Monday, August 5, 2013

Oi!! Cucumber Kimchi


It was a long week with folks visiting the Casita from Hawai'i and Idaho, and other closer locales, for a special family event.  Everyone has gone back home now and Calico Quilter's Casita has returned to quiet slumber.  So what to do?  Make kimchi pickles, of course!  My only regret is that I didn't get these cucumber kimchi pickles made in time for big brother to have a taste while he was here.  The recipe is as simple, as simple can be, pinched from one published in the Honolulu Star Bulletin.  I have decided not to grow cucumbers in my garden, but rather to purchase them from the market when they are in season; so much less labor intensive.  I was lucky to find these healthy cucumbers in the produce section at Winco while shopping for other things.  Basic ingredients:  pickling cucumbers, coarse Korean red pepper powder, garlic, green onions, ginger, salt.  Other traditional recipes include a kind of Korean fish base/oil, slivered daikon radish, and sometimes sesame seed/oil; however, I keep mine more simple than that, being a 3rd generation, Korean kind of person, with very Hawaii/American taste buds.  Crossing my fingers that this will be a tasty batch.