You need a little sweetness in your life

Isn’t this a beauty?  Even with New Years resolutions and goals to finally lose those 15 lbs you do need a little sweet now and then, right?  Especially when you got something healthy and gluten-free going.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim is not into having people deprive themselves, or never touch anything sweet ever again.  She knows that is not realistic for 99.999% of the population.  So Dr. Tae Yun Kim set out to create a cake that’s so delicious, yet at the same time very healthy for you.

We talked about the health benefits of Seabuckthorn in my last post.  Once again, 1/4 cup of the flour was included into the batter.  The basic batter comes from my dear friend Shirley and you can see the recipe right here.

Usually, I double the recipe because, well, because there are plenty of eaters around that if I only made one batch it would disintegrate the minute it comes out of the oven, and I do need time to set up and take pictures.  So…..

Dr. Tae Yun Kim also likes to use the bounty of the land, and especially the healthy gifts mother nature provided.  So not only did blueberries get to jump into the batter, (a good 2 cups of fresh ones) but also about a cup of Madrone berries that had been soaked in Vodka for a couple of months.  Madrone berries have been used by Native Americans for centuries, to make use against stomach cramps and pains and to help with skin irritations of all sorts.  They provide vitamins and minerals in the winter when not much else in the cold, snowy woods is available.

To make this cake, double the recipe mentioned above, but instead of all gluten-free basic flour, use half almond flour and half the basic gluten free flour.  For the sugar we always use the raw organic turbinado sugar, and that is why the cake comes out a little darker.  Dr. Tae Yun Kim raises her own chickens, so no worries about the quality of the eggs.

The berries were folded in at the very end, very carefully to not smash them.  If you don’t have any Madrone berries you can add some dried cranberries that you can soak in brandy or vodka or a couple of hours.

The result?  Deeeeee-licious!  Give it a try and see if you agree!

 

 

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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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The healing powers of a Blueberry Buckle

…When the dog bites, when the bee stings….who hasn’t had days like that?  Days when you just need a little something to eat, something that soothes you, and makes you feel happy inside and out, and that makes you forget whatever troubles, worries or bad things you have gone or are still going through.

My Martial Arts teacher, Dr. Tae Yun Kim, has this to say about those times:

“Rejoice in the lesson of pain and hurt, it gives you strength, it gives you freedom!”

And why not have some food to help with the rejoicing?

Strangely enough, in the winter, this can be a nice bowl of home-made chicken soup.  But in the hot summer, what to do?  Real comfort food, when I myself need comfort, needs to be fast, easy and have that taste that spells home-made, and makes you feel the world is ok.

When nobody is around, I like to resort to a mug cake, or mug cookie or mug anything – they are so quick and easy and one-portion goodness.  But when family is around, I like to make something that everyone can enjoy.

So, I make some concessions.  While I could easily make Shirley’s perfect pound cake over and over (and over and over) again – it is that good – I realize that this will not work for everyone.  But, I just discovered her Blueberry Banana Buckle (recipe here) and it surely hit the spot.  It’s summer comfort food to the max.  Check it out!

This time, I did something new:  didn’t add anything, didn’t change anything – but I left out the topping!  My recently cast-less foot was starting to hurt and so I just figured this cake will be just as good without – and it was!

Enterprising family members informed me that it was the perfect “underneath” for ice cream as well 😉

And because I just love this part of one of Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s motivational books, I thought I would share it with you:

“You are complete, peaceful, and fulfilled.

Being complete does not mean we have nothing more to learn, do, be, or become.  Being complete means we have the potential to accomplish anything that is naturally a part of the universe.” (The First Element, page 88)

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Down home comfort food

Today, I decided to take charge and get back into the kitchen.  After all, I had just read what Dr. Tae Yun Kim has to say about taking charge:

“Who are you?  Waiting quietly within you is a Presence, a Force, a state of Consciousness that gives you power to overcome mental and physical limitations in your life power to harmonize and change discordant situations, power to create and to achieve goals, power to experience peace and joy regardless of the circumstances around you – power to be who you really are.” (Seven Steps to Inner Power, page 3)

All right – armed with these positive feelings, I made my way into the kitchen.  I wanted to make something easy, yet very comforting.  I found the perfect recipe for that here: http://glutenfreeeasily.com/gluten-free-mug-pancake/

I absolutely love the idea of mug muffins, mug cakes, mug anything.

I wanted to experience that joy mentioned above, and so I set to work.  As I was assembling the ingredients, I saw some lonely black berries in the refrigerator, and right away I had an idea.  What if I made that mug pancake with its own sauce/syrup in the mug?  Hmmmmmm.  I heard Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s voice in my head ” how are you going to find out unless you try?  What do you have to lose?

I put some maple syrup on the bottom of the mug, and added some black berries, and microwaved that for a little less than 2 minutes.

I mixed the rest of the ingredients (substituting coconut oil for the butter) in a separate bowl

and poured it over the “sauce” in the mug/ramekin.

I cooked it according to the directions, and the most delicious pancake with built-in syrup was ready!

The flowers, by the way, are a gift from Shirley, the originator of this recipe, and a dear friend. After 10 days, they continue to provide great enjoyment!

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A beautiful breakfast surprise

As you might know, I have had foot surgery a couple of weeks ago, and I haven’t been very mobile as a result.  So, because we live in a very busy world, I have been having cereal for breakfast – gluten free, nutritious and delicious cereal.  I do cook still, but it’s all a lot simpler than what I would normally do.

You can imagine my complete, and delighted surprise when this appeared for breakfast this morning:

Gluten free French Toast!

Delivered with a big smile by a wonderful, 16-year old Jung Suwon warrior.  He not only had the idea all by himself, but also had made it all by himself!  And this from a kid who had been a notorious trouble maker, but whom Dr. Tae Yun Kim has helped transform from a troubled youth to a true warrior!  How beautiful this is!

I was filled with gratitude – and not just for the delicious breakfast – also that there are people who care, and that Dr.  Tae Yun Kim is one of these people.  But not only does she give youngsters a chance – she does so repeatedly.  This young man has had some “relapses” as we shall call it, however, Dr. Kim isn’t one to give up.  With the patience of a Saint she keeps helping.

So, today I wanted to share my gratitude.

“A very powerful expression of love is simple gratitude.  Why is gratitude powerful?  When you express gratitude, you are acknowledging that something good exists.  This action energizes that good thing and gives it momentum to continue existing. “

(The First Element, page 140)

Thank you, young warrior, for such a delight!  I will always remember this day!

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The carrot cake redemption

I found this on the counter one night when I came home from work.

No, this isn’t an evil sign.  Someone very creative was asking for some carrot cake!

Dr.  Tae Yun Kim, my Martial Arts teacher, is fully embracing an all organic and gluten-free life style, and as a result I have been cleaning up my diet as well.

There are countless carrot cake recipes out there, but good gluten-free ones are hard to find.  I found a great recommendation on Shirley’s blog, http://allglutenfreedesserts.com/dreamy-carrot-cake-gluten-free-spinner/

If you want to make a really really good carrot cake, follow the recipe.  It is the best I ever made.

All went well.

had the eggs ready…

Mixed all the dry ingredients together

mixed the wet ingredients together

and put it all together.

Then, after it looked like this

I baked it until it looked like this

So far so good!

But then, when I cut the cake into two layers – disaster struck!

The top layer crumbled all to pieces!  O no!

After taste testing some of the stray crumbs, I realized that yes, this was indeed a most outstanding carrot cake.  But what to do now?

Well, I thought about a quote from Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim:

“People and events can shape someone for good or bad.  But you alone have power over these things, more power than you realize.  It does not matter how bad circumstances may seem.  What I discovered was that how I dealt with circumstances was much more important than the circumstances themselves.” (Seven Steps to Inner Power, p xxi)

So, next step – I made the frosting.  Except instead of all that sugar, I used orange blossom honey.  I carefully used it as glue and it worked for holding it all together.

But it sure didn’t look good!

This didn’t help much either!

But then….I had some fruit in the fridge, and this happened:

End result: the best carrot cake indeed!

HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME!

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A different kind of unity, and a very special dessert

This blog entry was meant for Valentine’s Day, but somehow, its spring time now but this is still a most wonderful creation.

Like so many things in our modern life, this started out with an innocent sounding phone call from a dear friend who also trains under Dr. Tae Yun Kim.  She herself doesn’t cook much, but loves desserts.

Here you can see my friend Holly on the rare occasions she ventures into the kitchen:

So, one day she calls, telling me she has received an extraordinary amount of homemade caramels and she couldn’t possibly eat them all – would I be able to come up with some dessert that combines the caramel and chocolate?  And with a dreamy voice she continued – and maybe you could put all that onto some cookie base…..”

I thought this was a perfect opportunity to put into practice – at least with food – one of  Dr. Tae Yun Kim ’s teachings – unity!  At Jung Suwon, we learn that in order to be effective, we cannot just use a finger, because each finger individually, is weak, but put together into a fist – what a powerful weapon!  Also, unity is important for our whole being – body, mind, spirit as one!

Aha!

And rather than comparing items, this time, I was going to join them!

So, this is what happened:

I made a batch of Brittany’s fabulous pie dough (and yes, it IS fabulous).  It is very easy to work with and tastes very wonderful and rich and just awesome!

I patted it into a pan,

sprinkled walnuts on top:

I liberally put on the caramels and melted them just enough to spread them:

Then!

Then I made a batch of Shirley’s flourless chocolate cake and put that on top and put it in the oven for some final magic.  This chocolate layer is amazing.  It is everything you want chocolate to be.  It’s great by itself, and it’s beyond wonderful in this dessert.

See the caramel bubbling up?

Looked a bit messy right out of the oven, but after being dressed up a little…

And here a closeup of all the incredible textures…

The outcome?

A most delightful, delicious, out of this world rich creation that is best shared with lots of people lest you get tempted and eat it all!

See?  This is what unity is all about!   😉

HE CAN DO, SHE CAN DO, WHY NOT ME!

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Almost fried chicken, gluten free- or, possibly the best chicken I ever made!

Notice that I said, “I” ever made!

It actually started out with something I bought, and I didn’t like it.  I bought this: http://www.glutino.com/our-products/bakery/breads/premium-flax-seed-bread/ Now, I am not dissing Glutino or their bread at all.  I am just saying, this particular product wasn’t a success in my house – as it arrived, I need to add.  I mean, what do you do with something that tastes like glued together sawdust?  (Again, nothing against Glutino and their bread, perhaps the one loaf I bought was sitting too long in the store or something)

Whenever I have food in front of me that is perfectly ok, just really doesn’t taste good, I cannot get myself to throw it away.  A true story always comes to mind – the one about Dr. Tae Yun Kim’s childhood.  During the Korean war, when food was scarce, she was starving a lot – she was a girl!  A firstborn at that, and in that culture, at that time, girls were simply considered extra mouths to feed, and many, like her, were abandoned.  She was only five years old!

I looked at that bread and thought how this would have been such a treasure to her, a starving, abandoned 5-year old!  I realized I had to make something special.

Use your creativity!  Is something that little girl, who grew up to, against all odds, become a Great Grandmaster in Tae Kwon Do, always encourages me to do.  “Follow your heart!” she says.

So, with that in mind, I started out making breadcrumbs, leaving them a bit chunky, more like panko.  Rustic, perhaps is the right word.

Next, I pre-boiled assorted chicken parts.  I had legs and thighs in my fridge, but you can use whatever you like.  This pre-boiling is a trick that same little girl, now Dr. Tae Yun Kim, has taught me – bring water to boiling, add Kosher salt and crushed garlic and put in the chicken parts – bring it back to boiling and boil just a few minutes, then drain.  It should not be cooked through.  This boiling draws out “junk”, or additives in the meat, and at the same time, also seals the meat.

Since I have to watch cholesterol, I took the chicken skin off and then rolled the parts in gluten-free flour mix.  Next, I dunked them in eggs that I had mixed up, and then – then the magic happened!

I had put the bread crumbs on a big plate, and mixed them with salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning.  I used this one:

I covered the chicken parts with the seasoned bread crumbs, and then arranged them neatly in a glass baking dish which I had prepared by putting some olive oil on the bottom, just a little bit only.  Once the chicken was in the pan, I drizzled a little more olive oil on top, and put the whole thing into a pre-heated to 350 degree oven.

After 30 minutes the fragrance wafting through the house was amazing!  I am not entirely sure what cooking/baking time to tell you – I would do between 30 and 45 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces.

Then, get ready to be blown away by some seriously good chicken!

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The scientific Cookie investigation

So, you would think that right after Christmas I wouldn’t want to bake any more cookies.  However, since simply didn’t have time for cookies during Christmas, I really wanted to catch up on the unbaked cookies, waiting to happen.

Besides, Dr. Tae Yun Kim, just recently returned from 2 months in Korea, always emphasizes that we determine when there is a season – let the season serve you, don’t become a slave to it.  Just because Christmas is usually December 25th – if your circumstances prevent you from celebrating on that date, why not do it another day?  Isn’t that the very message of Christmas?

Bowl is ready…well, sort of

So, here I was, looking at 2 recipes for chocolate chip cookies, undecided which one to bake, when a bunch of Jung Suwon demo team members stormed into the kitchen.  “What are you gonna bake?” they wanted to know.  When I told them I hadn’t made up my mind yet as to which of the recipes, they gleefully told me that I should do both, with their help.  We could do a very scientific comparison as to which recipe would produce the best cookies!

How could I say no to these budding scientists!  So, we went to work, busily measuring, mixing, shaping and baking cookies.

Here are the two recipes we used:

Shirley’s gluten free brown sugar chocolate chip cookies

and

Worlds Best Chocolate Chunk Cookies – unfortunately the website for this recipe doesn’t exist anymore, so use whatever recipe you feel like comparing 😉

The first taste test, starting with testing the cookie dough (science is all about being thorough, right?) proved that both recipes had superior tasting dough and we had to cut short this test in order to have enough left for the baked version.

Then the real test started.  I couldn’t believe some of the vocabulary I heard from these kids, that normally don’t have such refined and amazing words!  I heard “ethereal”, “light as a feather”, “melt in your mouth” and a lot more of those kinds of expressions.  When asked which of the cookies produced what reaction, I felt a certain resistance.

I was informed that after just one test, you couldn’t really tell, right?  So on they went, to round two of the very scientific test, munching down another set of cookies.  After a lot of head tilting and squinting and looking like they were deeply thinking, they announced another round of testing was necessary for statistical reasons.

And so it went.  After they couldn’t possibly eat any more cookies, and with a mischievous look on all their faces, it was decided that another batch of each was needed to make sure the quality is consistent and that the goodness wasn’t just a fluke.  😉

Ok, and as for my opinion?  Well, I am not being politically correct here, I am just saying as it is:  each of those recipes makes a most outstanding cookie, and it just depends what you are looking for.  If you want something nostalgic that reminds you of afterschool cookies and milk, or when you just plain in need of something comforting, my vote goes to Shirley’s cookies.

If you look for something airy and ethereal, and melt in your mouth quality, then Brittany’s cookies are your choice.

So, there you have it, from the experts.

And here is a word from a more universal expert, my Martial Arts teacher Dr. Tae Yun Kim:

“Each person, each being, has their own beauty.  A daisy is just as beautiful as a rose, but it is very different.  It should never try to be like a rose, but be the best daisy it can be.  And a dolphin will never be able to fly like an eagle, and neither should the eagle try to swim like the dolphin.  Each has their own unique beauty and place in this world, and each needs to fill their very special place in this Universe.”

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