Making jam with honey

To achieve my New Year's resolution of eating real food, I decided to make jam using raw honey. The reason I chose to use raw honey was its real food! It has not been pasteurized, clarified, or filtered. It is of the highest organic quality and is your best choice. While regular honey is translucent, natural honey is creamy and usually opaque. It is made by turning finely crystallized honey back into liquid honey.



To make the jam jell, I used pectin. My friend CC recommended that I use Pomona's Universal Pectin because it with allow me to make jam with honey. Calcium water is required to activate the pectin. Compared to the recipe that I used last time, I only used 2 teaspoons of pectin to this recipe instead of a whole box from Sure Jell.




Ingredient
4 cup strawberry
1/2 cup raw honey
2 teaspoons pectin
2 teaspoons calcium water(See below for recipe; Calcium powder comes with pectin)

Preperation
1) Put 1/2t white calcium powder and 1/2C water in a small, clear jar with lid.
2) Slightly mash strawberries. Put 2 teaspoons of calcium water in strawberry mix. Store the remaining calcium water in refrigerator for future use.
3) In another bowl, mix 2 teaspoons of pectin with 1/2 cup honey.
4) Bring fruit to boil, add honey-pectin mix and stir vigorously 1-2 min. While cooking to dissolve pectin. Return to boil and remove from heat.
5) Fill jars to 1/4" of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 min. (add 1 min. more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals–lids should be sucked down. Lasts about 3 weeks once opened.

*Instruction is from Pomona's recipe.

Home made Sauerkraut

Yogurt improves digestive health because it contains beneficial bacteria, called probiotics or microflora. Probiotics also aid proper development of the immune system, help digestion of food and absorption of nutrients, and produce vitamins, absorb minerals and eliminate toxins.

Other than yogurt, we can choose to eat other fermented foods such as Lassi (an Indian yogurt drink), fermented milk (kefir), or pickled/fermentation cabbage, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash and carrots, and natto (fermented soy).

Most store bought fermented foods are pasteurized which kills the naturally occurring probiotics. So I chose to make homemade sauerkraut. I got my organic cabbage from a local farm and I am using non-bleached unrefined all natural sea salt.

I will continue to report on the fermentation process of my sauerkraut.


Ingredients
5 pounds cabbage
3 tablespoon salt

Preparation
1) Shred cabbage using food processor.
2) Sprinkle salt on the cabbage as you go. The salt pulls water out of the cabbage (through osmosis), and this creates the brine in which the cabbage can ferment and sour without rotting.
3) Transfer cabbage into a crock-pot. Cover the kraut with a plate or some other lid that fits snugly inside the crock. Press down on the weight to add pressure to the cabbage and help force water out of it.
4) Leave the crock to ferment.
5) Check the kraut every day or two. The volume reduces as the fermentation proceeds. Sometimes mold appears on the surface, a result of contact with the air. Skim what you can off of the surface.
6) Taste the kraut. Generally it starts to be tangy after a few days, and the taste gets stronger as time passes. And enjoy!

Herb Crusted Lamb

This year, I have been busy trying to achieve all of my New Year's resolutions. One of my resolutions was to eat lamb because Mr. S and I are going to Egypt and Jordan in a month and I want to get used to the taste of lamb before our trip. For me, eating lamb is easier said than done. This week, I finally committed myself to try lamb which I got from A&J Meats & Seafood Inc.



Ingredients

* 1 (3 to 4-pound) boneless leg of lamb
* Salt and pepper
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
* 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons Italian bread crumbs
* 1/3 cup white wine
* 1/3 cup water or chicken broth
* Special Equipment: kitchen string, meat thermometer

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2) Season the meat with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix the herbs with the olive oil and bread crumbs. Rub both sides of the lamb with the herb mixture. Using the kitchen string, tie up the lamb leg at 2-inch intervals. Place in roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Add the wine and water or broth to the roasting pan and cook for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until the thickest part of the lamb reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F for medium. Take the lamb out of the oven, cover loosely with foil, and let the meat rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve.

*recipe from foodnetwork

Salmon peach wrap

For C9s (wives in Chinese, pronounce as C-nine-s) making delicious meals on a hot day, easy-to-make warps are a staple. Since it is peach season, I created this dish using in-season peaches with left over salmon and Mahi Mahi!




Ingredients
* 4 8-inch flour tortillas
* dash citrus salad dressing
* 1/2 pound spring mix
* 2 peaches
* 1 cup cooked salmon
* 1 cup cooked Mahi Mahi


Preparation

1) Put a thin layer of salad dressing on the flour tortillas
2) Layer the rest of the ingredients on tortillas.
3) Roll tortillas into cone shape.

Korean spicy pastured chicken

One of my college roommates always used Gochujang to make Korean style spicy dishes. Gochujang is a fermented hot pepper paste. This dish is very easy to make and it only took me around 35mins. This week, I got a whole pastured chicken from my friend CC, so I am using a whole chicken in this recipe.




Ingredients
* 1 (3 pounds) Whole chicken, portioned
* 3 tablespoon Gochujang
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 cup water
* 4 medium potatoes
* 1 onion

Preparation
1) Heat a large non-stick skillet in medium-high heat. Add chicken to the skillet, cook chicken for 3 mins or until brown. In a small bowl, mix gochujang, soy sauce, sugar, garlic and water. Set aside.

2) Add potatoes and onion to skillet, cook for 5 minutes, and add sauce. Stir well. Put lid on skillet and turn heat to medium. Let it cook for another 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Seared Ahi Tuna with Ginger Sauce

The grocery store had fresh wild caught Ahi tuna on sale this week, so I bought a piece to share with Mr. S. Mr.S and I are seafood people. I usually try to include fish in our diet at least once a week. My favorite Ahi tuna dishes are Ahi Tuna poke or seared Ahi Tuna. This time, I chose to make the seared Ahi tuna with a cooked sauce.



Ingredients
* 1 piece Ahi Tuna
* 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
* 1 tablespoon soy sauce
* 2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1 teaspoon garlic
* 1 tablespoon water

Preparation
1) Heat a non-stick medium size skillet in high heat. Sear Ahi tuna on both sides for around 2 minutes. Slice Ahi tuna then set aside.

2) Turn the heat down to medium, add the rest of the ingredients to the skillet. Cook for 1 minute and pour sauce on top of tuna.

Vegetarian Week, #4. Falafel Pitas with Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing

Very easy to make and pretty healthy dinner! Enjoy!



Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 filled pita half)
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup minced red onion
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can organic chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
* 1 (1-ounce) slice whole wheat bread, torn into pieces
* 1 large farm egg
* 1 large egg white
* 2 (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, split
* 1 cup organic arugula
* 1/2 cup Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing(recipe to follow)

Preparation
1) Combine first 10 ingredients in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until well blended (mixture will be wet).

2) Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon about 1/3 cup chickpea mixture per patty into pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

3) Line each pita half with 1/4 cup arugula, add 1 patty to each pita half, and spoon 2 tablespoons Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing into each pita half.




Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing
Ingredients
* 1 cup plain fat-free organic yogurt
* 1/2 cup diced seedless cucumber
* 1/4 cup minced red onion
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation
1) Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

Recipe resource: here