(y)our food choices™

For years, we’ve looked sideways at foods we don’t quite understand and that we suspect will be unusual in flavor and/or texture. Particularly strong flavors of fermented fish and vegetables are not part of our mountain western taste traditions. Sure, we grew up with bold flavors like blue cheese, liver, and the occasional “fishy” tasting fish (that was a bad thing). But exotic foods like kimchi are not the sort of things we were raised on.

Ah, how things change. And thank goodness! Our time in California has dramatically broadened the range of things we prepare in our kitchen. That includes the big, stinky flavors of sardines and salted cod. Our pantry now contains Thai fish sauce, seaweed, daikon radish … you get the idea. Slowly but surely, we’ve come to our senses.

Kimchi is as Korean a thing as you will ever eat. It is traditionally present at every meal. To say that kimchi is commonly eaten is to grossly understate its importance and its ubiquity. As you might expect, a national obsession with a particular food has resulted in a wonderful variety of kimchi styles. Like so many fundamental culinary ideas, kimchi is essentially an idea or technique. Brined, fermented vegetables and added flavor in the form of sugar, spice and/or fish. The possibilities for variety are endless.

This “starter” kimchi recipe is simple and quick. The ingredients are all available in nearly any well-stocked chain grocery store in the world. How much of each ingredient is endlessly variable. Try it, see what you think, and try it again with your variations. It’s especially good with Kalbi (Korean barbequed beef short ribs) and white rice. Enjoy!

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Quick Kimchi

1 Napa cabbage
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped peeled ginger
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons fermented chili sauce (such as Mother In-law’s)
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1/2 Asian pear, grated on large hole box grater (no seeds or core)
a pinch of red pepper flakes

Quarter cabbage lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 2-to 3-inch pieces. Toss with 2 tablespoons salt in a large bowl and let stand, tossing occasionally, 2 hours.

Rinse cabbage well, then drain. Squeeze out excess water with your hands and transfer to a large bowl.

Purée garlic, ginger, fish sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and fermented chili sauce in a blender until smooth, then pour over cabbage. Add scallions and grated pear and toss well. Marinate at least 1 hour.

Cooks’ notes: Kimchi keeps, chilled in an airtight container, 1 month (flavor will get stronger).

This 4th of July Birthday Cake was baked in our kitchen. As it turns out, we do not enjoy (suffer?) the sorts of summer temperatures other folks in the USA enjoy. In spite of our California address and proximity to the beach, summer in San Francisco is a chilly affair. “June gloom” turns to July gloom. July gloom gives way to August gloom. You get the picture. So, while the rest of the country celebrates summer in the warmth of their backyards, we don our hoodies, crank up the oven, and bake our hearts out!

Our cake was inspired by, and is a modification of, the gorgeous blueberry cake created by The Little Epicurean. Maryanne is a wildly talented baker who shares her creations on her excellent blog. We wanted to play with flavor and color by creating this patriotic take on Old Glory. Freeze dried strawberries and blueberries bring beautiful color to the cake and frosting. Lemony cream custard adds a nice pale stripe between the blue cake layers. The resulting flavors are bright and fruity and summery.

We’ll be thinking of the rest of you lounging about your backyards soaking up the sun and sweating in your 90+ degree weather. For us, a windy July daytime high of 60 means multiple layers and a blazing oven. But we’ll still be enjoying an ice-cold beer or two as we celebrate the nation’s birthday and all the good stuff summer brings!

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Blueberry Cake with Lemon Mousse and Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Blueberry Cake

Adapted and inspired by: The Little Epicurean

1 6 inch round cake & 1 dozen cupcakes

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp lemon zest
4 large eggs, room temperature
6 oz kefir, room temperature
7 oz blueberries, pureed and strained
1.2 oz package freeze dried blueberries, unsweetened, ground*
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter, flour, and line with parchment a 6-inch cake pan. Butter and flour a muffin tin or add muffin liners to the tin. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Set aside.

Cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add lemon zest. Add eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated.

In a measuring cup, combine kefir, blueberry puree, blueberry powder, and vanilla.

Alternate adding flour mixture and kefir mixture into creamed butter. Mix until just incorporated. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.

Divide batter into prepared cake round and cupcake tin. Level batter using a mini offset spatula or the back of spoon.

Bake cupcakes for 15-20 minutes; bake 6” cake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan on a rack before removing from cake pan. Can be prepared a day in advance or up to a week or more if freezing the cake.

White Chocolate and Lemon Curd Mousse

Adapted from: Epicurious

1.5 ounces white chocolate chips
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup whipping cream
pinch of salt
1/4 cup homemade or store bought lemon curd

Combine white chocolate and 1 tablespoon whipping cream in a medium metal or heat-safe glass bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir constantly until chocolate is soft and almost melted. Remove bowl from over water and stir until white chocolate is melted and smooth. Cool white chocolate mousse base to room temperature. Add the lemon curd and whisk until incorporated. Set aside.

Beat remaining 1/2 cup whipping cream in large chilled bowl until firm peaks form. Gently fold in the cooled lemon curd and white chocolate. Set in the fridge to cool until ready to use,

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Inspired by: The Little Epicurean

1.2 oz package freeze dried strawberries, unsweetened, ground in blender
10 ounces powdered sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp milk or whipping cream
pinch of salt

Sift the ground strawberries and powdered sugar together, discard the strawberry seeds. Set aside.

Cream together butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl as necessary to ensure mixture is smooth.

Add vanilla, milk or whipping cream, and blend together. On low speed of the mixer, add the strawberry powder and powdered sugar. Mix until throughly blended and smooth. Add additional milk or whipping cream, 1/2 tsp. at a time, until smooth and spreadable.

Assembling and Frosting the cake

Split the cake horizontally so you have two layers. Add a good amount of the white chocolate and lemon curd mousse to one of the layers and smooth out to the edge. Add the top layer of cake and smooth around the edge to crumb coat the cake with a little of the mousse. Wrap in plastic and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or up to a day.

When ready to frost, remove the cake from the freezer and frost with the strawberry cream cheese frosting.

Coat fresh blueberries in warmed apricot jam and strain off the remaining jam. Decorate the cake with the blueberries. Enjoy!