Kimchi- the introduction

I was at my neighborhood grocery store (called Food Ranch and for some reason open for 24 hours, which is strange, no one in Forest Hills walks the streets after 10pm (not because it's dangerous, but because they're all in bed)) and noticed that they sold kimchi.

I'd never had kimchi before, never cooked with it, not quite sure what it was. But it was late, I was tired and thought to myself "ADVENTURES IN FOOD?!?"

So here is the low down:
Kimchi is a Korean fermented cabbage.
I've broken some cardinal rule by buying it instead of making my own, burying it in a glass jar and letting it ferment for years in the backyard.
Korean food tends not to be very vegetarian friendly.
Unless properly packaged, the kimchi juices will get EVERYWHERE.

Against these odds and through some crafty Internet research, I found some recipes for kimchi noodle salad and decided to try my own.

Kimchi and Soba Noodle Salad


10 oz kimchi- chopped (save the left over liquid).
1/2 head red cabbage- chopped
1 english cucumber- sliced into thin pieces
3 green onions- chopped
5 basil leaves- chopped
1/2 onion- chopped
1 package soba noodles- cooked
3 Tbsp braggs liquid aminos
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp rice vinegar
sesame seeds
cashews

-cook the noodles. Rinse in cold water.
-put the vegetables, oil, vinegar and braggs in a bowl. Mix around.
-add the noodles to the bowl, use your hands to mix it all together.
-garnish with sesame seeds and cashews

Couple of things:
You are going to have really rank breath after.
The salad gets better (or worse?) over time. More fermented, more juicy, more bad breath.
When handling kimchi, don't touch your eyes!
Legit, pack a mint. You're going to have really, really bad breath.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with this. I think I'll leave the kimchi handling to the pros, but this curiosity didn't kill me (this time).

I am way behind in music land. There is a ton of stuff that has come out lately that I've loved loved love. 

Instead of trying to play catch up and write about Norah Jones and Danger Mouse, Sara Watkins, Eliza Rickman or  Steel Wheels , I decided that this space of the Internet was better used talking about David Bowie!

This man can do no wrong. He marinates like tofu, he just gets better with age. 

My love for Mr. Bowie goes so far to include semi-embarrassing and totally awesome dance parties whenever my phone rings ("Oh You Pretty Things") to dressing up at the Goblin King from Labyrinth for Halloween (complete with 2 socks as stuffers). 

But seriously, a living artist who has a period classified as their neo-classicist era?! How can you not love that. 

I could listen to David Bowie for every event in my life. I'm going to walk down the aisle to "Suffragette City" (just to stick it to the man). 

This blog post is a paltry attempt to convey my love. I'm failing at that, so I leave you with this:

and this: