Braised burdock roots (Kinpira Gobo) is a common Japanese dish but a new experiement for me! They just look like a pile of sticks but are surprisingly tasty when prepped and seasoned properly. I top them with sliced scallions, cilantro, and pink pickled ginger for an extra touch of color and flavor.

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:
6 Burdock Roots (12 inch pieces)
4 Small Carrots
2 T. Vegetable Oil
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
8 Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms
4 T. Soy Sauce
4 T. Mirin
1 T. Sugar (optional)
3 Scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 c. Chopped Cilantro
1 T. Sesame Oil
2 T. Pickled Ginger (store bought is fine)
Sesame Seeds to garnish
 

1. Peel the burdock roots and soak in water for 20 minutes. Cut into thick 1/4 inch matchsticks and boil in a large pot of water for 10 minutes. Strain.

2. Meanwhile, cut the carrots similarly to the burdock roots. Heat a large pan with oil and saute the burdock, carrots and garlic for 10 minutes. Slice the mushrooms and add into the pan with the sou sauce, mirin, and optional sugar. Saute for another 5 minutes until everything is tender.

3. Stir half of the scallions and cilantro into the mixture with sesame oil. Garnish with reserved scallions, cilantro, sesame seeds and pickled ginger.

 

This probably looks like really good hangover food right about now... Although it's very easy to make, I only treat myself to this whenever I wake up sober and refreshed. The basic batter consists of healthier ingredients like whole wheat flour, oat bran and wheat germ, but don't be alarmed. The buttermillk keeps the batter light and fluffy. I'm also a sugar and fat nazi when it comes to home cooking, but since the batter is somewhat bland (feel free to add sweeteners and butter), it balances out with whatever sweet or savory toppings you add. So be creative!

Makes 9 medium pancakes

PANCAKE BATTER:
1 1/2 c. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1/2 c. Oat Bran
1/2 c. Wheat Bran
1 t. Baking Soda
2 c. Buttermilk
2 Large Eggs
1 t. Vanilla Extract
1 T. Cooking Oil or Butter

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Add in the wet ingredients and slowly whisk until combine. Don't over beat.
   
2. Preheat a large pan on medium heat. Pour about 1/2 cup of the batter onto the edge of the pan. I try to fit three medium sized pancakes into the pan and cook it in 3 batches. Cook on each side for about 2 minutes. Flip them they start bubbling, rise, and slightly brown. And be careful not to mess them up and splatter everywhere!

3. Allow to cool for a minute or 2 before serving. Top with whatever you want.. may I suggest...

MAPLE, BLUEBERRY, RICOTTA:
1 c. Ricotta
1 c. Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 c. Maple Syrup, plus more to top

1. In a saucepan, heat the blueberries for a couple minutes to slightly break down. Add in the ricotta just to warm through and then turn off the heat. Add in the maple syrup. Dollop onto the pancakes, with extra maple syrup as desired.

 

FRIED EGG AND SAUTEED SPINACH:
1 Small Onion
2 T. Canola Oil
3 Garlic Cloves
1 lb Fresh Baby Spinach
Salt and Pepper to Taste
6 Large Eggs
2 T. Parmesan Cheese

1. Preheat a large pan on medium heat with 1 T. canola oil. Thinly slice the onions and saute in the pan. Mince the garlic and add into the pan when the onions are slightly brown and tender. Toss in the spinach and cook for about 2 more minutes until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
   
   
2. Heat another large pan with a little oil and fry the eggs in batches. I like to serve them over easy and runny so be gentle flipping them. Once they're ready, quickly plate the pancakes (before the eggs over-cook) with the spinach and top it off with the eggs and desired parmesan cheese.

The best part of the winter is to hide in your apartment with the warmth of your oven roasting seasonal veggies. Acorn squash is great roasted plain with oil, salt and pepper, but the addition of pistachios, goat cheese, and balsamic reduction makes it really special. You could also try different types of squashes and nuts. Butternut and Kombocha are my other faves.

Serves 2–4

INGREDIENTS:
1 Acorn Squash
1 T. Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1/2 Balsamic Vinegar
3 oz. Goat Cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup of Pistachios, roasted and shelled

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds in the center. Carefully slice the squash skin side down into 1/2 inch slices. Place onto a baking tray with olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss. Roast for about 25 minutes until tender
   
   
2. Meanwhile, heat the balsamic vinegar in a small pot on low heat. Gently simmer for about 3–5 minutes, until the vinegar reduces to half the volume. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes so it thickens.
3. Once the squash is done, plate it and top it off with the goat cheese, pistachios, and drizzles of the balsamic glaze. Serve as a light meal or as a side.

On a cold, lazy afternoon, I had a craving for something soupy. Within 15 mins, I whipped up another one of my Korean faves, duk gook (sliced rice cake soup). It's actually a Korean custom to serve it on New Year's, so the timing for the post is pretty close, too! My family doesn't really eat this during New Year's, but we do the rest of the traditions like spending time with relatives and paying respects to elders through a bowing ceremony.

So rice cakes are chewy, pasta-like dumplings made of rice flour. The dough is formed into long sausage-like tubes and then sliced on a diagonal bias. Sounds like a lot of work.. luckily, they're readily available packaged and frozen in Korean markets. They even make it with brown rice now (just as delicious but healther!) Boil it in some water with eggs and seasonings, you've got duk gook.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 c. Dried, Sliced Shiitake Mushrooms (optional but delicious)
1 lb Sliced Rice Cakes
2 Garlic Gloves
4 Large Eggs
3 Scallions
1. t Sesame Oil
Salt to Taste
1/2 c. Shredded, Dried Seaweed

1. Fill 1/3 of a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the dried mushrooms and boil for 5 minutes. Mince the garlic gloves and add to the pot with the rice cakes. Boil for about 5 minutes until the rice cakes are tender.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs into a bowl and chop the scallion into thirds. Stir the eggs slowly into the pot. After a minute, add the scallions, salt, and sesame oil and cook for another minute. Serve the soup in a bowl, top it off with shredded dried seaweed with kimchi on the side.
   

This is another Korean dish that brings me back home. It's so good, I usually make it at least once a month. It's also easy to make since you can just throw everything into one pot. The star of this dish is the soft tofu, which has a creamy, custard-like texture. The stew is traditionally made with shellfish, which adds a lot of flavor to the stock. To make it veggie friendly, I add dried shiitake mushrooms instead. 

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1 T. Vegetable Oil
1/2 an Onion
2 T. Korean Chili Flakes
4 Garlic Cloves
4 c. Water
1/4 c. Dried Sliced Shiitake Mushrooms
1 Medium Zucchini
4 Scallions
2 Boxes of Silken Tofu
4 Eggs
1 T. Soy Sauce
1 t. Sesame Oil
Salt to Taste

1. Heat a medium pot with vegetable oil. Slice the onions and saute in the pot for two minutes. Add the chili flakes and garlic and saute for another minute. Then add the water and dried shiitake mushrooms and boil for about 10 minutes.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, halve the zucchini and slice on a bias into half moon shapes. Chop the scallions lengthwise into thirds. Add them into the pot when the mushrooms are almost tender.

3. When the zucchini are almost tender (about 5 mins) add the tofu into the stew. Break it apart with your laddle. (If you like shellfish, this is when you can add it. To make it easy, use frozen that's been thawed). Once everything comes to a boil again, crack the eggs into the pot whole. Gently stir and break the eggs slightly. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt and stew for another 5 minutes until everything is completely cooked. Serve with rice and enjoy)
   

"Jeon" is a Korean term for pancake like dishes. You can pretty much call anything a type of jeon if it's dredged in flour and egg wash – then lightly pan fried. My mom made the zucchini variety at least once a week, so making this always reminds me of her. She would also prepare them for holiday dinners and family gatherings, where I'd help and assist. It was one of the simpliest dishes to make, so I started making these with her at a very young age. Top it off with a soy dipping sauce and serve with rice and kimchi. yummy. 

Serves 4

JEON:
20 Dried Shiitake Mushroom
2 Zucchinis
1/2 c. Flour
4–5 Large Eggs
Cooking Spray or Vegetable oil
Salt

1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms overnight in a large pot filled with water. Boil for 30 minutes until tender. Drain mushrooms (save the reserved water for awesome soup stocks!) Trim off the stems and set aside. (You can also save the stems – chop them up and mix into leftover egg wash and pan fry)
   
   
2. Set your dredging station. Place the flour in one large dish and season with some salt. Beat the eggs in a bowl and season with salt. Slice the zucchini at a bias into 1/2 inch discs.


3. Preheat a large pan with cooking spray or with 1 T. of vegetable oil. Dredge the zucchini slices into the flour, then into the egg wash. Carefully pan fry them on each side for 2 minutes on medium heat. Cook in batches and repeat the same dredging and cooking process for the mushrooms. Serve with dipping sauce – recipe follows.

SOY DIPPING SAUCE
 3 Cloves of Garlic
3 Scallions
1/2 c. Soy Sauce
2 t. Korean Chili Flakes
1 t. Sesame Oil
1 t. Sesame Seeds
1 t. Sugar (optional)

1. Mince the garlic and place in a bowl. Thinly slice the scallions and add to the bowl along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix and serve.
   

 

The summer may be over, but that doesn't mean you have to give up refreshing summer treats! I recieved an abundant amount of green and red shiso leaf samples from work that I was excited to cook with. Shiso leaves, aka Perilla leaves, are Japanese herbs that taste like mix of mint and basil. They're most fragrant in their raw state and often used as garnish for pastas, salads, and protein entrees. I've actually never cooked with shiso, but I did some research and came up with these summer rolls. I first created a filling of sauted firm tofu and shittake mushrooms with asian seasonings. It's then wrapped in a layer of shiso and an outer layer Vietnamese rice paper. To continue the shiso theme, the rolls are served with a shiso, cilantro dipping sauce.

Creates about 20 rolls

ROLLS:
1 T. Vegetable Oil
1 lb Block of Firm. Dry-Aged Tofu (found in Chinese groceries)
1 lb Fresh Shittake Mushrooms
4 Cloves of Garlic
1-inch Piece of Ginger
2 T. Soy Sauce
3 Scallions
1 t. Sesame Oil:
20 Shiso Leaves
20 Dry Rice Paper Wrappers
2 c. Hot Water

1. Cut the tofu and mushrooms into 1/4 inch slices. Heat a large pan with vegetable oil on medium heat. Stir-fry the tofu until slightly brown and then toss in the mushrooms. Meanwhile, finely mince the garlic and ginger and add into the stir-fry. Cook for about 8 mins, or until everything is golden and delicious.
   
   
2. Thinly slice the scallions and toss into the stir fry for about 1 minute, along with the soy sauce and sesame oil.

3. Heat some water in a saucepan for the rice wrappers. Shut the heat off before it comes to a boil. You don't need the water to be too hot. Pour the water into a deep dish. Dip a sheet of rice paper into the water for about 5 seconds, or until tender. (This may take practice!) Lay out the rice paper on a surface, and top with a layer of a whole shiso leaf and some filling. Seal and wrap the rolls like a mini-burrito. Serve with sauce – recipe follows.

DIPPING SAUCE:
1/2 c. Rice Wine Vinegar
2 t. Sesame Oil
2 T. Soy Sauce
1 Garlic Clove
10 Shiso Leaves
1/2 c. Cilantro Leaves

1. Puree everything in a blender! Easy, done. :)
   
   

Muffins are great breakfast meals to start the day, but they typically contain an excess amount of butter, sugar, and refined flour.  For a healthier alternative, I use whole wheat flours and a limited amount of honey and canola oil. The addition of wheat bran and flax seed adds extra protein and fiber, which is essential for every diet – not just for old people! Bran muffins tend to be dry and bland, but the buttermilk in this recipe keeps the texture extra moist. And of course, the honey and figs add a rich, sweet, and natural flavor.

Creates 12 Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/3 c. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 c. Wheat Bran
2 T. Flax Seed Meal
1 t. Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
1/2 c. Honey
1/2 c. Unsweetened Applesauce
1 T. Canola Oil
1 1/4 c. Low-Fat Buttermilk
1 Large Egg
1 t. Vanilla Extract
10 Dried Calimyrna Figs
Non-Stick Cooking Spray

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare the figs by slicing half of them lengthwise into discs. Make sure you have 12 slices to top each muffin. Dice the remaing figs into raison size pieces to fold into the batter. Spray a 12-muffin tin tray with non-stick spray. Paper muffin liners optional.
   
   
2. Combine all of the dried ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix with a whisk. Add all of the wet ingredients into the dry-mix bowl and gently whisk until everything is combined – don't over-whisk. Fold in the diced figs.

3. Evenly pour the batter into the muffin tray and top each muffin with a fig. Bake for about 18 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before tranferring onto a wire rack. Allow them to cool another 10 minutes before serving.
   

I recently transitioned into the food business at my company, which couldn't suit me any better! We recieved a box of vegetables as samples from a local farm in Ohio. I was able to snag a bag of gorgeous, baby zucchinis. I roasted them whole with garlic and truffle oil to keep their beautiful shape. I then tossed with roasted grape tomatoes, corn, rosemary and shaved parmasen cheese. We're launching our Eat Your Veggies week at Gilt Taste today, featuring gourmet produce from celebrated, artisanal farms: www.gilttaste.com. Shop and cook now! :)

Serves 4 sides or 2 Meals

INGREDIENTS:
2 Whole Garlic Bulbs
2 lbs of Baby Zucchini (or regular zucchini chopped)
2 T. Truffle Oil
2 Corn on the Cob
1 Pint of Grape Tomatoes
1 t. Dried Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 oz. Shaved Parmasen Cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Cut the stems off of the garlic bulbs and break apart the cloves. Smash each clove to remove the skins. Place onto a backing tray. Wash and trim the zucchinis and add to the tray with 1 T. of truffle oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 40 mins. Stir every 15 minutes.
   
   
2. Cut the corn kernals off of the cob and place on a separate baking tray with the tomatoes, 1 T. Truffle oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes.

3. Combine all of the vegetables into a large bowl with rosemary and shaved parmesan cheese. Serve hot or cold.
   

These are more Korean dishes I made for my sister and her kids while I was in Sweden. My sister had a lot leftover kimchi and rice she wanted to use up, so kimchi fried rice (kimichi bokum bap) instantly came to mind. This is a perfect dish to add whatever vegetables you have on hand. In addition to Kimchi, I used carrots, onions, zucchini, and mushrooms. Since the dish was a little spicey, the kids perferred the jap chae noodles. Jap chae is made with clear, potato starch noodles that is chewy in texture. It's sauted with thinly sliced vegetables, soy sauce, sesame oil. This dish traditionally has a lot more ingredients, so vegetables are cooked separately and then combined into a bowl with the noodles and seasoning. It's then sauted in batches. I cut corners by omitting a few ingredients and sauting everything together, adding one ingredient at a time.

Serves 4

FRIED RICE:
1 Onion
1 Carrots
2 T. Vegetable Oil
1/2 Zucchini
4 Garlic Cloves
6 Button Mushrooms
1 c. Chopped Kimchi
2 c. Cooked Rice
1 Egg
3 Scallions
Sesame Seeds for Garnish

1. Dice the onion and carrot into 1/4 inch sizes. Saute in a wok or large, deep pan with vegetable oil for two minutes.  Dice zucchini into 1/2 inch cubes and add to the pan and saute for another 2 minutes. Mince the garlic and slice mushrooms. Add into the pan along with the chopped Kimichi for 2 minutes.
   
   
2. Add the rice, soy sauce and sesame oil into the pan and saute until everything is combined. Create a well into the middle of the rice and crack the egg into it. Break it up into pieces while it's cooking. Thinly slice the scallions and combine into the rice. Reseve some for garnish along with sesame seeds.
   

JAP CHAE:
1 lb of Dried Potato Starch/Vermicelli Noodles
2 T. Vegetable Oil
1 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
4 Garlic Cloves
6 Button Mushrooms
2 c. Baby Spinach Leaves
1 t. Sesame Oil
1 T. Soy Sauce
1 t. Sugar
3 Scallions
Sesame Seeds to Garnish 

1. Bring two quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Boil the noodles for about 10 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the onion and carrot into matchsticks. Saute in a large pan with vegetable oil. Thinly slice the peppers and add into the pan. Mince the garlic and slice the mushrooms. Add the garlic, mushrooms and spinach into the pan after the other vegetables have cooked for about 5 minutes. Once all the vegetables are tender, add the noodles, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Chop the scallions into 1/2 inch slices and combine half of it into the noodles. Garnish with reserved scallions and sesame seeds.