Foot and Fire

A healthy gut is the foundation of good health. If one has a healthy gut, one can absorb vitamin and minerals and utilize them to fuel the body. Conversely, an unhealthy gut cause domino effect on health causing one issue and leading to another. Of course, many researches show us that sugar and seed oils cause inflammation while fibers from vegetables and fruits can keep us from glucose spikes. Meanwhile, fermented vegetables are twin armors which can give us fiber and healthy bacteria in our gut.  Lacto-fermentation is easy to make at home and can be done to a lot of vegetables. I live sauerkraut because of its mild tangy taste, I love kimchi because of its spiciness that gives a kick to meals and carrots are wobderful when they're slender as compared to bulky ones favored for cooking as they're peeled in one go for being large or extra large. Of course, one can use the large ones to ferment. Slender ones are tasty and one carrot is one serving of side dish for me....

Fermented vegetable gained popularity these days because it benefits the digestive system as well as immunity as it is rich in vitamin c and phytochemicals. Try making yours... Turnips, cut into strips Cucumber, cut into strips Mustard leaves, separate leaves Salt Apple, grated Chili pepper powder In a big bowl, add cut turnips, cucumber and mustard leaves. Massage with salt. Leave overnight with cover. Next day, drain mixture. Add grated apples and chili powder. Cover and let stay in room temperature. On the third day, sourness develop. Place in fridge to slow fermentation. 

        Pechay, the native kind. Other green can be used. There is nothing like hot pot. First, because it's always a one-pot for us where we put all ingredients all at once and sip the soup. Second, we love the soup from slow cook like those in the bulalo and batchoy. Third, we have no patience for one at a time food trip. LOL Well, it is nice to try it once in a while, at home. Shabu shabu at home... Vermicelli or glass noodle is a better choice among noodles in the grocery.                          Fresh chicken eggs. Frozen items from the grocery: Tufo seafood and Fishcake.                          Kimchi on the side... The chili for the soup from China. I used the Vietnamese soup base bouillon for the non-chili soup. I do not like the peanut-vinegar accompaniment. (Even those prepared in the Beijing Shabu-shabu).       ...

8 heads of Chinese cabbage, halved and washed rock salt brown sugar chili powder or whatever preserved chili available ginger, chopped garlic, chopped bottled vinegared onion (optional) bottled vinegared cucumber (optional) Dry the washed halved cabbage head.  Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl starting from chili powder. Rub layer after layers of leaves with salt and brown sugar and then mixture until done. Arrange in a plastic container and let stand for 24 hours in a dry cool place. The next day, transfer in glass container and discard remaining water. Let stand again for another day or two.  The Kimchi is done when the cabbage and the spices are already fermented. Refrigerate to lengthen shelf life. Enjoy as appetizer. (When I made my first kimchi out of native pechay, I first rubbed the salt and let the pechay spurt its water within  24 hours before adding spices. I suggest same thing with this kind too but at any rate, this shortcut method is a success. Dont ...

By GERLIE M. UY Here are the Top Ten posts in my two year stint as food and home-cook recipe blogger from 2010 to 2012. Two surprising high hits for viewers are my entries on Fish Soup with Kulitis which earns 80 viewers which I find amazing as "kulitis" is not a popular green leafy vegetable and Fish Soup with Kamote Tops which earned 93 hits. But both did not make it to the top ten though. Here are the top ten recipe with links that are always called for by the viewers (but I'm not sure if they're called to be cooked), and the number one which has 2273 viewers is unexpected as it has beaten my sushi, summer roll and pad thai. Read on! TEN classic buko salad 92 viewers posted last 12/11/11 NINE chicken ala king spaghetti 113 viewers posted on 1/14/10 EIGHT Buko Lychee Jelly Dessert 130 viewers posted last 1/15/10 SEVEN Pechay kimchi 203 viewers posted on 5/15/11 SIX vietnamese summer roll  137 viewers posted on 12/6/10 FIVE Food treats from Ilocos 141 viewers posted...

By GERLIE M. UY Actually, I was so hesitant to post this "kimchi attempt." Searching in the net on how to make kimchi is a big task. First, I have to find one which is not too chili-ful, not too complicated, and most of all easy-to-find-ingredients so I can make a version which is familiar-yet-not to Filipino palate. I made this a month ago and it's a surprise that the longer the fermentation, the better taste it gets.  What i love about using this native pechay is the crunchiness of the stalk and there is no after-taste or after-smell in its green leaves. This is indeed an accidental kitchen creation when I was confronted with many native pechay. Here's my kimchi attempt: Ing: 1/2 kilo native pechay 1/2 cup rock salt 4 liters water 2 tablespoon Cayenne pepper 6 chopped onions 2 chopped garlic 1/8 cup grated ginger 5 tablespoon brown sugar 1/4 cup fish sauce    Cut the end of the bunch of pechay and separate each stalk with leaves.    In a large container, diss...