For this sauteed mushroom salad, I used two kinds of mushrooms: baby bella and shiitake. You can choose any two types that are available to you. Shiitake mushrooms in particular have healing properties.
Ingredients:
2 boxes of mushrooms, 2 different types (shiitake and baby bella, for example)
1 tsp. olive oil
lemon juice to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 head of bok choy, chopped (optional – you can substitute other greens)
Sauté the mushrooms in the olive oil for about 15 minutes and until the juices of the mushrooms begin to flow. Add bok choy or other greens (chopped kale, chopped collards, parsley or cabbage are all possibilities to try). Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cook until the bok choy softens. Serve warm or at room temperature.
I rewrote the recipe for tekka such that the only required ingredient is ginger root. For every other ingredient, a possible substitute is given (or you can just opt out of that ingredient). However, if you do not include cabbage, you probably can’t call it a “slaw.”
1 orange: use juice and grated rind (or substitute another citrus fruit, but if you use a lemon, you may want to add something to sweeten the recipe)
1 tablespoon barley miso diluted in a little water (optional, but it does add a lot to the flavor)
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables in the following order: onion, carrot and/or parsnip, cabbages.
Squeeze juice from the orange over the vegetables. Add the ginger.
Cover with a lid and simmer on a low flame for about 15 minutes.
Add the diluted miso and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the orange rind and stir gently.
This is nice warm, but I can easily gobble it up at room temperature, too. Great flavor.
Because I ask Klara so many questions about macrobiotics, she suggested I subscribe to the Macrobiotic Guide. Here’s how they answered a question of mine:
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Q: Why is it so important to add sea vegetables to one’s diet? Leora
A: Sea vegetables are nutrient-rich, unlike any other food I have discovered. They provide essential vitamins and minerals I cannot find in other foods I choose to incorporate into my diet. I think of them as the nerve center for my body. Without them, I feel lacking. I can fill my belly with volumes of food but without incorporating sea vegetables into my diet, my hunger will continue unabated until I provide it with those essential nutrients found in sea vegetables. (That is the purpose of “hunger.” It is the natural impulse that drives us; when rightly understood, it guides us toward the right foods, in the right quantity, at the right time.)
Without sea vegetables, I grope for foods that fill but do not satisfy. Organic foods are wonderful and vitally important – for many reasons – but even organic foods might be grown in deficient soil, yielding deficient plants.
Denudation is the natural process where minerals are carried off by wind and water from land into the sea. As a result, over millions of years of this geological process, we find a rich depository of nutrients in our oceans. For this reason, sea vegetables have become nutrient-rich unlike all other foods.
This is how sea vegetables affect me personally. This is not to say people cannot live well without them. Historically, traditional diets around the globe have provided healthful foods without the incorporation of sea vegetables. But looking around me today, traditional diets have all but vanished, and soil quality has become impoverished through poor soil/farming practices, making sea vegetables all the more important. There are medicinal values to them as well. Jeffrey Reel
Ingredients:
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced carrot
1/2 cup minced burdock
1/2 cup minced lotus root
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon barley miso diluted in a little water
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon orange rind
1 cup spring water
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables in the following order, onion, carrot, lotus root and burdock.
Add enough water to cover the vegetables.
Cover with a lid and simmer on a low flame for at least 1 hour or until soft.
Add the diluted miso and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the ginger and orange rind and stir gently.
Remove from heat and serve over hot brown rice.
Comment from the recipe writer: You could use any of these veggies instead – parsnip, turnip, cabbage or squash – failing that use carrots and onions on their own. The relish changes every time we make it and even more so with different veggies – how splendid and wonderful a few simple adjustments can be!
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Ever make a recipe where you are not sure how the finished result should taste? I made the tekka with sweet onion, parsnip, carrot, and a bit of nappa cabbage. After twenty minutes the vegetables were tender; I didn’t need to wait an hour. Also, “minced” is vague: I grated the parsnip and carrot (both were large) in my food processor. In any case, it was absolutely delicious. It tasted good without the brown rice, a bit like a cole slaw. I have a little left, which I will serve with Shabbat lunch. I wonder how it will taste cold? I’m sure I will enjoy it.
I might buy some burdock seeds, as I can get them for $2.95 for a little packet from Johhny’s Selected Seeds. After I buy a love trap for my neighborhood ground hog. Because I’m not planting dill again until he lives elsewhere.
Newbie asks: What to do about challah on a Friday night (or the lack thereof)?
Some responses:
As for challlah Friday night. I have two thoughts. First is the difference between the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law. I think the blessing say thanks for the bread etc. So, I have no problem saying the blessing over a piece of whole grain, or sprouted bread. Extending even further, why not substitute one grain for another. Why just wheat, why not rice. I have said the “ chamotzie” over rice, quinoa, hato mugi etc. many times. The other thought, is that even though challah isn’t remotely macrobiotic, if it makes you feel good, spiritually, physically, or in any other way. Have some. I’ve done that many times too. Macrobiotics is supposed to fit into your life, not the other way around
Klara’s response:
my compromise is I buy a very small unyeasted roll – and even then won’t eat it all – I have a friend who used to make rice kayu bread – which is half flour and half rice – and she would steam it. Steamed bread I was taught was easier to digest.
I was quite surprised by Michael Rossoff’s suggestion that it’s ok for me to have 1 – 2 slices of bread a day – so you see, I wouldn’t have known that if I didn’t go for counseling. As I said, each person had different needs.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced carrot
1/2 cup minced burdock
1/2 cup minced lotus root
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon barley miso diluted in a little water
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon orange rind
1 cup spring water
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables in the following order, onion, carrot, lotus root and burdock.
Add enough water to cover the vegetables.
Cover with a lid and simmer on a low flame for at least 1 hour or until soft.
Add the diluted miso and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the ginger and orange rind and stir gently.
Remove from heat and serve over hot brown rice.
Comment from the recipe writer: You could use any of these veggies instead – parsnip, turnip, cabbage or squash – failing that use carrots and onions on their own. The relish changes every time we make it and even more so with different veggies – how splendid and wonderful a few simple adjustments can be!
(Comment from me: I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’ll print it and put it in my recipe book to try soon).
• • •
Note: I only follow a bit of the macrobiotic diet myself, in that I try to eat many vegetables, brown rice and beans. Thus my title of “pick n choose”: perhaps you can find a part of the diet to adopt?
Another Note: if you just pick and choose a little of the diet, you aren’t going to experience its healing effects. However, many of us like to put a toe into a pool before diving in…
Here’s the stuffed squash I made last week. Using Klara‘s idea of using shitake mushrooms, I sauteed some onions and mushrooms to stuff my squash. I also mixed in some chopped celery and sage from my garden, as well as bits of cooked buttercup squash. I didn’t use any animal products, but I must say I might have found it just a tad tastier if it had either a bit of cheese or some chopped meat. We humans do crave fat. On the other hand, my body felt much better eating it this way, a lighter food.
An acorn squash among my parsley
I decided to call this post a workshop instead of a recipe, because you can choose a variety of stuffing ingredients to create your version of this dish.
First, bake the acorn squash until tender. I bake the squash whole for about an hour in a 350° oven. You can do the baking the day before you use it, if you like.
Now prepare your stuffing. You have so many choices! Klara sent me a few of her ideas, so if the ingredient was Klara’s idea, I’ll say so. (Thank you, Klara). And thanks for some mango tips from Helen and from Alyssa.
Meat
- For carnivores, sauté some onions in a bit of olive oil. Add chopped meat (hamburger meat). When chopped meat is cooked, you have a meat ingredient.
Dairy
- If you want just a bit of cheesy flavor, add some of your favorite hard cheese to the stuffing.
Vegan or Pareve Ingredients
You could make your squash with just pareve ingredients, if you like. Or you can mix it some of these pareve ingredients with your chopped meat. Or you can mix the pareve ingredients with a bit of cheese. (As I keep kosher, I wouldn't dare think of mixing the dairy and meat in one dish).
Grain Possibilities
I like mixing in cooked whole grains in my stuffing: brown rice, wild rice, millet, couscous, bulghur wheat, barley, kasha, quinoa or oatmeal. You could also mix in some leftover bread, such as challah or a multigrain bread. Soak and drain the dried bread before using.
Herbs one could use
So many! Try parsley, cilantro, dill, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, depending on what you like and what is available locally. Chop and add to your mixed grains.
Vegetable Ideas
Klara told me she loves stuffed squash with shitake mushrooms. Sounds delightful to me!
One could also use: tomatoes, onions, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic or celery. You will probably want to cook one of these ingredients a bit before using, either steam or sauté.
Fruit
You can even add fruit: chopped apple, cranberries, raisins or clementines. Lemon juice or fresh orange juice can add nice flavor, too.
Helen's suggestion: mango
Alyssa's suggestion: Costco's mango salsa (brand is Santa Barbara and it has an O-U kosher certification - thanks, Helen)
Beans, Nuts
You would definitely need to use cooked beans. If you don't feel up to cooking some beans, there are many varieties that come in a can (cannellini, great northern beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, to name a few). For nuts, I would mash in the food processor first.
Soy Products
Klara suggested tofu (cubed or mashed), seitan or tempeh (best marinated and then cooked).
Spices
Salt, pepper, turmeric, oregano, cumin, coriander are all possibilities, but I wouldn't put in too many different spices in one dish.
Combo Ideas
Quinoa, pecans, dried cherries, and sauteed veggies like onion, celery, shitake mushrooms, and carrot seasoned with holiday spices like sage,
rosemary, thyme, and parsley in my squash. MMMMmmmmmm.. ... (A Klara acquaintance)
Like you stuff chicken, with croutons, onions, mushrooms, celery and sage! and salt (How Klara used to do it)
For even more ideas, see Mimi in her Israeli Kitchen on Stuffed Stuff.
Mix your stuffing ingredients, cut your squash in half, stuff each half, and bake in a casserole dish for about twenty minutes before serving.
I added a beet to my turmeric soup, and it turned orange. OK, maybe it turned a brighter redder orange from the pale yellowy turmericky orange it had been before?
I’ve been playing in my crock pot again, and this time it’s called Turmeric Soup. It doesn’t look terribly different than my Farmer’s Market Soup.
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
Turmeric, about 1 tsp.
Pepper, about 1/2 tsp. and salt to taste
1 sweet potato or yam
1 can of beans (I used cannellini, but chickpeas or northern beans will work, too)
3 leaves of kale
Saute the onions in olive oil until translucent. Sprinkle generously with turmeric, pepper and salt. Put chopped sweet potato in crockpot. Put in the can of beans. Put in the sauteed onions and garlic. If you feel up to waiting just before it’s almost ready, you can add the kale right before everything is tender. But if you are lazy like me, just add it at the same time as the other ingredients.
I let it cook for about 4 hours, and it tasted delicious.
This spice is discussed in Anticancer: A New Way of Life, the book I reviewed yesterday. It has been shown in cell cultures to be effective against cancer cells. However, it must be mixed with pepper in order to be effective. Ideally, it should be dissolved in oil (olive, canola or linseed oil, preferably).
Anyone have some good ideas of what to do with turmeric? I mixed with some kasha (also had mushrooms and onions) that I made on Sunday night, and it tasted delicious.
