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A little avocado makes all the difference

May 5, 2010 in Recipes, Seasonal Eating by cooljuice | 3 comments

avocadoWe recently returned from a trip to the San Francisco Avocado Area. I mean Bay Avocado. I mean Bay Area. Ain’t not avocado like a Bay Area avocado ‘cuz a Bay Area avocado don’t quit!

So, when we got home to Minnesota and were in “vacation from our vacation” mode and sauteed tempeh over rice, although delicious in its own rite, looked kind of old hat, I plopped some avocado slices on top. It was sensational. It was fireworks. It was bathing nude in the hot springs. It was everything you hoped it would be.

Renewal and cycles are everywhere. Of course, I always have avocados available to me at our local food co-op, but now this spring I was seeing them again, rediscovering them, tasting them with intention.

It got me thinking that there must be hundreds of foods that our eyes slide past or our minds forget about, or our stomachs can’t remember. And that’s part of the reason we started the glossary section of AGAD. Put some of your favorite ingredients in the comments below that we don’t already have in the glossary and let’s breathe some new life into our food!

Lemon-Olive Seitan Cutlets

April 16, 2010 in Recipes by cooljuice | 4 comments

This seitan meal is one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. I’m serious. I wanted to let it run down my chin and let my skin absorb the flavors. Try it out. Here’s what you do:

  • 1 pound of homemade seitan
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup of basil leaves, chopped
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 10 green pitted olives, sliced
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp tamari
  • salt
  • 1 cup mushrooms, diced
  • 2 cups vegetable stock

Cut the seitan into 4 equal pieces and fold the basil and a pinch of salt into each cutlet. You will have to really knead them to get the goods absorbed. I also added a little bit of minced garlic to the raw seitan. Flatten each piece and place them individually on a sheet of aluminum foil. Fold the foil into a square packet around the seitain, flattening and shaping it into a cutlet. Place the packets in a steamer for 30 minutes.

While the cutlets are steaming, prepare a roux of 4 tablespoons olive oil and the flour. Keep it at medium heat, stirring constantly until it becomes a golden brown. Add the turmeric and garlic and mushrooms. Cook with a cover on for 10 minutes. You may need to add a little water to keep things from getting pasty. When the mushrooms are soft, add the vegetable stock and stir in completely. Let simmer.

Once the cutlets are done steaming, remove them from their packets and place in the roux. Add the sliced olives and lemon slices and tamari. Let cook on low heat for another 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve over brown rice or other grain of your choice. Top with parsley.

Red Lentil Dhal

April 14, 2010 in Personal Health, Recipes, Vegetables by cooljuice | 1 comment

red lentil backgroundRed Lentil Dhal over Brown Rice

This is one of those delicious Indian-inspired dishes that seems to get better over time. I actually prefer eating this as a next-day leftover after all the delicious spices and flavors have been fully absorbed and expressed.

Here’s what you do:

  • 1 cup dry red lentils
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 medium onion diced
  • olive oil
  • salt/tamari/shoyu and pepper
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 cup loosely chopped cilantro

Spices:

  • 1 Tbsp fenugreek
  • 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1 Tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds

Roast the seeds briefly in a hot pan and then mix everything up in a little coffee grinder or spice grinder. You can also use a mortar and pestle.

Sautee the garlic and onion in olive oil on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add water, lentils and spices. Bring to a boil and let simmer. Once simmering, add chopped tomato (seeded) and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir frequently. 5 minutes before it’s done, add cilantro and shoyu/salt/tamari it to taste. It should be a thick, pasty, goopy deliciousness that goes perfectly over brown rice, or with naan.

Lime-Curry Quinoa with Marinated Tempe

March 25, 2010 in Recipes by cooljuice | 2 comments

This is what I’m talkin’ about. One of the most delicious recipes I’ve had in a long time. I made it last night for dinner, feeling like the energy of Spring called for a little zest in the flavor profile rut I’d fallen into over the winter.

Here’s what you do:

  • 1.5 cups cooked lentils (I like French lentils)
  • 1.5 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1T curry powder
  • 1T tamari/shoyu
  • 3T lime juice
  • 2T olive oil

Mix the curry, tamari, oil and lime together, then stir into quinoa and lentils until moist.

thennnnnnnn…

  • 1 package (or 8 oz.) tempe cut into slices
  • 1T lemon juice
  • 1T grated ginger
  • 1T minced garlic
  • 1T olive oil
  • 1T apple juice

Mix it all together in a ziploc or pyrex tupperware container and shake it up, then marinate tempe in it in the fridge for a few hours. Fry in a pan and serve on top of quinoa/lentils.

Spring has sprung!

Yoga & Digestion

March 3, 2010 in Personal Health by cooljuice | 5 comments

It almost goes without saying that macrobiotics and yoga are good partners. They both have long histories and deep roots in Eastern tradition, both are intentional forms of improving not just your body, but your life and your spirituality, and both are deeply rejuvenating on a cellular level.

One of the strongest bonds I see between yoga and macrobiotics is the use of yoga to aid digestion. Having a healthy diet that cleanses the body of toxins, rejuvenates our cells and balances the pH of our blood is as essential part of the big life. Pairing that with bodily movements, stretches and twists that ring toxins from our muscles, stimulate our intestines and bring oxygen deep into our bodies gives a robustness and a fire to our digestive system and helps keep our bodies young and operating smoothly.

There is a series of yoga positions in particular that aid digestion. Read the rest of this entry »

Balancing Booze

February 19, 2010 in Personal Health by cooljuice | 1 comment

glasses

Being macrobiotic is all about finding balance. It isn’t about don’t, shouldn’t and can’t. So what’s a hip, macrobiotic person like yourself supposed to do about alcohol? If you’re like me, you enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, a nice cold beer or a glass of whiskey when you’re out on the town. The balancing act not only concerns moderating your intake, but potentially balancing its strong yin force out with another strong yang force. If you drink, should you eat something yang, like meat or fish?

Let’s start by taking a look at the different types of alcohol:

Read the rest of this entry »

Follow aGrainaDay on Twitter

February 17, 2010 in Reviews by cooljuice | No comments

AGAD has joined the social media content stream! Follow our twitterfeed at aGrainaDay.

Trendsetting: Macrobiotics

January 28, 2010 in Reviews by cooljuice | 3 comments

101114_p11_chef1Living in America during a recession can put a real strain on people’s diets. When pennies are being pinched, one of the first things to go is healthy, locally grown food. Why pay $50 for a bag of groceries when you can get two burgers, fries and a Coke for for $3 at McDonald’s? —a rhetorical question, of course, but one that many people are answering by spending their money on fast food.

That’s why the Korean Times article about well-being and macrobiotic cooking that was published a few days ago made me so happy: people around the world are getting it. You are what you eat and if you want to be healthy, you have to eat healthy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mochi Waffles

October 26, 2009 in Farm Fresh, Recipes by cooljuice | 4 comments

waffle

This weekend Kerstin had a hankerin’ for some mochi. Tired of cooking it the only way we knew how, she buried her nose in a cookbook and came up with a recipe so shockingly simple and delicious that I have eaten it for breakfast three days in a row.

Mochi Waffle Breakfast Read the rest of this entry »

Patience

August 3, 2009 in Vegetables by cooljuice | No comments

brussels

The more time I spend watching the garden, the more I realize how little I know about food—about how it grows, how it is harvested, how much time it takes to produce such bounty…

More than any other  vegetable we have planted, the brussel sprouts are the most fascinating to me, and have been teaching me the most about how good food takes good time. It is embarassing to admit it, but I thought that brussel sprouts actually grew in the ground individually like little heads of cabbage or lettuce. Ha ha ha ha.

Read the rest of this entry »

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