Spring Awakening

It was a beautiful spring morning, the chill of winter had gone leaving a lingering taste of rain soon to follow. Maya and Seamus took a look out the window and let me know it was time for our morning walk. So down the stairs we went and out the door after much conversation, on my part, as to which jacket to wear and, "Hey, you two, let me get my shoes on before you leave without me." 

Which is pretty much how it happens until I can get their leash on and then off we go along the river and onto the country trail. The crocus and daffodils have popped up through the earth even knowing there might be another blast of snow before spring makes herself comfortable. I capture a moment here and there amazed at how it happens with such perfection year after year whether anyone notices or not.

As we arrived to the lake this morning I was taken aback by the change in little over a weeks time. Not so long ago ice covered half the lake. The ducks and swans followed the melting snow in search of new algae revealed more and more with each rise in temperature.

But today all the ice was gone and the sun hit the water like diamonds scattered across the surface. Graceful as, well, swans, they paid no notice to two wee pups and myself snapping a quick picture.

Which brings me to why I started this blog in the first place, and thank you for your patience. Upon arriving home I didn't want to eat too heavy before teaching yoga class, which did not stop Maya and Seamus from devouring their butternut and sardine breakfast. Instead I put together a smoothie with a few ingredients I don't normally use for this purpose and never in the morning. However it tasted great, settled well in my stomach and supported me through a long vinyasa flow class. Here I share the recipe with you to try.

Banana Pineapple Smoothie
Serves 1-2
16 ounces water
1/2 ripe banana
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 teaspoon psyllium powder
1 scoop protein powder (optional)
2 scoops Coconut Bliss, Coconut Pineapple non-dairy frozen dessert
Stevia or agave syrup to sweeten further

Combine ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
It makes a great milkshake without all the additions and for that you might use a soy/rice milk blend, banana, Coconut Bliss and any extra sweetener. A perfect way to introduce spring back into your life, not bad for those lazy, hazy days of summer either.

Home Inspired Meals

After a brisk morning walk watching the sun come up, my two pups and I were ready for a hearty breakfast upon arriving home. For Seamus, a wee, shorn Shih Tzu, and Maya a feisty, huntress Cairn terrier, I had made a special blend of canned pumpkin, red salmon, flax meal and garlic-yeast powder. To this I added some cooked spinach, which I had made for myself, plus a 1/8 cup of high end commercial dried dog food.

As they devoured their small bowls of food I added some leftover Basmati rice to the spinach, which absorbed the extra water while cooking. I then turned off the heat and mixed in a small teaspoon of Dandelion Leek miso (mmm, so good) and a couple of tablespoons of spicy Korean Kimchi. I topped the mixture with some toasted sesame seeds and a dollop of my favorite hummus and in 8 minutes I had a delicious breakfast. For me a meal like this will take me through the morning and into early afternoon satisfied and energized until time for lunch. Speaking of which....

Then for lunch, after another long walk over and back from my neighbor Suzanne, to help set up a whole chicken in her new crockpot. For that we stuffed sliced garlic under the skin, then poured olive oil and sea salt on top, naturally in moderation, and covered the top and sides with thinly sliced lemon. Sorry, no pictures as I forgot to bring my camera, but when me and the pups got home they had a good snack and I made a tuna wrap and served it with sweet potato fries. I include that recipe as well with pictures to inspire you.

That's Maya sticking here nose in and taking a sniff of the sweet potato chip. Snapped it and shuffled the temptation away before she took a bite. You can also serve the tuna salad in something a bit more glamorous for yourself or when guests come for lunch.

SPINACH RICE with MISO

Serves 1-2

1/3 cup frozen organic spinach

¼ cup water

½ cup cooked Basmati rice

1 small teaspoon Dandelion Leek miso or miso of your choice

2 heaping tablespoons spicy, Korean Kimchi (or what you can handle)

In a small saucepan combine the spinach with water and bring to a low simmer. Add the rice and cook until water is almost absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from the heat and dissolve the miso in the rice mixture. Stir in the Kimchi and pour into a bowl. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and top with a dollop of hummus. Sit in front of the window as the sun warms your heart and breathe in gratitude for the bounty you are about to eat. May all sentient beings have food to eat and a warm place to rest their body.

TUNA SALAD WRAP

Serves 2

1 6 ounce can tuna in water, drained

½ teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon crunchy peanut butter

½ teaspoon mellow white miso

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Vegenaise

2 tablespoons currents

1 stalk celery, diced

2 spelt tortilla, warmed

2 leaves romaine lettuce, split in half down the center

In a small bowl combine the tuna, curry, peanut butter, miso, Vegenaise, currents, and celery. Mix well.

Place the warmed tortilla on a plate and scoop half the tuna salad on one end of each tortilla.

Lay the romaine leaf on top the tuna and roll up. Slice in half and serve.

You can also serve the tuna in a fancy wine or champagne glass and decorate with chips or colorful vegetables.

Aduki Beans, Butternut & Hijiki

A classic Macrobiotic dish with a twist of ingredients. Usually made by cooking the aduki beans (Japanese red beans) with the butternut squash instead I made it more like a stew and cooked the beans separately, then cooked the hijiki sea vegetable with the squash and added the beans at the end. The dish came out to be a whole lot more delicious, not to mention nutritious and perfect for this cold winter season.

Here are some of the nutritious benefits you will receive from including these foods in your diet:
Aduki beans are good for heart-small intestine, helps tonify your kidney-adrenal function, helps to detoxify the body and reduce swelling.
Butternut Squash provides a rich sweet flavor and is good for the stomach-spleen-pancreas group of organs.
Hijiki is an excellent form of calcium, iron and iodine. It helps to detoxify the body and softens hard masses in the body. Good for the thyroid gland and helps to normalize blood sugar levels.

This dish takes about 40 minutes to make and enough for about 4-6 people depending on their appetite.

Aduki Beans, Butternut and Hijiki

1 cup aduki beans, soaked overnight

½ butternut squash, peeled and cubed

¼ cup dried hijiki, soaked

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce

toasted sesame seeds

1. In a medium saucepan cook the aduki beans in water until just tender. Meanwhile, cube the squash and soak the hijiki. 

2. In a large skillet sauté the onion and ginger in the sesame oil until onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the squash, hijiki and tamari stirring to coat with oil. 

3. Add water just to cover, then cover pan with lid, reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 15-20 minutes.

4. Stir in the beans and cook another few minutes. Serve topped with a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Winter Beet Borscht

Coming upon a May, 2009 Martha Stewart magazine I happened to find a recipe for Ukranian Borscht. Upon closer look the recipe called for short ribs, tomato paste and dry white wine. Planning to use this recipe for an upcoming Body Rejuvenation Cleanse session I did a quick recipe re-do and created this vegetarian version that won serious kudos from my students.

By simply bringing the peeled beets to a boil and letting them soften in the hot water you will have a delicious broth that can be made the night before or early in the day and left to cool on the stove. The lemon and vinegar gives the soup a nice tang, which complements the sweetness of the beets, carrots and cabbage. A perfect choice for those times when sweet cravings are overwhelming. Instead have a warm cup of soup. If you are not cleansing, and so inclined, add a dollop of plain sheep's yogurt to your final creation than a sprinkle of parsley and you've created a work of art.

 Winter Beet Borscht

Serves 6 to 8.

2 large beets, scrubbed well, trimmed and peeled

8 cups water 

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

3 cups Chinese cabbage, chopped 

juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 

2 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish

1.Place the peeled beets in a large, heavy saucepan filled with the water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn off heat and let sit until cool. Remove beets from water and grate on a box grater, set aside. (This can be done ahead of time or even day before) 

2. Bring the beet cooking water to a boil and add the carrots and cabbage, reduce heat and simmer. 

3. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet sauté the onion, garlic and celery in oil until tender, about 3 minutes. When done, add to the soup, making sure to wash out the skillet with beet stock and return to the soup mixture. 

4. Cook for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender, than add the grated beets, lemon juice and vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer another 10-15 minutes before serving garnished with chopped parsley.

Broccoli Rabe Spelt Crust Pizza

  

Found myself with a spelt pizza crust from Berlin Bakery, a big bunch of fresh broccoli rabe and a bag of pecans, so I made this delicious pizza, vegan version. You can always grate some Romano cheese over the top once it is out of the oven or throw some crumbled goats milk feta on top before baking. Both additions would compliment the flavors of this dish.

Serve with a salad of baby arugula, sprouted fresh lentils, avocado and a sharp golden balsamic vinaigrette. Nothing speaks love like feeding yourself and others great food.

Broccoli Rabe Pizza

Serves 8

1 Berlin Bakery Spelt pizza crust

1 bunch broccoli rabe, ends trimmed and leaves washed

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of Braggs Aminos or sea salt to taste

1/3 cup pecans, chopped

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 F.

2. Pour a half inch of water into a large skillet and place the broccoli rabe in the skillet.

Cover and simmer until tender, about 7- 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cool water to stop the cooking. Squeeze liquid from rabe, set on a cutting board and chop.

3. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the skillet and saute the onion and garlic until tender, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and toss in the rabe, mixing well to combine the flavors. Add the Braggs Aminos or salt to taste,

4. Distribute the remaining oil around the top of the pizza crust especially around the outer edges. Place the rabe on top the crust and finally the pecans.

5. Bake for 12 minutes or until crust is crisp and edges browned.

Curried Cabbage and Arame

Two Cleanse sessions back to back on Saturday and Sunday. Everyone returned from two weeks on the Transition Phase with stories to tell and color beginning to return to their winter cheeks. A lot of cooking for me, and I am always trying new recipes to introduce sea vegetables into peoples diet. I know it takes time to try new foods, but when you know how beneficial they are you are motivated to explore them in recipes.

 

You’ve probably seen nori at sushi restaurants, and it’s just one of a variety of sea vegetables that can enhance the flavor of your favorite foods and boost your thyroid function. Sea vegetables should be at the top of your list for feeding your thyroid. They contain iodine and have high levels of trace minerals, vitamins, healthy proteins and fats. Our soils are depleted of minerals, plus we drink coffee, soft drinks and alcohol, live under constant stress, and eat refined, acidic foods, which only make sea vegetables such as: arame, dulse, hijiki, wakame, nori and kombu a MUST in your weekly menu plan. The Japanese eat some at every meal and we would be wise to follow them. 

So, for the introduction meal to the Cleanse Phase of the Body Rejuvenation Cleanse, I cooked up some spicy lentils (which I have previously posted this recipe), a pressed salad and  this delicious combination of tastes using cabbage and arame blended with fennel seeds and curry. The sweetness of the cabbage balances the pungency of the spice and served alone the next day it was even better.

Curried Cabbage and Arame

2 tablespoons coconut or Grapeseed oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, diced

1" piece fresh ginger, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 tablespoons dried Arame, soaked for 10 minutes and drained

½ head green cabbage, chopped (about 4 cups)

1 cup water

2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut cream (optional)

Salt to taste

Fresh cilantro

Toasted pumpkin seeds

1. In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high and sauté the onion and ginger until tender, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook another few minutes or until fennel begins to brown. Add the curry powder, stirring well to coat the onion, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook while you arrange the Arame and cabbage.

3. Remove lid and add the Arame stirring well to combine. Add the chopped cabbage and stir well.

Pour in the water and stir to remove any curry residue on the bottom of the pan. Stir in coconut cream and more water if needed, salt to taste, then cover and allow to simmer until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes.

4. Serve on individual plates and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and pumpkin seeds.

 

           

The Perfect Winter Salad

Winter is the time to store energy and strengthen reserves. The floating energy of Water symbolizes winter. The kidneys control the mineral/salt-water balance in the body. Salt is the essential taste for winter cooking. The minerals not excreted are concentrated in the blood. This mineralized blood is condensed into bone marrow, which serves as a reservoir when more blood is needed. In this way the kidneys nourish the bones. Foods to nourish kidneys include: buckwheat, adzuki beans, sea salt, miso, tamari soy sauce, and sea vegetables.

Excerpted from Cooking For Regeneration, by Cecile Tovah Levin

For a recent Macrobiotic cooking class I made a pressed salad. For this method you are actually cooking the vegetables with salt, pressure and time, and to do so you can use a Japanese pickle press (visit the StillPoint Schoolhouse store) or layer all the ingredients in a bowl and apply a weight, such as a large can or jar of beans, as pressure. Either way the results yield a crisp, crunchy, delicious salad.

The dressing you use can be salty and pungent as with the Wasabi Dressing or sweet and sour as the more traditional Honey Mustard Dressing demonstrates. However, one of the best things about a pressed salad is that it needs no dressing to taste great. Make enough salad for a few meals plus both dressings so you can change the taste for lunch the next day. Serve with a hearty bowl of winter stew and a warm cup of Kukicha tea.

Winter Pressed Salad

2 broccoli stalks, peeled, sliced into thin rounds

2 celery stalks, sliced thin

¼ red onion, sliced thin half moons

¼ Granny Smith apple, sliced thin

1 small head Romaine lettuce, washed and sliced thin

2-3 leaves of radicchio, washed and sliced thin

½ avocado, sliced thin

Toasted black sesame seeds

Sesame dressing or Honey mustard dressing.

Wasabi Dressing: 2 Tablespoons wasabi or to taste * 2 Tablespoons Mirin * 2 Tablespoons tamari soy sauce * 2 Tablespoons Brown Rice Vinegar * 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Sesame Oil * a pinch of Sea Salt * toasted sesame seeds to decorate

Honey Mustard Dressing: 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil * 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard * 1 teaspoon agave or rice syrup * 2 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar * few drops of Ume Plum vinegar

1. Place all vegetables, except avocado, in a stainless steel or glass-mixing bowl. Add the salt and mix well.

2. Place a plate over the vegetables and press down or use a Japanese pickle press. Weight the plate with a 2-pound can, jug of water or other heavy object.

3. Press vegetables for 1 hour. Remove plate, and squeeze out excess liquid. If the salad is too salty, rinse with cool water and dry thoroughly. Toss with dressing and serve.

Serves 6