Treats from the Tipsy Turtle

My sister introduced me to Korean cook and YouTube sensation, Maangchi, a while ago. She is the type of cook I enjoy most; she is enthusiastic and passionate about what she does and she makes the cooking look effortless. She is also such a bubbly personality that I often turn her videos on just so I can share in some of her high spirits.  I don't know that I will ever get around to making homemade kimchi but her kimchi pancakes (kimchijeon) are easy and delicious. Here's the cast. Since I used ready-made kimchi, the pieces are already small since they have to fit in the jar. I just gave them a quick chop. I doubled Maangchi's recipe so a standard 12 oz. jar had just enough kimchi. I put the chopped kimchi and onions into a bowl. Then I added some of the reserved kimchi brine. A bit of salt and sugar came next. Then to make the batter part of the pancake, I added water... ...and flour! Because I used the ready-made kimchi, the colors were rather bland. Next time I think I...

So once upon a time Paula Deen was the Queen of Southern Cookery and she and her two adult sons, Jamie and Bobby, built an impressive empire of restaurants, cookbooks, merchandise and TV shows. At the height of their popularity, the Deen boys had their own show; that is where this recipe came from. I haven't made it in years and I thought it might be a fun, easy one for Layla to assist me with. Initially she was excited when I told her we were making cookies. Then she asked if we were using sprinkles...aaaaaand she left the kitchen. Interesting aside--I didn't have enough brown sugar and though I could have used white, in terms of sweetness, brown sugar gives baked goods a very different texture. I found a recipe online to turn white sugar back into brown.  I added a tablespoon of molasses to a cup of white sugar. I used a plastic rice paddle to mix the molasses into the sugar. The rice paddle was a good choice because I could use its edge to sort of chop up the lumps. After ab...

 Roasted cauliflower and broccoli are two veggies I can't get enough of. There was a time when I only bought one head of cauliflower at a time. Silly me. Two at a time is so much better. More = leftovers! Here's the cast--the cauliflower was still in the fridge. Because they're like that. It's such a simple recipe--the lemon juice is combined with the oil, spices, garlic, salt and pepper. I whisked the mixture to emulsify it. Then I cut the cauliflower into florets. I decided to do a plain roast on one of the heads--just avocado oil, salt and pepper. The mixture was tossed with the cauliflower and onions. I spread them onto a foil-lined baking sheet and popped them in at 425F for about 30 minutes. Since I had two pans, I rotated them after about 15 minutes. The cauliflower were nicely browned all over (the picture doesn't show it but there was also a yellow undertone due to the curry. The curry flavor was present, but mild, and I personally thought it needed a bit m...

I told my sister I always wanted to try making a pavlova but meringue. In Hawaii. Sounded like a recipe for disaster or, at the very least, a whole lot of frustration. We made a pavlova together in Seattle and it was so yummy that I had to try it again. Last week the weather was so perfectly cool and dry. Of course, today was not.  But we have air conditioning now! We cranked it up and I got to work. Today's cast minus the strawberries and blueberries who were hanging out in the fridge. I traced a plate to make a 9" circle on some parchment paper. I lightly oiled the baking sheet so the parchment would lie stick to it--make sure you don't get any oil on the meringue side of the parchment! Two teaspoons of corn starch were mixed with two teaspoons of white vinegar. Adding this to the meringue before baking helps to stabilize it. Four egg whites went into the bowl of the Kitchen Aid. I love watching the whites change. Here's the foamy stage. Starting to look white and si...