Nori is an edible seaweed which is dried or toasted, and often sold in sheets. Nori has been consumed in Japan and China for centuries, and is an important part of Japanese cuisine especially. Most Western consumers are familiar with nori because it is used to wrap sushi, although the distinctive salty, slightly grassy flavor is also delicious eaten plain as well. In Ireland, nori is called sloke; the Scottish call it laver.
Nori Rolls
2 cups cooked rice, hot
2 tablespoons rice or umeboshi vinegar
½ teaspoon kelp powder
4 sheets nori, toasted
Filling:
¼ cup grated cucumber
Dash soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
Mix up filling and set aside
Mix vinegar and kelp with rice
Place a sheet of nori on a small bamboo mat
Spread ½ rice over the sheet, leaving a 2-inch edge uncovered at the end of the sdheet
Arrange ¼ of filling in a line across the middle on the rice. Roll the nori in the mat.
Place roll with seam down to seal
Slice 1 inch thick
Variation:
Use any grain or cooked vegetable combination. Mix umeboshi plum pulp or paste, or natto miso with the grain. Shrimp, crab and fish can also all be added to the nori rolls.
Healing Properties:
Very cooling thermal nature; sweet-and-salty flavor; increases yin fluids; diuretic; softens nodules; transforms and resolves heat-induced phlegm.
Nutritional Content:
Highest protein content(48% of dry weight) and most easily digested of the seaweeds; rich in vitamins A, B, and niacin.
Millet is an ancient seed, originally cultivated in the dry climates of Africa and northern China. In time, millet spread throughout the world; the Romans and Gauls made porridge from it, and in the Middle Ages millet was more widely eaten than wheat. It is mentioned in the Old Testament as an ingredient for bread.
Today, millet continues to be a staple for a third of the world's population. Ground millet is used in flatbreads, porridges, beer, stews and many traditional dishes.
Millet is nutritious – providing fiber, iron, B vitamins, manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium – and highly alkaline, making it easily digestible and soothing to the stomach.
Millet With Onions, Carrots, Hijiki
2 cups Millet, soaked
½ onion, diced (optional)
2 carrots, diced
¼ cup Hijiki, soaked and cut
6 cups water
½ teaspoon sea salt
Toasted sesame seeds
Layer vegetables on bottom of pot in order given
Add millet, water, and salt. Cover
Bring to a boil, Reduce heat to low.
Simmer 30 minutes or pressure cook 20 minutes.
Stir and serve sprinkled with sesame seeds
Serves 4.
References: Pitchford, Paul (2002). Healing With Whole Foods. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books.
Barley’s (also called groats) use is dated back to the stone age and is used in soups, stews, and various bread products. Whole barley, sometimes called “sproutable,” is mildly laxative and contains far more nutrition then the commonly used “pearl” variety, including more fiber, twice the calcium, three times the iron, and 25% more protein. Barley is also a prime ingredient in the making of one variety of the popular Japanese condiment called miso.
Healing properties:
Cooling thermal nature, sweet and salty flavor; strengthens the spleen and pancreas, regulates the stomach and fortifies the intestines, builds the blood and yin fluids and moistens dryness.
1 cup barley, soaked
½ onion, diced
½ cup carrot, diced
¼ burdock root, sliced, or
1 shiitake mushroom, soaked 15 minutes and sliced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 cups oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Saute Vegetables (optional).
Dry-toast barley lightly
Place barley and vegetables in a pot with water and salt
Amaranth is a valuable food source that’s use is said to date back some 8,000 years to the Aztec Empire. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has discovered that in areas of Africa and Latin America where Amaranth is consumed there exists no malnutrition.
Why Cook With Amaranth?
Amaranth contains more protein than any other gluten-free grain(28 grams per cup)- and more protein than wheat. Even when used alone, amaranth has protein complexes that are more than complete for most individuals.
Amaranth is an excellent source of lysine, an important amino acid (protein). Grains are notorious for low lysine content, which decreases the quality of their proteins.
Amaranth is a highly nutritious and contains high traces of magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, and manganese just to name a few.
Healing properties:
Cooling thermal nature; bitter and sweet flavor; dries dampness; benefits the lungs; high in protein.
Amaranth Dumplings In Cabbage Soup:
1/4 cup amaranth seed or flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup boiling water
2 cups cabbage
1 quart stock or water
1-2 tablespoons miso
Parsley
Mix amaranth and whole-wheat flour together. Add boiling water. Knead 5 minutes. Mold dumplings into any for of 1/2 inch thickness (square, triangle, round).
Cover cabbage with stock and simmer in a covered pot until tender.
Add remainder of stock and bring to a boil.
Drop dumplings into soup. When they rise to the surface, they are cooked.
Dilute miso with a bit of stock and add to soup. Allow to simmer a few minutes. Garnish with parsley.
on Monday, 27 February 2012
in Recipes
