OCTOBER MONTHLY DIGEST
The last quarter of this year is flying by so quickly that I can’t keep up! As usual, I waited till the last minute to post the prior month’s recap and writing about what happened in October now, at the end of November, makes it feel like it was ages ago. I’ve been especially thankful over the last couple of months, and my first Fall in the northeast is living up to the hype. Something about the changing leaves and the beautiful hazy golden hue that the sunlight takes on as we enter winter makes me particularly sappy, and the magic of New York to me has only gotten stronger. I’ll often walk through the streets feeling like I’m watching a movie unfold before my eyes, and I still can’t believe this is my every day. I keep waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me up (does that happen to anyone else? When things are too good, you’re also on edge just waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak?), but I’ll fully appreciate this giddiness and elation while I have it. A few non-food highlights from this month: celebrating mid-Autumn festival, apple picking upstate and triple-fisting at happy hour afterwards, being introduced to a new coffee spot, seeing the leaves begin to turn yellow in pockets around the city, being blessed with some really beautiful weather that literally made me scream internally “IT’S SO NICE!!!” and walk with a pep in my step, celebrating birthdays, bleaching the underside of my hair platinum blonde, watching the sun set over the city during yoga in Central Park, spontaneously connecting with a high school friend during a random visit, stumbling upon a flea market in Chelsea with some beautiful antiques, seeing massive bunches of eucalyptus at the greenmarket and capping the month off with a spooky halloween movie marathon sleepover.
WEEK 1
1 lb salmon
1 package baby kale
1 English cucumber
1 pack of dozen eggs
1 bag mini avocados
1 bottle balsamic vinegar (from September, Week 2)
1 lb beef stew meat
1 daikon radish
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch Korean chives
1 pack perilla leaves
Lunch: Salmon Salad
Tossed together a salad with salmon, cucumber, avocado and a boiled egg in the continuation of salads from September. I made the salmon in the Instant Pot (see July) as usual, seasoning with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Dinner: Beef Radish Soup & Jeon
Made beef radish soup (sogogi muguk) and pancakes (jeon) for Mid-Autumn Festival/Chuseok. Both recipes from Cooking Korean, as usual.
WEEK 2
1 package baby kale
1 delicata squash
1 can chickpeas
2 lemons
2 apples
1 bottle tahini
1 box doenjang (leftover from July Week 5)
1 oyster mushroom
1 potato
1 onion
2 zucchini
1 box silken tofu
3 green onion stalks
Lunch: Fall Harvest Salad
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut delicata squash in half lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas and pat dry. Put delicata squash on one sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put chickpeas on another sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and a splash of lemon juice. Roast for 30-40 minutes until squash is browned and soft and chickpeas are crispy. Prepare bowl with baby kale, and add delicata squash, chickpeas and a cut apple. Drizzle with dressing made from 1/4 cup tahini, juice of 1 lemon and 1 clove chopped garlic (thin with water to desired consistency),
Dinner: Doenjangguk
As I’ve said, a month does not go by without me making doenjangguk. Recipe from Cooking Korean, as usual.
Desserts: Baked Apples & Apple Cake
After apple picking, I literally had over 20 apples to use. Two recipes I tried were baked apples and Smitten Kitchen’s apple cake, which is not a looker, but was delicious. Super moist, delicate cake hugging fall-spiced, jammy apples, and it tastes even better on day 2.
WEEK 3
1 pack dried seaweed
1 lb beef stew meat
1 bottle sesame oil
1 bottle soup soy sauce
1 lb beef short ribs
1 kiwi
1 bottle kimchi
1 box firm tofu
1 bag Korean red chili pepper flakes
1 bunch green onion
Lunch: Seaweed Soup (Miyukguk)
Made a whole Instant Pot of miyukguk for my roommate’s birthday, and ate the leftovers for lunch. Always such a comforting and soothing dish.
Dinner: Marinated Short Ribs (Galbi) + Kimchi Jjigae
Tried my hand at making galbi for the first time using my mom’s simple recipe! Marinated 1 lb of galbi with a 3:1:1 water:sugar:soy sauce ratio in a gallon bag for 24 hours. Thirty minutes before cooking, I added a slice of kiwi to the bag to tenderize the meat. Heated olive oil on a pan, added chopped garlic for a few minutes, then added marinated meat and cooked through. Made some kimchi jjigae on the side for added Korean comfort (recipe from Cooking Korean, are you surprised).
Dessert: Everyday Chocolate Cake
I finished Schitt’s Creek now that the last season is finally on Netflix, and I made a chocolate cake right after the last episode ended to eat my feelings. I didn’t expect to feel so strongly at the end of the show considering that I found the first couple of seasons hard to get through since the characters were so grating, but they really grew on me. The cake was fudge-y and chocolate-y (especially since I added extra chopped chocolate bar bits) and hit all the right spots.
WEEK 4
1 pack Dr. Praeger’s California Veggie Burger patties
1 English cucumber
1 pack of dozen eggs
1 bag mini avocados
1 bottle balsamic vinegar (from September, Week 2)
1 lb shaved beef
1 pack enoki mushrooms
1 pack shiitake mushrooms
1/2 head napa cabbage
1 pack firm tofu
1 bunch green onion
1 bottle mirin
1 bottle soy sauce
Lunch: Green Salad with Veggie Patties
Same as September — did a half romaine, half arugula mix for this one though!
Dinner: Beef Sukiyaki
This was a sweet and savory dish that was inspired by my shaved beef purchase at Trader Joe’s. The broth was pretty sweet when following the recipe’s ratio’s as is, so I would halve (if not quarter) the mirin if you’re wanting something more savory.
WEEK 5
1 bottle kimchi (from Week 3)
1 bottle sesame oil (from Week 3)
1 yellow onion
1 carrot
1 bunch green onion
1 box soft tofu
1 pack udon noodles
1 bag light brown sugar
1 bottle soup soy sauce (from Week 3)
1 box ground ginger
1 bunch green onion
1 bottle chili crisp oil
Lunch: Kimchi Fried Rice
Recipe from Cooking Korean. AGAIN are you surprised?
Dinner: Creamy Tofu Noodles
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for years and I finally got around to making it. It reminds me in concept of the simple kongguksu recipe that I shared a while ago, in that you’re using tofu as an easy sub for a soybean base, which makes this really easy to execute. I used udon noodles instead of ramen, and subbed soup soy sauce instead of hon tsuyu and ginger powder instead of grated ginger since it’s what I had on hand. I spiced this up with some chili oil (LGM) drizzled on top, which made it pretty addicting to eat throughout the week.
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