Happy Healthy Stuffed Bell Peppers

When I grew up in a small town in Austria, food seemed to be very regimented.  I grew up thinking you could only eat spinach with fried potatoes and eggs, since it’s the only way I ever had it.  Or you had to eat roasted chicken with rice, but never with potatoes or noodles.

Dr. Tae Yun Kim set me free on all this limited thinking.  She explained that food needs to not only be healthy, made of organic, fresh ingredients, and be tasty, but also needs to look inviting.  And there should be a good variety and not always the same old thing.

So, although we love soup a lot, by now we are temporarily “souped out” and ready for bright spring dishes.

So here is Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s recommendation to beat the winter soup blues.  These stuffed peppers are very simple, yet very healthy and appealing.

You start by washing the peppers and cutting off the top, like in the picture.  Dry the inside well and set them in a well oiled, oven safe pan.  Set the oven to 350 degrees.

For the basic filling, mix cooked (brown) rice, pre-boiled ground beef, eggs, (I get good results with 1 egg per pound of ground beef) finely chopped parsley, cilantro, yellow and green onions, mushrooms, salt and pepper.

For added nutrition, Dr. Tae Yun Kim adds hemp seeds, a good handful of it, and chia seeds.  If you like it hot, add either finely chopped jalapenos, or hot red pepper.  Mix very well and stuff the peppers.  Put back the “lid”, and add tomato sauce into the baking pans.  I like to keep the sauce very spicy and chunky; make sure it comes up 3/4 the height of the bell peppers.

Bake for about half hour, and enjoy!

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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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Turkey Soup

On a rainy/snowy/rainy day like today, soup for dinner is a must!  Want to see what today looked like?

Turkey soup is very popular in our family and while I am positive that pretty much every family has a perfectly good recipe for turkey soup, this one is worthy of trying.

It just so happens that it is one of the many versions of soup that Dr. Tae Yun Kim has created.  It is easy to prepare, outstandingly delicious and happens to pair perfectly with her brand new gluten-free bread recipe.  The fresh herbs really make this superb!

Don’t worry – not these girls!  Those are quite safe.  Those are wild turkeys roaming the area.  They get to live on Dr. Tae Yun Kim‘s property freely and nobody bothers them.

To make the soup, here is what you need

Ingredients:

2 whole turkey wings

about 1/8 c raw minced garlic, or more if you can handle it 😉

Himalayan salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into small strips

2 stalks celery, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

1 medium size carrot, cut into bite siz slices

1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced

3 stalks broccolini, cut into bite size pieces

4-5 stalks of asparagus, cut into pieces

2-3 sprigs of fresh Thyme

1 large sprig of fresh Rosemary

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped green onions

Before you get started with the actual soup, you’ll need to pre-boil the turkey, as Dr. Tae Yun Kim recommends, to get rid of as many impurities as possible.  To do this, cover the turkey wings with water, add 3Tbs Kosher salt and some crushed garlic and let come to a boil – boil until the foam stops bubbling up.  This probably will take about 10 – 15 minutes.  Drain, rinse, rinse your pot well and fill with about a quart of water.Cut the turkey wings into sections, and add to pot, season with salt and pepper.

Let it come to a boil, and cook for about 15 -20 minutes; then add the onions, herbs, carrots and celery, let boil for 5 minutes, and add rest of vegetables, adding the parsley and green onions just before serving.  You can serve this with any kinds of (gluten-free) noodles and/or bread.  It is most delicious with this particular bread! The blend of herbs and mushrooms and all the other flavors really makes this soup special.  Go ahead and give it a try!

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Korean noodle soup

Today is a sort of guest post from a wonderful Korean lady that came and cooked for Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim a couple of days ago.  This was really great, after a hard Jung Suwon workout nourishing food is always wonderful to have!   I had the pleasure to watch her prepare this soup, and it looked like a special art form to me!

She was certainly applying Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s teachings while she was cooking – to focus with love and care on the food you are making, and to only think beautiful, positive thoughts about how much this food will bring health and happiness to the person receiving it!

First, to make the broth, boil water with crushed garlic and roughly cut yellow onions.  Add small dried fish (you can get those at most Oriental markets) and some anchovy sauce (it is naturally gluten-free.)  Let this boil gently for about 20 minutes, being careful to not let it boil down too much.

Meanwhile, cut carrots, green onions, zucchini if you have them, into matchstick size pieces and saute separately in olive or sesame oil.

Beat a couple of eggs, fry gently and cut into thin strips when they are done.

Boil the noodles, being careful not to overcook.

If you are gluten-free, be careful as to what noodles you use.  If noodles come in packages like this:

without any label, don’t use them!  These might taste good and look fantastic, but without any description and documentation, you will have no idea what is in them!  And yes, these were the noodles this lady had brought.  Luckily she didn’t cook the noodles in the soup, but in a separate pot, so all was well.

I like to use brown rice noodles and my family enjoys those as well.

Now you can start assembling this delicious soup:

Into each bowl, put one serving of noodles, then arrange the sautéed veggies and eggs beautifully on top.  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim emphasizes how important it is for the food to look good, it needs to have eye appeal, like in the picture:

Gently add the soup (only the liquid part) and top with some crumbled seaweed.

Now, after a prayer of thanks, open mouth, insert spoon………

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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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My favorite way to make rice

Yesterday I promised I would share with you how I like to make rice.  I realize that, as in so many things, there must be dozens of ways to make really good rice.  Whether you prefer a rice cooker, or you cook it on a pan, or if you just open a bag of Uncle Ben’s, this just happens to be my favorite, because to me, this just tastes best.  I learned this way of making rice from Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim.  At first, it seemed impossibly difficult to me.  But now that I have the technique down, it’s easy, fairly quick, and very good.  As in all things in this life, once you know how to do them, they are easy, as Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim points out.

You will need one of these:

This is a traditional Korean stone pot.  If you live in an area where there are Korean grocery stores, you’ll be able to get one.  But I am sure there are other stores that have them.  Pretty much any stone, or earthen ware small pot that can withstand direct heat will do.

Next, put in some rice, about this much:

This works best with short grain, white rice.  (Yes, I hear you.  Doesn’t Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim teach us that we should use whole, unprocessed foods whenever we can?  Absolutely!  But just wait a minute!)

I always mix either millet, or black sesame seeds, or both, with the white rice.  I also add some vegetables, (those that can withstand the long cooking process) such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, mushrooms, even chestnuts, cut in big chunks.  Here you see Oriental mushrooms in the rice pot:

Rinse the rice well and fill the stone pot with water, about 2/3 full.  It will look like there is way too much water.  Add in vegetables, if any, cut in chunks.  Put the stone pot on the stove – I have a gas stove and it works really well.  Bring it to a rolling boil, then cover it with it’s lid:

Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim has also shown me how to do this for brown rice and rice mixed with beans:  You’ll need to soak those for several hours and preferably pre-cook them a little.  A lot of effort?  Perhaps, but well worth it.  As we hear at Jung Suwon a lot, some things in life you can’t just get from a convenience store – you have to work for it!

Turn the heat down to the very lowest setting, and wrap a towel around it, being careful not to let it touch the flame or the burner, and put something heavy onto the towel to keep it in place.  If you don’t do the “towel thing,” then you’ll end up flooding your stove, as the steam will come out the sides.  This is what it looks like:

Then it’s time to practice the Jung Suwon code of ethics, last one:  PATIENCE!  For the next 20 – 30 minutes, don’t peek!  Resist the temptation!  Go practice your Jung Suwon forms in another part of the house, or read one of Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s books!

After 30 minutes, you can open the pot and check – doesn’t it smell wonderful?

Check and make sure the rice is done.  If it’s done but looks too wet, leave off the lid and let it sit on the stove on very low for 5 minutes or so and it will be fine.  If its not done yet and the water is gone, add some water and cover back up.

Now, enjoy!

And tomorrow, you will learn from Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, her favorite sauce to eat with this!

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

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Soup on a rainy day

In weather like this, and especially after a good, hard Jung Suwon workout, soup is the only logical solution to me.

So you see, today requires a good soup.  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim talks about the healing properties of food, and that on cold, rainy days our bodies need hot, healing foods.

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim taught me how to make great soups, and make them quickly.  After training at Jung Suwon, and working up a hefty appetite, most people think noodle soups, ramen, or perhaps meat based soups.  All those are good, no doubt.

But there are also many wonderful vegetable soups that nourish body, mind, and spirt, and are so quick and easy to make!

Here is what Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim suggests:

If you have Kimchi, cut some up and boil for a while, add some freshly ground garlic (or whatever garlic you have on hand.)  Add some of the Kim chi juice. If you have tofu, cut into cubes and add.  And from here on, have fun!  Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim teaches that when you prepare food, have the best of attitudes, put a lot of love into it.  Any kind of vegetable can be added, I prefer celery, zucchini, broccoli, and asparagus.  But be free!

If you have some cooked meat on hand, perhaps some chicken, you can add that as well.  Season to taste – and Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim recommends red pepper, some Kosher Salt, or Himalayan Salt, a little anchovy sauce if you like (no MSG) and some cut up green onions.

Now you are ready to enjoy with rice, or, you could add your noodles, dumplings, or rice cakes.

Enjoy!  As Great Grandmaster Kim would say, “Dig it in!”

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Jung SuWon Soup’s on!

The fall/winter season has come with a vengeance right now, after a very warm early fall.  It’s cold and dreary and rainy outside and I happen to love this kind of weather. 

It’s also the perfect weather to work out at Jung Suwon.  It’s not so hot that you sweat just changing your clothes.  In fact you’ll need to work hard to stay warm! 

I have found that soup is perfect for this time of year.  But in addition, if you are not a good cook yet, and you are struggling with your culinary development, start with soup. Trust me, they are easy to make, it’s easy to be creative with soups, and it’s easy to impress people with your soup cooking.

For example, spicy Korean soups are my current favorites to make and eat.  They are healthy, filling, but not fattening perfect foods and so easy to make.  A perfect soup base would be some chicken soup as in the recipe earlier on this blog.  Or the oxtail soup I mentioned.  But, if you don’t happen to have that on hand, or just don’t want to bother, no problem!

Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim explained to me that during the Korean War times soup was always a great thing to make – whatever you had, you put into the soup and were able to feed several people for what otherwise would have been just one ingredient for one person! 

So, here are some basics for some good soup.  Let’s assume you don’t have any broth ready.   Boil some water with ground or chopped garlic (and in my opinion there is no such thing as too much garlic).  If you have some leftover potroast, add a couple of slices, or if you have some leftover broiled chicken, you could add that.  Add whatever vegetables you have on hand and boil.  Add salt and pepper to taste and if you like it spicy like I do, add some red pepper flakes.  You could also add some kimchi to this.

As to what to put into the soup, the sky is the limit.  Try some noodles – either the very thin Japanese noodles (boil them seperately), or Korean glass noodles, or whatever size and shape noodle you like.  Or, add some suchebi, or some ready made mandoo.  Or add a few of each.  You can also drop some eggs into the soup. 

Ok ok, I better stop – I believe this will keep you busy for a while.  But do go ahead and give soup a chance!

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Jung SuWon Style Soup’s on!

Yes, this recipe is a bit involved, but just trust me, this is really worth the effort.  Actually, come to think about it, it’s not all that time consuming if you are managing that time well. 

This is one of my very treasured recipes, one that i received directly from Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim.  She told me this soup reminded her of Korea, when she grew up during the war time.  Back then, the soup was a lot more “bare basics” and didn’t have any meat or mushrooms or anything fancy.  The current version is old-style Korean with a new twist.  But most of all its just plain good. 

You start with a base of oxtail soup.  Here’s a quick primer if you are not familiar with that.  You get a package of oxtails, and put them in a pot with cold water, crushed garlic and kosher salt.   Bring to boiling, then let boil for about 15 minutes or until there is a lot of dark foam on top.  Drain the oxtails, rinse well, and wash out the pot.  Bring water to boiling again, add the oxtails, crushed garlic and Kosher salt.  Cover, and let boil on low heat at least an hour, but you can let it boil for several hours – the soup only gets better.  It’s best when it gets milky white.  The meat will get so tender it will fall off the bones. 

About half hour before you want to serve this soup, bring some water and salt to boiling in a seperate pot, and add a handful of chap chae noodles (glass noodles, made of sweet potatoes) per serving of soup you want to make.  Cook until still very al dente, then rinse with cold water and set aside.

Meanwhile, cut a handful green onions – the white part into 1 inch long chunks and put right in soup.  The rest, chop very fine and set aside.  For the suchebi = dumplings, you can either start from scratch – and any recipe for noodle dough you have will probably do fine.  I like to make noodle dough from 2 eggs mixed with salt and a little oil, about 2 Tsp per 2 eggs, and about 3/4 cups warm water.  Add enough flour and mix until the dough holds shape, then knead on floured board until no longer sticky.  Add flour as needed.  If you are not using the dough right away – which is actually better – you can let it rest at room temperature under a small porcellain bowl.  Just before serving, pull off very thin pieces of the dough and add to the soup.  You won’t have to cook it very long. 

If you are a bit queasy or, heaven forbid, intimidated, by this recipe so far, take heart.  You don’t have to make the dumplings from scratch.  Just get a box of suchebi mix from a Korean store.  This is what the box looks like:

With your hands/fingers, flatten one end of the wad of dough and pinch off (or cut off with scissors) flat, relatively thin, pieces of the dough and put into soup as you go along.  At this point, you can  also put in straw mushrooms if you like.  Season soup with salt, pepper, and red pepper. 

To serve, ideally, put a little broth into a Korean soup pot like the one above, add the glass noodles, add more broth and suchebi.  Top with the finely chopped green onions, cover, and serve piping hot.  Traditionally, and I do make it this way – you would bring the soup and contents to boiling in the soup pot directly on open fire, and then serve like this, while it’s still boiling inside the pot.  But you don’t have to do this.  It will taste great even if you don’t. 

This tastes incredible after a hard class at Jung SuWon, it will rejuvenate and strengthen you.  Especially on a dark and blustery fall or winter night.

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