killer onion soup

this soup is no joke.

i designed this recipe to use only ingredients you can find at your local grocery store, no funny business.
unless you happen to have a bottle of ume vinegar at home.
then a little funny business will be involved.

i'm sorry the picture isn't phenomenal.  it was late at night, and i was 97% starving and only 3% artistic, so this was the best i could muster.

killer onion soup

serves 3
easy to make

2 vidalia onions
3 cloves garlic
7-8 button mushrooms
toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp. natural sweetener (i got some local honey from the amish that i'm digging)
dried thyme
1 quart veggie stock (either homemade or organic store-bought.  be sure you read the label and make sure you know what you're getting.  if you see sugar or things you can't pronounce, cut and run.)

mince garlic.  removing the tough skin of the onion, cut off the cap and the root, and slice vertically (from pole to pole).  lie each onion half on the flat side, and make long, vertical slices from pole to pole (not side to side), so that you get long slivers of onion about the thickness of your pinky finger.  thinly slice mushrooms, about the thickness of a quarter.

saute your garlic in 2-3 tbsp. toasted sesame oil in a large, deep pot.  after ~30 seconds, add vidalia onion slices.  add a pinch of sea salt.  sauté for 20-30 minutes, until onions are translucent and soft.

pour in veggie stock and bring to a rolling boil.  once boiling, add another pinch of salt, a dash of soy sauce, and your sweetener.  if you have it, try adding a dash of umeboshi vinegar.  toss in your dried time.  once the flavors are right (and you may have to adjust a little to suit your taste), add the mushrooms.

cook for another 5 minutes and serve :)

tomato basil soup and grilled portobello grinders

there is a great reason why there are no prep photos from this post.

so there i was, feeling like a total g with my jazz on the grill,

my soup in the blender, my onions caramelizing...

...

...

...when i looked over at my blender and saw my soup leaking into 

a beautiful orange puddle on the floor that homer the dog was 

quietly ingesting.

i was debating whether or not to use real tomatoes in this recipe.  they're

a nightshade and completely absent from traditional macrobiotic cooking.

for good reason.  nightshades can do wicked damage to your joints, your

blood (i bruise like... well... a tomato when i eat them), and a lot of people

thought they were poisonous for a few hundred years.

that being said, they were growing on a vine in my front yard and i just

couldn't help myself.

if i were making this totally macro, i would substitute tomatoes for carrots

and onions, slow-cooked and run through the food processor.

portobello mushroom grinders

4 portobello mushroom caps

olive oil

organic steak marinade, or tamari with spices

italian dressing

sweet vidalia onion

bun of choice

preheat barbecue grill to 400 f.  marinade mushroom caps in liquids

(i did 1/4 c. olive oil, 1/4 c. steak marinade and 1/2 c. italian dressing)

at least 30 minutes.  brush grill with olive oil and grill for 15 minutes.

slice vidalias into disks and caramelize with a pinch of salt at least 20

minutes.  i did this in a large cast-iron skillet and left it greasy for the soup.

once the mushrooms are done, roast your bun of choice 3-5 minutes on

hot grill, stack, and enjoy!

tomato basil soup

6-7 fresh tomatoes, diced

2 c. veggie stock

2 shallots

3 cloves garlic

1 head cauliflower

olive oil

2 cups fresh basil plus more for garnish

salt

ume vinegar

preheat oven to 375.  drizzle cauliflower florets with olive oil. roast

for 15-20 minutes until soft.

brown diced shallots and garlic in skillet and set aside.

run cauli florets with some veggie stock through your food processor

until pureed and smooth.

at this point, take everything out of your cuisinart.  unless you really like

mopping the floor.  transfer it to a high-powered blender.

blend all ingredients until smooth in consistency.  transfer to a large pot,

season with salt and ume vinegar to taste, and heat.

dip your grinder and enjoy!

the grim peeper: an easter post

i have long feared that my sins 

would return to haunt me,

and the cost would be 

more than i could bear.

mel gibson's "the patriot"

I transitioned to a macrobiotic lifestyle in January of 2009.

Most days, my past is behind me.  Truthfully, since I've become

so healthy and strong in recent years, I haven't thought too much

about the things I left behind.

But some days, I get the feeling that they haven't forgotten me...

I had fallen behind on the week, and didn't begin the preparation

of my Easter meal until late Saturday night.  I returned home alone,

set up my equipment in the kitchen, and began to wash my vegetables.

In the darkness of the night kitchen, a thousand tiny voices sang

in my ears.

I sliced my rutabaga.

I blinked.

I blinked again.

My vegetables boiled.  Uneasy thoughts bubbled just below the

surface of my mind, like frozen mushrooms simmering in stock.

'I'm a fool,' I mused aloud.  'There is no fear in the long dark

kitchen of the night.  Only celery and bonito shavings.'

I opened the oven.

Like the unexpected occupation of a public restroom...

...I hurriedly shut it with a mix of apologetic shame and flustered

bewilderment.

By the light of the television, I enjoyed my meal.  My soup was

both strengthening and balanced.  A delicate dance of sublime scallions

and subtle celery.

I don't miss the traditional American holiday diet.  Cadbury eggs

hold no sway over me.  Reese's cups hardly tempt me.  These

nutritional crimes are so deeply embedded in my past that to partake

them now would be nigh unthinkable.

But sometimes I think that they miss me.  I think that I was the one

that got away, that by some fluke, some universal oversight I was

released from their thrall too soon.

And they want me back.

the grim peeper:  a photographic journey 

provided to you this easter by becky.

easter root veggie stew

for healing and strengthening

1 rutabaga

1 large white onion

2 carrots

4 stalks celery

4 springs fresh flat-leaf parsley

3 cloves garlic

:: prep ::

mince garlic

rough-chop parsley

large roll-cut rutabaga, onion, carrot, and celery (about 1" by 1" chunks)

in a deep pot, saute garlic in olive oil until slightly brown.  

add onions, salt, white pepper and saute until beautiful and 

translucent.  once beautiful, add carrots, celery, and rutabaga 

chunks, submerge in water with a bay leaf, and bring to boil.  

simmer 20-30 minutes until carrots are bright and soft.

in a separate (deep) pot, boil either pre-purchased veggie stock 

or 6 cups water plus frozen stock ingredients.

once veggies are simmered, add stock and parsley, and 

season with splash of mirin, splash of ume vinegar, drop 

of brown rice syrup, and splash of tamari.  taste, and add 

salt or tamari as needed.

Leek Soup

Red Velvet cake.
That was how I was supposed to spend my birthday.
Then I got really sick and spent the day in bed.  I ordered this big, beautiful vegan/gluten-free red velvet birthday cake, then drove my sick butt 20 minutes across town to get it.  I took it home, set it on the kitchen counter, and just looked at it mournfully before putting it in the fridge downstairs.

I think I got sick because of the perfect storm:

+ Went to chic bars two days before moving. (Side note: I'm mostly mentioning this not because I think it made me sick, but because I want to brag on the internet about how I went to a New York City speakeasy with leather couches.  Yeah, it had a mahogany bar.)
+ Dug through the attic moving boxes
+ Seasonal pollen

I woke up on my birthday feeling rotten, so I decided to make a slow-simmer dish to justify laying on the couch watching Law & Order for five hours.

- + leek soup + -

My guide to stocks will be helpful before making this dish.  Don't just buy veggie stock boxes.  I promise it will taste much better homemade.  If you do use a box stock, make sure it doesn't have tomatoes or sugar.  That will alter the flavor significantly.

+ 2 leeks

+ 1 gallon spring water

- stock -

+ 2 carrots

+ 1/2 onion

+ shiitake stems

+ scallions
+ 1/4 cup rough-chopped parsley
+ 1/4 cup rough-chopped cabbage
+ 1/4 cup napa cabbage
+ 2 bay leaves
note:  The above ingredients are what went into my stock.  Yours can have anything.  Again, see my guide to stocks link above for details.
- stock seasoning -
+ 2 tbsp. mirin
+ 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
+ dash ume vinegar
+ sea salt and tamari to taste

Bring gallon of water to boil in a large soup pot.  Add stock ingredients, lower heat, and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour.  After 45 minutes, check on the water level in your pot (it should have descended between 1-2 inches) and add your stock seasonings.  Simmer another 15 minutes or as necessary.

In a separate soup pot, stir-fry chopped leeks until bright green.  If you're going oil-free, you can water-saute them.  I used olive oil.

Pour soup stock through strainer into your leek pot, covering your leeks and oil with soup stock.  Throw away or compost stock veggies.  Simmer soup another 10-15 minutes, taste for seasoning, and serve!

This was one of my favorite recipes I've ever made.

The Stocks: Not Just For Punishment Anymore

This is a primer post for any of you guys interested in making stocks. I used to use the Martha Stewart guide to making stocks, until four or five of the chefs here pointed out some very obvious flaws in it.

One of the things I love most about the Kushi Institute is that there's hardly any waste. We have one bag of trash for the kitchen that we take out every 4-5 days, which is INSANE for a restaurant. At my last job, we took out 4 bags of trash a day, and that was for the same volume of people. We compost what we can, and save for the soup stock the savory parts of the vegetables that would enhance our soups.

The recipes on Snackrobiotic use Vegetable Stock, Mushroom Stock, and Dashi Soup Stock. I'm providing a list of substitutions that these stocks are great for. In American, European, and Asian cooking, beef, chicken, and pork stocks are all featured heavily. You don't need to sacrifice flavor for a vegan/macrobiotic diet!

Benefits of homemade vegan and macrobiotic stocks:

-No animal products (optional fish if you're macro but not vegan)

-No hidden yeast or sugar

-You control the sodium (optional no sodium)

-"Live" bacteria and live food, not freeze-dried or processed

-Seaweed stocks replace valuable minerals that are often depleted in our bodies

-Mushroom stocks cleanse the body of built-up animal fat and toxin deposits

-BEAUCOUP CHEAPER. For those of you on a money diet like me, how about not adding an extra $4 to your meal? Yeah, pretty cool.

-Saves waste. No packaging from purchased stock, less wasted food.

Stock Theory

For your basic stock, I'll provide you with a list of commonly composted/thrown away items. Keep this in a bowl in your fridge and cover, saving no more than 2-3 days before use. If you're not making a big "show horse" soup, you can simply use the stock to jazz up your morning miso.

Things that you shouldn't stock:

-Non-organic ingredients. Simmering the skins of non-organic veggies that have been coated in pesticides and fungicides does not feel terribly safe.

-Onion skins. The outer paper skins make the stock bitter. I usually compost the outer paper skins, and remove the first layer of the paper/juicy inner skin for the stock, just so my onion cuts smoothly. This layer is particularly succulent in the stock! I don't use the onion top, but I do use the onion bottom. Some skin attached to that is OK.

-Kale/Collard stems. They don't really do anything, and they turn the water green.

-Rotten/Pocked skin or vegetal material. If it's slick, damp, broken, moldy, hairy, or decomposing, let it go, man.

Things you should definitely stock:

-Cabbage hearts (the dense part on the inside that looks like a spider when you cut it in half)

-Green onion bottoms

-Leek bottoms

-Onion bottoms/inner layers

-Mushroom bottoms

-Celery leaves/roots

-Carrot tops/bottoms/skin

-Rutabaga/Turnip tops (if you want a sweeter flavor)

-Squash tops/bottoms/skins (not the woody part, but any leftovers)

All of the above combined and simmered for half an hour make...

Vegetable Stock!

Mushroom Stock

This one's easy. For a basic mushroom stock, I wait for a day that I'm making a dish with lots of shitaake mushrooms, and I save the soaking water. This hearty, "beefy" stock can be seasoned gently with sea salt and used in any dish calling for beef or pork stock. I use it sometimes in vegan shabu-shabu (replacing beef with thinly sliced shitaake mushrooms).

Dashi Stock

Dashi is a great basis for Japanese dishes. It's fantastic as a starter for morning miso, can be used in my Kimchee Soup recipe, and is fantastic as a basis for udons. When I'm feeling sad and lazy, I buy hon-dashi premade from the stores, but the macro way is to make it from scratch.

12 c. water

2 pieces kombu seaweed

2-3 c. shaved bonito flakes (NOT VEGAN. If you want to go vegan here, I'd just do kombu with 1-2 tbsp. tamari and a pinch of sea salt)

Tea Filters

I invented this recipe based on our method for brewing tea at the tea shop. I take a Size 4 t-sac and stuff it with bonito. I staple or fold it shut (I don't think stapling is terribly macro, but sometimes I get lazy) I boil the ingredients for half an hour to 45 minutes, until the soup stock takes on a dark, rich color. I season with sea salt, tamari, and mirin to taste. Usually 2-3 tbsp. mirin.

I hope you guys enjoyed this primer course and will have many happy days of stock-making in your future!

It's Hard to Write an Impassioned Post About Kidneys

Dear friends,

I wanted to come to you today and write about kidneys. I had the best intentions. This week at St. Michio's School for the Nutritionally Delinquent, I quit TV and dedicated myself to reading and study. I read about kidneys and studied Ann Rice's "Interview With the Vampire."

My conclusion was that I drink too much liquid, and I find Tom Cruise to be much more likable as the murderous demon Lestat. He just seems more approachable.

Like I said... This is what I wanted to write about. What I'm actually writing about is

KIMCHEE SOUP

This sour, tangy soup is one of the single best dishes I've ever made. It's stupidly easy to make, insanely tasty, and incredibly spicy. I'm a little scared to eat this with my new macrobiotic small intestine.

NOTE: Macro kimchee is notoriously hard to come by. The stuff you find at the Asian grocery store usually has red chili flakes, shrimp, and sugar. You can make your own by doing a simple online search, and there's a girl who was just here at KI who made an AMAZING one... There is also a guy in Tennessee who makes it homemade and vegan. My dirty confession? I use the Asian grocery store stuff.

I'm going to try to make my own homemade when I'm back in Boston. As the great minds of the 12th and 13th century used to say, "A monastic cell is not the place to undertake complex pickling."

Ingredients:

1 lb. kimchi

3 garlic cloves, minced

8-10 shitaake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes and minced

3-4 tbsp. sesame oil (use 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil for some good flavor)

1 block soft tofu

bean sprouts

carrots

green onions

9-12 c. dashi soup stock. (I will post on how to make this from macro scratch later, til then, use the internets or Hon-Dashi packs for your recipe)

1-2 tbsp. mirin

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tbsp. tamari

love

Recipe:

Set your 9-12 cups of water to boil in a soup pot. This recipe calls for two pots, one for the dashi soup stock, and one for the "meat and potatoes" of the soup.

While it's boiling, take your second soup pot and coat the bottom in sesame oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and fry for 30 seconds until browning begins. Add shitaake mushrooms and fry until liquids begin to seep.

Add pound of kimchi, neither rinsed nor drained. Make sure all that liquid and pickling juice gets down in there. Fry the mixture for 3-5 minutes, until kimchi leaves begin to take on a milky, translucent appearance.

Until the soup water boils in the other pot, reduce heat of kimchi, cover, and simmer. Once the water boils, add the bonito packs (or kombu if you're doing this vegan), mirin, and tamari. Keep at a rolling boil for 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on your kimchi. If it looks like it's drying out, turn the temperature off and keep covered.

Combine soup stock and kimchi pot. You should have everything in one pot now. Add all your veggies, saving the green onions for last, your tofu, and your bean sprouts. Simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry, remove any bonito packets you used, and ENJOY!!!!

*sniff* Favorite recipe ever.

Miso 3-Ways

I've been feeling awesome lately, because I've been dutifully drinking my morning miso. I used to get these "morning colds," when I'd wake up and my nose would be running like crazy, and I'd be a sneezing and sniffling mess! I added morning miso, and that cleared up in two days.

If your miso is in a rut, there are many great ways to break free and get a great, lively morning dish!

Vary your dish in terms of protein, carbs, simmering flavors (celery and onion become bolder the longer they cook), and healing intention, and you'll never get bored. You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Miso 3-Ways

"Minnesota Miso" "Mirepois Miso" "Grounding Miso"

"Minnesota Miso"

• Chickpeas
• Leeks
• Wild Rice

"Mirepois Miso"

• Carrots
• Celery
• Onions
• Whole Grain/Gluten-Free Spiral Pasta

"Grounding Miso"

• Carrots
• Burdock
• Daikon
• Onions