Spoiler alert, right?
This past Christmas, Jim's parents generously bought me a cookbook on preserving, called Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry by Liana Krissoff and Rinne Allen (for more info, click here) that I had been eying for a few months. The thought process was as follows:
--> "I have all these bulk spices that I bought for a steal*, where am I to store them??"
--> "Oh hey, look at these mason jars, these look like they would be good to store spices in. And I can label them myself!"
--> "I didn't realize how many spices I use. Need more jars."
--> "What am I going to do with all these mason jars!? Maybe I can learn to make jam..."
*For the record, if you intend to buy spices of any kind, look into local specialty markets, etc. I buy a lot of my spices at an Indian grocery store and save a ton of money.
Aren't you grateful for that fascinating look into my lizard brain? (Award yourself 5 points if you get that reference.)
Well, needless to say, as a 20-something with two jobs, I haven't quite gotten around to the jam. I've bookmarked, I've gotten excited, I've had the greatest of intentions. And this book makes it look so easy. But I'm not there yet. Where I am is here: kimchi. The recipe is simple, the reward enticing. And it just seemed so cool. So one evening, after work, I got out my camera and some veggies, and I played in the kitchen.
I used Napa cabbage, as the recipe specified, and had some fun capturing the texture. It look so crinkly and soft, unlike the thicker leaves of other cabbages.
I chopped it up
and put it in a big bowl (lucky find at my local Marshall's).
Added some radishes
and some scallions,
(such pretty colors!)
and then I added the recommended mixture of water and salt, put a plate on top of the veggies, and weighted it down with my cast iron skillet. Then, against my better judgement, I left it on the counter overnight.
Easy so far, no?
The next day, I drained the veggies, saving the water/salt liquid mixture, and started with the spicy component.
I bought Korean chili powder online because I could not find a specialty store local enough to me. Amazon is great for little things like this.
I created a paste with the chili powder, some grated garlic and ginger, and some anchovies (I know, I know, but it works!)
and mixed it in with the now-slightly-softened veggies.
(Delicious mess.)
Then I carefully transferred the flavored veggies to a large jar. I repurposed a giant pickle jar and it worked beautifully.
I would be lying if I told you that this was a neat process. It's all about how much time you take...if I hadn't been so excited, using tongs to transfer the veggies would have been much cleaner (leftover evidence in lower righthand corner).
Lastly, I added back in the water/salt combo just until it covered the veggies, then filled a gallon-sized Ziploc bag with the rest of the liquid to weight the mixture down (and sort of act as a seal, since I wouldn't be putting the lid to the jar on).
And, again against my better judgment, here he sat, unrefrigerated and uncovered...for a week!
Now, I was sincerely worried about two things: that I was putting something on my shelf for a week that would start decomposing (it didn't) and that all of that pickling action would stink up my apartment (it didn't). I would give the area next to my kitchen shelf a little sniff every morning to make sure nothing off was happening--most likely making me look like I had a nervous tick--and everything turned out better than I expected.
I made kimchi! When I finally removed the plastic Ziploc after a week, I smelled a distinct vinegar-y pickle smell, and I hadn't used a drop of vinegar! Chemistry is fun! It felt so satisfying to have this work out. I've made myself kimchi friend rice in the past few weeks, and have plans to make the recommended kimchi and pork dumplings from the book soon. As you can see, the recipe makes a ton of kimchi, so if you have any like-minded friends, dole it out! Who doesn't love free kimchi?
This past Christmas, Jim's parents generously bought me a cookbook on preserving, called Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry by Liana Krissoff and Rinne Allen (for more info, click here) that I had been eying for a few months. The thought process was as follows:
--> "I have all these bulk spices that I bought for a steal*, where am I to store them??"
--> "Oh hey, look at these mason jars, these look like they would be good to store spices in. And I can label them myself!"
--> "I didn't realize how many spices I use. Need more jars."
--> "What am I going to do with all these mason jars!? Maybe I can learn to make jam..."
*For the record, if you intend to buy spices of any kind, look into local specialty markets, etc. I buy a lot of my spices at an Indian grocery store and save a ton of money.
Aren't you grateful for that fascinating look into my lizard brain? (Award yourself 5 points if you get that reference.)
Well, needless to say, as a 20-something with two jobs, I haven't quite gotten around to the jam. I've bookmarked, I've gotten excited, I've had the greatest of intentions. And this book makes it look so easy. But I'm not there yet. Where I am is here: kimchi. The recipe is simple, the reward enticing. And it just seemed so cool. So one evening, after work, I got out my camera and some veggies, and I played in the kitchen.
I used Napa cabbage, as the recipe specified, and had some fun capturing the texture. It look so crinkly and soft, unlike the thicker leaves of other cabbages.
I chopped it up
and put it in a big bowl (lucky find at my local Marshall's).
Added some radishes
and some scallions,
(such pretty colors!)
and then I added the recommended mixture of water and salt, put a plate on top of the veggies, and weighted it down with my cast iron skillet. Then, against my better judgement, I left it on the counter overnight.
Easy so far, no?
The next day, I drained the veggies, saving the water/salt liquid mixture, and started with the spicy component.
I bought Korean chili powder online because I could not find a specialty store local enough to me. Amazon is great for little things like this.
I created a paste with the chili powder, some grated garlic and ginger, and some anchovies (I know, I know, but it works!)
and mixed it in with the now-slightly-softened veggies.
(Delicious mess.)
Then I carefully transferred the flavored veggies to a large jar. I repurposed a giant pickle jar and it worked beautifully.
I would be lying if I told you that this was a neat process. It's all about how much time you take...if I hadn't been so excited, using tongs to transfer the veggies would have been much cleaner (leftover evidence in lower righthand corner).
Lastly, I added back in the water/salt combo just until it covered the veggies, then filled a gallon-sized Ziploc bag with the rest of the liquid to weight the mixture down (and sort of act as a seal, since I wouldn't be putting the lid to the jar on).
And, again against my better judgment, here he sat, unrefrigerated and uncovered...for a week!
Now, I was sincerely worried about two things: that I was putting something on my shelf for a week that would start decomposing (it didn't) and that all of that pickling action would stink up my apartment (it didn't). I would give the area next to my kitchen shelf a little sniff every morning to make sure nothing off was happening--most likely making me look like I had a nervous tick--and everything turned out better than I expected.
I made kimchi! When I finally removed the plastic Ziploc after a week, I smelled a distinct vinegar-y pickle smell, and I hadn't used a drop of vinegar! Chemistry is fun! It felt so satisfying to have this work out. I've made myself kimchi friend rice in the past few weeks, and have plans to make the recommended kimchi and pork dumplings from the book soon. As you can see, the recipe makes a ton of kimchi, so if you have any like-minded friends, dole it out! Who doesn't love free kimchi?
