Macro Mom » My life

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

macromom — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:40:48 +0000

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

“I love you because you cook my food..”- Felix

Spring Challenge Day 2- Perfect Brown Rice

macromom — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:43:34 +0000

Welcome to your first day of the Spring Cooking Challenge. Day 1 was picking your cookbook. Today we start cooking. Let me know with comments and pictures how your challenge is going!

Perfect Brown Rice

2 Cups short- or medium-grain brown rice, soaked in spring water overnight if possible

4 Cups spring water

2 Pinches sea salt

Whether soaking or not, rice always needs to be washed and checked for hulls, bugs, and rocks. So to begin, examine the rice for foriegn matter and discard it. Then, in the cooking pot (preferably a heavy one), cover the rice with water. Swirl the rice and water around with your hand a few times and then pour off the water through a strainer, so as not to lose any rice. Repeat this rinsing one more time. Don’t worry if the water seems cloudy. the murkiness is the result of natural starch, and we don’t want to rinse it all away.

If soaking the rice, measure out the amount of water needed for cooking and pour it on top of the rice. let sit 3-12 hours and cook in soaking water.

If not soaking, simply add the cooking water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat. When it is boiling, add salt, reduce heat to low, place on flame deflector, cover with heavy lid, and simmer 50 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice sit 5 minutes to unstick from bottom of pot. Fluff with wooden spoon and serve.

-Here is a silly video I made about cooking the perfect pot of rice.

This recipe was printed with permission from Jessica Porter.

SPRING CHALLENGE 2012!

macromom — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:02:08 +0000

Tomorrow I will be starting the THIRD annual spring challenge. The last two years went great! I used Aveline Kushi’s book(The Complete Guide To macrobiotic Cooking), then Christina Cooks-Everything You Always Wanted to Know about WholeFoods but were afraid to ask. This year I have chosen The Hip Chick’s guide to Macrobiotics by Jessica Porter. She is a great chef with a kooky sense of humor and her book is full of fun recipes . Soon you will be having a great laugh and will feel wonderful eating her delicious recipes . Don’t worry if you don’t own this book. I will be posting the recipes everyday with photos. Or, pick your favorite cookbook or chef to follow. The point is adding new recipes to our daily repertoire.

Today is Day 1- Finding your cookbook and collecting your groceries.

This first week all recipes will be on Grains!

1- Perfect Brown Rice

2-Mediterranean Barley Salad

3- Rice, Avacado And Corn Salad

4-Good Morning Oat Porridge

5- Quinoa Salad

6-Millet Mashed “Potatoes” With Mushroom Gravy

7- Kasha And Cabbage

Please post comments and photo’s of what you are cooking!

All recipes are printed with permission from Jessica Porter.

Coming Soon…3rd Annual Spring Challenge!

macromom — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:03:38 +0000

Please join me starting May 1st and enjoy a fresh new (or old favourite) recipe every day for a month.. Bring on the spring.

Wholefoods Supper Club- Macro Night!

macromom — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:33:55 +0000

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL

(Image from Healthycrush.com)

This month it’s all about A Complete Macrobiotic Meal!

Thursday April 19th at 6:30 p.m

Tasty whole foods supper club. Fun, interactive cooking classes.

After all the washing,sorting, chopping, slicing, sauteing, flipping and frying you get to sit down and enjoy our creations.

With humor and guidance we will collectively make the meal together.

We’ll make a party out of it!

THE THIRD THURSDAY EVENING OF EVERY MONTH AT THE ST PAUL’S CHURCH COMMUNITY KITCHEN ON THE CORNER OF PRINCE AND RICHMOND ST CHARLOTTETOWN 6:30 P.M $25.00 PER PERSON CALL 902-367-9491 FOR MORE INFO or e-mail me here..

Whole foods cooking class CBC interview

A Kitchen Prayer

macromom — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:30:24 +0000

A KITCHEN PRAYER
May this kitchen be so filled with peace
that all who eat food prepared here
receive peace.
May this kitchen be so filled with happiness
that all who eat food prepared here
receive happiness.
May this kitchen be so filled with good will
that working here is a joy.
Bless this kitchen
Bless all who work here.
Bless the food that is prepared here.
May this kitchen and the work done here
be a blessing to all who live.

Loving

macromom — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:31:00 +0000

I’m a little late posting this. We have been so busy lately. I’m so glad I was able to take the time to fit in this fun romantic meal.

This tray of strawberries from our lovely neighbor started off our Valentines day.

Carrot And Blood Orange Soup

1 Pound carrots

1 Medium onion

3 Cloves of garlic

1(2-inch) Piece fresh ginger. minced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1-2 large blood oranges

5 Cups vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Thinly slice the carrots. Finely chop the onion. Peel and chop the garlic cloves. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile grate the orange to yield 2 teaspoon grated zest. Juice orange to yield 1/2 cup orange juice.

Add vegetable stock , zest, and bay leaf to cooking vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender about 20 minutes.

Puree soup until smooth; return to saucepan. Stir in orange juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Orange And Fennel Salad

one half of a small red onion
2 lg blood oranges
2-3 sm fennel bulbs
3tbsp olive oil
11/2 tbsp lemon juice
3/4tsp sea salt
1 tsp mint
oil cured black olives
black pepper

-slice onion in thin half moons
cover with cold water and set aside for 15 min
-Slice the orange peel of wih a knife, from top to bottom
over a bowl to catch the juices
-slice fennel into quarters lenght wise
slice the quarters lengthwise as this as you can.
-wisk together olive oil,lemon juice and salt

- toss all ingredients together with several black olives and a sprinkle of black pepper

Onion Baklava

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

10 yellow onions — in half moon slices

2 tablespoons brown rice syrup

1 fresh ginger root — graded juice extracted

1 tablespoon kuzu — dissolved in 3 tablespoon of cold water

2 cups blanched almonds

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

15 sheets phyllo dough

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté with a generous sprinkling of salt until limp about five minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the onions covered for fifteen minutes stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add the rice syrup and ginger juice and cook uncovered until the mixture thickens slightly about ten minutes. Stir in the dissolved kuzu and cook stirring until the mixture thickens and turns clear about three minutes more. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil the bottom and sides of the thirteen by 9 inch baking dish. Place blanched almonds in a food processor and grind into a fine meal. Add cinnamon, and pulse just to combine.

Fold one sheet of the phyllo in half crosswise and fit into the prepared pan. Brush lightly with oil. Repeat folding and layering five more sheets of phyllo, creating a multiplayer base. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 cup of the ground almonds. Spread half the onion filling over the almonds and sprinkle with another half cup of the ground almonds. Fold, layer, and oil five more of the sheets over filling sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the ground almonds and top with the remaining onion filling. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the almond mixture.

Fold, layer, and oil the remaining five sheets of phyllo over the second layer of filling, except this layer, sprinkle a little of the reserved almond mixture between each folded sheet. Brush the top lightly with oil. With a sharp knife, score the top sheets diamond shapes are most common for this dish to mark 24 servings. Bake in the center oven rack about fifteen minutes or until the phyllo is golden brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and cool the pan on a wire cooling rack. Cut into servings and serve warm.
This is a wonderful recipe by Christina Pirello! www.christinacooks.com

Mushroom And Onion Risotto With Steamed Greens And Grilled Radicchio

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Cups arborio rice

7 Cups vegetable stock

6 Cups mushrooms, sliced thin

1/2 Cup onion, diced

In a pot, bring stock to a boil. Reduce heat to low to hold warm In a large pot , heat olive oil and cook mushrooms and onion with a pinch of sea salt for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden,stir in rice cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Using ladle, add 1/2 cup hot stock; cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is absorbed. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, adding hot stock 1/2 cup at a time and waiting until liquid is absorbed before adding more stock, for 16 -20 minutes or until rice is tender with a firm center and dish is creamy overall. Adjust heat as necessary to maintain a slow boil. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Radicchio

3heads of Radicchio

2-tbsp of olive oil

sea salt

Slice radicchio into quarters, lightly brush with oil and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over top. Place on a cookie sheet and place under broiler for 8 min Turning twice. The same goes for a grill.

Steamed Greens

1 Bunch dandelion greens

1 Bunch kale

In a large pot bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add greens and steam for 2-5 minutes until bright green. Remove from pot and slice.

Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

3 Cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 Cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground

Pinch of sea salt

11/2 Tablespoons baking powder

1/2 Cup olive oil

1 Cup maple syrup

1 1/2 Cups plain rice milk

2 Tablespoons vanilla

Turn oven on to 350′

Mix the dry ingredients with a whisk. Add the wet ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour into cake pan (or like I did here into two bread pans) . Bake for 45 minutes. Cool before pouring over icing.

Chocolate Icing

1Pkg grain sweetened chocolate chips

Melt in a double boiler. Be sure to stir quite a bit so it doesn’t burn. Pour over cake hot. Sprinkle on chopped hazelnuts Let cool to harden.

Strawberry Coulis

4 Cups hulled strawberries

1/4 cup maple syrup

zest of 1 lemon

Puree ingredients until smooth

HAPPY HAPPY EVERYONE!

macromom — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:46:24 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s to a happy healthy 2012!

This was the first year that all 3 kids stayed awake until midnight. We played cards and munched on chestnuts, drank apple cider and when the clock struck we all stood outside on the porch and banged pots and pans.

Chestnuts

- Prick chestnuts with a fork and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20-30 min. The skin should be splitting and the inside a golden brown colour . Do not roast them for too long. They can EXPLODE!

- Boil chestnuts with fennel seed in a small amount of water for 15-20 min till you can pierce easily with a fork.

-After chestnuts are cooked, peel while still warm and blend until smooth with water and a pinch of sea salt to make a puree. You can add sweetener if you like, but I find chestnuts are nice and sweet on their own.

Homemade Holiday Granola!

This is what I made and gave out as Christmas presents this year.

Remember to try to get organic ingredients

1 to 2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground ginger

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

3 cups Large-flake oats

1 cup Oat bran or wheat germ

1 cup Almonds, pumpkin seeds or walnuts

1 cup Unsweetened coconut

3/4 tsp Sea salt

2/3 cup maple syrup , rice syrup or honey

1/3 cup Sunflower oil or Olive oil

2 tsp almond extract or Vanilla

1 cup Dried cranberries

1/2 cup Golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350F . Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. In a small bowl, stir cinnamon with ginger and nutmeg. In a large bowl, mix oats with oat bran, almonds, coconut and salt. In a small saucepan over low heat, stir syrup with oil until warm, 2 to 3 min. Remove from heat. Stir in almond extract and spice mix. Pour over oat mixture. Stir to coat. Turn onto baking sheet, spreading out as evenly as you can. Bake until golden for 25-35 minutes , stirring every 15 min. Remove from oven and stir in cranberries and raisins.

Beginning To Smell A Lot Like Christmas..

macromom — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:47:31 +0000

Mmm citrus, mmm cinnamon, mmm pine, mmm ginger.

A great way to add a cozy festive atmosphere to your home is to have these tempting aromas in the air. Every year we hang oranges pierced with cloves. They look beautiful and smell great! We also put a few pine cones into the oven and allow them to slowly fill the house with scent. Ginger tea anyone? So warm and soothing on these winter nights. Or maybe a cup of hot apple cider?

Clove Orange

1-2 Tight skinned oranges or lemon or grapefruit

1/2-1 Cup of whole cloves

Ground cinnamon (optional)

thimble

Wash and dry the oranges. Mix together a large pinch of cinnamon with the cloves. Using a thimble cover your orange with the cloves, Pushing the pointed end first. Cover all over or make designs. Place in a bowl or hang with a ribbon.

Spiced Hot apple cider

Ingredients

1/2 gallon apple juice or apple cider

1 cinnamon sticks

2 whole cloves

1 whole nutmeg

1/2 orange peel, cut into strips

1/2 lemon peel, cut into strips

(make sure your peel is organic)

Directions

Pour apple juice/cider into a large stainless steel pot

Place spices and peels into a cheese cloth. Drop cheesecloth into apple juice/cider. If you don’t have cheese cloth, just throw it all in loose and pick it out later or let the spices sink to the bottom.

heat to just short of a boil. Then remove the cheese cloth and serve!

Baking Pine Cones

Pine cones

Baking sheet

Place a single layer of pine cones on a baking sheet and bake in an oven at 200 degrees for about 45 min. This will fill your house with an amazing smell and also help your pine cones to last longer.

Can also add slices of orange or cinnamon sticks.

Ginger Tea

4-6 Slices or raw ginger

2-3 Cups of spring or filtered water

small pot

cast iron frying pan

Rice syrup (optional)

Lemon (optional)

Heat the frying pan to medium and saute the ginger slices for 3-5 to bring out the natural oils. Add the ginger and water to the pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes. (longer if you like it stronger) Add rice syrup or lemon juice to taste.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

macromom — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:07:08 +0000

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ! From MacroMom

Try these delicious radishes for a spooky treat!

Red radishes and kuzu sauce -by Aveline kushi

1 3-6 inch piece kombu

10 whole red radishes, tops removed

spring or filtered water

3 Whole umeboshi plums

1 Tsp shiso leaves from the umeboshi plums

1-2 Tsp diluted kuzu

Sliced scallions or boiled parsley sprigs for garnish

Put the kombu on the bottom of a pot and add whole red radishes. Add water to almost cover them. Add the whole umeboshi plums, but remove the shisho leaves in which the plums were pickled and save for salads or pickling. Cook for abour 30-40 minutes, over low heat. Remove radishes and put them in a bowl. Strain out the kombu, umeboshi pits, and shisho leaves from the cooking liquid. Thicken the liquid with 1-2 teaspoons of diluted kuzu and simmer for several minutes. Pour the kuzu sauce over radishes. Garnish with sliced scallions or with sprigs of boiled parsley. Slice the shisho leaves and put them at the side of the bowl with the radishes.

Variation: For a less salty taste, usu only1 umeboshi plum.

-I did not have Umeboshi plums so I used Ume plum paste about 1 tbsp. Also that meant that I eliminated the shisho leaf as well.

- I cooked this dish for only 25 minutes. the radishes just looked right at that point.