Italy Bans Kebabs and foreign food

Italy Bans Kebabs and foreign food.
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Dont Forget to Vote

Korean Blogger of 2008

Vote now for the Gloden klog Award

http://www.koreasparkle.com

Click on the Survey part to vote( Part 2 is the Food blog voting. )

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Asian Chicken on Homemade bread.

So I made My Asian Chicken
(Something very similar in Korea is Tak Kangjong)
So my version is very simple.
Chicken, Soy sauce ,garlic , ginger and honey.
I cooked in a little oil in the oven for 30 mins at 200c and then at 230c for 15.
For the onions I sauteed in a little butter with a teaspoon of whole grain mustard then mixed in a little chopped Jalapenos.


My first time to make my own bread
(apart from Irish soda bread) To make it I used 2 cups of plain flour . One table spoon of yeast activated in a little warm water. One teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of honey and water. I mixed all together cover with cling film and put somewhere warm till it rises twice the size . Kneed it for 10 mins. Then flour a baking tin and place it inside and cover and allow to rise again. Cook in a perheated oven at 240c and cook for 40 mins.
I then mixed an egg and placed it painted it on top.
To make it crunchy.

Toast the bread and put it all together.

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More scary peanut stories

Its very scary to hear out food has been contaminated and yet again here is another story.

Starbucks remove peanut products from its shelves in Canada

The FDA is currently investigating a salmonella outbreak that has been traced to a Georgia plant owned by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) that manufactures peanut butter and peanut paste

But "due to the serious nature" of the FDA warning, Starbucks has "decided to voluntarily pull all products containing peanut butter from company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada and stop using peanut butter in those products until further notice."

As a result of the coffee company's decision, the following items will not be available in Canadian Starbucks outlets for the immediate future:

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bar
• Granola Bar
• Peanut Butter Cookie
• Peanut Butter Oatcake
• Protein Plate
• Peanut Butter Portion Pack (w/Bagels)

Information From here

From here

We find

PCA is notifying customers who received recalled products by phone and/or in writing. Customers should segregate and hold the product and call PCA at 1-877-564-7080 for further instructions. Consumers should contact the FDA and visit the agency web site at www.fda.gov for a complete list of all products affected.

“We have been devastated by this, and we have been working around the clock with the FDA to ensure any potentially unsafe products are removed from the market immediately,” said Stewart Parnell, President of Peanut Corporation of America. “Additionally, we are working alongside state and federal food safety experts in every way we can to help them protect consumers, both now and in the future.

“We want our customers and consumers to know that PCA is taking extraordinary measures, out of an abundance of caution, to identify and recall all products that have been identified as potential risks.”

The recalled peanuts and peanut products were distributed nationwide to institutions, food service industries, and private label food companies as well as and in Canada, Haiti, Korea and Trinidad.

For more Information look here

And From http://efoodalert.blogspot.com/ We get this information

Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) announced this evening that the company has recalled all peanuts and peanut products processed and shipped from the company's Blakely, Georgia production facility since January 1, 2007.

Today's action follows the publication of FDA's investigation report that described unsanitary conditions in the Blakely plant.

So can anyone tell me has this made it into the Korean News because I have a lot of peanut butter loving friends.

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Easy Irish Soda Bread

White Soda Bread

Home from Home
This is so easy and basic .
There is no Yeast Involved
My second post on Soda bread

You need
4 cups all purpose white flour

1 level teaspoon salt
1 level teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups of buttermilk (you can use milk with lemon juice but you may need less depending on the consistency )
You cant get butter milk so I suggest you use milk with lemon juice instead this will mean you will have to vary home much you now use .

Pre heat oven to 475 f or 250 c
Sift dairy ingredients.
Make a well in the centre.
Pour in all the milk.
Mix
Dough should be softish not to wet
Put on floured surface
Pat the dough in a circle about 1 and half inches thick
Cut deep cross on the loaf
Bake for 15 min then turn down
To 400f 200c
For 30 min until cooked
Tap the bottom it will sound hollow
Cool on wire rack

I love to eat it with a big dollop

of butter but you can eat with jam . Or dip it in a morning fry beans and runny eggs are great.

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My Kimchi Chigae

김치찌개

I have Posted about kimchi chi gae before http://macs-foodkorea.blogspot.com/2008/08/kimchi-chi-gae.html
Its my favorites.
So with my nice new pot I decided to make my own .
I used Pork belly
1 teaspoon of garlic
Shiitake mushroom
Green onion
2 cups of old kimchi
Tofu
1 Tablespoon of Gochujang (Korean chili paste)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gochujang
A dash of sesame oil
A dash of soy sauce.
So I fried my pork belly in a little sesame oil with the garlic and mushrooms.
I added my kimchi. The gochujang is next a cup or two of water.the green onions . Bring to boil. and enjoy.

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BULBOGI NOODLE SOUP

Here is a nice soup . I believe the name is Bul Beck but I am not so sure .I would love to know the name anyone know.
Its a little sweet a very nice menu for someone not in Korea to long. This was also cheap 1300 for two . We ate this in new down town near the Come In the old Julianna's .
Most meat places will have it on the menu.

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Austrila Day Pavlova

5 egg whites
1 cup of powder sugar
1 teaspoon of vinegar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Whip the eggs till stiff add the sugar slowly fold in the vinegar or cream of tartar.
Cook at 140 for an hour and and half Leave in the oven till fully cool.
This was a real mess for me more like marshmallow than pavlova.

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Nominated for Korean Blog Awards

The Golden Klog Awards, hosted by Hub of Sparkle,2008 Korean Blog awards have now opened the voting.
Thank you again for the nomination .Its sweet.
To vote go herehttp://www.koreasparkle.com

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Hppy New Year

"In Korea, Solnal is the first day of the first month of the new year. While many Koreans celebrate the New Year on January 1st of the solar calendar, the lunar new year is still popular today. In many Korean communities, the New Year is celebrated twice. The Lunar New Year starts on February 12 in 2002. According to the Asian Zodiac, 2002 is the Year of the Horse. The Koreans focus on the family as they celebrate the beginning of the New Year. Children put on new traditional clothes called hanbok. They kneel and bow to their ancestors and elders. Family members wish each other prosperity and good fortune. Then they exchange gifts. Children receive lucky money, candy and fruit from the elders. The family spends time together and have rice-cake soup for breakfast. Children often take this day to play special New Year games." For More Information Look here http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/korean_new_year.htm

In the new year it tradition to give gifts . I received a very nice doc (rice care gift box). On this day it also tradition to eat New Year Soup TteokGuk떡국

Here is the recipe
http://aeriskitchen.com/2009/01/korean-lunar-new-year-soup-%EB%96%A1%EA%B5%ADtteokguk/

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Quiche

So Some friends came round Saturday night I made some Quiche.
I used 5 eggs a cup, of milk a cup of cheese and salt and pepper.
One Quiche was basil onions mushroom and spinach . The other was smoked salmon, dill and asparagus. I made the pastry I always use .
http://macs-foodkorea.blogspot.com/2008/11/irish-apple-tart.html
I cooked it at 190 for an hour and 15minutes

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Jok Pal Korean Pigs Feet

Jokpal the Korean Crubeen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jokbal

"The hair is removed from pigs' feet and they are thoroughly washed. Leeks, garlic, ginger, cheongju (rice wine) and water are brought to a boil. The pigs' feet are added, brought back to a boil and then simmered until tender. Then additional water, sugar and soy sauce are poured into the pot and the contents are slowly stirred. Once the jokbal is fully cooked, bones are removed, and the meat is cut into thick slices. It is then served with fermented shrimp sauce called saeujeot (새우젓).

As the preparation of jokbal is quite painstaking and requires a great deal of time, jokbal is usually ordered for delivery or purchased from a jokbal shop. Jangchungdong district, Jung-gu, Seoul is very well known for featuring a large number of such shops."

Jokpal is considered an Anju.

"Anju (pronounced [andʑu]) is a general term for a Korean side dish consumed with alcohol (often with Korean soju)."

Jokpal and Bosam are usually served in the same restaurants

http://macs-foodkorea.blogspot.com/2008/06/bo-sam.html

In Ireland we eat Pigs feet also we Have a beautiful name for them Crubeen here is a recipe
http://www.europeancuisines.com/Crubeens-Cruibini-Crunchy-Pigs-Feet-TrottersZenKimchi has two nice recipes
Above Image is from Zenkimchi
http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/?p=76

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Some interesting reading

This is an interesting read.
_The_Worst_Food_in_America_of_2009

Here is an interesting watch Mark Bittmans
(Whats wrong with what we eat)
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=5YkNkscBEp0
"Mark Bittman is a food writer known for his simple recipes and no-nonsense style. A self-proclaimed home cook, Bittman is not a trained chef but developed an interest in food through his career as a journalist. He is the creator of The New York Times cooking column The Minimalist (now in its eleventh year), accompanying web videos, and his daily blog, Bitten. He's the author of several cookbooks and he appears regularly on both commercial and public television."

I also a big fan of his book http://www.howtocookeverything.tv/

Here from the washingtonpost Is an update on the peanut recall list .

The US drug and food administration are keeping an updated list here -

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/

Here is also a good read about food trends of 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersComService4/idUSTRE5074UA20090108

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Irish blog awards

Thank You Kindly .

This blog has been Nominated for the Best food and Drink Blog.

Bord Bia Sponsor the Food and Drink award .

- Here are the list of Nominated blogs (I have to say I do like many of these way more than mine )

Best Food/Drink Blogs

Ruth's Kitchen Experiments: justaddeggs.blogspot.com

Well Done Fillet: welldonefillet.blogspot.com

Sour Grapes: sourgrapes.ie

Italian Foodies: italianfoodies.wordpress.com

Forkncork: forkncork.com

Cheapeats.ie: cheapeats.ie

Ifoods.tv: ifoods.tv/blog

Food Culture West Cork: foodculturewestcork.wordpress.com

Food And Drink: foodanddrinkireland.blogspot.com

Bubble Brothers: bubblebrothers.com/blog

Ice Cream Ireland: icecreamireland.com

The Good Mood Food Blog: thegoodmoodfoodblog.com

The Daily Spud: thedailyspud.com

Curious: The Curious Wines Wine Blog: curiouswines.ie/blog

A Food Journey In Korea: macs-foodkorea.blogspot.com

Olliesplace: olivermoore.blogspot.com

Little Bird Eats...: littlebirdeats.wordpress.com

Cookzors: cookzors.com

Messy-chef » Recipes And Reviews: messy-chef.com/blog

Robert Francis Wine Review: robertfranciswine.ie/wordpress

The Other Black Stuff: theotherblackstuff.ie

Tast.ie: The Spicendipity Irish Food Blog: tast.ie

Bibliocook: All About Food: bibliocook.com

Lidl Treats: lidltreats.com

Eater's Regret: eatersregret.wordpress.com

Cully And Sully: cullyandsully.ie

Vals Kitchen: valskitchen.com

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Peanut butter fans of Korea take note

http://efoodalert.blogspot.com/2009/01/pca-peanut-butter-shipped-to-canada.html

In the most recent of a series of recall announcements, Peanut Corporation of America has expanded its recall once again, to include all peanut butter and peanut paste produced in its Blakely, Georgia facility on or after July 1, 2009.
According to the news release, PCA shipped the recalled products to North American customers in 24 states and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, as well as to overseas customers in Haiti and Korea. PCA supplies its products to food service operations, institutions, distributors and food processors.
While PCA is not sold in retail stores, snack foods that were made using the recalled peanut butter and peanut paste is widely available to consumers in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores and even in vending machines.

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The-humble-hot-dog-gets-a-potato-bear-hug-from-south-korea

Some Reading here

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theappetizer/archive/2009/01/19/the-humble-hot-dog-gets-a-potato-bear-hug-from-south-korea.aspx

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Banana Bread with Chocolate chips

Banana is the easiest bread to make in the whole world but saying that its my first time to make it . To make it a little more interesting I added some chocolate chips.

I used
Flour 2 cups

Mashed bananas 2 1/2 cups

Brown Sugar 3/4 of a cup

Baking soda 1 teaspoons

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of Vanilla essence

1/2 cup of choclate chips

1 cup of butter

To Make the top crunchy I brushed with brown sugar and water.

Cook at 175c for 60 65 mins

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A butchers,A restaurant, A Korean BBQ

A night out in Suncheon .

The sides Include cows stomach (Tripe) and raw liver.

You go to the butchers desk at the restaurant and choose your meat.

Where the meat comes from.

Butchers counter

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Sun dried tomatoes pesto couscous

Couscous with sun dried tomato pesto.

I also added Parmesan corn nuts raisins and onions as well as some poached chicken.

Cook the couscous as normal but add the pesto to the water.

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The Simple spud

Suncheons new Home plus as a nice selection of cheese . In this new selection we have Parmigiano-Reggiano. I just could not help myself and picked some up.

So here is the very simple Parmesan baked potato. I am Irish and its true we do love our potatoes . To make this one take a nice big new potato. slit it and bake it at 250 for an hour. Remove it from the oven and open it a little place some butter inside, salt, pepper, chives and sliced Parmesan on top.

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Carrots with Cardamom

Boil carrots till a little soft . Melt a little butter in a pan. Add crushed cardamon and a little garlic. Add carrots a dash of mustard powder and some honey. Fry for a few minutes.

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VIETNAMESE FOOD

VIETNAMESE FOOD
Gwangyang

The sauces are Fish sauce , Sweet chili sauce and Peanut sauce.

On the menu we had Vietnamese Spring rolls . Everything was laid out beautifully and you just help your self. If you remember I made these at home a long time ago. Check it out here

We had Shabu Shabu style beef to put inside the spring rolls.

After we ate all that they then put noodles into the beef water . They were great.

I really enjoyed this place its a great change for Korea.

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