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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New Beginnings

It’s been a couple of years since I have come to this spot and shared some great food creations with you.  It’s not that there hasn’t been any new food in my life, but that wonderful life things have kept happening and there simply wasn’t any time to do any  writing to do these special meals justice.

But Dr. Tae Yun Kim has been coming up with a myriad of healthy and very tasty breakfast, lunch and dinner meals that just blow the mind. Maybe we can even talk her into putting it all together into a cook book!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim has a very unique cooking style as you might remember. She goes by Ki energy, and will put together whatever works best for the people she cooks.  The above dinner was a spur of the moment kind of dinner, naturally gluten free, and some of the most delicious and healthy creation ever.

Not only did it taste heavenly, it was also very healthy, full of protein, vitamins, fiber and all the good stuff.  There was lots of ginger and garlic in the sauce, and it was made creamy by the addition of ground yucca, another of Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s additions.

Because this dish is naturally low in carbohydrates it is great for diabetics and those that want to reduce their carb intake.

I will get you the basic recipe tomorrow.  For now I just wanted to let you all know – this blog is alive and well and will supply you with great new recipes!

Thanks for sticking with me, I look forward to more happy bloggings!

 

 

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Healthy cabbage (and a bonus story)

Before I get into this great topic – let me tell you that at the end of this post you will find a most delightful story by Dr. Tae Yun Kim, where the lowly humble cabbage plays a major role.  If you have time – please read it!

I am sure everyone has heard how healthy cabbage is.  It’s full of cancer fighting components, helps reduce cholesterol and is therefore good for heart health, is packed with antioxidants, has a lot of anti-inflammatory qualities, and is excellent for your digestive tract.

Several cultures have propelled cabbage to their national foods, such as Kim Chi in Korea (a very nice spicy fermented cabbage) and of course Sauerkraut of the Germans.  They are both very very good and very very healthy.  Give them a try, if you haven’t!

Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s favorite is to have either just plain Napa cabbage leaves, raw, and eat them with a spoon of brown rice and goju jang, a hot red pepper sauce.  Or steamed regular cabbage.

I love cabbage prepared in all kinds of ways and always like to come up with new and exciting ways to incorporate it into our food plan.

Yesterday, I started out, like I so often do, by sauteing chopped onions and chopped garlic in a little olive oil.

Then, I added shredded cabbage .

Just that, by itself, with a tiny bit of salt, was very very good.  But I wanted to combine it with some protein and make a meal out of it.  On consulting with my refrigerator, I saw organic, non-GMO tofu there, as well as eggs from the local farmers market.  I put half the block of tofu and an egg into the blender, and some parsley and gave it a whirl.

Then I combined the tofu mixture and the (slightly cooled off) cabbage mixture and put it in ramekins, which I then steamed.

It didn’t take very long, about 10 minutes or less, to have it “set.”

It turned out really good, very subtle and gentle flavors, yet the cabbage still shining through.

I understand many people nowadays don’t  eat any soy products, but still give this a try – just leave out the tofu and add another egg, or maybe substitute cheese if you can have dairy.

Go ahead, dig in your spoon and enjoy, and if you like, you can add any sauce you want, although I myself prefer to just let the simple earthy flavors come through.

Now, to that cabbage story.

“Once there was a king who had grown very bored and disenchanted with life.  He went from one meaningless and stagnant day to another finding no satisfaction or pleasure in anything.  He had even lost his taste for food, and all his traditional exotic dishes no longer yielded the joys they once had.  He grew so tired and apathetic that he issued a proclamation that whoever could bring him a dish that truly pleased him would be richly rewarded.

The greatest cooks came from all over the world bringing their best dishes.  But the king didn’t like any of them.  Life continued to be one boring dish after another.

One day a poor farmer came to the palace.  “Your Majesty, I have the most incredible dish you have ever tasted.  On this earth there is no other that can match it, but this dish takes some special preparation, and in order for you to fully enjoy it, I must ask that you eat nothing else until it is ready, ” the farmer said.  The king, by now so bored with his life, was willing to take the chance.

So the farmer left to prepare his special dish.

The next day the farmer arrived empty-handed in the king’s hall.  The king asked, “Well, where is my food?”

“I am sorry your Majesty.  It will be ready soon, I promise, but you must still keep your bargain.”

The next day, the farmer returned again, empty-handed.  This time the king was furious.  “Where is my food?” he roared.

The farmer replied humbly, “Oh, Your Majesty, I am still preparing.”

“Still preparing?” the king fumed.  “I am starving, and you are still only preparing?”

“I assure you this is the most fabulous food you have ever tasted,” the farmer pleaded.  If you’ll only wait one more day, it will be ready.”

Although the king was very angry and hungry, he was also anxious to relieve his boredom.  “All right,” he agreed.  “One more day.”

The next day the king awoke very early, his whole body filled with anticipation.  He could think of nothing but the farmer’s mysterious dish.  When the time came near for the farmer to arrive, it was all he could do to contain his excitement.

Finally, from beyond his hall the king heard the light footsteps of the farmer.  He smelled the most divine of smells.  His whole body reverberated with incredible sensations of pleasure and delight.  The farmer came closer.  The king could feel his mouth salivating and his stomach grumbling as his entire attention focused on the farmer’s simple porcelain bowl and its precious cargo.

The farmer lifted the lid to expose one thick slice of cabbage, steamed perfectly.  It was the most simple of dishes, but at that moment, it was a precious as the world to the king.

The king bit into this pure, plain, and simple cabbage.  Nothing in his life had ever tasted so good.  His senses came alive as he felt once again the intense pleasure of taste, and smell, and texture.  The king was so overjoyed that he made the poor farmer a rich man.”

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Blueberry and nut power drink – Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s recipe

Sometimes I get really lucky.  A couple of days ago, I got to try Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s her super secret – and now shared – recipe for a very healthy power drink.  You can either have this as a smoothie, or a more liquid drink.  If you prefer a smoothie, make sure your blueberries are frozen, and add some ice cubes.

Here is the original recipe, but feel free to experiment if you have any nut allergies.  The blueberries are there for a reason, as they are helping with antioxidants, fight Alzheimer’s, and do a host of other good things for your body.  But of course, you are welcome to experiment.

Start by assembling the nuts.  To save time, I have made up individual serving baggies that look something like this:

In each bag, there are (approximately) 3 – 4 of each (except more of the pine nuts because they are so small):

Put those in a blender, along with about a cup of blueberries, more or less.  I always use frozen ones.  Add honey according to your sweet tooth, and add enough water to make it your desired thickness.  If you want more of a meal replacement, use any milk instead of water – coconut milk is superb with this.

Blend really really well, and enjoy ice-cold.  If I have this for breakfast, I am not hungry for a long time!

And my quote for the day, by Dr. Tae Yun Kim, doesn’t really have to do with either nuts or berries or even food, but I happened upon it and loved it so much I wanted to share it with you:

“The whole purpose of change, the whole purpose of continuous cycles of yin and yang is to take you higher, to make you grow, to give you more of what will lead you to a truer expression of your Real Self.  Never be afraid of change.  All changes lead you into greater good.  That is the purpose of change and the purpose of life.”  (Seven Steps to Inner Power, page 51)

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Works of art in the kitchen

Sometimes the most plain dishes can turn out to be culinary and artistic pleasures.  I got really lucky the past couple times it was my turn to make dessert (well, uhm, that’s pretty much any time we got pot luck at the office or at Jung Suwon).

Dr. Tae Yun Kim invited a lot of us over to her place for a July 4th BBQ bash.  It was a wonderful time, and we had a lot of fun and training at the BBQ, where Grandmaster Scott Salton cooked up a bunch of mean steaks and gave a good reason to call the hamburgers “flame broiled!”

So for July 4th, my dessert contribution for the great Jung Suwon BBQ had to be red, white, and blue.  I took a very simple cheese cake recipe and substituted honey for the sugar, and instead of a crust, or pre-baked cracker crust, I simply crumbled a gluten-free cookie (any flavor works fine) into the bottom of a cupcake liner, and filled the liners with the cheese cake batter.  Once baked and cooled, I put blueberries and raspberries on the top – there is your red, white and blue!

And for our surprise guests yesterday, I didn’t even bake anything – it was way too hot, and not much time either.  So I did something very similar to what I did for the July 4th BBQ:  individual dessert cups, with a thin cookie at the bottom, and some pudding, made with coconut milk (for our die-hard cheesecake loving guests I mixed in some already whipped, low-fat cream cheese), and added a simple raspberry on top.  Since this dessert didn’t firm up as much as I had thought it would, the beautiful flower shaped cupcake liners didn’t hold their shape, so I kept them in the metal muffin pan.  But how to serve that?  Here is what I came up with:

Because, as Dr. Tae Yun Kim reminds us, whatever you can see in your mind, you can also do! The power of visualization!

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More cherries, and what to do with them

This has been a most abundant cherry year!  The trees went crazy, the birds were kept out with bird nets , and as a result, buckets of cherries keep coming into the kitchen!

In addition to tasting great, did you know all their incredible health benefits?  Dr. Tae Yun Kim points out that cherries contain very powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, which makes them ideal for heart health and to fight against arthritis.  They also contain natural melatonin which regulates your sleep cycles.  In addition, they help regulate your blood sugar, which is a great benefit for people with diabetes.  Cherries contain a lot of fiber and therefore help proper digestion.  And the list goes on…and at only 87 cal/cup they are a great snack for Jung Suwon warriors after class – energizing, healthy, but without putting on the weight you just lost in class 😉

Here is a great recipe for healthy, individual serving, cherry cheesecakes:

I saw this recipe in the magazine from America’s Test Kitchen “Best Summer Desserts” on page 58.  (I tried to find this online so I could link to it, but wasn’t able to.)

However, I made a few changes to make it healthy enough for a Jung Suwon warrior dessert, make it gluten-free, and most of all, incorporate some of those cherries!  This was also approved by Dr. Tae Yun Kim, for health and taste!

For the cheesecakes, line 2 12-cup muffin pans with a paper liner. In a blender or food processor, put 3 large eggs, a couple of tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 cup coconut milk, and some coconut sugar.  How much sugar depends how sweet you like it.  You’ll most likely not need more than 1/4 cup.  Blend this at high-speed and then add, a little at a time, 8 oz softened cream cheese.  Beat until very smooth.  And yes, it’s ok to use low-fat cream cheese, which is what I did.

At Jung Suwon, we like to keep our desserts as light as possible (of course there ARE exceptions to this) and so the crust is optional.  If you do want one, just crumble any kind of gluten-free cookie into the bottom of the liners, or if the cookies are the right size and thin, plunk one down into the liner.

Next, pour the cheesecake batter into the liners, about 1/2 – 3/4 full.

Bake at 325 until firm, about 10 – 15 minutes.  Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the cherry topping.

Pit a LOT of cherries, and put them into a pot.

While you pit the cherries, it’s a good time to listen to Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s audio books, or the Jung Suwon terminology CD.  Or sing, if you want.  Cook over medium heat, adding water if not enough juice in pot.  Add a sprinkling of coconut sugar, or any other kind of sugar if you prefer.  Taste and add more sugar if needed.

Mix some cornstarch (or tapioca starch, or even potato starch or rice flour) with some water, and slowly pour, while stirring, into the cherry mixture.  Let boil for a few minutes, stirring constantly.  It should be thicker but still pourable and not like pudding.

Once cooled, spoon on top of the cheesecakes, and serve!

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Old world cabbage rolls – Jung Suwon style

I feel like I haven’t posted here in a very long time – it’s been really really busy in my life as a Jung Suwon warrior, and that’s the way I like it!  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim says that keeping busy keeps us young in body, mind, and spirit, and I do feel that!

Even during the hot summer months it gets cool at night here in the Bay area, and so I like to make summery, yet warming dishes for dinner, that are also substantial enough to feed hungry Jung suwon warriors!

My mother’s stuffed cabbage rolls come to mind, and I just made them a couple of days ago.  It’s been hard to re-create her recipes, because she only took a little bit of this and some of that, and in addition, she never even knew what gluten-free was!  And of course I am always trying to incorporate Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s teachings into the way I cook, with the best ingredients and only the best of thoughts in my mind.

Great teacher that she is Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has been encouraging me to be creative, and find new ways to make tasty food, that nourishes and heals and tastes good at the same time!  So, here we go:

To make this version of stuffed cabbage, I use Nappa cabbage, and carefully separate the leaves off the head, and then quickly put them into almost boiling water just long enough to make the leaves pliable, without breaking.  I used to try to just boil the whole head and then peel off the leaves, but that never worked for me.  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim compares the cabbage to a fist: just like each finger, each leaf in itself, is weak and cannot survive on its own, but together with all the other leaves, it makes a strong head of cabbage (or, all the fingers together, make a strong fist!) !  Have you ever tried to break a full head of cabbage?  See?  In our case, it’s good that we can peel off each leaf!

For the sauce, if I have leftover spaghetti sauce, it’s perfect.  But if not, I make a quick tomato sauce from scratch, like this:

Saute, in olive oil, a chopped up onion, and some minced garlic, I would use a couple of table spoons, and add chopped fresh tomatoes.  I only use fresh tomatoes for my sauces, but I am sure canned would work well too.

I would also add some chopped mushrooms and parsley and saute for a bit and then add a little good quality red wine (I don’t ever use cooking wine, they add a bunch of stuff to it).  If the sauce is too thick at this point, I add some good quality all natural spaghetti sauce from a jar, or if I have some broth, I add that.

For the filling, I saute mushrooms, garlic and chopped onions and add some pre-cooked ground beef, and some cooked rice, add some chopped parsley and fresh marjoram, and loosely fill the cabbage leaves with this.  Put filling on one side of leaf, then roll up and put seam side on bottom and put in roasting pan.  When finished, put your tomato sauce over it, and finish in pre-heated oven (350) for 20 minutes to half hour.  If you like, you could sprinkle some cheese on it before serving!

Now, “dig it in!”  as Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim likes to say, after giving thanks to God for a most delicious meal!

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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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Ice cream Sandwiches, gluten free!!!

At Jung Suwon, we have many different programs for young people, and Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has given the opportunity to some Jung Suwon warriors, if they so desire, to help build a training course.  Think Army, or Marine, training courses!   This has been very rewarding, and loads of fun!  There was a lot of heavy physical activity involved, like digging holes, making cement, hauling lumber, and things like that.  It really means a lot to these Jung Suwon warriors to help build “their” training area!  As Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim puts it, they are putting their energy into it, and it will be truly “theirs.”

Of course, Jung Suwon warriors get hungry and deserve treats!  It was hot, and ice cream was in order.  But just plain ice cream?  That’s difficult to serve “out there.”  Ice cream sandwiches are neat and easy to transport little packages!

I had just bought a bunch of coconut flour because Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim had asked me to check it out, since it seems to be a very healthy type of flour.  But I had no clue yet as to how to use it.  I had learned from Shirley at Gluten Free Easily that it absorbs a lot more liquids than other flours.

The recipe on the back of the package seemed ideal.  “Allison’s wheat Free Brownies.”

Here is the recipe, straight from the bag:

Here is the front of the bag, if you would like to get the same brand, but I am sure any brand will work:

I made them almost exactly as per recipe, except instead of butter I used coconut oil, and for sugar I used coconut palm sugar, and I left out the chocolate chips.

Here is how they looked as just plain brownies (for those that couldn’t tolerate dairy):

They tasted really really good already, even without the ice cream!

I cut the remaining pieces horizontally….

and filled them with Ben and Jerry’s vanilla ice cream:

put a generous layer of ice cream on the bottom brownie half, and top with the other, wrap and freeze.  It only took about an hour to freeze these beauties.

Needless to say, all this goodness was gobbled up in no time at all!

For those of us that aren’t familiar with coconut flour yet, one word of caution:

mix the brownie batter together just before you put it in the oven – if you have to let it sit (like I did on my first batch) – the batter turned to cement!  Appearently the coconut flour is a moisture hog and will absorb every last drop, unless you can get it in the oven and bake it before it has a chance to do that!

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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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