Clear soup -by Aveline Kushi

1 Quart kombu or other soup stock

1 Carrot cut into flower shapes

1 Cup tofu cut into 1/2 inch squares

1 bunch watercress, thinly sliced

Slice and boil the vegetables

1/2 sheet nori, cut into small squares for garnish

Grated fresh ginger or ginger juice to taste for garnish

Slice and boil the vegetables separately for a few minutes, or until tender. Boil the tofu in the kombu stock for 1-2 minutes, or until it comes to the top.(cooked in this way , the tofu is quite tender. If cooked too long, tofu becomes rubbery.) Put 1-2 pieces of boiled carrot and a spoonful of sliced water cress into each individual serving bowl. Pour the hot kombu stock into each cup over the vegetab;les and add 1-2 tofu squares. The colour of the vegetables should be bright. The colour will fade if they are cooked together. Garnish with nori and grated fresh ginger or ginger juice and serve.

Variations: Instead of carrots, other vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, celery, parsnips, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, pumpkin, or winter squash may be used. Bread crumbs, dried or deep-fried, make an excellent garnish for all of these clear soups.

- We had to do without tofu in our soup because when I opened the package a horrible smell creeped out and I had to throw it away. Here is a picture of what clear soup looks like with tofu(tofu, corn and lettuce)

Wow our second week! I would love for you to post pictures and recipes that  you have been making in my comments section. I hope that You are having fun adding a new recipe a day and if you are following Aveline’s recipes with me you are enjoying them as much as my family.

Week 2 recipes:

8-Basic miso soup

9-Clear soup

10-Red radishes with kuzu sauce

11-Boiled cabbage with sesame and ume sauce

12-Collard greens with tamari vinegar sauce

13- Dandelion greens and tempeh

14- Tofu  croquettes

Basic Miso Soup- by Aveline Kushi

1 3-inch piece dried wakame

1 Cup thinly sliced onions

1 Quart spring or filtered water

11/4-11/2 Tbsp miso

Chopped scallions, parsley,ginger or watercress for garnish

Rinse the wakame in cold water for 3-5 minutes and slice it into 1/2 inch pieces. Put wakame and onions in a pot and add water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10-20 minutes, or until tender. Reduce the heat to very low but not boiling or bubbling. Put the miso in a bowl or suribachi. Add 1/4 cup of the broth from the pot and puree until miso is completely dissolved  in the liquid. Add the pureed miso to the soup. Simmer for 3-5 minutes and serve. Garnish with scallions, parsley, ginger or watercress.

Noodles and Broth – By Aveline Kushi

Noodles

6-8 Cups Spring or filtered water

1 8oz package soba or udon noodles

Broth

1 Piece kombu, 2-3 inches long

4 Cups Spring or filtered water

2 Dried shiitake  mushrooms

2-3 Tbsp tamari soy sauce

Chopped scallions, chives or toasted nori for garnish

Bring the cooking water to a boil. Add the noodles and return to a boil. After about 10 minutes check to see if they are done by breaking the end of one noodle. Buckwheat cooks faster than than whole wheat and thinner noodles faster than than thicker. For buckwheat, you can use the shocking method. If the inside and outside are the same colour, the noodles are ready. If even a tiny bit of the inside is a different shade, the noodles need to cook longer. When done, remove the  noodles from pot, drain, and rinse thoroughly with cold water to stop them from cooking and prevent clumping. the noodle cooking water can be saved for soup stock and for adding to flour to make bread.

To make the broth, put the kombu in a pot and add fresh water. Soak the shiitake mushrooms, cut off and discard their stem,s, and slice the mushrooms. Add them to the pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove the kombu and shiitake and save them for other dishes. Add tamari soy sauce to taste to the pot and cook for 3-5 minutes. Put the cooked noodles into the broth to warm them, but do not let them boil. When hot, remove the noodles and serve immediately with a little broth. Garnish with scallions, chives or toasted nori.

Variations: A little grated fresh ginger may be added to the broth. the kombu and shiitake may be left in the broth and served with the noodles if desired. Dried daikon, carrots and onions, or bonito fish flakes also make good additions. The noodles are also customarily enjoyed with cooked seitan, fu, tofu, natto or tempeh.

- I kept the shiitake and kombu in the broth and I added green onion, carrot, grated daikon and tempeh.

Lucy’s Cauliflower Soup

1 lg onion, diced

2 potatoes, diced or 1/2 cup cooked rice

2-3 cloves garlic, diced (optional)

1 whole cauliflower

4-5 cups water

1 cup vegetable stock

1 Cup plain unsweetened soy milk

1 tbsp basil, chopped

1 tbsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp sea salt

pepper(optional)

Add Onion, potatoes, garlic,cauliflower 2 cups of water and vegetable stock to a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Then add soy milk, 2-3 cups water, herbs and sea salt. Cook for another 10-15 min. Blend until smooth and serve with roasted nuts/seeds, green onions and bread.

Ingrid’s Vegetable soup

1 Tbsp Sesame or Olive oil

1 onion, diced

1tsp ginger, minced

3 carrots, sliced into thin rounds

3 celery stalks, diced

1 cup diakon,sliced into thin half moons

2 bay leaves

1 tsp turmeric

2 cups broccoli, chopped

2 cups cauliflower, chopped

2 cups collard greens, shredded

11/2 tbsp Umeboshi vinegar

8 cups water

sea salt

Heat oil in a large pan and saute, onion, ginger,carrots and celery with a pinch of sea salt for about 4-5 minutes , add all the rest of the ingredients except Ume vinegar and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes . Add ume vinegar and cook for 2 more min and serve…

One of the ways I  like to show my love for others is through cooking( I’ve heard said ..What better way to a man’s heart then through his stomach)

For the past 10 years, since we started a family. Pan and I stay in for valentines. We feed the kids early and put them to bed then at 8-830.   We dress up,  I mean the whole shebang, dress, heels , make-up etc.. and sit down to a 4 course homemade meal with candles and wine.

I try to come up with something new every year( I did make pumpkin ravioli twice). I like to have a starter, a main course, a side  and a dessert. I’m still working on what I’ll make this year.  Here are some recipes from last year. Enjoy! Xo

Corn soup with Pesto

Roasted fennel and watercress salad with Heartbeats

Kale and rapini  Bruchetta, Seared tempeh with mustard sauce and baked squash over rice

Corn Soup

1 lg onion, diced

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)

2 sticks of celery, diced

3 cups of corn kernels

1 small green pepper,diced (optional)

1tbsp of corn oil

21/2 cups vegetable stock

11/2 cups plain soy milk or rice milk

pinch of sage

1/2tsp sea salt

Heat oil in a soup pan on medium heat, saute onion,garlic,celery and pepper until onion is soft. Add stock, corn and sage. Turn heat to low and simmer for 25 min . Pour in soy/rice milk and add the sea salt cook for 5 more minutes and serve. This soup can be blended smooth for a more creamy texture. Serve with croutons or a dollop of homemade pesto mmm

Seared Tempeh With Mustard Sauce

Sesame oil

1pkg tempeh, sliced in long this pieces

2tsp Dijon mustard

2tsp rice syrup

1 tsp ume vinegar

Heat oil in a cast iron frying pan Until hot. Add tempeh and brown 1-2 min on each side, set aside on a napkin. Mix together mustard,rice syrup and vinegar in a bowl  and spoon over tempeh. Serve with sliced green onion or parsley on top.

Optional marinade for tempeh

1tbsp shoyu

2tbsp water

1tsp ginger juice or 1tsp apple juice (for added spicy or sweet)

mix together and pour over tempeh let soak for 10-15 min before frying

It can be really easy to get stressed out over birthday parties! Whether it’s for you, your husband, sibling, friends or children! The easiest is to do something outside if possible. Less mess, less clean up and less hectic energy if you invited lots of people!  My daughter is turning 10 on Feb 23rd. This year she wants to have a sleepover….I’m undecided still on that one! In years past we have had her party in the community room where we live. With themes such as Flowers or Purple ( I even made a purple cake with grapes all over it!) We have done crafts, played musical chairs and hot potato. I provided snacks and a birthday cake and we invited a bunch of kids and they ran around for 2 hours! I like to invite the same amount of children as how old my child is turning.  It seems to work out best.

last year for Lucy’s Birthday we had a quiet dinner with just family. Then on the following weekend she invited 3 friends over for pizza

and we all went out to a movie! that was also fun. For Ingrid who has a spring birthday it’s always outside! She likes to go on birthday walks/hikes

and have balloon games in our yard and play dress up! One year she had a Royal party, only royalty invited! I dressed up as snow white and we had a lot of kings and queens and princesses around! Fun thing about outside parties is that the kids usually play on the grass or jungle gym and watermelon is a great snack! and you can invite twice as many people!

Felix’s birthday is in the summertime . We tend to be back up in Canada, so there is lots of family! Sometimes he gets 2 parties! one at our house and one at a grandparents house. The theme over the last many years is usually cars/trucks/dirt! At the beach or at our farm. We had a truck party last year. Invited kids who liked to play in the dirt and race dinky cars. He even had dinky cars driving across his cake!!

My brother in law likes to make up outdoor games like follow the trail he cuts in the grass with the lawnmower all around our large property. He also does an amazing scavenger hunt with handmade cards with clues that take you all over the yard, garden and woods in search of hidden treasures!

Some fun snacks for  birthdays  :

Veggie wraps- Saute tofu, greens and Hommous wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla!

Dips and spreads

fresh fruit like watermelon or fruit kabobs

a homemade cake is always fun and of course if the kids get involved in the snack making they always end up eating more!

Pan’s Birthday cake With help from Christina Pirello’s Cooking the Whole foods way on this one!!!

4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup shredded coconut– unsweetened
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup olive oil
1 cup brown rice syrup
2 teaspoons brown rice vinegar
2 cups vanilla soy milk
frosting
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1 cup amasake
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
1 pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons kuzu
2 cups non-dairy chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut — unsweetened
1 cup pecan pieces — toasted

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil and flour two,
9 in. round cake pans. Use cocoa powder and place of flour to
avoid white deposits on your cakes. Whisk together dry ingredients.
Stir in oil, rice syrup and brown rice vinegar. Slowly add soymilk
to create a smooth spoonable cake batter.

Divide the batter evenly between pans and bake until the center of
the cake springs back to attach or a toothpick comes out clean,
35 to 40 minutes. Cool ten minutes before removing from pan, transfer
to a wire rack and cool completely.

Prepare the frosting by combining even bland, amasake, rice syrup,
salt and vanilla in a saucepan and place over medium heat. When the
liquid is warmed through, stirring the dissolved kuzu, stirring until the
mixture thickens about three minutes. Stir in chocolate chips, stirring
until the mixture thickens and turns smooth. Fold in coconut.

Transfer to he resisted bowl and cover. Set aside until firm, about 15
minutes. To assemble the cake, using a serrated knife, slice off the top
of what it takes to create a flat surface and place on a platter. Spoon a
generous layer frosting over cake. Press the cake into the frosting.
Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Press over tops and sides
if you have any left over.

Hello, I’m Sarah Forrester Wendt, this is my first blog entry! I thought I would start of with some yummy macrobiotic/whole foods recipes for the holidays

It’s Holiday time…My favorite part as always is the food!! It’s the time of year where all those decadent things are a must! Pate’s and pastes, pickles and preserves, sweet things and  baked anything! MMM.

Trying to keep it all in the whole foods compartment can be a little challenging. But more and more vegetarian and vegan ingredients are easier to find. I have a husband(a graduate student) and 3 hungry kids, and we are on a tight budget, so what do we do around the holidays. Well we pick our food carefully, splurge on a few unnecessary items and top it all off with a good bottle of wine.

Here are some family favorites to get you started and to keep those belly’s nice and warm

Merry Christmas and a blessed and bountiful New Year!

Nothing like going sledding and coming home to a nice hot cup of cider..mmm!I like plain old apple cider with some added spring water heated up, but over the holidays it can be fun to add a little spice to it!

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!

How about some winter soup to warm our bellies.

Roasted Squash Soup