Recipe: Korean Pumpkin Porridge with Rice Dumplings (Hobakjuk)

Try a unique recipe all the way from Korean! This is sure to shake up the everyday routine of food with some special ingredients. Check out "Recipe: Korean Pumpkin Porridge with Rice Dumplings (Hobakjuk)"!

Korean Pumpkin Porridge with Rice Dumplings (Hobakjuk)

Serves 4

For the porridge:
1 (2-pound) pumpkin, kabocha, or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cups water
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cooked red beans (optional)
2 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds (optional)

For the sweet rice dumplings:
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
3 to 5 tablespoons hot water

To prepare the porridge, fill a saucepan with an inch or two of water. Place a steamer basket or colander in the saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Place the pumpkin in the basket, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Make sure the water doesn't boil away; if necessary, add more water during steaming. Cook the pumpkin until very tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 20 minutes.

While the pumpkin steams, prepare the rice balls. In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup sweet rice flour and 3 tablespoons of hot water. Using your hands, knead it to form a dough. The dough should be soft and pliable like play-dough — not too dry and not too sticky. If necessary, add more water, a little at a time, to reach the right consistency.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Keep the balls covered with a damp towel to prevent them from drying out. Set aside.

Transfer the pumpkin to a blender along with 4 cups water, 1/4 cup sweet rice flour, and the brown sugar and salt. Blend until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

While the porridge simmers, cook the rice balls. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Add the rice balls and cook until they float, about 2 minutes. Use a small strainer or slotted spoon to remove the cooked dumplings.

If using red beans, add a spoonful of beans to the bottom of each individual bowl. Ladle the porridge into the bowls. Add three rice dumplings to each bowl. Garnish with pine nuts and sesame seeds, if using. Serve immediately.

(Image credits: Emily Ho)

Original Article Here: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-korean-pumpkin-porridge-with-rice-dumplings-hobakjuk-recipes-from-the-kitchn-199615

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Recipe: Sunshine Smoothie with Coconut, Clementine and Turmeric

Leave your blues behind with this tasty smoothie, check out "Recipe: Sunshine Smoothie with Coconut, Clementine and Turmeric" and get a summer vibe going on!

Sunshine Smoothie with Coconut, Clementine and Turmeric

Serves 1

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chilled unsweetened coconut water
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
Fresh or frozen segments from 2 clementines (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2-inch fresh turmeric, peeled and roughly chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon ground), more if desired
1/2-inch fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar (optional)
1 tablespoon maca powder (optional)

Place the oatmeal in a blender and process until finely ground. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and process until smooth. For a thicker smoothie, let it stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

(Image credits: Emily Ho)

Original Article Here: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-sunshine-smoothie-with-coconut-clementine-and-turmeric-recipes-from-the-kitchn-199347

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Recipe: Baked Chai Spiced French Toast

It's always easier to wake up in the mornings with some awesomely delicious breakfast! This recipes fits that bill, so check out "Recipe: Baked Chai Spiced French Toast" and make the most of the mornings!

Baked Chai Spiced French Toast

Serves 4

For the Chai Spice Mixture:
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

For the French Toast:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cup 2% or whole milk
1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar (use less if serving with maple syrup)
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Chai Spice Mixture
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
9 to 10 cups day-old challah bread, chopped into cubes

For the Topping:
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Chai Spice Mixture
Pinch salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and chopped into small pieces

In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice and cloves for the Chai Spice Mixture. Set aside.

For the french toast, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the Chai Spice Mixture in a medium bowl.

Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with the butter and layer the cubed challah inside the pan, gently pressing it down. Briefly re-whisk the liquid ingredients and pour them evenly over the bread, taking care to cover all of the exposed bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes or as long as overnight to allow the mixture to absorb into the bread.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients until crumbly.

Uncover the loaf pan and gently press the bread down evenly until the liquid begins seeping up. Spread the topping evenly over the bread. Bake for 45 minutes until the top is golden and crunchy.

Allow to cool for several minutes and then slice and serve.

(Image credits: Jennifer Farley)

Original Article Here: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-baked-chai-french-toast-recipes-from-the-kitchn-198717

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10 Small Ways to Improve Your Kitchen in 2014

Here's a late New Year's Resolution for you: improve your kitchen! Check out "10 Small Ways to Improve Your Kitchen in 2014" for some tips on how to get started.

10 Small Ways to Improve Your Kitchen in 2014

1. Label your pantry jars: Faith has written before about the transforming power of a labeler in her pantry, and it's advice well taken! If you don't have a labeler, you could also label jars with washi tape. When the pantry becomes easier to navigate, so does your life in the kitchen.

2. Reorganize your measuring spoons. If you have more than one set of measuring spoons, don't keep them all piled up together in the drawer divider. Instead, give the teaspoons and tablespoons their own little compartment. Those are the measurements you'll probably reach for the most anyway, and this simple update makes it easier to sort the spoons and keep them organized.

3. Oil your cutting boards. Just five minutes a month — that's all it takes to keep your cutting boards in tiptop shape. Considering they're such a major workhorse in the kitchen, it's worth it to take good care of them so they last a long time.

4. Clean your knives properly. Like the cutting boards above, we wouldn't be anywhere without our knives, so it's worth learning the proper way to clean and care for them. Do it a few times, and it'll soon become a habit!

5. Tiny kitchen? Maximize your counter space. On Monday we shared a brilliant little tutorial for cozy burner covers — a great solution if you find yourself frequently frustrated by your lack of adequate countertop space.

How To Build Burner Covers and Double the Counter Space in Your Tiny Kitchen

6. Rethink (and maybe redo) your cookware storage. Pots, pans, cookie sheets...they're essential, but they take up a lot of room. If you're not satisfied with your current storage setup, find a new solution. A few ideas: store stack pans in a wire organizer, use a ceiling pot rack, or hang them in a corner cabinet. And don't forget about organizing your pot lids! My new favorite way to store stainless steel lids is a magnetic knife rack.

7. Light it up! Having gone from a very dim kitchen to now having adequate task lighting, I can tell you the change is revelatory. This update needn't be expensive either. You can install under-cabinet lights or just bring in a swing-arm task lamp if nothing else. I installed two of IKEA's RANARP Clamp Spotlights over the workspace in my kitchen, and I love them. (You can see how they look here.)

8. Don't be a refrigerator bag lady. Old habits die hard, and for me it took awhile to let go of my grocery-bags-in-the-refrigerator storage method. I'm still not perfect, but life in the kitchen is so much better when I open my fridge and see properly washed, prepped, and packaged greens and vegetables. Not only does it help keep my fridge neater, but it also means I'm more likely to eat those goods rather than letting them languish in an opaque plastic bag.

9. Buy a fire extinguisher. If you haven't done this, now is the time! You hope you never have to use it, but you don't ever want to find yourself needing one and not having it available! Make sure to buy one that is suitable for Class B (flammable liquids like grease, gasoline, and oil) or Class K (vegetable oils, animal oils, or fats in cooking appliances) fires.

Basket Storage in the Kitchen: Cheap and Pretty Organization!

10. Pick one thing to prettify. You may not have time or resources to do a full-scale Kitchn Cure right now, and that's fine! But January is a great time to do something a little special for your kitchen. Maybe you finally buy a big clock to hang over the door, or a pretty tea towel, or some nice-smelling dish soap. Maybe you move a plant from the living room into the sunny spot by your kitchen window. Whatever it is, take a moment to recommit to your kitchen and cooking life for 2014. It's going to be a good year!

What small changes are you making in your kitchen this year?

(Image credits: Colin Price via Brick + Mortar | A Sweet, Small, and Organized Kitchen)

Original Article Here: http://www.thekitchn.com/10-small-ways-to-improve-your-kitchen-in-2014-198756

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Beyond Cinnamon: 5 Delicious Things to Add to Your Hot Apple Cider

This winter hot and delicious drinks will abound, and hot apple cider is one of our favorites! If you feel the same way, then check out "Beyond Cinnamon: 5 Delicious Things to Add to Your Hot Apple Cider" for some new tastes!

It's that time of year when a hot cup of spiced apple cider is just what we need to warm our hands and bellies, a true comfort against the colder and darker days. Getting bored with just cinnamon in your cider? Try these delicious additions instead!

Hot apple cider is an excellent choice for those times when we want a warm beverage but need to forego the stimulation of coffee, tea or chocolate. While it's traditional to float a cinnamon stick or maybe the occasional clove in the cider to add even more toastiness to the experience, we can also move beyond the tried-and-true into exciting new combinations.

• 5-Spice. My local spice shop makes a whole spice 5-spice blend which is perfect for hot cider. What's nice about the whole spices is that you can adjust the mix (adding more or less of certain spices as you see fit) and also take them out once the mixture has reached the level of spice you want.
• Chili. Float a dried chili de arbol or other spicy chili in your hot cider to add another layer of warmth. A pinch of cayenne or other powdered chili (but not chili powder!) will also do.
• Citrus. To complement the acidity of the apples, add a slice of lemon or a lemon peel. Orange is nice, too. This can also be delicious if used with the chili, above.
• Booze. A little brandy or rum is a nice addition for those moments when youreally need a warming boost.
• Maple Syrup. If you want a sweeter beverage, try a splash of maple syrup.

Do you have a favorite addition to warm apple cider?

(Image credits: Dana Velden)

Original Article Here: http://www.thekitchn.com/beyond-cinnamon-5-delicious-things-to-add-to-your-hot-apple-cider-197324

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