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

Thirty days hath September,

April, June, and November;

All the rest have thirty-one,

Save February, with twenty-eight days clear,

And twenty-nine each leap year.

It’s been 31 days. Thank you Jessica Porter for helping to feed my family and challenging me with new, fun, whole foods , macrobiotic recipes. I hope that everyone’s recipe repertoire has increased and you have enjoyed the challenge of cooking a new recipe a day with me.

I am going to end the challenge with one of Jessica’s seasonal menus. Feel free to make your favorite dishes tonight or start on a new journey with a new cookbook. Thank you for joining me and congratulations on becoming a better cook.

A Springtime Menu

Lentil Soup

Mediterranean Barley Salad

Boiled Salad With Lots Of Leafy Greens

Strawberry Kanten With Tofu Cream

Barley Tea

Lentil Soup 

(Even though she suggested Lentil soup in her menu, she did not have a lentil soup recipe in her book. So I’m posting one from last years challenge)

Mediterranean Barley Salad

Boiled Salad With Lots Of Leafy Greens

Follow the directions for the Boiled salad recipe above but add a variety of greens (kale, collards,bokchoy, cabbage etc..)

Strawberry Kanten With Tofu Cream

Kanten

4 Cups organic apple juice

1/4 Cup agar agar flakes

1/4 Cup rice syrup

Pinch sea salt

1/4 Cup kuzu root starch

1 Cup Fresh or frozen organic strawberries, chopped

Creamy Tofu Topping

1 Pound firm tofu

1 Cup rice syrup or 2/3 Cup maple syrup

1 Teaspoon umeboshi vinegar

1/2 Teaspoon vanilla

Garnish

1/2 Cup finely sliced roasted almonds

Bring 31/2 cups of the apple juice, agar agar, rice syrup, and salt to a boil. Reduce heat to low simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until all the agar flakes are dissolved. Dilute the kuzu in the remaining 1/2 cup  of apple juice (this juice must be room temperature or cold in order to dilute the kuzu properly). Mix  well with fingers in order to get rid of any lumps of kuzu. Add the diluted kuzu to the pot, stirring constantly to avoid lumping.

As you stir, bring the mixture back to a boil (kuzu needs to boil in order to thicken). Let boil about 1 minute, as you continue stirring. It should become slightly thickened and a little glossy, like a gravy. Add the chopped strawberries and simmer 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and pour into serving cups. Let the kanten set for about 1 hour(refrigeration optional). Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop the tofu in and let it cook for 2 minutes. Remove from water. Put the tofu, sweetener, vinegar, and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Whiz ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust sweeteners to your liking. Chill until cool and a little thickened. When the kanten has set, garnish each serving with a dollop of the creamy tofu topping and top with a sprinkle of roasted almonds.

Barley Tea

All recipes are printed with permission from Jessica Porter

So how’s it going so far? What has been your favorite recipe?

I just LOVE The Hip Chicks Guide To Macrobiotics. Did you know you can get it in audio?!!

Here are some definitions of some products that you may want more info on.

Flame Deflector - see here..

Mirin-  See here .. If in Charlottetown you can purchase here 

Umeboshi-  See here.. Can order from here 

Tempeh – See here  Can order from here 

Seitan –  See here  Check your local health food store.

Kuzu or Kudsu –  See here.. Can order here 

The next group of recipes

Day 9- Tempeh Burritos

Day 10-Seitan Stew

Day 11- Christina’s Chickenless Chicken Salad

Day 12- Tofu “Egg” Salad

Day 13- Lisa’s Mango Laasi

Day 14-Tofu Sour Cream

Day 15- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

All recipes are posted with permission from Jessica Porter.

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.

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.

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

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

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL

This month it’s all about GRAINS!

Thursday March 15th 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

Here are some helpful tips to keeping your veggies fresh for longer! 

-When radishes, celery,diakon or carrots have lost their crunch, place them in a bowl of iced water along with a slice of raw potato and watch the limp vegetables freshen up right before your eyes.

-Line the bottom of your refrigerator’s crisper drawer with a cotton dish cloth. It will absorb the excess moisture that causes vegetables to rot.

- Don’t throw away sparkling wine or champagne that’s gone flat. Restore the bubbles by dropping a raisin or two into the bottle. The natural sugars will work magic.

- To keep herbs tasting fresh for up to a month, store whole bunches, washed and sealed in plastic bags, in the freezer. When you need them, they’ll be easier to chop, and they’ll defrost the minute they hit a hot pan.

- A bay leaf slipped into a container of flour, pasta, or rice will help repel bugs.

-Avoid separating bananas until you plan to eat them – they spoil less quickly in a bunch.

-Put rice in your saltshaker to stop the salt from hardening. The rice absorbs condensation that can cause clumps.

- Prevent extra cooked pasta from hardening by stashing it in a sealed plastic bag and refrigerating. When you’re ready to serve, throw the pasta in boiling water for a few seconds to heat and restore moisture.

- If you only need a few drops of lemon juice, avoid cutting the lemon in half – it will dry out quickly. Instead, puncture the fruit with a metal skewer and squeeze out exactly what you require.

-There are also these great “Green Bags” Sold at grocery stores now for storing your greens, lettuce etc..  Look for your local brand

AN INTERACTIVE COOKING CLASS SERIES

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, FALL

This month it’s all about MUSHROOMS! 

Thursday February 16th 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