Bear Buns

Ingredients

• Bread flour: 200g
• Sugar: 10g
• Salt: 3g
• Water: 60g
• Milk: 60g
• Butter: 10g
• Dry yeast: 2 teaspoons

Instructions

sift flour.

Heat milk until almost boiling and let cool (this encourages the gluten in the bread).

1. In a bowl, combine the bread flour and salt. Add the water (heated to about 32° C if you’re making this in winter), cooled milk, sugar, and dry yeast. Mix thoroughly. When it resembles one ball, place on a flat surface and knead until a smooth texture is achieved.
2. When smooth, knead in the butter bit-by-bit. Place the dough into a round bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place. Wait until the dough has risen to approximately twice its initial size. This is the first stage in letting the dough rise.It should look something like this after the first rising.Place the dough on a benchtop or chopping board and prepare the bears’ ears by cutting 20 1g pieces and rolling them into small balls. Cut the remaining dough into 10 equal portions and roll into balls. Place all pieces between a pair of damp cloths (e.g. wrung-out teatowels) for 15-20 minutes (use a timer). Squeeze each ball a bit to force out any gas pockets, and then re-roll into spheres. Take each large ball and firmly press two ears onto it. Place a damp cloth over them to prevent any drying-out. Gently placing all 10 assembled bears into damp “bread mats”, then put them in a warm place for the second rising stage. Make sure all the bears are oriented upwards (to not disturb their ears). Place a damp cloth over everything. Wait until the bears have roughly doubled again in size. if you don’t have any “bread mats”, take some oven trays and place them on the benchtop. Placing the bears on the trays, spray with a water atomiser. Take some drinking glasses and fill them with water, then place them in various locations around the tray. Cover the whole lot with plastic wrap, gently dropping the wrap on from above. Wait until the bears have roughly doubled again in size. For lightly browned bread, preheat your oven to 220 degrees, then bake the bears for 15-20 minutes at 190 degrees. For a white finish, preheat to 190 degrees, bake at 160 degrees for 10 minutes, then drop the temperature to 130 degrees for a further 5-10 minutes. If they start to brown, immediately place an upside-down enamel bowl over them, or cover with aluminium foil. Keep an eye on the bears while baking, because oven temperatures vary and are not always accurate or comparable. you can decorate your bears with edible seaweed or a chocolate pen to draw the face!

Marshmallow Snowmen

That Vegetarian chick has added a new topic. Cute foods! I will be adding a new cute food, each

month. The first one is adorable marshmallow snow men.

You will need a food coloring pen, a black one and an orange one. 2 marshmallows

Directions: Take the top head and create the eyes with the black food coloring pen. And the carrot nose with the orange food coloring pen.Create two buttons on the body, with your black

food coloring pen. Attach the head and body with icing. If you want a melted snowman look, melt the bodies slight before attaching them to the head.

Kimchi

1 large Chinese or Napa Cabbage

1 gallon (4l) water
1/2 cup (100g) coarse salt

1 small head of garlic, peeled and finely minced
one 2-inch (6cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 cup (60ml) fish sauce
1/3 cup (80ml) chili paste or 1/2 cup Korean chili powder
1 bunch green onions, cut into 1-inch (3cm) lengths (use the dark green part, too, except for the tough ends)
1 medium daikon radish, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon sugar or honey

1. Slice the cabbage lengthwise in half, then slice each half lengthwise into 3 sections. Cut away the tough stem chunks.

2. Dissolve the salt in the water in a very large container, then submerge the cabbage under the water. Put a plate on top to make sure they stay under water, then let stand for 2 hours.

3. Mix the other ingredients in a very large metal or glass bowl.

4. Drain the cabbage, rinse it, and squeeze it dry.

5. Here’s the scary part: mix it all up.

Some recipes advise wearing rubber gloves since the chili paste can stain your hands.

6. Pack the kimchi in a clean glass jar large enough to hold it all and cover it tightly. Let stand for one to two days in a cool place, around room temperature.

7. Check the kimchi after 1-2 days. If it’s bubbling a bit, it’s ready and should be refrigerated. If not, let it stand another day, when it should be ready.

8. Once it’s fermenting, serve or store in the refrigerator. If you want, add a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds over the kimchi for serving.

Storage: Many advise to eat the kimchi within 3 weeks. After that, it can get too fermented.

Cabbage Rolls

INGREDIENTS:
•New (Spring) cabbage: 4 leaves
•Aburaage: 2
•Carrot: 70 g
•Water: 250 cc/ml
•Soy sauce: 1 tablespoon
•Japanese sake 1 tablespoon
•Mirin/Sweet sake: 1/2 tablespoon
•Dashi: 1/2 tablespoon (Check Vegan Dashi Recipe)
•Cornstarch: a little dissolved in water
•Wasabi: 1/2 teaspoon (grated)

RECIPE:
-Cut out the middle stringy core off the cabbage leaves. Wash them in clear cold water, taking care not to break them. Lay on a tray and cover with cellophane paper. Cook in a microwave oven for 3~4 minutes.
-Cut the carrot into thin 6 sticks in a length equal to that of the aburaage and 1 cm square thick. Lay on a tray, sprinkle with a little water and cook in icrowave oven for 2 minutes.
-Cut the aburaage in halves along their length and open.
-Drain the cabbage well and sponge off any water with kitchen paper.
Put two leaves each on top of each other and cut edges as to leave enough cabbage surface to be slightly wider than the aburaage.
-Lay the open aburaage on top of the cabbage leaves. Lay the carrot sticks on top of the aburaage from the inside edge. Roll the lot away from you with a firm hand. Keep aside.
-In a pan just large enough to contain two cabbage rolls drop in the water, Japanese sake, mirin and dashi. Heat and place the rolls inside “heads up”.
-Cover the whole with foil paper. Put the lid on top and food on a low fire for 10 minutes.
-Turn the cabbage rolls over and cook for 10 more minutes.
-Take the two rolls out and cut each into two equal halves. Place on a serving dish.
-Heat and check the taste of the soup and adjust if necessary. Add the wasabi and mix well.-Add some cornstarch dissolved in water and stir until syrupy. Pour the sweet and sour wasabi dressing on the rolls. Topp with some chopped green leaves and serve