garlic

You are currently browsing articles tagged garlic.

Cold Moon

January 6, 2010 in Seasonal Eating by bursty | 3 comments

seitan-stirfry

January is the month of the Cold Moon, according to many Native American tribes.  The full moon will be on Saturday, the 30th.  This month of the Cold Moon lends itself to long-cooking dishes that are hot and cozy in your mouth and tummy.  Take time to honor this by making some stews, lazy crock pot soups, curries, and baked grains.  Jake made his fabulous homemade seitan feast (homemade garlic ginger seitan with steamed veggies and brown rice, picture above) last night for friends at our house, and it reminded me of how much I need dishes like this during these very very cold days (it’s been getting down to 30 degrees below zero at night here in Minnesota!). 

Eating this also makes me glad that macrobiotics has redefined my sense of comfort food.  I no longer crave cheesy, creamy stuff when my bones need a good warming.  Instead I crave ginger, garlic, brown rice, lentil soup, etc.  And I feel sooooo much better the next day than I would if I had eaten what used to be my definition of comfort. 

So — I encourage you to do some slow cooking during this month of the Cold Moon.  Pick up your knitting needles and knit something cozy.  Be introspective, joyful, and warm.

Serendipitous Garlic Planting

October 8, 2009 in Reviews by bursty | 2 comments

tolstoy2

“There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden.  There is no evidence for it, but you can’t prove that there aren’t any, so shouldn’t we be agnostic with respect to fairies?”
~Richard Dawkins, British Zoologist

We dug up a little spot in our backyard yesterday evening to plant some garlic… and as Jake was clearing away a few years’ worth of overgrowth in “the [chosen] spot,” he found this little guy peaking out at him! 

I’ve got a real fondness for gnomes, faeries, and other magickal folk.  I love the energy that surrounds imagining that magickal little creatures exist out there — it ignites a sort of child-like wonder in me, and I cherish that.  So finding this little dude buried beneath grape vines, goldenrod, and other weeds as we did some fall planting was serendipitous and absolutely lovely.  We named him “Tolstoy”.  He joins our other fey-folk which include a tree gnome, a kitchen gnome, and a magickal little fairy door…

I wish you much serendipity and magic in your lives!

Split Pea Soup

December 26, 2008 in Recipes by bursty | No comments

split-pea-soup

Made this split pea soup this past weekend and it as a true delight, especially since our household has unfortunately been hit by the cold going around… yes, perhaps a few too many ‘conscious splurges’….

Split Pea Soup

  • 2 c. green split peas
  • 5 c. water
  • 2 vegetarian/vegan bullion cubes (or equivalent spices of your choosing)
  • 1 T. dried rosemary
  • 1 c. chopped carrots
  • 2 stalks sliced celery
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 6-8 cloves garlic, minced (to taste)
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 large or 2 small bay leaves

boil the peas & water with the bullion cubes for about an hour - until they are soft but not entirely cooked; in the meantime saute chopped onions & garlic in a large stock pot with a little oil of your choosing (we’ve been using toasted sesame oil of late — a little expensive but worth every penny in flavor & quality) — after the onions turn clear, add about a cup of water & then add carrots & celery, simmer; add the split peas & water they cooked in to the stock pot, add bay leaf(s), rosemarry, and salt/pepper to taste — bring to a boil, cover, then reduce heat and let simmer until dinner - for us that was about an hour, it could definitely simmer longer…

Weekend Chef: Lentil Stew

December 18, 2008 in Recipes by bursty | 5 comments

Weekend Chef brings you delicious macrobiotic recipes a few days ahead of time so you can prepare for a healthy weekend.lentilsoup

This lentil stew will fill you up and keep you warm all winter long!

Kerstin’s Lentil Stew

Read the rest of this entry »

I Made Seitan, So Can You!

December 3, 2008 in Recipes by cooljuice | 2 comments

I’ve been curious about seitan ever since we started eating it about a month ago. I’ve been watching youtube videos about how to make it yourself, and reading about its high protein content. So yesterday I decided to wing it and make my own. And…it worked! I was stunned, and very happy. I tossed it into our favorite garlic ginger sauce and served over rice with cauliflower. It was delicious and WAY CHEAPER than buying it at the store. I figure this seitan cost me about 19¢, instead of the nearly $5.00 price tag at the co-op.

Read the rest of this entry »

Weekend Chef: Ginger-Garlic Seitan

October 23, 2008 in Recipes by cooljuice | 6 comments

The Weekend Chef gives you great recipes a few days ahead of time, so you can prepare for a delicious macrobiotic weekend.

With winter just around the corner, finding foods that fill you up and keep you warm is essential. Ginger is a powerful ingredient that many people claim creates warmth from within your body. It also decreases joint pain from arthritis, settles the stomach, relieves nausea, prevents diarreah and may have blood thinning and cholesterol lowering properties that may make it useful for treating heart disease.

All that from a little ginger root!

Without further ado, here is a sensational ginger-based recipe that incorporates high-protein seitan for a double wammy awesome delicous dinner.

Read the rest of this entry »