an afternoon in Oakland making kimchi

*side note, lots of spelling mistakes, wrote this in the airport bar and dead-tired!

(that's me-and this blog posted for all to see)

hell week...1/2 way through.
After a grueling week of preparing for the OC Foodie Fest on Sat (while packing the house for the 75ft move), and unloading from that event-i finally got my but in bed (after packing a few more boxes) around midnight.
i can tell i am getting old because i feel like i ran 10 miles this morning @ 5AM...recovery is not what it used to be.

i gave little marge a kiss goodbye while it was still dark...she was still deep under the covers trying to make up for the extra warmth that just left her. i could here the thump-thump-thump of her tail as i neared her..love that! and so i headed to Oakland where i was to do a talk on kimchi.

(seriously gorg produce)

i have to admit i was a little nervous...not too familiar with Oakland and i knew that i needed to purchase the essential veggies for my talk...with only a few hours to go before my lecture i needed a few hours for my cabbage to shrink= need to work FAST. i also wasnt sure on the protocol on Korean pickling salt & chili flakes for carry-on baggage.
luckily for those interested in making kimchi while on vacation-i can attest to the fact that you are perfectly safe to carry on the various kimchi dry ingredients on a plane (plus as one friend put it, you might want to make something out of peanuts or pretzels-especially on the longer flights-they get a little boring at times).
luck was in my favor today, as i had a straight 40 min ride on the BART to a 10 block walk to the Eat Real Festival...on the way i passed though Chinatown where i was able to pick up cheap a** veggies/garlic/ginger for less than $4.

(i bough a sweet shiitake kit from this guy-next is the dang salt!)

i spent most of the time at this DIY, food celebration at the Urban Homesteading Section where chickens hung out in cute coops, local growers displayed beautiful produce (please mail me that gorg baby corn!) and a few preservers where selling their delights. i was able to snack on some AWESOME multi-seed-extra-cheesy-crispy goodness bread sticks that i am going to figure out how to make if it takes the rest of my life. i also talked to a mushroom dude who had this truffle salt-that i SWEAR on my airport margarita i could eat out of my hand (PS it is $24 and if you don't like it send it to me and i will buy it from you-after i slap you silly).

so expecting 5 people for kimchi and when i saw a literal CROWD at first i thought, "oh they must be wanting to talk to the cheese person/ they must need shade/they are giving out a free car here..."...but no- the peeps want to know kimchi and they want to know now! i kind of got stressed for a little because i didnt think i had enough info to to fill my time!  right when i was thinking all of this an older gentleman, Stuart  came up expressing how much he loved kimchi and how he couldnt wait to learn how....and the stress left and all i thought was...f-yeah i'm in Oakland and people are stoked for kimchi!

(Bay Area is for sures into preservation-can they now wake OC the f- up?!)

so after a long winded intro, here is my recipe for kimchi that i told you i would have on this blog.  if you have any questions, please email me and i will help you out-can't wait for next year.

(the finished product, now it needs to ferment)

BASIC KIMCHI RECIPE  
*this is the BASIC recipe, you can go crazy, use this as your jumping point*

• 1 head napa cabbage
• 1/2 c salt (no iodine!)
• 6c fresh water
• 3 tbsp garlic OR MORE/LESS
• 3 tbsp chili flake OR MORE/LESS
• 3 tbsp scallions OR MORE/LESS
• 3 tbsp ginger...you see what i am saying????

-cut the cabbage in 1/2 length wise, gently wash.
-dissolve the salt in water and place in a large bowl. place the cabbage and submerge least 2-6 hours (a plate might help with the submerge part.
-mix other "flavor components" in a large bowl, wear gloves if you are sensitive to chili.
-drain the cabbage, taste for saltiness & squeeze dry.  the cabbage should be soft.
-mix everything together and pack into a glass jar, pack down, cover and allow to ferment on the counter for a few days until it is at the flavor you desire.  place in fridge after-it should last a month

other goodness to add: leeks, carrots, radish, daikon, asian pear, burdock root….

if you were at the event and saw me, please let me know what you think and if you want to see me again next year!