A Quick Bite with Soo Kim, Canadian Living Test Kitchen Guru

Our columnist (with the beauty product addiction), Katherine Flemming is back with another installment of A Quick Bite With. Today she unravels the mystery of what it’s like to live with two chefs as she speaks with Soo Kim, a Canadian Living Magazine Test Kitchen Specialist. Along with chef hubbie Scot Woods, Kim keeps two-year old son, Jack flush with delicous meals and desserts. We can only dream. Over to you Katherine…

Soo Kim isthe Food Specialist for the Canadian Living Magazine Test Kitchen. Her background is in pastry, and she’s married to Scot Woods of Toronto’s Lucien restaurant. She’s also the mother of the adorable, two-year-old Jack, who is known to ask for salt if he’s not pleased with his meal. Needless to say, the kid dines pretty well.

1. What’s your earliest food memory?

Eggs, fried on steaming rice, steamed with green onions – we had a chicken farm in Korea. I still eat an egg almost every day as does my son, guess it’s in the genes.

2. What was your favourite food as a child?

Oranges, tomatoes and potatoes – I would eat bushels of oranges and tomatoes, but we rarely had potatoes in the house, maybe that was their lure.

3. Is there a food you loathed as a child and have since learned to enjoy? Or maybe you still can’t stand it?

Geoduck – it’s an enormous clam shaped like a small elephant’s trunk. Koreans thinly slice and dip it into a hot pepper paste. I’m still trying to recognize its culinary merit.

4. What’s your default, throw-together-and-wow-everyone meal?

A simple pasta made with a few quality ingredients is a perfect meal every time. I always use cured ham or bacon and end with a good hard cheese.

5. What’s the one meal you would love to cook but fear it’s too complicated?

I’d say ethnic dishes. I want to keep the integrity of any dish andpay homage to its history – I don’t believe in Canadianizing for the masses or my family. “Keep it Real.”

6. What’s your favourite thing to cook or bake with someone else?

My husband and I cook together all the time. He’s an executive chef for a restaurant and we throw some ideas and ingredients into a pan/pot and he tells me to stop stirring and let the ingredients do their job. No favourites, the key is to have fun (corny but true), don’t take it too seriously and help each other clean up. I usually bake a cake, quick bread, cookies and several desserts every week. The house favourites are: banana bread/cake, chocolate chip walnut cookies, shortbread, caramel flan, coconut cake and New York cheesecake.

7. What do you love most about cooking?

The smile and pure enjoyment of the recipient.

8. What’s your food tradition (or favourite food to make) with your kids?

We make pancakes from scratch 1-2 times/week with Jack, our 2-year old son. He loves whisking ingredients, remin