watching King Corn, I’m starting to really think about the substances that I eat on a daily basis. It’s with that in mind that I’m going to start chronicling the food that I eat – so that I can keep track of what I’m eating as well as perhaps store some of my favorite recipes and ideas.
