In all honestly the month off was the best thing and what I am calling Jeff Spring Cleaning.  It allowed me to distance myself and rather than cooking for a blog I cooked for myself.  When I finished cooking I did not instantly start positioning umbrellas or softboxes in the dining room to photograph.  Heck my umbrellas have not been set up for a couple of weeks and my kitchen table for all appearances besides the fact it is cluttered with mail, magazines, and other junk is a kitchen table.  Heck the last two dishes I tanked I was not stressing because oh no I do not have anything to showcase this week whatever will the loyal three followers think??????  Instead they simply were eaten with a smile on my face as I flipped through my best friend Tivo trying to find something.

Now that the sun is out, the garlic is starting to pop up through the leaf cover, and I am plotting the garden I am in a better mood.

This recipe is one of my favorite go to for a quick and simple meal because let us face it pretty idiot proof.  I mean seriously you throw everything in a bowl, you wait overnight, and then toss in a wok until done.  Heck even if you managed to undercook the chicken just throw it back in the wok.  However, it packs wonderful flavor and uses one of my favorite condiments of all times….kim chi.

For this recipe you will need:

• Couple cups of kimchi
• meat from 3 chicken thighs diced into 1 inch squares
• 3 cloves of garlic finely diced
• 1 shallot finely diced
• 1 thumb size piece of ginger finely diced
• teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
• Sambal and sriracha to taste (I used about tablespoon of both)
• Tablespoon of soy sauce

Steps to success:

• Combine everything but the chicken and taste. If you are happy then add the chicken if not adjust.
• Place in fridge overnight.
• Place wok over high burner.
• Add in a splash of high temperature oil (I used canola).
• Add in mixture and toss around until chicken is cooked through.
• Serve and enjoy over rice.

Back to the grind of work and hope everyone is doing great!

The worst part about the day I took off sick was I had no video games to play or anything on the DVR to watch.  I was stuck the entire day watching old repeats of shows I have seen with *gasp* commercials!  Oh DVR I will never take you for granted ever again.

However, I am feeling 1000 times better well except for bloody soreness from the stupid gym.

Oh well enough for today kiddos because work is calling…..

The first part of this soup is going to be making the broth.  For the broth you will need:

• 1 whole chicken
• 1/4 cup of chopped ginger
• 4 whole cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of whole peppercorns
• 1 onion diced
• Couple sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• Water lots of water

The broth is really easy to make once you have all your ingredients.  Throw everything in a large stockpot and cover with water (bonus points awarded if you cackle like an evil witch).  This mixture should come to a simmer and then continue for another hour and a half.  Remove the chicken from the stockpot, set aside, and when cool shred the meat.  Take a colander and line it with cheesecloth and strain the mixture discarding the whole pieces but keeping the precious broth.

For the rest of the soup you will need:

• Meat from the chicken that was used to make the broth
• Broth (duh)
• 1 onion finely diced
• 1 ounce of dried shiitake mushrooms that have been hydrated (refresher course take boiling water, pour over mushroom, cover, and wait 30 minutes).  If you have fresh mushrooms fear not because they are acceptable too.
• 1 cup of uncooked rice
• 1 TB of butter (insert homer simpson drool)

Steps to soup success and the road to recovery:

1. In a large stock pot melt the butter and add in the onion.  Cook the onion until it is translucent (about 5 minutes).  If you are using fresh shiitake mushrooms you will want to add them with the onions and cook until the mushrooms are softened (about 10 minutes).
2. Add in the broth, shredded chicken, rice, and hydrated mushrooms.  Bring this mixture to a boil and cook until the rice is done (say 15 minutes).
3. Serve with cilantro, green onions, crushed red peppers, toasted sesame oil, or whatever the freak you have available.