Delicious Concerns

Two food posts in a row! Aren't you lucky? Anyway, this recipe has been staring at me every since it was posted. I don't know why but it was just calling out to me, which is funny because 1) I'm not really a huge kale fan, raw or cooked and 2) I think raw cabbage smells like feet. But I just couldn't resist so I made these little babies. OMG Yum.

Crunchy, yummy veggies mixed with just the lightest batter of eggs and flour. They were seriously like the perfect lunch.  I was so very pleasantly surprised that the cabbage feet smell went away even with the little bit of cooking you do. The veggies stay crunchy and the recipe calls for a homemade ketchup of sorts that is tangy and wonderful and the perfect compliment to these yummies.

 Throw a fried egg on top, drizzle with some of the sauce, Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Heaven. It took me way to long to make these and I can assure you I will not be waiting that long to make them again. These are so simple, there really isn't much to say about them. They are a great way to get your veggies in and just taste kinda wonderful so make them! Recipe Below

Delicious Japanese vegetable pancakes aside, this weekend was not super motivating. I did my 5 mile training run but it took a long time, like a really long time. It's hard to be excited about this when I'm still not even sure I can get my time fast enough to not be taken off the course (The race has a pace requirement of 16min/mile). Which would prolly be the most devastatingly embarrassing thing to happen to me in like ever. I'm not giving up but I'm sure worried about this working at all. My wonderful hubby has decided (Read: pushed by his doctor to be more active) to run with me. So now I've got at least 3 people who have decided to do this craziness because of me and I'm not even sure if it's possible to make my body do that! Sigh. I'm not giving up but there are a lot of concerns in my mind right now, not to mention some seriously sore hips from yesterday's run. This weekend I'm doing a couple hours for the local American Cancer Society Relay for Life, which is on a track so I figure I might as well do my 3 miles then. It will be my first time not on a treadmill in front of people so wish me luck! Also, here's my shameless plug for ACS donations. Please go Here and consider donating $10 to my walk! Cancer has effected almost everyone in some way shape or form and together we can end it!

And the adventure continues!

Japanese Vegetable Pancakes [Okonomiyaki] with Cabbage, Kale and Carrots
Smitten Kitchen, Adapted, just a little, from Josher Walker of Xiao Bao Biscuit, in Charleston, SC via Tasting Table
Okonomiyaki are traditional served squeeze with a generous criss-cross of Japanese mayonnaise and a okonomiyaki sauce, tangy-sweet-salty mixture I’d liken to Japanese barbecue sauce, which is sold in bottles but I attempted to cobble together a version from recipes I found online, below. Please forgive me if the flavor isn’t perfect; I am new to it, but we loved it, just the same. Pancakes are then sprinkled with bonito flakes, seaweed flakes or even pickled ginger, but we enjoyed ours with a finely slivered scallion and toasted sesame seeds. I imagine they’d also be good with bites dipped in a simpler dumpling dipping sauce.
Yield: 4 large pancakes or I am really sorry, but I forgot to count, but I’d say at least 12, probably 14, smaller ones
Pancakes
1/2 small head cabbage, very thinly sliced (1 pound or 5 to 6 cups shreds) which will be easiest on a mandoline if you have one
4 medium carrots, peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
5 lacinato kale leaves, ribs removed, leaves cut into thin ribbons
4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
Canola, safflower or peanut oil for frying
Tangy Sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (note: this is not vegetarian)
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine or sake
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey (use 2 if you like a sweeter sauce)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Make the pancakes: Toss cabbage, carrot, kale, scallions and salt together in a large bowl. Toss mixture with flour so it coats all of the vegetables. Stir in the eggs. Heat a large heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Coat the bottom with oil and heat that too.
To make a large pancake, add 1/4 of the vegetable mixture to the skillet, pressing it out into a 1/2- to 3/4-inch pancake. Gently press the pancake down flat. Cook until the edges beging to brown, about 3 minutes. 30 seconds to 1 minute later, flip the pancake with a large spatula. (If this is terrifying, you can first slide the pancake onto a plate, and, using potholders, reverse it back into the hot skillet.) Cook on the other side until the edges brown, and then again up to a minute more (you can peek to make sure the color is right underneath).
To make small pancakes, you can use tongs but I seriously find using my fingers and grabbing little piles, letting a little batter drip back into the bowl, and depositing them in piles on the skillet easier, to form 3 to 4 pancakes. Press down gently with a spatula to they flatten slightly, but no need to spread them much. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the edges brown. Flip the pancakes and cook them again until brown underneath.
Regardless of pancake size, you can keep them warm on a tray in the oven at 200 to 250 degrees until needed.
If desired, make okonomiyaki sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until smooth and thick.
Serve pancakes with sauce and any of the other fixings listed above, from Japanese mayo to scallions and toasted sesame seeds.
Do ahead: Extra pancakes will keep in the fridge for a couple days, or can be spread on a tray in the freezer until frozen, then combined in a freezer bag to be stored until needed. Reheat on a baking sheet in a hot oven until crisp again.