Bountiful Spring Soup

One of my favorite things to do is gather wild vegetables and herbs – and use them.  This time of year offers abundant wild vegetables, and what to me and so many other people looks like just another weed, to Dr. Tae Yun Kim they are very precious foods.  When I am lucky enough to get to accompany her on a wild herb picking adventure, she talks about how when she was little, those herbs saved her life.  If you follow my blog you might remember that when she grew up, she was rejected and abused and eventually abandoned just because she was a girl – and during the time of having to fend for herself she relied on those wild herbs.  Later on, when Dr. Kim was training under a Buddhist monk in the Martial Arts, he passed onto her an amazing treasure of knowledge, not just what you can eat, but how to use all manner of herbs for healing all kinds of conditions.

In the above basked you can see some herbs that are easily available in most places, such as young dandelion, shepherds purse, purslane and more.  This particular basket includes a few green onions that had gone astray and grown way outside the actual vegetable garden.

In addition to the great taste, wild herbs also help detox your body after winter.

To use them in soup, soak these herbs well in apple cider vinegar for about 10 minutes, change the water, and repeat.  Then chop them up into big pieces, including the roots if you can, and boil until barely tender.

For the soup base, you really can you use any broth you like.  Chicken soup is a great one as is beef.  The most traditional way to eat the herbs is boil them briefly in “bean paste soup” or Deng Jang chigae as it is called in Korean.

Let’s go outside and gather some herbs!  Just be sure you know which ones are edible.

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Celebrate Every Day!

With Christmas, New Year, Birthdays, Lunar New Year and Valentines, there have been lots of celebrations!  I love how Dr. Tae Yun Kim is passionate about celebrations:

“Celebrate every living breath as if it was your last breath,” she says.  I like that!

So in the spirit of celebrating every moment, I was excited to try out a suggestion that Dr. Tae Yun Kim had mentioned a while ago.  “Why not make the traditional Jim Bang healthier, by making the dough gluten-free and making the filling less sugary and add healthy nutrients.

I did one version of these buns last year, and they were good.  But they still needed to improve in the “health department.”

Steaming buns – don’t you peek!  Wait 15 minutes!

So this time, (actual recipe will be coming, promise!) I based the dough on almond flour, chestnut flour, amaranth flour, certified oat flour, sorghum flour and chia seed flour.  I know this sounds complicated, but when you need to live gluten-free AND are a diabetic, and want to live healthy, you start to do your research and learn from other bloggers, too.

To make the dough pliable and hold together, I added psyllium husks and xantham gum (I will have to measure things out next time, this time was purely experimental) and it was actually a nice workable dough.

For the filling, you start by cooking the tiny red adzuki beans until soft, which is approximately an hour or so.  Keep some of the cooking liquid, and mash the beans, not too finely and not too moist.  Add organic pure cacao powder (definitely not Hershey’s cocoa mix), a little bit of honey or maple syrup, and cinnamon to taste.

Now take a bit of the dough, put some gluten-free flour on your hand and gently flatten the dough, so you can put some of the filling and wrap it all up into a nice bun.

As usual, Dr. Kim was right – these buns were divine!  Be brave and try to re-create right away, or wait for the recipe – the choice is yours!  (I would recommend you try anyway!  They are THAT good!)

 

Read Full Post »

Unexpected and delicious surprises

Time for something other than soup or stew, am I right?  Or at least something to go with that stew or soup?  With Valentine’s so close (and a very healthy and breathtakingly good recipe coming soon) our thoughts turn to the sweeter things in life.

Talking about Valentine, I just love this quote from Dr. Tae Yun Kim, and it continues to inspire me.  It’s not only beautiful and poetic, but also very fundamental and true.

“You are who I dreamed of….

And so you came to be.

And you shall be with me beyond time.

I will never leave you,

and 

my love will follow you

as you follow my light,

just as the tail of the bird follows the wing.”

(The First Element, page 121)

So I got to thinking, with all the soups and stews I have been making – so popular in our family with this crazy rainy and snowy weather – what can I make that boosts our regular dinners into something special.  Should still be healthy, yet a real treat.

I already know that cornbread is very popular here, and cornbread muffins as well.  This recipe that Shirley came up with years ago is a well-tested and well-enjoyed taste experience.  You can get the recipe for that here.  I also know that often I get the ‘complaint’ or should we say, suggestion that the muffins are “empty” and couldn’t I put something in them.  Hmmmmm……Dr. Tae Yun Kim also is my ultimate not only Martial Arts teacher but also gives incredible encouragement to try different and new things.

How about some berry filling?

I happened to have some blueberry cheesecake filling stashed – good thing nobody found it – and I used that.  It’s a very simple filling – just get blueberries, fresh or frozen ( and any other berries work great here as well, and I imagine pretty much any fruit filling) boil them with a little rose wine, or water if you don’t like wine, add as much sugar as you need but don’t make it too sweet – and thicken with a little corn or sweet rice starch that you have dissolved first in some water – this will prevent hard little pebbles in the sauce.  Let the fruit sauce cool.

When you are ready, fill muffin cups, or bread pan, or both as I did 🙂 with a thin layer of cornbread mixture, then add a generous layer of fruit filling, and top with another thin layer of cornbread batter.  Bake as directed in Shirley’s recipe and enjoy, and bask in the compliments you are sure to receive!

Read Full Post »

Creative Food choices in winter

As much as we like soups, there comes a point in the dead of winter when you just do not want soup for a while.  When your inner self wants to rebel a little and make-believe it’s warm and sunny outside and you want some – gasp – cold noodles.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim takes this concept to a whole new level.  With her limitless creativity, intuition and Ki energy, she creates food that appeals to body, mind and spirit.

While you might say ramen is bad for you – Dr. Kim just smiles and makes food that not only tastes great but is also good for you. There are many healthy versions available nowadays.  And for us gluten-free folks – not to worry, you can make these with not only ramen noodles, but different kinds of rice noodles or sweet potato noodles.

This culinary Masterpiece started out with the Korean pepper paste (yes, also available in gluten-free now), garlic, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, organic brown sugar or honey, chopped parsley and cilantro, grated or finely chopped Asian pears and Asian radishes, sesame seeds and a touch of sesame oil.  Dunk the cooked in drained noodles, and serve.  Add any cooked and cooled meat or chicken to this, and any chopped veggies and/or fruit.

Proportions are difficult to tell, because some like it sweeter and some like it hotter and some prefer more lemon juice than others.  Key is try until you love it!  🙂

Now go enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Special hot dogs in a wrap

I seriously can’t wait until Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s cook book comes out!  It’s not going to be just a cook book, but will go into detail about all the health benefits of recipes and food preparation methods.

When the weather is cold and rainy, and you want hot and satisfying food, yet you don’t really feel like having another bowls of soup or stew for a while – well, then this will certainly make you happy.  These are great with dinner, as snacks, when you watch TV, or have any gathering – you can make them as small pieces for snacks, or leave the hot dogs hole and serve for dinner, with a nice big salad.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim came up with this tasty and crispy and absolutely delicious version of hot dogs in a blanket.

She started out with yeast dough, gluten-free, consisting of 1/2 almond flour and half gluten free mixed flour, that already had xantham gum in it.  She also added sea buckthorn flour, about 1/4 cup of it to a total of 4 cups of the other flours.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim is using a lot of sea buckthorn powder – check out its benefits below! It’s worth the effort of ordering it and using it in breads, cereals, tea, dessert, and others.

After you let the yeast dough rise (and this particular one stays well contained overnight in the fridge and rises beautifully the next morning) roll it out very thin and place your ingredients on top, like this:

The little red round things are Madrone berries, also very healthy for you.  These particular ones used in the picture had been infused in alcohol for several months and were scrumptious.  You press the berries into the dough after you rolled it out.

Then you use your (gluten-free) hot dogs, dab a little mustard in the middle, insert a slice of kosher dill pickle, and sprinkle with shredded cheese of your choice – Dr. Tae Yun Kim likes mozzarella and cheddar, but smoked gouda or other meltable cheeses are great too.

Let rise for 20 minutes and bake for 25-30 minutes and enjoy!

 

Health Benefits Of Sea Buckthorn

Sea buckthorn has multiple uses due to its protein building amino acids, vitamins B1, B2, K, C, A, E, and folic acid, over 60 antioxidants, at least 20 minerals, and healthy fatty acids. The fruit is full of carotenoids, xanthophylls, phenolics, and flavonoids, too. It’s an absolute power house of nutrients!

The leaves, berries and roots can all be used in different forms. It is a complete food that can support the body in all the following ways:

• Treats gastrointestinal disorders including ulcers
• Reverses gout
• Eliminates skin rashes
• Cures infections
• Improves sight, lessens eye soreness
• Promotes colon health
• Contributes to proper brain and nervous system functioning
• Reduces inflammatory response in the body
• Improves mental clarity
• Treats asthmatic symptoms
• Reduces skin markings associated with measles or mumps
• Reduces illness associated with cancer
• Lowers cholesterol
• Boosts lymphatic circulation and immunity
• Reduces hunger (due to Omega 7s)
• Improves the look of skin and hair (also due to Omega 7, 3, 6, and 9s)
• Neutralizes free radicals in the body
• Slows the aging process
• Supports internal organs
• Boost health of the mucous membranes lining the digestive and respiratory tracts
• Supports urogenital system
• Reduces the condition of a fatty liver
• Helps to increase cellular vitality

Read Full Post »

Korean style yummy spicy ribs

Dr. Tae Yun Kim is, among all the countless other things she does, a most amazing cook.  Of course we know that by now.

But tonight was a different level of yummy.  Wouldn’t you agree by looking at the picture? First, Dr. Tae Yun Kim started out by, as usual, boiling out the long, meaty beef ribs. Naturally they were from locally raised pastured cattle, all organically fed.

The sauce!  Did I mention that heavenly sauce?  It has all sorts of goodies in it, and starts with a mixture of Korean hot pepper sauce, Gochu Jang (available in gluten-free nowadays), garlic, a little water, raw sugar, crushed garlic, apple cider vinegar, and – tada!  Tonight a new special ingredient made an appearance – cinnamon!  As far as proportions go – it’s meant to be spicy with just a hint of cinnamon, and fairly sweet.  How good was it?  See for yourself!  🙂

Yes, that’s right there is sauce all over my face and hands….so so good!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim always encourages people to be bold and go ahead and try new things – so give it a try and enjoy the results!

Read Full Post »

Food that’s good for you any day

 

A dinner that starts out with ingredients like the ones above – how can it be anything but healthy and delicious? Especially when it is prepared by Dr. Tae Yun Kim?

She is not only one of the highest ranked Martial Artists in the World, motivational speaker, best-selling author, CEO of a high-tech company, TV show host, founder of the TYK fashion clothing line and so so much more, she is “in tune with the food.”  As Ki energy Master she knows what’s good and what isn’t.

Here you can see what those raw veggies turned into – lovingly combined with Korean sweet potato noodles, baby squid, brown rice cakes, and Korean red hot sauce.

To switch it up a bit, Dr. Tae Yun Kim also introduced this tummy pleaser:

This one started out with potatoes and kosher hot dogs.  Did I mention before that Dr. Tae Yun Kim uses a lot of Kosher food because it has to be handled in a very clean environment, with prayer?

After they were sautéed briefly, just enough to be barely tender, green onions joined in the fun, as well as tofu, sweet potatoes, yellow onions, and another version of Korean hot sauce. There are as many versions of Korean hot sauce as there are kinds of kimchi, as there are kinds of bread.  Each cook pretty much has her own tweak.  Many of them have gluten in it, and MSG. Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s version doesn’t have either, and tastes clean and pure.  For an exact recipe – sorry folks but that’s gonna be in her cookbook!  As a hint, it has gluten-free “gochu jang” (hot red pepper sauce), apple cider vinegar, sugar, crushed garlic, sesame oil in it.

Go ahead, be bold and try it out and see what version you can come up with!

 

Read Full Post »

Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s way of preparing healthy beef

Even though I might have written about this before, this is such an important topic these days, and Dr. Tae Yun Kim has emphasized how crucial it is to eat the purest food possible.

Doesn’t this look good?  Unless you are a vegetarian, there is a good chance you enjoy beef ribs.

In today’s world, there is so much contamination – air pollution, soil solution, water contamination all contribute to making our food supply less and less healthy.

In addition, the majority of our cattle and poultry and even pigs are kept in very close quarters, the feed lots where they can hardly move and typically stand in their own urine and feces.   To avoid diseases and malnutrition, and fast growth, the animals receive a lot of antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals.  These chemicals will go right into our bodies when we eat that meat.

You can still enjoy all sorts of delicious meats if you prepare them right.

First of all, start with organically raised beef from local farmers, preferably raised in open pastures.

When Dr. Tae Yun Kim grew up, in the countryside of South Korea, there was only organically raised beef from pastures, simply because that was the only known way to raise cattle or chickens, for that matter.

Then, start boiling water in a pot large enough to hold the meat you are about to use, and enough water to cover that meat.  Add about a couple tablespoons of Kosher Salt to the water, a quarter cup of crushed garlic and a couple of fresh, minced jalapenos.  If it’s beef you are boiling, also use a tablespoon or two of organic brown sugar to insure the meat is tender.

Boil the meat until about 99% done – check until  there is no more blood at the bone, and if it’s bone less, such as ground beef or chicken breast, no pink at all.  You should also boil out hot dogs or other prepared meats this way, to get optimal health benefits.

You will see a lot of grease and a lot of dirty foam rising to the top of the pot.  Good!  That is what you want to get rid of!  Once the boiling is all done, drain the water and discard it.

Rinse off the meat, and use as you normally would.

Here is a delightful dish Dr. Tae Yun Kim just recently made:

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

In case of emergency…

We have had a few power outages recently, and before we got a backup generator, there were times life was a bit unusual and required thinking out of the box, something that Dr.  Tae Yun Kim has been encouraging her students to be and do all along.  “If you expect life to be without difficulties, without challenges, you are on the wrong planet” Dr. Tae Yun Kim bluntly says.

So, when you are just not able to go and pick up take out food, because it’s too late and too far, other than peanut butter jelly sandwich, what are you gonna do?

This is what I did:

I put three candles into a cup, and set that into the kitchen sink.  I put the oven grate on top, put a pan on and made a most delicious vegetable omelette.

“You have the ability to do, the capacity to act, and the capability to perform and produce,” Dr. Tae Yun Kim says, “don’t let anything get in your way.  Where there is a will, there is a way!”

Read Full Post »

Creativity in the Kitchen

The kitchen is an amazing place.  It can be a warm place for family gatherings, it can be a lab, or simply the best room in the house.  In Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s home it’s all of the above!  Not only does she eat the healthiest of foods, but she also makes incredible new food creations that blow the mind!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim shares that good healthy food shouldn’t just taste good, it should also look good, and it shouldn’t be the same old thing every day, no matter how healthy.

That is why she has been creating some pretty amazing things!  Right now, Dr. Tae Yun Kim is working on a cook book, where she will explain about all aspects of food, even down to the detail of how your attitude while cooking will affect the quality of the food!  She mentions the example of how when you fix dinner as a newly wed or to impress a boy friend – how you will so happily cook and set a delightful dinner table.  On the other hand, if you are unhappy about someone or something and you have to cook for them, you will probably make something that does’n’t taste near as good as it could be or should be!

So challenge yourself – no matter what kind of mood you are in, no matter how your day has been – when you cook, focus on your love for your family (or whomever you are cooking for)!

 

 

 

Read Full Post »