Bibimbap!

I am hooked on this. I am posting this so that if I ever become unhooked, I can remind myself to make this for lunch again and rehook myself.

The plate in the picture is comprised of:
sushi rice, with a touch of sesame oil
seaweed, dressed in rice wine vinegar
frozen snap peas, thawed
sardines, canned in oil
kimchi
a gently fried egg, over-easy
hot sauce, ties the room together

It is the best way I have found to incorporate kimchi into my life. Ditto for little fishies. Ditto for seaweed. And it is easy to whip up in a pinch, with whatever you might have in your pantry. And kids seem to like the compartmentalization of it all.

Buckwheat Pound Cake

This recipe is adapted from one I found at casayellow.com. It is only slightly sweet and pretty nutritious, as far as cakes go, anyway. We enjoyed it for breakfast with canned plums. I thought it was really something special.

1 c buckwheat
1 t sourdough starter
1/2 c milk
1/2 c unbleached flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 lb butter, soft
3/4 c sugar
4 egg yolks
1 egg
1 t vanilla
3 T nocino, or booze of your choice

1. About 12hrs before baking, mix buckwheat, sourdough starter, and milk. Leave at room temperature.

2. Preheat oven to 350F.

3. Add white flour, salt, and cinnamon to buckwheat.

4. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add vanilla, nocino, and egg. Add buckwheat mixture and blend well.

5. Smooth batter into cake pan and bake for 40-45 min.

Jamaican Beans

This recipe is slightly adapted from Sally Fallon's book, Nourishing Traditions. And it was quite tasty and comforting.

Serves 6:
1 c kidney beans, soaked
1 can coconut milk
3 cloves garlic, mashed
2 t dried thyme
1 t red chili flake
2 t salt

Cover beans with just enough water to cover and bring to boil. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer, covered for 4hrs or until tender. I served it with rice, avocado, sliced hot dog (leftovers that needed a home! Don't knock it . . .!) and chopped chives.

Blueberry Cobbler with Sourdough Rye Biscuits

You know, for breakfast. Of course.

I made it with very little sugar and a high fruit to grain ratio. Plus, the lemon is a nice wake-me-up.

Make it easy on yourself and the night before, toss 2 qt blueberries (in the baking dish) with the zest and juice of 1 lemon and a good sprinkle of flour and sugar and keep it in the refrigerator.

Then, make the biscuit dough. This is how I did mine:


4 T lard
1 c rye flour
1 T sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c sourdough starter

Cut the fat into the dry ingredients and stir in the sourdough starter. Keep dough in the refrigerator, too.

In the morning, drop big spoonfuls of dough onto the berries and put into oven. Bake for about 50min.

White Wine Braised Chicken

This may not look like much to you (am I always saying this? Haha.), but it sure was wonderful.

1 whole chicken, pieced (I used 4 large hindquarters instead)
1 c white wine
1 c tomato sauce
1 onion, diced
1 leek, sliced
4 T cream (I used coconut milk)
1-2 bay leaf (I used one dried and 1 fresh)
flour for dusting chicken

1. Flour chicken pieces and fry in oil in a large dutch oven until golden.

2. Pull chicken out of pan for a few minutes, while you deglaze the pan and scrape up bits with the white wine. Put the chicken back in and add the rest of the ingredients except for the cream. Cover and simmer gently for 2 hrs.

3. Uncover, add cream, and boil gently to reduce the sauce to your liking. Serve with rice and chopped parsley.