Sunday, March 01, 2009

comfort foods

The weather for the past week has been...well, crappy, I think it rained almost every day.

I was craving some comfort food and decided I wanted kimbap, or as my friends in Hawaii call it, korean sushi.

In order to make the kimbap I had in mind, I needed to first make a batch of bulgogi...so I did.

The only nori (seaweed sheet) that I have is pre-cut and only about 2 or 3 inches wide and maybe 8 inches or so long, perfect for making musubi, but not necessarily for sushi.

Since I hadn't made sushi for several years, I had forgotten how much rice to put in it. (sorry Grandma, she would totally be disappointed to hear this...)

The results, my filling was off center and I had a LOT of nori to spare.

What did I put into the kimbap? Bulgogi, some kim chee, several slices of cucumber and some takuan (pickled white radish). Even though it didn't look good, the kimbap hit the spot.

With some of the bulgogi I made bi bim bap for dinner another night....fried egg, kim chee, bulgogi and rice...mmm.

And yet another dinner was bi bim kook soo. I usually use somen for this dish, but didn't have any, so I used some udon. It was delicious.

On yet a different night, we had the salmon with the sweet and spicy rub as a salad. Actually as I was grilling it on my grill pan, one side REALLY got burnt, I mean black! there was no burning smell to let me know it and when I went to turn it over...blackness! I made the lemon and dill dressing from her chopped salad in "The Food You Crave" and it went nicely with the salad.

I was reading a copy of Saveur that my mom had packed into our Christmas box and they were talking about the Egg McMuffin, so of course, I had to make my own for breakfast one morning. The egg had to be a little firmer...but it was still delicious.

And then Kathy gave me an idea for another dinner, in her comment she said, "Mmm I bet the asparagus dish would be awesome with a sunny side up egg over the top"...I did a fried one, but it was.

With the gloom that comes with winter, what comfort foods have you been eating?

12 comments:

HanamiGallery said...

mmmmm bulgogi! mmmm kimchee! your cooking sounds really good! heh! i wish i could cook half as good! today i made macaroni salad for the first time. it turned out alright so that was good! as far as comfort food....maybe hamburger with mac n cheese? hahah.

Lynne said...

I like your choices, as I was reading them and can't say I've ever eaten them but they sure sounded good!

For my family, comfort foods mostly come out of a crock pot. Stew, roast, turkey... I also get more into soups during this season. Something that warms the insides is always a good thing.

Hang in there, Spring is coming. Blessings to you and yours!

K and S said...

Mac and cheese, haven't had that in a while, Hanami, may have to make a batch :)

Yummy stews and soups, those do sound comforting, Lynne!

Take care you two.
Kat

islegrl said...

Yummmm! Kimbap and Bibimbap are definite comfort foods! :D

genkitummy said...

Kat-all the foods you made look delicious! bi bim bap is one of my comfort foods too!

KirkK said...

Hi Kat - That egg looks so great! We've been eating a lot of Thai, Sichuan, and Pho recently.....

K and S said...

Thanks Islegrl & Genki!

Your comfort foods sound delicious Kirkk :)

Take care everyone.
Kat

Jenster said...

I still thought the sushi looked oishi, Kat!

For winter, I crave heavier, starchier foods. (My waistline doesn't like it but my appetite sure does.) I make a lot of stews and soups in the crockpot. Also a lot of baked items as well as rice and pasta. I love hot noodle soups, such as Vietnamese pho, udon, ramen, won ton mien, you name it.

I try to balance all that with a lot of fruits and cooked veggies. I don't crave salads much in the winter but I do crave them in the summer.

Pandabonium said...

In Winter I love K's oden with locally grown taro, daikon, carrots, Ibaraki konnyaku and fishcakes.

K and S said...

everything sounds really good Jenster!

All those local veggies sound great PB!

Take care you two.
Kat

Rowena said...

Argghh...kimbap, I'm almost there! I only gotta make bulgogi, pick up some cukes and yeah, another winnah for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

K and S said...

can't wait to see it Rowena :)

Take care.
Kat