AL AL

As I was doing some researching I found this article on fermenting veggies...... not directly related to Kim chi but was interesting none the less for a beginner like me.

http://www.herbcompanion.com/cooking/The-Surprising-Health-Benefits-of-Fermented-Foods.aspx

  Ok... you have me convinced that I have to start making my own Kim Chi.... those pics did it !

As I recall the reasoning for the burying the Kim chi underground was that it kept the crocks of fermenting Kim Chi at a small temp range of 50 to 56 degs F for most of the year round..... they would dig up the pots so they could have veggies during the frozen winters.

Back in the 70's when I was first introduced to Kim Chi they used to make their own and would ferment their Kim Chi for many months... not weeks..... some would even let it go for up to a whole year !.......... But for most people thats just too long to wait....... but my employers who made the Kim Chi were Korean and it was simply part of their culture and to them it was normal to always have some revolving batches of Kim Chi going on.

But I agree if it is only done for a couple of days or weeks it really is more of a pickling than longer term fermentation.

EDIT : I think I may have egg on my face here and please accept my apology , but I think I messed up here as I got crossed up and was refering to the Koreans burying their Kim Chi in pots in the ground for up to a year...... not the 1st fermentation stage before storage.... my mistake. ops:

Polyparadigm,

I think you are right.... it's all sort of connected. Changing my diet has had a dramatic effect on my well being for the past 6 years or so.... but thats a long story....

As far as the Cod Liver Oil goes I have been using the Carlson Labs product..... this is nothing like the stuff from decades ago that smelled bad and tasted worse..... Carlson's is very clean and has no fish odor or taste .... I used the Lemon flavored product.... but even the lemon taste is faint.

I A/B tested this product by using it and monitoring the result then stopped using it and monitored the result....... without question in "my" case the results have been very positive.I have had a much greater range of motion , that " snap crackle and pop " noise in my neck all but disappeared and the pain is nearly gone...... The product is not inexpensive but for me it works and it's been worth it..... I will say that since this is indeed a fat if anyone has any health issues concerning consumption of fats ( diabetes , colestrol ect ect ) one might do a fair amount of research prior to using this product.

http://www.carlsonlabs.com

Thanks Jocelyn , I have heard about Krill Oil but I haven't had the time to research the Krill Oil as much as I would like to..... I will look into this subject more tho. Thank you for the link !

As far as coffee goes I one of those 1 % people of the world who cannot drink coffee......3 times in my life I have tried coffee.... twice it hit my stomach and did an about face and came right back up..... the third time it almost did the same..... so I just obey my gut as it appears that coffee and me just agree to disagree ......... I know I'm weird when it comes to coffee ! heheheheh

Bluejay ,

Wow... thanks for the explanation ..... At least we have a better idea of why the cocktail works.......

Not to change the subject but I suffer from arthritis in my neck as a result of an old injury...... For years I just lived with it but I found something that helps me..... Cod Liver Oil..... The propaganda says that it has large amounts of Omega 3 Fatty Acids and that they help support your bodies own anti inflammatory defenses. I can honestly say that I A/B tested using and then not using the CLO and found that for me it does indeed help.
Do you have any thoughts on the subject of inflammation and how to combat it ?

Polyparadigm ,

Thanks for the link...... I really do need to try my hand at making KimChi and maybe even Sourkrat.

Well tonight I just wanted to have something abit different..... something I hadn't had in a while...... so I through together some veggie sandwiches out of what I had in the fridge......... In todays case it went like this : Be fore warned I only measure stuff if I'm baking so in this case as usual I didn't measure anything with respect to quantity of ingredients.

Red Bell Pepper cut up into roughly 3/8 " strips a couple of inches long.
Red onion sliced up.
Brocolli stalks.... after slicing off the tough outer skin I sliced up the core into roughly 3/16" thick X a couple inches long.
White Button mushrooms sliced..... only had 4 left.
A couple of tomato's sliced.
Portabella mushrooms about 4" wide..... sliced up into 1/2" X 2 " slices after removing the gills.
Some sliced up left over canned pitted black olives that were in the fridge.
Green onion..... sliced up on the bias.
String Beans ...... sliced lengthwise split down the middle and cut on bias .
Garlic...... 4 cloves smashed and chopped.
Ginger .... a small hunk of ginger smashed and chopped.
Italian Seasoning...... to taste
Black Pepper ...... to Taste.
Fake Balsamic Vinegar ..... a splash or two.
Soy Sauce .... a splash or two.
Pace Med Heat Chunky Salsa....... I don't know I tossed some in till it looked right....
Red Pepper flakes....... A pinch.
Un Processed Wheat Bran...... a pinch or two..... pretty much tasteless but just adds extra  fiber.....
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Sauteed  it all into my 12" cast iron skillet with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil....... cooked up long enough so that the beans were cooked through but still retained their taste and were just abit aldente............ Had to add a small amount of water when it wasn't quite done yet but was getting too dry.......

When it was all fully cooked...... I tossed the mixture on some 6" long sour dough sandwich rolls that were lightly toasted and slathered with mustard and  some thin sliced Cracker Barrel Cheddar Cheese.

This makes a very tasty healthy meal that is bold enough taste wise not to miss the fact that there was no meat in it...... spicy enough for just enough heat without burning...... and quite filling.

Feel free to try it your way with whatever ya have sitting around ........ I tried this as an experiment years and years ago and it worked out well.

 

Leah , I'll bet once it's cleaned up that Dutch Oven will cook some great meals..... any idea what brand or how old it is ?

You inspired me to try popcorn again in my Dutch Oven..... The 1st time I tried it I burned the popcorn pretty badly using my smaller 10" oven..... tonight I tried it in my larger 12" Camp Style oven......... I tried it Paul's way ...... bacon squeezin's ...... heated the oil up real good first then added the popcorn kernels..... they instantly started to sizzle ...... after it started to pop I turned the heat down...... had to modulate the heat a few times between lower and higher flame..... and stirred the corn often.......

The results were great ! only about a half dozen kernels refused to pop and none of the popcorn was burned...... Paul's method worked again !......... I have no doubt your DO will cook you up some great corn !

Somewhere around here I have an old hand cranked grinder that I got after my mother passed away. I remember as a kid she used it mostly for grinding cheddar cheese to make pimento cheese sandwiches.It was a bit of pain to clean but worked fantastically.

Ok.... now I have to try this again...... a year ago or there abouts I tried popcorn on the stove in my CI Dutch Oven..... and I burned it so badly I never tried it again....... I have never taken any temp readings but at least with mine , with the lid on the temps go up dramatically and at that time I had not yet figured out the relationship..... now after useing the DO dozens of times I'm getting a much better feel for it...... but I think temps would have to be reduced a bunch..... your turn on / turn off just might do the trick in the DO.

Looks like I going to make up some stuffed peppers in the new Dutch Oven......... mix up some beef and sausage with some garlic , red onions ,mushrooms , kidney beans , rice , salsa , salt n pepper , and whatever else I can find to toss in some yellow bell peppers.....wish me luck 

Leah Sattler wrote:
if you are really interested you could raise quail fairly easily in the burbs. or rabbits. some people keep a few hens of a quiet breed for eggs too.

I'm going out for mothers day a day early. hmmm. don't know where. maybe the local catfish buffet.

Not a bad idea.... but I do have one problem , and that is with our Home Owners Assn ..... we are not allowed to keep animals to be raised for food...... however I do know one neighbor who has kept a couple of ducks in his back yard...... maybe he likes duck eggs ....... Balut anyone ?

Catfish !! Ohh do I love Catfish !.......... I haven't seen a Catfish Buffet since I was in New Orleans 15 years ago.

Hope everyone has a great weekend !

Now it's off to pick up something to make dinner with and I haven't a clue what to get........ I just got a new 12" 8 QT Camp Style  Cast Iron Dutch Oven that I'd like to break it in......hmmm what sounds good ?