Millet Burgermeister

A lot of my readers ask me how I keep from getting bored on the macrobiotic diet.  Grain, bean, greens.  Grain, bean, greens.  When you're using the same ingredients and you have a hard time finding food at restaurants, it's really easy to grow bored with this diet.

What I would stress to you guys is that making some of the "harder" recipes... the ones that take a little more time or a little more skill... is worth it.  It is a commitment.  You're taking an hour and a half, in this case, and dedicating it to food preparation.  But the reason we do it is to force growth.  When you make something beautiful and new, like these millet burgers, your brain and tastebuds light up and get excited.

And at the end, you have something fun, tasty, and new to look forward to :)

- - millet burgers - -

Combine 1 cup of millet with 3 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 20-30 minutes until soft but moist.  Set aside for later.

Tiny-dice all your ingredients.  I cut my carrots in half.  Then I cut them into thin strips.  Then I line up the thin strips, and chop tiny dice down the line.

This is how tiny your dice should be.  This makes the carrots cook faster.

Here are my tiny dice.  I've tiny-diced carrots and red onions.  Then I chopped my scallions into thin strips. Then I minced fresh curly parsley.

Look at all the goodies I'm going to throw in the freezer to use as soup stock later!

I took a bag of frozen corn and poured 1/2 cup into a bowl.

I then heated a saucepan of water to a rolling boil and quick-blanched my carrots and frozen corn, 30 seconds each.

Lay out your seasonings.  Above you can see my umeboshi vinegar, black pepper, sea salt, olive oil, and fresh chopped parsley.  Follow your own dietary restrictions for this part.  If black pepper is too much for you, don't do it.

Combine your chopped veggies with your millet.  The reason I didn't specify a specific amount of vegetables is that you should play it by ear.  You can see the little blue bowl, which is where I put the leftover chopped vegetables that I didn't want to use.  There's a little bit of everything in there.

For 3 cups of prepared millet, I used about 1/2 to 1/4 cup of each vegetable so that there was a 60-40 millet-vegetable ratio.  The millet is keeping these burgers together, so there always needs to be more millet than vegetable.

Add approximately 2 tbsp. olive oil, a pinch of sea salt, a dash of pepper, and a dash of ume vinegar.  I added about 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley.

Take a lump of millet burger dough roughly the size of a golf ball, and pat it into shape.

Gently roll the ball in corn flour and place on a baking pan to await frying.

Millet, awaiting the skillet.

Fry your burgers in oil over medium-high or high heat until golden brown on each side, approximately 3-5 minutes.  Monitor them closely so they don't burn!

TA-DA!

I served my millet burgers with homemade kale chips, sweet parsnips, homemade daikon pickles, and placed a big dollop of whole-grain dijon mustard on each one!

Introducing Korean Gimbap!

Look like sushi, but seeing as we used Korean ingredients, I thought I'd give gimbap it's dues.  Gimbap is Korean sushi, using egg, fish, pickles, and veggies as fillings.  Korean food is unheard of in a lot of American cities.  If I had to describe it, I'd say it has bolder, brighter flavors next to Japanese food's woodier, salty flavors.

This was May's birthday gimbap.  We went to see Jiro Dreams of Sushi.  If I had to pick a movie that sums up macrobiotic cheffing and philosophy in a nutshell, it'd be that one.  Amazing.

gimbap 

two // ways

/kimchi gimbap

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- 1 cup korean kimchi

- brown rice vinegar

- 3 cups brown rice/sushi rice, uncooked

- 5 to 7 sheets nori seaweed

- 1 cucumber

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Cook rice with 3 1/4 c. water.  When rice is sticky and soft, mix 1 tbsp. brown rice vinegar with rice, fluffing amply.

Prepare a small bowl of cold water.

Lay nori on sushi mat, shiny-side down.  Layer rice on nori, leaving a half-inch border on each side.  To flatten rice (oreo-thickness is idea), use the bowl of cold water to keep wetting your hands so the rice doesn't stick to them.

Slice cucumber in half long-ways, scooping out all seeds with a spoon.  Make long, pencil-thick slices down the stem so that you have strips that are about 1/2" by 6".  Lay two strips on your rice and seaweed, keeping the strips the same direction as the bamboo on the mat.  Lay about 6-7 pieces of kimchi veggies along the cucumber, squeeze, and roll your gimbap.

To slice, dip the edge of your knife in your bowl of cold water.  Move your knife quickly across the center of the sushi.  The key to nice, round, non-squashed sushi is moving quickly and lightly, applying as little pressure as possible.

\sweet shiitake gimbap

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- brown rice vinegar

- 3 cups brown rice/sushi rice, uncooked

- 5 to 7 sheets nori seaweed

- 1 1/2 tbsp. gluten-free Tamari

- 3 tbsp. brown rice syrup

- 1 tsp. kuzu dissolved in cold water

- 6-7 shiitake mushrooms, dried or fresh

- 5 whole scallions

- 2 raw carrots

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Cook rice with 3 1/4 c. water.  When rice is sticky and soft, mix 1 tbsp. brown rice vinegar with rice, fluffing amply.

Prepare a small bowl of cold water.

Lay nori on sushi mat, shiny-side down.  Layer rice on nori, leaving a half-inch border on each side.  To flatten rice (oreo-thickness is idea), use the bowl of cold water to keep wetting your hands so the rice doesn't stick to them.

Prepare mushrooms.  Slice into THIN strips, as thin as you can get, removing the stem from the get-go and composting it/using it for stock.  Pan-fry in sesame oil for 1-2 minutes, until some water is released.  Whisk kuzu, syrup, and tamari in a separate bowl, and pour over mushrooms, simmering until sauce thickens and glistens like melting ice.

Remove bottoms and top inch from scallions and separate extra leaves.  You should end up with the long stem (about 6-7 inches) and if you're lucky, a couple extra scallion leaves about 4-5 inches each.  Cut carrots into 6-7 inch strips, about the length and width of a pencil.  Place 1-2 scallions, 1-2 carrot strips, and a healthy couple spoonfuls of shiitake on the gimbap and roll!

Slow and Steady Nishime

It's midnight.
The only light in the kitchen is the fridge.
I've got a chocolate pie slice. 
And a microwave.  
The whole world is asleep.  
I'm in fuzzy jammies.

Are you with me?

Okay, we're going to do a complete 180.  It's 4:30 on a Wednesday afternoon, my fridge is packed with random crap ranging from dijon mustard to old white rice, I'm starving, and I think my blood sugar is about to render me insensate.  Let's slow-cook a crock pot of whole root vegetables for an hour.

What is nishime?

In the macrobiotic definition, it's a slow-cooking root vegetable dish that has grounding and gentle balancing energy.  It's great for people with excessive yin conditions going on.  I like it because it curbs my sugar and salt cravings.

It's not chocolate pie.  I'm not in fuzzy jammies.  But I also pay approximately $0 in medication, down from a previous $200 per-month, so I think I'll go cry about it into my very expensive sweater.

What vegetables can I put in nishime?


- daikon
- carrot
- turnip
- rutabaga
- parsnip
- celeriac
- celery

And just to be wild and crazy, today I accented my nishime with...  fiddlehead fern!

nishime with sweet + sour sauce

 Select your veggies.  Today I'm making my small dish of nishime (2 servings) with turnip, parsnip, daikon, carrots, and celery.

Roll cut your cylindrical veggies (in my case, parsnip, daikon, and carrots).  To do this, cut at a diagonal, slicing each previous diagonal in half to get chunky, uneven slices.  I'm posting a video on how to do this later this week.

This is my bowl of roll-cut daikon.  Each piece is about 2"x 2"x2"

As you roll-cut your veggies, the most important thing is NOT shape.  It's size.  If your pieces are uneven, they'll cook unevenly.  Try to get them all the same size.

My finished veggies.  I like to finish all my cutting first and place my ingredients in separate bowls so I know what I have.

Layer veggies in a soup pot.  I placed these in circles so you can see what went on bottom (outer rings) to the top (middle of the pot).  Daikon and parsnip on bottom, followed by carrots, turnips, and my lightest veggie, celery, on top.

Add about 1/2 to 1 inch of filtered water, bring to a boil, cover, lower heat, and simmer for 40 minutes to an hour, until vegetables are bright but soft enough to eat without chomping.

It was my friend's first time eating nishime, so I made a sauce out of 1 tsp. kuzu, 1 tbsp. ume vinegar, and 1 tsp. brown rice syrup, mixed with a little cold water and poured over the finished veggies.  

Enjoy with a grain, a quick veggie, and a smile!

Roasted Seed and Apple Salad

I loved the way this salad came out so much that I made it three times in three days!  The best part is, it only takes 15 minutes to make!

- roasted seed and apple salad -

- 4 apples, assorted variety (I used Fuji and Granny Smith)
- 1/2 cup whole raw almonds
- 1/4 cup raw tan sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 tsp. maple syrup

Chop apples.  My favorite technique is to slice them into quarters, seeds, stem and all.  Just a big + right over the top.  I then slide a paring knife down the middle of each quarter to remove the seeds.  After that, I cut those quarters in half.  We now have eighth wedges.  Cut those in 3-4 pieces, resulting in the bite-sized chunks you see above.

To keep your apples from turning brown, place cut pieces in a bowl of cold water until the final step in the recipe.

Roast almonds at 400 for approximately 5-10 minutes, keeping a wary eye on them.  They should smell sweet, not burned.

Dry-roast your sesame seeds in a hot skillet.  Stir constantly with a spoon until they release a sweet aroma and begin popping.  Remove promptly from skillet to prevent further cooking.

When almonds and seeds have cooled, crush seeds in a suribachi or blender, and rough-chop almonds until they're about the size of pencil erasers.

Drain apples and combine with seeds, nuts, and all remaining ingredients.  Serve immediately!

Condiments, Dips, and Pestos

It's summer time, and the snacking's easy.  Coming soon are the chic little garden parties, the cocktail fundraisers, and the horse races I wish I was invited to.

Whether you're sick of lifeless filets of fish or tired of bland bowls of rice, condiments can be a saving grace.  Here's a trinity of fun and easy dips for your snacking pleasure!

As a side note, I'm in Beacon Hill right now, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in America.  I'm down the street from a house that's retailing $32 million.  The healthiest food in the local grocery store is Doritos.  That's America for you.

condiment

nori condiment

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5-6 sheets nori seaweed
1/4 to 1/2 c. water
dash tamari
optional minced scallions, minced garlic, dulse sprinkles
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Rip nori sheets to small pieces, and stir with water in a small saucepan.  Slowly bring to boil, stirring gently until sheets dissolve.  Add dash of tamari and/or optional ingredients, reduce to simmer, and simmer for 2-3 more minutes.

dip

natto-scallion spread

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1/2 cup natto, available where most macro food is sold
2 tbsp. minced scallions
1 tsp. dijon mustard
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Natto is pretty radical stuff.  This is a way to make this incredibly healing food more palatable.  I'm investing in a box next week and playing around with 3-4 different natto combinations, so stay tuned.  I'm thinking of doing a sweet/savory ginger and miso natto combo, but I don't want to post that here untried.  Natto with dijon mustard is one of the most bizarre combos I've ever tried, but it's freaking delicious.

pesto

cilantro-walnut pesto

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2 c whole raw walnuts
1 bunch fresh cilantro
4 garlic cloves, rough-chopped
1/2 to 1 c. olive oil
1/2 fresh-squeezed lemon
sea salt to taste
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Roast your walnuts until golden brown and releasing oil, about 5-7 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.


Rough-chop cilantro and garlic into pieces your blender can manage.  Crush cool walnuts with your hands.  Add cilantro, garlic, and walnuts to blender in alternating layers, pulsing to combine as you go. The trick to this is liquid, liquid, liquid.  If your ingredients aren't mixing evenly, you need to add more oil and lemon juice.  Continue to add ingredients and pulse until it takes on that distinctive pesto-like texture.


Once your ingredients are added and it's been salted to your taste, the key is to add enough oil that the cilantro is never exposed to air.  Once it hits the air, the green starts to oxidize and turn a yucky-looking brown.  Nobody wants that.  Enjoy your pesto!


P.S.  That's my homemade pesto.  I just used an old salsa jar because we reduce, reuse and recycle 'round here.

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.