An attention catching casserole

Isn’t this a beauty?  It didn’t only look good – it tasted fabulous!  It’s one of those simple dishes that you might overlook because of its simplicity but trust me, it’s worth checking out.  And no matter how many casserole recipes you have, and have made – I suggest give this one a try anyway.  I promise you won’t be disappointed!  And don’t be deterred by my beautiful aluminum foil pan – this was for a friend that had surgery and needed to be transportable and disposable.

While I was putting this together,  thought about some things Dr. Tae Yun Kim has said that keeps sticking in my mind (and I love that it does.)

“Just as you put energy into your food when you grow it or prepare it, you also fill your environment with your energy.  A room full of people creates an energy field that can be positive or negative, depending on everyone’s intent.”  (The Silent Master, page 76)

Well, I certainly put a lot of love into this dish and to everyone around me!

To recreate it, start with either a nice steak, or if you need to watch your budget, you can use stew beef.

First, in a little oil of your choice, saute your meat of choice briefly, and add ground garlic and cut up onions.  Stir fry until just barely starting to get tender, then add other veggies of your choice.  Here is what I used:

Add a couple of jars good quality tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce, and let it heat up.  Add some hot red pepper, I used some very spicy Korean red pepper powder, and it took this dish over the top!

While you are sauteing the meat, start boiling water for your pasta.  I love small shells, so that is what I used, but you can use maccaroni or whatever pasta you prefer.  If you are gluten-free, like me, make sure you get gluten free pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.

Cook pasta until it still has a good “bite” in the middle, drain and rinse briefly.  Preheat oven to 350.

In an oven proof casserole dish, put a layer of the meat-veggie sauce, then add a layer of pasta.  Put some grated cheese on top, or if you prefer, dot with spoonfuls of cream cheese with herbs.  Add the rest of the sauce, and put in the oven for about 20 minutes or completely heated through.  Just before done, you can sprinkle more grated cheese on top – serve right after the cheese has melted.  Good luck and Guten Appetit!  Or, with Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s immortal encouraging words, “Dig it in!  Enjoy!”

 

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Korean Style Pancakes

I am pretty sure that there are as many different Korean Pancake recipes as there are kinds of kimchi!  And they are all very delicious.

As usual, Dr. Tae Yun Kim takes it to another level altogether.  She starts out with the basic concept, and then goes on to “healthify” it as we like to call it.  She mixed up a basic pancake batter, where she combined a “home-grown” egg,  “a little water” and whisked until was all well combined, with some salt and garlic powder added.

Then she added flour, enough to get the consistency of regular pancake batter.  If you are gluten-free, be sure to use xanthan gum or physllium powder with your gluten free flour to make the batter hold together.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim likes to kick the heat notch up a bit and adds some grated jalapeno to the batter, or finely chopped parsley.

Then, this time, she added some carrots that had been pre-cooked just enough to be very firm but not crunchy any more.  She added sliced tofu, onions, and other veggies, along with sliced up kosher hot dogs.

Then, after the batter started to barely turn solid, here comes another surprise:

Dr. Tae Yun Kim added another thin layer of batter over the top.  After a quick and swift flipping over, the newly created art form looked like this:

Doesn’t that make you want to run in the kitchen and make on of these RIGHT NOW???

And even though there are no set amounts of ingredients for this savory pancake here on this blog yet, do go ahead and try – you really can’t go wrong!  And you will thank yourself you did!

 

 

 

 

 

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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!

 

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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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Childhood comfort food – Apricot dumplings

It’s still hot here – in the 90s.  But I was inspired to cook a favorite childhood comfort food after Dr.  Tae Yun Kim invited us to help pick and taste test her apricots and early plums.

While picking this most delicious and sweet fruit, Dr. Tae Yun Kim talked about patience – as in, when you want to harvest your own fruit, you have to be patient and wait for it.  There is no speeding up the process!  You cannot harvest the flowers, or the hard green fruit – you must wait!

I couldn’t get apricot dumplings out of my mind.  I hadn’t made them in a very long time ( such as, about 30 years or so) and now there was the added challenge of making them gluten-free.

Following the basic recipe, I boiled 5 medium potatoes, whole, skin and all, until they were soft, and let them cool off.

After peeling them, I forced them through a strainer (mashing them doesn’t work well here), and added 2 medium/large eggs, a couple of tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 cup almond flour, and enough gluten-free flour to make a soft, pliable, but not sticky dough.

I covered the dough and prepared the apricots, by cutting them just enough to get the pit out and putting in a half tsp of honey, more if you like it really sweet.

Then, I wrapped each apricot into its own piece of dough.  Sorry about the fuzzy picture.

The traditional recipe calls for boiling the dumplings in water.  However, I prefer to steam them.  Here they are all lined up in my steamer:

I steamed them for about 20 minutes and sprinkled them with ground pistachios.  (Traditionally you would serve them with breadcrumbs, fried in butter, and liberal amounts of powdered sugar.)

Now try this, and enjoy!  Let me know how you like them!

Note: I made this with Shirley’s gluten free flour mix, which you can see here, in her notes after the recipe.  I am pretty sure it would work with a lot of different combinations!

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Healthy Almond Snack

So, a while ago, I learned there is such a thing as National Almond day. It was February 16th.

And while I didn’t post it on that day, I did make these great almond snacks, totally healthy and very delicious!

Dr.  Tae Yun Kim wants all her students to live a healthy life, and eat the best healthy foods, and will give advice to those that seek it.

In today’s world, it’s hard to find good, healthy, gluten-free snacks.  Not that they aren’t easily available – far from it!  But it’s just that there is so much else out there that is competing with the healthy and wholesome items!  So, to make it easy, here is a very simple recipe for outstanding almonds.  We all know that nuts, especially almonds, are good for us – they contain the good kind of fats and lots of minerals, so, here we go!

Do give these a try – they are one of  Dr.  Tae Yun Kim s favorite snacks!

First, get some whole almonds.  If you can get them already blanched, great. But if you want to go the extra mile, get almonds with the skin still on, and soak them in cool water until the skin comes lose.  (Yes, it’s a lot easier if you pour hot water on the almonds and peel immediately. However, it alters the consistency of the almonds and they turn mealy rather than light, crunchy, yet almost fruity if you take the time to soak them in cool water.

Once peeled, dry them and put them in a pan with hot olive oil.  Lightly sprinkle with Himalayan Salt, or any salt you like, and garlic powder.  (Fresh is ok too, but tends to burn too easily).  Add finely chopped fresh rosemary, or dried rosemary to your liking, and roast thoroughly.  At this point, feel free to experiment with other spices, but this is my original recipe.

Arrange them nicely, offer them, and watch them disappear in a hurry!  Now, it’s time to feel good about a naturally gluten-free, very healthy, and most delicious snack!

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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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Beautiful sights and smells on a drab and rainy day

Don’t get me wrong – I love this 55 degree rainy and blustery weather – it’s very rare this time of year where I live!  But for other household members and many native Californian Jung Suwon warriors, this is not what they would call fun weather.

So, while I normally would post a recipe for soup on a day like this (read up on yesterday’s blog, that’s the soup I have on the stove right now) here are some bright and wonderfully sweet, yet still healthful treats.

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has emphasized the goodness and healthful qualities of nuts, and so today’s contribution is for peanut butter sandwich cookies!  These are gluten-free, and healthy enough for Jung Suwon warriors as a snack in between classes, or as a post Jung Suwon class pick-me-up.  There is no flour in these cookies, and you can even use less sugar than the recipe tells you to, I have tried it out with as little as 1/2 the amount and the cookies still came out great.

The recipe for these cookies and the idea to make them into sandwiches comes entirely from Shirley Braden , and you get get the recipe for them here,  from her very informative website called, “gluten free easily.”

And while you make these little gems, keep Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s words, from her book, “The Silent Master,” in your mind and thought:

“When you prepare your food, the energy you put into the process will affect the quality of the outcome.  Was your food prepared with love and care and the will to nourish?  Or was it prepared with feelings of anger and resentment, anxiety and hurry?  When you eat food prepared either way, it will have a nourishing quality that corresponds to the energy and intent of the preparer.”

If you have the will power to let them cool off unharmed – while they are cooling off, whip some low-fat cream cheese until very smooth, and add some nutella.  How much, is up to your taste buds.  Sometimes I just go with straight nutella, but I do like the tanginess of the cream cheese.

These are worth the wait though.  As Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim says, great things seldom come from convenience or fast food stores, but put in your energy and see the results!

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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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