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Updated='Copyright © 2008. Last updated 8 February 2011 '
jGrains="Perfect brown rice
Ratio: 1 cup rice: 2 cups water: 1 pinch sea salt
Rinse rice well until water is clear. Put rice, water and salt into a large saucepan/pot (rice will expand considerably so make sure the pot is large enough!) Boil the rice rapidly for 20 minutes with the lid on. Turn the heat down to simmer for 60 minutes with the lid off. Then turn off the heat, put the lid on the saucepan and allow the pot to stand for 20 minutes to allow last water to be absorbed.
Variation: 3 cups of rice: 1 cup of barley: 8 cups of water : 4 pinches sea salt. Preparation as per brown rice
Brown rice porridge
Put a portion of cooked rice in a pan or saucepan. Add twice as much water as rice to the pan. Heat up on the stove and cook until the rice becomes thick and creamy (approx 20 minutes). Serve with a good sprinkle of Gomashio and roasted seeds.
Rolled oat porridge
Ratio: 1 cup organic rolled oats: 3 cups water: 1 pinch salt
Bring the oats to the boil then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly so it does not stick. Add water to taste (if required).
Barley
Ratio: 1 cup barley: 2 cups water: 1 pinch sea salt
Preparation as per brown rice.
Millet
The most alkaline of all grains
Ratio: 1 cup millet: 3 cups water: 1 pinch sea salt
Toast the grain in the pot first, then add water and salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Then serve!
Quinoa (white, red or black)
Ancient Aztec grain which is high in protein.
Ratio: 1 cup quinoa: 2 cups water: 1 pinch sea salt
Dry roast the quinoa in a saucepan until it has a nutty aroma (do not burn the grain). Then add the water and salt. Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer. Leave simmering for 15 minutes. Then it is ready to serve.
Rice Balls
Use cooked rice, but make sure that the rice is slightly sticky. If rice is too firm, add a little water and cook it again for 10 mins. Leave to cool. Chop shallot or onion finely. Add olives, parsley, roasted sunflower seeds etc and mix together. Wet hands so the rice does not stick to you and form rice into balls or patties. Coat evenly with sesame seeds and bake or fry until golden brown. Serve with vegies or on sourdough bread as a burger.
Makes use of leftover grains and vegies. Convenient when you are on the go. Great source of calcium/minerals/fibre
Batter bread
Convenient to take to work for lunch or when you are on the go. Filling and nutritious and a convenient way to eat whole grain!
Ingredients:
Any cooked grain
cooked and/or raw vegies
any left over veg or cooked pulses
organic unpasteurised miso
Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well with your hands. Add 2 tablespoons of dissolved miso (mix miso with a small amount of hot water) and mix the ingredients again. Add enough plain flour to bind the ingredients. Press the mixture into flat baking pans - not too thick or it will not cook properly - and cook in pre-heated oven of 180 degrees for 20 mins. Cut into slices and refrigerate.
NB: Do not make batter breads too thick as the inside will not cook and the outside edges will burn.
Baked Rice
Light rice dish for summer. Very easy to digest
Method: Dry roast rice in a fry pan until rice is golden brown and begins to puff. Pour baked rice into saucepan of boiling, salted water (2 cups water to 1 cup rice). Turn saucepan down to a simmer and cook until all water is absorbed. Sprinkle with crushed almonds and serve with vegetables or a light summer sauce.
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jHealthyCondiments="Gomashio
Strengthens and cleans blood. Very good source of calcium
Ratio: 20 tsp sesame seeds: 1 tsp Macrobiotic Sea Salt
Use a heavy, dry frying pan. Put the sesame seeds on to the frying pan and dry roast on a low/medium heat until they are light golden. Be careful not to burn the seeds. Pour the seeds into a grinding bowl / mortar & pestle. Gently heat the sea salt in same fry pan, but do not 'cook' the salt. Add the hot salt to the seeds in the grinding bowl. Grind the seeds and salt mixture until half the seeds are fully crushed. Put the ground mixture in to an airtight jar and keep in the pantry. Use as condiment on just about anything.
Roasted seeds
Good source of calcium and other minerals. Dry roast all seeds on a pan on the stove or on low heat in the oven to make them digestible.
Method
Use a heavy frying pan. Put the seeds on to the frying pan and dry roast on a low/medium heat until they are golden brown. Be careful not to burn the seeds.
Variation:
When the seeds are roasted, put the pan on the stove and sprinkle some Tamari or Shoyu on the seeds. Add some water too. Keep stirring to coat all the seeds in the pan with the sauce. When all the water has been absorbed, take the pan off the flame and let the seeds cool down. Store in an airtight jar and sprinkle on your meals and salads.
Women - sunflower seeds and flax seeds
Men - pumpkin seeds
Roasted Nuts
Dry roast all nuts on a tray on a low heat in the oven for around 20 minutes. The nuts are more digestible. Store in an airtight jar in the pantry.
Tahini and lemon juice sauce
A light summer sauce for vegetables
Method
Combine 4 tablespoons of tahini with the juice of half a lemon or lime and mix well. Add hot water to form a sauce. Add a couple of drops of Shoyu to counteract bitterness of lemon or lime. Please go on your taste.
Brown Muck
A wonderful accompaniment to any dish, especially rice or noodles. Medicinal only when cooked.
Method
Combine 4 tablespoons of Tahini with 1 teaspoon of Miso and mix well. Add 1/4 tsp grated ginger. Add hot water to form a thick paste. Yummy on porridge!
Medicinal: Cook mixture in a dry fry pan until it crystallizes.
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jLegumes="Preparation instructions to promote digestibility:
All hard beans (eg chick peas, adzuki beans, kidney beans) - Soak all beans for 24 hours in a pot with a lot of water. Rinse beans well under running water. Then put beans in a large pot with a lot of fresh water and a 5 cm piece of kombu (this is essential to digestibility). Bring beans to the boil and cook for 20 minutes. Then throw the water away and rinse beans well (keep kombu). Put beans, fresh water and original kombu back in the pot and re-boil, turn down and simmer for about 40 minutes or until the beans are cooked.
Green, brown or blue lentils: Wash well and then put lentils in a large pot with enough water to well and truly cover the lentils AND a 5 cm piece of kombu (this is essential to digestibility). Bring lentils to the boil then simmer until cooked.
Pumpkin and Adzuki Bean casserole
Warm, nourishing winter stew which rebuilds kidney energy and is wonderful for women's health.
Adzuki beans
Kombu
Pumpkin
Tamari
Soak 2 cups of adzuki beans in 8 cups of water overnight. Rinse the beans well and throw away the soaking water. Put the beans, 8 cups of fresh water and a 5 cm strip of kombu in a large pot and boil for 20 minutes. Rinse the beans again and throw away the water. Put beans, the strip of kombu and fresh water in the large pot and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Bring the beans to the boil and then simmer on the stove. Add sliced pumpkin and 4 tablespoons of tamari to the pot and cook on low heat for another 2 hours.
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jSoups="Miso Soup
Creates intestinal flora to allow proper bowel function and creation of Vitamin B 12
Ingredients:
Organic unpasteurised brown rice or barley miso paste
strips of seaweed (KOMBU or WAKAME)
Onion
Assorted vegetables
Ginger to activate the miso. Grate a teaspoon of ginger per tblspoon of miso
Soup base: Bring water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Add a finely cut strip of seaweed and boil rapidly. In a separate frying pan, saute onion. Add sea salt to seal the onion and inhibit acid. Add any vegies you like and saute until cooked. Turn the saucepan down to very low simmer and add onion and vegies to the pot. Allow this to simmer gently for 10 minutes.
To make miso soup: Heat up a portion of soup base/stock in a small pot. In a bowl, put a cup of stock from the pot and 1 tablespoon of miso paste. Mix until the miso dissolves. Once it is dissolved add a teaspoon of grated ginger and return the mixture to the soup in the pot. Allow the soup to gently cook for 10 minutes before serving.
NEVER BOIL MISO. DO NOT store miso paste in the fridge.
Keep miso paste in the pantry in a cool spot. Soup base can be refridgerated
Shitake and Tamari broth
Quick and easy, digests easily. Relaxes the kidneys before sleep.
Method:
In a saucepan, boil some water, a strip of wakame and 3 shitake mushrooms. Turn the broth down to simmer after 5 mins and simmer for an additional 15 mins. Add good slurp of Tamari (to taste), a pinch of ginger and diced shallots if required. Serve with Soba or Udon noodles. During summer squeeze of lemon juice is very cooling to the system.
Udon noodles = wheat noodles OR Soba noodles = Buckwheat noodles (great tasting and gluten free)
Roasted Cauliflower and Lentil Soup
Flavoursome and aromatic, thick and hearty soup.
Ingredients:
large head of organic cauliflower
jar of good quality wholegrain mustard
sesame oil
sea salt
french blue (puy) lentils
kombu
Tamari
Lentils: Cook lentils as per instructions above in 'Legumes' section.
Cauliflower: Cut up cauliflower heads into smaller florets. In a bowl, mix mustard, sesame oil and a good pinch of salt to make a thick marinade. Dip cauliflower florets into the marinade to coat well and then put the florets on to a baking tray. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
Soup: Put the baked cauliflower in to a stock pot with some water and cook until soft. Puree the cauliflower until creamy (use a stick blender or food processer). On the stove add the cooked lentils and some tamari to taste, stir well, and cook a bit more to allow the flavours to combine. Reheats and freezes well.
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jFlatBreads="Basic Flat bread
Ingredients:
1 cup light wholemeal organic flour (Demeter or Kialla)
2 tbsp sesame oil
pinch sea salt
warm water
In a bowl, combine flour and salt and mix well with your hands. Add oil and mix well. (This takes at least 5 mins). Once oil is thoroughly distributed, slowly add enough warm water to make a squashy dough. Then knead dough for as long as possible. This makes the dough lighter and is a good way of strengthening your hands and wrists. Break off a ball of dough the size of a squash ball. Roll out dough so it is flat and round.
For flat bread, bake in oven at 200 degrees for 15-20mins. For Chipatis dry fry in frying pan (hot) 2 mins each side until golden brown and slightly puffed.
Very economical and kids love them.
Pasties
To make the pasties prepare dough as per flat bread recipe. Break off a ball of dough the size of a squash ball and roll it out flat and round.
You can fill the centre of the pastie with whatever takes your fancy. Use any cooked leftovers (such as lentils, chick peas, adzuki beans), or any cooked vegies you have. Alternatively try stir fried vegetables with tofu or tempeh. Be creative and try some different combinations!
Put your filling in the centre of the dough, then squeeze the edges of the dough together to make a little pastie. Put on an oven tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.
Make these in bulk and freeze - great for work or kids lunches.
Baked sweet potato and olive flan
Method:
Bake sweet potatoes in oven until golden (do not over-brown). Then put the sweet potato in a pot with water and cook gently in simmering water for 10 mins with some chopped basil and half a tsp of thyme. Puree the sweet with stick blender or food processor BUT do NOT add all the cooking water as you want the blend to be thick not runny.
Pie crust:
The pie crust is the same recipe as for flat breads but add a little more oil. Use a quiche dish to cook the flan. Always cook the pie base in the oven before adding the topping (prick the base with a fork and put some dried legumes on top to weight it down in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes). Then line the base with olive halves, add sweet potato and bake for a further 15 mins.
NB from Lisa: Please note that yellow sweet potato and white yams are very different nutritionally. White yam is a centuries old Maori staple for women. Owing to its slow yang growth it has a marvelous balancing effect on the female digestive system and a cleansing effect on the liver therefore allowing hormonal function to be stabilized. White yam is almost impossible to buy inland but is readily available in coastal areas."
jMedicines="Gomashio
Cleans and strengthens the blood. Helps with anaemia, blood disorders. See 'condiments' for instructions.
Shiitake mushrooms
For medicinal purposes, use dried shiitake mushrooms (Spiral Foods preferably).
Helps to release neck and shoulder tension and softens the spine. Great for insomnia.
Shiitake tea preparation: Bring approx. 1 cup of water to the boil. Put in a shiitake mushroom, reduce the flame and simmer gently for 10 -15 minutes. Add a few drops of shoyu or a pinch of sea salt towards the end. Drink while hot.
Sho-ban tea
Mild pick-me-up and helps to calm the nervous system
Preparation: To a small cup of bancha tea, add a few drops of shoyu. Drink first thing in the morning before brekkie.
Umeboshi plum
Very salty, so feeds the wood element (liver). Anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal. Plums are medicine so don't eat them every day.Eat 1/2 to 1 plum when you have a sore throat or to help stop vomiting.
You can also cook rice with a plum instead of sea salt. You can eat the plum too after cooking the rice!
Kuzu
Very contractive so helps to stabilise the intestines (building contractive energy) and enables the acids to accumulate. Helps with colds/flus and with diahorrea
For colds and flus: Ume-sho-kuzu: Prepare kuzu: Dissolve one heaped teaspoon of kuzu in a little cold water. Add this dissolved mixture to 2 cups of cold water in a small saucepan. Stir and bring to the boil. Continue to stir while boiling until the mixture is transluscent (~ 2-3 minutes). When mixture is clear, add 4-5 drops of shoyu, 1/10th tsp ginger and the pulp of 1/2 to 1 umeboshi plum. Reduce the flame to very low and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Drink and eat this mixture hot in 4 portions over the course of a day.
Diahorrea: Dissolve one heaped teaspoon of kuzu in a little cold water. Add this dissolved mixture to 2 cups of cold water in a small saucepan. Stir and bring to the boil. Continue to stir while boiling until the mixture is transluscent (~ 2-3 minutes).When mixture is clear, add several drops of shoyu or a pinch of sea salt."