Maangchi - You Tube's Top Chef

You Tube has given the world some amazing phenomenon since its' inception. There was Justin Beiber and those make up and hair whizzes  . Cooking, though has a few, but none as famous as Maangchi  aka Emily Kim. This Korean born home chef has turned her love of cooking into interesting tutorials for Korean cuisine lovers and other home chefs  Best of all, she's written a cookbook with her recipes that fans can copy and enjoy.

Chef Kim was interviewed in today's New York Times Food section by weekly contributor , Julia Moskin. Surprisingly she  didn't start off with cooking but rather gaming. Maangchi was actually the name of her avatar when she played City of Heroes. Her children urged her to another Internet activity, cooking videos. It was needed. According to Ms Kim, most Korean food videos were riddled with mistakes. someone had to amend that and she did, She has 619,000 YouTube followers , more than master chefs Ina Garten, Alton Brown and Martha Stewart.It lead to her newest cookbook "Maangchi' s Real Korean Cooking" (Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Publishng). fans not only tune into to watch her prepare classics such as the tasty beef bolgoki  and Korean fried chicken but to check out her lavish make up, tiaras, and leatherette shorts, Sometimes she'll sport fascinators , those funny hats worn at William and Kate's wedding but also rubber gloves tricked out with bling.. All her videos show her dashing around in four inch platforms. a  feat for anyone, let alone a busy cook,

Ms/ Kim was raised in Yeosu, a port city on the southernmost tip of the Korean peninsula. She came to the States in 1992 when her husband took a teaching job in Columbia Missouri This put her smack in the middle of the American Midwest where Asian food was mostly Chinese and catered to mid American tastes. She cooked for the Korean families that she counselled, giving them a much mossed taste of home.. Fast forward to her life now in Manhattan  to anew husband and a new career. Her videos and I have watched a few) are interesting and come with cute  and informative graphics. Anyone can follow them , even the most novice of home chefs. There are videos on the ancient art of fermenting used in making kim chee along with making gochujang or chile paste and doenjang  soybean paste.. This last requires salt and hay along with an electric blanket and a year to ferment. Easier recipes include the flavorful beef dish, the afore mentioned bolgoki, a chopped beef dish that features pears, sesame seeds and garlic cloves. There is also ssamjang the spicy Korean barbecue sauce, a marriage of the fiery , savory and sweet. This is perfect for any American  dish from ribs to wings.

There are a million You Tube stars but none shine as brightly as Maangcha or Emily Kim. Her easy to follow cooking demos are fun and informative. Her cookbook is going to shine just as brightly too.

King of Pop Popcorn The Perfect Dad/Grad Gift

June is the month for celebrating. Dad has his day , so do grammar school and high school graduates A fun gift alng with party snack is popcorn. King of Pop knows this and has come out with some yummy flavors and fantastic gifts  sure to  please both . It also is a great snack for those outdoor movie nights by the fire pit..

King of Pop Popcorn is a three year old family run business coming out  of New Hampshire. The company has every flavor under the sun and then some. Of course they have the traditional butter,caramel and kettle but they verr off in both savory and sweet paths. One of my favorites is the dill pickle. ,Yes it sounds strange - pickles and popcorn  but the dill with a hint of vinegar is actually pretty flavorful.It's herby and tart,perfect with a summery drink like gin and tonic or mojitos. Their cheddars are yummy. The cheesy cheddar is like eating chunks od the cheese while the bacon cheddar is a tasty blend of everyone's two favorite flavors. For spice try the Cajun and the BBQ ones. There is also the honey mustard, perfect to serve with pretzels. King of Pop also has a range of sweet, from the traditional caramel to the sinful chocolate chip mint and the ever festive birthday cake. This last is dotted with fun sprinkles and tastes like a bite size cake.For a fun movie night order the confetti. This is a fruity mix of cherry, grape and raspberry and come in cute colors. Wanting a snickerdoodle but hate tobake then try their cinnamon and brown sugar popcorn.

What is great about King of Pop is their variety of gift options. They have a lot of dad-centric gifts that are perfect for snacking in the man cave. Any father would love the Father's Day Gift Tower that not only has the tangy buffalo along with the salt and vinegar corn but also hard candy , chocolate wafers and gummy citrus slices but also pretzels and snack mix. This makes for some fine snacking when watching all those sporting events.The tower is sweetly wrapped in paper that looks like a tie too. Another must get for dad is the Father's Day Junk Food, literally buckets of sea salt and cracked pepper corn , tempered by the sweetness of the cinnamon corn. Chips Ahoy and Mike and Ike are added in along with salted peanuts and strawberry Twizzlers. You could also just buy your pops a big bucket of Pub Picks,bacon cheddar, honey mustard and buffalo. Chi town dads would  appreciate
  the  Chicago classic mix of cheese and caramel corn, meant to be eaten together.Grads would love the signature samplers that feature a picnic themed (think watermelon,  buttered and sundried tomato) and the chocolate lovers.A tin is always fun too, especially for those grammar school grads planning parties and sleepovers.

The gift giving dilemma is solved. Get dad or the grad in your life a tower or bucket of King of Pop Popcorn. It's an unusual and tasty gift, perfect for celebrating

Welcome The June Harvests

June is here and with it comes the first of the summer harvests.  t's an exciting time for foodies and home chefs.. New and healthy dishes can be made. Main meals and desserts can have a nice fresh from the garden taste to them.

If you're in the Garden State, New Jersey, like I am , then then you should be on tenterhooks.This is the month  when first harvests of blueberries and cherries will be ripening. They'll be perfect for pies, crisps and parfait as well as just eaten fresh for a healthy dessert or snack.Cucumbers  come later in the month, think of all those refreshing salad made with them, mixed with sour cream and fresh picked dill. Jersey farms also yield up beets broccoli and cabbage too. Nothing beats a yummy beet salad with just the boiled ones dressed in a simple vinaigrette. With the cabbage, think slaws that will go perfectly with all   that barbecue fare. Broccoli means salads and sides  - and the added benefit of an extra green in the diet. Our  neighbors New York and Pennsylvania have similar harvests with Pennsylvania has the extra bonus of early onion, squash and snap bean harvests. Take a trip out to Pennsylvania farm country for a weekend and come back with a car or van loaded with good stuff. Head to Varick New York annual cherry festival in the Cayuga Lake- Finger Lakes district.

For those Marylanders,crabs aren't   the only good food on their June menu. The state is bursting with all sorts of produce thanks to them ripening right now.They already have Spring's best with their asparagus, spinach and strawberries.There are also green peas,snap beans and that perfect dessert ingredient, red and black raspberries.Lettuce and  summer squash are also blooming righ now.Nearby Delaware has all these harvests too plus tomatoes and potatoes . Whether you're there for a weekend  or for a week,take advantage of the farmer's markets there.Midwesterners  will enjoy similar harvests,If you;'re in Illinois get the pie crusts and Ice    cream ready because it's rhubarb season there now. neighboring states, Indiana and Wisconsin  also have similar harvests with  Wisconsin   bursting with peaches. Imagine them with the fresh cream from America's Dairy State.Washington State gives us luscious cherries and currents along with the unusual hybrid tayberry. This is a cross between a  blackberry  and a raspberry  and can be used in sorts of dishes form salads to pies.It's also zucchini season there as well so think about zucchini Parmesan or sautéed with garlic.

June is the start of the summer harvest season. Jump right in and take advantage of the amazing bounty nationwide. Add fresh veggies and fruits to meals and desserts for a refreshing, just picked flavor.

Foodie Shower Surprises

Shower season is upon us and with it the same boring lists. There’s the blender, the ice cream maker, the towels, and so on and snoring so on. It’s time to liven up those gifts with over the top extras.Not only will the happy food obsessed couple remember them but your gifts will be talked about for years to come.

Of course couples want basics. That’s obvious.They need tea towels and tablecloths, napkins ad napkin rings. If you can add an extra touch by ordering the prestamped table linens from such companies as Mary Maxim’s or Herrschner’s for exquisite napkins and tablecloths. Mind you these should be ordered well in advance, especially the tablecloths, because it can take four to five months to embroider. For something a little less labor intensive Mary Maxim offers cotton yarn that can be knitted or crocheted into dishrags and towels. The color selection is amazing with about twenty colors to choose from along with free patterns. They also offer dishcloths that can be decorated with plastic paints that don’t wash off or run when wet. Another idea is creating napkin rings using Mary Maxim’s beads and jewelry wires. This makes a unique gift , along with embroidered dinner napkins.Home made ceramic plates , platters and dishes are also unusual and different shower presents. Think a hand painted cheese platter with a cheese of the month club membership attached. A hand decorated cake stand is perfect  especially when it comes with a hand written book of family dessert recipes. Barbecue lovers will adore personalized steak brands with their initials. Pair it with some interesting barbecue sauces and rubs from Hi Mountain.

For the true foodie couple think a basket of high quality condiments, spices and /or ingredients. For those who love cooking Asian, then think a basket of San-J sauces. These are pure soy , developed from an ancient Chinese/Japanese recipe. They can work with everything from stir fries to acting as a dipping sauce for tempura and teriyaki. Exotic spices like za’atar and saffron are sometimes costly and out of reach on a newlywed’s budget. Treat the couple to them along with ingredients  related to them  like rice or couscous along with cookbooks featuring recipes with them.Costly utensils like chef’s knives are always welcomed , especially if you can include a sharpening stone. Don’t fret about it being hard to find.Most stones  can be found at even Bed Bath & Beyond and Williams & Sonoma. Mandolines, so often neglected on lists, but provide perfectly sliced potatoes and zucchini would be a different but much appreciated gift.The price range varies but you can find a surprisingly inexpensive one at Williams & Sonoma for under forty dollars. To give it an extra kick ,include the practical but never given sack of potatoes.Bakers can enjoy the extra surprise of sanded sugar in different colors along with edible gold and silver glitter with baking tins or cookie sheets. Also really good chocolate for baking will never be turned down. This too can be added in a gift pyramid featuring all things cake and cookie.

Shower gifts can be made exciting by adding that something extra. Give your favorite couple something , fun and expensive, exotic and pretty. Make your gift not only much appreciated but also memorable too.

A Springtime Treat Peas

Peas are the often forgotten Spring  time vegetable. Most home chefs usually just relegate it to a side,  usually with a winter roast or fall soup. Yet  fresh picked ones are springy , almost minty tasting. They can be made into a variety of different dishes , from main ones to salads and even hors d' oeuvres.

Peas have been around since ancient times, first being cultivated in Neolithic Era Greece, Syria and Turkey.Peas or pisum sativum are actually the fruit of the pea pods.They are usually eaten in the immature or semi ripe stage and can be canned, fresh or frozen..They're usually green but can also be purple or yellow.Green peas have been enjoyed by centuries, keeping famine at bay during the Middle Ages due to their versatility and abundance during droughts.. They were popular in France and early America, where Thomas Jefferson grew thirty different kinds of the cultivar. Victorians loved them especially when canning came in, allowing people to  eat them all year round. Peas are one of the best vegetables to eat because they are high in folate, part of the Vitamin B family as well as being loaded with  Vitamins A, C and K. They re incredibly low in calories , 125 calories  a cup which makes them the ideal summer food...Peas are actually graded, the smaller have the highest, due to their tenderness.Le Seuer is one of the best canned peas however the most flavorful are fresh ,whether from your garden or the farmer's market.


These little green gems were featured in a healthy recipe in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. Martha Rose Schulman , who usually writes for the Tuesday Health recipes  gave us a garlic  shrimp recipe , brightened up by English peas. These cut the garlickyness and add to the seafood's sweetness.A warm weather favorite is pea salad.It is good with just a plain vinaigrette.  You don't want an overpowering dressing that can drown out the sweet flavor.Another salad idea is combining white rice and mint. This is the perfect foil for lamb or beef kabobs or for grilled lamb chops. Peas can also be pounded into hummus. They're mashed  like chickpeas and then add olive oil during this to create a satiny textured dip. some recipes call for a clove but just sea salt and freshly ground pepper are really all it needs.They do have to be cooked first , usually for one to three minutes only.Of course, the most famous dish is pea soup. This can be made with a ham bone for added flavor or parsley for a fresher taste. One of the best dishes is the Roman piselli al prosciutto, a yummy combo of braised sweet peas with cooked prosciutto or ham and white onions. A simple side dish is steamed peas with melted butter. This works with any kind of meat and is super easy to make.

Peas should be the stars of the Spring table. They are fresh and sweet, high in vitamins and low in calories. Make them to day for a yummy good for you  treat.

Your Own City Garden

Pity the poor apartment dweller.who doesn't have the luxury of fresh herbs or veggies. They have to go to their local farmer's markets or supermarkets for these culinary essentials. However that can change. City dwellers can grow their own greens and aromatics along with mushrooms! It's easy to do , even for brown thumbers.

It was the subject of an article by new writer Annie Raver in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Ms. Raver interviewed Kerry Trueman and Matt Rosenberg who are "urban gardeners" that first turned their roof into a rooftop garden. They started with tomatoes and them built large planters to hold roses and strawberries, Corn, blueberries and even hops followed.Sadly this had to be dismantled due to a 1998 legal dispute  to keep their building rent stabilized.Their window boxes now hold their greens. These are deeper than the typical windowbox with a length of 4.1/2 feet and a depth of 1 1/2 feet. The Trueman-Rosenbergs also made sure these were situated at the north, east and south to better capture the sun. They have sugar peas climbing up a homemade bamboo and yarn trellis. They have black edamame or panther soybeans as well along with Bright Light chard, a more heat resilient green than spinach. Apartment owners can also grow plant indoors, namely mushrooms. Home Depot sells kits  that can be easily set up Keep in mind that if city folk want eggplants and tomatoes, they do need eight hour of sun while lettuces and herbs need only two to three hours of light.

Many apartment and condo dwellers may have reservarions about starting a garden.After all it does involve- dirt - along with fertilizer and water. However nowadays its' extremely easy - and neat to maintain plants. The window boxes have only three sides instead of the traditional four.The open side faces the apartment where the roots are contained in malleable bags called Root Pouches. These can be moved around and easily washed.At the end of the season they can be cleaned, folded and stored for next Spring They also come in different sizes so herbs can be grown in the one gallon pouch while veggies can be grown in the bigger ones. The Root Pouches are also made from recycled plastic water bottles , another plus. As for potting soil, it now comes in lightweight compressed bricks. Just add water and it expands into ten pounds of potting soil.Another help is Rain Mat which helps seedlings grow deep, downward roots. This makes the plants heat and drought resistant. There is Better Than Rocks, a recycled plastic that prevents the plants from becoming waterlogged from storms and Terra Sorb which retains water and keeps the soil moist during heat waves.

Anyone can have a garden with fresh veggies and herbs. Apartment dwellers will love the idea of having their favorites at their fingertips.It's easy to have a high rise green spot.

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Lebanese Cooking Redefined

Most people think Lebanese cuisine consists of hummus smeared on pita. There may be some lamb involved but that's it. However the cooking is much more than that, with complex savory and sweet dishes. Spices abound, it's the backbone of the cuisine. It's both sophisticated and earthy , much like the country itself.

It was the topic of Melissa Clark's Cookbook column in today's New York Times Food section. She tried out different recipes from author Maureen Abood's Rosewater And Orange Blossoms (Running Press 2015).The book is taken from her blog of the same name. Ms. Abood is Lebanese - American, having grown up in Michigan, surrounded by a tightknit immigrant family who never forgot their homeland. Hers was a childhood filled with flatbread with za'atar,the mix  of dried herbs with sumac and salt along with roasted eggplant. She learned how to create multicourse feasts from her mother, grandmother and aunts.She has stated that Lebanese food is "extremely refined and very aromatic" Savory dishes will call for both cinnamon and parsley\,Herbs coexist with spices in an assortment of dishes  It's both healthy and rich, with salads existing next to fragrant lamb , beef and chicken Her cookbook reflects this , mixing traditional Lebanese recipes with fresh , modern twists..Ms. Abood has a culinary pedigree, having worked as a professional chef in San Francisco after graduating culinary school.

Ms Clark gives us good recipes from the book. There is eggplant with lamb , tomato and pine nuts , crunchy roasted za'atar chickpeas and greybeh, lavender and orange blossom cookies.The first is a hearty dish  good for now ,perfect for the cooler months. Imagine an eggplant Parmesan with the addition of lamb and butter toasted pine nuts.Cinnamon and garlic are also added for fragrance and flavor . To add another layer of richness,MsClark then tops the whole dish off with mozzarella. The chickpeas would make a good snack or hors d'ouevre. It's simply roasting canned chickpeas in a 400 degree oven for half an hour. They're then tossed in a mix of extra virgin olive oil, za'atar and sea salt. These can keep up to a week however they're sure to be gone in seconds. The cookies, are a form of shortbread.Orange blossom water,a staple in Lebanese cooking adds a light aromatic touch as the surprise ingredient of two teaspoons of dried lavender. There are also other dishes such as the traditional lamb kibbeh also made with tomatoes for a vegan version.

Lebanese food is much more than just hummus and pita. It is dishes rich with spices and herbs. It is layered casseroles that combine staples like eggplant, tomatoes and lamb. It is the food of good cooking and good eating,.