Anchoring out and Korean BBQ Ribs

Yesterday was the first day of summer. With a 60-degree temperature and cloudy skies, it sure did not feel like summer. 

this great blue heron patrols the docks

So glad we seized the opportunity to raft up with a few boats from our dock last Sunday. It was a lovely sunny day with temps of 86 degrees F. It was also Father's Day, so for the guys, it was a perfect day to celebrate on the river.

In the food department, the first mate made Korean BBQ ribs. It was a big hit, and a few people asked for the recipe, so I am sharing the recipe here.

I've made Korean BBQ ribs many times in the oven. The last couple of times, I experimented this recipe in the instant pot, and much to my delight, the ribs came out amazingly flavorful and fall-off-the-bones tender. The best part? So easy and quick. We are always trying to simplify our lives; we are sold on the instant pot, so we are giving away our crockpot. Any takers? No shipping, sorry! Given away.

Korean BBQ Pork Ribs
adapted from Alice Currah’s bulgogi in Savory Sweet Life

4-6 servings

1 rack of St Louis Style ribs

½ medium yellow onion, sliced into slivers
3 green onions, sliced at an angle, about 2” long
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp soy sauce (Golden Mountain, Kikkoman or Tamari)
2 Tbsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp sugar
2 pinches black pepper

2 Tbsp roasted sesame seed, yellow or black (optional)
1 green onions, diced, for garnish

1 cup water
2 Tbsp rice vinegar

Instructions

1.     Rinse the ribs and pat dry with paper towel. Remove the membrane and trim the fat. Cut the ribs in half and put them in a Ziploc bag.

2.     Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and black pepper in a bowl. Add the onions, green onions and garlic. Mix well. Add the marinade to the ribs and massage it gently. Store the ribs in the fridge and let it marinate at least 4 hours or overnight.

3.     Place the steamer trivet in the bottom of a 6-quart Instant Pot. Pour in 1 cup of water plus 2 Tbsp rice vinegar. Place the ribs on the trivet, standing up in a circle around the pot, saving the marinade for use later. Make sure the ribs are not touching the water.

4.     Close and lock the lid. Select high pressure according to manufacturer’s instruction. Set time for 23 minutes. When the time is up, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick-release the remaining pressure.

5.     While the ribs are cooking, pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil to form a glace. Set aside.

6.     Set the oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Carefully remove the ribs from the instant pot and place them on the baking sheet. Brush the glace over the ribs and broil for 5 to 8 minutes.

7. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds.

If baking in oven,

Skip steps 3-4. 

Heat oven the 375F.
Wrap the ribs in foil, meaty side up and seal completely.
Bake 30 mins. Turn the ribs over, baste and bake another 30 mins
Continue with Steps 5-7

Cook’s Notes: The different brands of soy sauce can be found in Asian grocery stores and Walmart. If you do not have enough marinade to glace the ribs, you can always use barbecue sauce. We served the ribs with Sesame Noodles (link below), but it's also great with steamed white rice or bread. Enjoy!

And the rain continues. How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

This post is shared on Skywatch Friday My Corner of the World and Image-in-ing.

 

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Two quick pickled cucumber recipes, perfect for the summer

Sesame Spicy Cucumbers

Today is officially the first day of summer, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.  And it's super HOT! We've had a heat wave in Southeast Tennessee since last week, but the last two nights have been surprisingly cool, in the low 60s. The days are sunny and the mercury goes right back up to the 90s. Hard to keep up with the changing weather forecast, but we'll take the cool temperatures any time.

Our gracious neighbors have shared their harvests from their bountiful garden. We've received cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, yellow squash, bok choy, and broccoli. 

Over the years, I have posted some easy to make recipes that are great for summertime potlucks or alfresco dining. The most requested recipes are sesame noodles, avocado and roasted corn guacamole and blackeye pea salsa (links below.) And what would summer be without a refreshing mojito? 

These two quick pickled cucumber recipes are pickled Asian style, using the milder rice vinegar. You can get most of the Asian ingredients from your local Walmart. Here are the recipes:

Asian-style pickled cucumbers

4 cucumbers
2 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced

1 cup rice vinegar
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp Kosher salt
½ cup water

Heat vinegar, sugar, salt and water in a small pot until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. 

Slice off about 1 inch from the rounded ends of cucumbers. Rub cut ends with sliced-off pieces to bring up the sap. Quarter lengthwise, then remove soft centers. Cut crosswise into pieces, about 3 or 4 inches long. Wash and pat dry.

Place the cucumbers and jalapeno peppers in a jar. Pour pickling liquid into the jar until the vegetables are submerged. Seal the jar with a lid and refrigerate. It's good after a few hours, but the best flavor is after a day or two. Keeps in the refrigerator for a month.

 

This following recipe - Ma La cucumber or Sesame Spicy Cucumbers - is from Easy Home Cooking, a Chinese cookbook I bought in Hong Kong years ago. I made it for the first time last month; it was so good I've made it a few more times. It's now our favorite pickled cucumber recipe.

Ma La cucumbers (麻辣黃瓜)

8 small cucumbers 
1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp garlic oil
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp each salt, sugar, doubanjang* (豆瓣醬)

dash of sesame oil

Cut cucumbers into wedges and into thirds. Add 1 tsp salt and let it sit in the fridge for 1 hour. Wash lightly and pat dry.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and add the cucumber. Let it sit for at least 2 hours before serving.

Note: 

* LeeKumKee brand is very popular. If you cannot find doubanjang (豆瓣醬), you can substitute with crushed pepper or chili oil.

Did you make it? Let us know how it turned out via the comments. Thanks! 

Bon appetit, stay cool, and have a great summer! 

This post is shared on Image-in-ing and My Corner of the World.

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Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring!

It's March. Does that mean spring is here?

Only a few days ago, winter storm Remus pummeled us with 8 inches of snow, creating a magical winter wonderland in the deep South. All schools in the Chattanooga area were closed on Thursday, and I was so glad Chattanooga State Community College was too, as I did not want to be driving out there. The snow accumulation atop the roofs had caused docks to collapse in several marinas in Tennessee.

We had our share of adventure at our marina. Around 10:30 pm on Wednesday, fellow boaters diagonally across from us found the end of their finger piers on the verge of submerging into the river. Apparently, the snow had accumulated more on their side, and the weight of the snow on the roof was pushing the finger pier into the river.

They decided to move their boat out of their covered slip to the ship store area, which is on the other side of the marina. We donned our winter jackets, gloves and scarves, and hurried over to help tie them up. Come to find out, some finger piers of that dock were also partially submerged in the river!

We had a community working to get the snow off the main dock with whatever tools we could find - shovels, brooms, etc. By the time we called it quits, it was almost midnight. Back on our boat, the captain also pondered whether we should move out of our covered slip, in case of a collapse. We decided to stay put, but opted to remove the satellite dish so that Mai Thai has enough clearance to move out, if push comes to shove. Never a dull moment living aboard a boat, that's for sure. Thanks to warmer temperatures the next day, the snow melted fairly quickly.

Finger pier about  to submerge into the river

Winter wonderland in southeast Tennessee

For some people, February might already be a distant memory. For me, February will be remembered as the month spent baking (lots of cookies!) and keeping the boat warm at the same time. Au Bon Pain was my inspiration. This was the café  we used to patronize for coffee and breakfast items on the way to the office in Boston back in the 90s (before Starbucks and Panera came on the scene). The one baked goods I love from Au Bon Pain is their delicious oatmeal raisin cookies - chewy, moist yet crispy. Every time I see an oatmeal cookie recipe, I'd clip and file it. After many tries, I settled on the oatmeal raisin recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

Fabulous oatmeal raisin cookies, recipe from Cook's Illustrated

This February, I finally got around to baking Cocolocos, the oatmeal cookie recipe with chocolate,coconut flakes and pecans, that I had dog-eared in the March 1994 issue of Food and Wine magazine (did I mention I'm a pack rat?) It was so good I couldn't stop eating them! I copied the recipe into this post. Hope you like them as much as I do!

Cocolocos - oatmeal with chocolate, coconut and pecans.Yum!

Cocolocos [print recipe]

(recipe from Food and Wine magazine, March 1994)

These satisfying cookies get their crunch from pecans and their chewy texture from coconut and oats. Use the best chocolate you can buy to make the chunks.

Makes About 3 Dozen Cookies

2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt
½ pound (1 cup) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into ½-inch pieces

1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup sweetened grated coconut (about 3 ounces)

½ cup coarsely chopped pecan (about 2 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in the chocolate, oats, coconut and pecans.

2. Spoon rounded tablespoons of the dough about 2 inches apart on a large cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes until the cookies are golden. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. (The cookies can be stored for up to 1 week in an airtight container.)

Bet you're wishing spring is here too.

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Thanksgiving and Holiday Festivals

Updated: 11/20/24

Thank you for reading this blog.  We will continue to share our passion of traveling by land and by sea (or river), and occasionally, feature some recipes of yummy food from the Mai Thai galley. Incidentally, this Thanksgiving, I'm making a sinful batch of Chocolate raspberry bars to bring to a family party. I've made it a few times, and each time it got great reviews. Click here for the recipe.

As for holiday festivals, we've gone to some pretty memorable festivals over the years, some of which we'd like to share with you here. If you're not in the holiday spirit just yet, maybe attending one of these festivals will put you into the holiday mood. Enjoy!

Holiday Events and Festival
Nov 8 - Jan 4, 2025 Christmas at Gaylord Opryland, Nashville, Tennessee
Nov 29 - Jan 4, 2025 Holiday Lights in the Garden, Largo, Florida

Nov 29 - Jan 5, 2025 Edison and Ford Holiday Nights, Fort Myers, Florida
Nov 30 - Dec 1 Sanding Ovations, Treasure Island, Florida (cancelled)

Nov 30 Apalachicola Downtown Christmas Celebration, Apalachicola, Florida
Dec 14 Winterfest Boat Parade, Ft Lauderdale, Florida

Dec 14 - 15 Dickens Festival, Franklin, TN

We had the most fun Christmas Boat Parade in Cape Coral, Florida one year; it was cancelled last year )(2023) and I could not find any information on it this year.

We wish you safe travels as you head home to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends. Have a fabulous Thanksgiving and a joyous holiday season!

What's your signature dish for this Thanksgiving?

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Preserving summer's harvest, and a recipe

This weekend, we went to the garden to pick some more produce. Most of them - squash,  cucumbers, pole beans and tomatoes - are done for the season. The banana, Cayenne and Thai hot peppers are still flourishing. As are the corn and the Japanese eggplant. We were pleasantly surprised to find not one but two rabbits in the field. One was munching on the leaves of the Cayenne pepper, and were totally oblivious to us bystanders.

Leisurely munching away

Help yourself, dear bunny rabbit

Hot Cayenne pepper

Back at the marina, our buddies got busy canning tomato sauce and salsa, blackberry apples and delicious Georgia peaches. We didn't grow the latter, but they came from a farmstand near Dahlonega, Georgia.

Salsa, tomato sauce, blackberry apples, dried squash

beautiful Georgia peaches

Gorgeous and yummy canned peaches

Years ago, we used to patronize this Taiwanese restaurant in Boston Chinatown. One of our favorite dishes was the spicy pork and Poblano pepper. I've always wanted to create this dish, and recently found a recipe that is somewhat similar, and simple to make. Since we had harvested so many Jalapeno and Cayenne peppers, I used them in the recipe instead of Poblano. You can also add a green bell pepper to mix.

Ingredients for pork with Jalapeno peppers

Pork with Jalapeno peppers(豬肉片炒辣椒)

Pork with Jalapeno peppers (豬肉片炒辣椒)
[Print recipe]

¾ lb marbled pork, cut into thin slices (beef is a good substitute)
dash of rice wine or Sherry
salt and pepper to taste

2 Jalapenos, 4 Cayenne peppers, cut lengthwise, seeds removed.
4 green onions, cut into 2” strips
3 tablespoon Canola oil
4 tsp Kim Lan or Kikkoman soy sauce, 1 tsp Golden Mountain soy sauce
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil

Marinate pork slices with a dash of wine and salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, mix both soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil; set aside.

Heat a large, sturdy frying pan on medium for one minute. Add 2 tablespoon Canola oil. When the oil is hot, about 3 minutes, add the pork slices, and let it sear for a few minutes. Turn them over and cook until they turn golden. Remove pork from pan and set aside.

Wipe pan clean with a paper towel. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Stir in both peppers. After 1 minute, add the green onions. Cook until the pepper and the onions are soft, about 2-3 minutes, then add the pork back into the pan. Add in the seasonings, do a few quick stir and transfer to a serving plate. Delicious with plain white rice.

Cook's Note: To avoid choking and tearing, make sure your windows are open when you are cooking the peppers or cook outside if possible. When cutting and removing the seeds from the pepper, please use gloves. If you like it hot, by all means, leave the seeds in. You can use 1 brand of soy sauce. Just be aware that some are saltier than others. You can get the soy sauces from any Asian grocery stores. 

If you've tried this recipe, we'd love to hear what you think.

Updated: 9/14/21

This post is shared on Our World Tuesday, Image-in-ing, and My Corner of the World.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

I will never forget the first time I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner. Our dear friend Engin and her family of four drove six hours from Philadelphia to our apartment in a Boston suburb that Thursday. They didn't come all the way to our place for dinner, but it was their first stop on their visit to Boston. Back in the late 80s, most businesses were closed on Thanksgiving, so these people were famished when they got to our apartment.

Weeks leading to the dinner, I had read and re-read that year's Better Homes and Garden's November issue and decided to create the same exact menu - spring salad with walnut and a lemon poppy-seed dressing, turkey stuffed with wild rice, mushroom and prosciutto ham (my first introduction to the Italian ham). For dessert, I decided to go with a Thai dessert - coconut custard baked in a pumpkin. The salad was a big hit, as was the stuffing. But the turkey and the dessert? A disaster with a capital D.

When our guests arrived mid-afternoon, the turkey was only halfway done, even though it was in the oven since early morning. We later learned that the oven was the culprit. We had recently moved to our apartment, and it was the first time I used the oven (BIG mistake). Chef Engin came to the rescue. We quickly removed the stuffing from the turkey and finished cooking it on the stovetop. Then, we went ahead and ate the salad, the stuffing, and whatever part of the turkey that was cooked. Good thing we all like dark meat. We didn't even bother with the dessert. The whole dinner was a total embarrassment. Fortunately, good friends don't mind. Embarrassing moments often create endearing memories. To this day, we still laugh about my infamous Thanksgiving dinner.

Fast forward two decades. I am older (yikes!) and much wiser (I hope). I never try a new recipe when I have people over. Since I live on a boat, I abide by the KISS (Keep It Simple, S...) principle, cooking simple things. As much as we like to entertain, a big feast like Thanksgiving is totally out of question. Looking back, I realized we've almost always celebrated Thanksgiving at friends'. I've made Thanksgiving dinner only a handful of times. Thanks to our dear friends David and Janice, we got invited, again, to their family gathering this year. All I need to bring is chocolate chocolate-chip cookies. Making 4 dozen of these delicious morsels is no easy task, given my small convection oven in a one butt U-shaped galley. I do this in 2 steps, first making the cookie dough and freezing it, then baking the cookies the day we're gonna eat them. Every time I've made these cookies, people have asked for the recipe, so I am including it here.

Enjoy, and happy Thanksgiving!

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies
[Print Recipe]

Although these will keep well overnight, they are best eaten the day they are baked.

Makes about 6½ dozen

1 cup raisins

¼ cup amber (gold) rum or brandy or hot water
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
½ teaspoon baking soda
2½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
1½ cups pecan pieces (about 6 ounces), toasted

Combine raisins and rum in small bowl. Cover and let stand at room temperature at least 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter heavy large cookie sheets. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light. Gradually add both sugars and beat until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Add to butter mixture and stir just until blended. Drain raisins. Add to dough. Mix in semi-sweet chocolate chips and pecan pieces (dough will be very stiff).

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake until cookies appear dry, tops are lightly cracked and soft when pressed, about 10 minutes (do not overbake). Cook cookies 5 minutes on cookie sheets. Transfer to racks and cool. (Store in airtight container).

Cook’s notes: The above is the exact recipe from Bon Appetit magazine, circa October 1990. They are so good I never did have to make any change.

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Picking pecans in the fall

Updated: 8/17/25

Original post: 10/15/12

Except for the wild weather — when it's hot, it's hotter than Florida, and when it's cold, it's colder than Boston — and the occasional deadly tornadoes (the marina got hit twice in the last two springs!), we really do love life here in Chattanooga.

Surrounded by mountains and the beautiful Tennessee River, this area is a true paradise — not just for outdoor lovers, but also for those who enjoy growing their own food. Even with a scorching summer, the harvest this year wasn’t too shabby.

We’re not exactly seasoned farmers ourselves, but our neighbors who planted gardens reaped a generous bounty: green beans, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, corn, and even pears. Nature has been good to them — and us (thank you guys!).

Over our five years here at Hales Bar Marina, we’ve had our own little adventures in foraging. We've picked wild blackberries, gathered gingko nuts, and most recently, collected fresh pecans. Not bad for casual foragers!

Pecan halves

Gingko tree

peeling gingko nuts

Sure, our hands got stained from picking, but it was so much fun! 

Cracking pecans

Thank goodness for this pecan cracker tool!

Final product - spiced pecans and pecan pie

We captured the whole pecan-picking adventure on video

This recent pecan-picking adventure brought back sweet memories of our time cruising the Chesapeake Bay. While docked at Solomons Island, Maryland, we stumbled upon chestnut trees — and just like that, we were off on another foraging mission. Picking chestnuts was a blast, but learning how to shell, cook, and glaze them was a whole new experience!

Both pecans and chestnuts make wonderful holiday treats, but let’s be honest — pecans are so much easier to handle. After collecting and shelling them (special thanks again to Melba and Georgia!), we wasted no time putting them to good use.

First up: spiced pecans (recipe below) — addictive and perfect for snacking or gifting. And of course, we couldn’t resist baking a classic pecan pie. Yum!

Spiced Pecans
[Print Recipe]
This recipe is adapted from one I found on the Internet. Great for a snack anytime.

 
2 cups pecan halves
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla 

1 Tbsp water 

¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar 

¼ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp cloves 

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. 

 2. In a small bowl, beat the egg white with the vanilla and water. Stir in pecans, mixing until well moistened. 

3. In a small bowl, mix together white and brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Sprinkle over nuts. Spread nuts on prepared pan. 

4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Be careful not to burn the nuts. Enjoy!

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