Pineapple Salsa

A very easy relish. Chop up fresh, ripe, pineapple, red and yellow bell peppers, onions, garlic, lime juice, salt, some of your favorite hot chilies or chile sauce, and cilantro. Let sit in the fridge for a few hours.

Goes very well on bean burgers (above),  hot dogs (below), or just about anything.

Korea Palace

I've been meaning to mention our visit to Korea Palace (34744 Dequindre Rd, Sterling Heights, MI (586) 978-0500) with our friends Larry and Patty a few weeks ago. Our friends are regulars here, and given the quality of the food, it's hardly surprising that they come so often. The menu is wide ranging, and everything we had was outstanding. We'll be back soon.

Fruit Kimchi

Something I've been meaning to try ever since I read about it in Sandor Katz' wonderful book, Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods (if you don't have a copy, by all means order one today!) The recipe calls for:

• 1/4 pineapple
• 2 plums
• 2 pears
• 1 apple
• 1 small bunch of grapes
• 1/2 cup nuts
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 or 2 fresh jalepenos, chopped
• 1 or 2 hot red chiles (I used Korean coarse red pepper flakes- the kind used for most kimchi)
• 1 leek or onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons grated ginger

Remove the pits and cores form the fruit and cut into pieces. Mix everything together, pack into jars, and add water if needed to top off. Fermentation should start in a few days. I'll report back on this batch later.

Sourdough Rye Bread

I was experimenting with an all-rye recipe today, but it was a bit too wet. However, a simple substitution of half rye flour for white in my standby recipe worked just great:

• 1-1/2 cups unbleached white wheat flour
• 1-1/2 cups rye flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• two tablespoons (more or less) sourdough starter
• 1-5/8 cup warm water

I baked this loaf in a glass loaf pan at 400F for 55 minutes. It tastes great toasted with almond butter, peanut butter, or just plain butter.