Miso soup with tofu and green peas

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Recipe by Ingrid. Song sung by Ingrid.

-She is quite the girl that Ingrid! xo

Are you sick of miso soup ? Do you want to take a day off? Why not, go ahead! Here are some other spring dishes that are lovely instead! 

Kale and Tofu Salad (O.k I snuck in some miso)

1lb firm tofu, sliced into 8 rectangles

sesame oil

1 lg bunch lacinato kale

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup parsley , minced

1-2 green onions, minced

Miso dressing

In a cast iron frying pan , fry tofu till golden on both sides in 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Set aside and cool on a paper towel. Cut into cubes.

Wash kale and thinly slice the entire leaf, mix with ,sesame seeds, parsley, onions and miso dressing. Top with tofu and serve.

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…

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Lucy’s Miso soup

1-2Inch piece of wakame, soaked and diced

1 Cup daikon sliced into thin rounds

1 Cup onion, sliced into thin half moons

1/2 Lb firm tofu , cubed

6 Cups filtered water

4 tsp miso

-This was such a nice treat to have Lucy make me a bowl of miso. It was delish!

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

HAPPY EASTER!

We like to make crafts, homemade grain sweetened chocolates and egg shaped cookies! Looking forward to spending the long weekend with our family!

Hugs and happiness to everyone!

Here is a past Easter post .

“Mama I want to take something good to my friends sleepover party”

“Sure Ingrid, what do you think they would like?”

“Ham and cheese bisquits ”

“Really? Hmmmm”

Ingrid’s “Ham” and “cheese” Bisquits

4 Cups Unbleached whole white flour

2 Cups shredded vegan cheddar

2 Tbsp baking powder

1 Small onion, diced

1 Pkg tofu dogs

1 Garlic clove , minced

1/2 Cup olive oil

2 Cups plain rice milk

1 Tsp dried thyme

Makes 2 dozen.

Pre-heat oven to 400′

Whisk together dry ingredients then stir in the rest. Oil 2 muffin pans and spoon batter in. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Noodles In Broth

-Also Ingrids 11th Birthday!

I told Ingrid I would make anything she wanted for her birthday supper. She requested her favorite “Noodles in Broth” !

1 8-Ounce package udon or soba noodles

A 3-inch strip kombu

2 Dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup water for 15 minutes, destemmed, and sliced

4 Cups spring water

2-3  Tablespoons shoyu

1 Tablespoon mirin (optional)

1 Drop brown rice vinegar(optional)

Scallions for garnish

1 Sheet toasted nori sea vegetable , cut into 1-inch-by-1/4-inch strips

Toasted sesame seeds, bonito flakes, or grated ginger (optional)

Cook noodles, rinse with cold water, and drain. Place kombu and shiitake in a pot and add water and shiitake soaking water. Bring to a boil. Reduce flame to medium low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove kombu and slice into thin strips and add back to the stock. Reduce the flame to low. Add shoyu(add mirin and rice vinegar, if desired) to taste and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Place the noodles in serving bowls and ladle broth on top of them. Garnish with scallions, slices of shiitake, and strips of nori. If desired, add optional garnishes , too.

-Ingrid wanted a “garden party” so she invited a few friends over and on a lovely  12 degree (Celsius) day, she blew bubbles and planted flowers and ate Noodles in Broth! 

All recipes are printed with permission from Jessica Porter

Click here to view the embedded video.

Basic Miso Soup

2-Inch piece of dried wakame

2 Dried shiitake mushrooms

5 Cups spring water

1/2 Medium onion, sliced into half moons

1 Inch daikon, thinly sliced

4 Teaspoons barley miso, aged at least 2 years

1 Scallion, thinly sliced for garnish

Soak wakame and shiitake mushrooms in 1 cup of the spring water for 10 minutes. Cut the thick wakame stem away from the soft “frond”. If it is not too tough, slice the stem into tiny pieces. Remove and discard the tough stems of the shiitakes and slice the caps into thin strips. In a saucepan, bring the spring water (4 remaining cups), wakame, shiitake, onion and soaking water to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove about 1/4 cup of the broth and add the miso to it. Using a suribachi and surikogi (or a spoon), puree the miso until it is smoothly integrated into the broth. Pour the miso liquid back into the soup. Let it simmer for 3 more minutes. Do not let it come to a boil-that will overcook the enzymes. Serve in individual bowls and garnish with sliced scallion.

All recipes are printed with permission from Jessica Porter

Lisa’s Mango Laasi

1 Mango, pitted and chopped

1 Cup soy milk(unsweetened)

1/2 Teaspoon vanilla

1/2 Teaspoon ground cardamom

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

Blend all ingredients together. Yum!

- We used almond milk because we were out of soy milk. Also the kids didn’t like the smell of cardamom so we omitted it. What a nice treat! 

All recipes posted 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.