Beef and Radish Soup

Soup is a very common side dish to eat along with your rice
and  'banchan' (side dishes) in Korean cuisine.

This morning, I wanted to share a very go-to soup called
beef and radish soup.  Radish is a bit spicy at times and very crisp
when it is raw but in this soup-
you will cook the radish so that is super soft and ever so tender.

The ingredients for this soup are: 

~ 1 pound of Korean radish (which is a large white radish)

    (sliced it into rectangle bite sizes)

~ 4-6 oz of beef (any type of chuck works well for this soup---

   you want to mince it into small pieces)

~ sprouts (a large handful which is about 1/2 a cup)

~ 2 scallions chopped

~ radish stems from smaller radish (optional)

~ 3 TBSP of soy sauce 

~ 1 teaspoon of sesame oil

~ 1/2 a pot of water (about 5 cups)

Start with taking your beef and sauteing it in the sesame oil and when 

the beef has cooked (is a brown color and not the original pinkish color)

you can add all but the sprouts to your pot.

Once your radish has cooked down and is tender-

you can lastly add your sprouts in, turn the stove off 

and add a lid to your pot.

Beef and radish soup is best eaten with a bowl of rice.

You can add a little bit of hot pepper flakes as well if you want to add 

a little spice but this soup is typically enjoyed as a milder beef broth soup.

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food.........  day 5 of 31 days

Watermelon lemonade!

Watermelon is perfect for summer.
Everything about this drink screams out.... summer!

From the color to the refreshing watermelon to the chilled
sweetness of the watermelon and slight tartness of the
lemonade combination- you can't go wrong with this drink.

Again, it's SO easy to make.  Your family and friends will be
so impressed that they'll look at you twice!

Let me share with you not only how easy it is to make watermelon lemonade
but a few simple tricks that will really WOW your family and friends as well.

First start off with some cut watermelon.
You can purchase a whole watermelon or you can purchase already cut
watermelon in a clear container from the supermarket.
There's always a debate which is cheaper...
whether to buy the whole watermelon or to buy it already cut.

If you were to literally analyze the weight of the inside, red, edible portion
of the watermelon compared to the price per pound of a whole watermelon...

THEN.... buying already cut watermelon is more often than not cheaper
simply because most people are going to throw away the whites
and rind of the watermelon which is a huge portion of the watermelon
that accounts for the extra $ per pound.

Anyways,  take some cut watermelon cubes and throw it into your blender
and blend it for about 30 seconds. Yup, that's all it takes. Make sure you
add a little bit of water, maybe about a 1/4 cup - otherwise it will not blend.

If you wish to have the watermelon not as pulpy- feel free to run the
blended watermelon through a strainer.  Otherwise, just add your blended
watermelon to your choice of lemonade.  I often prefer
Crystal Light lemonade but feel free to use any kind that floats your boat!

Before you blend all your watermelon cubes, take some of it
(depends on how many people you will be "chilling" with)
and place the cubes into a cup or bowl and throw it into the freezer.

As you serve your summer watermelon lemonade--
you can drop some of the now frozen watermelon cubes and use it
in place of ice cubes. Using the actual watermelon as frozen cubes
will not only keep it more flavorful and enjoyable but it will also
not water your drink down!  Your friends will truly be impressed!

If you add a little wedge of watermelon or lemon or even mint as
a garnish... it looks really nice as well.

Cheers to day 4 of August!


Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food.........  day 4 of 31 days

Your left overs -------> in Kale Wraps

I think we all get tired of not just eating the same old thing
but in the same old way as well.  There are many food artists
and chefs who really plate their food as a masterpiece and it looks
pretty amazing but realistically speaking....
the average person who just eats food to survive and isn't really
into food for the fun or art of it... they just want to eat it in a pretty
easy way.  Right?!

Today, I've got a pretty easy recipe that is triple duty.
It's one-  healthy. Two- uses your leftovers and three- easy to make.

What could be better than those 3 things? It's easy to make and healthy
BUT! it also uses some of your leftovers.  I'm going to assume
that you enjoyed your leftovers enough to save them
to finish in the next day or two.

Kale wraps.  I know, you might think Kale?
I'm not really into THAT healthy of foods.
My kids or the rest of the family won't eat it.
My advice---- "don't knock it till you try it"

Take some large Kale leaves and steam or boil it in a pot of hot water.
You'll know when it's ready as it gets softer and changes into a
dark forest green from the vibrant super bright green.

Take your left overs and wrap them into the Kale leaves almost
like an egg roll, summer roll or burrito like.
Because the Kale was steamed or boiled and it is soft-
it will be very easy to wrap your filling (leftovers) with.
I used left over brown rice fried rice that had onions, carrots and
beef in it with a little bit of yellow Spanish rice I also had.

You can add any sauce of you choosing of course!
This time around, I used spicy Korean pepper paste sauce.

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food.........  day 3 of 31 days

I scream.... You scream.

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!"
is a line in an old song written by Johnson, Moll, & King
titled "Ice Cream"

Kids, teens, adults, seniors... who doesn't love ice cream?

Cultivate the ice cream to something maybe a little more fun
for any age and especially good for getting together in the warmer
months. Take any kind of ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet...
whatever floats your boat and scoop it out with an ice cream scooper
into a ball and place it on some parchment paper and stick a stick
into it. Literally. You can purchase wooden popsicle sticks, lollipop
sticks from a craft store like Michael's Crafts, A.C.Moore,
Joanne's Fabrics, etc... or you can simply use wooden throw away
chopsticks. You can roll the ice cream balls in chocolate syrup, slightly
melted peanut butter, strawberry jelly, and so many other things.
You can add chopped nuts, candy....
Once you've scooped your ice cream and have added any
extras you'd like- you want to place it on a tray or plate and put
it back into your freezer so the ice cream freezes with the stick.

This dessert is fun and is a great after dinner snack while
watching your favorite tv show or sitting on your deck/balcony.
It's also great for portion control if you're watching your weight.

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food   ........... day 2 of 31 days

Happy August....!

Can you believe it's August already???

WHAT!?!!!

Where in the world has the summer of 2014 gone?

I remember as a kid especially in elementary school

how loooong the lazy, hazy summer days were.

As August of 2014 has approached us,

many different things have been going on in my personal life.

Almost all good.  

One way I wanted to challenge myself through my food blog 

(that I started in March of 2011) was that I am going to 

write a post every single day in August....  yup. All. Thirty One. Days. 

I took the month of July off to catch up on some things and didn't share

a single post BUT... let's see how far I can go with 31 days ... 31 posts.

Many events are going on in August just like the 15 person

Personal Chef Dinner I just finished last night but I think I can do it!  

right!?!!    Most importantly...  let's all just.....

Let's Do This!   31 days.... 31 posts,  Let's Cultivate Food

Coleslaw Burger

Now that the summer is officially here and
with the fourth of July being around the corner...
people are grilling left and right!

What's great about the all american style burger
is that you can make it your own by adding whatever
your taste buds desire..... sweet right!?!

The latest burger we have been devouring
is a hamburger with coleslaw and a thick slice
of cheddar cheese (the cheese didn't make it into the picture)
which actually makes it a cheeseburger rather than a hamburger.

It's as easy as it looks and sounds.
Rather than adding lettuce and tomato--
coleslaw is a great option.

Coleslaw recipe -----> Coleslaw

Ketchup is optional and so are pickles.


So easy, so yummy,  Let's Cultivate Food

Godiva VS Kahlua .....

dun. dun. dun.

Hmmm.... Who was the winner of this drink taste test?

Zestfully,  Let's Cultivate Food