A Holiday Vegetarian Feast - Pumpkin Stuffed With Vegetable Stew

Holidays are tough for vegetarians and vegans especially when forced to spend them with non-veg families. I dated a vegan for several years and the holidays, specifically Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner always seemed a let down for him. His family would try, but inevitably put milk and butter into everything, leaving him rolls and maybe green beans to eat. One year we visited my family for Christmas, and my mom offered several vegan things. But honestly, I think the presence of the great big golden crispy skinned turkey being pulled out of the over and placed on a the large platter just overshadowed anything vegan she made. It was clear that everyone was there for the turkey...not the wild rice and tofu side dish my mom put together. In the presence of a turkey, it's hard not to feel left out even when you are remembered.

I've never seen anything that measures up to the pomp and circumstance that is the turkey dinner until last week when I made this Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew. So, for all of you trying to show your vegetarian/vegan sweetie how much you care, try this recipe this holiday season. If you don't have a meat-hating sweetie or friend, then take the stuffed pumpkin idea and put your favorite meat stew in it, or substitute some sauteed stew meat instead of seitan.

Not only is there great presentation, this recipe takes as long, if not longer, than cooking a turkey! Vegetarians and vegans can now skip on the turkey imposter and make something better than tofurkey. I spent about 8 hours, between shopping for the ingredients (2 hrs since you'll probably need to go to one or more stores), to making the Roasted Vegetable Wine Sauce (3 hrs), to making the actual stew (3 hrs). The original recipe lists the total time, without shopping, as 11 hours. I was able to do it in less time by making the wine sauce the night before.

I did have some fun shopping for this recipe. I used celeriac, also called celery root, for the first time. It's a really tasty root vegetable, a heavy smokey celery flavor. While waiting for the bus up to the farmers market, I met a woman who gave me a wine recommendation. I asked her if she had been waiting long for the bus. No, just about 5 minutes...plus the time it took her to go to the liquor store and buy a few bottles of Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, her favorite wine that was on sale at the liquor store across the street from the bus stop. On my way back from the market, I stopped and bought two bottles for the stew. The recipe only needs only 1 cup in the stock sauce, but you need 2 bottles for yourself to keep your glass full through the 6+ hours of cooking. The wine was drinkable and the story was well worth the $11.99 per bottle.

So was the stew good? Yes it was! Especially when served with mashed potatoes. I was also able to make some Italian Wedding-like soup out of the roasted veggies used to make the wine sauce, making this a a 2 in 1 recipe. Would I make it again? I think it's a little too labor intensive and perhaps too many costly ingredients. By the time I was done, I think I spent over $50 on this meal. However, if I was trying to win over a vegetarian or vegan, this would be my "go to" move.

I didn't make many changes to this recipe, and have copied and pasted it with a link to the originals on Epicurous. I did scatter a few comments/notes on things I did differently.

Roasted-Vegetable and Wine Sauce

Source: Epicurious

Yield: Makes about 6 cups

Active time: 30 min

Total time: 4 hr

 Ingredients

1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise
5 carrots, quartered
1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
2 red bell peppers, quartered
1 pound plum tomatoes, halved
1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb quartered
2 large onions, quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup boiling water
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (1 cup)
1 (4-inch) piece celery
4 parsley stems
1 large thyme sprig
8 black peppercorns
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1 cup dry red wine
4 quart water
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil; 1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 stick unsalted butter (if Vegan, use a non-dairy spread)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Equipment: cheesecloth; kitchen string

Directions

Roast vegetables:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle. 

Wash leek halves and pat dry.

Toss leek, carrots, garlic, bell peppers, plum tomatoes, fennel, and onions with oil, then spread in a 17- by 14-inch roasting pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until well browned and tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Soak porcini and make bouquet garni while vegetables roast:
Pour boiling water over porcini in a bowl and soak until softened, 10 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, wrap celery, parsley stems, thyme sprig, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with string.

Lift out porcini, squeezing excess liquid back into bowl, and rinse to remove any grit. Pour soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a dampened paper towel into another bowl.

Make stock:
Transfer roasted vegetables to a 6- to 8-quart pot and add wine to roasting pan, then deglaze pan by boiling, scraping up brown bits, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine to vegetables in pot along with water (4 quarts), porcini and soaking liquid, bouquet garni, sun-dried tomatoes, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, until stock is reduced to about 6 cups, about 2 hours. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing firmly on and then discarding solids. 

*CP Note: I didn't worry too much about getting all of the liquid out of the veggies and actually used 1-2 cups in making a soup base out of the left over veggies (see "To make an Italian Wedding like soup" below).

Make sauce:
Melt butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat and whisk in flour, then cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add stock in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Note:

Stock can be made ahead and cooled, uncovered, then chilled, covered, 1 week or frozen in an airtight container 1 month. Sauce can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, uncovered, until cool, then covered. Reheat before using.

To make an Italian Wedding like soup (This is not veg-friendly - freeze the extras in case things don't work out with the veggie hottie.)

Boil up a pound of your favorite pasta. I had some Israeli cousous (a pearl size pasta bead) on hand. Slice up a pound of hot italian sausage and sautee until cooked.

Place the leftover roasted vegetables into a large stock pan. Be sure to remove the bouquet garni. Add about 4 cups of liquid (some of the stock you made pluse chicken stock). Using a submersible blender, blend the vegetables. Add more stock or water if you wish to have a thinner soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. I used about 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Heat up soup base... add your pasta and sausage. Enjoy.

 

Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew

Source: Epicurious

Yield: Makes 8 servings (main course)

Active time: 1 1/2 hr

Total time: 7 hr

Ingredients

1 fennel bulb with fronds

2 medium parsnips (1/2 pound total), peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound celery root (sometimes called celeriac; 1/2 of 1 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
14 small shallots (about 1 pound), peeled and left whole, plus 1/2 cup chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 2 red bell peppers
1 (8- to 9-lb) pumpkin (preferably cheese, pie, or Sweet Meat variety)
Roasted-vegetable and wine sauce, heated
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (if vegan, use non-dairy spread)
1/2 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved
1/4 pound fresh chanterelle mushrooms, trimmed (CP Note: I did not use these b/c they are super expensive)
1 pound seitan (seasoned wheat gluten), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon chopped thyme, divided
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions

Roast root vegetables:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle. Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1 tablespoon and reserve, then discard stalks and remaining fronds. Halve bulb lengthwise, then core and cut lengthwise into 1-inch wedges. 

Toss fennel wedges, parsnips, celery root, carrots, and whole shallots with 2 tablespoons oil, teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 17- by 12-inch shallow baking pan until coated, then roast, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and almost tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove vegetables from oven. Leave oven on.

Prepare peppers and pumpkin while vegetables roast:
Roast peppers on racks of gas burners over high heat, turning with tongs, until skins are blistered, 5 to 8 minutes.

Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Peel peppers and discard stems and seeds. Cut peppers lengthwise into 1-inch strips.

Remove top of pumpkin by cutting a circle (6 inches in diameter) around stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out and discard seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; do not discard top), then sprinkle flesh with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Put pumpkin in a large roasting pan.

Stuff and roast pumpkin:
Pour 1 1/2 cups sauce into pumpkin and cover with top, then brush all over with remaining tablespoon oil. Roast 1 hour.

While pumpkin roasts, heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sauté chopped shallots until softened. Add mushrooms and sauté until they are browned and begin to give off liquid, about 8 minutes. Add wheat gluten and 1/2 teaspoon thyme, then stir in 1 1/2 cups more sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and fold in roasted root vegetables and peppers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

After pumpkin has roasted 1 hour, spoon vegetable filling into it, then cover with top. Roast until pumpkin is tender when pierced with a fork, vegetables are tender, and filling is hot, about 30 minutes more. Transfer pumpkin to a platter using 2 sturdy metal spatulas. 

Stir together fennel fronds, parsley, zest, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme and sprinkle half of it over filling. Stir remainder into remaining sauce and serve sauce on the side.

Writing with 5 Senses - The Lemon

Finding ways to improve my writing was one my goals of the International Food Blogger Conference. Here is a sample of what I worked on during the workshop "Writing With 5 Senses" with Kathleen Flinn, author of "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry."

Sight - describe what the lemon looks like
This yellow fruit has a shallow pitted surface. It ranges between an oval and teardrop in shape, with the end that attaches to the tree more pointed. When sliced, a white fleshy rind holds wedges of translucent pulp full of juice. Pale seeds are found within the segments.

Tactile and Texture
The cold lemon feels heavy in my hand. I can feel each small dimple, creating a mini-massage for each of my fingers. The soft inner rind leads to a fresh wet pulp. A slight pressure releases a burst of juice that splatters and lands like a kiss on my skin.

Sound - start with closing your eyes and listen, describe without saying "chopping with a knife"
A thud of a basketball thrown against the wall repeats. As it continues, the thud blends into the crunch of biting into a fresh cucumber slice. What is this? Has Girl Talk sold out to the FoodNetwork and the NBA? No, a lemon is being sliced.

Smell - describe without using "lemon" or "citrus"
I enter the room and the smell of sunshine hits me full force. The brightness and freshness of the scent cleanses my lungs with happiness.

Taste - describe without using lemon or citrus
Burning acid washed over my mouth. My lips puckered, the taste reminding me of licking the flap to seal an old envelope. The taste of exposed flesh, the beginning of a canker sore, remained in the back of my throat.

Put It All Together - when writing, go beyond visual and taste, pick at least 3 senses to describe something from last night's reception

The lamp chops danced into the room to the sounds of oohs and aaahs. If you weren't looking, you would have thought they had jumped off the serving plate doing Rockette kicks. I couldn't stop staring at the moss covered meat. As the server approached, I picked out my over-sized lamb lollipop and asked for a not-so-red one with an apology. Holding onto my chop, reminiscent of a renaissance fair turkey leg, I took a bite and tasted spicy heaven in the garlic wasabi coating.

Summary - Pay attention to everything. Life is short. Challenge yourself to embrace the things you love. Slow down, live the moments, and use your five senses.

Lunch Assignment - write about your lunch experience using all 5 senses. Tweet link to #all5 and #IFBC


Writing Homework:
MFK Fisher - take a page of one of her books and extract verbs - write on separate page. Review for variety, sound, visions

Raw Courage in Steak Tartare

As I walked past the lunch food options of torpedo shaped raw hamburger with baguette and reclined whole octopus sleeping on garbanzo beans, I thought "Yuck. I have no claim on the foodie label." A grilled zucchini dish, the most Cassie-friendly dish available, did not satisfy the rumblings in my stomach. I had to build courage to try something new but somewhat familiar - Steak Tartare. When I was younger, I loved to eat raw hamburger. The thought of that now makes me shudder and question the sanity of my parents and babysitter who are not foodies either. But perhaps that was just the infancy of my developing palate.

Today, the rose colored raw meat with a faint marbling sat in a large metal bowel waiting to be portioned out onto an eco-friendly camel colored bamboo plate. Using two soup spoons, the chefs measured out my 2 ounce portion and formed a oval shape with a clang-clang. The meat football was placed with a bed of greens and two baguette blankets.

I pulled at the tartare to spread it evenly across the first slice of crusty baguette. I searched my brain for an analogous food distraction in preparation for the first bite. Peanut butter? No, not savory enough. Ah, nothing. There is nothing like this. I silently coached myself, "I can do this. It's the gourmet version of my strange childhood love." I took the first bite and continued eating it. I felt comfort. The meat was smooth on the roof of my mouth as I crunched into the baguette. I prepared the second piece of bread. Working through my challenge of trying something unappealing and trying to eat the appetizer without making a grimace, I completely forgot to take note of the taste or smell. Three out five senses ain't bad. If he was a food writer instead of a song writer, Meatloaf would approve. I, however, do plan to keep working on my writing.

Wandering, Wondering, Working, and Word Block

The last few weeks have been busy and distracting. I've been traveling (a week in Vermont, a weekend in San Antonio, a few days in Vancouver and then a weekend in Seattle). I've also been putting a lot of time into helping to bring a food co-op to South Philly. It's a 2+ year process that will hopefully end with a member-owned food community shopping center. What is a food co-op? It's a grocery store that is owned, operated and financed by its members. By being member owned, the hope is to provide members lower prices or discounts, more control over what's on the shelves and a community for sharing and learning about food, sustainable practices, and the neighborhood we live in. We are well on our way with a website and are currently conducting a organizing feasibility study to learn more about the shopping habits and opinions of the people in our neighborhood. It's exciting, but a lot of work.

I got some disappointing news about some upcoming cookbooks - some other people had my boozy recipe idea and will launch their books this fall. I feel this is a bit of a set back, and has made me rethink exactly what I want to do with this blog. Like a pair of skinny jeans, it's restrictive and confining to only write about recipes that contain alcohol. And now that I'm working on the food co-op, I'm entertaining the idea of have segments to highlight a theme...there would be The Soused Chef segment with alcohol, the In Season segment focusing on things being harvested locally, and maybe a Bake Sale segment which would feature things that could be sold at a bake sale, or easily wrapped up and given to friends and family. That is just a start and I'm still working on the idea. I'm going to the Food Blogging Conference this weekend and hope to find some more inspiration.

I also just learned of a Philly Blog Tax...apparently I'm suppose to pay a yearly $50 for a "privilege license" plus I'm required to pay the appropriate taxes on the income I earn from the advertising on the blog. Considering that I've only made 80 cents in the last few months. This really isn't a good deal for me. I'll probably need to remove the ads until I have the 100,000 followers to make it profitable. Sometimes Philly sucks.

With all of this uncertainty and rethinking my approach to the blog, I've had a little bit of a word block. In addition to all of that, I spend my entire work day at a computer, so it's tough to sit down in for another hour or two to put out a blog post. I'll also blame the beautiful summer days/night for my writer's block.

So here I am, about to get over my word block - one of the food blog conference homework item was to let our readers know about it....and we also were challenged with doing some real time blogging/tweeting/facebooking. Beginning Friday evening, I'll try to do all of that! It's going to be a great conference, if for the food alone. All the meals are catered by local chefs. I'm especially looking forward to the lunchtime cart scavenger hunt. Morgan Spurlock of Supersize Me fame will be the opening speaker. To learn more about the conference, check out the foodista website or get real time updates by following me on twitter/facebook. If you are not already following me via social media, well shoot me a comment and I'll friend you in the medium you prefer. I can't seem to figure out how to put the "follow me" widgets on the blog.

Until Friday......

Gettin Figgy With It

Figs are in season, but for a very short time. I was not aware of how fantastic this fruit is. But now I am. If you want to impress someone, seek out fresh figs and serve them up. A real simple way is to add them to a cheese plate, paired with some goat cheese. Slice the fig, top with goat cheese and drizzle a little honey on top and carefully shove into your mouth. No need to say how it tastes or how you feel, your expression will make everyone say "I'll have what she's having." You'll inevitably get honey on your hand - licking it off is part of the experience. Mmmmm, figs are good.

I also recently saw this video about mixing figs, peaches, honey, and rum to make a tasty summer fruit salad. I haven't tried it yet, but no doubt it is as easy as she says it is...and I doubt I would make any changes. Enjoy..... Boozy Figs and Peaches from Tamara Reynolds

Beards and Cooking Classes I Don't Love: Mussels Steamed in Beer

For my birthday, my friend bought me a "Cooking With Beer" class at the The Restaurant School in Philadelphia. I was super excited about the class. I thought I would be learning some great culinary techniques and learning some secrets to selecting the right beer to put in whatever savory dish I was making. I could finally stop making desserts for a few months and blog about the savory things I learned in class.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed. First, after registering for the class, we were sent a list of items we had to bring to class - knives, spoons, tongs, dish towels, aprons. I guess they were worried we'd steal these things? I dunno. Schlepping these things across town was annoying. And it was more annoying that I ended up leaving a wooden spoon and my tongs there because they were being used as serving utensils.

Secondly, there really wasn't much instruction. The first part of the class was a tasting of 4 different beers - Sam Adams Summer, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Bass Pale Ale, and Guinness. The instructor claimed that she wanted to pick beers that anyone could find in the store, but I found the selection quite boring. I did enjoy the tasting part, trying to identify the different flavors found in the beer. But there isn't much going on in these beers, a hint of apricot, and some caramel were the only surprises.

In the second part of class, people were paired up, recipes were handed out and each pair selected a recipe to make. All of the recipes were pretty straight forward: Shrimp in Beer Batter, English Pub Mustard, Beer Crab Dip, Mussels Steamed in Beer Chupa de Pescado (a seafood stew), and Shaker Style Chicken Breast.

And that was it - each team ran around the kitchen collecting their ingredients. The head chef, Chef Latona ("Just call me Chef" - really? are we being secretly taped for a Food Network show?) and his two sous chefs provided bits of instruction to each pair as they got stumped - but mostly it was instruction about which kind of pan to use and where to find it in the foreign kitchen.

There were some positives to the experience - we feasted. The beer battered shrimp and the Chupa de Pescado were delicious as were the Mussels that my friend and I made. And we didn't have to do any shopping. Today, in trying to put together ingredients for stuffed peppers, I realized that I don't enjoy shopping for a new recipe. There is always one ingredient that only comes in a package that is 5 times what you need (tomato paste!) and there is always one ingredient that you can't find in the store or that you miss or forget on your shopping list. Sad face.

I should also mention the benefit of bonding with your "partner." We had fun jousting with our knives and gushing about our love of bacon.

Even with those benefits, I'm going to pass on taking another cooking classes, with the exception of classes that focus on a particular technique. In February I took a pasta making class from La Cucina at the Market in the Reading Terminal Market. I learned how to roll out dough for the perfect puffy gnocchi pillow and how to work a pasta machine to make liguini. Definitely worth my time, money, and taste buds. I plan to take a cannoli making class from her some time.

Below is the recipe for the Mussels Steamed in Beer .... it was quite tasty and easy to make. Although this cooking class wasn't a wealth of new information, I did learn something. In this class, I learned that Prince Edward Island (P.E.I) are the best mussels available. They are typically very easy to clean and do not to have beards. The beards on a mussel are the little rubbery bit that attaches the shell to the rock or pole...hmm, that is a beard I will avoid.

Mussels Steamed in Beer
Servings: 2
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
3 Strips bacon, small diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 oz. leeks, white part only, julienne
1/2 jalapeno pepper (seeds and pith out, unless you want it really spicy)
12 oz. beer (we used the Bass Ale, but I think most any beer would be great)
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 pounds mussels, debearded and scrubbed (get P.E.I and save some time)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, minced for garnish
French bread, sliced (to mop up the yummy broth)

Instructions
1. In a large saute pan, cook the bacon over medium-low heat until golden brown.
2. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
3. Increase the heat to medium-high; add the leeks and jalapenos. Saute for 1 minute.
4. Add the beer, crushed tomatoes, sprigs of thyme, bay leaf, and mussels. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes or until mussels open.
5. Remove mussles from pan and keep warm.
6. Simmer the liquid until reduced by half.
7. Add the butter to the liquid and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the mussels to a warmed serving bowl and pour the hot liquid over top. Garnish with minced parsley. Serve with a sliced French bread on the side.

One Hot Mess - Kim Chee, The Other Side of Fermentation

Fermentation is the process of using yeasts and/or bacteria to convert carbohydrates to alcohol and carbon dioxide or organic acids. This blog has been focusing on the alcohol side of fermentation but this week I explored the organic acid side by making Kim Chee (or spelled Kim Chi), a traditional Korean vegetable dish. There are many varieties and recipes for Kim Chee, perhaps as many as there are kinds of beer you could brew? The most common varieties of Kim Chee are fermented. Kim Chee is made with a main vegetable ingredient such as cabbage, radishes, green onion or cucumber, plus plenty of spicy!

Lactobacillus bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage to form lactic acid which gives the dish a sour flavor. There is even a bacteria names for Kim Chee - Lactobacillus kimchii. Kim Chee is thought to aid digestion because it contains these Lactobacillus bacteria that many people seek out in specialty products. Kim Chee is also high in dietary fiber, vitamin c, carotene, and other important vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, thiamine (B₁), riboflavin (B₂), calcium, and iron.

Exploring different types of fermentation wasn't my original motivation for trying this recipe. I had gotten a very large head of cabbage in my farm share. I made some cole slaw, but there was still 3/4 of the cabbage left. In the 100 degree heat wave in Philly, the option of making some kind of baked or cooked cabbage dish was not appealing. That options left more cole slaw, sauerkraut, or a second attempt at Kim Chee, a childhood treat that my babysitter's husband used to make. I have a cookbook from the church I grew up with - which childhood memories of potluck dinners and bake sales. It contains a lot of New England charm, sprinkled with a bit of ethnicity, including this recipe for Kim Chee.

I tried to make Kim Chee about 5 years ago and ended up with a slimy, smelly, unedible mess. I used a large tupperware type container with a snap on lid. I think this was my downfall - this go around I invested in a proper glass container with a screw top lid. I also planned to be more attentive and make sure I mixed it up at least 2 times per day. Finally, I did a little research on Kim Chee and sauerkraut to find out if there were some things that my recipe was missing. Many recipes suggest fully covering the cabbage in water while it ferments - my recipe only calls for 1/2 cup of water. With so many different Kim Chee recipes out there, I really couldn't get a sense of what to change. I thought, if this worked for Warren (my babysitter's husband) so many years, I can make it work - so I just decided that I would stick to the recipe and hope the glass container was the answer to spicy edible success.

And it was a success. But I give fair warning, the smell can be off putting. My kitchen was a little stinky for the week of fermentation - but my boyfriend kindly said that it smelled good, apparently he only could smell the cayenne pepper. And the smell doesn't really go away once you've refrigerated it. I've been taking it to BBQs and it sure does stink up my car - or is that the sweaty ultimate clothes and cleats I have in the back seat, or the wet dog? Hmm, maybe I need to get my car detailed.

So, you can eat this as snack, as I did as kid. Or serve it as a side dish at a BBQ. It would be great as a condiment for a burger, sausage, or hot dog. I've been envisioning trying this with a really hearty veggie burger (i.e. not the cardboard kind). Be sure to give people warning about what Kim Chee actually is. In the dusk of an evening BBQ, one of my frisbee teammates mistook it for chicken and was very vocal about her shock and disgust - Kim Chee isn't for everyone.

Kim Chee
Source: my childhood babysitter

Ingredients
4 - 4 1/2 lbs. cabbage, green or Chinese, diced to 3/4 inch
4-5 tablespoons salt
3-4 scallions
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup water
Optional: tiny shrimp, chopped radish, anchovy

Mix cabbage throughly with salt and let stand at a cool room temperature for 4 to 24 hours. Rinse well 2 or 3 times. Slice scallions diagonally, then add to cabbage. Mix in the garlic and pepper one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pack into a gallon jar, add the water, and loosely cap with a plastic lid, then set aside at room temperature. One or twice daily, tighten the lid and mix contents. Be sure to loosen the lid again before setting aside or you could end up with Kim Chi all over the walls, ceiling, and floor of your pantry or kitchen. After 5 days, the Kim Chi can be transferred to smaller jars and refrigerated. Kept cold, fermentation is topped and jar lids can be tightened (if caps are left loose, everything in your refrigerator will smell like dirty, sweaty socks).

Yields approximately 2 1/2 quarts (which should last a family of four who are addicted to it no more than two weeks)

Photo Above = Day 1
Photo to the Right = Day 3