We had our second Korean cooking class on Valentine’s Day. This time around, Myunghee taught us how to make mandu and kimchi. Mandu are very similar to potstickers only they’re not fried. They are so yummy! I’m amazed at how easy they are to make. I’ll definitely be doing these at home. The other thing we learned was how to make kimchi. Kimchi is a fermented cabbage dish that Koreans eat at most meals. It is supposedly the healthiest food in the world. Or so Koreans keep telling me. The thing is that kimchi is a very strong, spicy, fermented vegetable dish. I really like it, but a lot of people (including Matt) do not. I don’t think I could ever eat it for breakfast, or even eat it everday for that matter, but I am glad that I know how to make it now. You can see more pictures from our class here: Korean Cooking Class #2
Miracle Cure
I have a tendency to be a little clumsy. This can be a bit of a problem in the kitchen. Last week I accidentally stuck my finger into boiling water. OUCH! It instantly began to blister and hurt like the dickens. I called my wonderful hubby to tell him that I had burned myself. Well, that I had burned myself again, but that it was a doozy. He came home with these Brandwunden-Pflaster (Burn Wound Band-aids). They are miraculous! A few seconds after I put one on I could no longer feel the burn. After two days of wearing these my burn was completely healed. I mean gone. You couldn’t even tell it had been there. Not only that, but the gel in the band-aid is so thick that I couldn’t feel any bumps to the blister while I was wearing them. Given my tendency toward accidents in the kitchen, I think we’ll be keeping a box of these close by.
Exploding Maroni!
Maroni is German for chestnuts. I love maroni. During the winter there are maroni vendors all over the city. It’s one of my favorite treats. Hot maroni on a cold day – yum!
Well, because my husband is very sweet, one day he surprised me by coming home with a small bucket of maroni for me to cook myself. Yay! I hopped online to learn just how to make this tasty treat. I turned on the oven, scored an “X” in each of the maroni, and popped them in the oven. About 10 minutes later, we heard a loud bang in the kitchen, then another, and another…
As I peeked into the oven, I saw chestnut everywhere. I made Matt take the pan out (because he’s braver than I am). What did I learn? Well, the “X” has to be big. Big enough to cover the side of the chestnut. Otherwise, the steam created by water in the chestnut will cause it to explode as it heats.
The second batch was made with large X’s and it was delicious! To see all the pictures from this adventure, click here.
Want to make your own hot chestnuts?
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (210°C)
- Score the nuts with a BIG “X”
- Place them in a pan “X” side up
- Cook for 15-25 minutes
- When the skins look like they have curled away from the scoring, remove the chestnuts
- When cool, peel and enjoy!
Korean Cooking Class
On Saturday I had the opportunity to take a Korean cooking class with several people from our church. Our friend Myunghee hosted the class to raise money for a missionary family that is doing work in Kenya. It was such a fun way to meet new people. We learned how to make Jabchae (noodles with vegetables) and LA Galbi (beef in pear sauce). It was all delicious! One of the exciting things I learned is that we live right next to an Asian grocery store that has all the ingredients I need, so hopefully I’ll be able to make these dishes on my own.
There are more photos here: Korean Cooking Class.
Experimenting with Pumpkin
Ever since moving to Austria and discovering that there is no canned pumpkin, I’ve wanted to learn how to make pumpkin puree from scratch. I decided that this was the year, so Matt bought me a pumpkin and the adventures have begun. First let me say that making fresh pumpkin puree is soooo easy. Second, the one thing I’ve made so far has tasted way better than it ever did with canned pumpkin. Third, it’s a good thing it’s yummy because pumpkins here are expensive. Our little pumpkin cost us 8 euro. Crazy.
So far, I’ve made Macadamia Nut White Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies – so yummy – and creole seasoned pumpkin seeds. The rest of the puree is in the freezer until I can decide the best way to use it. Some good suggestions I’ve received so far are pumpkin soup, pumpkin brownies, and pumpkin bread. If anyone has good pumpkin ideas, let me know.
You can see the rest of the pumpkin excitement here: Pumpkin Pics.