Chickpea salad wrap/taco

This is a truly tasty, healthy, and guilt free dish.
Very easy to make.  Make a big batch and have it as a snack, wraps or as a side dish to your meal.
I used a low carb whole wheat tortilla's from Trader Joe's.  I lightly sauteed the tortilla with olive oil
and added the chickpea salad.

Ingredients.

Main star of this dish is the chickpeas.  After that you can add any kind of
veggies you desire.

Here is the list for mine.  I use these veggies because they don't get too soggy
after couple of days in the fridge.

1 can of chick peas (Garbanzo beans)  rinsed.
1 orange bell pepper
1/2 cup of diced tomatoes (Cherry tomatoes are ideal)
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped
1/4 of small red onion chopped
1 chopped garlic clove

Dressing.
1 lemon squeezed
Splash of red wine vinegar
1/2 inch of ginger grated.
1/2 tsp of sugar or honey
Olive oil  (For traditional dressing its 3 parts oil and 1 part vinegar.  I use less oil and add a splash of water)
Salt and pepper to taste.

*Of course use any kind of dressing you like.
Feta cheese is a great topping for this salad.

Mung Bean Pancake/Bin dae Duk

One of popular Korean dishes are savory pancakes.  This one is one of my favorite.  The star of this dish is Mung beans/or Lentils.  So its also very healthy.

This is what Mung Bean/Lentils look like

Recipe.

1 cup of Mung beans soaked in water for at least 2 hours.
1/3 cup of rice flour/or plain flour
1tsp of kosher salt or 1/2 tsp of table salt
4 stalks of scallion chopped
1 small zucchini julienned.
1/2 cup of kimchi chopped
1/4 cup of pork diced.  (This is optional for those who want to keep it healthy)
1/4 cup of water or more for thinner batter.
2 tbsp Canola Oil.

Drain the beans and grind the beans. Grind to paste.
Put into large bowl and add all the ingredients and mix well.
Just like making pancakes add oil to pan on medium heat.
The pancakes are pan fried so more oil to achieve good browning.
cook 7 to 8 minuets on each side. It take time for the pancake to cook through.

dipping sauce.
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of rice vinegar
1 crushed clove of garlic
1tso if sugar
mix well.

*

Kimchi.

Of course I have to do a post on kimchi.  This post is for all Korean's in Korea suffering kimchi shortage.  It is true.  Country is in a turmoil.

Ingredients

2 heads of Napa cabbage (quartered)

1/2 Daikon radish.

1 bunch of green onions.

2 cups of sea salt or kosher salt, enough to coat the cabbage inside and out. 

Water, enough to cover the cabbage while brinning. 

Prepare cabbage.
Coat the cabbage inside and out with salt.
Cover with water and let it sit in cool spot in your kitchen for at least 4 hours.
Rinse well, at least 3 to 4 times squeeze all the water out.

Mean while julienne the radish and chop green onions.

Kimchi paste
1 whole garlic peeled and roughly chopped
2 inch piece of ginger peeled and roughly chopped.
Korean pepper flakes. 1 cup. depending on hot spicy you like it.
1 large Korean pear or 2 Bosc pears peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 onion roughly chopped.
2 TBSP of kosher salt.
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of fish sauce (preferably 3 Crabs brand)

Add all the ingredients and puree them in blender or food processor till it
becomes and paste. Should be slightly watery paste. Taste. It should taste like good kimchi.
Add the julienned radish and chopped green onions.

Here is the important part. Use you hands. ( I wear rubber gloves)

Add all the ingredients except for the cabbage and mix well.
in a large bowl coat the cabbage with the kimchi mixture inside and out.
Make sure to add to every layer of the cabbage.
After done rolled the cabbage (liked cradled) with all the sauce put them in a sealed container and let it sit on the kitchen counter for 2 days.
Refrigerate for 1 week.
It should be ready to eat once it is refrigerated.
Gets better as it ages.

*note.  There are many options to making kimchi.  You can add salted shrimp, more chili powder, some traditional recipe's call for making the paste with rice flour. 

Martini

How to make a martini.

Martini, in my view is the king of all cocktails.

Its elegance, traditions, and simplicity can’t be matched by

any drink in the history of alcoholic beverage.

There is 1 very important rule to making a martini.

NEVER EVER SHAKE THE MARTINI!!!!!

(Any self respecting bartender should know this rule)

Why?  “BECAUSE IT WATERS DOWN THE ALCOHOL”.

A true martini is about 3 shots of pure chilled vodka/gin

For the price of one drink.

Oh and that thing about James Bond drinking martini shaken.

"It’s a movie and it’s not real".

Oh, and one more thing, if there any other ingredient then vodka/gin and dry vermouth it is not a martini. 

Just because the drink is in a martini glass, it does not make it a martini. 

Ingredients

Ice, Vodka/Gin, Dry vermouth, olives or lemon rind

Recipe

1 Chill a martini glass.  Fill it with ice cubes or put it in the freezer.

  (The goal is to make it as cold as possible)

2 Fill a pint glass with ice, pour chilled vodka/gin to the glass. 

    I usually count to 3.  4 On a bad day.

   Here is the hard part.   STIR gently.

3 Remove the ice in the martini glass.  Pour a drop of dry vermouth and swirl.

   Pour out the vermouth. 

4 Very carefully with a strainer pour very cold and very chilled vodka/gin into    

    martini glass.

5 Garnish with olives skewered on a toothpick on the side.    
   (Olives take up valuable space in the glass) 

Option:  Lemon twist.  Peel a lemon rind twist over the martini to add zest oil  
               to the martini, gently curl it and lay it on the rim of the glass. 

Bacon

I mean really, is there anything better?  Especially cooked over camp fire? 

Portrait of a butter.

Need I say more.

Chicken Liver Pate.

This is how you impress people.  Making real pate from scratch.  The easy version.

Ingredients.

1 1/2 stick of butter.  (Don't be shocked, Jacques Pepin uses 2 1/2 sticks of butter)
1 pound of chicken liver.
1 shallot sliced.
2 cloves of garlic chopped.
3 to 4 stalks of fresh thyme.
2 small or 1 large bay leaf.
Splash of dry sherry, white wine, cognac, bourbon or dry vermouth.  ( All I had was dry vermouth)
1/4 cup of chopped parsley.  (Optional)
Salt and pepper to taste.




Melt 1 stick of butter in pan in med/low heat.
Don't want to burn the butter.
add thyme and bay leaf saute for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add garlic and shallots.  Saute till shallots are soft.

Add chicken liver cooked till pink inside.
about 5 to 10 minutes.

Fish out the bay leaf and thyme.
Add to blender or food processor.
Add splash of dry vermouth.

Blend smooth.

Pour into a ramekin.  Let cool to room temperature.  pour melted clarified butter.  (The other 1/2 stick of butter) on top of the pate.
Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hr.


Serve as a topping for your favorite bread or crackers.


*It should last 2 weeks in the refrigerator if not used.