Myung Ga Tofu and Koren BBQ, San Bernardino

We headed east to visit the Riverside Farmers Market and the Mattel Store. After all of that and some failed auto repairs at home we found a Korena spot on Yelp that we had to try because they are not a dime a dozen in our new neighborhood.

Slipped in a regular strip mall is Myung Ga

It has all the usual suspects on the menu Soon Doo Boo, Ramen, Kalbi, Cold Noodles, Kimchi Fried Rice, etc

Hite has been reborn as Terra but they are out so I had a Cass. My first time with Cass. It’s fine…not as lite as I think of Hite…

The Banchan were pretty typical—daikon slices in soy sauce and jalapeño, kimchi, slightly ferment sprouts, a great spice cucumber pickle, and a pasta salad (the latter is not unusual but always confusing).

I opted for the Bibimbop with tofu…and make it hot at your own past sauce

Jim opted for the Tofu Stew with added Oyster..mild side with the ubiquitous bowl of rice

Overall this place is solid and we will return…

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Korean BBQ Oyster Mushrooms

Following on the success of the bbq pink mushrooms sandwiches, I thought my bag of mixed oyster mushrooms would be fantastic for Korean bbq mushrooms. i was kinda’ right. The pinks crisp up nicely but the other varieties aren’t a so crisp loving but they mostly get there

Following the other recipe. They were minimally spiced for this part, then when done I tossed them with some Flatiron Asian blend peppers, tamari, fish sauce, acid league’s liquid kimchi, liquid smoke.

Served it up with rice, butter lettuce leaves, kimchi, rice vinegar pickled daikon. I loved the mushroom marinade sauce so much I tossed it onto the broccoli rabe as well.

We made perfect wraps with the lettuce, mushroom and kimchi and I made reasonable pantry/fridge panchan

Pinto Bean Meatballs (with Buckeyes instead)

It started with me bumping into a recipe for pinto bean breakfast sausage….and then I saw piles of pinto bean sausages around. I decided on beans, mushrooms and garbanzo flour as a binder since I had that on hand. i started with some Rancho Gordo Buckeye Beans.

I processed the beans up, and finely chopped like a ploy d of mushrooms

After a nice cook down as far as they could go, I married the beans , some garbanzo flour, and the mushrooms with some Rancho Gordo Mexican Oregano, Penzey’s Justice, Deliciou vegan bacon seasoning, onion, garlic, salt. These guys became meatballs. They were wrapped in plastic. The ones I used, I steamed and the others are in the freezer.

After steaming, I sautéed them. I served them with my previously mentioned dried spaghetti squash, a summer squash melange and some homemade chimichurri

Dried Spaghetti Squash

I had planned to create a post about my pinto bean meatballs I made last night but I thought the spaghetti squash would just get lost…and I ordered online from the company tonight.

A few months ago we were in Sprouts and I saw this package of dried spaghetti squash.

And it’s just been hanging around since. Yesterday I had focused so hard one the pinto bean meatballs that I kinda neglected the rest of the dish. I threw some squash in a pan because it needed used…then I remembered the dried spaghetti squash and busted it out to soak. Once done, it sautéed nicely before being buried with toppings.

I don’t think it’s widely available but I ordered more online and some of their other products at Solely included fruit jerky, dried fruit and more of the spaghetti squash. I like their mission and their story so I was happy to order and share with you.

Lions Mane y Salsa

No idea what else to call this dish. It is 100 percent inspired by the tempeh y salsa recipe in La Vida Verde by Jocelyn Ramirez which I would never even have glanced at it had it not been for the amazing chicharrones en salsa at El Mirasol that Jim used to devour breakfast lunch or dinner back when we ate red meat. My dish started out with a batch of Rancho Gordo Buckeye beans made “the Rancho Gordo way.

I think took about 8 ounces of Lions Mane and did a fine dice and sautéed it until it became crisp but not burnt

I took half the finished drained buckeye beans and mashed them and then gave them the refried beans treatment with olive oil not lard and a splash of Mexican oregano.

I took two poblanos (1 for each of us) and seeded them by just a slit along the top. These were put in the toast setting on the airfryer on the medium setting. Once warm and pliable I stuffed them with leftover white rice that I flavored with Rancho Gordo Felicidad Chipotle Sauce. I set these in a warm oven to get themselves warm and let the flavors mingle.

Meanwhile I decided this was a good time to try the Adonis Spritz recipe found in Bon Appetit recently which I made in Ken whiskey glasses made as a collab with Mattel and Dragonglass

The plating went together like this:

Warm beans on the bottom of the pasta bowl, the chili stuffed with rice on top. I had put just a dab of cheese on both to melt while in the warm oven. I sprinkled the Lions Mane pieces (my chicharrones) on top, then drizzled a fire roasted salsa, then drizzled some Chema with sliced avocado on the side. Garnished with some tomato and cilantro

With the drinks and the rose from the yard…

This one will get made again!

BBQ Pink Oyster Mushroom Sandwiches

Last weekend the Palm Springs Farmers Market granted me Pink Oyster Mushrooms from Canyon Creek Mushrooms. I was lucky as we slept in and they had two bags of mushrooms left—one was the pink. After hunting recipes I settled on the caramelized bbq sandwiches

I loved these! Carmelize them in a hot pan with some spicy seasonings…and toss in bbq sauce and then sauté them quickly again.

Here’s how they start:

Here is the last sauté before they hit the toast:

I used my favorite bbq sauce from We Love Jam

And I plated these beauties with a coleslaw

I’m gonna do this again. It’s a lot of low and slow time getting a nice caramelization but well worth it!

White Chili

White Chili

This white chili came out a little yellow thanks to homemade low sodium “chicken broth.” It can be made vegan my omitting the sour cream and cheese or by swapping in plant based version.

I cooked my beans and assembled my ingredients (note, I saved my bean cooking broth for use back in the chili).

Not pictured is my broth blend and the mushrooms. I sautéed onion chopped onion in olive oil, adding in one yellow bell chopped, one anaheim chopped with some salt, the pepper blends shown and a touch of the oregano Indio. After everything sautéed I added 1/2 the bag of corn and 8 ounces of chopped mushrooms and let it all sautéed until the mushrooms were cooked. Then I added in my bean broth, my low sodium “chicken” broth and water. Here I added in another teaspoon or so of the oregano Indio and let it simmer about 30 minutes. Garnished with radish, cilantro, cheese and sour cream.

One note about the oregano Indio.

This treasure of from my newly discovered Rancho Gordo in Napa. This oregano is grown for them as a partnership with an organization in Mexico. It’s more earthy than Mexican oregano and lacks the citrus notes. I like it.

On day 99 we had green beans and fried mac and cheese

Its time to have some cucs and i had no idea what to do with them plus an heirloom that was ready…so they got plated..a little salt on the cucs and a drizzly of sherry vinegar for the lot.

And an excellent go cheese we have missed for months from a local farm. Goat cheese idyllwild from Drakes Family Farm. This cheese is an old world Portuguese recipe.

I, again, made a grapefruit juice/grapefruitcello/grapefruit sparkling water cocktail in my Tom of Finland glasses

I made green beans to simmer several hours ago—-using my own blend low sodium chickenless chicken broth.

Fried up some leftover baled mac and cheese slices

And we had some new brand of gluten free dinner rolls that were absolutely perfect

Day 99 worked out well

Day 98 goes a little south with fried okra and white bbq…and

This was another idea that developed based off my need to use up the cucumbers i have on hand, however, no cucumbers are anywhere on the menu….

I started with the white bbq sauce straight outta southern living magazine

Mayo, vinegar and spices
Mix it up and its white bbq sauce

Next came the greens slow cooking for hours

Followed by a baked mac and cheese ready for the oven.

And corn!

And okra

It all came together:-) with a grapefruit cocktail (from my grapefruit) mixed with my homemade grapefruitcello?

And the whole things came together