It’s a Delicious Life!

It’s spring again, and according to the temperatures, almost summer!  Dr. Tae Yun Kim is very much in tune with the seasons and loves to create different dishes for different seasons.  In this first picture, is a new version of traditional Korean cold noodles; it is new because it has very untraditional, yet incredibly healthy new ingredients.  New recipe coming up!

When she is not busy on her new book tour, Dr. Tae Yun Kim loves to work in her garden, growing many of the ingredients for her special dishes.

Here you see a bed of sook, or mugwort as it is called in the USA.  It is a very healthy herb, helps to cleanse the blood and is a great spring food; but you can dry it and make it into powder and tea.

And here is Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s version of sook fried in batter – incredibly delicious and healthy!  What a win!  And it’s so simple!  Just whip up a simple savory batter, dip the cleaned sook into it and fry briefly, until the batter is cooked through.

And if you have missed the big news, Dr. Tae Yun Kim just published her new book, an all new version of “Seven Steps to Inner Power – how to break through to awesome!”  You’ll definitely want to read this one, and if you live in Southern California, you can still catch her on her book tour.

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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.

 

 

 

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Memory or future vision? Sweet and Spicy

So yesterday I shared with you a quick and easy, yet tasty and very healthy dish that will help you get back on track after all the Holiday feasts we’ve been having.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim has many such recipes.  Today, I am sharing another one of her gems.  This is more for hot summer days, but I am thinking, if you are in a cold weather area like I am right now, and look outside and see snow in big piles, maybe you would want to re-create summer in your heart and stomach, and try this delicious beef-noodle salad that is sure to delight your taste buds and make you think of balmy summer afternoons.

So how do you make this beautiful salad?  Very simple!  If you have some leftover beef roast, or chicken, tear it into bite sized pieces. If you want to use eggs, boil a couple, peel and quarter.  Cut your veggies and fruits into bite sized pieces, smaller is better – tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, kale, cabbage, cucumbers or any other combination you like.  Add some berries, we had home grown blackberries and strawberries.  But apples, oranges, or pears work well, especially now in the winter when you may not have fresh berries available.

The noodles in the picture are Korean acorn noodles, they are superb with this dish.  Since they are not gluten free, substitute any gluten free pasta, or you can leave it out altogether.  I just happen to think pasta adds nice texture and flavor, and Dr. Tae Yun Kim explains that noodles are a symbol of long life, and who wouldn’t want that?

Now that you have your ingredients ready, make the dressing.  This is pretty spicy, so use as little or as much red pepper and garlic as you need. You start with apple cider vinegar and lemon juice, about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and a few Tbsp lemon juice, add a teaspoon toasted, crushed sesame seeds, about a Tbsp raw sugar, red pepper flakes, and a touch of (gluten free) soy sauce , and add a bit of water and some olive oil.  Mix the sauce with the veggies first, then add the meat and the noodles.  Toss well, and put on plates and decorate with the cut up eggs. Enjoy!

Doesn’t that make you feel like digging out your bathing suit and going for a swim?

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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)!

 

 

 

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Summer fun in the kitchen

We have had some pretty hot days here in Northern California.  Not my favorite time of year – I love it in the high 60s – low 70s during the summer and below that in the winter 🙂

At any rate, heat or not, hungry Jung Suwon warriors want to still eat, to replenish the energy they spent working out and training hard.  So, feeding them “cool” foods benefits the cook and the warrior!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim advises her Jung Suwon warriors to eat as close to nature as possible, when possible, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, organically grown, and if you eat eggs and meat, get the eggs from free ranging, organically fed chickens, and only purchase organic, grass fed beef – if possible.  You really can taste and feel the difference!

Here are some visually appealing, great tasting, totally organic and gluten free meals and snacks:

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Quick, very healthy and gluten free lunch sandwich

It’s Memorial Day weekend, and we practically live outdoors now, especially since the temperatures are wonderful, around 65 degrees!  Perfect!

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has invited us to all kinds of great outdoor activities, including a BBQ.  But until then, hungry warriors are storming Jung Suwon, and something has got to be done about that!

It can’t take too much time to make food either, so here is a very healthy and very fast sandwich idea to keep Jung Suwon warriors going!  This can be made with regular bread, or, like I do, with your favorite gluten free bread.

Asparagus sandwich:

Pre-heat oven to 400 F.

Wash, and thinly slice lengthwise a handful of asparagus spears (about 6 or so spears per 2 sandwiches).  Sautee in one tablespoon of oil, with freshly crushed garlic, and add a tablespoon of chopped cashew nuts.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Saute until the asparagus is crip/tender.

While you saute the asparagus, toast 2 slices (per serving) of your favorite (gluten free) bread, and spread thinly with mustard.  Put on a layer of thinly slices avocadoes.  Heap the asparagus mixture on top of the avocado slices, and top with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.  Broil for a few minutes until cheese is melty.

If you have really ravenous Jung Suwon warriors knocking at your door (or anyone else for that matter), you could also add a basted egg on top.  Either way, it’s delicious!

Happy Memorial Day to all, and please take a minute or two and think of all our service members and the great sacrifices they make to make the world a better place to live in!

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Healthy all natural detox soup

Dandelion

I have always been intrigued by natural foods, and living off the land.  But I didn’t know just how much you can literally live off that land!  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has opened up my eyes as to what you can eat, and what is better left to the cows!

When Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim was just a little girl, she was abandoned by her parents during the Korean War, because she was considered “just an extra mouth to feed.”  During that time, she learned to fend for herself, and quickly learned how to pick “weeds” and make food from it.  At the time, it was just for survival, but now Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim teaches that these “weeds” are very healthy and cleansing and work as a wonderful body detox, especially after the winter months.

The following “recipe” is just a guideline, a lot will depend on what you can find, and your taste buds.  But here I will share how Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim showed me to prepare this.  Incidentally, this soup is wonderful after a strenuous Jung Suwon class, when you crave food, but need something light and healthy.

First, go outside and see what plants you can find.  If you don’t know plants very well, you could go to a local health food store and buy some dandelions, it will work well.

Otherwise, here are some plants you could use:

Stinging nettle

stingless nettle

Sorrell

Pick a bunch of very young leaves only.  No flowers or old leaves – just the very young sprouts and tips of leaves.  Wash very well in water with Kosher salt, several times.  Chop into bite sized pieces (they are probably the right size if you picked them at their ideal “age.”)

Saute some onions and ground garlic in olive oil (if you prefer butter, that works too), until onion and garlic turn beige to light brown.  Add half of the wild herbs and briefly saute.  Add some flour (I use Shirley’s gluten free mix (see bottom of page), but you could use any gluten free combination you like, except, perhaps, coconut flour and almond flour.)

Brown the flour and then add either chicken broth, or water.  I prefer water, as it lets the fine flavor of the wild veggis come through, but chicken broth is also very good.

Put this in a blender and blend until smooth.  It should be nice and creamy.  Add salt and pepper to taste, but don’t overpower it.  The main flavor should be the wild herbs.  Finely chop the  rest of the herbs and add into the soup, just slightly heating it.

And that’s it, it’s that simple!  You could of course, get fancy and add a dollop of sour cream.  Or, if you want it more “Korean” flavored, mix in some goju chang.  (spicy red pepper paste.)  Or you could add some croutons and even some chicken.

But, as Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim points out, sometimes the simple things are the best!  I happen to like this soup the simplest way possible!

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Culture Clash in the kitchen

Since I train at Jung Suwon, and work at Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s company Lighthouse Worldwide Solutions, I work with a lot of Koreans.  Wonderful people and I have a great time interacting with them and often times get some recipes for old time Korean goodies, although, the recipes are more like my grandmothers’ : take a handful of this, and a smidgen of that…..and add enough spices to make it taste right….

Anyway, one time, one of Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s Korean friends, after a lovely dinner, looked me straight into the eyes and said, “white bitch!”

Gasp!  My jaw dropped.

You can imagine what I felt.  I had known this wonderful gentleman for many years, and had absolutely no ideas why he would call me bitch.  I had no idea what was going on.  And to my biggest surprise, all the other Koreans in the room started to laugh, no, roar uncontrollably.

I was lost.  Not only was I being called a white bitch and now they were laughing!  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim stepped in, and between laughs, explained that what he meant to say, was “white peach,” but because of pronunciation difficulties, it turned into “bitch.”

Whew!

Good thing I didn’t take him seriously when he asked me to go to the crapp house and pick up some food (He had meant a restaurant called the “Crab House.”

So last week a charming Korean lady, visiting Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, and wanted to cook a traditional Korean meal.  This was great, and as she was serving all kinds of wonderful food, when she served a particular marinated vegetable, she shook her head and said, “I haven’t killed it enough, I think I have to go kill it some more!”

This was an entirely plant based dish!  Nothing even remotely needing to be killed, and besides, I typically don’t have anything alive sitting in the fridge!   Again, Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim was laughing – she understood completely!

She explained that what this lady meant was that she needed to marinate the Korean greens longer to make them more tender!

Hope you had a good laugh today!

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Bringing joy through cooking

A dear blogging friend that lives on the East Coast somewhere, is going through a great loss in her family right now, and we are saying lots of prayers for Shirley and her family.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim emphasizes the importance of helping others, especially when they are going through hard times.  And not just in word but also in deed.  “When someone is down,” Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim says, ” extend a helping hand!  Show your support through actions!  Bring some food if possible – the last thing you want to do is to think about what to feed everyone.  When you lose a loved one, Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim continues, you need some time to go through the grieving process. ”

While unfortunately I can’t be there other than through prayer, I did think about what I would make if I lived closer.  “Energy doesn’t have any distance,” Great Grandmaster explains, ” if you think great thoughts about someone, that someone will feel that one way or another.”

It would need to be some sort of easy to eat finger food.  You wouldnt’ want to task a grieving person with too much prep work and dish washing!  It also needs to be super easy to reheat.  And it should be fast to cook so you can run on over and deliver.

I started with the leftover cooked chicken – deboned it and chopped it up.  Sautéed some chopped onions and garlic in olive oil and added the chicken, and then added some mixed greens – a combination of spinach, chard, and Bok choy, but don’t limit yourself – use what you have!  I also added some oriental mushrooms in this version, but really, only your creativity will decide.  Add lots of love to the mix!

After the vegetables are about 3/4 done, turn off heat and let them cool off.  During that time, put a couple of eggs in a blender, add some sort of milk, whether dairy, soy, or coconut is up to you.  Add some salt and pepper and any herbs or spices you feel like putting in.  (I kept it simple and just did salt and pepper.)  I added a handful of grated cheese as well.

Prepare your favorite gluten-free pie crust, or use pre-made if you like.  You can also use some leftover mashed potatoes if you have any, or you can also bake without any kind of crust, which is what I did for myself.

Line cupcake pans with paper or foil liners.  If you are using pie crust, cut out rounds big enough to be patted into the muffin or cupcake pans.  Bake until light brown in pre-heated oven, then let cool off.

Take a small amount of the chicken-vegetable mixture and put into the crust or cupcake form.  Squeeze out the liquid, and put in enough to fill about 2/3 of the cup cake pan. Spoon or pour in the milk/egg mixture, leaving about 1/2 inch from the top.  Repeat until all cup cake liners are full.   Bake about 10 minutes at 350  or until a nice light brown.  They taste delicious hot out of the oven, or cooled off.

Enjoy, dear Shirley, wishing you all the best and may God pour out His blessings on you.

And for all other readers, go ahead and make these for someone you love!

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Spring Cleaning, Internally

It is officially Spring now, and so it is only fitting that I talk about spring cleaning.  Internal Spring cleaning that is!

After the winter months, as Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim explains, when most people don’t move as much as they would do in the warmer times of the year, or even if you come to Jung Suwon every day – as a warrior should 🙂 – a good cleansing once a year will help our bodies and clear our minds.

There are many different ways to do this kind of cleansing.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim reminds us that we should always do things in moderation, and consult with your doctor, especially you have any health issues, before you start any exercise and/or diet program.  It is also important that you do some sort of exercise while cleansing, to get all the toxins being released, out. Jung Suwon classes are perfect for this, as no part of the body will be left out – you will sweat from every pore in your body!

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim also points out that “you are one of a kind.”  This means, not every fasting and cleansing program is for everyone.  We are all different, and we require different ways to nourish and cleanse.

 

 

If you are new to this concept of internal cleansing, you could start by simply eating more salads and greens in your diet, and drinking more fresh vegetable and fruit juices.  You could try to eat new greens, things you never knew existed (or knew that you could eat them).

Or, you could have a few days where you only have fruits and juices.

Some people do a full fast for several days, but again, don’t do this on your own.  Check with your doctor first.

But whatever you decide to do, follow Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s advice to eat healthier foods, including more organic veggies and fruits!  You’ll feel yourself full of energy that you can apply at the upcoming Jung Suwon classes!

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