Oh, Kimche is definitely on the list. I just found these huge barrels for sale in the International District...plus it seems very easy to make, although I've heard a few locals discuss their own variations on the theme...one lady buries it in the yard (the best I've had to date, by the way).

I've been looking at the Korean way of eating, and it's probably the next venue I'll research. If you can ply any cool recipes out of Grandma, well, I'd be way into it.

rayj wrote:Oh, Kimche is definitely on the list. I just found these huge barrels for sale in the International District...plus it seems very easy to make, although I've heard a few locals discuss their own variations on the theme...one lady buries it in the yard (the best I've had to date, by the way).

I've been looking at the Korean way of eating, and it's probably the next venue I'll research. If you can ply any cool recipes out of Grandma, well, I'd be way into it.

i have tons of home recipes... and yes burying your jar is totally the best (with a giant kimchee rock inside compressing the cabbage)! but i have yet to have kimchee i don't like (made by koreans, that is).

korean food isn't really a science, every home has a different way of doing things... you can add all kinds of stuff to the spicy tofu soup i mentioned earlier or saute tons of shit together just depending on what you like.

another delicious soup is ox-tail (my favorite) and a really tasty treat for winter. just slow simmer oxtail (a few pounds) in water with a few cloves of crushed garlic until the meat falls off the bone, 3-5 hours depending on how much time you have, (skim the froth regularly) then top it with fresh scallion, salt and pepper (to taste) in the bowl and eat with kimchee. so good.... i usually pick out the meat with my chopsticks and salt it directly then drink the broth because oxtail rules! when you refrigerate the soup it'll become like wax cause it's sooo fatty (still delicious reheated though)... so it you don't like fatty food (even though it's better that way) you can make it the day before, refrigerate and then remove the waxy top part to eliminate the excess. mmm... oxtail...

there's also a yummy chicken soup we make with seaweed (mee yuk)! so so good! also a slow boil for hours (until meat falls off the bone) but with chicken, garlic and onions... then at the end you add your fresh seaweed (plenty of it!) and a little but of sesame oil and soy sauce. mm... eat with kimchee of course. the seaweed is sooooo good for you. it is practically a ritual for pregnant korean women to eat this regularly.

Would a mousakka work for you, rayj? Those are calorific and also pretty carb/sugar friendly. The Béchamel sauce (w/ flour) is the only thing I can see being a problem.

A fillet of salmon or steak with bernaise sauce over a bed of asparagus with a side of salad caprese and perhaps a ragout of well-cooked marinaded mushrooms and sauteed vegetables with...a bunch of seasonigs? Would that be helpful?

Thanks! I think I might need to look for one of those awesome Korean griddles...

I'm into the oxtail, but here it has become wildly popular with rich whites, and the price is ridiculous. I got several batches back in St. Louis years ago just by asking for them...several butchers used to just toss them.

later: good lord, I just ate, and you two are making me hungry...mousakka...

even later (the coffee has me crazed): fat is an interesting food, in the way that it works with diabetes. Energy from fats is metabolized much, much more slowly than other sugars, making it ideal (except for the obvious cardiac complications, which are hopefully far, far in the future). If you eat fats first, they slow down the processing of other sugars. I've been eating a lot of bacon lately...

This recipe is SO not diabetic safe.

But it's for my grandmother's sweet potato souffle/casserole thing.

It is mighty, mighty.

3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled, boiled and pureed
1/2 cup milk (or your non-dairy substitute)
1 cup sugar (or acceptable sweetener substitute)
 2-3 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp butter
2 eggs  (vegan substitute?)

topping: 
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter (or margarine)
1 cup pecans (chopped)

mash the taters in a bowl with the butter, milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, etc.  You could also throw in some cinnamon if you're so inclined.  Make is smooth across the top.  Mix the topping in a different bowl, then crumble it across the top.  Throw it in the oven at 350º for about 1/2 an hour, or until the topping melts and makes a crust.  Plan on a nap afterwards.

God, that looks good. But, yeah, I'd probably at least go blind...

I made a worthwhile baked grits dish this Thanksgiving:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups yellow grits
6 cups water
8 oz. extra sharp cheddar, grated
4 oz. smoked gouda, grated
4 eggs, beaten lightly
20 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
5 slices thick bacon, diced
2 chipotle peppers, diced very thin
1 tsp adobo sauce (accompanying chipotles)
1 red onion, diced
1 tsp ancho chili powder
2 tsp granulated garlic
salt & black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

-- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring water to a boil in pot. Add diced bacon to a hot pan; sautee until desired crispness. Add red onion to bacon grease and sautee until translucent.

-- Once water is up to a boil, add grits, and boil grits for 5-10 minutes or until much of the water is absorbed, mixing often. Mix in shredded cheeses until melted into the grits, add eggs (shouldn't need to temper them, since the grits aren't that hot after the cheese goes in). Add thyme, bacon & onion, granulated garlic, ancho chili powder, chipotles & adobo, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine for 5-7 minutes, and season to taste after.

-- Remove from heat, and add mixture to a greased 8 x 11 pyrex pan. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, and let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

There's a lot of flavor in this (and some heat), and you could use this ingredient combination to make a pretty killer macaroni and cheese. It's hard to go wrong with bacon, chipotles, and thyme. And while this ended up being a side dish for my parents' Thanksgiving party, it would make one hell of a breakfast.

Gareth Keenan wrote:I made a worthwhile baked grits dish this Thanksgiving

That looks awesome, and sort of reminds me of this sour cream and chive spoonbread recipe. That spoonbread goes well with almost anything and is terrific for the holidays.

rayj wrote:

Mandroid2.0 wrote:How severe is your condition? I mean, can there be slight glutens in your diet? Can you handle a few sheets of phyllo dough?

Frittatas are the best and easiest poor man's food, in my opinion. Eggs cost little, there are usually leftovers hanging around, you can put a scant few sprinklings of strong cheese in the mixture with amazing and potent result, and they look pretty. I've also seen similar projects done in tart form, but with tomatoes or eggplants as the crust.

Yes, eggs are OK. I can handle some carbs, but the source of the carbs is a point of contention as well. It gets ridiculously complicated, but simple sugars hit me like a sledgehammer...40 grams of carbohydrates from a box of mac & cheese makes me sick, but the same from whole grain European style breads barely registers...

I used to make crepes fairly often. Maybe I should experiment with them again and use whole wheat flour...

Crustless quiche is a good one. I used to make them all the time. Thanks for reminding me...

That's really interesting. I'm an insulin dependent Type 1 diabetic on a high-carb low-fat diet. I've never come across someone with your regime before.
I'm dependent on wholewheat breads, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, fruit, digestive biscuits and the like. Slow-release energy basically with three hits of fast-acting insulin at mealtimes and an overnight basal dose.

super (hangover) burrito

1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 can black beans
1 italian sweet sausage
1/4 chopped yellow onion
1 fried egg
1 sundried tomato tortilla
handful of shredded white cheddar
lemon juice
salt & pepper
butter or margarine
sweet and sour hot sauce or spread

cook sausage until the sides are a little burnt, then cut into little pieces. carmelize the onions (or at least sautée for about 8-10 minutes till they're pretty sweet). salt, pepper and butter the rice. lightly toast the tortilla (buttered) in a pan. heat beans. layer ingredients with egg then cheese on top. squeeze a little lemon juice over top and wrap the burrito, heat in microwave if it's not scorching hot. dip in hot sauce to taste.